Monday, August 24, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Summer in Pohnpei
I have dropped the ball big time on this blogging business. I apologize to those of you who may follow this blog. I've perfected the art of "snail mailing" here, but am slacking in the computer area. Believe it or not I am better with blogs than the average PCV in Micronesia. :)
Life on an island has been good to me this summer. I have learned a lot during my last few months of service and am really excited for my upcoming year in the Peace Corps.
I finished off the school year in May teaching Writing, Reading, Grammar, Science, and Spelling. During the last month of school, we took a field trip to an outer island of Pohnpei to grill out, swim, and enjoy life outside of the classroom. I ended up getting sunburned and taking an accidental nap under the trees for two hours...apparently Americans can't handle hours in the tropical sun...who knew??
I am pleased to note that there ARE beaches on Pohnpei, but you just have to travel to smaller outer islands to find them. I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed celebrating the end of the school year with my students even though my skin was extremely damaged and painful.
In June, I helped with a summer camp at Nihco Marine Park for eighth grade girls in Pohnpei. Six female volunteers from Pohnpei worked at this camp and there were over 50 girls to attend camp from seven elementary schools in Pohnpei. Camp was a big hit and I had a lot of fun getting to know the eighth grade girls outside of school. Several NGO's throughout Pohnpei came to talk to the girls about the environment, culture, local food, and health issues on Pohnpei.
We also had arts and crafts projects, a talent show, and games throughout the week. As an artist, I have been trying to find ways to incorporate the arts into my classroom and community development projects. My favorite medium to work with as a college student was printmaking and I've been trying to find materials in Pohnpei to be able to teach printmaking to my students. Resources are limited, but we were able to gather local materials this summer to teach a small class on printmaking during summer camp. We experimented with "banana printmaking" this summer and got excellent results. The girls used parts of banana trees to create designs with paint on paper. The beautiful patterns of the banana stalks make interesting designs and the girls were extremely creative with the patterns and shapes that they made with their "local prints".
The girls learned new songs, such as "LET ME SEE YOUR FUNKY CHICKEN", but I think I was WAY more amused with the camp songs than any of the girls. Some of them were too shy to sing the song themselves, but enjoyed watching all the PCV's make fools out of themselves. All ended well with girl's camp. The last night a dance party broke out and we were up until 1:00 in the morning dancing to country, salsa, and rock. An interesting mix of music, but it made a good "Last Night in the Wilderness Party". It was hard to be the responsible one and make all the girls go to bed when I myself was having too much fun.
After girls camp I got a few days off to relax at my site and spend time with my family. I went fishing with my brother Dihno, my sister Pwonai, and another family from my village. We left at around 7:00 in the morning and spent the whole day out on the ocean. I got fried, but had a lot of fun doing it. This time we went fishing with a net and caught over 200 fish. It was amusing watching my brother and his friends fish. First of all, they can still chew bettle nut while snorkling and they spit red water out of their snorkle after diving. Secondly, I'm not sure they are human because they can stay underwater for long periods of time without breathing.
They start out by setting up a long net under water. During this time, I normally swim around and try to look important and helpful. Then some people will get back into the boat while others stay swimming in the water. The people in the boat will drive the boat towards the net while smacking the water with sticks and pounding the sides of the boat. (I'm pretty good at this part.) While the people in the boat swim fast towards the net and smack their hands on the top of the surface. (This "style" of swimming looks the same as my butterfly so I am pretty good at this too!!)
The fish will all swim fast into the net and catch themselves in it. Once the fish are caught people can dive into the water and take the fish from the nets.
After about nine hours of fishing I was ready to collapse into bed and fall asleep, but apparently our day was not finished. Whenever someone buys a new fishing boat or fishing net in Pohnpei people in the community will have a "Kahpw Laid" ("New Fish"). After the family has gone fishing, the community will get together to sukesuk (pound sakau) and distribute the fish to people in the village with high titles. After all that work I didn't even get to eat fresh fish!! Ha, I was disappointed, but luckily the next day I had sashimi waiting for me at lunch!
