Dancin’ the days away

“Go dance.”

“I can’t dance!”

“Go dance.”

And thus began my week long dance practice.

Most of the Pohnpeian women that I have met while being here really know how to shake up.  At any kamadipw, special occasion, or just for fun, it is almost a given that if there is music, then there will be dancing.  In honor of Education Day, a day when all the educators on the island gather together to celebrate their successes and reconfirm their commitment to teaching, each municipality had to prepare a song and/or dance to perform for their fellow teachers.  So it was decided by my Principal that all of the teachers at Madolenihmw High School would participate, whether or not they could sing or dance.  Everyone would sing, but for some reason only the ladies would dance.

I love singing – give me lyrics and a melody and I’ll totally sing.  Roughly translated into English, the song MHS chose to sing was about showing the light to people who have lost their way (very appropriate for teachers).  However, I don’t dance.  This is a fact of life.  Over the years I have avoided dances and dancing in general.  Of course, with the “why not?” attitude I have adopted here, I conceded to join in on the dancing.  Surprisingly, I’m actually glad I did since practices were a lot of fun and the dances weren’t too hard once broken down.  The best part, though, was watching the other ladies dance.  They sure know their stuff!  Conversely, it was pretty hilarious observing those teachers who didn’t know the moves attempt to dance since I was in the same boat as them and probably just as ridiculous.  Our performance on Education Day was full of energy and spirit though lacking a bit in accuracy of dance movements.  But sohte pwunod (no worries) since everybody had a good time.

Ironically, this all took place in the midst of mid-terms, so when I should have been grading I was dancing instead.  Curses!  My classes have been both challenging and rewarding for me over the course of this past quarter.  The large class sizes and variety of learning styles and levels in the same class constantly make me work hard to adapt my lessons so everyone can learn.  They haven’t always been successful but teaching is a work in progress, I believe.  However, I have seen my students grow a little more comfortable and confident in using English every day, which is one of the primary reasons as to why I’m here in the first place.  I also love that many students are excited to have an accessible library and borrow books, which makes me really hope that I can spend more time in the library next semester and find a librarian who will carry this all on.

Though I spend most of my free time planning and grading, I have been able to join in on family sakau time, play with the baby, research options for the future (I’m thinking grad school somewhere), and party with my fellow mehn wai.  As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or just want to catch up.  Kaselel until next time!