Re-O/Dis-O: Pisar

Most millionaires pay thousands of dollars to rent private islands, but here in the FSM you can do it for something like $10 a day. Once a year all of the JVs in the FSM get together for a week known as Re-O/Dis-O, a retreat for first and second years to relax, regroup, and reflect. We, the Pohnpei JVs, flew to Chuuk and combined forces with the 8 JVs there. I hadn't seen the other first year volunteers since orientation in July, so to say I was excited to hug Annie, Ian, Jason, Mel, and Mary was an understatement. We stayed on the main island of Chuuk, Weno, for a night before taking a bumpy, laughter-filled boat ride to the edge of the Chuuk Lagoon. Our final destination was a teeny tiny island called Pisar, a little slice of heaven in the middle of the North Pacific.

This is Pisar, where hammocks and hermit crabs abound.

A picture of Pisar from the water

Hammocks, hammocks, and more hammocks

Twelve Jesuit Volunteers and one Program Coordinator took a week to regroup. Under the shade of palm trees we reflected and shared, had moments of quiet solitude and moments of great community. Getting 12 young teachers together after 7 months apart (or for the second years a whole year apart) means there are a lot of funny student stories, culture stories, and community stories to catch up on. 

Living in another country, especially a developing one (in an entirely different geographic area of the world than you've ever lived before) is about as wild as it can get. We're constantly on the go teaching and helping our staff and schools in extra ways, so taking a week of personal time was a real treat. We had a few retreat sessions each day and time to relax, read, play cards, snorkel, sit in hammocks, or spend your time however you pleased. You can wade through the water to one of the near-by islands, walk to the edge of the reef and watch the waves break, or bask in the white sand and perfectly clear water.

Community time is always better when a hammock is involved!

Retreat session

Looking out at neighboring islands

The sunsets were breathtaking and the company couldn't have been better. On our last night, there were a few moments where the second years honored the first years and the first years celebrated the second years. Our elaborate plan involved coconuts (which we husked ourselves), traditional clothing made of palm fronds, a bonfire, lots of theatrics, and a healthy helping of sentimentality. It was one of my favorite moments of the whole trip.

But, undoubtedly one of my other favorite moments was discovering this...

the best shower in all of Micronesia!! In my book, this outdoor bucket shower wins the award for Best View While Showering. Come on, soaping up with this view? Can it get any better?! I think not. I can't wait to go back to Pisar next year, but in the meantime there is summer school to teach (starting tomorrow), second years to say good-bye too, friends and family to say hello to, and much more! 

All the volunteers

The ladies of PNI. Mer, Britt, Kristin, and myself

23, 9, and 2

It's a numbers game these days. 6 more days of school until my little firsties head to summer vacation. 16 days until 8th grade graduation. 23 days until the high school seniors graduate. 24 days until my brother comes to visit (!!). The air is full of anticipation and teachers are praying for enough patience and willpower to make it to the end. At least that's what I'm praying for. So, I thought this post would focus on the numbers game.

23
I turned 23 at the end of March and had quite a day celebrating! I had never experienced a birthday quite like it, perhaps because I'd never spent a birthday with 28 tiny human beings who celebrate other with more excitement and vigor than they celebrate themselves. The entire school sang to me during morning assembly (three verses - happy birthday, how old are you now, and may the good Lord bless you), one of my students took me to the hotel/restaurant his family owns for a free lunch, I got a few little gifts and countless 'happy birthdays' from students and staff. My second years got me a beautiful embroidered local skirt and I had a few packages from home to open.

Meredith made me a 'Happy Birthday Photo Sign' to document the day

Birthday Skyping!

I had this crazy smile on my face for about 20 minutes while watching a video compilation my friend Myvy made for me. She reached out to friends and family, who all recorded birthday messages she put together for me. It truly was the best birthday present!! That, and the karat banana creme pie Meredith made for dessert!

9
I have been on island for over 9 months now! The months are flying by and spring break was a blessed relief. We enjoyed a week of sleeping, reading, and adventuring around the island with Kristin's friend, Ian, a JET volunteer (teaching English in Japan) who visited for the week. Activities included visiting old petroglyphs, ruins/jungle rubble from a Japanese-era sugar cane factory, Nan Madol, a hike up Sokehs Ridge, and creating our own slip-n-slide on the grass of the school grounds. We also discovered a new shave ice stand...which the JVs might singlehandedly been keeping in business. It's the best relief during a hot, humid day!