Not long after camp I found out my sister and her husband Jon had bought a plane ticket to come visit me in Micronesia!! I am a lucky lady. Those of us who have experienced the "island hopper" plane ride know that it is not for the faint of heart! My family in Enipein spent the week before they came teaching me how to build an uhmw (local oven made of hot stones) and prepare Pohnpeian foods so I could impress Jon and Megan when they came! Ha. The first time we made an uhmw, I accidently fell asleep three hours into it and my brother has called me "marsuwed" (a little liar) ever since. After about three tries I have learned the art of oven making, but don't think I could replicate the process once I get back into the US.
The local foods of Pohnpei are really good, but also take a lot of work to make. To make an uhmw people will first place several small stones into a large garbage can and create a fire over the rocks. After the rocks are extremely hot, they will remove the garbage can and place the food on top of the uhmw. Then they take banana leaves to cover the rocks and food and trap the heat inside of the oven. It sounds like a fairly easy job, but in a tropical climate the heat can be to intense for a Wisconsin girl.
I had a lot of fun with Jon and Megan here. It was great for people from home to see that 1. Yes, Micronesia does actually exist and 2. Yes, I am actually working and not just on vacation.
We spent the first two nights at the village where we relaxed and tried to hide cockroaches from Jon. It was nice to have a vacation after months of school and work. After two days in Pohnpei, we headed to Enipein to go fishing and spend some time with my family. We spent the first night on a small man made island called "bikini island". I live in the mountains of Kitti and it is a long drive by boat through the mangroves before people can get out to the open ocean. Most fisherman will stay on their boats overnight or spend the night on an outer island in order to get in enough fishing time before they go back to the main island. Meg and Jon really enjoyed fishing and eating fresh sashimi right off the bone of the fish! For those of you who still think I am on a Sandals vacation, Meg and Jon may be able to vouch that that is not the case. In order to get to the benjo (outhouse) on this island people have to walk across a coral path that is covered with about a foot of water at high tide. Yikes. After sakau that is not an easy task and our friend, Ohn ,ended up falling into the ocean on his way to the bathroom.
After a few days in Enipein, we headed to Kolonia to meet up with the other PCV's and spend a week together in town. I volunteered at a reading camp during this time that lasted two weeks. Myself and four other volunteers worked with over 75 children grades 1-8 at the library in town. I worked with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and had around 30 students during this two week camp. We taught students about books and how to use the dewey decimal system at the library. We also incorporated songs, games and arts and crafts projects into the camp. During this week Michael Jackson passed away and I was suprised that my students were singing "Thriller" and "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough". In fact, I think their "Michael Jackson knowledge" exceeded my own. Amazing.
After camp, I made the last minute decision to take a cargo ship to the outer islands of Pohnpei with other PCV's. We visited the islands of Kapingamarangi, Nukuoro and Sapwuahfik. The boat was supposed to leave on Tuesday, but when Tuesday arrived we were informed that "the boat would leave tomorrow...or after". On Wednesday morning, we were happy to hear that the boat was indeed leaving :) In the afternoon, we boarded "The Voyager" and made our cozy home under a tarp on the deck of the ship. People on the ship were all really friendly and I quickly made a new friend named Tori. Tori is a man from Kapinga and at every island he told me that I wasn't allowed to get off the boat and look at the islands because he could tell by my eyes that I was "trouble". Luckily, Tori wasn't in charge of who got on or off the boats and I did get to visit all of the islands.
The first island that we stopped on was Sapwuahfik. We visited with a fellow PCV, Nikki, and her family and spent the afternoon snorkling and swimming. I was suprised to find that people on Sapwauhfik speak a language very similar to Pohnpeian and I understood alot of what her family and people on the island had to say.
The next island, Nukuoro, was probably my favorite island that we visited. Nukuoro is an outer island of Pohnpei, but Nukuoron's are actually from a Polynesian background. The language and culture are very different from Pohnpei, but I found that many people here could speak English very well. Another PCV and I spent the morning walking around the island and looking at the school. We learned how to say hello, beautiful and thankyou in the local language, but apparently we were pronouncing "hello" wrong and were actually walking around telling people to bury us. I'm glad that they didn't listen to what we were saying.
The last island that we visited was Kapingamarangi. Kapingamarangi is also of Polynesian descent and the island is the farthest south in Micronesia. We spent the morning swimming, walking from island to island at low tide, and enjoying the children of Kapingamarangi. I spent some of the afternoon playing frisbee with some of the children and trying to encourage the children to paint with me. One little boy did end up painting and the other children thought it was hilarious. I couldn't understand anything they were saying, but had alot of fun with them. I hope they weren't laughing at me.
