The New Year

So the winter break has come and gone. On Ejit, we’ve finished 2^nd quarter finals and we’re in the beginning of quarter two. I spent Christmas here in the Marshall Islands and Annie went back to visit home so I spent a lot of time getting to know the community here.

Christmas in the Marshall Islands is celebrated during and after the 25^th with the Christmas “Jebta” or beat. It’s basically a marathon of dancing and/or singing with various performing groups. After they perform a collection for the church is made. They had 3 beats in Ejit and at each one I donated an average of 3 dollars. It was really great seeing my kids practice for the beat and then perform in front of the whole community. They had a lot of fun and I enjoyed it.

The greatest benefit from staying was definitely the greater way I’ve been accepted by the community here. I’ve celebrated Kemmems (1^st birthdays), the Christmas Jebta, and New Years with Ejit and they’ve definitely noticed. Kids and adults have opened up to me and are much more welcoming. The vast majority of mine and most of Annie’s kids definitely enjoy hanging out with me outside of school (inside also) and we’ve had a lot of positive experiences.

New Years here was crazy. Every year there is a huge “block” party in Majuro where food, drinks and entertainment are available in a protected block near the RRE (a hotel). Kristin’s band opened for an Okinawan cultural/conversationalist band. They put on a pretty good show and the energy (and booze) were so high that a bunch of Japanese tourists and outer island volunteers jumped on the stage. I left the block party early and walked back home at 1:30 am to join the celebration in Ejit. New Years is like Halloween or Christmas caroling here in the Marshall Islands. The kids go door to door singing new year songs and get candy. I stayed with the kids until around 4 am and went back home exhausted.

Even though Annie was gone I didn’t spend much time alone. There are always kids knocking on my door but Sarah and Charlie from Kili also came over and spent time living in Ejit. Sarah came early but she left for a while when her boyfriend Steve came to visit. Charlie arrived on New Years Eve and moved into Annie’s room. They even subbed for Annie when her arrival was slightly delayed. Charlie taught us how to make French bread (it’s delicious) and the kids a few new step patterns. Sarah came back when Steve left and relaxed. They left for Kili yesterday and we were sad to see them go.

There are a few more things I could write about but I’ll save them for the next entry or the January update. It’s coming out in two weeks or so.