Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Teacher, Miss Liz
This video makes my life- and it wasn't rehearsed and they do in fact just burst out singing this to me occassionally. And as you can see, Takleju is an amazing dancer/drummer.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Schools Days
Some recent school pictures... my students have become obsessed with picture taking....
William and Takleju
Seiko and her brother Taigan- he is 5 and becomes an occassional "honorary 5th grader" in the afternoon since he has half days.
Bonfire!
After careful planning around the tides, we were able to have a bonfire on the beach a few weeks ago! We were even able make hot dogs and smores. Morgan and I and a few neighbors camped out in the thatch after... which was really fun despite lack of sleep.
Here are a few pictures Morgan took:
Kwaj Retreat
The Kwajalein military base was generous to host local Ebeye missionaries (and Morgan and I, despite not being missionaries) for a Saturday night in "mini America". They put us all up in the Kwaj lodge, the base hotel, and we were able to take hot showers, relax, make local calls to the US, and stuff our faces with amazing food!
Here are some picture of the trip:
Morgan and I trying to hitch hike to Ebeye, because as usual, our ride didn't show up.
Missing the ferry (no surprise) and taking a water taxis to kwaj.
Once we finally got to the base, the weekend was great. There are actually a LOT of volunteers/missionaries on Ebeye, but you wouldnt know it because we never see each other. Most of the missionaries work at the SDA school. There are a lot of missionaries from the Phillipines, 3 from Germany, and a few from the US and other countries.
This pictures is of Emily, who is an SDA volunteer from North Carolina, and SDA volunteer from Germany, and Morgan.
(above) we all had to get pictures with the map at the kwaj lodge- you would be surprised at how few maps show all of the pacific!
(above) Morgan and I got to go to the pool and try to work on our awful farmer's tans
All of the volunteers/missionaries who came for the retreatSaturday, May 1, 2010
Easter in Gugeegue
Our neighbors Andrea and Terry organized a great Easter egg hunt for the island kids
Sebastian (above) checking out his goods
Friday, April 30, 2010
Kosrae!
The last week in March was spring break and Morgan and I decided to go to Kosrae, which is an island country that is one plane stop away. Unlike the Marshalls, it is one big island instead of thousands of tiny ones. World Teach is also in Kosrae and we were very grateful the volunteers there were willing to host us. We spent the week being awed at the sight of mountains (the marshalls is completely flat), kayaking, canoing, and lots of hitchhiking! Kosrae even has a few small hotels/resorts mostly owned by americans or other foreigners. Morgan and I fell in love with one called the Tree Lodge (the owner is ironically from Tennessee, near sewanee) that had this amazing restaurant on the water with mountain views. We were even able to get some wine!
Here are some pictures of our trip:
This was a farm on top of a small mountain run by a Japanese man, more vegetables than we'd seen in months! (above)
Morgan at one of the resorts for pizza! (above)We took an outrigger canoe tour through the mangroves, which was amazing. Our guide Tatau was so great. (below)
(below) kayaking through the mangroves at Tree Lodge
(below) The Tree Lodge restaurant that was a paradise for us!
We went and saw some GIANT eels (below)
and a huge bird cave (below)
(below) We also went spearfishing, with a spear gun. I was more worried about shooting myself in the foot than catching any fish. Morgan shot one, and our guide Hamilton got many. We got pretty beat up in the surf and coral trying to get out of the water, and I was already beat up from falling out of a moving truck the day before (yes, I am a clutz). With many cuts and bruises and looking like a mess, we made it out of the water with all the fish.
A scenic view of Kosrae
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Water Water
This is what we realized we were drinking/showering in/washing clothes in for a few weeks.... the brownish color should have been a dead give away. Morgan is still convinced we have fungus growing in our brains.... fortunately our water is now fixed!
our catchment
Monday, March 15, 2010
Recent Updates
A really pretty picture of Mena and Seiko at the opening ceremony.This week is “Education Week”, which caused for a parade and ceremony on Monday, and no school in the afternoon. Friday will probably be similar with a closing ceremony that will make for a nice easy week.
Parade and Opening ceremony pictures:
SK, a WorldTeach volunteer from Majuro is staying with us right now to work with some of the high school students on college planning. Megan, a WorldTeach volunteer from an outer island was supposed to be visiting this week as well, but her plane broke down (Air Marshall Islands flies to the outer islands and is also referred to as Air Maybe, as more flights are probably cancelled than fly).