We spent the night on Kapinga and walked to church with our friend Tori at night to attend mass. A family dressed us all in local dresses and shirts. Maybe they thought we would "blend in" more in local attire...but it is difficult for six Americans on a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to blend in. After we were fed with local foods and coconuts we walked back through the village and spent the night in hammocks and mats under the stars. It was a great experience until I woke up with a crab crawling across my face...I prefer an alarm clock! Ha.
The outer islands were amazing and beautiful. Many of the islands cannot have PCV volunteers because they do not have airstrips and are so far from the main island of Pohnpei. I hope that they get an airstrip soon, because Kapinga and Nukuoro would both like to have a volunteer and I think that a PCV would have a great experience at one of these islands.
The boat ride back was interesting and also exhausting! I got sick on the way back and spent almost a whole day sleeping. I think some of the people on the boat were beginning to think maybe they left me on one of the islands, because I spent hours tucked away in our tarp. On the boat ride back the boat began to fill with high school kids (returning to Pohnpei for the school year), pigs and chickens. Hammocks were everywhere and people slept on the deck of the ship. It took a long time to load up the cargo ship at each island because small boats needed to take people from the islands to the cargo ship. Most of the islands are surrounded by coral reefs and it is impossible for the cargo ship to go near the islands. The trip was a great experience, but I was also relieved to have a good shower, meal and bed when I returned to Pohnpei.
My parents and Bronwyn have been visiting this week and it has been so great to see them! (You will all have to thank my mom because she was the one that encouraged me to upload my blog!)The first day they were here we went to the Kapingamarangi village in Kolonia and got to see the locals working on creating traditional wood carvings and jewelry. The necklaces are commonly carved from ivory nuts and many of the carvings are made from mangrove trees or trees from the outer islands. We spent Saturday visiting with my family in Kitti and Madelonihmw and also snorkled at Black Coral and Manta Road. On Thursday, we went to see Nan Madol (traditional ruins in Pohnpei) and got to kayak around all of the ruins. It was a really neat experience for me and I had no idea that Nan Madol was so large!! I have had a lot of great experiences with them, but will have to save that for another blog because it is 11:30 at night and I have school tomorrow!
This year I will be teaching 7th and 8th grade at Awok Elementary School. I have moved to the other side of the island and will also be working on several projects in Kolonia this year. Mainly, I will be working on a book project to provide schools in Micronesia with resources relevant to the students and also in the local languages. I have just finished working with another volunteer to create four books for ECE students throughout Micronesia in four different languages. The books will focus on colors, reading, counting, and shapes. I illustrated three of the books and will be spending the next year helping distribute the books to schools in Pohnpei and helping ECE teachers incorporate them into their classroom. I am really excited for this project and also excited to create more books for older grades.
You can check out the books at: www.islandresearch.org/index.html
(If the books are not on the website at least you can learn more about the group that is creating these books and their work in Micronesia!!)
Well I hope I didn't put you all to sleep with this blog! I myself need to get to sleep, or I am going to be a crabby teacher with some out of control students tomorrow!! I miss you all and would love to hear from you. If you'd like to write email me at mutchler.kath@yahoo.com . It's always good to hear from home.
Miss you all!!
Life on an island has been good to me this summer. I have learned a lot during my last few months of service and am really excited for my upcoming year in the Peace Corps.
I finished off the school year in May teaching Writing, Reading, Grammar, Science, and Spelling. During the last month of school, we took a field trip to an outer island of Pohnpei to grill out, swim, and enjoy life outside of the classroom. I ended up getting sunburned and taking an accidental nap under the trees for two hours...apparently Americans can't handle hours in the tropical sun...who knew??
I am pleased to note that there ARE beaches on Pohnpei, but you just have to travel to smaller outer islands to find them. I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed celebrating the end of the school year with my students even though my skin was extremely damaged and painful.
