I have been told that you’re not really a member of they 21st century until you have a blog. Not sure I’d go that far, but I figure it’s more efficient (and less annoying for my friends and their inboxes) than writing mass emails. So here goes. At least my dad can check in and hear how I’m doing, and if anyone else reads it then it’s a bonus!
I think it’s fitting to start off with a general insight into a point of frustration and pleasure (depending on timing) in my daily life—the tide. Mother nature has never controlled my life to the degree it does here on Ejit. If I want to go to the Rita neighborhood of the “main island” of Majuro (a necessity if I want to see the doctor or friends, or buy anything other than candy or soda) I have to either wait until low tide, or wait for a boat. Waiting is not something I’ve ever been very good at, but thanks to necessity I am getting better. A few times now I’ve been stranded by the tide, which can be so incredibly frustrating because Ejit is so close that I could probably even swim there if it wasn’t for the strong current, caused by my friend the changing tide. At first, the novelty made the tide seem kind of romantic, and I almost liked having to plan my life according to its wishes. After several weeks, I find it more annoying than romantic, but I’m getting used to it at least :)
I’m definitely settling in more to life in the RMI. I’m getting a little better at the ukulele, though I’m rarely able to sing the songs I’m learning because I lose my voice every week at school. I do ok though. I’m starting to really feel at home on Ejit, though I am surprised by the amount of alone I need. I’ve never loved reading as much as I do now. I’m getting better at teaching (slowly…) and finding that after a brief period of hating a couple of my classes (2 out of 3 to be exact), I’m starting to truly love all the kids—even if some, or many, are terrible little monsters in class.
I both love and hate going by boat from Ejit to Rita—the breeze is nice, I stay dry, and it is much easier than walking across the reef—I’ve had a few slips and spills there... The best and worst part of taking a boat, though, is that there are always at least a couple kids at the dock when I leave, asking, “Why do you go to Rita?” and “When will you come back?”, and screaming, “See you later alligator!”, or “BYE!!”. The sad side of it all is that every time I take off in the boat, looking back at Ejit—the kids waving and the adults going about their business as usual, I think of what it will feel like when I take off this way for the last time, weighed down almost to water level with Paul’s and my luggage like the day we came. I try to push the sad thoughts away, but for some reason, the event of leaving by boat always serves as a reminder that I’ll only be here for so long, and someday—really quite soon—I’ll take off in a little boat and wave goodbye without the comfort of knowing that I’ll be back. I find the sadness about leaving quite disconcerting, especially because I’ve only been on Ejit about 6 weeks. I’m not looking forward to boat rides in May or June.
Other tidbits:
• The single best investment one could make for happiness in the RMI: a hammock. And I have one! (Thank you Mary!)
• Just about every kid on Ejit shares great-grandparents with everyone else. And, our principal is almost every student’s grandmother or great-aunt. She’s so cute, but the students are all petrified.
• My favorite weather on Ejit: rain.
• Wednesday: baking day. Erin made cookies and lemon bars when she was here, and now Paul and I have put to use my mom’s old recipes for cookies and banana bread. Yay for Wednesdays!
• Good books I have read or am currently reading: The Alchemist (I read it in Spanish class but found it much more interesting in English—apparently my command of the Spanish language is not so good) Devils Teeth (it’s about Sharks and the Farralon Islands near SF, so cool!), and the Biography of Ernesto “Che” Guevara (self-explanatory, but awesome—and don’t worry, I’m not planning any commie revolutions in the RMI).
• Lesson Planning: the bane of my existence, and a major part of my job.
• Songs I can sort of play on my ukulele: “You say it best when you say nothing at all” by Alison Krauss, “Almost Heaven, Ejit Island” (a.k.a. “Country Road”), “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz, and a few other Marshallese diddies, which I have no idea how to spell...)
• “Welcome to Ejit, go back home!”: phrase that was just yelled in my window because I wouldn’t let the kids come in to color. Zing!
Also just wanted to add that my new email address will be annie.p.daher@gmail.com because I can’t check my Dartmouth email from the RMI anymore. Thanks!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Walking the Reef and Culture Day
It's currently Manit or Culture Day in the Marshall Islands. The three day weekend is a huge blessing and I'm writing this post at 1:30 pm our time. There is a huge fair like event at the Alele Museum in Majuro and most of the schools show up and perform. Later in the day there are also competitions between students ranging from coconut husking, sack races, tug o' war and juggling. I might head back there to check out the competitions but I decided to check mail and post a blog entry first.
