A Micronesian Plum

Giving Thanks

2011-11-24T18:47:00.001-05:00

First Thanksgiving in America since 2007, and the Lions lost. Welcome home, eh? As I ate turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole - the usual fare - I reflected on the 3 Thanksgivings I celebrated at High Tide restaurant in Chuuk. I ate the same food there (with the addition of spam-fried rice, of course), and I did so in the company of friends. Even though it was nice to be with my family again today, I miss my M74, 75, and 76 friends who made the past three "last Thursdays in November" a family experience.

So today I'm giving thanks for all the people who made my last three years in Micronesia a remarkable, unforgettable experience. I'm thanking them for challenging my notions about what development means, and thus starting a process in my head of evaluation and criticism about what comes next for me. I'm thankful for the relationships which grounded my work, provided inherent value to the work I accomplished, and gave context to the larger questions and ideas (faith, spirituality, human empowerment, sustainable development) which are my passion.

Today's Thanksgiving meal was what I had been wanting for the three years I was gone - Mom's green bean casserole, Aunt Stacie's salsa, and the Lions' usual sub-par performance. But I really missed the High Tide waitresses and the Ran Annim welcome as I walked through the glass doors.

Feed

2011-10-06T09:26:00.002-04:00

The adage "give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for his life" is only true for the men in our world who live near water and have the capacity to fish. For the rest of the world's children, women, and men (well, at least those in Pontiac, Michigan), there's the Baldwin Center. Since 1981, Baldwin has been serving meals in its family kitchen to the homeless, the poor, the near-poor, and the people in-between who need a safe place with the lights on. We serve over 300 meals a day, at breakfast during the week, at lunch everyday but Tuesday and Thursday, and dinner on those two nights, and that doesn't include the meals served to our summer and after-school youth programs. People come to us on foot, by car, and on bike. Some are between jobs and are just trying to stretch their budget. Most come sober, and most walk through our doors on their own two feet. But a wide range of addictions and disabilities harangue many of the people we serve, and for them, lunch or dinner at Baldwin is critical to meeting their needs.The nice thing about having been around for 30 years is the depth and breadth of volunteer relationships we've cultivated. Some of our volunteer groups have been coming monthly every year since we opened. And that's a significant indicator of why we've been successful for all these years. Because without volunteers to cook, dish, and serve the meals, nobody would be fed. Today, we want to continue building relationships like the ones that have sustained our mission to feed, by incorporating new individuals and groups into our volunteer mix.Come join us fill bellies and provide people with a constant source of nourishment in this world of uncertainty. 248.332.6101.

Back in the USA

2011-10-06T09:02:00.001-04:00

As I transition back to living here in America, I hope to use this blog as a way to reflect publicly on my three year experience living and teaching abroad, and make connections to what's happening here. As people have been asking about my transition home, there's one word I've used a lot: overwhelming. The pace of life, attitudes about competition, the engrained sentiment that we have to 'succeed' at all costs, unending work weeks, communication styles I'm not used to - I should probably keep going and get it all out. At any rate, I'm in the thick of my transition back to life here in America, and it's been a tough adjustment in some ways. In other ways, my iPhone has made connecting to friends and family very easy, driving on US interstates is indescribably better than on Weno roads, and dressing comfortably is a far cry from the same pair of tattered yellow & grey shorts that I kept from the beginning. And when I freak out because the wireless at my house blinks off, I have to remind myself - first world problems.I kept a journal while I was in Micronesia, and it's my hope that I'll be disciplined enough to beginning posting some of those posts here, in lieu of having done it over the course of my time on .25 square mile islands. I'm also going to integrate my work at Baldwin Center into this blog, because this new adventure working for a faith-inspired, human services non-profit is a continuation of a professional journey in relationships. When asked what the best part of the Peace Corps was, my answer has never changed: the relationships I formed with my Mochese family, friends, church, and coworkers at the school. Now I'll be making relationships with people in Pontiac, Michigan, with the goal of feeding, clothing, educating, and empowering folks who are in need.So, stay tuned as I tie together the old and new, the Micronesian and American, the island-life with the city-life, and the sand with the snow.

Pre-Thanksgiving Update

2010-11-14T22:20:00.002-05:00

Even with internet out here, as you can see, there's just no guarantees for regular updates. Sorry, I've been busy. The 37 12th graders here at Moch High School have just finished their first quarter at school. Our total enrollment is at 180 HSers, which is HUGE by island-standards. (The other HS, on Satowan, is down to around 110 or so, but it looked even smaller when I visited recently).

Still, the Chuuk Dept of Eeducation (DOE) hasn't pulled through and delivered on the school's priority needs. We're 9 weeks down, and we have no regular meal service for the boarding students - save riceless lunch 5 days/week. Because the DOE's money comes from the US government's Compact Funds, there are countless restrictions and bureaucratic hurdles designed to ensure accountability and honest acquittal of the money. Because of Chuuk's less than honest past, today's result is a system stymied by red-tape and inefficiency. With a brand new Director of the DOE, and some staff rearrangements having taken place, it would appear that some things just got overlooked this summer.

Cruelly, it at first seemed, the school here took the brunt of that "overlooking." No rice for meals, unfulfilled additional teachers (red-tape office shuffling resulted in the amended DOE budget being lost, which included new staff positions for several schools and salary/staff actions - raises, etc), lack of construction and renovation supplies for student dorms and showers, and still no computers or router. These last electronics were supposed to come to us under the unspent portion of the DOE's budget; since those funds don't roll over into the next year, we were going to spend $30,000 on a computer lab and equipment. Regrettably, the staff at the DOE bungled that up, too, and with more red-tape to hamper the process, by the time everything was straightened out, it was already past October 1 - the new fiscal year. Still no action.