In June, I helped with a summer camp at Nihco Marine Park for eighth grade girls in Pohnpei. Six female volunteers from Pohnpei worked at this camp and there were over 50 girls to attend camp from seven elementary schools in Pohnpei. Camp was a big hit and I had a lot of fun getting to know the eighth grade girls outside of school. Several NGO's throughout Pohnpei came to talk to the girls about the environment, culture, local food, and health issues on Pohnpei.
We also had arts and crafts projects, a talent show, and games throughout the week. As an artist, I have been trying to find ways to incorporate the arts into my classroom and community development projects. My favorite medium to work with as a college student was printmaking and I've been trying to find materials in Pohnpei to be able to teach printmaking to my students. Resources are limited, but we were able to gather local materials this summer to teach a small class on printmaking during summer camp. We experimented with "banana printmaking" this summer and got excellent results. The girls used parts of banana trees to create designs with paint on paper. The beautiful patterns of the banana stalks make interesting designs and the girls were extremely creative with the patterns and shapes that they made with their "local prints".
The girls learned new songs, such as "LET ME SEE YOUR FUNKY CHICKEN", but I think I was WAY more amused with the camp songs than any of the girls. Some of them were too shy to sing the song themselves, but enjoyed watching all the PCV's make fools out of themselves. All ended well with girl's camp. The last night a dance party broke out and we were up until 1:00 in the morning dancing to country, salsa, and rock. An interesting mix of music, but it made a good "Last Night in the Wilderness Party". It was hard to be the responsible one and make all the girls go to bed when I myself was having too much fun.
After girls camp I got a few days off to relax at my site and spend time with my family. I went fishing with my brother Dihno, my sister Pwonai, and another family from my village. We left at around 7:00 in the morning and spent the whole day out on the ocean. I got fried, but had a lot of fun doing it. This time we went fishing with a net and caught over 200 fish. It was amusing watching my brother and his friends fish. First of all, they can still chew bettle nut while snorkling and they spit red water out of their snorkle after diving. Secondly, I'm not sure they are human because they can stay underwater for long periods of time without breathing.
They start out by setting up a long net under water. During this time, I normally swim around and try to look important and helpful. Then some people will get back into the boat while others stay swimming in the water. The people in the boat will drive the boat towards the net while smacking the water with sticks and pounding the sides of the boat. (I'm pretty good at this part.) While the people in the boat swim fast towards the net and smack their hands on the top of the surface. (This "style" of swimming looks the same as my butterfly so I am pretty good at this too!!)
The fish will all swim fast into the net and catch themselves in it. Once the fish are caught people can dive into the water and take the fish from the nets.
After about nine hours of fishing I was ready to collapse into bed and fall asleep, but apparently our day was not finished. Whenever someone buys a new fishing boat or fishing net in Pohnpei people in the community will have a "Kahpw Laid" ("New Fish"). After the family has gone fishing, the community will get together to sukesuk (pound sakau) and distribute the fish to people in the village with high titles. After all that work I didn't even get to eat fresh fish!! Ha, I was disappointed, but luckily the next day I had sashimi waiting for me at lunch!
Not long after camp I found out my sister and her husband Jon had bought a plane ticket to come visit me in Micronesia!! I am a lucky lady. Those of us who have experienced the "island hopper" plane ride know that it is not for the faint of heart! My family in Enipein spent the week before they came teaching me how to build an uhmw (local oven made of hot stones) and prepare Pohnpeian foods so I could impress Jon and Megan when they came! Ha. The first time we made an uhmw, I accidently fell asleep three hours into it and my brother has called me "marsuwed" (a little liar) ever since. After about three tries I have learned the art of oven making, but don't think I could replicate the process once I get back into the US.
The local foods of Pohnpei are really good, but also take a lot of work to make. To make an uhmw people will first place several small stones into a large garbage can and create a fire over the rocks. After the rocks are extremely hot, they will remove the garbage can and place the food on top of the uhmw. Then they take banana leaves to cover the rocks and food and trap the heat inside of the oven. It sounds like a fairly easy job, but in a tropical climate the heat can be to intense for a Wisconsin girl.
I had a lot of fun with Jon and Megan here. It was great for people from home to see that 1. Yes, Micronesia does actually exist and 2. Yes, I am actually working and not just on vacation.
