Our own private island?!!

Last weekend proved to be one of my favorite weekends so far on Pohnpei. Some of us WorldTeach volunteers, along with some Peace Corps and Jesuit Volunteers, pooled our money together to rent out an ENTIRE tropical paradise island for the weekend. Let me repeat... we rented out our own private island (and at $20 each, I don't know how it could get any better)!!

We took a boat out to Black Coral Island, which is about a 20 minute boat ride from the dock in Kitti. It is still inside the protective reef barrier that surrounds Pohnpei, so we didn't encounter any rough seas or have to take our big life saving equipment with us. There were around 18 people staying on Black Coral, which is a small enough island that you can see all ends of from any point. Black Coral is literally a honeymoon vacation island, accompanied with sandy beaches, small huts to stay in, hammocks to relax, and a beautiful channel for snorkeling. It literally couldn't get any better. So we spent our weekend drinking Red Horse and relaxing on our island.. I was even able to wake up early enough to watch the sunrise over the ocean. I cannot put into words how beautiful that moment was- just me and the ocean waves crashing up while looking at the sun come over the horizon. We also did some snorkeling in the channel that is next to the island, with beautiful colored coral reefs and millions of types of fish. I even was able to see an eel (don't worry, I stayed far away from it!) and a small seahorse. Wow, looking back at pictures I can't even describe the beauty of the scenery around us. I literally don't think I took my swimsuit off the entire weekend- that's how much we were in the water!

Group photo swimming at Black Coral

WorldTeach volunteers at Black Coral

This past school week was shortened due to Education Day (Thursday) and UN Day (Friday) so we had some free time on our hands. It is also Japan culture week here on Pohnpei, so they were offering free Japanese movies at the movie theatre here in town. Although I didn't really enjoy the long, confusing, crazy Japanese murder mystery we went to go see, I was able to sit in a fairly comfy theatre chair with AC for a couple hours- so, no complaints! Afterwards, we went to go check out a restaurant here on Pohnpei called Nett Ramen. Now, when I hear the word ramen I want to gag (literally, some people here on Pohnpei eat ramen for EVERY meal of the day!) but this was a real Ramen restaurant with homemade noodles, rich broth, and fresh vegetables. It's run by this cute little French woman and her Pohnpeian/Japanese husband, and it was one of the best meals I've had so far on Pohnpei! Sooooo delicious. Overall, it was a fun night with both new movies and new food!

Saturday, we were supposed to go on a snorkeling trip but opted out (money is low at the end of the month) so we took a day adventure instead. We hitchhiked (through 4 different rides) out to Kitti, which is an outer municipality of Pohnpei (basically, on the other side of the island from where I live in Kolonia). We arrived at the house of the family who owns the land that some waterfalls are on, and although it was a little late in the day they agreed to let us go visit the waterfalls. Our guide ended up being a high school student, and after he grabbed his machete and left his sandals to go barefoot, we were off into the jungle. Overall, it took us around 1-2 hours to hike down into this large gorge where we could get to the bottom of the waterfalls. I was stupid enough to wear flip flops (what was I thinking?!) so I left them to go barefoot as well. There were two different waterfalls that we visited, I would estimate that the first was around 60ft and the second one around 100ft tall. They were absolutely gorgeous! I wish I could show a video or somehow be able to describe how majestic they were. The coolest part is that there is no signs, no other people, no "touristy" stuff... just us! So many of the sights that I see here on Pohnpei are that much more beautiful just because it is 100% natural. This is their everyday life here- walks through the jungle and playing at the waterfalls.

Sawarlap falls (one of the falls I saw)

It is sooo crazy to think that my time here on Pohnpei is already 4 months gone! It seems like it was only yesterday that I was stepping off the airplane into the hot, humid air. They always say that one of the biggest things you remember about somewhere is your first smell when you get there. Mine was the smell/feeling of being near a swamp, because the air is so much more humid and sticky than I have ever experienced anywhere else. I never thought I could survive this long without my friends and family, but I'm learning to love this little island. There are so many small, beautiful things you can see if you open your eyes. The people here are humble and open, and will always be willing to chat (they could talk for hours and hours if you let them!). The pace of life is so much slower here- but not like a boring slow. Just more relaxed. Maybe I will learn a thing or two from this type of lifestyle.

That's all for now. I gotta go lesson plan #lifeofateacher

Random thoughts on first year teaching, Pohnpeian culture, and island life...

Kaselehlie maingko!

Ya iromai? (How are you?) My Pohnpeian is pretty much limited to these and only a few other phrases haha. So when our school meetings are run entirely in Pohnpeian.... yeah, I can get lost pretty fast! But I'm learning as much as I can every day. My favorite word in Pohnpeian is meleilei (meh-lay-lay) which means peace. I think it would be an absolutely beautiful name for a little girl!

