My BBQ With the Leader of a Nation

Quick note: check out "End of (1st) Year Pics" for new updated pictures of my summer in Majuro and Pohnpei.

This is how I had a laid back bbq with the president of the Federated States of Micronesia:

So we went downtown with the boys to Nepakos mass - which is the 6:15 Saturday English Mass that the Xavier students help with - and we met up with Marcos and Lincoln, since the church is right next to their apartment. So mass is over and we're about to head back up to Xavier on our bus, when one of the Nuns that Marcos and Lincoln know invites us to a BBQ her uncle is going to. Now, her uncle is actually a very high government official, and the BBQ happens to be with the president of the FSM (who I happened to meet over the summer with my 7th graders...no big deal). So we walk down the street (the dock/water is literally right across the street) and we walk up to a sketchy gate that is locked. Then some "guards" opened up the gate, we walked to behind this storehouse, and it was very dark so it seemed like the place was deserted. But then right there on the dock there were a bunch of guys sitting around, drinking beer. So we see this group, and at first we feel weird cause here are 7 white volunteers crashing this small "family" party. Then the nun stops us, cause she said at her island, she is not allowed to approach a group of men. So here we are, standing in the shadows, waiting for someone to come to us. Then finally this huge Micronesian in a thu - a red sheet barely covering you (what I wore for cultural day) - comes over and tells us to join them. This guy, who really looks like he was out of National Geographic (but he seemed completely normal to me), is the nun's uncle, and he happens to be a high government official. So think of this guy as Donald Rumsfeld. So Donald Rumsfeld in just a thu, inviting us to join them. There is the President, sitting on a plastic chair, surrounded by a few friends and crew mates from the ship he travelled on. Some are sitting on the ground, others on concrete blocks. There is boxed wine and plenty of beer, and the BBQ is roasting some fish and chicken. So think of President Bush, on a normal white plastic chair, with his own box of wine in front of him. And he's wearing a marmar. The boys walked in and found a seat, and I noticed that all the girl JVs and the nun were sitting outside of the circle, behind some crates, in the shadows. Completely excluded from the gathering, totally on the outskirts.
They werent even introduced to the President. And that's how it is here on some of the more traditional islands. The new JVs later said it was a bit uncomfortable, but they're still getting used to the way things happen here. Anyway, it was a very low key BBQ. The food was good, I had a beer, talked to a really cool Pohnpeian sailor who patrols the waters for illegal fishing. The President spoke a bit, said he appreciated that us Xavier teachers were present (he is an alumnus), then went back to his box of wine. The food was good. The girls were given food, and they really weren't allowed to walk up and get some themselves. Crazy. But that's basically it. It's just very weird and kind of funny that we were with the leader of a nation in the back of a sketchy dock drinking beer and having barbequed chicken.

So Colleen went to her sponsor’s family for the first time two weeks ago. Mind you, she’s been in Micronesia for less than a month now. She basically gets taken away to Tol, the farthest island in the lagoon (where I went last year for the entrance exam). She stayed with a very nice family, but they were also pretty traditional. Of course she was given lots of food and they were very accommodating. The interesting parts of her trip, she said, were the showering and the funeral she went to. To shower, you go outside the house, basically on the front "lawn" and use the water from a big bucket. For privacy, she had a few metal sheets surrounding her. So while she is trying to pour water on her from the bucket, her sponsor mom and grandma come walking in the shower unexpectedly and start to bucket shower with her. Apparently the women in the family shower together like it’s no big thing. So it must have been a bit weird and awkward for Colleen. But she managed.

Next was a funeral. It was a cousin of Colleen’s sponsor mom (a reminder,EVERYONE here in Micronesia is cousins with EVERYONE. It seems like everyone is related, whether by blood or just by the strong sense of community here). But here is the structure of a funeral: you enter the big room where the casket is, and you get in a line to walk up to it. Now everyone is very somber, yes, but everyone not in line seems pretty chill and social, according to Colleen. Colleen was walking behind her sponsor mom at the time. When the mom got up to the coffin, she started wailing and crying and sobbing really loud and out of no where. Meanwhile, poor Colleen is standing behind her not really knowing what to do. After a good minute of this excitement, the mom leaves the line (with Colleen), and immediately begins to act normal again, as if it never happened. Definitely a bit strange to Colleen, and me as well, but that’s how they do things here.

My classes I am teaching this year:
-Freshman Study Skills
-Sophomore World History
-Junior English Skills
-Senior English Skills
also Senate Moderator and Debate Club Moderator.

We also act as an advisor to some students. Apparently I just received the biggest troublemaker in the Freshman class. Sweet. But I’m flattered because the principal and the other teacher dividing up the students thought I can handle him.

