'Tis The Season

So this email is long over due! I apologize for the delay but December has kept all of us here in Micronesia super busy! We started off the month with a belated JV Thanksgiving dinner with the Sarem community, of course the food was delicious and the conversation was perfect! The next day we headed back to Xavier the infamous XAVIER DAY! It is a weekend filled with games and competitions, some athletic and some just down right silly between the faculty/alumni, seniors and freshmen, and juniors and sophomores. It was a long day, but it was totally worth it to just sit back and have a little fun and get a little crazy with the students! It is times like these that I really appreciate being here and having fun with them.

After this wild weekend we got right back to daily grind to finish up the semester. Of course the following three week were rigorous and stressing, but the two week break that followed made it all worth it. There were two weeks of break then finals. The last day of finals our second year, Mike, parents came into town. Its always really great to have parents here to remind us what it feels like to be in a "family."

Last Saturday, we went to Pisiwi, a picnic island about 20 minutes away with all of the students. They have this tradition of once we get close to the island a bunch of them just jump off the ship and swim to shore. I jumped off with one of the students, Erika and swam in. The whole day we just laid around, playing games, having chicken fights, and jumping off branches of trees, which unfortunately after climbing, gave me a nice scar on my leg! But it was so relaxing and fun to just hang out with the other JV's and students and just have fun! Peaches and I has a sand ball fight with some of the students, and I think I am still getting sand out of my hair!! But it really was a blast!! After that we headed to mass and the JV's went to Truk Stop with Mike's parents and had a great meal.

The majority of Christmas break has been filled with getting ready for Christmas and shopping for my host family. Mike's parents took us to Pisar on Tuesday and Wednesday! Pisar is the most beautiful place in the world!!! It is a little island located right by the reef, so we can see and hear the waves crashing in! It really is a fabulous place!! It was so unbelievably beautiful!!

We got back on Thursday and headed down to Sarem for a Christmas Party!! It was really fun and also relaxing! Of course we got a little goofy but had so much fun with each other and ended the night on the roof under the stars.

Friday when we got back I headed down to my host family. I really, really love my host family and have so much fun when I go!! When I got there we hung out a little bit then got ready for church. They are Protestant so I am still trying to figure out their service but it is such a good experience going. I feel like I am in more solidarity going then staying back here and not experiencing what they have to offer.

But their Christmas Eve was so wonderful! We went and everything was in Chuukese but I believe they had a little prayer service. Then it was present time! They did something similar to a secret santa, where everyone got a gift. Each family also got gifts from each other like bananas, rice, chicken, and all sorts of stuff!! It was really really awesome!! They we walked back to the house which was very fun!! It was about 30 minute walk but with no flashlights, only the moon light! It was tricky, but it was a wonderful experience!! We got home and opened presents...they got my a MUU MUU and TURTLE EARINGS!!!! As well as toiletries for when I stay over!! It was really one of the best gifts I have ever received!! After that is was pretty quiet and we went to bed.

On Christmas we woke up and eat breakfast, chicken and rice with some banana and fish!! Very delicious!! We put on our muumuu's and headed over to the church. It lasted a couple hours, but was very entertaining with singing and scripture...again all in Chuukese, but still very nice. Then after church we had a meal with the church community which was really really good! However I made a huge mistake!! I went to get water and drank water from the hand washing bucket instead of the drinking water!! But I am not sick yet (knock on wood) so hopefully I will be alright!!

Then I headed back to Xavier after a WONDERFUL Christmas with my Awesome Host Family!! When I got back up to Xavier it was straight to work, cooking Christmas dinner. The Sarem JVs were here decorating once I got back and they had the study hall look beautiful and so ready for a Christmas feast!! We had so much food, but the favorite of the night was pasta carbonara made my Joan (our nurse) and it was sooooo delicious!!!

After dinner we brought out the Karaoke machine and boy did the boys love it!! Some of us older folks got up and sang but the boys just had so much fun with it and literally sang Karaoke for hours and hours!! We gave out their presents which I think they liked and handed out some gifts from our families like board games. We played board games and card games the rest of the night until lights out which was just a lot of fun. It was really great to see the boys just having fun and it made for a great night.

At midnight, I was able to Skype home and talk with the family which completely topped off the night and made for a FABULOUS MICRO CHRISTMAS!! Seeing all aspects of life here was so great and then being able to talk to the best family in the world back at home always makes me so, utterly happy. I am so blessed and thankful for everything and for such a blessed and gracious Christmas!!


Thats all for now, I hope everyone at home had a great Christmas and Holiday Season!!


LOVE, MERRY CHRISTMAS, AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! (and happy birthday to me :) )


Ems

Malo! Malo! Thanks Be To God!

Well its Thanksgiving here and I have to much to be thankful for! Each week poses different challenges. This week we had two basketball games downtown. I guess because I am always with other JV's I havent really noticed how hard it is to be here sometimes. At basketball games, especially this week I have felt like a complete outsider. It is obvious that I am not from here and the men downtown especially make me feel like that with their gestures. Though it is tough, I have really been praying for it and for the wisdom to understand that those few men who have made me feel like less of a person, do not make up the majority of the people here. My students for one are wonderful and respect me and would never treat me poorly. There are other Chuukese men who have been wonderful towards me and not mocked me and made inappropriate gestures. I have really prayed for strength and guidance to overcome this challenge. I cannot put all men into the category that those men were in. And I cannot have a mindset that all men in Chuuk will act like that towards me and I have to continue to pray for guidance, acceptance, wisom, and strength while here. 
Today I woke up completely refreshed, I even thought twice about getting a cup of coffee because I awoke refreshed, excited for the day, and ready to see my lovely students. This morning we had a school-wide mass that was really beautiful. Fr. Mark gave a great homily and I just felt God's presence more then usual in mass. One of my students, Elie led the choir and she has such a beautiful voice that really makes me feel a strong presence of God. Then I taught two chemistry classes and really felt like I 'taught' and the students 'learned' instead of me just lecturing, which made me feel really great. I think everyday I will be closer and closer to the teacher they need and less of the volunteer who is teaching subjects she doesn't know much about. 
It's my break period and it feels good to be able to update my blog. I still have to teach two classes of English, but then after school the JV's-me, Mike, Peaches, and Alex are going to cook Thanksgiving dinner for the Xavier  Staff. I am really excited to cook and to have a Thanksgiving dinner. Later on for Mike's spirituality night we are going to have another mass but it is going to be a "Mass Under the Stars" and take place on the roof, which will just be really awesome. Because of where we are the stars are so vivid and bright. I also think their will not be a large marom (moon) tonight, which makes the stars really come up. So fingers crossed it doesn't rain!! :) So that is my Chuukese Thanksgiving in a nutshell!!


