Birthdays and reflection

I just got home from an exciting night with my host family. I had a few different experiences all in one night, at one birthday party. First of all, the food was amazing! I was expecting that, because Kosraeans know how to host a good party. There was a ton of food, and it was all extremely delicious. I'm sitting in my bed right now feeling like I'm going to explode. I couldn't stop eating, and my host mom, Almitta, is a terrible influence because every time I finish one thing she keeps telling me to go get more. Especially now that I'm not actually living with them, I'm really missing the local food, so I wanted to stuff in as much as I possibly could while it was all available. I had tons of crab, chicken, rice, breadfruit (with a sweet coconut milk sauce which was super yummy), sushi, usr (banana) tempura (basically just fried banana, AKA the greatest thing you've ever tasted), and they even roasted a whole pig! It was a family birthday party to celebrate a couple different people who have birthdays in September. I'll consider it a celebration for my dad back home too, since his is coming up this week. Happy early birthday daddy! They also had cake and fahfah, which is a local dish and I really have no idea what's in it but it's sort of a sweet glaze over these chewy little balls of deliciousness. I'll have to ask how they make it, but I think it's pretty involved, which is why they only make it for special occasions. It was really good to see all the family, including meeting new people that I haven't seen before because this family is so big.

One of the new guys I met, Willie, my host uncle, is a softball player and even played in the Micro games a couple months ago. He wants to get some girls together after school and have me come teach them softball. I was really excited to hear this, and obviously told him I would love to. He starting talking to all the guys in the family right away and said they're going to clean up the field this week so we can start. Apparently he's even going to call the governor to make sure it gets cleaned up. His words were something like "Kosraeans are lazy so we're going to call the governor". I'm not really sure what the governor is going to do, but I think he wanted to show me how excited he is about this and that he's serious about it. I'm not sure when this will all actually get going, but I'm going to tell all my students too so hopefully we can get a lot of girls to come out and play. They don't have any female coaches, so it would be awesome to provide these girls with a female role model and someone to show them they can grow up to be strong women. The culture here kind of puts women second; they don't get much of a say in anything as adults, and they aren't encouraged to speak their mind or be leaders, so hopefully I can not only show them softball, but how to be yourself and have a voice. I was lucky enough to be raised by wonderful parents and an amazing family all around who pushed me to do things even I wasn't sure I could do and always supported me in anything, encouraging me to find a way to be a leader in everything that I did. I would love to be able to share some of that with the girls here.

A perfect example to show the culture and opportunities here is the conversation I had tonight with one of the little girls in the family, Sasha. She's in second grade here, and has pretty good English skills for her age. I was tossing a softball with her tonight and we were just chatting, and I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. She told me she wants to be a store girl. She wants to work at Ace, the local grocery store (albeit with a limited range of items). I was half surprised to hear this and half not. Part of me was surprised because when you ask little kids in the US, you always get answers like doctor, lawyer, firefighter, policeman, teacher, etc. We have an engrained hierarchy of career path, and even as kids, we pick the jobs that are highest on the list. You never really hear kids say they want to work at a grocery store. This island is so small that there are limited types of jobs, regardless of your education or skill level. The kids here grow up differently than I did, and I have been here long enough that I already knew that, so her answer also didn't really surprise me that much. It was a moment where I paused and put it into the context of her culture instead of seeing it through my American perspective. It isn't a bad goal by any means, and she has seen so many family members work at Ace and live very happy and fulfilling lives with big families, so I can definitely understand why that seems like the ultimate goal to her, but there are also so many other opportunities out there in the world that kids here just don't even know exist because they don't exist in Kosrae. I don't want this to sound like I am putting her down or dismissing the workers here, because that is not what I'm trying to say. I don't see myself as better than anyone here; I just understand that we have differences and I want the girls here to understand that there are other things out there. I had a moment where I was forced to see the cultural differences, and it made me want to help my students and these young girls see that they can do more than work at a grocery store when they grow up. If they really want to work at a grocery store, that is awesome and they should do it, but I want to help them see that they can do a lot of other things too. There are some students in my classes who are extremely bright, and I really want to help them find their path to bigger things that just aren't available to them here. I love Kosrae, but the opportunities for the kids here are limited, and I am realizing the roles I can play, not just as a teacher, but as an educated, strong woman.