It is hard to remain optimistic at times, but the students are doing a HECK of a job overcoming the obstacles that this developing nation keeps throwing at them. We are practicing for the College of Micronesia Entrance Test (COMET), and so far, I've got a handful of students who are showing real promise. More than anything, by exposing them to the format early, we can cut down on their frustration and confusion when day-of-test comes. Unfortunately for us, there's no way to prepare in 12 more weeks what 12 years of education failed to impart - a fuller vocabulary, more refined grammar and usage, and critical thinking/reading comprehension skills.

That said, they are going to do their best. One thing that has stood out recently for the 12th graders specifically, is the "Senior Seminar" class they have 7th period. Instead of construction for the boys and vocational education for the girls, we are doing a combined one section model. Quarter 1 was devoted to setting up their 12th grade fundraisers and school store, brainstorm how we will spend our money (and budget it), and then, for the past 4 weeks, work on a public awareness campaign to deal with mental health and suicide prevention. Styled on American PSAs, we've made a skit, video taped it, prepared posters, and they even wrote a song in Chuukese to draw attention to suicide and how our youth can prevent it. It's truly remarkable.

So, as we get close to Thanksgiving, I am saying Thanks to my students who remind me daily, that even in the midst of some really trying and inefficient upper-level processes, at the ground level, our relationships and our attitudes, and our work continue to speak for themselves. And that's what's most important.

Moch Island 8th Grade Graduation: Broadcast LIVE

2010-06-15T05:58:00.002-04:00

Moch Elementary School's 8th grade graduation will be broadcast (live audio & video feed) over Skype, account name "mochschoolprincipal". Go to your Skype account, add "mochschoolprincipal" as one of your contacts, and it will be possible to add your account to our queue so you could view the graduation ceremony live. The event begins at 7:30pm Eastern Standard Time Tuesday evening which is also 9:30am Chuuk/Moch Time Wednesday morning. Hope to "see you" there!

Moch Has the Internet!

2010-06-10T23:41:00.002-04:00

First, a message for all Mochese people living off-island: Ai kapwong chappur ngani kemi monson! Iei Alex, naun Moch Peace Corps Volunteer. Ausekan mochen, pwe aami aupwe le makkei are typeni aami emails o tingalo ngani: mochschool@gmail.com. Nauch we principal Aka Raymond a tungoriei pwe ipwe alisirr le connectini ngani ach ei Internet. Iwe, aupwe le achocho le chiechifengen remem won Internet! Killisou chappur!

Second, a THANK YOU to everyone who has sent letters and/or packages. Most sincerely: thank you to my friends at Swartz Creek UMC for their donation of computer toner and ink for our printers. We have already put them to great use during Finals Week. School has adjourned for the year, and our 8th graduation is set for next week. I am looking forward to enjoying my summer break and seeing what blessings are in store for me next.

The island has just received a satellite dish and internet hook-up care of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). Technicians installed the equipment on June 9, and we've been online since. The signal strength is okay; faster than dial-up, but still not as fast as a cable connection in the US. This means downloading and uploading take a good bit of time, but using Skype and browsing websites is completely doable. If you don't have Skype, go download it and go buy a microphone (for like $5 from BestBuy) and we can talk for free anytime!

Our "Camp Boys to Men" takes place next week. Hosting about 25 or so boys from the islands of the Mortlocks to come and talk about issues important to their personal development: school success strategies, mental health and substance abuse, and finally promoting healthy relationships. It will be 4 days long and starts next Wednesday. We are excited, so stay tuned for more information and plenty of pictures!

All is well on Moch and I hope all is well with you! Send a message soon.

An Indirect Culture

2010-04-12T19:07:00.002-04:00

My friend Sonson committed suicide 3 weeks ago in response to his father's edict that Sonson not marry the girl he had been dating for some months. After a 3 day drunken binge, he hanged himself with an a-frame tshirt on the fence of the Chuuk State Supreme Court building, knowing his father would find him when he arrived there for work in the morning.

This example is perhaps the most illustrative, in my experience, of Chuuk's indirect culture. The anger and frustration and pain that Sonson felt as a result of his family's rejection of the "love of his life" found no outlet. And that's because people here do not talk about their feelings with one another. Families do not address issues head-on; instead, they show how they feel through indirect cues: silence, absence, not cooking meals, not doing the laundry, getting drunk, becoming abusive. Eventually, frustration and pain go away, or they get buried deep down, and folks move on. When pain and sadness don't go away, however, and its not culturally appropriate to express yourself with your family or your friends or even a neutral third party, what's left? For Sonson, it was the ultimate show of indirect anger and pain: "look what YOU made me do."

I don't mean to suggest that people here are fundamentally broken or that families are "messed up" or noncommunicative. They simply express themselves in a way that we, as Americans, find confusing, circuitous, and complex. You'll never hear a mother praise or compliment her daughter - in private or in public. In fact, you'd be more likely to hear the mother call her daughter stupid, ugly, incompetent, and lazy IN FRONT OF OTHER PEOPLE before you'd ever hear her say "oh her hair is just so beautiful, isn't it?" It's not that her mother thinks those things - certainly not! But in this culture, a mother would never think to be so ostentatious or conceited as to brag about her daughter. By saying all the negatives, the listener automatically rejects them as clearly false, and is left with the impression that the girl is simply quiet, sweet, humble, and respectful of her mother sitting next to her. And by replying in kind, the listener is able to flatter both the mother and the daughter in what amounts to the most indirect conversation of one's life. I've actually seen this happen, in person, when a young man came to ask my cousin's family for permission to marry her. The speeches were enough to make you think she was worthless. Until the young man, while shaking his head, effectively said: it doesn't matter, I still want to marry her. And the blessing was sealed.

