not 'bye', just 'see ya later'

Well the day has finally come (or is coming). I will be leaving on December 12 for Satawan! My host father is in Weno and has arranged for me to take the FSM Coast Guard Patrol Boat with him out to the Mortlocks. The ride will thus be faster and smoother than if I were taking one of the smaller fishing boats. Praise God!

At the present time, I am running around town buying supplies to take out, sending emails, sending mail, writing this blog, etc. The immediacy of this has given me a sudden burst of excitement about getting out there, but I am trying to pace myself because once on-island, things will be much s l o w e r...

Mortlocks HS, where I will teach, has sadly not begun their school year yet. The Chuuk Dept of Education's shipment of food was postponed to Satawan (for various reasons...) which delayed their start. Because students come to the HS from each of the several Mortlocks Islands, they have to stay with host families while they attend school. Part of the deal is that the state will provide lunchs to remove a burden from the families. No lunches = No school.

Thankfully, the HS just got solar panels which will allow for night classes. This, in addition to Saturday classes, will hopefully get us caught up and salvage some of the summer. We'll see!

I will be back in Weno in March for an in-service training of all volunteers for a few days. At that time, I will be able to give many updates about my first 2.5 months there. To everyone who has posted comments: thank you so much for you thoughts and prayers and well-wishes: I wish there were some way I could hit "reply" to your posts. I go with your support behind me!

PEACE and MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Alex

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Some of the volunteers and myself celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday at a restaurant by our office, which served a giant buffet, complete with two turkeys, mashed potatoes and gravy, a pig, and desserts galore. Jake (VA native, serving on Romanum), Michael (OH native, serving on Ta), Suzi (OH native serving on Kuttu), and I went around and told what we were thankful for on this most delicious of holidays. Family, new friends, a great volunteer community, faith, High Tide Restaurant for providing the meal, the weather, and sharing this experience of a lifetime.

Here are some more things that I am thankful for, especially today.

1. Telephones, which allowed me to call home and talk to my extended family and find out first-hand how the Lions are destroying Michigan.
2. Rain, which comes with cooling wind, and replenishes our source of running water.
3. The internet and email, which apart from keeping me in touch with my best friends, has enabled a number of neat conversational opportunities with Kristin (PCV Benin) and the author of Scratch Beginnings.
4. My brother and this new-fangled ukulele; without Ben's know-how, I'd still be tuning it in front of the computer...
5. You, for reading this, thinking about me, and offering support in so many ways.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Love,
Alex

Waiting Game...

Well I was sworn-in on November 13th, and the waiting game has been in full-swing ever since. Today starts week 2 of serving as Peace Corps volunteer away from my site. Weno is not terrible (in fact, with the help of the other Volunteers here, it's been kinda fun), but it is not Satawan. Via Gmail chat today, my friend Marc asked whether I felt relaxed. I can't say that it's relaxing being here, but I don't feel stressed either. I feel like I'm in an awkward limbo, waiting for a plane that keeps getting delayed, thinking about packing (but not actually doing so), and just slowly moving about the city.

Things I am enjoying include: the community of volunteers (PCVs, Jesuits, Australians, Japanese), morning walks with Michael & Suzi (M74 PCVs), soft-serve ice cream at Asa store, Dr. Christine @ Sefin clinic and I are on a first-name basis (I electrocuted myself last week by stepping on an open wire in the frayed wire of my fan cord), reading in the hammock when the wind blows, the scenery, and the kids that are everywhere.

Also, I bought rat-poison and I've taken care of that problem. And I am reading books like it's nobody's business. Book I highly recommend: Jeffrey Sachs's Common Wealth. Book I do not recommend: Adam Shepard's Scratch Beginnings. If you read them or have read them, please let me know. I'd love to chat ya up.

Might be getting dive certified in the next week or two... I just got quoted $395.00 to get certified, so if I can't find it cheaper, then I'm skipping on that idea.

All for now...
Peace!