Overall, I had a great time at the birthday party, and I left thinking a little bit more about the reasons that I am here and the ways that I can make a difference outside the classroom. I have said this many times over the past year or so, but I figured out at some point during college that what makes me happy is to help people directly. I need to be face to face and build relationships with people. It gives me so much joy to see exactly the difference I am making, and I am starting to figure out how I can do that here, and I can't wait to get started. Even if I just help one girl have a little more confidence in herself, I will be very happy.

Liberation day and marine life (SHARKS)!

I haven't been keeping up with this blog very well recently, so I'll give a much overdue update of the past couple weeks.

Last Monday was Liberation Day! It was a lot of fun and I'm really glad we got to be part of the celebration. Each village has their own celebration, and we live in Lelu so we went to the Lelu celebration. Within Lelu, there are different areas and each area wears a different color, sort of like representing different teams. We were part of the "Sea Siders" team and wore green. We headed over around 9 in the morning and watched all the different areas walk in. It was held at the Lelu Elementary School, which is really close to our house. Each section sits together and there are a bunch of different games and activities. It is sort of a big field day, but pretty random and unorganized, and they give out very different prizes. Everything is a very friendly competition, all about having fun! At the very beginning of the day, when each group walked in, different middle aged ladies were all trying to pull each other's skirts off and running around like crazy people. It was hilarious! I knew right then that I was going to love Liberation Day. There are a series of different competitions, but they all kind of start haphazardly and everyone who participates gets a prize. The prizes were bags of sugar and bags of laundry detergent. Everyone could participate in every competition, and every person who participated got a prize for every competition. This resulted in Jesse, Aidan, and I collectively getting about 10 bags of sugar total and about 3 or 4 bags of laundry detergent each. The first race just started with a bunch of people running diagonal across the field in front of the school. There was no measured distance, no timing, just if you ran across the field you got a bag of sugar. It was awesome! There were a bunch of different things, like a water balloon toss, a tire rolling race, dizzy bat, and three-legged race. They even lined up all the kids in a big circle and did a race around the kids. Keep in mind everyone participates in all of these. Everyone as in all the adults and even the old ladies, which was hilarious to watch. They were so excited and into it! Some of the women even sat on little kids bikes and the kids were pushing them around on them really fast. It was actually pretty dangerous, but people here don't really worry about that kind of stuff; they just like to have a good time. It lasted until early afternoon, and there was a bunch of food for lunch too, which was awesome. There were a bunch of coconuts too. Have I mentioned my love for coconuts? Fresh coconuts are the greatest thing ever. The coconut water is so good, especially in certain coconuts it is a little fizzy, almost like it's carbonated. Then you can crack it open and eat all the meat out, which is equally as delicious. We eat a lot of coconuts at our house. We also cut up the meat and put it in our oatmeal for breakfast, and it is a delicious addition (especially with bananas too)! Basically the fruit here is amazing. I eat tons of bananas and coconuts and they are delicious. They also have these green tangerines here which are really easy to peel and they taste delicious! Island fruit is the way to go. Back to Liberation Day: it was a really fun day, but we were exhausted by the end. We tried to apply a lot of sunscreen and stay in the shade when we could, but we all still got at least a little burnt. The tops of my feet got absolutely roasted and are now peeling :( oh well, it was worth it.

Speaking of Liberation, like I said earlier, each village has their own celebration, and a couple villages had them on Friday of last week, so we had no school that day. Our principal also randomly decided that we wouldn't have school Thursday either, so we ended up only having a two-day school week last week (and two 4-day weekends in a row), which was sort of awesome, but also sort of sucked from a teaching standpoint. We're now only 2 weeks away from the end of the quarter, and we have only had 2 full weeks of school Monday through Friday. That's island life for ya... constantly adjusting and adapting. It made this week pretty difficult because we had to teach a full five days! Well sort of... we get out at 1:30 on Fridays because we have a short schedule. I guess I shouldn't complain since my workday here is nothing compared to the average one back home.

