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!