And I cannot leave without telling you some of the things I am most thankful for:
-my family-i would not be the person i am without them. i love my family, imediate, Ferron's, and Nagy's so much that I cannot put it into words.
-my friends-you guys are amazing, and i am most thankful for those who have still kept in contact with me-it means the world to know i have your support and will continue to have it when i get back
-this experience-it is a true calling and gift from God that I am here right now having this experience
-my community-i could never do this alone
-my students-they can be tough sometimes, but it could be so much worse. they also make me smile with their innocence and spirit which makes me such a happy person when i am around them
-my life experiences-they have shaped me in more ways then i could ever imagine




and of course, God. He has given me more then I ever needed to be happy and I am so happy for all of the prayers He has answered and for helping me sooo much throughout this time and experience. I am so excited to continue to grow closer to Him and feel His presence even more!




Thats all I have!! 
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE!!!!
and as we sang today in mass:
MONO (give thanks), MONO (give thanks), THANKS BE TO GOD!!
em

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”

            For all of my life, the only poverty that I have seen first hand is that of the starving, those who are unable to obtain health care, those who cannot use their voice and speak out against the government, those who surely stick out to anyone physically poor and needy. We have served those who mourn, who want peace, who are treated unfairly and need help. But for the first time in my life, I have seen a new type of poverty. A type that might not stick out or be seen with our eyes, but one seen within our hearts.

            Beginning on the plane ride over. Many of the people we spoke with about Chuuk thought it was crazy that we were going to be on Chuuk for two years. They told us that it was the “ugly stepchild” of the FSM and there was no hope, no love, nothing encouraging or promising about the island.

            Then learning more about our new home from our second years continued to paint a picture of Chuuk. Much of the reason why Chuuk is failing is due to the respect, of each other and of one’s family. People don’t go to work here and everyone has so much respect for each other that no one gets fired for it, especially when its family. Because of this teachers don’t show up for school and nothing is done about it. The students continuously miss class because there is no one there to teach them. The road, which has digressed and become worse, is being rebuilt, but it will take years for a project that should only take months. Government money goes missing. Crime between villages sometimes ends in murder. The is violence which prevents people from leaving their house after dark and people don’t trust the police. And what is the hardest part is no one seems to care. There isn’t hope for this place. My students, especially the ones that do no come from Chuuk realize the failure of much of this state, yet, no one is working to fix things and it is usually foreigners or peopled educated in the States that see this. And even when they do see it, they can’t wait to get out.

             And so much can be done here, this place has so much potential. So the question then is, what is my role here as JV. Have I just romanticized that idea of volunteering for two years and who I thought I would be helping. Have I only thought that I would be able to help the poor if I fed or clothed them and given them shelter? I think once I saw the different type of poverty here, I felt more at peace. For a while I have been struggle with my placement not only as a teacher, but here in Chuuk. I saw so much injustice, but the part that made me struggle the most was the hopelessness that was in many of the minds here, that things will always be the way they are, and that it was ok.

            Maybe my role here is to give people hope, but maybe my role here is to give myself hope. As part of the JVC covenant says, “Not for their benefit, but for mine.” For a while here I struggled with not being able to share my passions as well as not give the community what I thought was my strengths. But I think one of the real reasons I was called to be here, to Chuuk, is to find an inner hope in myself. To find out what I would fight for, to find out what gives me hope, to find out what my deepest set of passions are.

            And maybe I won’t be able to use those gifts here, maybe the part I need I will not get here. It might take all two years or two years after I leave to figure that out. But I am lucky enough to have been raised and taught to  have hope, to have drive, and to want better for myself, my family, and my community.

            So even though, we may not be called to change things here, maybe we are called to a higher expectation, a higher calling. The Bible verse from Luke 12: 48 says, “to those much has been given, much is expected.” We have been give much. Not only in educational and health, but we have been hope. Therefore, because we have been given so much, much is still expected out of us. So I can’t say that I am going to change things here, but I hope  that I will bring change to myself. That I can promise. 

Post Fall JVC Retreat-My Past Week

            Things here have been busy! Unexpectedly we have a basketball season now! Which is great, but is now taking up most of my free time and evenings. It makes my days longer, which is actually ok because I am getting to know my students, especially the ones on the team on a better and closer level.

            Last weekend the JV’s both Xavier and Saram went to the island of Param for our Fall Retreat. Lin Yua and Tomi (two of our Jesuit novices) lead the retreat and it was so peaceful. It was a silent retreat from Friday night after dinner until 4pm on Saturday. It was actually just what I needed out of the retreat. I got a lot of thinking done and was really happy with how much I journaled and just thought about. Then we had fun, playing games, like Werewolf and 5 Crowns (two of our favorite games!). Sunday we had mass and then some of the children from the village took us around the island. It took about two hours to walk around the whole island and also found some WWII tanks which was really cool! We left Sunday around 3 and got back up to Home Sweet Xavier. Though it was a beautiful island it was nice to have a nice cold shower back at home.