This cultural passivity and indirectness has affected me, too. While living on Satowan, I errantly listened to my host family tell me they didn't want me to pay them a monthly host family allowance. (Peace Corps encourages us to give between $50-$75 each month to our families for food and other expenses). Knowing that my host family was rather well-off, I thought they were just proud to be able to host me, and I worried that if I forced the issue or gave them money anyway, I might offend them or appear to be the "American" and not the "son" I wanted to be. Of course, by refusing to accept the money, they were just being indirect. If I'd asked again, they would have still said no. But if I'd insisted, they would have relented and done so gratefully. It took me a few months of reading between the lines (late or no meals; laundry once a month; weird glances; lots of silence) before I realized there was even a problem, and then still longer before I realized it was all because I was too eager to not pay them each month. I blame myself for being miserly and too eager to not pay them. Now that I'm on Moch, that situation almost replayed itself, until the fourth or fifth time I demanded that my host family give me a dollar figure each month, and we made an agreement. Although its not culturally appropriate to have a conversation about money each month, I do because, for me, it's not worth suffering through the indirectness and resultant guilt and embarrassment.

So what does this mean? I don't know. I'm not trying to draw any big conclusions. These are just observations about a culture and a way of dealing with feelings that we, in America, would consider to be unhealthy and counter-productive. I'm not going to say that they are always unhealthy and counter-productive, but the alarming rate of suicide per capita speaks for itself. For these reasons, mental health (really, just being aware of what depression means and what you can do to get help) is going to be an important part of our camp in June. Here in Chuuk, there is a department in the Public Health sector called SAMH (Substance Abuse and Mental Health). SAMH has been negligent in presenting information about mental health, in my opinion, when they make presentations to youth. Twice in as many months, a SAMH representative has been to the Mortlocks to give a presentation. One was an assembly for HS students on Moch talking about the risk of cancer from smoking cigarettes and inhaling second-hand smoke. The other was an assembly for the Protestant youth groups during the Easter rally where they talked all about cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, and betel nut, and their negative effects. Mental health just gets glossed over, again, because its culturally difficult (if not impossible) to speak directly and frankly about feelings, sadness, and suicide.

Maybe camp will be a first step in that direction. In memory of Sonson, and for future boys who might think like him, I hope we can do something.

Camp Boys to Men

2010-04-08T23:31:00.002-04:00

For years, Peace Corps worldwide has had a special focus on ensuring successful girls' development. Many posts hold an annual summer camp called "Camp GLOW" (Girls Leading Our World) focusing on issues pertinent to girls - physical, social, and educational development. Some PCVs were talking back in December about the success of the Camp GLOW project in Pohnpei, but were bemoaning the fact that boys development has been inadvertently neglected in the process. Here in Chuuk, boys stand to benefit greatly from such a personal-development-themed camp. So, with 2 other PCVs from the Mortlocks (Dan on Kuttu and Trevor on Ta), I authored a grant through the Australian Embassy's Direct Aid Program for $2,700 USD to run a camp. It was awarded in February, and so from June 16-19, the first annual Mortlocks Camp Boys to Men will be held on Moch!

Boys, on average, start smoking at age 13. They start drinking alcohol by 14-15. And they become sexually active as early as 13. About 25% of each graduating 8th grade class will not continue on to high school. And, anecdotally, if you ask a young man if they've been affected by suicide, almost every time they'll be able to give the name of a family member who has taken their own life. *(I was devastated to find out that a 24 year old guy named Sonson took his own life in March. He had worked at the hotel which hosted all the Peace Corps functions in Chuuk, and was a friend to our PCV community.) Substance abuse, mental health, reproductive health, and simply understanding the importance of education are not treated sufficiently here. In America, we take it for granted that we get sex-ed in 5th grade, again in health class in 8th grade, and then in health class in 10th grade. The rule of law prevents (most of) us from smoking before 18 or drinking before...18. We're conditioned to talk about our problems and thus are able to (much of the time) avert problems before they become serious mental health issues. The culture here, however, is not so hands-on.

So, we 3 PCVs in the Mortlocks are addressing these issues head-on among the 30-some 14 year old 8th grade graduate boys from Satowan, Ta, Kuttu, and Moch Islands over 4 days in a culturally-sensitive way. I'm in Weno for the week to process the payment, open a bank account, make some purchases, and otherwise organize it so we're set to go in June. While we can't make kids stop smoking, hopefully just having conversations and giving them the critical thinking skills to make connections between decisions and their long-term health will move them along a better and more sustainable path in life.

the long haul...

2010-02-08T00:40:00.003-05:00

I am leaving tomorrow for Moch by way of the 8-seater twinprop Caroline Islands Air plane. The next five months will be the longest continuous stint that I'm going to get, my entire service considered. I couldn't be more excited for it.

We have a saying among Mortlocks PCVs that one should never rush out there, because once you get to your island, you realize how obsolete your conception of 'time' is. If it weren't for the daily ringing of the school bell, I would become perfectly local, at least in terms of planning and scheduling: "m'eh - whenever..." To take one's time in travelling out there, however, helps smooth the rough edges where the hectic, daily grind of cars and clocks and caffeine butt against the slow pace of gently rolling wind and waves.

The students and staff of the high school on Moch continue to be the most rewarding part of my service, and I am excited to think about what they have in store for me next. It's funny - I came into Peace Corps to learn about "development on the ground." Ironically, what I've learned (and I've learned much) has perhaps been the least appealing and most frustrating part of being a PCV. Teaching, on the other hand, was the 'job' I dreaded, but it's been the golden ticket in this Wonka-bar experience.

Think about me, pray for the people of Moch, and feel free to send Starbucks decaf coffee (pre-ground 'medium' or for an 'electric-perc' coffee-maker - its for my french press). I miss you already!

Peace,
Alex

Post-Christmas Reflections

2010-02-01T01:30:00.002-05:00

Let me just say that Moch is an amazing island and I am blessed to be serving there. A lot has happened in the 5 or so months since I posted to this blog: I served 3 months on Moch, a few weeks in Weno before my mid-service conference, a week at the conference, a month in Michigan, and now about another month being back waiting for the plane to go back out to Moch.