As our water was reaching dangerously low levels, someone turned on the Gugeegue fresh water reservoir that we didn’t even know about. Our A/C in our apartment broke yesterday, and while AC is a definite luxury here that we could probably live without, we’re ready to get it back for the sake of our computers and appliances at least! We are also in the process of possibly getting internet in our apartment, and we are no longer getting the 6 military channels we were getting because something happened to our antenna. So in sum, we are up water and possibly internet, and down tv and AC. Keep in mind, all of these are complete luxuries that most of the WorldTeach volunteers couldn’t even fathom having.
This week should be quick, and after one more week of school, Morgan and I are going to visit Kosrae during Spring break- an island in the Federated States of Micronesia.
Surprising Students
I spent a lot of last week at the hospital going through the hassle of trying to see a doctor to get medicine. While trying to do this, my class was stuck with a substitute who they severely disliked. I realized this as many of my students would start appearing next to me in the hospital waiting line after having “escaped” from class. Though as their teacher I can’t condone it, I did find it pretty funny.
Finally on Wednesday I had spent most of my day at the doctor’s while a substitute was supposed to be with my class, and locking the door at 2:30 when class got out. At 2:30 after my classroom should have been emptied and locked, two of my boys showed up at the hospital- with my lock! I sternly told them to go get everyone else out of the classroom and lock the door. Half an hour later, the showed up again- with the lock. Despite my anxiety of the chaos that could be happening in my classroom at the moment, I didn’t want to lose my place in line. When I finally finished at the doctor’s and was walking back to my classroom, an hour after school had ended, I realized the lock was STILL not on the door and I was seeing students in my classroom. I opened the door thinking I was going to walk into a mess, but instead I was rather surprised.
Almost all of my students were in my classroom, having stayed an hour late, yelling “surprise!”. They had written “Thank you Miss Liz!” all over the board, and had entirely cleaned the classroom. They had rearranged the tables and benches, had moved my desk, even gone through and organized my drawers (and ruining my entire organizational system in the process, but oh well), and borrowed a mop for the floor. I was even more impressed when I found out their substitute had never shown up, and they had spent the afternoon doing this on their own accord, when they could have been causing mayhem. Just another example of despite all the grief they may cause me, they really are great kids.
Finally on Wednesday I had spent most of my day at the doctor’s while a substitute was supposed to be with my class, and locking the door at 2:30 when class got out. At 2:30 after my classroom should have been emptied and locked, two of my boys showed up at the hospital- with my lock! I sternly told them to go get everyone else out of the classroom and lock the door. Half an hour later, the showed up again- with the lock. Despite my anxiety of the chaos that could be happening in my classroom at the moment, I didn’t want to lose my place in line. When I finally finished at the doctor’s and was walking back to my classroom, an hour after school had ended, I realized the lock was STILL not on the door and I was seeing students in my classroom. I opened the door thinking I was going to walk into a mess, but instead I was rather surprised.
Almost all of my students were in my classroom, having stayed an hour late, yelling “surprise!”. They had written “Thank you Miss Liz!” all over the board, and had entirely cleaned the classroom. They had rearranged the tables and benches, had moved my desk, even gone through and organized my drawers (and ruining my entire organizational system in the process, but oh well), and borrowed a mop for the floor. I was even more impressed when I found out their substitute had never shown up, and they had spent the afternoon doing this on their own accord, when they could have been causing mayhem. Just another example of despite all the grief they may cause me, they really are great kids.
Santo
Last weekend Morgan, Marci and I decided to visit another volunteer on Santo (also known as third island). Santo is in our same atoll, near a second smaller military base called Roi-Namur. The military bases run free 20 min. flights from one to the other, and if they aren’t filled up with base workers, they let local people get on. We left on Friday, and as most things are done here, our travel was done on island time- meaning it took forever.
1) We had to get into Ebeye (I was fortunately already there from teaching)
2) Had to take a boat from Ebeye to our military base (Kwajalein)
3) Had to get past security at the base, who made us wait 2 hours and wouldn’t let us go to our plane until 10 minutes prior to it’s departure
4) Missed our flight (stupid security)
5) Had to wait for the next flight, an hour later
6) The next flight was delayed an hour and a half because there was a missile in the air (is anyone checking out the safety of these missiles on behalf of the Marshallese people?)
7) finally flew to Roi-Namur, where our friend Trina picked us up
8) Trina has access to the Roi-Namur base so was able to buy us some meals and fresh salad- amazing!