Me, Kristin, Meredith, and Ian. Our 'on Wednesdays we wear pink' photo

2
My three second years all have less than 2 months left on island. It's the beginning of the end. School wrapping up means graduations, graduations mean summer, summer means Mer/Britt/Kristin leave, summer also (for me) means summer school, visitors, and Annie (a JV in Chuuk) coming to Pohnpei. Trying to stay present and grateful for each moment is a challenge, especially when both students and teachers are ready for a break. But, in all this Meredith and I were able to have a really good moment together with all of our students. I brought my 1st graders up to Mer's 8th grade classroom on Friday for some buddy/tutor time. My students were so excited to hang out with the 8th graders (in typical Pohnpei fashion about half of my class is related in some way to half of Mer's class) and her students were great teachers and role models. The pairs did a page of two-digit subtraction together before the 1st graders read a book to their 8th grade buddy. These pictures melted my heart!

Brothers working together

Here's to more island adventures these next few months with my second years, summer visitors, and new community mates come July!

Out to dinner during retreat

Making cookies at the Jesuit Residence

Waterfall lovin'

Small Acts with Great Love

"We can do no great things, only small things with great love" -Mother Teresa

Pencils are a problem in 1st grade. Someone doesn't have one, someone else can't find theirs, someone else's isn't sharp, the list of pencil woes goes on and on and on. But this, one of my biggest logistical frustrations, brought me the greatest moment of clarity I've had all year.

It's 9:15 on a Tuesday and one of my most challenging students walks into class 45 minutes late. He holds nothing in his hands and has no backpack on his back. Ok, I take a deep breath and keep going with the lesson while helping this little guy get settled. His neighbor, Elizabeth, offers him one of her pencils so he can do his work. "Perfect," I thought, waiting for her to choose which pencil she wanted him to borrow from her pouch. She had a few different ones in there, 7 to be exact, all at different stages of their pencil-lives. I expect her to take out her most beat up, dingy looking pencil she wouldn't mind losing in case he doesn't remember to give it back.

Instead Elizabeth tells me, "He can take my new red one. I want him to have one with an eraser. Because he might make a mistake and need to erase it. I want to give him my best."

I felt slightly disoriented for half a second before taking that perfect, red pencil from her and giving it to her neighbor to use. I had just witnessed the greatest act of compassion a 6-year-old could bestow.



How often do I do that? How often do I really give someone or something my best? Best effort, best belonging, 100% of my focus. Because it's oh-so-easy to live a life of halves, a life looking out for yourself more than others, a life full with selfishness and starved of generosity. But that's not the life I want to live.

I want to listen, really listen, to what my students are so excited to tell me at lunch.

I want to be present in each day so that I can see the needs of others and respond to them.

I want to live generously and give away all my perfect red pencils, knowing they might not be perfect when they're returned to me.

I want to ___________________ . How would you fill in that blank to live a more generous life filled with small acts of great love?

So every night I pray. For a generous spirit. For the faith of a child. For eyes to see the world the way God does. I pray these things for you and for me. And I hope that the next time you see a new pencil, you think of my student Elizabeth's great act of compassion, and look around to see how you can do one of your own.

The 100th Day of School, Elections, & the Cat in the Hat

Life in 1st grade has been very exciting the past two months! We've started learning long vowels in reading, which is equally exciting and terrifying. We had fun visiting 'Teacher Emily's Store' in math while learning about money and are currently in a really fun dinosaur unit in science. Third quarter - the longest of the four quarters - ends this week, which means some final exams and report cards are on the horizon! Take a look at the photos below to see some of the fun activities my students and I have done this quarter.

Some of my students making their old women/men craftivity and accompanying writing project. We had a really, really exciting day on the 100th day of school in early February. I'd been playing up the 100th day of school since August and boy did it deliver. It was probably my favorite day of school so far! It's really incredible to see how far all of my students have come the past 7 months and that day was a chance for me to reflect on how my students have grown and how I've grown as a teacher.

Wearing our super cool 100 glasses.

A 'write the room' activity for ay and ai words. My students love being active, so they walked around the classroom reading different ay and ai words and sorting them into the correct columns. This activity was a real success and I'm going to do it again with other vowel digraphs and vowel pairs!