I have really gotten into the swing of things teaching. I have flushed out a few problems and made the system work better, so I'm feeling more organized and on top of things now. If you know me well, you know that I am much happier and relaxed when I am organized and have everything in order how I want it :) I also know almost all of my student's names, so that makes things a lot easier. I'm giving my first real exam next week, so hopefully my kids do well on it! I am excited about it because after that, I get to start teaching real science! My first unit has been all review and math stuff that you need to know for the rest of the class, so I am anxious to get into the real science that I like. The last couple days have been enjoyable for me though, so that is good. It makes the day go by so much faster when I enjoy the lesson that I'm teaching. I've been doing problem solving the past few days, and I really like that, so I have enjoyed teaching it. Since I have everything organized, I worry less about the actual teaching and can have fun with it. I'm starting to really like it. There is a lot of planning and grading and management behind the scenes, but the actual standing in front of a class and teaching kids science is really fun for me! I'm starting to get to know them and their personalities, so it makes class a little more fun because I can keep them interested a little bit more. And now that I know them better and know what to expect, I know when I can relax and make jokes and not worry that they're going to get off task.

Last week, I hung out with my host family a little bit more, and it was really nice to see them and spend time with them again. It's nice to get away from the teaching and just relax with the locals. They really have become a second family, so it's almost like going home when I go over there. I swam with some of the kids and someone else was there having a birthday party and had leftover pizza, so they gave some to us. We didn't know them at all, but that's just how everyone is here in Kosrae. It's such a community, so it doesn't matter if you know them or not, you can stop any stranger on the street and say hi, ask for help, or share your extra pizza. It's nice to be in a place where everyone is so generous, even though they might not have a lot to give. I talked with the dad of that family for a little bit, and he actually spent a while in the US in the military, so he knew a lot about it and we had a lot to talk about. It was really cool, but the coolest part is how often that kind of thing happens here. It's a pretty awesome place to be. I was a little worried before coming that it would be hard to break into the community, and there are definitely times that I feel like an outsider, but for the most part everyone is always welcoming and excited to talk to you about anything. They don't care that you aren't from here, they just want to say hi and share what they can. Back to my story about my host family; I went back to the house with the kids after swimming, and my host mom was waiting to give me dinner. She is selling hamburgers, so she gave me one and a pop and sent me home. I wasn't expecting anything from them, but she wanted to make sure I got something to eat. It was great! I am actually supposed to hang out with them tomorrow again, and I am excited! They are doing a birthday celebration for everyone in the family who has birthdays this month, so it should be really fun! I'm guessing there will be tons of food, which I am excited about because I have been missing out on the local dishes since I moved out of my host family's house.

Today was exciting too! After school, Jesse and I went snorkeling at a new place that I hadn't been before. Jesse wanted to try out the spear gun he is borrowing from someone who is off-island for the next few months. He didn't catch anything, but the snorkeling was awesome! I saw my first shark and an eagle ray! I've seen an eagle ray before, but this time it was really close to me! I got a video of it swimming, and it is really cool! I can't post it because the internet is too slow, but maybe I'll try to leave it for a while so it can post because it's pretty awesome. It swam right towards me and I followed it for a little while to get the picture. Eagle rays are pretty curious, which is great for tourists like me who like to see them. It was no more than 10 ft away from me, so I was really excited. The shark I was also really excited about, but it was kind of far from me. I got a picture of it, but you can barely see it because it's so far away. The only sharks around here are reef sharks, which apparently are not dangerous, and they don't get very big (usually 4-5ft). I don't know anything about sharks, but this is what I'm getting from what everyone has told me. According to Jesse, there was another shark really close to me, but I didn't see it. He saw it and was so surprised that he made a noise and the shark got scared and swam away really fast. When I heard him, I turned to look, but I turned the other way and by the time I looked, the shark had swam away. So basically what happened is I almost got attacked by a shark, but I fought it off. That's what I'm telling everyone anyway... In reality I'm really mad that I didn't see it since it was so close to me!