We spent the first two nights at the village where we relaxed and tried to hide cockroaches from Jon. It was nice to have a vacation after months of school and work. After two days in Pohnpei, we headed to Enipein to go fishing and spend some time with my family. We spent the first night on a small man made island called "bikini island". I live in the mountains of Kitti and it is a long drive by boat through the mangroves before people can get out to the open ocean. Most fisherman will stay on their boats overnight or spend the night on an outer island in order to get in enough fishing time before they go back to the main island. Meg and Jon really enjoyed fishing and eating fresh sashimi right off the bone of the fish! For those of you who still think I am on a Sandals vacation, Meg and Jon may be able to vouch that that is not the case. In order to get to the benjo (outhouse) on this island people have to walk across a coral path that is covered with about a foot of water at high tide. Yikes. After sakau that is not an easy task and our friend, Ohn ,ended up falling into the ocean on his way to the bathroom.
After a few days in Enipein, we headed to Kolonia to meet up with the other PCV's and spend a week together in town. I volunteered at a reading camp during this time that lasted two weeks. Myself and four other volunteers worked with over 75 children grades 1-8 at the library in town. I worked with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and had around 30 students during this two week camp. We taught students about books and how to use the dewey decimal system at the library. We also incorporated songs, games and arts and crafts projects into the camp. During this week Michael Jackson passed away and I was suprised that my students were singing "Thriller" and "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough". In fact, I think their "Michael Jackson knowledge" exceeded my own. Amazing.
After camp, I made the last minute decision to take a cargo ship to the outer islands of Pohnpei with other PCV's. We visited the islands of Kapingamarangi, Nukuoro and Sapwuahfik. The boat was supposed to leave on Tuesday, but when Tuesday arrived we were informed that "the boat would leave tomorrow...or after". On Wednesday morning, we were happy to hear that the boat was indeed leaving :) In the afternoon, we boarded "The Voyager" and made our cozy home under a tarp on the deck of the ship. People on the ship were all really friendly and I quickly made a new friend named Tori. Tori is a man from Kapinga and at every island he told me that I wasn't allowed to get off the boat and look at the islands because he could tell by my eyes that I was "trouble". Luckily, Tori wasn't in charge of who got on or off the boats and I did get to visit all of the islands.
The first island that we stopped on was Sapwuahfik. We visited with a fellow PCV, Nikki, and her family and spent the afternoon snorkling and swimming. I was suprised to find that people on Sapwauhfik speak a language very similar to Pohnpeian and I understood alot of what her family and people on the island had to say.
The next island, Nukuoro, was probably my favorite island that we visited. Nukuoro is an outer island of Pohnpei, but Nukuoron's are actually from a Polynesian background. The language and culture are very different from Pohnpei, but I found that many people here could speak English very well. Another PCV and I spent the morning walking around the island and looking at the school. We learned how to say hello, beautiful and thankyou in the local language, but apparently we were pronouncing "hello" wrong and were actually walking around telling people to bury us. I'm glad that they didn't listen to what we were saying.
The last island that we visited was Kapingamarangi. Kapingamarangi is also of Polynesian descent and the island is the farthest south in Micronesia. We spent the morning swimming, walking from island to island at low tide, and enjoying the children of Kapingamarangi. I spent some of the afternoon playing frisbee with some of the children and trying to encourage the children to paint with me. One little boy did end up painting and the other children thought it was hilarious. I couldn't understand anything they were saying, but had alot of fun with them. I hope they weren't laughing at me.
We spent the night on Kapinga and walked to church with our friend Tori at night to attend mass. A family dressed us all in local dresses and shirts. Maybe they thought we would "blend in" more in local attire...but it is difficult for six Americans on a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to blend in. After we were fed with local foods and coconuts we walked back through the village and spent the night in hammocks and mats under the stars. It was a great experience until I woke up with a crab crawling across my face...I prefer an alarm clock! Ha.
The outer islands were amazing and beautiful. Many of the islands cannot have PCV volunteers because they do not have airstrips and are so far from the main island of Pohnpei. I hope that they get an airstrip soon, because Kapinga and Nukuoro would both like to have a volunteer and I think that a PCV would have a great experience at one of these islands.