John Ehsa (my student's uncle) ran for an FSM Congressional seat and while he sadly didn't win, my students were very excited that they got John Ehsa pencils and pencil cases! 

Dr. Seuss's birthday was last week and thanks to Jennie Lorensen and the teachers of Delta Kappa Gamma we got to celebrate with our very own Cat in the Hat hats and new Dr. Seuss books to read! The students were so excited to have their very own hat and loved having a few new books in the classroom.

I'm doing my best to instill a love of learning and literature in these little students' lives. I'm so grateful for the hundreds of books that have been sent to our classroom so far! If you ever find yourself with children's books on your hands that you don't need anymore, know that they would be very loved here in Pohnpei. 

One last story before I head to bed for the night: I knew to expect the unexpected coming to teach in a developing country, but I never imagined that I would be pantsed by a student. Lo and behold, last week I found myself with my skirt down to my knees after a student tripped and in an attempt to steady herself, grabbed onto my skirt. Clearly she didn't calculate her weight versus my loose elastic waistband! Thankfully we always wear basketball shorts under our skirts, but the situation provided much comic relief for me and my class.

Stay tuned next week for a post on generosity and compassion! My 6-year-old students often fulfill the call to "love your neighbor as yourself" better than I do. I'm so thankful for their sweet hearts, enthusiasm, and how they show me so much grace as I try my best to be a better teacher for them each and everyday.

A (Sun)day in the Life

Now that you've learned what it's like at my host family (see last post if you missed it) I wanted to give you my Sunday morning walk-to-church tour! In Pohnpei, Sundays are for church. Most stores are closed except for one major grocery store and a few container stores. There are lots of churches in town, with many denominations represented, and the same is true all over the island. After church, most families rest at home. The long lost art of Sunday Sabbaths is alive and well here. 

Sunday mornings are quiet in the JV house, so I'm normally the only one up when I don my muumuu and leave the apartment around 8:45. I walk past the local parish, often admiring muumuus and fabrics as I pass the families just getting out of the Pohnpeian mass. After passing the church I walk down this gravel road

and turn left to go up toward the J-House. Sometimes I'll come to the J-House early if I'm doing a load of laundry to get it started, enjoy breakfast, then throw the clothes in the dryer before heading to the church I call home here - Pacific Mission Fellowship.

I walk straight down the gravel J-House driveway (the building on the left is the 8th grade classroom at PCS)

and turn right onto this road.

I keep walking on this road for about 5 minutes, passing INS (a grocery store) a few container stores, and some houses. There's some pig pens on one family's property, so I'm guaranteed a nice whiff of pig/feces, along with a few oinks, as I pass. The slabs of sidewalk aren't always sturdy (leaving you cement surfing to try to keep your balance if one end dips down), so sometimes I brave the sidewalks but other times just walk on the road.

Next comes a left turn onto this street below.

There's a nice church on the right hand side

and finally I come to the fork in the road. I take a  right at the fork, after first admiring Ferny Perman's sign to vote for him in the upcoming election. (Can you see it there amidst all the trees?) The elections are tomorrow for Congress and from the Congressmen they'll choose the President who'll serve for the next four years. The current Present has served two terms, so he's not eligible again. But I did see him at the doctor's office in January! So that was exciting. But anyways, after I make a right at the fork

there's a nice hill to walk up. 

It always gets my heart beating pretty good. By this point I normally have a thin layer of sweat all over my body, depending how bright the sun is, and am dreaming of the air con inside PMF.

And voila! Pacific Mission Fellowship. It kind of looks like a space station or observatory (I should have taken a picture closer up! It was a hot day and I was distracted by the desire to get inside as quick as possible).

Pacific Mission Fellowship (PMF) is a ministry of the larger organization called Pacific Mission Aviation (PMA). PMA has many ministries in islands all over Micronesia and the Philippines, including aviation services, a medical ship, orphanages, churches, and a radio station. The founders of PMA are the late Edmund Kalau and his wife Elizabeth, who were the first Protestant missionaries in Palau and Yap (another island in the Federated States of Micronesia). Edmund and Elizabeth had three children, one of whom went to Biola and is now the Pastor of PMF. Nob (the pastor) and Sylvia (his wife, born and raised in California, Chico State alum) have been incredibly welcoming to me. They've raised three children here in Pohnpei and it has been really great spending extra time at the church, whether that be coming by in the evening to workout at the women's workout group or staying after church to talk and play with their puppies (aptly named Moses and Pharaoh). Elizabeth (who most call Oma, because she and her husband are German and came over from Germany to be missionaries) is in her 80s and moved from Guam to live here with Nob and Sylvia about a year ago after her husband died. Oma often joins the ladies when we workout and does her own routine of kicks and punches.