One or two nights before Charlie left for the US Annie, he and I decided that we were going to head across the reef one night to throw away our garbage. Earlier that afternoon Charlie had told a few of the kids that they could stop by our house at 8:30 to play the ukulele and we decided to ask them to come with us. At around 7 the power went out in Ejit and shortly after a torrential downpour began. We need electricity to power our water pump so Annie decided that she was going to take a shower outside. Charlie and I agreed so we went out and had a great time.
The rain stopped and at 8:00 the kids were already at our door waiting for 8:30 to roll around. We left early and asked them if they wanted to come with us, making sure that their parents were okay with it. There were about 8 of us and we had 2 flashlights to share between all of us and half way across it started to rain again. Hard. The kids were not prepared and they were freezing. Most of them had on t-shirts and a pair of shorts. One of them had a sweatshirt and Joki was shirtless. We finally make it across the reef and hide from the rain underneath one of the street stalls in Rita. When the rain lets up, we make the trek back singing random camp songs to keep the kids focused (Knick-nack paddy whack, the ants go marching...). Finally we make it home and drop of the kids one by one at their houses and apologize for getting the kids wet. As we drop of the last kid the power kicks back on and saves the day, perfectly encapsulating life in the Marshall Islands.
One or two nights before Charlie left for the US Annie, he and I decided that we were going to head across the reef one night to throw away our garbage. Earlier that afternoon Charlie had told a few of the kids that they could stop by our house at 8:30 to play the ukulele and we decided to ask them to come with us. At around 7 the power went out in Ejit and shortly after a torrential downpour began. We need electricity to power our water pump so Annie decided that she was going to take a shower outside. Charlie and I agreed so we went out and had a great time.
The rain stopped and at 8:00 the kids were already at our door waiting for 8:30 to roll around. We left early and asked them if they wanted to come with us, making sure that their parents were okay with it. There were about 8 of us and we had 2 flashlights to share between all of us and half way across it started to rain again. Hard. The kids were not prepared and they were freezing. Most of them had on t-shirts and a pair of shorts. One of them had a sweatshirt and Joki was shirtless. We finally make it across the reef and hide from the rain underneath one of the street stalls in Rita. When the rain lets up, we make the trek back singing random camp songs to keep the kids focused (Knick-nack paddy whack, the ants go marching...). Finally we make it home and drop of the kids one by one at their houses and apologize for getting the kids wet. As we drop of the last kid the power kicks back on and saves the day, perfectly encapsulating life in the Marshall Islands.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
in Kili
I finally made it to Kili. Then, two weeks later, I turned around and came back to Majuro. I’m here in Majuro now, and I will fly out Wednesday to go to my brother’s wedding in San Francisco! I’m giddy with excitement; I can’t wait to see my family, eat good food, and enjoy the conveniences of the US. Also, I’m awfully proud of my brother and overjoyed to have his fiancée, Hilary in the family.
I will get to San Francisco Thursday night, stay until Monday, fly to Majuro Tuesday, then return to Kili the following Friday. I end up spending a lot of time in Majuro because the flights are not very frequent in either direction.
I have been enjoying Kili. Our plane landed two weeks ago on a grass runway and we were greeted by about half of the community of Kili and met some future students. When we got to our house, we unloaded the 3-month’s supply of imported canned food, then found out our copied keys didn’t work in the lock. Our neighbors broke in for us (pretty easily, I might add – looked like they had done it before) and then a local handyman installed new doorknobs for us. We live in a four-bedroom house with a kitchen, air-conditioning and washing machine. Not bad for an outer island. Kili is one of two islands (the other being Ejit) inhabited by the refugees of the Bikini atoll and their descendants. They continue to get reparations money from the US because of all of the suffering associated with the nuclear tests on Bikini and subsequent relocation. As a result, their local government tends to have more money than most.
I am teaching 7th grade English and Health, and 8th grade English, Health, Science, and Math. There are 16 students in the 7th grade and 10 in the 8th grade, so they are fairly manageable. They also speak very good English; Kili has had Dartmouth volunteers for 7 years, so the students have had a lot of exposure to English-speaking teachers, and it shows. The first two weeks of teaching have been really difficult, but it has been getting easier. I knew the first weeks would be tough – we arrived on a Saturday, found out who and what we were teaching on Sunday, and started Monday. I spent the first week clawing for air and stalling until I could take a step back and make some real plans over the weekend. The second week was better, but I still didn’t really know what I was doing. I’m taking advantage of this break to come up with some plans for what and how I’m going to teach.
