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