Last Day on Majuro

I'll never forget my last day on Majuro. In the days leading up to leaving I could feel the time ticking away. I quit wasting time watching movies and TV shows because I knew it was time I could spend hanging out with people I may never see again. I spent a lot of time hanging out with Chad and talking about the year and his year in Jeh. We analyzed Marshallese culture and how Americans reacted to it. I decided I wanted to do something with my students for the last day. I went over to Sancha's house because she lives right near the school. I asked her to get in touch with the other girls. I wanted to rent a golf cart and cruise around the island with them. She seemed excited about it.



Friday morning I went to Ace Hardware and rented a golf cart. The big one with three rows was already checked out. I had to take the small one that was only suppose to hold four people. I picked Sancha up first and asked her, "Who do we pick up next?" She directed me to Pearlynn's house. We got her out of bed. Her eyes were still squinting from sleep, but she was smiling. They chattered in Marshallese and then Sancha informed me that she didn't want to ride in the backward facing seat by herself, so Sancha went back there. We cruised over to Nujin's house next. They couldn't reach her on the phone but she was walking outside her house. Ofcourse she had the Nujin smile pasted on her face. She smiles more than anyone I know. She ran back inside and asked her mother if she could go and then jumped in with us. Sancha was begging me to drive so I let her drive to Rubina's house since you can go backroads all the way with almost no traffic. She drove pretty well from the start. Unfortunately, Rubina said she was busy. Those last days she seemed preoccupied and not very happy. Maybe she didn't want to hang out with the girls for some reason.



I again took the wheel and we drove down to Long Island. The girls were chattering in Marshallese the whole time. We tried Maniana's house but she was grounded. Next we went to Mary's house. She took forever to get ready because we had awakened her, but she brought out food. Since we hadn't eaten breakfast, that was very nice. We ate up the Marshallese donuts in a hurry and resumed our treck. The last person we picked up was Jasmine. She was grounded as well, but convinced her mom to let her go. It took us awhile to get the story but this is what I got. The night after the graduation and banquet the girls rented two rooms at MIR. The next morning Jasmine's brother and some guys from school were there and two of them got in a fight. Jasmine's parents thought that her brother was staying in her room and so she got in trouble for what he did. It doesn't make much since to me, but maybe I missed part of the story.



We left Jasmine's house and cruised down to the airport. After the airport there is very little traffic so I let Sancha drive again. As we went she got smoother and more confident. Somewhere near Ajeltake we traded again and Mary drove. She did ok, but wasn't as smooth as Sancha. The golf cart is hard to drive straight and unskilled drivers tended to weave back and forth. It takes a good deal of attention for me to stay smooth and going straight. We traded again and Pearlynn drove. That's when it got out of hand. She kept weaving and jerking the wheel. It was a little scary. She improved though and I prayed she wouldn't wreck into anything. A couple times it was scary when cars were coming the other way.



On the way we talked about stuff and joked around. Sancha told me about a haunted house we passed. She said that a tree was smoking a cigarrette when she went there. As we approached Laura they told me about a road that you shouldn't go on because she are guarranteed to get lost. The Eroge (royalty) have special powers and make it so you will get lost. I told them I wanted to go and get lost on Majuro. This was a funny concept to me considering that Majuro has one road in most places and only two in a couple. They refused and said they were afraid to go on it. We cruised around the tip of Laura. When we were way down at the point we saw this huge, retarded looking kid standing in the middle of the road. Pearlynn was driving and she slowed down. We told her to keep coming. When we went to go by the kid he started running beside the golf cart like a dog chasing a car. He reached his hand out and it looked like he wanted to grab on. Pearlynn hit the gas and we took off and left him. The girls were all strangely silent during this but after we were safe they screamed. It was like a delayed reaction.