            This week went by pretty slow. I think because of the retreat I felt really myself again here. Sometimes depending on the day or the week, I just don’t feel like myself. But this was a really great week. However, I found out that my great Uncle Bob passed away, which was really sad. I think my Poppy is in my prayers more then ever now! He is just such an inspiration in my life and I only want the best for him and I know how much he misses my Grammie and how lonely he can get when he is by himself. I pray for him to be satisfied and taken care of every night.  I just want him to be loved and cared for.

            Peaches and I went down to Saram on Thursday to spend the night. We didn’t have school Friday because Wednesday was FSM Independence day and we moved our day off to celebrate to Friday so we would have a 3 day weekend. It was really relaxing and we got some shopping done in down town. Just the basics like combs and some snacks. We also ate at one of the restaurants there, we both got Ramen noodlesJ which was delicious. (Yes, we get Ramen noodles when we go out to dinner here!) Then we made the hike up, only a little over half way then got a ride up for the rest of the way.

            Today (Saturday) we planned to climb on of the mountains, but it rained all day and decided not to. I hung out with the community a bit and also talked with some of the boys hanging out in the study hall. They really are really great kids. Sometimes I forgot how awesome they actually are, because they are just so bad in class, but really they so great and wonderful. I am blessed for having those kids in my life.

            We also got 3 new pigs! (Xavier) and will have then until graduation until, the majority of the staff…eats them. haha But they are cute and though I will be upset to kill them, I think I understand how the culture here views them, as means to food and not pets. I think we need to respect that for them.

            That about all I have this week. I have two basketball games on Monday and Wednesday which will be a lot of fun. Busy, but fun. So far we are 0-1 haha. We lost against the best team in the state so I guess we didn’t do that bad J The only good thing here is that they do love winning, but they really just enjoy the competitiveness and it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, which makes me a lot happier when we do lose J

But if anyone would like to help the school out below are things we are in need of:

Basketballs

Books-any books, just lots of books for our library!

School Supplies

Construction Paper

Tongue Depressors

Band Aides

Medical Masks

Computer paper

Computer Toner

And anything else you can think of just ask!

Love!

Em

12 Weeks In Chuuk

I will be gone all weekend for a JVC retreat, but wanted to leave you with a little song! It goes to the tune of "Twelve Days of Christmas!"

On the first week in Chuuk, our second years gave to us

            A long trip to Pisar.

On the second week in Chuuk, our second years gave to us

            2 packs of beetlenut

             and a long trip to Pisar

On the third week in Chuuk, our second years gave to us

            3 machettes

            2 packs of beetlenut

            and a long trip to Pisar

On the fourth week in Chuuk, our second years gave to us

            4 mar mars

            3 machettes

            2 packs of beetlenut

            and a long trip to Pisar

On the fifth week in Chuuk, our second years gave to us

            5 turtle rings

            4 mar mars

            3 machettes

            2 packs of beetlenut

            and a long trip to Pisar

On the sixth week in Chuuk, our second years gave to us

            6 JV’s swimming

            5 turtle rings

            4 mar mars

            3 machettes

            2 packs of beetlenut

            and a long trip to Pisar

On the seventh week in Chuuk, our second years gave to us

            7 roaches flying

            6 JV’s swimming

            5 turtle rings

            4 mar mars

            3 machettes

            2 packs of beetlenut

            and a long trip to Pisar

On the eighth week in Chuuk, our second years gave to us

            8 banana’s peeling

            7 roaches flying

            6 JV’s swimming

            5 turtle rings

            4 mar mars

            3 machettes

            2 packs of beetlenut

            and a long trip to Pisar

On the ninth week in Chuuk, our second years gave to us

            9 muu muu’s flowing

            8 banana’s peeling

            7 roaches flying

            6 JV’s swimming

            5 turtle rings

            4 mar mars

            3 machettes           

            2 packs of beetlenut

            and a long trip to Pisar

On the tenth week in Chuuk, our second years gave to us

            10 coconuts a falling

            9 muu muu’s flowing

            8 banana’s peeling

            7 roaches flying

            6 JV’s swimming

            5 turtle rings

            4 mar mars

            3 machettes           

            2 packs of beetlenut

            and a long trip to Pisar

On the eleventh week in Chuuk, our second years gave to us

            11 flat bed’s riding

            10 coconuts a falling

            9 muu muu’s flowing

            8 banana’s peeling

            7 roaches flying

            6 JV’s swimming

            5 turtle rings

            4 mar mars

            3 machettes           

            2 packs of beetlenut

            and a long trip to Pisar

On the tweleveth week in Chuuk, our second years gave to us

            12 combs were buying

            11 flat bed’s riding

            10 coconuts a falling

            9 muu muu’s flowing

            8 banana’s peeling

            7 roaches flying

            6 JV’s swimming

            5 turtle rings

            4 mar mars

            3 machettes           

            2 packs of beetlenut

            and a long trip to Pisar

           

           

Have a Blessed Weekend!!




Love, 
Em

           

            

 Above:  Me with some of the kids I played with during the CCSP weekend on Udot

 Above: My students and their means of transportation home...flatbeds!

 Above: Me and Peaches with Kiki, the secretary at Saraman-Chuuk Academy on Fefen

Above: All the Chuuk JV's at the waterfall during Phase II Orientaion

There will be more to come!! :)


Love,
Em

Coconut Crabs: A Rarity of a Lifetime

While away on the island of Udot for the Junior Class' Christian Community Service Project, we helped the villagers celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. As I have previously talked about in other blog posts, the Chuukese, as well as most Micronesians celebrate with food, singing, and dancing. The people of the village had an enormous feast ready for us, and because we were outsiders we were treated as special guests for the celebration.