The boat ride back was interesting and also exhausting! I got sick on the way back and spent almost a whole day sleeping. I think some of the people on the boat were beginning to think maybe they left me on one of the islands, because I spent hours tucked away in our tarp. On the boat ride back the boat began to fill with high school kids (returning to Pohnpei for the school year), pigs and chickens. Hammocks were everywhere and people slept on the deck of the ship. It took a long time to load up the cargo ship at each island because small boats needed to take people from the islands to the cargo ship. Most of the islands are surrounded by coral reefs and it is impossible for the cargo ship to go near the islands. The trip was a great experience, but I was also relieved to have a good shower, meal and bed when I returned to Pohnpei.
My parents and Bronwyn have been visiting this week and it has been so great to see them! (You will all have to thank my mom because she was the one that encouraged me to upload my blog!)The first day they were here we went to the Kapingamarangi village in Kolonia and got to see the locals working on creating traditional wood carvings and jewelry. The necklaces are commonly carved from ivory nuts and many of the carvings are made from mangrove trees or trees from the outer islands. We spent Saturday visiting with my family in Kitti and Madelonihmw and also snorkled at Black Coral and Manta Road. On Thursday, we went to see Nan Madol (traditional ruins in Pohnpei) and got to kayak around all of the ruins. It was a really neat experience for me and I had no idea that Nan Madol was so large!! I have had a lot of great experiences with them, but will have to save that for another blog because it is 11:30 at night and I have school tomorrow!
This year I will be teaching 7th and 8th grade at Awok Elementary School. I have moved to the other side of the island and will also be working on several projects in Kolonia this year. Mainly, I will be working on a book project to provide schools in Micronesia with resources relevant to the students and also in the local languages. I have just finished working with another volunteer to create four books for ECE students throughout Micronesia in four different languages. The books will focus on colors, reading, counting, and shapes. I illustrated three of the books and will be spending the next year helping distribute the books to schools in Pohnpei and helping ECE teachers incorporate them into their classroom. I am really excited for this project and also excited to create more books for older grades.
You can check out the books at: www.islandresearch.org/index.html
(If the books are not on the website at least you can learn more about the group that is creating these books and their work in Micronesia!!)
Well I hope I didn't put you all to sleep with this blog! I myself need to get to sleep, or I am going to be a crabby teacher with some out of control students tomorrow!! I miss you all and would love to hear from you. If you'd like to write email me at mutchler.kath@yahoo.com . It's always good to hear from home.
Miss you all!!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
April
Spring Break. I've successfully avoided all sakau markets this week and therefore avoided all stomach dilemas that go along with it. I've just finished a week of no students, no school, and no alarm clocks. It has been wonderful.
I broke my watch on the first day of spring break spear fishing and have been watchless for about a week now. (I break pretty much everything I own here and think it is probably best that I don't own any technological devices from now on.) I'd like to say that I enjoyed forgetting about the concept of time, but I have not yet shaken my reliance on a clock (In some ways I will always be a "Menwie"-"American"). I spent today in Kolonia looking for a watch and was unsuccessful. All watches here are around $100 (Which is probably why no one owns one). So, I will be writing my mother once again for help and will ask for a watch. Other PCVs have Amazon.com...I have Sherry Mutchler.
Last Friday, my students had a track meet in Kolonia so I came into town to watch them run. It was so hot and I couldn't imagine running in that heat. My students also ran barefoot and I think that is amazing, because whenever I try to run barefoot I come home with huge blisters that make it impossible to walk pain-free for weeks. My family needs to constantly remind me that I am not Pohnpeian and there are just some things I just shouldn't do.
On Saturday, I went spearfishing with a volunteer, Nick, from Kipar and his students. We left around 3:00 to make the two hour hike to Pedieu to meet up with Nick's student, Pisau. We went out in a canoe around 5:00 and stayed out until 4:00 in the morning. The day before I bought a pair of goggles in Kolonia for $10 (bad choice...) which ended up breaking about two hours into fishing. Fishing at night is way easier than fishing during the day because the fish are sleeping and not swimming about. I ended up spearing two fish (Mwah sang sohte...better than nothing). My fish wouldn't exactly feed a family, or me, or even a 4 year old for a day, but I was excited. My friend, Nick, speared about three fish and his friend Pisau speared around thirty. Ahh, It's a good thing I have a family to feed me here. Once my goggles broke (probably around 9:00) I ended up sitting in the canoe for the next 7 hours while Pasau pulled me around. He didn't trust me paddling the canoe in the ocean so he tied a string to his waist from the canoe, so he could pull me along in the boat. (This reminded me of how my parents used to put a leash on me when I was little so I couldn't get lost. Same concept...more or less.) Around 3:00 am it started raining and we hid under the mangroves to avoid getting wet. I was exhausted by the time we were finished and ready for bed. I ended up sleeping almost all day Sunday.