Moch has picked up where Satowan left off. My main issue on Satowan was a lack of host family - folks having moved to Pohnpei, my host father moving a lot because of illness and his job, and a high turnover of extended family. Basically, I'll never know how much of a real community bond I formed with the people of Satowan, because I never got comfortable enough in my own skin and PCV-identity to forge a strong one. By keeping these lessons in mind, I have forged that identity on Moch with an awesome host family, a job I love, and relationships which make it tempting to sign on for another year!

My host mom, Carleen, is a teacher at the school - 3rd grade. Her husband Mathias is getting his degree from College of Micronesia on Weno, so it's just her, me, and my siblings - all 7 of them: Kition, 23; Diane, 16; and students who live with us while they attend Moch High School: Advin, Chompan, Edson, D-boy, & Erick. Our home is white, pink, and blue, made of cement, with a corrogated tin roof. I have my own bedroom, with a raised platform, a foam mattress, a mosquito net, and a table. I have a corner room, with windows looking out across the lagoon water - a mere 20 feet from the shore.

I teach 11th grade English to two sections of students in blocks: English reading followed by writing. My students are just as eager and attentive as last year's, with a greater percentage knowing more English. I am enjoying teaching this year a lot more than I did last year. Having had a year to work out the kinks, I feel more comfortable each day with myself, and I am driven by the knowledge that my work is the most sustainable job I could be doing on that island. No matter what else these kids learn, it is true that a strong command of the English language will open doors to their future no other skill can. That's both an empowerment and a challenge.

My closest friend on the island is named Sitae, and he is my language tutor. He is also the senior pastor of the protestant church and a teacher at the school. He wears many hats on the island, but he has been an understanding friend and a reliable person to share my thoughts and questions with. In a way, he seems to "get" Americans - or at least, this American. With a laugh that says it all, he conveys the kind of empathy that I need to remind me that my experience is supposed to be full of ups and downs, and it's the challenges that, at the end of the day, are going to make my experience so unforgettable.

Christmas was an awesome time to be home with friends and family, and I'm grateful to my mom and dad for bringing me home. My mom asked if I was ready to go back, and I wasn't quite sure how to answer. Did I want to leave everyone a second time? No. But I missed (and I still miss) Moch and the people there. I have a job to do, and it's not yet finished. I can't wait to get back to work.

Knock before entering...

2009-08-12T19:13:00.002-04:00

Two posts on the same day - sorry, but this story is worth telling. While I am here on the big island (Weno, or sometimes I just call it "Chuuk" for simplicity sake), I have a host family to stay with - mostly so Peace Corps doesn't have to pay for a hotel for a number of weeks for me (and the rest of the outer island volunteers, too). I am now living with the extended family of my new permanent Moch host family here in Weno. They live on the other side of Weno away from the busy downtown, and it is incredibly beautiful there - even a river leading up to a waterfall!

The one problem - and yes, there is only one - is a significant one, because it has to do with the bathroom situation. Attached to the house is a patio, and on the end of the patio are two rooms which adjoin. One room is the bathroom (toilet and bucket shower), and the other room is where my extended family's grandmother stays. So far, so good. Until I went to take my shower the other night.

The two rooms connect via a door in the wall. As I entered the bathroom and closed that door behind me, I turned to the second door connecting to grandma's room and pulled it shut. Only, it doesn't shut - it only goes about half way before it gets stuck on a pole that is in the way. WHY IS THERE A POLE IN THE WAY??? Oh, I forgot to tell you: because Grandma is blind, and when she needs to use the potty, she follows the railing that rests on the pole into the bathroom, where a second railing directs her to the toilet.

Needless to say, I haven't used the toilet at my new host family's house. Because from the seat, not only can I see into grandma's room, but I can see grandma, too. And even though grandma can't see me, she can still hear me. And this makes the situation a little unbearable.

Last night, my host dad told me to use the other shower room, because I think they realize that its a bit awkward for me. And barring any "emergencies", I'll probably mangage for the next week or so until I can get out to Moch.

Ha!

Movin to Moch!

2009-08-12T18:50:00.002-04:00

Well, times they are a-changin for me here in Micronesia. When I arrived to Satowan a few weeks ago, I fell back into my groove and things were looking good. Because it is summertime, I could feel that things were different on the island. Many of the faces were either new (families visiting Satowan for the summer months) or missing (finally a chance to escape cabin-fever up on Weno). Enough people remained, though, to make it fun and worthwhile.

That is, until my host father Richard gave me the news: he would be leaving on the first boat to go up to Weno for the rest of the summer, and taking with him those family members who were still on Satowan. My heart sunk. This was precisely what I dreaded happening - having him leave, and having to repeat another month or two alone, only this time, since there would be no family left on Satowan, I'd have absolutely no support. So I shared with Richard how I felt and what my concerns were, and he apologized but said he had to go to Weno for Dept of Education matters and just didn't have a choice. I told him while he was gone, that I would start a search for a new host family for me on Satowan, and he agreed it was probably for the best.

The next day, Imauo, the Peace Corps leader in Chuuk, arrived to the Mortlocks with three of my PCV friends: Jake, Ben, and John. After talking with Imauo about the situation, we felt it was best that I move off Satowan entirely. Partly this decision was pragmatic (there weren't enough people on the island to find a suitable host family to live with on such short notice), and part of it was cultural (because Richard is the island's paramount chief, it may put a new family in a tight spot culturally to take responsibility away from the chief). By divine providence, another island was ready for a volunteer to come - and, not only that, but a family from that same island had been begging Imauo here in Weno for a PCV to come live with them!

