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