On Tuesday, I went to a Nahlap (a picnic island) with other Peace Corps Volunteer. We stayed at Nahlap for two nights. Tuesday, I spent most of the day spearfishing (or at least attempting to). I ended up tying a line across my waist to hold on to all the fish I had caught (Didn't really need to talley them up. I only caught two.) It made me nervous, because locals have told me sharks will probably not attack you...unless you have fish with you. So, basically I was swimming shark bait (ho-ha-ha). After about three hours of fishing, a Pohnpeian man ended up giving me three of his fish, because he felt sorry for me. I ended up getting sick again from spending so much time out on the ocean and once again my family had to tell me there are some things that I probably just shouldn't do. I have also been told several times by my brother that I should not go spear fishing because it is "men's work" and not "women's work". This might be true, but then they shouldn't have let me use a spear gun, because now I am addicted. I love it! Once I became sick, I ended up spending all day sleeping on the hammock and reading out in the sun (Not a bad way to spend a spring break).
Yesterday was Good Friday. Easter week is a week long celebration for Pohnpeians and some families go to church every day during Easter week. Yesterday, church started around 1:00. I crawled into the back of the pick up truck with my family (I have perfected the "Pohnpeian art" of climbing into trucks with skirts on) By the time we got to church we had 24 people in the truck. I think if the truck had a weight limit sticker on it we would have definately exceeded the limit. Sometimes it amazes me that there are not more car accidents in Pohnpei. When we got to church we found that it was empty. We continued driving and soon came upon a large group of people walking down the road following a cross. My brother pulled over the truck and we all jumped out to follow the parade of church-goers. It was my first church experience outside of the church and I really enjoyed it. Although I could not understand what was exactly being said, I found myself (for the first time in my existence) trying to listen to every word that was being said. We all walked down the road and sang songs in Pohnpeian. Things are very symbolic and although I cannot always understand what is being said I understand what is going on. Our walk down the road was symbolic of Jesus' walk with the cross before his crucifixion. Most holidays I sit through church anxiously waiting for it to end so we can get to the "good stuff" (presents, food, family time), but we walked for around 2 hours and I enjoyed every minute of it. People were either silent, or singing and it gave me time to think and reflect. After our walk, we all crowded into the church for another hour of service. During this time, however, I felt as though I was going to pass out from heat exhaustion and kneeling. But, I lived.
For now, I'm going to take a break from coconut tree climbing and spear fishing until my legs are all patched back up. My family has been telling me I need to wear pants because my legs are pretty ugly (so I think it is about time). Monday I'm back to school. Only six more weeks until summer. I'm still working with other volunteers to get things together for "Camp Glow" (a girls camp) this summer. Trying to choreograph a "Thriller" dance for the talent show, but I'm not sure the girls here will quite understand it. I've debated switching it up with "Dancing Queen" or any "Mama Mia" song that will surely have them dancing. Actually, I haven't started planning anything, but I have an excellent vision in my head.
I broke my watch on the first day of spring break spear fishing and have been watchless for about a week now. (I break pretty much everything I own here and think it is probably best that I don't own any technological devices from now on.) I'd like to say that I enjoyed forgetting about the concept of time, but I have not yet shaken my reliance on a clock (In some ways I will always be a "Menwie"-"American"). I spent today in Kolonia looking for a watch and was unsuccessful. All watches here are around $100 (Which is probably why no one owns one). So, I will be writing my mother once again for help and will ask for a watch. Other PCVs have Amazon.com...I have Sherry Mutchler.
Last Friday, my students had a track meet in Kolonia so I came into town to watch them run. It was so hot and I couldn't imagine running in that heat. My students also ran barefoot and I think that is amazing, because whenever I try to run barefoot I come home with huge blisters that make it impossible to walk pain-free for weeks. My family needs to constantly remind me that I am not Pohnpeian and there are just some things I just shouldn't do.