I have met my new host family (Mathias and Carleen) and their kids and nephews, nieces, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, and everyone else under the sun who you could possible imagine that might live with us. The family is much larger than the one on Satowan, which in many ways, is an answer to my concern of loneliness. I will still be teaching at the high school level, 10th and maybe 11th grade English. The school is technically a "junior high school", but I will be helping to submit paperwork to have it host 11th and 12th grades, thus becoming a real high school, the second in the Mortlocks. Competition in education will benefit both schools in the Mortlocks (the other being where I used to teach on Satowan), as too many students and not enough teachers is really hurting the educational quality on Satowan.

I am excited to make this move to Moch. I have spent a good deal of time in prayer and meditation, talking to my parents and friends, and also with Peace Corps program officers about what to expect with the move. It is a stressful time (I can tell because I've had a canker sore for a week that won't go away...UGH), but I don't think its time for me to be finished with Peace Corps yet, so I will push through. In a few months, anyway, it will be time to come home for Christmas. So that's the news so far...

My address will stay the same; the only difference is my island of service: Moch, not Satowan.

back to Satowan

2009-07-15T01:50:00.002-04:00

Well today is July 15 - which marks only 5 months before I am back home in the US for Christmas and New Years! Until then, I plan on being at-site (Satowan) until my mid-service training conference, which will be the first week of December. That's roughly 4.5 months at site, which will be the longest span of time for me out in the Mortlocks. I am really looking forward to this long-haul, so I can further develop my language and make more of a connection to my island. Pray that I am effective and happy!

Coming to Weno, the capital island, is always a mixed bag. It's nice for the first week or so - air conditioning, pizza, pop, cars, more people, INTERNET! But, I seem to empty my wallet more regularly and lose my exercise routine. Most disconcerting, however, is the drifting feeling I get, in-between houses/sites/families and waiting in limbo to "go back home." The transition feeling is nice for a short bit, but it can be tiring. So I am happy to be heading back to my home away from home.

Richard, my host father, is back on Satowan, and the students have returned to their own islands for the summer. The "troublemaker" has returned to his island, too, so I am already feeling much safer and more secure. I also have guests to look forward to: fellow PCVs will be coming for a week or two, to tour the other Mortlocks islands, do some PC site development, and just relax and enjoy the outer island culture. The only thing I'm not looking forward to: the Satowan dogs. But I've purchased a machete from ACE Hardware to deal with that problem...

And so, life goes on! It is easy to be excited and peppy now, and times will undoubtedly fluctuate when I'm there, but Satowan is where I'm supposed to be and it's where I'm happy to be headin!

Sipwap pwal chu (until we meet together in the future...)
Alex

sensory overload!

2009-06-28T20:27:00.003-04:00

This weekend was quite the weekend for some bizarre encounters that got me all in a buzz. First, SWINE FLU!

FSM Department of Public Health has not officially confirmed a case of swine flu here on Weno, but that hasn't stopped the island from entering Defcon 4. At church on Sunday, Pastor Remi called on the Lord to save "our small island of Weno" from the pandemic. I'm right there with him... Of course, as gossip tends to go here in Micronesia, very little ever actually turns out to be true. The rumor got started last Friday, and since then, Chuuk State Hospital has been requiring all patients and visitors to don protective mouth masks upon entering, thus giving everyone the sneaking suspicion there might be some truth, and adding more fuel to the fire. Fingers, toes, and eyes crossed...

Second, police car chase! Suzi, Kester, and I were standing outside at Shigeto's store (typical grocery store) waiting for our DiGiorno's pizzas to cook in their toaster oven (sweeeeet!). It was probably near 6:30pm or so, and we were just chatting, when I looked up to see a gray sedan come flying by heading south down the main road on Weno. (When I say "road" I really mean "glorified snowmobile path", as I have seen seasonal roads in upper Michigan with better maintenance; I make this aside only to stress that this car's speed, marked by the ensuing 1930s-esque Dust Bowl, was significant, considering the potholes, mud, and standing lakes of water). We all paid it very little attention, other than to scoff and roll our eyes. I, however, turned my head up the road to the north, and saw a police truck (the police in Weno drive pretty new Toyota Tundra extended cab pickups) doing a U-ey. Within a couple seconds, it, too, came blasting by, honking its horn (not using its lights and siren). Most noticeably were the two officers who had been sitting in the bed of the truck, and were now half standing/half crouching in the bed, holding on to a metal handlebar rigged across the roof of the cab behind the lights. They both looked like they were skiing, as they bobbed up and down with the truck over the mogols in the road. And if that weren't excitement enough, one had drawn his weapon, a huge, silver piece, and was holding it aimed straight up in the air! Suzi and I both sort of just looked on with our mouths agape, until we saw the gun, and both gasped.

Without making any judgment about the evasive driver, I can say that that officer's decision to draw his weapon while standing in the bed of, and barely holding on to, a careening and bouncing pickup just takes the situation to a whole new caliber of danger and misfortune. Suzi said it best: it really scares me, because that kind of action moves it to a level where something is guaranteed to happen which otherwise wouldn't have.

Third - I danced at a wedding reception! Okay, so I've danced at wedding receptions before. But not as the center of attention. Saturday night, at about 8:30pm (normally nearing my bed time), my family said "get dressed - we're going dancing!" So, in typical Chuukese fashion, I threw on a polo and some decent shorts, and ran to the car, excited for the night's festivities. We arrived early, and sat around waiting for the newly wedded couple to come. I hadn't eaten dinner yet, so I snacked on donuts, cheetos, and what I think was egg salad on a roll. One of the guys who stays with us, plus my host uncle, busted out the keyboard, and within minutes, hip Chuukese techno-pop-cum-disco were blaring and I was swept up with a mad rush of 30-something Chuukese women dancing to their hearts content. I danced two songs, but was upstaged each time by a slightly inebriated acquaintance of mine (the brother of the new husband), which was fine by me.