We cruised around Laura for a bit and we saw this cop. He turned to follow us and so we pulled off when he couldn't see us and I traded back to the drivers seat. He passed once and then came back and stopped. He rolled down his window and asked me to come over. "A little overloaded aren't you?" He said with a smile. "Maybe a little." I responded. "Well you take care of those girls. You take care of them." He said with a huge smile. When he pulled away Mary informed me that he like young girls and that's probably why he stopped by. Her father is chief of police so he works for her dad. Ofcourse he never messes with her, but she says he goes after young girls.

Jasmine hadn't really driven anything before so we went to the large baseball field and let her drive around in the field. She did ok and so we convinced her to drive on the road. It was little backroads and she went super slow. I was sitting in the passenger seat and Sancha was standing up. She was talking and laughing like she always is and she let go for a minute and then we hit a bump. She just about fell out, but I helped her stay in the vehicle and everyone laughed at her. Even though we were going very slow she decided to stay in the vehicle. We went back to the field and let Nujin drive. She was an aweful driver, but it was really funny. She got closed to the edge of the field where the grass was deep and despite it being very difficult to mess up, she drove right into the super deep stuff. We got out without getting stuck, but it was super funny.

We drove back and ate at my house. I gave them the last of my corn and popcorn, which they love. I brought out a stuffed animal that someone sent me in a carepackage and they all went crazy wanting it. I thought it was funny that in 8th grade they still love stuffed animals.

Nujin had to go. She kept saying that she wanted me to stay and teach them through high school. I was sad when I had to say goodbye to her. The rest of us got in the cart and drove to the airport. On the way there we were all quiet. We were all sad that this was it. We had had a very fun day. They kept thanking me for renting the golf cart. It's hard for me to describe the friendship and closeness that I had with them. Just cruising along in the golf cart, sharing iced candy, laughing at their craziness, talking about the island ways. . . I've never felt anything like it. I've never felt remotely that close to anyone so much younger than me. It was like they were my daughters, but friends at the same time. Relationships are so important in island culture. You can see it in everything they do from sharing food with all their friends to walking out of their way to go by your house.

While I was checking in, they went to Jasmine's house and brought me back another Marhsallese handicraft necklace. Rudy took the golf cart and the girls down to the end of the runway to watch the plane land. I was really sad when they made last boarding call and none of them had made it back. Rubina came out to the airport to see us off. I said goodbye to the SMs who were leaving on Monday and the Filipinos. It was a little sad, but not too much. When I had to say goodbye to Rubina I just started crying. I was so sad boarding the plane. We took off and I could see Majuro laid out before me. I thought back to the flight in when I couldn't believe I would live on this ring of coral for 10 months. Taking off it was at night and I could see a ring of lights. I could pick out Delap point where we surfed, shoreline where I went to concerts with my students, Rita where we would go Wednesday nights for worship, Laura where we would go to the beach. I have so many memories attached to this little island. It was overwhelming and I cried a little as we left the lights of Majuro behind. As I took off into the night I vowed I would return someday in the next 4 years. I will do whatever it takes to return. I would even consider teaching another year. This island, with all it's ugliness and trash and bad habits has a beauty that only someone who has lived there and become one with the culture can understand.

Consecration

Today was consecration. I didn't really know what to expect. All the graduating seniors and 8th graders came. They had chairs in the front. Each student brought a towel to put over the chair for decoration. I lined everyone up in the back and we all went in. The rest of it was a pretty normal church service. They put me on the spot and had me help lead the singing. I don't sing well, but this day my voice was halfway gone from the cold I'm getting over. I kept away from the mic and croked through the song. Finally it was over and everyone marched out. The kids all had matching dresses and shirts. I had a shirt made as well. We took a bunch of group pictures. Usually I hate group pictures, but I really wanted these. I'll be leaving them in less than a week and I will want those reminders. It's so sad to think about leaving. It isn't paradise, but it is a beautiful island. Even though we can become very frustrated with the culture and people, I love them and will miss them. There is true beauty everywhere.