Some chaos so far: after last year’s graduation, some Xavier students went downtown without telling the school, illegally rented cars, stayed in hotels, got drunk, and did other activities the school does not look kindly upon. The problem: all 12 of these students are on the Student Senate, and they had to be kicked out. Bigger problem: these 12 included some of the top leaders not only in the Senate (Senate President, Senate Vice President, Senior Class President, two district Representatives) but in the school as well. These are the leaders the peers look up to. So I had to be the one to tell them they were fired, but I did so in a way that I said they can still be leaders and contribute to the school. It was very hard for me to do, but I’m happy because they responded extremely well (this was over a week ago…they are still very understanding about all of it, and have been very helpful with the transitioning of the new senate members). Even after all of that, I still had to rearrange the senate. I had a good moment yesterday first day of class) when an entire half hour was scheduled for me and all the sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors of the school. I organized them in the big meeting hall and sorted everything out. So, we have a complete Senate once again, and hopefully we can begin the year as normal.

Also, I found out last night that I will be teaching ALL of the seniors in one section (28 in a class period) instead of dividing them into two sections of 14. The good news regarding that is that I’ll have one extra period of free time all week. The bad news is that I have to control 28 misbehaving seniors all at once. Today’s class with them went well. We’ll see how the rest of the school year goes.

Oh yeah. The Jesuits and JVIs had a nice dinner with the Bishop the other day. I got to tell him stories about how I was an alter server for then-Bishop Edgan, now Cardinal.

Anyway, most of that was teacher drama most of you wouldn’t be nterested in. Things are going very well, my pony-tail pictures will come soon. Keep it real.

AJ

End of Pohnpei, New JVs and Back to Chuuk

It’s been a very busy time of year. The finishing the HAP program for one,
which was more fun and bittersweet than stressful. But also preparing for
and receiving the new JVs. Finally coming back to Chuuk and continuing
helping out the new JVs settle in. Plus I had to settle in, too. So that’s
where I have been. Let’s get down to it: Teaching summer school to Pohnpeian 7th graders will forever be one of the best experiences of my life. These kids were so bright, eager to learn, friendly, hard working, cute in their own little ways, and very unique. They are like any other middle schooler, I think. I think it was very good to get away from punk high schoolers for a while. 7th graders still respect you and aren’t smart enough to overpower you. They are not always obedient, but nothing that bad. It’s hard for them to not keep still. But there were so many that kept on amazing me. Seriously, I would take half of them (there were 53 students) and replace them with many Xavier students. These kids loved to teach me Pohnpeian, too. I think I learned more Pohnpeian in these two months than I have learned Chuukese in the one year. A bit pathetic, but oh well. They loved to talk about home and all things Pohnpeian. They will be missed a lot.

The end of the program included a spelling Bee which I prepared them for. It was a lot of fun, and the entire program watched and got really into it. I
had to continue the Bee to a second day because the top students knew all of the words I gave them so well that I went through them over and over again. The second day I had to read from a dictionary, and they still did fairly well. There was also a play the Dwyer put on that was a Pohnpeian creation myth. That was a lot of fun. We performed it in the church. We moved the altar out of the way and brought the kids in there. The HAP Olympics were also great. Of course, the kids absolutely loved the dizzy race, ice cream eating contests, and tug of war. That same day, after the Olympics were over, Dwyer and I made our way to the airport to pick up the new JVs. It was pretty exciting. We met Tim and Greg, the two Pohnpeian JVs, Marcos and Lincoln, the two Saramen Chuuk Academy volunteers, and Ellen and Colleen, the two girls who are going to be teaching with us here at Xavier. So 6 new JVs in all. 4 going to Chuuk, 2 to XHS. They are really great. The fun part was not only trying to act like the 2nd year who knows it all and can answer all questions, but it was interesting trying to see if I acted like the new JVs at all when I first arrived. They were so enthusiastic, asking so many questions, and even a bit loud. It is weird thinking if I was that loud when I first arrived. I am definitely a lot more quite. Anyway, it was great to introduce them to Pohnpei, and we drove them to the retreat house (a nice place next to the Jesuit house we were staying in).

The next fun thing was the next day we went to the island Nalap, which is a
resort island. It’s a small island with some huts, a little store, a few beaches, even a small conference room. There are many small cottages for
people to stay in, bbqs, a dirt basketball/volleyball court, and a nice dock/gazebo to jump off of into the lagoon. That is where we had our HAP
graduation/picnic, as well as the new JV sleep over. Basically the day was
filled with lots of food, swimming, and a graduation ceremony. I was the MC, and I think I was the best graduation MC because I kept it very very quick and to the point. I even threw a joke in there where everyone laughed (I called myself a "menwai" pronounced MEN WHY, which is Pohnpeian for white person). After all of the kids left the island, the JVs stayed on and
relaxed and had a good time. The only eventful things that happened were
when we took a kayak to a small hut that was built on the coral about a
hundred yards from the dock. We ate lunch there and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Oh, yeah, and a drunk local boy (age around 17) stumbled into our
hut early in the morning when we were sleeping and fell asleep next to
Ellen, one of the new JVs. And he was naked. She woke me up and I got Dwyer to help me carry him out of our hut to put him on the ground so someone else could take him away (someone eventually did). It was not pleasant, especially for Ellen, since it was her 2nd night in Micronesia. Nothing happened, and no one, especially any of the girls, were ever in any danger. But it was not the best welcome to this new place for her. Chris and I did not realize how much of a party/drinking scene Nalap was. The night before many families or young kids drank, but they mostly pass out and are usually not aggressive when they are drunk. But one did stumble into our hut, which was wide open to everyone, like most other huts. I’m not going to say it was pretty funny, cause it wasn’t, but there was never any danger, so I think it was ok. Ellen is fine.