We left near 10pm, and I immediately went to bed. What a weekend!

school year ends!

2009-06-26T01:39:00.002-04:00

Finally! The rush of relief that surrounded the end of my first school term has ebbed and left me a little bummed that I won't get to see "my seniors" anymore, loafing around the island, playing basketball, or just lounging wherever's comfortable. I have remarked, countless times, on the stresses of teaching, made especially apparent to a "non-teacher" like myself. But maybe I've been selling myself short. Because, now that I'm reflecting on it, I take great pride, and find much solace, in the fact that, despite all the inefficiencies and corruption of this sprawling bureaucracy, I have accomplished something far more important and lasting: the education of people.

I have relied on that fact. And, no doubt, I will continue to rely on the hope that my work educating students will pay off in each of their lives one day. It has been my prayer that I would remember to keep a servant's attitude about myself each day I put on my Peace Corps Face. No matter how late the school year starts, how often we go without food, how many delays prevent entrance exam testing - the simple accumulation of English language knowledge opens doors immediately for the young men and women of Mortlocks High School.

Even though "summer vacation" will always have an irresistable tug at my heart, deep down I just hope the school year was long enough to have done it well and to have done it right. All of this, with an eye toward September...

Missions & Service Opportunities

2009-05-15T01:34:00.002-04:00

Currently, the schools on the Mortlocks Islands, Satowan included, are in need of school supplies and youth sports equipment. The list below has sample items that would be of help to the communities and island schools here in the Pacific. Items may be sent most reliably via US Postal Service "flat-rate, priority" mail service. Other USPS mail services (media mail, standard mail) though nominally cheaper, are much less reliable in actually reaching us here in the Mortlocks.

Kindly include a note or letter for me with your address and contact information, as well as church or organization affiliation, for Peace Corps reporting and so that our communities here can be in touch with you. Thank you for being a blessing and opening your heart to the call of service.

School supplies (*not exhaustive*)
pencils/pens/crayons/markers/colored pencils
chalk
paper/notebooks/folders
tape, staples, staplers, pencil sharpeners
scrap paper/post-it notes
youth/young adult-fiction, children's stories/children's books

Sports supplies:
soccer balls
footballs
basketballs
volleyballs
baseballs/softballs & mitts
ball pump/needles
volleyball nets
basketball nets/hoops

I'll be in the Mortlocks again until early July. Look for more posts then. Be Easy - Be Peace - Be Christ to the World.
Alex

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T20:57:00.002-04:00

I went to a Mother's Day feast yesterday here on Weno at the family compound of a group of Satowanese who live here on the main island. I was surprised to see the Mayor of Satowan and a colleague teacher in the community house as I walked in, and I shook hands with both saying "Raan allem". The table was bedecked with food - mwelan pula (taro with coconut cream), rice, hotdogs, ohn (turtle), piik (pig - cooked over the fire; I just pulled the meat off the skeleton of the animal), kon (pounded breadfruit), malek (chicken), and punch, cookies, doughnuts, and biscuits. A feast indeed!

After we ate, the program began. As with most family gatherings and events, the traditional Micronesian custom is to have a short (or long) program where traditional and/or family elders speak, give updates, share life lessons, or tell stories. In Chuuk, especially on the outer islands, the traditional leaders (only men) speak: thank the family for coming, thank God for blessing everyone, remind the youth to be respectful and good, & encourage the people to continue working for the community & maintain an air of peace and goodwill. Even though I listen to these speeches and exhortations behind the loud din of a gas generator which is powering the 60W lightbulb and electric fan keeping us comfortable in the equatorial evening heat, there is something else at work here. I can't help but be transported back to a time when the safety and strength of the several islands' communities depended on just these kinds of meetings to bond the people together; it was not really that long ago when life could only be sustained by the very intentional community of the island people. That community was made manifest in a very real way last night.

A few men spoke at the beginning, saying their thanks and praise. Then a few songs, sung by the male youth and also the female youth (youth in Micronesia is between the ages of 14 and 34). But what really struck me happened next. One by one, a male youth would take a flower to his mother, or auntie, or grandmother, or sister, or wife and then stand in front of the assembled community and say why he was thankful for his mother. Three of the youth, the Parks, are brothers, and their mother Asako died back in November, along with their eldest brother. I attended that funeral in November at the very place where we they now stood in celebration of the other Mothers. It was a very emotional moment, seeing them overcome by the memory of their mother, brought again to the fore during this first Mother's Day without her. I shared in their emotion; it was impossible not to.

In a society where family and community are so truly the definition to one's life, celebration & mourning, joy & grief, laughter & crying so often happen together. After they finished, and some mothers spoke to the groups assembled, and I even got to say a quick word (all in Mortlockese!), the youth did imitations of their mothers. And immediately the spirit in the room came back ten-fold; people were rolling with laughter as the boys did their best to make a joke and catch a smile on their mom's faces. Happy Mother's Day!

6 weddings and a funeral...

2009-05-04T20:15:00.002-04:00

Since I've been out there, we've had 6 weddings and, just before I left to come here this time, one funeral. Surprisingly, they aren't that different from back at home.

The one major difference, in terms of the weddings, is that they'll do 4-in-1 weddings, or 2-in-1 weddings, or n-in-1 weddings based around the Priest's schedule (in the Mortlocks, there are 2 Catholic priests who island hop). My first wedding, 4 couples were wedded. The feast afterward was amazing, because someone baked a cake using a local oven (a huge oil/gas drum - 55gal - shortened, and converted into an oven - don't ask me how, just believe it can be done). The latest wedding was a 2-in-1, and a colleague teacher got married to another colleague teacher's brother! On the island, you quickly realize that most people are related in some tangential way, so its really quite amazing when 2 people are able to come from the same village and not be directly related.

