In the crowd

I have officially been a Peace Corps Volunteer for over three months! I have learned to live without many of the comforts of the typical American lifestyle (video games, hot naked showers, ethnic foods) and embrace a more Pohnpeian way of life (strange movies, shower skirts, many unique uses for instant ramen). However, I bet that I am the only PCV who can keep up with (and wants to keep up with) the ever changing Japanese and Korean pop music scene! Thank you internet. I plan, I teach, I grade. I plan some more, I teach some more, I grade some more. Life goes on. And then of course, in typical Pohnpeian fashion, some important event needs to happen in the near future that requires my immediate attention that I had absolutely no idea of until I read about it in the morning announcements.

“What do you mean?” you may ask. Well, one such event was the COMET (College of Micronesia Entrance Test) that all seniors who want to go to the only college in Micronesia need to take and pass. The LA department chair decided that intense practice two weeks prior to the big test would sufficiently help the seniors conquer it. This practice included crazy vocabulary words (raffinate?), very difficult reading comprehension passages (who seriously cares about the history of fossil fuels?), and multiple essays (anything from government sponsored health care to ocean pollution to the staple foods of Pohnpei). All of the LA teachers were expected to help out, even if it meant canceling their own classes in favor of supervising the seniors. I refused to make my freshman suffer the consequences so I only attended a few of the practices, but to make up for it I did my share of correcting tests and reading and grading the many, many essays produced. I think the seniors benefited since I heard only good things after they took the test. Let’s hope everyone passes with flying colors!

One unforeseen benefit was that all the classes that day had to be moved to the campus where the seniors were not testing (as to have a proper environment for thinking), so I had my students help me in the MHS library! Before, the library was an intimidating mountain of books. After, all the book shelves were in place with books in them and I could cry at how glorious everything looked. Now all that is left (haha) is some intense organization, and then the library will actually be usable for everybody! Let’s hope this happens by the next school year. Another good thing was that I took all the leftover tests and used them with my juniors. They will be super prepared for their test next year (I can only hope!).

The Science Fair would be another example of such an event. Scheduled to be in early February, the science department chair called for multiple meetings to discuss logistics and such. As one of three health science teachers, I was of course expected to have my students participate, and I was more than happy to have them do so. I had my students prepare and present role plays about “making the right decision” and everyone voted on which ones to send to the science fair. I was very proud of my students for creating some excellent skits. Since this was going on at the same time as the COMET practice, things were extremely hectic. Luckily (for me) the chair talked to the higher ups and now the science fair will be sometime in March or April. We’ll see.

One event that I had absolutely no role in but was affected by it nonetheless was Champion Week, which actually just occurred. Champion Week is just the fancy term for sports, sports, sports. Due to this, classes have been cut in half for the past two weeks so students could practice basketball, baseball, volleyball, and track and field after lunch. With all this time I could be productive in grading papers and tests (most of my students did horribly on their first health science test – perhaps it was too hard, perhaps nobody studied, perhaps I am a horrible teacher who shows no mercy but oh well), preparing lesson plans, and doing necessary (and unnecessary) internet things. I also had time to devour some excellent books (namely George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series that EVERYONE should read, thank you Ate!). I want to give a shout out to Mrs. Peters’ 6th grade Social Studies classes for their amazing letters and goodies that my students immensely enjoyed. I will do my best to get back to all of you!

Outside of school I have been hanging out with my family, hanging out with my fellow volunteers, and planning for a trip to the Philippines that will (God willing) happen late June. Thanks to Championship Week, I was also able to spend a few nights with my training family in Kitti (it was great seeing everyone and catching up!). The games were pretty exciting and even intense at times. I was teased for wearing the red of MHS instead of the white of NMHS (Kitti’s Nanpei Memorial High School). Volleyball was great fun to watch, and baseball was a blast because MHS girls really know how to work a crowd (the gun cheer was my absolute favorite). The boy’s baseball team even won! I guess all that extra practice paid off.

This past Saturday I helped clean up the PC IRC (in-country resource center) and attended Catholic mass in ENGLISH. I absolutely needed this since there is only so much Catholic mass in Pohnpeian that I can take without being able to fully comprehend everything that is said. However, one downside to hanging out in Kolonia (where anything social occurs) is the taxi situation. Once, it took me two hours instead of the usual one to get home since taxis like to make multiple pit stops, usually for no feasible reason I can think of (with my still Americanized mind set). Another time I had to wait two hours in Kolonia just for a taxi to show up, even after calling the base three times. Grr. However, I did meet a pretty awesome Chuukese security guard who was concerned for my well-being. Yay nice people!

That’s more or less life for me since my last blog post. Remember, I want to know what’s happening with all of YOU dear readers (preferably not from Facebook stalking). Updates are always welcome, as are books, letters, pictures, whatever you can think of and are willing to send me. Menlau! (a more informal way of saying thank you in Pohnpeian).