I apologize that I don't have any picture to share this time. Ever since my camera and iPhone got stolen, I have no way of taking pictures anymore. It's a dilemma that I'm working on fixing soon, as I want to share so much of my everyday life with people back home. To be honest, I'm not sad at all about physically not having my items anymore... it's funny how living abroad can really open up your eyes to the truly important things in life. I've realized how unimportant my physical stuff really is. Back home, I've left boxes and boxes of clothes, jewelry, furniture, decorations... you name it. And I haven't missed it a single day since. My iPhone? Oh well. It's just an object. It sounds so corny, but I've really realized that I don't need any of that stuff that I thought I did. What's important are the people around you, and living and sharing those experiences with them. Even as far as physical appearances... I used to take at least an hour to get ready for school, and now? Maybe less than 15 minutes. I have so few outfits to choose from, it's pretty easy to pick one out in the morning. And makeup? I'll brush on a couple strokes of mascara but that's all. My hair? It's up in a bun every single day. No more straightening or hairspray or whatever I did.... and I still feel 100% beautiful and confident about myself! When it comes down to it, my students won't remember ten years from now what outfit I wore or how pretty I was a certain day... but what I'm hoping that they take with them is the confidence and strength that comes with learning, and the potentials that each of them have.

Which brings me to my next thoughts on my first year of teaching... It's hard for me to actually call it full-time teaching because I only teach 4 out of 8 sections, and many of the days are shortened due to rains (today, it was the case of a possible typhoon) or a broken cafeteria or you name it... But nonetheless, I am teaching. My four sections are extremely different, and each of them has a different personality which is the beauty of it. I'm learning every day better ways to teach them or new ways of thinking. Overall, I am extremely impressed and shocked at how smart, intelligent, and creative my students can be. Although they have been extremely shy, and continue to be at times, I'm starting to see their personalities and little funny quirks starting to come out. Pohnpeian culture is very different from American... the students are very shy, slow to speak up or stand out in a crowd, and often prefer traditional ways of learning in the classroom. Whenever I try something new like stations, vocabulary posters, group work or games... it usually takes a little bit for everyone to be completely comfortable with it. But give it a while, and these students will show you intelligence beyond measure. Last week, I saw a student who had never once spoken in class or asked a single question (I assumed she was confused and lost with the material) completely dominate her math quiz. Or when I see a student lend a hand to help their classmate out when their eyesight is so bad that they cannot see their own paper. These students have such beautiful souls- so quiet, so humble, and so selfless. I am constantly broadening my views of what a classroom should look and feel like, because these students are so different here. But it's a good kind of different. They are (most of the time) so focused and value their education. They are able to see that education is their only key at succeeding at life, so they take every opportunity they can to grasp onto that. I can only pray that I am strong enough to get them there.

This afternoon, I went to volunteer at the local library for "story time", in which around 10 students between the ages of 5 and 12 came to sing songs, listen to stories, and do some arts and crafts. I can be honest that I felt pretty silly doing the Hokey Pokey in front with everyone staring at me, but at least they got a good laugh! We read the "Real Story of The Three Pigs" (if you've ever read that children's book it's written from the point of view of the Big Bad Wolf). During arts and crafts, I was able to walk around and meet some of the children, learning their names, favorite colors, and what school they go to. It's funny, how you will see children here with almost nothing on their backs, wearing broken flip flops, torn shirts, stained shorts... but they are some of the happiest and most smiley kids I've ever met! The children here bring such a smile to my face, and they are always excited to meet me and learn more about someone different from themselves. I'll try to get some pictures at "story time" next week :)

There are some days that I am desperately missing life back in Wisconsin. When I see pictures from back home of the changing leaves, football games, and the crispness in the air... ahh those are some of my favorite things! What I wouldn't give to just bundle up in some blankets next to a campfire and enjoy some of my dad's cooking. I keep reminding myself that this experience, although hard, will teach me more about myself than I ever thought. At this point, the island is out of eggs, butter, cheese, and many fresh vegetables... yes, I will admit that I sit here and dream of food about 60% of the time (but let's be honest, that's nothing new haha). It's the little things that make me happy, like finding frozen strawberries at the store from which I was able to make my mom's famous Strawberry Shortcake recipe! I almost cried because it tasted exactly like hers :) Like I said, it's the little things that count.

Okay, well the rains are getting pretty bad right now and I want to be able to post before our internet gets knocked out. I hope everyone's school year is going well and you all are enjoying fall! I am enjoying the constant variations between scorching, humid heat and humid rain. The humid part never leaves haha. Kaselel!