From what I can tell, there are one or two wedding dresses which circulate between brides; the same goes for one tuxedo. Of course, everything fits terribly, but nobody notices or minds. Which makes me ask, then why do they feel the need to "dress up"? The brides who don't get the big dress for the big day, just wear a local white dress with a locally made white veil - much more appropriate in terms of size and fit.

I suppose that this is one effect of Western culture, absorbed from movies and shows and magazines and pictures. While it wasn't important before, and I daresay it really isn't that important now, the folks out there just like to have the experience - or have some kind of experience - which they perceive to be necessary or appropriate.

The funeral was a sad experience, but I felt myself much more removed and observant than as if I were participating in it - almost like it was on TV. My host father's(Richard) 2nd daughter, Katalyna (aka Nemis), was adopted by his cousin - [in the Mortlocks it's common practice to give your 2nd or 3rd child up for adoption to a relative who has no children or fewer children than you out of love and family bond]. The woman how became Nemis's adoptive grandmother died April 27th. She had come back to Satowan from Weno to convalesce.

That afternoon, I had been walking to Nemis's house (her husband Keipo is my friend and language tutor) when I heard what sounded like cheering. I assumed my ears were playing tricks, and the sound was coming from behind me, where the students were practicing for an upcoming track and field day. But as I got closer to Keipo & Nemis's house, I heard the cheering get louder. Then I realized it wasn't cheering, but crying - and not really crying as much as wailing. And then it hit me: her grandmother had died.

Now, on Satowan, as in all of Chuuk and Micronesia really, when a person dies, it is customary for the men to clear out, and the women from all over the island to converge on the house and begin mourning for hours, and hours, and hours. They cry so hard and for so long that, when they finally stop, most collapse and fall asleep - they've just cried all of their sadness out of them.

The men, not too far off, listen to this, and make small talk amongst themselves, as they prepare the coffin, clear a path, ready the grave, clear the plot, prepare concrete, and drink innumerable cups of coffee. They of course must move fast, because there is no "preparing the body" - its just back to the earth.

The funeral was the next day. People were very tired, of course, from staying up all night. We cancelled school (which you have to do on funeral days, because its almost impossible with the number of teachers and Satowanese students who are related to the deceased in some way). The funeral took place at our home, as did the burial, and then the feast of food which followed. Once the body was interred, everyone just sort of left, and life sort of resumed.

In some ways, out here on the islands, I think death sort of loses its mystical fear, because folks have been dealing with death in their immediate families and communities everyday since their births. Because they are all so closely related, because they see one another so often, that when someone dies, its terrifically sad, but just an everyday part of living. I know that's weird to think about - especially in those terms. But in America, we don't really treat "death" that way - we avoid it, we move a lot, we don't hold the same relationships and connections for all 80 years of our lives, we move out of our parents' home, etc - death comes, but its place in our lives is not as permanent or tolerated as it is here in Micronesia. That's neither good nor bad. It just is. Kinda like a funeral.

Life in the Classroom

2009-05-04T19:46:00.002-04:00

Back again until May 16th; second phase training came earlier than expected. I plan on being back in again in July for a conference.

I thought it might be interesting to share what a typical day looks like for me in the classroom, so here goes. [As you know, I teach 11th and 12th grade English writing and reading].

6:30a - My watch alarm beeps, waking me up (though, if I'm honest, I've been awake for 35 mins, off and on, because the sun has been up that long). Shower, breakfast [crackers & coffee], brush my teeth, sit & wait.
7:45a - In a perfect world, the bell would ring and I would then walk to school - which is about 1 min from my house.
8:00a - In a slightly less perfect world, the bell would ring and I would then walk to school.
8:07a - The bell rings. 12th grade reading begins, with approximately 12/30 students present. My attitude, at this stage ambivalent, begins to go sour.
8:15a - I'm done waiting for stragglers, take attendance, and begin the lesson. Stragglers will arrive until the bell rings; I will not admit most, but remind them instead they lost their class points.
8:45a - Bell rings; reading class has lasted all of 30mins. 11th grade writing (section A) begins. Attitude improves markedly.
9:00a - At this point in the lesson, a student will generally address a question to me in Chuukese. I will stare at him/her, my mouth open in gaffaw, and slowly point up to the wall, where it reads: "STOP! English ONLY Zone" Students will laugh; I will ask for a rephrase. Since April, the student will generally attempt to say it in English. Before April, there would be no hope; hence my translator, Harrison.
9:49a - No bell yet, so I'll tell one of the students sitting outside (not in class, because his/her teacher did not show up - an everyday occurrence that at least 2 teachers are absent) to go ring the bell; we pound it with a hammer. [The bell is an old empty gas cylinder, like the air tanks used to go diving, left over from the Japanese during WWII]
9:52a - Bell rings; end of 2nd period; 3rd period - 12th grade English Writing
10:00a - Most (if not all) of the 12th graders are present. At the beginning of the year, I would lecture them on how important it is to attend the reading class, remind them that they are losing points everyday by just being absent, and wring my hands at how little they appeared to care about school & my presence there. By and large, this is/was/has been/will forever be the most stressful and difficult part of my job: battling ambivalence towards education.
10:15a - 12th graders have snapped out of their spunk, my attitude has skyrocketed, and we are accomplishing some learning: practicing essay writing, writing narratives about their local stories [island folklore], journaling, translating, joking, etc - the part of the day I live for.
10:45a - 3rd period ends; 4th period begins - 11th grade writing (section B). At times, I think B section is my favorite section. However, I think this is only because after long mornings, I'm ready for lunch, and after 4th period, it comes.
11:00a - I recycle the 2nd period lesson, and usually do it better than I did it for 2nd period, having worked out the kinks. At this time, I begin subconsciously worrying that I'm giving an unfair advantage to B section, whereas A section has to suffer through my mistakes, false-starts, and just general akwardness. This feeling of melancholy quickly passes into joie d'vivre as I realize that the language barrier has probably prevented them from absorbing most of the lesson anyway, and so my mistakes really haven't hurt anyone. Plus it's time for...
11:45a - LUNCH! Basically, I shoo everyone out of the room, and then skip merrily back home to lunch. I had been eating at the cafeteria with the students, until the school cafeteria ran out of food. The Dept of Education sends food for hot-lunch for all students; plus breakast and dinner for the boarding students. They didn't send enough, or the cooks increased the portions exponentially. Either way, in March, the students began eating only rice 3 meals a day. UNACCEPTABLE! Back at home, I usually eat canned tuna & rice (with Frank's RedHot hotsauce, care of my parents).
12:30p - 5th period - last class of the day. We always start late because the students are lazy and full of rice and they saunter back to my classroom as if expecting nothing other than afternoon siesta.
12:40p - I am fanning myself desparately because I always wear long pants when I teach (as opposed to shorts...or a skirt), and the 1 minute walk really works the body up. Equatorial heat; enough said.
1:30p - Bell rings and I'M FREE! Actually, I usually stick around and do my lesson planning for the next day, and/or grade papers, and/or rearrange the desks, clean the chalkboard, or ask the 12th grade boys from Kuttu to come sweep out my classroom (I ask the Kuttu boys because they stay in the dorm, and on weekends, they usually loiter around the room if I'm working, so I give them menial labor to help them pass the time. They're good conversation, too.)