The dogs are surprisingly friendly on Kili. I haven’t been attacked once, and our next-door neighbor’s dog, Bobby immediately took a liking to Sarah, Erin and myself. I suspect he’s mistaking us for past volunteers, but I don’t care. He trotted up on the second day, tail wagging, and wanted a good petting. I feed him our scraps, like oil from our tuna cans, and have taught him to sit. As soon as I leave the house to go to school now, he runs up to me and sits down; I pet him, and he follows me to school.
I played “Don’t Matter” by Akon on the ukulele for some of my kids one day and have since not heard the end of it. All over the island, kids sing “Nobody wanna see us together, but it don’t matter no, cuz I got you babe,” then repeat, because they don’t know any more of the song. It’s been stuck in my head for a week, not even because it’s all that catchy, but because they sing it over and over again; and if they ever catch me with my ukulele, they want me to sing it.
I just met the guy who has internet on Kili, and he offered to let me use it. That’s good, because there is no other internet access out there, hence the lack of entries these past two weeks. I guess I’m making up for it with an extra-long entry.
Oh hey and one more thing: starting January 2008 (or maybe as early as November 07), US mail to the Marshall Islands is going back to domestic pricing, rather than international. This means letters are 41¢ and packages are also cheaper.
Charlie
I will get to San Francisco Thursday night, stay until Monday, fly to Majuro Tuesday, then return to Kili the following Friday. I end up spending a lot of time in Majuro because the flights are not very frequent in either direction.
I have been enjoying Kili. Our plane landed two weeks ago on a grass runway and we were greeted by about half of the community of Kili and met some future students. When we got to our house, we unloaded the 3-month’s supply of imported canned food, then found out our copied keys didn’t work in the lock. Our neighbors broke in for us (pretty easily, I might add – looked like they had done it before) and then a local handyman installed new doorknobs for us. We live in a four-bedroom house with a kitchen, air-conditioning and washing machine. Not bad for an outer island. Kili is one of two islands (the other being Ejit) inhabited by the refugees of the Bikini atoll and their descendants. They continue to get reparations money from the US because of all of the suffering associated with the nuclear tests on Bikini and subsequent relocation. As a result, their local government tends to have more money than most.
I am teaching 7th grade English and Health, and 8th grade English, Health, Science, and Math. There are 16 students in the 7th grade and 10 in the 8th grade, so they are fairly manageable. They also speak very good English; Kili has had Dartmouth volunteers for 7 years, so the students have had a lot of exposure to English-speaking teachers, and it shows. The first two weeks of teaching have been really difficult, but it has been getting easier. I knew the first weeks would be tough – we arrived on a Saturday, found out who and what we were teaching on Sunday, and started Monday. I spent the first week clawing for air and stalling until I could take a step back and make some real plans over the weekend. The second week was better, but I still didn’t really know what I was doing. I’m taking advantage of this break to come up with some plans for what and how I’m going to teach.
The dogs are surprisingly friendly on Kili. I haven’t been attacked once, and our next-door neighbor’s dog, Bobby immediately took a liking to Sarah, Erin and myself. I suspect he’s mistaking us for past volunteers, but I don’t care. He trotted up on the second day, tail wagging, and wanted a good petting. I feed him our scraps, like oil from our tuna cans, and have taught him to sit. As soon as I leave the house to go to school now, he runs up to me and sits down; I pet him, and he follows me to school.
I played “Don’t Matter” by Akon on the ukulele for some of my kids one day and have since not heard the end of it. All over the island, kids sing “Nobody wanna see us together, but it don’t matter no, cuz I got you babe,” then repeat, because they don’t know any more of the song. It’s been stuck in my head for a week, not even because it’s all that catchy, but because they sing it over and over again; and if they ever catch me with my ukulele, they want me to sing it.
I just met the guy who has internet on Kili, and he offered to let me use it. That’s good, because there is no other internet access out there, hence the lack of entries these past two weeks. I guess I’m making up for it with an extra-long entry.
Oh hey and one more thing: starting January 2008 (or maybe as early as November 07), US mail to the Marshall Islands is going back to domestic pricing, rather than international. This means letters are 41¢ and packages are also cheaper.
Charlie
Friday, September 21, 2007
House Guests Part 2
Kristin came to visit from Wednesday to Saturday this week and we had a good time. She observed our classes, taught us some ukulele songs and gave us a few cooking lessons. Our house guest made us hummus the first day and taught Annie and me how to make homemade ravioli Thursday night. Friday afternoon Charlie came back from Kili to attend his brother’s wedding and shortly after Chimpo came over to spend the night. Charlie will be with us until Tuesday when his flight leaves. Charlie brought over bananas, milk and bread while Chimpo brought over sashimi. In preparation for our multiple house guests I made a double batch of pizza dough the day before and we ate really well.