Besides the taro, rice, breadfruit, tapioca, and other common Micro dishes, the village served us coconut crab. A rarity not only in Chuuk, but around the world. As one of the students from Yap explained, the coconut crab takes almost 60 years to become a big enough size to eat. He explained that this was most likely the only time, not only here in the FSM, but probably in my lifetime that I will be eating this dish.

As I sat but trying to process what he had said as well as where I was, a thought came to mind. Not only is eating the coconut crab a rare moment in my life, but my presence here is also a rarity. I remember at orientation past JVC'ers told us that there would be many moments in our 2 year experience where we would sit back and think "What in the World?" I think at that moment sitting in a school building sharing the coconut crab with my fellow volunteers I had one of those "moments."

I will only be here for two years. I will never, EVER, get another experience anything like this. I mean I was, and I still am on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a quarter the size of my hometown. I am teaching and working with the future leaders of Micronesia, maybe even a future president (since many have graduated from this school---it is the best school in Micro/Pacific Islands). I have the privileged of experiencing not only one culture, but Mallshallese, Yapese, Ponpheian, Paluan, and Chuukese cultures. I am working with people from Burma, the Phillipeans, Indonesia, Japan, the US, and Australia. I am living my life for two years in ways I have never and will never live again, and it is rare, but I am grateful for every moment of it.

I read in the "In The Field" newsletter, (a newsletter international JV's submit entries to, and are sent out every other month) about our experiences abroad and I would have to agree 100% with one of the articles. It talked about culture and either settling in to it or leaving it, and how no matter what we are just visitors. Though we wear the clothing, try and speak the language, and become culturally sensitive to the environment around us, we still are only visitors. People came here before us and people will be here after us. We are visitors. This is not our home, we have our home, our families, and our way of life to be lived some where else. This is temporary, and it will not last forever, if we are lucky, it will last two years.

There are many struggles day in and day out that are on our plates here at Xavier. The most important thing for me, is that everyday I need to embrace it, for it will not last forever. I need to really take advantage of the here and now, and continue to recognize it as a rare moment. I might not ever have coconut crab again, but at that moment, I know I enjoyed and savored every bite. I can only pray and hope that I can look back at every experience and every moment here and know that I enjoyed it, savored it, and took nothing for granted.


Kinemwae (Peace),
Em





On a side note, please keep all of the staff, students, and benefactors in your prayers. We are really struggling this week financially and with other events that have happened on campus. Kirneso! (Thanks!)

A Day In The Life Of....

When I originally decided to write this, it was to show the everyday struggles that my students go through.The past three days, however have been unlike most days, with trips into town and special visitors. So in order to get the full understanding of the students lives I wanted to make sure to include a couple days.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010
7:00 am: Wake Up and Shower
7:30 am: Walk over and grab some breakfast
8:00 am: Student Sponsored Mass (no assembly)
9:00 am: Chemistry Class, Section 1
10:00 am: Chemistry Class, Section 2
11:00 am-11:45: Lesson Planning
11:50 am: Lunch
1:20: Senior English for College (combined class with all of the seniors today!)
3:30 pm: Some of the Australians arrived for an immersion project
5:00 pm: Girls Depart....We depart with the girls because Caro's parents are here :) and they were taking us to dinner
6: 15 pm: 6 miles later (because of the road) we arrive at the lovely Saramen-Chuuk community apartment
7:00 pm: Delicious dinner at High Tide, special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Burns
9:30 pm: return to Saram
10:00 pm: plan to go to bed....but of course spent the whole night talking with the ladies :)

Thursday, September 30, 2010
5:45 am: Wake up and get ready to go...
6:00 am: get to the girls bus stop
6:30 am: get picked up from the girls bus stop
7:45 am: arrive back at Xavier campus
8:40 am: Morning Assembly
9:00 am: Chemistry, Section 1
10:00 am: Chemistry, Section 2
11:50 am : Lunch
12:30 pm: English, Section 1
1:20 pm: English, Section 2
3:30 pm: Track Practice
5:00 pm: Girls Leave
5:30 pm:  Dinner with the Boys for our Australian guests
7:30 pm: First Study
8: 30 pm: Second Study
9:30 pm: Boys leave our offices if they don't have any questions, some shower
10:30 pm: By this time on most nights is when I head back to my apartment to go to bed.
11:00ish pm: Finally fall asleep (maybe)

Friday, October 1, 2010
7:15 am: wake up, shower, eat breakfast, maybe have time to prepare lessons or check email (if there is power or internet)
8: 40 am: Morning Assembly (today is Palau's Independence Day and Chuukese Constitution Day so there were lots of announcements)
9:00 am: Chemistry, Section 1
10:00 am: Chemistry Section 2
11:00am: English, Section 2
11:50 am: Lunch
12:30 pm: English, Section 1
1:30 pm: Begins my two free periods for the day, in which I am writing this!
3:30 pm: Coach Girls Fitness
4:15 pm: Coach Basketball
5:00 pm: Girls Leave
6:00 pm: Dinner
(no night study on Fridays :) so now begins our relaxation until Sunday, as for us, we will still probably be in bed by 9pm!)


I had a couple reasons for writing this. First, I want people to really understand the drastic differences between the girls and the boys at this school. The girls, I feel, have a much more tough and demanding schedule then the boys have. When we were dropped off on Wednesday, it still was going to take maybe a half an hour to a full hour to get the rest of the girls home. The girls already have to wake up super early to take a bus, that is not in good condition, to ride on rides that you cannot even call roads everyday. Some girls even ride in the back of flat bed tucks. And if it does rain that day, they have to find their own way of keeping dry. There is also a bus that has a consist pattern of not being able to make it up the "Xavier hill," one because of the roads and two because the bus's mechanical condition. The buses are over crowded, over heating, and really, the only true joy in being on that bus comes from the wonderful girls that ride inside. These girls do it day in and day out....everyday for four years! They do not complain, though they know its tough. I just give these girls so much credit!!

