CoS-ing in Guam

It’s the beginning of the end at MHS.  For my final fall semester I am teaching a senior reading class, a senior writing class, and a junior language arts class.  I am also the Language Arts Department Chairperson (I have an official ID and everything).  Most important, however, is that there is a NEW LIBRARIAN YAY at my school.  I will train her in library management skills (the main reason why I extended my service) so I can leave the MHS library in good hands.

Right at this very moment I am in Guam with the remaining M77’s (18 out of 31 survived until the very end) for our Close of Service conference.  We have been discussing paperwork (thank you government agency), our diverse experiences, and how to reintegrate into the real world.  Thankfully I don’t have to think about all this for now but in about seven months I’ll be frantically trying to recall strategies for readjustment!  I’ll let you know how that goes.  I also used some of my dwindling vacation days to explore Guam with my fellow li en Pohnpei.

Iced chai

Two Lovers Point

Quite the drop

Beach

Caribou ride

Peace Corps Volunteers?

FUNNEL CAKE at Chamorro Village

Beautiful views

Love & peace GUAM STYLE

M77 Team Pohnpei!!!

Getting lost KOREAN STYLE

A little background - Fall 2009 I studied abroad in Seoul, South Korea (here).  I wanted to return at some point in my life to revisit my old haunts and reconnect with friends.  It just so happened that I had plenty Peace Corps vacation days and was in the right part of the world to hop on a plane (or seven) to Korea.  I ate LOTS of delicious Korean food, hung out with my buddies at a million coffee shops (this may be a slight exaggeration), and even went to the Expo 2012 in Yeosu.  I used my friend’s camera for the duration of this trip, in case you were wondering (kalahngan Jerich!!!).

My favorite boy band, albeit half of it

I can now say that I have been to a world’s fair

Consulting a map.  Navigation is definitely NOT my strong point.  I got my companions lost more times than I care to remember, but Jess (with her skillz) managed to find a way.  Film photo courtesy of Jerich.

My second meeting with Mr. Obama.  The first was (real) when he was a senator for Illinois.

Jaerin, my language exchange partner and awesome friend

Sejong the Great, creator of hangul

Love these girls

Kimchi museum

No visit to Seoul is complete without noraebang

Yonsei represent!

All over

I deeply apologize for falling off of the blogosphere!  I blame the excitement of the summer.  The most important thing that you should know, dear reader, is that I have officially extended my Peace Corps service for an additional six months.  I will be staying in Pohnpei until May 2013 – that’s the plan for now, at least!

Proud to be a PCV

I spent the past three months helping out at the Pohnpei Public Library’s Summer Library Program, participating in training sessions for the M78’s (who are finally here!!!), and going on vacation.  Here’s a look:

Celebrating my host sister’s graduation from MHS

Goodbye Becca – MHS wishes you the best

Goodbye AP - you definitely inspired me to extend my service

My summer was super laid back and just what I needed after a busy school year.  For the summer library program, I was responsible for rewarding the kids who read a certain amount of minutes each week with different prizes and assisting with the overall running of the activities.  Check out Cori Jo’s blog on the right if you’re interested in learning more about it!

Balloon stomp at the library’s fundraising carnival

Early Literacy Program

A successful end

I also lent my expertise (haha) to the M78’s in the areas of diversity, mental health, social relationships, content based instruction in math, building good school relations, reporting volunteer work, living in Pohnpei, creating the ideal experience, and living with host families.

M78 Team Pohnpei!!!  You can follow their adventures via the links on the right.

I destroyed my camera late June (curse you water bottle!) so I have no photos of the PIBBA conference (Pacific Island Bicultural Bilingual Association, I believe) but I attended as an MHS teacher and the lone Peace Corps representative.  Later that week was the annual GLOW camp, which was very chill this time around but still very educational and FUN!

Pohnlangas GLOW girls

Truly empowering

Nek

nek vi. To be finished

The end of the school year is prime time for musical performances, days off, and picnics at Madolenihmw High School.  Of course, I was roped into joining the many festivities but I did do my best to end the academic part of the school year strong.  I was fortunate enough to have my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers come and give presentations on different countries to my world cultures classes, which they thoroughly enjoyed.  My mini dance lectures continued in my Algebra class – I hope that my students will think fondly of their crazy math teacher!

I will miss my fellow MHS teachers!

For the first annual Music and Drama Performance Day, in which the juniors performed songs, dances, and skits for the entire student body, I was asked to serve as one of three panelists and rank the acts based on various criteria.  I’m no Simon Cowell but I did have a great time listening to my students sing renditions of “Lean on Me” and “Madia Kowe”. 

The judges of Micronesian Idol

 On May 1, the municipality of Madolenihmw celebrated its constitution day with a day off and races between the elementary school and high school students.  Everybody got really into it, whether it be anxious mothers waiting for their kids to cross the finish line or “vendors” selling such desired items as freshly baked cake, ramen-koolaid, and iced tea.