The Ants Go Marching, Two by Two...Hoorah

I realized yesterday how much of a nuisance the ants are here in Chuuk, when I saw them crawling out of my keyboard as I was typing an email to my mom. It has been raining fairly consistently over the past five days, and one night I left my laptop in my bag, the exterior of which was still wet. Apparently, this attracted ants, who decided to make my only connection to the outside world their personal kingd…whoops…another one just scampered out, only to be met by the crushing weight of my fingers.

Needless to say, I have been running several programs at a time trying to smoke them out of the innards of this machine, and its been mostly successful. If I take out the battery and shake the whole computer, more fall out each time. It may just be that I’ll always have a few who missed the eviction notice. Too bad.

This most recent inconvenience represents what has become Alex’s Epic Saga Against the Ants. The Saga started when I first moved in, six weeks ago. When I awoke on the second morning, my arms and legs tingled as the several legs of too many ants marched this way and that all over my body. Jumping from my bed, I could see the trail of ants from the ceiling, down the wall, and onto my bed via a pillow propped up against the wall. In my rage, I grabbed the handyman’s secret weapon, duct tape, and began picking them up ten at a time, until they were no more.

The ants have tried to make homes in my underwear, in my tshirts, in my bag, on my floor, between the pages of my books, and most recently, in the most expensive piece of electronics I own. I have tried duct tape, bug spray, and now heat to kill them. Perhaps you have a suggestion or two, or can send ant traps or ant poison to end this bloody struggle. What the ants lack in forethought, critical analysis, basic attack mechanics, and sophisticated weaponry, they more than make up for in numbers and sheer dumb-headed persistence.

Calling in for reinforcements…
PCV Plum

"This has been a test of the EAS..."

I will swear-in as a Peace Corps volunteer in only 2 short weeks! I am over the hump of my pre-service training, and this second phase in Chuuk. We have received word that it looks as though I will be heading right out to Satawan, pretty soon after I swear-in. The government has purchased gas for the airplane and the pilot has signed the contract, but the President vetoed the first list of "airline trustees". The second list is awaiting action, but will apparently be signed, according to our sources. I don't know our sources.

Since my last post, many things have come and gone, including Halloween! So, Happy Belated Halloween! Halloween is as big here as it is in the States. The kids dress up, people give out candy, and the men...shoot guns. Admittedly, I did not hear any guns being fired. The Peace Corps volunteers rented a hotel room the night of Halloween for a going-away party for one of the volunteers who leaves Monday for home (New York).

That great institution of higher learning located just East of the state capital, Lansing, I hear, is doing well (surprisingly well) at football. Did they beat the Funiversity of Michigan? How could it be? And UM only scored two legitimate touchdowns? Uh-oh. (Okay...enough bragging, but I waited 4 years to gloat, and never got my chance. Now it comes, and I'm halfway across the globe!)

On Wednesday of last week, we had quite the surprise. While we were buying our lunch at a roadside store, a police truck slowly drove by, his lights flashing, and a looped PA announcement blaring something in Chuukese. When we got back to the training site, we were told that the police issued a Tidal Wave alert, but that it was probably just a test. PROBABLY! Of course, we called our PC Safety and Security coordinator in Pohnpei who said there was no seismic activity which could have caused anything. Life lesson: next time the TV blares that obnoxious EAS noise and the screen goes rainbow, be glad that you know "this is only a test".

Peace,
Alex

Book Wish List

It is raining today, and with all rainy days here in Chuuk, the few ways to pass the time become even fewer. The Peace Corps library here has some great books, but our office was recently renovated, and in the process we lost a lot of good material. Hence, I've assembled a list of books that I would love to read (I'm on some huge Robert Ludlum kick) for academic and recreational reasons. Here is the URL:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/registry.html?
ie=UTF8&type=wishlist&id=3EFGPKUS6WC07

(copy and paste this into your address bar - the whole thing - both lines)

If this doesn't work, you can go to Amazon.com, click on Wish Lists, and type in Alex Plum and it will come up. *Note: From the list, if you click on "Add to Cart" it will assume you want to buy a more expensive version of the book. To find a cheaper version or used book, click on the link under the button which says, "27 New & Used From" (or some other number) and then a price. Some of the Ludlum books are only a penny. Shipping will be the same rate as within the United States.