For the past three days we’ve been meeting the kids outside to “learn ukulele” from them at 8:30 pm. This really means that Annie and I go out with our ukuleles and the kids take them from us and play them until we get tired and go back inside. The ‘lessons’ have gotten bigger and bigger each day. Yesterday we must have had 20 or so kids there and we needed to move from our front porch to the basketball/volleyball court. I spent my time entertaining the little kids by giving them ‘kuku’ (piggyback rides), losing to my students in basketball and fooling and amazing the kids with my bag of tricks. I keep getting one kid with the “I bet I can make you say the word black” trick over and over again and I get a kick out of it every time.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
House Guests
Annie and I are more comfortable with the teaching schedule now and we’re beginning to let the kids come in and hang out. So far we’ve had a culturally accepted system where the girls come over and hang out with Annie while I do work and then the boys come over and I entertain them while Annie works/rests. We’ll switch things around eventually but I think the kids are more comfortable that way.
One boy named Bokrok has a huge crush on Annie. She brought out her ukulele to learn from a group of boys but none of them knew how to play. Bokrok took it and told Annie he would sing her a song. He immediately began strumming fake chords on the ukulele while singing “Annie I love you, you are so beautiful…” It was one of the funniest things I’ve seen anyone do on Ejit.
My 6th grade class is still giving me a lot of trouble and Kristin came in to observe and give me a few pointers. I’ve set up individual agreements with a good half of my kids to help them work out management problems. She’s coming in again next week to observe us for two or three straight days. We’ll see how it goes then.
We went in yesterday to run some errands and the weather did not cooperate. The time constraints of the tide forced us into a walk across the reef in the rain, and it hasn’t stopped all day. On a positive note, our rain catchment is overflowing and we don’t have to worry too much about wasting water for our showers.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Going to Kili!
It’s finally going to happen – I got a call yesterday from our Field Director, Kristin Romberg saying I should pack my bags, because the plane flies out Saturday (tomorrow) at 12:30 pm. The plane is working now and made a flight today already. Let's hope it doesn't break down between now and 12:30 tomorrow (really until I have safely arrived in Kili, around 1:30 tomorrow). I really can’t believe it – I’m starting a new life in a new home and a new school on a new island!
I’ve gotten so used to life here in Laura. In fact, I had just gotten a job the day Kristin called me. I was at Laura High School, waiting to ask if I could observe the class of one of the teachers there, when some students came up and asked what I was doing. I told them, and they informed me that the teacher I was waiting to see had quit two weeks before. They had just been having free periods while the principal looked for another teacher to hire. So one of the students asked if I could teach them, and I said absolutely! I had been sitting around doing next to nothing all this time while there were students doing the same, just down the road! I began immediately that afternoon, teaching the last two periods of the day. I didn’t have any lessons planned out, just got to know their names and told them a little about myself. I warned them that I would only be around for a little while – little did I know, I would only have one day with them. I told them I would see them again on Monday, but it looks like they will be disappointed. That’s fine, though – after all, there are plenty of students on Kili that have been waiting even longer for a teacher.
I’ve gotten so used to life here in Laura. In fact, I had just gotten a job the day Kristin called me. I was at Laura High School, waiting to ask if I could observe the class of one of the teachers there, when some students came up and asked what I was doing. I told them, and they informed me that the teacher I was waiting to see had quit two weeks before. They had just been having free periods while the principal looked for another teacher to hire. So one of the students asked if I could teach them, and I said absolutely! I had been sitting around doing next to nothing all this time while there were students doing the same, just down the road! I began immediately that afternoon, teaching the last two periods of the day. I didn’t have any lessons planned out, just got to know their names and told them a little about myself. I warned them that I would only be around for a little while – little did I know, I would only have one day with them. I told them I would see them again on Monday, but it looks like they will be disappointed. That’s fine, though – after all, there are plenty of students on Kili that have been waiting even longer for a teacher.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
One Big Fish and lots of sushi
Hey everyone!!
I just figured out how to post, and now I'm really pumped to tell you about the happenings here on Wotje.
1. The islands is breathtaking; it is home to one of the most beautiful lagoons I have ever seen in my life!!! Smooth sandy beaches, two great docks (great for jumping), and an abundance of coconut trees (Jacob seems to have mastered climbing them).