I've never felt so welcomed by any church body in my life. And not just the first Sunday when I was new, but every single Sunday, I'm greeted with a rounds of smiles and handshakes and hugs and how are you's. People know by now that I don't have a car, so after the service they're always making sure I have a ride home or am ok walking. This church is an incredible group of believers that I am blessed to be a part of. Check out their website if you want to learn more about their ministries! 

http://www.pmapacific.org/index.php

The pictures below are from a church baptism a few weeks ago. We all met at Nihco Marine Park, hung out, watched some baptisms, and had a potluck.

Wishing you all a wonderful Sunday! And a million thank yous for reading this, supporting me, and being here with me in Micronesia. It makes all the difference. Here's to a new month, the end of third quarter, and lots of island fun!

A Weekend in the Life of My Host Family

Hello, friends and family! It has been far too long since I've blogged, and for that I apologize. I have many things to share, so be on the lookout for about a post a week this next month or two!

Back to my original intention of this post - sharing a little bit about a normal weekend at my host family! About once a month, I find my way to the other side of Pohnpei and spend a weekend with my host parents, host siblings, and lots of host nieces and nephews. Every time I visit there are always a few new faces around. I'm never quite sure how they're related, but I just roll with it and smile.

[To get to my host family I go from Kolonia (right by the airport at the top of the map) all the way to Wone on the south side of the island.]

Friday:
4:15 pm - Leave Kolonia to hitchhike to Wone. We'd never hitchhiked to our host family before, but Kristin and I had been itching to try it. So we packed our bags and just started walking.
4:47 pm - We get our first ride! Saed, a doctor teaching at the med school on-island, picks us up. We learn that he was born in Iran, raised in the US, and worked as a doctor in Belize and Mexico before coming here to teach about 6 months ago.
5:02 pm - Saed drops us off in Palikir. We start walking the shady, coconut tree lined road.
5:34 pm - Kristin's host family drives by and gives us a ride the rest of the way.
6:20 pm - I arrive at my host family to find all my family gone at a fundraiser, except one who stayed back in case I arrived. I grab my book, relax, and start reading!
9:30 pm - My host family arrives home from the fundraiser. They give me a local skirt they bought, as well as bags of mango and some leftover donuts.
10:00 pm - A very late dinner (normally we're all asleep by this time) of rice and spam, along with some good conversations with my Nono (host mom).
11:00 pm - bedtime. I have my own room here, where my family lays out a mat and some blankets for me to sleep on. The rest of the family spreads out in twos or threes and sleeps on mats in other rooms.

Saturday:
8:30 am - I'm the last one asleep in my house and Elora, my host niece, wakes me up.
9:00 am - Breakfast (rice, ramen, and papaya).
9:30 am - Hang out with Elora and her two cousins Jasmine and Natasha. We take pictures on their tablet and play Candy Crush and Fruit Slice (yes, even here in the villages!).
10:15 am - Walk to the river so the girls can swim. I can confidently say I'm very popular in the girl 6 - 11 category. They giggled and giggled at each other as we walked to the river and laughed as they sprayed each other with water. I couldn't help stealing glances at them as I read on the rocks, thinking about how good girl friends are the best, and feeling so thankful for mine.
10:45 am - Start walking back from the river. We run to Sarah (a PCV, Peace Corps Volunteer) who lives nearby. Sarah walks home with us and waits as I grab my things to go to the ocean to swim with her and some other volunteers. My Nono insists that Elora (age 9) comes with me as my bodyguard (even though I'm going to be out with four other adult volunteers). I roll with it.
11:30 am - Sarah, Elora, and I arrive at Kristin's host family, where Kristin, Aidee (PCV), and Erin (PCV) are hanging out.
12:05 pm - We all walk up the hill to Kristin's house, where her host mom has made rice and ramen for lunch.
12:41 pm - Walk to Rohi. Stop at Aidee's host family so she can grab something, add another child to our group so Elora isn't alone, and walk.
1:51 pm - Arrive at a quiet bit of ocean surrounded by mangrove trees (no sandy white beaches on this island!) and happily jump in.
3:05 pm - Leave the water to trek back to Aidee's house.
3:25 pm - Shower in the river at Aidee's. The cold, crisp water of this shady river was a little slice of heaven after setting all sweaty walking again.
3:45 pm - Enjoy some drinking coconuts that Aidee's mom prepared for us (using the machete herself to open them, of course).
4:14 pm - Start the walk back to my host family, slowly saying goodbye as people reach their houses.
5:01 pm - Elora and I say goodbye to Erin, the last PCV still walking, and veer off the main road to our house.
5:15 pm - Changes clothes, put my wet clothes on the line to dry, plop in front of the fan, and read.
8:00 pm - My Nono summons me to the table for dinner (rice, spam, bananas, taro, and breadfruit). Start planning my parent's visit with my host dad.
8:30 pm - Wash my face and brush my teeth. Finish the 370-page book I was only about 50 pages into yesterday.
9:02 pm - Elora and I listen to "Let it Go" on my iPod and have a nice sing-along moment before bed.
9:05 pm - Sleep!