That's about it for now; hopefully I'll have some more cool stuff to post soon! Shoutout to my parents for sending me all kinds of awesome things that I can't get here. Best parents ever! I'll follow that up with a shameless plug for care packages full of chocolate and processed American snack food, which is actually pretty hard to come by here :)

Oma!

This has proved to be one of my most active weeks so far. I haven't done something every day, but I have done two big things this week now. Today we climbed our first mountain! After the Rockhopper race on Monday, I was exhausted for most of the week, but once I finally recovered, I set myself up for another few days of soreness. This is already a very exciting week for Kosrae because it is Liberation Week starting on Monday. The festivities began yesterday, and different villages have their celebrations on different days, which basically means we get a lot of days off school. We had yesterday off, and next week we also get Monday and Friday, so only three actual days of school! It's a pretty awesome deal. We decided to add to the fun and go for a mountain hike today too. Oma is the easiest hike of the mountains here, but I wouldn't exactly call it easy. It was about 2 hours to the top and would have been probably just under 2 hours down, but we took some breaks and made sure the whole group was getting down okay, so we spent a long day on the mountain overall. We decided to go all the way to the top, and there was an amazing view at the top. It was really cool because we could see Lelu Island, where we live, and it was so tiny compared to the rest of Kosrae. We know it's small, but to see it from that view was just crazy! It was a really fun day, and we definitely got our workout in for the week. My legs are going to be insanely sore tomorrow. We went with a couple of the Peace Corps volunteers, and it was great to finally get to spend some time with them. They are all spread out across the island, so it's hard to get everyone together. It's very different from us with WorldTeach because we are all at the high school and have classrooms right next to each other. Not to mention most of us live together too. The Peace Corps has a volunteer at each elementary school, so there is one in each village. There are also some students from University of Washington here for a few weeks doing a sort of mini-study abroad program, and some of them came too, so we had a good sized group. Last time we went on a hike, I got really frustrated with my shoes, so this time I just went barefoot. Jess and Jesse also did it barefoot, and I think it's the best way to go. There aren't really any dangerous bugs or lizards that hang out on the ground or even poisonous plants, so it's not too bad going barefoot. The bottoms of my feet are definitely sore and tired, but overall I think it was a good choice. Last time I got frustrated because I would get mud stuck between my foot and my sandals and little rocks and it just got really uncomfortable. When you get rocks on your feet, they don't get stuck like they can with shoes on, and you can feel everything you're walking on, so I feel like I was more stable that way. A lot of people here just don't wear shoes, and even the people who do always wear flip flops. You never see anyone in real shoes of any kind. I am exhausted after a full day of hiking, so I am excited that tomorrow is Sunday. Since you can't do anything on Sundays anyways, I'm happy to just spend the day watching movies in bed. I need to recover from today so I'll be all ready to go on Monday. Monday is Lelu's Liberation Day, which is apparently really exciting and fun, so I can't wait! There are races and games and all kinds of stuff that everyone gets really excited about, so it will be fun to watch. It is the first real celebration since we've been in Kosrae, so it will be cool to hang out with all the locals and see what it is like to celebrate Liberation Day. That's about it for my update today, but I'm sure I'll have some exciting news after Monday's festivities!