Then there are the boys, who wake up before I do, around 6am and go through the motions have 6 classes, hours of homework, fitness, and completely their work until about 10pm. I am just shocked by how hard these kids work! They really do so much, and sometimes do it without electricity, email, hot showers, and all the other luxuries that we are used to having.

Again, I am so impressed by what great students I have. They really have such a long day, but do it day in and day out without complaints! Even after talking to some of the Australian high school boys that came to visit were shocked by how hard these kids worked and how they got up everyday and do it. They really do just have to much drive and determination. They come prepared to my classes and may of them have straight A's. They really bring me so much joy and happiness and I am reminded constantly when I talk to them why I am here and why I signed up. They are wonderful and I am honored and humbled to have met these students.

Other then having a crazy, exciting week, things on the island are great! Thank you everyone for all the support you have been giving me, whether through letters, emails, packages, and especially for all of your thoughts and prayers! It really is wonderful to have a great support system from back home and beyond. Love you all!

Love from Micro!

Ems <3

a 17 year old poet

These are just some of the wonderful poems I have received for homework from my darling, but very creative and funny students:

What Is School Like?
School is like a prison,
we can never leave.
School is like an island,
were all trapped.
School is like pie,
it's good at first until you reach the crust.
School is like a toilet,
it is full of germs.
School is like a salad,
you have to put something on it to make it better.
School is like a stupid cat,
it never dies.
School is like a garbage truck,
it smells, it's big and you can hear it from a mile away.
School is like a baby,
it always needs your attention.
School is like a shark,
it just keeps chasing you.
School is like going to jail,
you never want to go back.


Love Is Not What You Think It Is 
My darling, my lover, my beautiful wife,
marrying you messed up my life.
I see your face when I am dreaming,
that's why I always wake up screaming.
Kind, intelligent, loving and hot,
this describes everything that your not!
Love my be beautiful, love my be bliss,
but I only hooked up with you because I was pissed.
I want to feel your sweet embrace,
but don't take the paper bag off of your face.
My darling you take my breathe away,
what have you stepped in to smell this way?

Let Go and Let God

            Sorry it has been so long since my last entry! Things in Micronesia are going pretty great! I’m really starting to settle in as a teacher, fitness coach, and basketball among other things. My students are wonderful…even at all hours of the day. Though the schedule here is quite strenuous, I think I am also starting to get used to being busy all the time. For those of you who don’t know, St. Xavier is a boarding school in which the girls live at home or with host families on the island and the boys stay in a dormitory here on campus. Our school day starts at 7:45 am and continues with activities and studies until 9:30 pm. It is quite a long day of teaching, coaching, mentoring, and lesson planning. But, again as hard as it is, I am here, I am needed, and I am really having fun with it.

            One of the many challenges I have been facing the past week is missing friends and family from back home. Though it is only two years, I sometimes find myself forgetting that I will have great friends and the best family in the world going back to me. As one friend put it, “home will always be right here waiting for you.” I have been lucky enough to have amazing friends and family in my life! And though it can be lonely here, I am so thankful and gracious for those friends and family who help lift me up and believe in my strength and give me strength through that. They pick up my spirits and make me believe in myself once more. I do not know what I could do without them! I know I am completely blessed to have these people apart of my life. Also lucky enough that they love me so much they send me wonderful emails, letters, and even a package or two!

            I am also further putting my trust in God. Letting my life, my stress, my anxieties all go to him. Tonight Fr. Dave was in charge of porch prayer. (Every Tuesday night the faculty at St. Xavier goes onto the porch before dinner at 6 pm and someone leads us in porch prayer.) The prayer night focused on the slow work of God and waiting for his works to become, not anticipating the works, but waiting and knowing that God will take care of you. But the concluding prayer was:

We thank you, Lord,

For our enthusiasm to get things done

And to achieve results.  

We thank you for the energy of our commitment.

But we ask you, Lord,

In imbue our dedicated hearts

With a spirit of patience and endurance

That corresponds to the gradual way in which your reign is relised among us.

May this patient spirit save us

From restlessness, agitation, and frustration in our work

And yield in us instead the peace of heart

That frees us to see the fruits of your Spirit in our midst.

Another line that stuck out to me was during the reflection was:

Give our Lord the benefit of your believing that his hand is leading you,

And of accepting the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.

           

            I think this really struck home with me because of how much I miss friends and family. But it reminded that God is with me throughout this whole experience and how powerful that really is. So for now, I am going to Let Go and Let God guide me in much of this journey and really pray and put more faith in him.

            Life on the island has really been wonderful, and very blissful. We went to the Oriental Restaurant on the island on Saturday and had a delicious meal. We have also had great and beautiful weather, it has not been below I would say 75 degrees and though it has rained, it has been during the night and really helped to cool things off while were sleeping.

            I also picked my basketball team last week! I have two teams, Black and Red (Xavier colors), with 12 girls on each team. It was a lot of fun and I am really looking forward to working with these girls as well as spending time with them on and off the court. We also had girls orientation this weekend in which the girls and their parents came up to campus on Saturday. We had a wonderful mass, great introductions, and then we broke off into parents and students. The students talked about situations that might occur in host families or in general with the girls’ families and our session was about improvements, changes, and parents recommendations/opinions/feedback. It was really great, especially to be involved from the parental aspect. It sounds like they are going to try and start a PTA/PTO here which would be wonderful not only for the students but for the faculty and administration as well.

            Well that’s all the energy that I have for now to write J I am in my office with some of my students, and like always, it is getting a little loud and silly in here.

Nepong annim! (Good Night!)

Em

We Can Only Be So Prepared

I'm sorry this post is so short, but I thought this moment of my day needed discussed. In orientation I remember learning about how to teach. Stephanie and Trevor, our instructors told us, "we can only teach you so much.....like how to teach a lesson, but not what to do when two dogs walk into your classroom during your lesson and start to fight. That is up to you!"