Crazy times

I haven't blogged for awhile because the internet has been in and out. Last weekend we went on our last camping trip. It was awesome. We went back to Rongrong and camped for a couple nights. Sabbath we took a hike down to the end of the island to see a shipwreck. There are two on that island. Both are fun to climb around on. It was a nice break before the end push.

Speaking of the end push, my next week is going to be so busy. Sabbath I have consecration to organize. They will be dedicating the graduating the kids at church. We are still trying to get everyone matching clothes. The kids changed their mind a bunch of times but I think we have it on track. Hopefully everyone will show up wearing something that looks good. Next Wednesday is the big day with graduation and a banquet. We are going to need tons of food. We'll be practicing and getting the program together. I'm already stressed and it's still 6 days away.

On Monday we had an 8th grade party. We went to MIR, the resort and had a picnic. It was crazy. We ordered pizza, which disappeared in a few seconds. Almost everyone jumped in the pool and started swimming. There was the usual pushing people into the water, but they were being pretty careful. Sancha wasn't going to swim but some of the girls tricked her into going to the edge of the pool and then pushed her in. Edward wasn't planning on getting wet but someone pushed him in. The problem was he had Haneo's girlfriend's cellphone in his pocket. I don't know if it works or not. It as frustrating though because the group was split into two groups. Pearlynn and Mary were at odds with Sancha and Jasmine. All the girls divided on that and the boys tried to hang out with both. Finally some of the kids came over and talked with Pearlyn and Sancha and they made up and everyone was friends again. I was really happy because this had been going on more than a week and I was getting tired of it. The girls were crying good tears. Then George said he was leaving for the US the next day. Then he said something mean to Nujin and she cried for about 20 minutes about that. He was moping around. We rented kayaks for 2 dollars and played in the lagoon. I found half a surfboard and used it as a skim board. Everyone wanted to try, but they found out it was much harder than it looked.

When we were getting ready to go when the "stuff" hit the fan. I was telling everyone to put the kayaks up. Characteristically, it took them a while. Then I saw George jump in the kayak and start paddling out. I kept yelling at him to come back but he ignored me. He got out into the middle of the lagoon, which is 200 feet deep, and flipped it over. His friends and out and started swimming to him. A bunch of people were starting to swim and the close ones I told to go back and I started out. I got out there and Edward and Haneo were with him. I asked him if he was ok and if he could swim. He smiled and gave me a thumbs up. Since I had signed for the boat I went to get it before it sunk. It took me 30 minutes to get it out of the water. There is a strong current and it carried us a long ways. When I got back I chewed George out. The kids were shocked because they've never seen me loose it with a student before. I've never yelled at anyone like that before. George was trying to get attention by acting like he was in trouble. Some of the other kids could have drowned trying to save him and I had no sympathy for his attention getting stunt. It turned out he wasn't even leaving for the states. They say he's afraid to return to school because he's afraid of me. School is almost over and he was failing anyway. He won't go to the next grade so there is no point in him coming. After he looked stupid by not going to America he made up another story about seeing the ghost of Marsh, a high school kid here who drowned awhile back. He said Marsh was trying to drown him because they were enemies. The Marshallese are superstitious enough to believe what he says. I believe there are spirits that could appear like that, but I think he's just lying again so people will feel sorry for him. He also says his dad kicked him in the face for what he did. If it's true, that explains some of his problems, but I don't believe anything the kid says now.

Today I got really sick with a fever but after sleeping five hours I'm feeling better. They've taken two of the four finals. I have them graded already, so I feel good about that. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day and I hope I can make it through.

Thank you

My church sent some packages of food and calculators and other stuff. We were really excited to get those. Calculator are hard to come by here and I shared with some of the high school teachers. Previously we had 1 calculator for the whole class. A few people have phones and so I let them use them as calculators. Now we will have enough for everyone.