The next few days Chris and I showed the new JVs around Pohnpei. We brought them to a waterfall and Sokeh’s ridge. We also showed the new JVs where to go around town. We got their new apartment set up as well. We had only 4 days to do all of this, so Dwyer and I were pretty busy. Plus we had to pack and say goodbye to the Jesuits, who were the coolest and by far the most hospitable people on the planet. I’m really going to miss them. They were really funny and insightful guys. It was also fun having our little
snack/drinks get-together every day before dinner. Some of them stay in
Pohnpei all the time, but others will make their way to Chuuk one of these
days.The other eventful thing that happened was Colleen busting her knee open the night before we left for Chuuk. She was playing soccer on one of the school fields with the other new JVs and some other American volunteers (Dwyer and I were not there). And poor Colleen tripped in the mud, and there happened to be a big sharp rock there. Her actual knee is fine, but there was a huge gash directly below it. Pretty gross. So I drove her, Greg and Ellen to the local hospital for stitches. Now, I thought this was fine and there was no need to worry, because come on, we’re in Pohnpei, which can be called 2nd world compared to Chuuk’s 3rd/4th world status. But I had to remember that these new volunteers just came from an orientation that told them all about safety and the conditions of the health services in these countries, so they were freaking out. Of course, nothing bad happened, the doctor was very good, and she got stitched up right away, no problem. The bad thing was that she needed medicine before it got infected (we got some the next day, but it did become infected) and she would not be able to walk for weeks. Luckily she was able to make it on the plane, but for the past 5 days she’s been in bed recovering. Today she actually made it to the resource room and teacher’s hall way for the first time since she’s got here, so she’ll be fine. Funny thing about it: she’s not using crutches, but an old person’s walker we took from the old Jesuit residence. But she’ll be fine.

Coming back to Chuuk was definitely pleasant and a bit strange – in a good
way. For all of the great comforts of Pohnpei – 24 hour power, paved roads,
stores open past 8:00 at night, night basketball games, a movie theater, a
non-corrupt government, things actually WORKING – I did miss Chuuk a lot and definitely thought of it as a home. That feeling was evident when I arrived back in a place that has become so familiar to me in the past year. So it did feel as if I was coming home. A year ago when I arrived I was definitely stepping foot on a very foreign world. Not this time.

So for the past couple of days we have been relaxing and getting used to the erratic power schedules and extra humidity. We have not been able to go to
much sight seeing since Colleen still can’t move. But it’s been a lot of fun
having the other JVs – Marcos and Lincoln – come up and visit us. Their
school is downtown, about half an hour away (10 minutes if the roads were
paved). As I’ve mentioned before, one of the biggest challenges for me was
dealing with the isolation of Xavier and the lack of fun things (or lack of
ANYTHING) to do when I was not concentrating on school. However, this year we have a whole other community – JV and Saramen high school – to be with, invite up, hang out with, visit, everything. So I am looking forward to that. So, last year was pretty exhausting and challenging when it came to teaching for the first time. Well, it’s a good thing that I’m a professional now, because my work load doubled, if not more, and that says a lot for a Xavier teacher. This year I am teaching Freshman Study Skills, Sophomore World History (like last year), Junior English Skills (also like last year), and Senior English Skills. I am also the Student Senate Moderator, the Debate
Club Moderator, Debate Coach, and I’m in charge of the Social Studies
Department and English Department. I’m also going to be in charge of this
leadership institute that we will have this year (but I’m considering
sharing that responsibility) and I also need to create the Freshman Skills
curriculum, and revamp the entire Social Studies curriculum, because the
person that was supposed to do it all of last year and the previous summer
didn’t, and he’s no longer here. While this sounds insane and very
overwhelming (it is) I am looking forward to it, which is a good sign. It is
good to keep busy here, and I know I will grow as a teacher even more (I’m
not saying that I want to go into teaching when I go home in a year. I
actually still have no idea…all suggestions are welcome).

So that’s about it for me. I am happy, healthy and busy, but not too busy
yet. School starts on September 5th, and meetings start in two days, but it
will not be that stressful at all. I’m an expert now. I just have to keep
watching out for the two new JVs here and we have to keep helping the new JVs downtown, since it is only a 2 person community unlike our 5 person.
Also, in a few more weeks, I’ll be able to pony tail my hair. Check out new pictures of Pohnpei in the link that reads "End of (1st) Year Pics". They are pictures of all over Pohnpei, including some cool ones from the Nan Madol ruins, waterfalls, and the students. Some of Majuro will also go up soon. Enjoy.

Technical Difficulties

Hello,

This is Daniel Cabrera, A.J.'s brother. A.J. asked me to write this blog updating everyone as to what is going on with his internet connection. The internet connection on Chuuk recently underwent some changes and now it is slower and more erratic. So it will be a while before a new, real blog will be put up. He thanks you for your patience and looks forward to more care packages, emails, letters, and blog posts.

-Dan