My youngest host sister with Wapar Elementary School

“Picnics” in Pohnpei are occasions to get on a boat and motor on over to an isolated island.  Activities such as swimming and dancing in the ocean, feeling the sand between your toes, and barbequing chicken and hotdogs are all engaged in with much enthusiasm.  I was able to go to Joy Island with MHS’s Section V students to celebrate another successful school year.

Check out that storm cloud behind me – heavy rains didn’t deter us from having fun!

With the 2011-2012 school year coming to a close I feel slightly melancholy because I will miss seeing my students’ bright and shining faces (haha) every day.  I have seen real change in their academic work, their social circles, and their attitudes towards me.  I call it a success when my more reserved students can smile at my antics both inside and outside of the classroom.

Evidence

On a personal level, I’ve been able to see multiple sides of my host family, appreciate the luxuries of spending the weekend in town (a.k.a. delicious food, naked showers, hanging out with cool people), and lose sleep due to various books and TV shows keeping me up at night.  I have also been working on how I will contribute to this summer’s many activities – you M78’s can’t come soon enough.  :)  In honor of Mother’s Day, I’ll leave you with this picture – Mom, your constant, loving support always reminds me of how blessed I am to have an awesome family!

 

Mwet-ing

mwet vi. neut. To clear an area; to cut or pull grass

 
As part of a community service requirement for the MHS juniors, they recently went to mwet at a local home.  I, as a junior advisor, decided to go with them to supervise their work and help out a bit.  It was lots of fun just hanging out with my students and, of course, getting away from school for a day.  As a reward for a job well done, my students received sakau plants that they later used in a fundraiser.

The guys

The gals

The fundraiser

Over the past month my World Cultures classes have been learning about sustainable energy in the F.S.M. and the arts in daily life in Africa.  I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful guest speaker, a returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) currently serving as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer, give a presentation on the people of Malawi.  Thank you Susan!

My students have also been keeping busy outside of the classroom, with two of them getting accepted into the STEP-UP program and another winning the “Dream Big” Library Day essay contest for juniors.  Congratulations and keep up the excellent work!

I spent my week long Easter break immersing myself in Tad Williams’ Shadowmarch series (too addictive), lesson planning for the rest of the school year (too productive), and attending church services and/or mass with my host family.

What are YOU looking at?

And life goes on here in Pohnpei.  Lately I’ve been surrounded by tons of creepy crawlers, whether it be rats and huge spiders in my classroom or swarms of ants in my bedroom anxious to carry away my cough drops.  I blame the weather.  I’ve also been perfecting the art of just “being”, a form in which all of you M78’s will come to master soon enough.  With only one more month until the school year wraps up, I am eagerly anticipating what (and who) the summer will bring!

Giving advice

“What’s your future goal?”

“Well, I want to become a lawyer (doctor, teacher, stewardess, engineer, captain, electrician, fashion designer, military man, farmer).”

“Do you know how to do that?”

“Teacher, I don’t know!”

“Here’s what you can do…”

Do you remember your junior year in high school, trying to figure out what you wanted to do with the rest of your life despite the fact you really had no idea what was going on?  Those were the days, huh?  Since the juniors at MHS have no actual college or career advisers, I decided that I would do my best to inform them of their different options for the future.  Most of my students will be among the few in their families to attend the College of Micronesia and obtain an associate’s degree, let alone even think of pursuing a bachelor’s degree!  I wanted to encourage them that their dreams are very much possible, as long as they work hard to achieve them and never give up.

The University of Hawaii at Manoa’s library.  Many of my students want to attend UH to earn their bachelor’s degree.

I was able to do academic advising as a way of wrapping up the first half of second semester.  After the craziness of preparing for Championship Week, it was nice to get back to the rhythm of the regular academic day.  In my algebra classes, we completed the chapter by learning how to graph inequalities on a number line thanks to some fun hand motions and a Beyonce song (whatever works, right?).  My world cultures classes completed their study of Japan, which included a special Valentine’s Day / White Day presentation, karate lessons from ジャネル-先生, and even a Japanese language class thanks to my PCV friend.  ありがとう!  No updates as of yet on those academic programs my students applied for, but no news is good news, yes?

My host sister up to bat during a Championship Week game.  The MHS girl’s softball team was victorious.  Too bad I can’t say the same about the other teams (oh well!).

Outside of school, I have been playing lots with K-Ben (who can now accurately say my title), celebrating 18 months in Pohnpei with my fellow volunteers (can’t believe it!), pondering the cause of my swollen lymph node (which literally came out of nowhere), and planning for my summer trip to KOREA!  Yes, I’m going back, mostly to gorge on Korean food.  No joke.

반찬, wait for me!

In this extremely belated edition of Nahnsou’s cultural corner, I would like to present to you about an annual event that is very near and dear to the hearts of all Pohnpeians.  Growing up in the United States, I never even realized this day existed until I started taking Italian class in high school.  Every year on a special day in March, my signora would insist that the boys bring the girls flowers.  My impression was that this was a European holiday I could definitely get used to.  It was not until I came to Pohnpei that I realized the extent to which International Women’s Day could be celebrated.