Sunday:
8:30 am - Wake up, get ready for church.
9:00 am - Breakfast (rice and fried spam).
9:30 am - Church at the local parish. My host father is a deacon, so we live right next door to Christ the King Church. Father Dave, the Jesuit priest on island, came this Sunday to say Mass. He's in his 60s and is fluent in Pohnpeian!
10:45 am - Drive back to Kolonia with Father Dave after mass.

Every weekend in Wone is different and this one included a lot of excitement, walking, and spending time with friends. Combine that with plenty of time to read and some good conversations with my family and I was a happy camper!

Advent, Christmas, and a Cat

We have a cat. I’ve never owned a cat before, but here I am, quarter-mother of a furry, feisty feline. ‘Own’ is a loosely defined term here, just like the Ponhpeian definition of a ‘pet’ is an animal you name and feed scraps to if it guards your house in return. By ‘own’ I mean we give our cat some attention and let her rub up on our legs when we come home. We don’t feed her, but for some reason she keeps showing up every morning, eying us lazily as we open the door. 

We named her Lady, pronounced Lay-day (think heavy southern drawl). A name = emotional investment and attachment. There’s no turning back now, folks. We love Lady and Lady loves us in return. Isn’t that what life’s all about? All Lady wants is a little love and attention, a few scratches and the peace of mind that she has four friends she can come home to that will care about her and not mistreat her (which is often the case for most pets here). Isn’t that what we all want? Someone to rub our belly and love on us?

The past few weeks have been filled with a whole lot of love and (figurative) belly rubs as we, four tired teachers, enjoyed our Christmas vacation. December was a wonderful whirlwind of advent and parties and singing and decorating and celebrating Jesus in tropical, humid fashion. The day school got out (December 19^th) we opened the Pohnpei JVC Bed & Breakfast (aka our apartment) to two fellow JV’s from Chuuk here to coach their team in the high school basketball tournament, as well as Kristin’s sister, and Mer’s boyfriend. Between hostessing and hospitality duties, I’ve read 2 books, cooked, watched Christmas movies and generally slowed down the pace of my days. Slow feels good. Most of my days teaching are a whirlwind as I spin from one subject to the next, opening this and explaining that and keeping the energy in the productive-yet-excited zone. Christmas break was the perfectly-slow-and-quiet-zone with some action thrown in. A Christmas Eve sunrise hike, complete with mimosas and a killer view of the island/ocean. Cheering for the high school basketball team. Showing our visitors around our favorite shops in Kolonia. Eating homemade noodles in perfectly creamy sauce at Nett Ramen. Waterfalls, lots of time at church and many, many games of Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Catan. Belly rubs and back scratches for us all.

Happy 2015! Here begins the Year of Micro: all 365 days of 2015 will be spent in this country. Here’s to the infinite possibilities that a new year holds, to fresh starts, plenty of grace, and the knowledge that we have a place to go home to where we are loved and cherished.

Some pictures from December:

One of our two small Christmas trees!

We tried making ramen donuts for one of our community nights. I think we're all glad we did it, but wouldn't do it again.

The view from Sokehs Ridge

And, of course, Lady