Thoughts on Teaching and Running

Right before I decided to write this blog post, I was sitting on my computer looking at facebook. Even with this crappy internet, I am finding a way to procrastinate. But then I realized I am procrastinating grading. This is the first time that has happened, and I guess I’m not in college anymore? Old habits die hard I guess. But being about a week and a half into real lessons with my students, I’m starting to realize how much goes on behind the scenes of a classroom. Even more than that, I’m realizing how much it would take to have everything perfectly organized and to remember everything. I always thought my teachers were so put together in high school and remembered everything about me, but I have been gradually realizing that there is just absolutely no way that was the case. How am I supposed to keep track of 150 students every day. It’s hard enough to just plan something to teach every day, make a handout or worksheet of some sort, and make enough copies in time for class. Keep in mind that at Kosrae High School, our students often share backpacks, don’t really have folders or binders to keep things organized, and don’t really know how to take notes besides copy down exactly what is on the board. I have had a lot more success with them understanding and remembering material when I have guided notes for them to fill in as I go along. Oh and nobody is allowed to use the new expensive copy machine besides a couple people because the principal is afraid the teachers would break it, so you have to write how many copies you need and turn them in and hope they get done in time. So I’m expected to keep track of 150 new people, learn all their names, plan two different lessons (one for Chemistry and one for Physics), have copies and a handout for all of them, make sure they show up on time to class (5 minutes after the bell rings; there is only a bell to let out class), keep them in class for the full time (which varies depending on when the bells ring, since they are manual), have make-up work for the students who are absent, make sure they turn in their homework, and grade all of it? That’s just insane. Not to mention that in Kosrae, a lot of students like to cut class or show up late, so it’s always a battle. I can’t even remember everyone’s names yet, let alone remember who was absent and make sure they get their work. I’ve created a lot of systems and organization (which shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows me) to make things easier on myself, which have helped a ton, but I still can’t keep track of that many people or what I’ve told to whom. I am constantly forgetting who is who and what I said to which class. I forget to make announcements to certain classes, and then I have to try to make sure kids turn in their homework on different days depending on which classes finished it in class and which didn’t. Even when I write down notes to myself! This life is just crazy! I have made all these realizations this week about how ridiculous it is to keep track of 150 kids and their grades. I’m definitely learning a lot every day and constantly trying to figure out ways to make it easier on myself, but the moral of the story is that I want to go back and give major props to all my teachers over the years. I knew teaching was going to be a challenge like I had never faced before, but even so, there are so many things I didn’t think about. I worried about learning 150 names, not keeping track of 150 grades. And that’s just their overall grade, you could have tons indidvidual assignment grades for each person by the end of the year. So I guess this overall post is a quick glimpse into the life of a teacher and a thank you note to all the teachers I’ve had over the years for managing to keep track of me back when I thought it was so simple and expected so much.

In other news, I ran a 5.7 mile race yesterday morning before school. I’m really hoping my teammates are proud of this feat (Send me some juv over here, I miss you guys!) I have never liked running. I started going on river runs in Cambridge after my senior season ended, but until that point, I can’t remember a single time that I enjoyed running. I have grown to like it in the past few months since I became an ex-athlete, but I was 100% not prepared for this race. I have gone on 3 runs total since I have been in Kosrae. None of them lasted longer than 30 minutes, and I have no idea how far they were because I can’t use my fancy iPhone running app here to track it, though I’m guessing they hovered around 3 miles each. So let’s summarize that: I ran 3 times over a period of 6 weeks, and I got up one day and ran 5.7 miles on a school day and then taught all day. I’m pretty sure something is wrong with me, but I’m feeling awesome that I actually completed it. I finished in just under an hour, which was very impressive for my long distance running ability, or lack thereof. Anyway, I don’t want this to be a braggy post (okay, I sorta do… but can you blame me?) but I want everyone to fully understand how difficult this was for me. My quads feel like the first squat day of summer lifts after a season of no lifting. My HSBers can commiserate on how miserable that is. Yesterday I just felt like jello, and at one point my leg actually started cramping as I was standing writing on the board. I finished writing really fast and sat down. In case anyone was wondering, it’s pretty awkward to get a leg cramp when 25 people are staring at you trying to learn. After the race, I only had a few minutes to hang out and refuel before I had to hop on my bike and go shower and get to school. Even once I got to school and had showered, I was profusely sweating for my entire first class. I have never wanted air conditioning so bad in my life. My cheeks also get really red when I’m hot and tired, so I think it was pretty clear that I was overheated for the first half of the day. It’s not exactly what you want to look like in front of a classroom of kids, but I ran a race before school and still made it to class all day and stood up and taught, so I’ll just go ahead and consider this whole week a win.