2. Two Wednesdays ago, I caught my first "big" fish in the Pacific. It was nearly 2ft long and weighed anywhere between 15-20lbs. I caught it using my fishing rod, which turned out to be a strenous fight considering I was using a 10lb line on a fish the desperately wanted to pull me in the water. After nearly half an hour of tug of war with the fish, I pulled in a BEAUTY. (I must not give all the credit to myself, I did get some invaluable fishing pointers from a Marshallese co-worker). The fish (I believe it is known as a "big-eyed Jack") was well received by the other teachers, and was later served in succulent sushi rolls, sashimi, and even fried. To this day, we still have a big fish head in the freezer! Mmmmmmmmm...
3. While on Wotje, I've come to appreciate the pleasures of hard manual labor. Among the various projects we have going here, we are constructing a garden, building a chicken coop, pig pen, and possibly a gazebo (maybe a stetch, but it's nice to have it as an ambitious goal). Most of these projects are Jacob's doing. He ordered a large shipment of lumber from DoItBest (a hardware store in Majuro), but it never arrived. Luckily, we have been able to get our hands on scrap wood from the construction sites here on Wotje (on Monday we enticed 12 boys to carry nearly 100 planks of wood!)... I think they enjoyed the work out. So far, Jacob and I have cleared about 800 square feet in the garden, our next job is to put together a fence (to keep pigs out), and start sowing seeds!
I'll keep you all posted on Wotje news, but for the time being keep the news coming... this is Wotje signing out.
I just figured out how to post, and now I'm really pumped to tell you about the happenings here on Wotje.
1. The islands is breathtaking; it is home to one of the most beautiful lagoons I have ever seen in my life!!! Smooth sandy beaches, two great docks (great for jumping), and an abundance of coconut trees (Jacob seems to have mastered climbing them).
2. Two Wednesdays ago, I caught my first "big" fish in the Pacific. It was nearly 2ft long and weighed anywhere between 15-20lbs. I caught it using my fishing rod, which turned out to be a strenous fight considering I was using a 10lb line on a fish the desperately wanted to pull me in the water. After nearly half an hour of tug of war with the fish, I pulled in a BEAUTY. (I must not give all the credit to myself, I did get some invaluable fishing pointers from a Marshallese co-worker). The fish (I believe it is known as a "big-eyed Jack") was well received by the other teachers, and was later served in succulent sushi rolls, sashimi, and even fried. To this day, we still have a big fish head in the freezer! Mmmmmmmmm...
3. While on Wotje, I've come to appreciate the pleasures of hard manual labor. Among the various projects we have going here, we are constructing a garden, building a chicken coop, pig pen, and possibly a gazebo (maybe a stetch, but it's nice to have it as an ambitious goal). Most of these projects are Jacob's doing. He ordered a large shipment of lumber from DoItBest (a hardware store in Majuro), but it never arrived. Luckily, we have been able to get our hands on scrap wood from the construction sites here on Wotje (on Monday we enticed 12 boys to carry nearly 100 planks of wood!)... I think they enjoyed the work out. So far, Jacob and I have cleared about 800 square feet in the garden, our next job is to put together a fence (to keep pigs out), and start sowing seeds!
I'll keep you all posted on Wotje news, but for the time being keep the news coming... this is Wotje signing out.
The un-comings and non-goings of Ejit and Majuro
The last time Charlie visited he taught about 5 kids “The beat, the beat” step pattern and this past week I’ve spread it to a good number of the kids on Ejit. I can’t leave the school during a break without some kid yelling “Paul! Can you do that thing?” as they pantomime the beginning of the pattern. One of the best kids at it is Jerimiah a 3rd grader in Annie’s class. The kid can keep up even when I’m going at full speed. I’ll post a picture later.
The replacement engine part came into Majuro a few days ago, but it’s missing the bolt needed to put it into place. The series of explanations goes in this order: We don’t have the bolt, but if we did we don’t have the tool to put it in, and if we had the tool, we don’t have anyone that can use it. This means that someone from
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Beware of Dogs
Ejit is a pretty place, except for the dogs. I spent the last couple of days there with Paul and Annie. During the day, it’s fine. But then starting at dusk it turns into a really bad neighborhood, except instead of hearing sirens and gunshots out your window, you hear growling and barking and squealing of dogfights. When you walk around at night, you have to carry a handful stones with you to throw at them if they try to attack; and you have to be on the lookout for the ones that charge at you from behind. Vicious. But the people, they’re really nice. One time I was being chased by a pair of dogs and ran by a group of 8 or so little kids, and they took up arms and began yelling and charging at the dogs to save me! I was so grateful.
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