Bye Again...for a bit...again

2009-03-22T00:45:00.002-04:00

I'm leaving on a jet plane...don't know when I'll be back again!

That's not wholly true, actually. The plane is has twin props, no jets. And I'm scheduled to return in early June for my second phase of inservice training. Until that time, keep me covered in prayers and I'll do the same for you! Don't forget...my birthday is April 8. Yikes...I'm gonna be 23, and it'll be the earliest birthday ever (because I crossed the dateline, so it's sooner!)

Love and Peace!
alex

A Micronesian Plum

2009-03-16T23:56:00.001-04:00

island living

2009-03-15T03:23:00.000-04:00

I have been off Satowan for one week now, and I can safely say that, although being connected with news and family has been a huge emotional boost, I can’t wait until I get back out there. Truth be told, I did not expect such a powerful pull to draw me back – at least, not this soon. Maybe the ocean currents have seeped into my blood, and like the undertow after a big wave breaks on the reef, my subconscious is saying ‘go back, go home.’

Landing in Pohnpei on Monday was a HUGE culture shock. That sentence alone might not mean much, but realize two things: Pohnpei is the size of Swartz Creek, and Satowan is the size of (if not smaller) than the United Methodist Church of Swartz Creek. If you can imagine living inside a community the size of the church for 3 months, and then exiting the front doors one day and rediscovering Swartz Creek, you might just be in for a surprise. Seeing cars, taxi drivers, other “Western” people, restaurants, hustle-and-bustle, and signs was like information overload. In some ways, it stands as a harbinger of the culture shock yet to come when I arrive back stateside after my service. The familiarity and intimacy you get from being in such close quarters to so few people explodes into a dizzying anonymity when you leave the comfort zone.

Now I am back in Weno, and I feel more comfortable here, even though Chuuk is basically a failed state, in terms of development, economics, and politics. [I’ll save my observations on the political scene (we are in a run-off election right now) for private emails and conversations.] Weno is much smaller than Pohnpei, and I am more “at home” here, with a host family, faces and people that I recognize from my earlier 3 months of training, and, of course, a common language that ties it all together. In no small way, communication represents the defining linkage between me and my community here in Micronesia; as my language understanding and vocabulary improves, so, too, does my sense of relationship and connection. Without these attributes, I wouldn’t have lasted as long as I have, nor would I have the strength, will, or desire to continue on.

Lest I paint a picture of roses without thorns, I must be honest that the first three months have been a difficult stretch. Peace Corps warned us that the initial weeks of service would be the toughest – initial culture shock, difficulty of being immersed in a new language, emotional stress of being without contact/communication, and having to deal with new stresses without the ability to rely on old stress-relief mechanisms. I am now officially a professional in each of the four preceding categories, having struggled, at times valiantly and at times like a baby, through it all. Like the last post, I feel like I have come through the Refiner’s fire, and I’m shining like new! Hopefully my personal development will be somewhat evidenced in these posts as I reflect on the past three months and answer your questions. Keep ‘em coming!

Love,
Alex

Back (for a bit...)

2009-03-14T00:22:00.002-04:00

Ran allem!!!

Tiro me fairo aami monson... (that's: "hello, excuse me everybody" - typical salutation when you start a greeting)

Well I'm alive and in Pohnpei. Satawan is great - realllllllllllly great. I will take some time to offer some real reflections on this first leg of the journey. I will be in Chuuk tomorrow, but just wanted to take a moment now to thank you for all the love, prayers, and support you've offered me and my family. The first three months of service are definitely a very challenging period, but I feel like I've been through the refiner's fire and am stronger for the next part of my service. So thank you very, very much.

Feel free to leave comments on this with specific questions that I can answer on my next post. Killisou chappur aami monson! O le no!

not 'bye', just 'see ya later'

2008-12-09T17:49:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-27T17:45:00.002-05:00

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...

2008-11-23T21:43:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-08T01:43:00.001-05:00

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..."

2008-11-01T23:41:00.003-04:00

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

2008-10-26T01:01:00.006-04:00

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

2008-10-11T21:11:00.001-04:00

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!

2008-09-28T19:57:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-09-13T20:57:00.000-04:00

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

2008-09-12T00:10:00.003-04:00

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

2008-09-10T11:19:00.003-04:00

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

2008-09-09T16:59:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-08-27T13:10:00.002-04:00

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