Saying goodbye

M77 Team Pohnpei – you will be dearly missed, not just by me but by all of the lives you have influenced over your two years here.  I am so fortunate to have been with you for my own Peace Corps service – I could not have imagined it any other way.  I wish you the best in whatever the future holds for you.

Natalya and Erin – thanks for the memories that will always bring a smile to my face.

Molly and Cori Jo – my girls.  I can’t wait to meet up in the “real world”!

Jerich – my brother, for all intensive Pohnpeian purposes.

Happy Thanksgiving!  To all of my family and friends - without your support, I never would have been able to complete two years of Peace Corps service and stick it out for another half year.  Lots of love!

Walking around the island

I had the opportunity to walk around the island with two M78s, Ben and Nick, over a three-day weekend in October.  Nothing like 50 miles to motivate a person, huh?  Pohnpei has one main road that encircles the entire island – beforehand I calculated plausible walking distances based on places where we could spend the night.

First leg (approximately 14 miles) – Nett, Sokehs, and Kitti

The boys and I started off strong with a hearty breakfast and enthusiasm to get over many, many hills.  I had the bright idea of doing this walk Pohnpeian style (in a skirt and using flip-flops), which I quickly realized was a HUGE mistake.  We ended up not walking the entire way – I very much overestimated the distance – so we got a free ride via flatbed to our destination for the night.

The beginning

Welcome welcome!

Pit stop at Mia's host family

Return to my training school

Second leg (approximately 14 miles as well) – Kitti and Madolenihmw

We successfully completed this leg, I am proud to say.  I felt very comfortable in my own neck of the woods and served as tour guide for the guys.  My host family provided us with a very filling lunch that gave us the fuel to make it to our night’s destination.  I also switched to socks and gym shoes that allowed me to continue walking, but the flip-flops had already done their damage – my blisters were HUGE!

Much gratitude to JVI Sam and her awesome host family for letting us spend the night

Welcome from the other side of Madolenihmw

I know my host family already thinks I’m crazy, but they still indulge me

Mormon church

Danger danger!

Last leg (approximately 2 miles) – Madolenihmw and U

Setting out after a leisurely breakfast, I was mentally ready to walk the final distance but my feet were definitely not cooperating.  After crossing municipality lines (just so I could say that I have walked to each of the five municipalities) the boys and I got a taxi back to our point of origin, the Peace Corps office.  Even though we only walked 60% of the island I felt quite accomplished and satisfied with what we did do.

Check out my expression – no amount of hospitality (thank you Joyce and host family) could relieve the pain of my blisters.

I spent the next week or two making sure my self-inflicted wounds did not get infected and waddling around like a duck – which amused my students, of course.  Lesson learned!

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!