Well yesterday, a dog walked into my chemistry class in the middle of lecture and pooped in the middle of the floor and walked out.

Expect the Unexpected. :)



Lots of Love from Micro!

Fall in Love, Stay in Love....

During orientation we received a writing from Pedro Arrupe, in the back of our binders. Arrupe wrote: 


Nothing is more practical than finding God,
that is, than falling in love
in a quite absolute, final way.

What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination,
will affect everything.
It will decide what will get you
out of bed in the morning,
what you will do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends,
what you read, who you know,
what breaks your heart,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.

Fall in love; stay in love,
and it will decide everything.


Many things have touched me in my life, but I still want to know what is the driving force behind my life. What am I meant to do? Where do I go from here? What do I do after Micronesia....? With many of these questions pondering in my mind, throughout the last week here, especially this morning in particular, I realized the love I have for Chuuk and for my students at Xavier. Though I have only been teaching a week, I feel so blessed to be apart of these student's lives and happy to be apart of the culture. I also have so much gratitude that God has allowed me to give my very best each and every day, with lots of energy and enthusiasm. Xavier has allowed me to stop focusing so much on the future and really, truly helped me understand the present. Though thoughts may linger once in a while in the back of my mind, I find such a comfort in Xavier and its students. They remind me constantly of keeping my mind in the present and I am very excited to be apart of that.  Who knows if teaching is something that I "love" or could still possibly "fall in love" with. But right now I know it is the best for me and all I can do each and every day is be the best I can for my students. 




Miss and Love You All!
Em 

Settling In

Hello Everyone!

            I hope everyone is doing well since my last update. We have had a couple exciting things happen here in Chuuk, but nothing too exciting. Last week started with a trip with the JVs to Pisiwi Island which is a picnic island, an island were people from Chuuk go on picnics or to swim for the day. To all the islands other then Weno, the one we are on, we have to take a boat to it and back. So sometimes when the waves are chopping, the boat rides can get rough. All the trips we have had have been pretty good thus far. We were able to swim and snorkel! The snorkeling was so beautiful! I saw so many fish and coral reefs….it is really amazing what is at the bottom of the ocean. We also picnicked there with sandwiches, snacks, and watermelon! Me and Caro ended up getting into a watermelon seen spitting fight then core throwing fight with Tyler and Charles! It reminded me so much of home and being at picnics with my family and all the fun we had. 

            We stayed over night at Saram to go to my first ordination mass and saw Father Patrick become ordained into the priesthood. It was such an exciting event. The mass was very beautiful and was my first big Chuukese mass. One of my favorite things about the Chuukese mass here is before the first reading they do a liturgy procession of some sort and sing and do a cultural dance down the aisle as they hold the Bible with candles on either side. It is such a beautiful thing.

            After the mass we went to the ceremony-which include lots of Chuukese food! It was so good, and some of the food we had included CRAB LEGS! They were so delicious. We also got to witness some of the traditions of Chuuk. One tradition they have is during a ceremony of this sort, groups from the community sing and dance-while they are doing this people throw candy and cigarettes at them. They also go around and “shower” them with a spray or two of perfume. It was so cool to watch and really great to see some of the culture. I am really enjoying learning about how different the Chuukese culture is from my own culture.

            On Monday we went with our second year Mike to his host families house. His host father had past away a year ago, and in traditional Chuukese tradition, they had a family get together in remembrance of him. Again, lots of delicious food! But myself, Peaches, and Mike all got SO much food!! We brought it back to Xavier and gave it to some of the workers who work days up here to take home to their families. Mike’s host family is so wonderful and his mom told some great Chuukese stories. We have been lucky enough to have seen her a couple times in the past week and have had great conversations with her.

            The rest of the week was filled with St. Xavier High School Orientation! Wahoo! The staff that I will be working with here is really wonderful and I am looking forward to bouncing off ideas and hanging out with all of them. Everything is so different but I really like how we come together like a family-it really is a great place to work!

            I have also been working on my lesson plans! I know I will have to work a little harder on Chemistry then I will be working on English but I am so excited for what I have planned!

            We took a break on Tuesday and headed down to Saram from a JVC, independent volunteer, and Peace Corp get together. We played dizzy bat, water balloon toss, and birdie on a perch. The night was filled with lots of laughter, lots of spaghetti, and of course Werewolves….a new Chuuk volunteer favorite!

            This weekend we went to another island-Fefen. This is an outer island of Weno (the main island where I live) and it’s also where of my students live. It was much different from Weno in a country versus city way. Weno is much more city-like, more populated, more markets, stores, and has cars. Fefen, like most of the outer islands, doesn’t have cars and is, just less busy. But I really like that we get the best of both worlds up at Xavier. We are kind of in the middle of nowhere since we are up on the top of a hill, but we can easily be in the middle of town within an hour.

            Anyways Sister……has been a nun for 50 years and was celebrating her Golden Jubilee. We went to a mass on Fefen and then to another ceremony after. All the Chuukese parties include food, but this was the most food I have seen at one event in my entire life. There was SO much FOOD! And what I really like about all of the ceremonies we go to, almost everyone gets food. If you show up you get a smaller to go box. Then if you are a guest you get to go inside or to another line and get even more food. Everyone is so generous with what they give to everyone!

            Other then that we are back to orientation and lesson planning this week. School at Xavier starts next Tuesday, and I am really excited for it! I have really began to realize how hard lesson plans are and also how much time all my teachers put into our classes. Along with that I have really realized how much it really takes of a person to be a good teacher-one that really was effective in teaching the whole classroom by not only their lesson, but how they live their in lives and the excitement they bring to the classroom. And I am so thankful I had so many of those in my life. I just hope I can be like that.