9) Had to wait 1 hour for the boat from Roi-Namur to Santo
10) Took the boat to Santo and finally made it!
As you can see, nothing here is dependable. Even the American run things that don’t run on “island time”. You always have to bring a book and plan for many, many obstacles.
We loved our time in Santo. It is interesting comparing it to Ebeye/Gugeegue. Santo is right next to a military base, as we are, but it is much more of an outer island. There is no electricity, only a generator run at night. No phones or computers either. It is physically much smaller than Gugeegue, but has a population of 600. While it is much more of an outer island, they also have much better access to Roi-Namur. Since Roi is smaller than Kwajalein, it is a bit more relaxed. Trina can go to Roi-Namur just about any day or time and do whatever she likes there (go golfing, get food, use the internet, wear American clothes), though spending the night is more complicated. For us on Kwajalein, we have to find a sponsor, it has to be certain times on certain days, our sponsor has to chaperone us everyone, we have to get security clearance, so it’s usually not worth it.
Trina’s host family was so welcoming. They live in a small house right next to the ocean. Though life there I’m sure has it’s obstacles (the outhouse bathroom with rats running through it as one of them), it is also plenty laid back. We spent Saturday lying out on a woven mat with the ocean breeze, playing cards or reading. Trina’s family was constantly bringing us food and coconuts, and local children would come by with their ukeleles and sing to us. The only word that comes to mind is idealic- jealous anyone?
Saturday night Trina’s host parents made us an amazing dinner of coconut crabs (these gigantic crabs that live in the roots of coconut trees) and steak teriyaki from the base. We left on Sunday and returned to Gugeegue refreshed, and finally having experienced another part of the Marshall Islands.
1) We had to get into Ebeye (I was fortunately already there from teaching)
2) Had to take a boat from Ebeye to our military base (Kwajalein)
3) Had to get past security at the base, who made us wait 2 hours and wouldn’t let us go to our plane until 10 minutes prior to it’s departure
4) Missed our flight (stupid security)
5) Had to wait for the next flight, an hour later
6) The next flight was delayed an hour and a half because there was a missile in the air (is anyone checking out the safety of these missiles on behalf of the Marshallese people?)
7) finally flew to Roi-Namur, where our friend Trina picked us up
8) Trina has access to the Roi-Namur base so was able to buy us some meals and fresh salad- amazing!
9) Had to wait 1 hour for the boat from Roi-Namur to Santo
10) Took the boat to Santo and finally made it!
As you can see, nothing here is dependable. Even the American run things that don’t run on “island time”. You always have to bring a book and plan for many, many obstacles.
We loved our time in Santo. It is interesting comparing it to Ebeye/Gugeegue. Santo is right next to a military base, as we are, but it is much more of an outer island. There is no electricity, only a generator run at night. No phones or computers either. It is physically much smaller than Gugeegue, but has a population of 600. While it is much more of an outer island, they also have much better access to Roi-Namur. Since Roi is smaller than Kwajalein, it is a bit more relaxed. Trina can go to Roi-Namur just about any day or time and do whatever she likes there (go golfing, get food, use the internet, wear American clothes), though spending the night is more complicated. For us on Kwajalein, we have to find a sponsor, it has to be certain times on certain days, our sponsor has to chaperone us everyone, we have to get security clearance, so it’s usually not worth it.
Trina’s host family was so welcoming. They live in a small house right next to the ocean. Though life there I’m sure has it’s obstacles (the outhouse bathroom with rats running through it as one of them), it is also plenty laid back. We spent Saturday lying out on a woven mat with the ocean breeze, playing cards or reading. Trina’s family was constantly bringing us food and coconuts, and local children would come by with their ukeleles and sing to us. The only word that comes to mind is idealic- jealous anyone?
Saturday night Trina’s host parents made us an amazing dinner of coconut crabs (these gigantic crabs that live in the roots of coconut trees) and steak teriyaki from the base. We left on Sunday and returned to Gugeegue refreshed, and finally having experienced another part of the Marshall Islands.
Ebeye from the plane- you can see how dense it is. The little road jetting off the island is the causeway, which connects 4 islands and is how I get to work.
Waiting for the boat to take us from Roi-Namur to Santo
As you can see, these islands are really small and close together!
Some boys in Santo who took it upon themselves to entertain us...
A left over from the Japanese and WW2
Trina's house dad with the giant coconut crab!
A really sweet picture of Trina's brother and sister drinking coconuts
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