My address over here is saved to the Wish List, too, so you can send it to me via Amazon directly. If you can't find the address there, here it is again:

Alex Plum, Peace Corps
PO Box 39
Weno Chuuk, FM 96942

(For city, put in "Weno Chuuk" and for state put in "FM")

Thanks in advance for any great reads (on the list or otherwise) that you forward on!!!!! If you happen to send one out, would you respond to this post so it doesn't get re-sent? Thanks!

Peace,
Alex

Chuuk: Settled In

Raan Allem! (Good Day, in Mortlockese)

Chuuk is a very different place from what I experienced in Pohnpei. For starters, the roads are… well… they aren’t. Massive potholes fill up with water after each torrential downpour, making it nearly impossible to ford each individual Lake Huron in a tiny sub-compact from Japan. That said, it’s impossible to speed, and the only drivers likely to fall asleep would have to suffer from epilepsy. These were my first impressions of Chuuk.

I soon found out that the island is completely without power. The government has “run out” of money to provide electricity. This means that individual families rely on small generators if they must have electricity. With gas hovering right around USD 6.00/gallon, it is cost prohibitive for most of the island to have regular electricity, though some do run generators at night for fans, lights, etc. My family does not have a generator, though this has been less of a hassle that one might think. I have a flashlight (one of the windup kinds that doesn’t run on batteries), and there are plenty of lanterns. If you’d like to send candles or similar lighting devices that don’t require batteries, that would be super-duper.

The bathroom has a shower area with a giant garbage bin full of water and a cup for dipping, rinsing, etc. There is also a water-seal toilet, which requires one to dump a full bucket of water after using the toilet to flush. Not enough water, too much toilet paper, or pouring the water too slowly can cause the bowl to fill, but not flush. This has happened far too often to me, but I am slowly getting the hang of it, blushing cheeks and all.

Yesterday I attended a fundraiser at Holy Family Catholic Parish. Eight parishes from different islands sent choirs of kids, young adults, and adults here to perform songs, attend Mass, and then raise money for the next group of young seminarians. They raised on-site over $1,600, totaling around $16,725 with the cash they raised on their islands and brought with them. In a country with no electricity, no vegetables (currently), and infrastructure which mimics that of Chuuk 1945 (after the US bombed the heck out of the Japanese forces held up here), one has to be surprised and inspired by their willingness to give for a purpose and a need they hold to be dear. It is an interesting paradigm of development – from very little comes very much.

For your curiosity, some Chuukese superstitions/cultural tidbits. When walking or driving somewhere and a cat crosses your path, you must stop and spit on the ground, or else: bad luck. If a leaf of the breadfruit tree falls on you, you must pick it up, tear off the stem of the leaf, fold over the edges of the leaf, and stab the middle with the stem. This means you will eat fish. For New Years Eve, the Chuukese make huge drums and stay up late just parading around and making noise. They trick-or-treat on Halloween, but don’t wear costumes. I explained the term “trick or treat” which made sense to them; they said I could dress up if I wanted. They love Steven Segal here…enough said.

Peace,
Alex

My placement!

Hello all...sorry for the long wait in sending you info! I will be placed on Satawan Island of Chuuk State - no electricity, no internet, no phone! I leave on 10/4 for Chuuk, but I will be in the capital of Weno for 6 weeks until I depart for the island. During that time I will hopefully have access to internet/phone.

My new address is (effective immediately):
Alex Plum, Peace Corps
PO Box 39
Weno, Chuuk, FM
96942

If you send me a blank CD I can burn you some of the pictures I’ve been taking and then send it back to you (loading images onto the computer is very, very expensive and time consuming). Yesterday I went to the ruins of Nan Madol, one of the first ports/kingdoms/forts built on the southern coast of Madolenihmw thousands of years ago. After taking pictures of the ruins, you can swim out to an outpost about 50 yards off the coast, climb to the top, and jump off into the waters below, about 20 feet down. It was about an hour walk from my host family’s home.