Rahn en Lien Sampah (Day of the Women of the World) is a HUGE event, large enough that public schools and government buildings have the day off to honor the occasion.  Over 25 woman’s groups from all over Pohnpei, including Lien Madolenihmw, Lien Education, and Lien Mwoakilloa, practice choreographed dances that they will perform weeks beforehand.  All of the participants also buy matching uniforms in their chosen colors, better to represent themselves.  One of my own host sisters, all of 12 years old, was one of 60 females to dance as part of the woman’s group of Madolenihmw.

On March 8, the day of, everybody (pretty much) goes to the College of Micronesia’s FSM-China Friendship Gym, probably the largest structure on the island that is capable of hosting this event.  The stands are packed as people squeeze in to find seats where they can watch the festivities.  The MC announces each group separately, and the women enter the stadium to much applause.  With everybody crammed into the space, speeches are made by prominent figures in the F.S.M. government, such as the lieutenant governor and a very powerful female senator.  After those conclude, it is time for the dancing.  Each woman’s group gets a block of time to perform their three choreographed dances – one entrance dance, one main dance, and one exit dance.  Some of the dances are very traditional and are performed to Pohnpeian songs, while others include more modern moves and are performed to English hip-hop remixed songs.

I only stayed to watch my host sister dance, and then I escaped to find some food and lament the dying battery of my camera.  Overall, International’s Women’s Day was quite fun and the participants felt confidant about themselves and their identity as women of the world afterwards.

Check out all of the women!

Remember, if you are an invitee and want to contact me or any of the other PCVs about anything, please feel free to do so!  We would all be more than happy to answer any questions or concerns you might have.  If you are a personal buddy of mine and want to update me about your life, I would love that too.  Tupene mwur (Let’s meet later)!

Writing poetry

It’s raining again

My umbrella is broken

Where’s the taro leaf?

Here’s the ramen bowl

So spicy and delicious

My mouth is burning

Clear ocean waters

Surrounding my little boat

There goes my breakfast

Breadfruit on the tree

Why won’t you come down right now

I want to eat you!

These haiku pretty much describe my life here on Pohnpei.  Since my world cultures classes are focusing on Japan this quarter, I thought it would be appropriate for my students to write haiku of their own.  And I was more than happy to give them some fun examples.

What I’ve been up to this past month:

The seniors successfully wrapped up COMET practice by totally acing the test (or so we hope).  Results should arrive sometime next month.  During the time I was away at practice, my world cultures classes completed a big research project on a country of their choice using the library’s encyclopedias.  Talk about old school!  And luckily enough, my Algebra II class has been quite fun.  Since I remember my high school math classes being slightly painful at times, I try to make each period engaging by having the students do a lot of board work and explaining the solutions they come up with to their fellow classmates.

The library is actively being used by all MHS students.  I absolutely love it, except that more often then not they forget to return their books.  I need to start hunting students down!  Being in the library everyday gives me the time I need to be productive in labeling books and creating lesson plans for my classes.



The MHS library

My very proactive juniors have been busy applying to various summer programs such as STEP-UP (Short Term Educational Program for Underrepresented Persons), which gives stipends for students to conduct medical research under the guidance of professionals, and JSA (Junior State of America), which allows students to take an advanced history or government class in the United States or China.  I have been helping my juniors with their application materials and was asked (by all of them) to write their recommendation letters.  Here’s to hoping for the best!


Section A Juniors, the future leaders of Pohnpei

The Madolenihmw and U Teachers’ Forum was held at my school this year, with educators coming to MHS to listen to guest speakers and attend panel presentations.  Two fellow volunteers assisted me in giving a Peace Corps presentation to interested teachers.  Other MHS staff also gave their own presentations, ranging from Eco-Tourism to creatively using recyclable materials in Home Arts.



Li en Wai, Li en Madolenihmw

Remember Championship Week from last year?  Well, sports practices are wrapping up since the event is happening next week.  I coached the girls’ volleyball team for exactly one hour, and then left them in the capable hands of their much more qualified coach.  I did coach the Championship Week essay writers, however, which was much more my expertise.

Let’s go MHS!

M77 has been serving as volunteers for a year and three months.  To commemorate, as well as to combat the “second year slump,” the Pohnpei PCVs took a great day trip to Ant, an outlying atoll.  In the legend of Isokelekel, conqueror and first Nahnmwarki of Pohnpei, Ant was where he and his 333 men first landed before sailing on to Madolenihmw.



I wouldn’t mind serving here…

So I’ve been busy but happy with my work.  I’ll leave you with these song lyrics that just about sum up my attitude here on Pohnpei.  Until we meet again!

People are born with / people are born without / some people have / and others want / what some go without / some people live free / some people just want more / as for me I / got all that I need / don’t got much but I / got what I need     “Could You Bite the Hand?”  ~Steve Conte