            The craziest thing I think though is sometimes I still wake up and wonder where I am-I forget sometimes that I am on this island in the middle of a giant ocean. I also sometimes think-this is crazy, who in their right mind does this? Then I look around and see this wonderful community that surrounds me and Xavier and at Saram and I think that maybe I’m not so crazy. But I am really on this island, I see it when I look out my bedroom window, when I eat my meals, when I go to mass, when I am in my office. I can see the ocean from almost every angle of my day. Yet, though I should feel so small, with the people that are here with me and are at home praying for me, I have never felt more supported. I really miss my friends and family at home, but I know this is where God wants me to be. I know I can’t change the world, but I hopefully can change someone’s world.

Ne Pong! (Good Night!)

Emily

Settling In

Hello Everyone!

            I hope everyone is doing well since my last update. We have had a couple exciting things happen here in Chuuk, but nothing too exciting. Last week started with a trip with the JVs to Pisiwi Island which is a picnic island, an island were people from Chuuk go on picnics or to swim for the day. To all the islands other then Weno, the one we are on, we have to take a boat to it and back. So sometimes when the waves are chopping, the boat rides can get rough. All the trips we have had have been pretty good thus far. We were able to swim and snorkel! The snorkeling was so beautiful! I saw so many fish and coral reefs….it is really amazing what is at the bottom of the ocean. We also picnicked there with sandwiches, snacks, and watermelon! Me and Caro ended up getting into a watermelon seen spitting fight then core throwing fight with Tyler and Charles! It reminded me so much of home and being at picnics with my family and all the fun we had. 

            We stayed over night at Saram to go to my first ordination mass and saw Father Patrick become ordained into the priesthood. It was such an exciting event. The mass was very beautiful and was my first big Chuukese mass. One of my favorite things about the Chuukese mass here is before the first reading they do a liturgy procession of some sort and sing and do a cultural dance down the aisle as they hold the Bible with candles on either side. It is such a beautiful thing.

            After the mass we went to the ceremony-which include lots of Chuukese food! It was so good, and some of the food we had included CRAB LEGS! They were so delicious. We also got to witness some of the traditions of Chuuk. One tradition they have is during a ceremony of this sort, groups from the community sing and dance-while they are doing this people throw candy and cigarettes at them. They also go around and “shower” them with a spray or two of perfume. It was so cool to watch and really great to see some of the culture. I am really enjoying learning about how different the Chuukese culture is from my own culture.

            On Monday we went with our second year Mike to his host families house. His host father had past away a year ago, and in traditional Chuukese tradition, they had a family get together in remembrance of him. Again, lots of delicious food! But myself, Peaches, and Mike all got SO much food!! We brought it back to Xavier and gave it to some of the workers who work days up here to take home to their families. Mike’s host family is so wonderful and his mom told some great Chuukese stories. We have been lucky enough to have seen her a couple times in the past week and have had great conversations with her.

            The rest of the week was filled with St. Xavier High School Orientation! Wahoo! The staff that I will be working with here is really wonderful and I am looking forward to bouncing off ideas and hanging out with all of them. Everything is so different but I really like how we come together like a family-it really is a great place to work!

            I have also been working on my lesson plans! I know I will have to work a little harder on Chemistry then I will be working on English but I am so excited for what I have planned!

            We took a break on Tuesday and headed down to Saram from a JVC, independent volunteer, and Peace Corp get together. We played dizzy bat, water balloon toss, and birdie on a perch. The night was filled with lots of laughter, lots of spaghetti, and of course Werewolves….a new Chuuk volunteer favorite!

            This weekend we went to another island-Fefen. This is an outer island of Weno (the main island where I live) and it’s also where of my students live. It was much different from Weno in a country versus city way. Weno is much more city-like, more populated, more markets, stores, and has cars. Fefen, like most of the outer islands, doesn’t have cars and is, just less busy. But I really like that we get the best of both worlds up at Xavier. We are kind of in the middle of nowhere since we are up on the top of a hill, but we can easily be in the middle of town within an hour.

            Anyways Sister……has been a nun for 50 years and was celebrating her Golden Jubilee. We went to a mass on Fefen and then to another ceremony after. All the Chuukese parties include food, but this was the most food I have seen at one event in my entire life. There was SO much FOOD! And what I really like about all of the ceremonies we go to, almost everyone gets food. If you show up you get a smaller to go box. Then if you are a guest you get to go inside or to another line and get even more food. Everyone is so generous with what they give to everyone!

            Other then that we are back to orientation and lesson planning this week. School at Xavier starts next Tuesday, and I am really excited for it! I have really began to realize how hard lesson plans are and also how much time all my teachers put into our classes. Along with that I have really realized how much it really takes of a person to be a good teacher-one that really was effective in teaching the whole classroom by not only their lesson, but how they live their in lives and the excitement they bring to the classroom. And I am so thankful I had so many of those in my life. I just hope I can be like that.

            The craziest thing I think though is sometimes I still wake up and wonder where I am-I forget sometimes that I am on this island in the middle of a giant ocean. I also sometimes think-this is crazy, who in their right mind does this? Then I look around and see this wonderful community that surrounds me and Xavier and at Saram and I think that maybe I’m not so crazy. But I am really on this island, I see it when I look out my bedroom window, when I eat my meals, when I go to mass, when I am in my office. I can see the ocean from almost every angle of my day. Yet, though I should feel so small, with the people that are here with me and are at home praying for me, I have never felt more supported. I really miss my friends and family at home, but I know this is where God wants me to be. I know I can’t change the world, but I hopefully can change someone’s world.

Ne Pong! (Good Night!)

Emily

Two weeks in Micro...

After about 24 hours of being in the air, airport food, tiny bathrooms, and a sleepover in Hawaii, we have finally arrived in Chuuk, Micronesia. We dropped off Rachael and Molly on the ‘island hopper’ in Ponphei. The ‘island hopper’ is a Continental flight (Continental is the only airline that flies to Micronesia) that left Hawaii and flews to Mujaro, Koasea, Ponphei, and then Micronesia. Totally airtime it took about 12 hours, not including layovers, however, the layovers at the various islands were so amazing-and great introductions to island life. The islands are not only filled with beautiful oceans, but amazing mountains, waterfalls, and palm trees.