The Ringlen family is hosting me here. Rizal and Jayleen (30 and 28, respectively) are the parents of Rijay (10), Richie (6), and Richen (1 ½). Rizal’s dad, Edwin, also lives with us (I believe it is Edwin’s house). It’s a great place to stay; tile floors, big kitchen, my own room, running water toilet, and a bucket shower (fun experience). The kids are interested in all the weird gadgets that I brought, from my iPod (current favorite song is the theme from Snakes on a Plane) to my computer (taught Rijay how to use MS Word last night..hahaha) to my camera (they like to mimic Western culture whenever I take their pictures, which basically means they turn into gangsta thugs and flip the bird…thanks, USA).

Well, that’s enough updates for now. Hopefully I will have more regular internet connection for the 6 weeks I’m in Weno for the second phase of Pre Service Training. Once I’m placed on Satawan, however, these posts will come monthly at best…such is the life of a Peace Corps soon-to-be Volunteer.

Peace,
Alex

Micronesia...I'm here!

Micronesia…I’m here!

Well we’re here in Pohnpei, one of the four island states of the Federated States of Micronesia. The city is Kolonia, which is the capital. The plane trip was intense. We left Hawaii at 6:55am (Hawaii time) and flew to Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands – trip time 4h 45m, crossing the International Dateline. Half the plane “deplaned” so Marshall Islands police could do a security sweep of the plane; we waited in the outdoor airport lobby for 20 minutes or so. Then we took off for Kwajelein, a US military installation in the Marshall Islands network, flight time 45min. Some people’s trip ended here. We took back off and landed in Kosrae, the easternmost island state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Deplaned for 20 minutes, got back on, and an hour later we landed in Pohnpei.

I usually don’t take window seats on planes because of my irrational fear of getting sucked out the window in the event of an explosion. But the scenery upon landing has made me consider revamping my live-saving strategy. Coral reefs and very small atolls (in addition to our ears popping) signaled that our landing was imminent. The first sight of the island was pure green – exotic trees covering everything, with the occasional house nestled in. This island, I’m told, was formed by volcanic activity, which would explain the huge rock formations which give the appearance of a mountain range. The blue-green lagoons dotting the coast are a huge temptation to just go swimming – the color looks computer generated. It’s breath taking and unreal.

We landed, boarded a bus, and are at the hotel right now. We were greeted by a ton of Peace Corps staff people – so many smiles and hugs and hand-shakes. In the hotel’s “conference room” we found a smorgasbord of local foods for snacking (the conference room is air conditioned, but it’s a separate building from the hotel). Three groups were separated for different aspects of training – we rotate trainings until we leave Monday morning. Tonight was host family training…look for another post on that topic later.

FYI: From my training manual a warning about my future communication starting Monday here (Sunday night for you in the EST):
Trainees should assume that they will not have email access during PreService training, and limited phone access – some host families have phones and some do not. From any phone, you will need to use a calling card to call internationally. Please make sure that your family and friends are aware that your ability to communicate with them during PST will be extremely limited, and you will likely not be able to communicate to call them at a specific time.

Thank you for the prayers and thoughts. I’m ecstatic to be here, and I’m getting really excited as I keep thinking about what the next weeks and months are going to bring!

Love,
Alex

Hawaii

Aloha!

We landed here at 5:00pm Hawaii time (11:00pm EST) after a 5 hour plane ride or so....very smooth ride. Obviously only here for a very short while, we leave at 3:30am Hawaii time (9:30am EST) for the airport again, to depart for Micronesia, making 3 pit stops along the way.

We cross the dateline during this whole thing, so instead of being behind you all, I'll soon be ahead of you. When we land in Kolonia we will be 15 hours ahead of you: 2:30pm Pohnpei time on Saturday 9/13 is actually going to be 11:30pm Friday 9/12!

No more updates...nothing has really happened. Oh wait...a guy named Michael B. is joining our training class because his program in Georgia was suspended after all of the South Ossetia drama.

I'll hopefully have a post (with some pictures) later on tonight or when we're in Micronesia!

Peace,
Alex

Welcome to Staging Part 2

Our staging has been going pretty well. There are 27 of us who are training together here in LA, and the group dynamic looks pretty good, even though we are still in “honeymoon” stage. We got out at 7:15pm last night and all of us lined up at the ATM machine to withdraw our staging allowance and per diem - $180 for three days. Then 10 of us walked down West Century Blvd to Denny’s for dinner.