Awhile back we received some money from the church for the students. A lot of them are having trouble paying their school bill. I told them that if they worked hard and got As and Bs then I would give them the money. A few of the kids worked really hard. After the quarter grades were in I talked with the principal about who deserved the money. I was looking at giving it to two or three kids. Then about that time we got another check. With that I was able to divide it among five kids and they each got a sizable sum. A couple of them didn't have perfect grades, but I felt they were good kids. The principal called them into his office and they were wondering what it was about. They came back so excited. One girl ran up and hugged me. They thanked me a bunch of times. One of the parents came up and thanked me personally. It was a pleasant surprise for the parents. They couldn't believe someone had helped them.

Busy times

Since Spring Break I've been both super busy and bored. School has kept me busier than ever, but I'm starting to get bored of most everything on this island. I guess I'm finally getting island fever.

Graduation is coming up so we've been having meetings with the parents about it. They have very high expectations for this event. On Saturday there will be a consecration service. They have to provide food for it and the kids want matching outfits. This is ontop of the graduation gowns they will be using in the ceremony. We asked the kids to choose what they wanted their dresses and shirts to look like. They went shopping and looked at stuff, but the day before the meeting we had nothing substantial. I told them I would go down to the store with them and we would figure everything out. I told them I would help them out with a taxi fair, but they said one of the girls was getting her car. I thought her mom or dad would be along to drive it but she showed up driving it. She told me I could drive. I was happy about that because I don't get to drive much here. I've only driven twice the whole time I've been here. We all piled in and went down to the store. They looked at fabric and dress styles forever. Finally they chose what they wanted and we got prices.

The parents were slow to show up to the meeting. Finally, we got started and they began planning the ceremony and banquet afterwards. The place they want to rent is $350 and then they wanted everyone to bring four large trays of food. I let them make the decisions. There were a couple small dissenting voices, but for the most part they were ignored. The next day I got a letter from some of the parents and then two others talked to me. The amount of food was outrageous and the financial burden is huge on them. I'm going to call another meeting on Monday and attempt to scale back their desire for an over-the-top graduation. They are being impractical and some of the families can't afford it. Some families aren't paying their school bills and so can't be expected to go all out. I think if it is outrageous they will just not go to the banquet and it will be a bust.

This week I am going to try to raise some money from businesses. It is going to be a ton of work, but I hope it works. I want that money to pay for the food at the banquet so that it's not such a burden on the parents. This is already turning into the pain in the butt I thought it would be. The parents want one thing, the kids want another, the principal wants something else, and somehow I have to reconcile it all. I've discovered that I like to make people happy, but I will have to disappoint some people. I don't have a problem doing that as long as everything comes out nice. One of my students told me, "You shouldn't ask the parents, you should tell them what they need to do." I told her, "I've never been to a graduation on this island, I've never planned a graduation anywhere. I don't know what to tell them to do." I want to give the kids a worthy graduation, even if it isn't as costly as they would like.

Spring Break 2010!

Leading up to spring break we had a rough couple of weeks. We had education week where we had to plan something every afternoon. It ended up being way more work than just doing school. At the end of that we were all ready for a break, but it still didn't come. The next week they finished up education week. Friday was suppose to be a field day, but it got rained out. They changed it to Monday. Our principal told us we were not going, we would have regular school. Halfway through the day he changed his mind and marched the whole school over there. It turned into chaos really fast and we lost about two thirds of our students. The teachers over the young kids just took theirs straight back to school after realizing how disorganized everything was. The high school kids just walked away and went home. The middle school kids participated in tug-o-war battles. The guys didn't win any, but our girls went all the way and beat everyone. We have some Fijian girls and they are really big and strong people. That helped quite a bit.

I put together a movie night to raise money for graduation. It started about an hour later than we planned, but it went ok. Everyone argued a bunch over the movie. Orginially we had chosen Alvin and the Chipmunks 2, but the kids wanted something newer. They got A Christmas Carol and we put that on. Part way through the teachers came up and were complaining because there were ghosts in it and it was scary. So mid movie I changed it to Alvin and the Chipmunks. I didn't watch either, I was busy getting the food moving and stuff. We were able to raise $260 for their graduation. Along with the money we already have, they should be able to do what they want to.