When we arrived in Chuuk we were immediately greeted by our second years, Caroline, Jessica, Mike, and Tyler, as well as an FJV who is staying on as an independent, Steph. We thankfully we got all of our luggage and then went to the Saramen Chuuk house. Saramen is another JV community on the island and hopefully we will be sharing many community and spiritually nights with them. When we got to the house they presented us with our first of many coconut’s and fruit salad. It was so good, and since then we have been eating lots of coconuts. Then they took us on the roof to watch our first Chuukese sunset. There are really no words or colors to describe how amazing these sunsets are and the colors that make them up.

We then ate dinner with some of the neighbors who made us a BBQ filled with Chuukese dishes including turkey tail, bread fruit, and rice….lots and lots of rice. The next day we headed up to my new home, St. Xavier Academy, which is described as the ‘country club’ of the JV’s on the island. The view is so wonderful, from the roof you can almost see the water from all views. The whole day we chilled at Xavier to prepare for our hikes the next two days. One cool thing about Xavier is the main building is an old bomb shelter from WWII so its almost indestructible, so no matter what happens, we are pretty much safe from everything.

The second day at Xavier we went to the light house which is on one of the ends of the island. It took about an hour and we saw so much of the island from the top. We also passed many homes and families along the way. During the walk we passed a couple WWII bunkers, which was really cool. WWII sadly really hurt the island in so many ways but the historical things that are still apart of the island really remind you of what happened here.

Another interesting thing about the island is everyone on the island owns all of the land, there isn’t any public or government owned land. Therefore every time we walk through somewhere or go somewhere we have to get the owners permission to cross and walk on their land. According to the second year JVs sometimes they will ask for money since we stick out among the population, but since we are teachers we are usually allowed to walk by for free.

That day we also swam at the Japanese docks for a little bit. The water was so warm but so refreshing after our long walk. After it started raining we started heading back up. We had a picnic planned for the next day on other island but the boat wasn’t working so we stayed and relaxed at Xavier. The Saramen JV’s had been staying with us and they left to go back into town the next day. Though were are only about 6 miles apart it takes about an hour drive because the roads are so bad.

The next couple days we have just been relaxing and learning our schedule at Xavier. We finally found out what classes we are teaching!! I will be teaching CHEMISTRY and SENIOR ENGLIGH/LIT. I am so excited! Though I am not an expert in either fields, I am really looking forward to working with the students, especially the juniors and seniors.

Everything has gone above my expectations, except the language barrier. When researching it seemed as if every website said Chuuk’s first language was English. But only to us and in the classroom will we be speaking English, everyone else speaks in Chuukese, their own native language. So knowing that I am really looking forward to learning Chuukese.

I have also really become really good at ‘bucket flushing.’ That is when we use a normal toilet but when we go to flush we fill up the bucket with water and dump it down the bowl. It can be tricky because if you don’t get enough water or hit the right spot it wont work. I think that is one thing that I have mastered.

Another interesting thing about the island is the time when electricity and internet are available. The island shares power so half the island will have power for 4 hours and they other half will not. Then it will switch. At my work site, sometimes they will have the generator on, but it really depends on who is there to start it. When it switches from generator to island power or vis versa the internet goes out for about 10 mins. I think after about a week I have finally gotten used to the schedule of when I will and wont have power. According to the second years when school starts we should have generator power during classes, but again, much of it is up in the air.

We have also already had a couple spirituality nights. One with just Xavier and about two with Saramen. I am really looking forward to the intentional community that we are building. I can really see this community going really far and sharing so much. We have also had so much fun!! Peaches brought the game Werewolf, in which we have played almost ten times every night we spend with Saramen. We also got to meet some of the Peace Corp boys when they came into town while we were staying at Saramen. They also joined in the festivities of Werewolf. Its really cool to see so many perspectives of life on Chuuk from the second years as well as on the outer islands, with individuals being truly immersed from the Peace Corp.

I know many people have asked me about tsunamis hitting our island. Our island is actually surround by a lagoon which will protect us if anything were to happen.  We also work at St. Xavier, which is the highest point on the island and an old bomb shelter during the war. So no matter what happens to us we are pretty same and out of harms way. So no worries on that front. 

I am so thankful for this experience and for what God has provided me with. I am really looking forward to seeing what these next two years bring me. Please keep all of us here in your prayers as well as pray for those late departure JV’s who are still going through the process of leaving.

Love and Peace from MICRO,

Em

ARRIVED!!!

I have safely arrived in Chuuk, Micronesia, and it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen!! The plane ride was pretty long, but was a lot of fun with the other JVs. It only took about 12 hours in the air the first day and 12 hours from Hawaii to Chuuk.
I have successfully slept through one night, drank out of two coconuts, ate a delicious bbq, and found my room. The community is wonderful and the beauty this island has to offer is bountiful. My room also has an amazing view. Not much time to stay online but, I will update when possible!! Off to do some community bonding :)

Love,
Em

Away at Orientation...

I am writing this in the midst of free time during orientation. I am absolutely LOVIN' it and have met really amazing people and feel blessed to have met. It is also getting me excited not only for teaching in Micronesia but also developing my spirituality and simplicity. Though I do not have a lot of time right now I hope to update everyone once more before we fly out. As I understand it the electricity as well as internet is intermittent. 


Lots of Love, 
Emily 


While I am away for the next two years you can send mail here:

Xavier High School
ATTN: Emily Ferron
Jesuit Volunteers International
PO Box 220
Chuuk, FM 96942

Email me at:
eferronfsm10@gmail.com

Facebook:
Emily Ferron

And skype me at:
emily.ferron