On Saturday, I went spearfishing with a volunteer, Nick, from Kipar and his students. We left around 3:00 to make the two hour hike to Pedieu to meet up with Nick's student, Pisau. We went out in a canoe around 5:00 and stayed out until 4:00 in the morning. The day before I bought a pair of goggles in Kolonia for $10 (bad choice...) which ended up breaking about two hours into fishing. Fishing at night is way easier than fishing during the day because the fish are sleeping and not swimming about. I ended up spearing two fish (Mwah sang sohte...better than nothing). My fish wouldn't exactly feed a family, or me, or even a 4 year old for a day, but I was excited. My friend, Nick, speared about three fish and his friend Pisau speared around thirty. Ahh, It's a good thing I have a family to feed me here. Once my goggles broke (probably around 9:00) I ended up sitting in the canoe for the next 7 hours while Pasau pulled me around. He didn't trust me paddling the canoe in the ocean so he tied a string to his waist from the canoe, so he could pull me along in the boat. (This reminded me of how my parents used to put a leash on me when I was little so I couldn't get lost. Same concept...more or less.) Around 3:00 am it started raining and we hid under the mangroves to avoid getting wet. I was exhausted by the time we were finished and ready for bed. I ended up sleeping almost all day Sunday.
On Tuesday, I went to a Nahlap (a picnic island) with other Peace Corps Volunteer. We stayed at Nahlap for two nights. Tuesday, I spent most of the day spearfishing (or at least attempting to). I ended up tying a line across my waist to hold on to all the fish I had caught (Didn't really need to talley them up. I only caught two.) It made me nervous, because locals have told me sharks will probably not attack you...unless you have fish with you. So, basically I was swimming shark bait (ho-ha-ha). After about three hours of fishing, a Pohnpeian man ended up giving me three of his fish, because he felt sorry for me. I ended up getting sick again from spending so much time out on the ocean and once again my family had to tell me there are some things that I probably just shouldn't do. I have also been told several times by my brother that I should not go spear fishing because it is "men's work" and not "women's work". This might be true, but then they shouldn't have let me use a spear gun, because now I am addicted. I love it! Once I became sick, I ended up spending all day sleeping on the hammock and reading out in the sun (Not a bad way to spend a spring break).
Yesterday was Good Friday. Easter week is a week long celebration for Pohnpeians and some families go to church every day during Easter week. Yesterday, church started around 1:00. I crawled into the back of the pick up truck with my family (I have perfected the "Pohnpeian art" of climbing into trucks with skirts on) By the time we got to church we had 24 people in the truck. I think if the truck had a weight limit sticker on it we would have definately exceeded the limit. Sometimes it amazes me that there are not more car accidents in Pohnpei. When we got to church we found that it was empty. We continued driving and soon came upon a large group of people walking down the road following a cross. My brother pulled over the truck and we all jumped out to follow the parade of church-goers. It was my first church experience outside of the church and I really enjoyed it. Although I could not understand what was exactly being said, I found myself (for the first time in my existence) trying to listen to every word that was being said. We all walked down the road and sang songs in Pohnpeian. Things are very symbolic and although I cannot always understand what is being said I understand what is going on. Our walk down the road was symbolic of Jesus' walk with the cross before his crucifixion. Most holidays I sit through church anxiously waiting for it to end so we can get to the "good stuff" (presents, food, family time), but we walked for around 2 hours and I enjoyed every minute of it. People were either silent, or singing and it gave me time to think and reflect. After our walk, we all crowded into the church for another hour of service. During this time, however, I felt as though I was going to pass out from heat exhaustion and kneeling. But, I lived.
For now, I'm going to take a break from coconut tree climbing and spear fishing until my legs are all patched back up. My family has been telling me I need to wear pants because my legs are pretty ugly (so I think it is about time). Monday I'm back to school. Only six more weeks until summer. I'm still working with other volunteers to get things together for "Camp Glow" (a girls camp) this summer. Trying to choreograph a "Thriller" dance for the talent show, but I'm not sure the girls here will quite understand it. I've debated switching it up with "Dancing Queen" or any "Mama Mia" song that will surely have them dancing. Actually, I haven't started planning anything, but I have an excellent vision in my head.
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