That was the first weekend of spring break. Friday we went out surfing for a long while. Sunday we went sailing. The yacht club races once a month. This month three boats came out. I got on Deviant and the rest of the SMs divided between Hawkeye and Seattle Seal. Deviant ended up being the slowest and we messed up the start to boot. We thought the line was farther back from what it was so we were messing around and crossed early. We had to circle around and start again which put us behind. It was my second time on a sailboat out here, but I learned a lot. We kept tacking back and forth and I had to move ropes around every time we tacked. Hawkeye ended up being the fastest and despite starting way behind us, blew right past and took first. We gained on the Seal on the downwind leg because we used out sails better, but upwind we lost a lot of ground. Even so we would have been right together if we hadn't messed up the start.

The next couple days I kitesurfed. It wasn't a good couple days. The first day I started strong and then a short rip turned into a long rip and I had to take it back and fix it after only 10 minutes in the water. The next day I didn't put enough air in it and so I struggled to fly it. The struts no longer hold air at all and so when I would crash it it was so hard to get back up. When it was in the air the lack of air in the leading edge caused it to flap and provide very inconsistant power. It is also very sluggish without air and so I can't keep it powered up. Even so I was able to stand up for short runs and I feel like I was learning. If only my kite was in good working condition the whole time I would already be good at this sport. I've spent way more time flying a flat or damaged kite than flying one that works correctly.

Tuesday night we had a basketball game. It was the championship for high school. We lost the championship, but we came in second on the island, so it was all good. The kids got really depressed afterwards, but none of us felt like they gave it their all. The last two minutes they gave up and the score was 50 to 44. That is three shots, max. I saw them throw that many away with sloppy shooting. We could have won if they hadn't have given up. After the game I ran into the girls in my class. We went back to the school and I opened the gym. We played volleyball for a couple hours and that was really nice. I'm glad I got to hang out with them.

Saturday night I talked with one of the elders a long time. His daughter is in my class and he was helping out with the movie night fund raiser. I had a great talk with him about what is going on here and it's the first time I've felt welcomed by a Marshallese church member. He told me he regretted the distance between the SMs and church members. Anyway, he told me we should go out to Rongrong, an island that has good camping. He got a boat for us and we left on Wednesday. The boat right over was really fun. The waves in the lagoon were a decent size and the boat was flying along bounces up and down. It was a Boston Whaler style boat with an outboard motor and there was nowhere to sit but the edges of the boat. After the first couple minutes the other SMs sat on the deck and complained that their butts were slammed on the deck. I grabbed ahold of a rope and rode in the bow. It was really fun and kinda like riding a bucking horse with water splashing in your face.

The island is beautiful with a sheltered lagoon that was as still as a lake. The beach is sandy and drops off quickly to 30 feet deep. Around the edges are corral walls with tons of beautiful fish and corral everywhere. It is the most beautiful snorkelling I've seen since I've been here. On the ocean side a ship had run aground. Locals told us it had been there 10 years. We climbed aboard and explored the decks and hold. Then we jumped off the side into the water. It was an amazing two days and two nights in paradise. I didn't want to come back when the boat came for us.

We've got one more weekend of Spring Break. I don't know what we will do, but it's been good so far.

A couple stories

I've had so much happen and I want to get it down before I forget about it. About three weeks ago, Joan Lafever, the head of Guam Micronesia Missions, came to visit us. She visited out classrooms and offered suggestions. They decided for her to fly out to Jeh and Wotje along with Lenney, the principal, to see those school. They got on Jeh and the plane broke down. The plane was on Ebeye, fortunately, but they were stuck on Jeh. Air Marshall Islands is the most unreliable air service in the world. Everyone knows that if you leave on one of their planes, you may not be back for quite some time. We could communicate with them by ham radio. Every day John Dale would give them updates and try to get them off the island. Chartering a big boat out there was looking like a $6000 proposition. Joan didn't want to ride in a small boat because of the safety issues. Finally, about two or three weeks after they got there, the plane was fixed and it flew them home. In the mean time John Dale was the main dicipline guy and he did a great job. My kids were afraid to be sent to him.