The time change turned my biological clock upside down, but I feel pretty rested this morning. We got a huge update of our next few days, so that’s what follows in short-form. I turn my phone off tonight for good (for 2 years).

9/11 we fly LA to Hawaii and stay overnight in Hawaii at a hotel. We leave Hawaii at 6am and touch down in the Marshall Islands of Majuro and Kwajelein and the FSM island of Kosrae. One half of the passengers will have to deplane at each stop with their entire carry-on luggage for a security sweep of the plane. After these three stops, we arrive in Pohnpei for Phase 1 of our training, at 2pm local time on Saturday, 9/13 (we cross the date line so we add a day).

9/13 & 9/14: Medical shots, interviews with training staff, getting to know trainers, learning about PC/Micronesia. We move to our training host families on Monday, 9/15.

9/15: Move in with first host family near Pohnpei. From my training manual: “Trainees will be assigned to host families in villages throughout the municipality that they will live with for the next three weeks. All of the families will have access to water and the washroom may be an “outhouse” type facility, a water seal toilet, or a more Western-type facility. Trainees will take bucket type showers. Trainees will have their own room, and will likely be the only person in the house with his/her own sleeping area. Sharing belongings is a cultural norm, so make sure to have locks on luggage if there are valuables you need protecting.”

This is Phase I of pre-service training. It includes general orientation, medical and admin training and orientation, water safety, and some basic technical training.

9/27: I find out my site assignment right around this date (which island I will serve on).

10/3 and 10/4: Move to the island of service to begin Phase II of pre-service training. Phase II training includes language, cultural, and more technical training. At this time, we will be living with our local family – the family with whom I will live for the next 2 years!!

11/14: Swearing-In Date: If all goes well, the volunteers will be sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers!!!

Welcome to Staging - Part One

I'm here in sunny LA, officially as of 1:15pm (PST). The plane ride was bumpy...very bumpy; one flight attendant blamed it on the weather (specifically the Hurricanes), but as I de-planed, I got the skinny ---- the baggage attendants in Atlanta did a "poor" job of loading the plane, which contributed to the bumpiness until we roller-coastered up to 38,000 feet. Adventurous....!

At any rate, I have a roommate named Morgan. I saw his stuff in the room, but I haven't met him yet. I am sitting at the hotel bar, enjoying a Gin & Tonic (I deserve it) and watching the pizza to my left get cold. I'll have more tonight after I register and we have our first training setting meeting.

Peace!

Hello!

Welcome to my blog. I wish I could guarantee that I'll be posting regularly when I'm abroad, but my internet access will be sparse at best. I leave on September 9 for LA, where I undergo "Orientation Training" for 2 days. Then off to Kolonia, Pohnpei in Micronesia where I will stay for 2 months for my project training. If all goes well, I will be sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer in November.

As of today, my "job description" is deceptively straightforward: English teacher. In Peace Corps-speak, that can mean "Teacher of Math" or "Teacher of English-teachers" or "Teacher of the English Language to 4987 Different Audiences". It should come as no surprise that Micronesians need help learning this language...

I'll also be a Community Development Worker. This is about as vague a title as any in the Peace Corps, but for good reason. CDWs help individual villages and communities initiate and complete their own "beneficial" projects, which vary with the needs and wants of individual villages. I use "beneficence" merely to say that the projects are community-inspired and community-driven, and thus, when completed, should (hopefully) accomplish a means to some end that, otherwise, wouldn't be. Like I said, vague.

There is no "universal" language in Micronesia, even though the language of government is, in fact, English. One reason that PCVs are being recruited to teach English is the need of the country to have citizens who can interact in this "increasingly globalized order." (Editor's Note: Throughout this post, phrases in quotation marks are those which make the author physically ill to write or say alone.)

I'm going to get back to shopping and packing some things. Leave comments if you have questions, and I can do another post in a few days answering them. I have changed the settings so anyone can post comments - you need not be a member of this blog.

Peace,
Alex