That leads me to my next story. This week we've been doing different stuff because it is Education week. Strange enough less education has been done than any other week. We have had group activities and games. One day we had Bible Trivia games with 7th grade. 7th grade won and the two 7th grade teachers and I were leading out. None of the kids like one of the 7th grade teachers and complain to me all the time. He was a little biased and wanted 7th grade to win. The 8th graders said he was cheating, which I don't think was true. Afterward one of the 8th grade girls went up to him and said "7th grade can go to hell." I was really surprised because I have no problems with her in class. She is one of the sweetest girls in the whole class. I wasn't there to hear it but two teachers were and so they sent her to do detention. She retreated into the 8th grade class and didn't appear to be moving. Cameron told me to go get her down, which I guess was my responsibility since she was an 8th grader. I went up there and told her she couldn't talk to a teacher like that and she'd have to do detention. She kept saying, "I will go. I will go after school." And other stuff. I told her she had to go right then. About 10 8th graders were in there at this point, watching everything. My rules are very relaxed as far as classes go, but I do have control of the class because I enforce the rules and have and everyone knows that. I knew if I lost this battle the next two months would be much harder. I told her she would have to go to detention or go talk to John Dale. I knew she is afraid of him. She still didn't want to move so I started counting. She went at that point but was angry. She didn't say anything rude to me though. I didn't really know what to expect the next day. Evidently she felt bad for being so difficult because in chapel she sat down beside me and talked to me a bunch. This was her way of saying she was sorry for being difficult and getting back into good graces with me.

Time flying

I haven't written a blog in quite a while, but things have been happening so fast. The last time I wrote I mentioned about volleyball. That has ended, but it was an exciting ending. The game after I wrote about we played a school from the other side of the island. I think it is a little like an outer island because they are so far from everything. The farther people are out, the better they are at sports. I think they do less classwork and more volleyball and basketball. (True story: Arno, an outer island that can be seen from here, went to Hawaii and beat the best Hawaiian team in a volleyball match.) We had a fighting chance with this team though, but our girls were playing horrible the first game and lost. We lost so many points to serves that were out and lazy bumping. The next game they came back from an impossible trailing position. When things get intense, they start playing really well. I think the score was 15 to 22 with us down and we won. The last game they played strong, but were trailing by a bit the whole way. We got down to game point and neither team could get more than a two point lead. We were leading by one point most of the time. Everyone was going crazy and I was yelling. I took a video, but it is horrible because I was so excited I was shaking the camera like a person with Parkinsons. The point is we held them off for 4 and 1/2 minutes until they got ahead by two points. The final score was 19 to 21 in a 15 point game. Our girls were so upset. I tried to encourage them because it was a great game and we went down fighting. Plus we were still in the tournament. You have to loose two games to get kicked out of it. Even so Nujin sat down and started crying. I want to put my arm around her, but I knew I would start crying because when I look at a person cry I get that way so and I waited and tried to encourage her later. I didn't want my kids to see me get emotional. She is a very emotional person and she told me she cried at her birthday because she was happy. All the girls were mad and beat themselves up a lot.

The next Monday the girls kept saying we had a game and it was anounced on the radio. Jon said it wasn't on the schedule and that we weren't suppose to have a game. Right after school he went down to the ECC and they said we didn't have a game. At 10 minutes till five Rubina knocked on the door of the AV room and said we were suppose to be there at 4:30. Her dad was down there talking to the Baptist school who was waiting on us. We gathered 7 of the 12 girls up in a hurry and took them to the gym. The other coach was a super cool guy and didn't mind waiting or having a rematch. Islander's laid back attitude cuts both ways and so despite them not telling you that you have a match, they are pretty chill about you showing up late. The ref made us play anyway because they had annouced it on the radio and I guess we are suppose to listen to it.

The game started and our girls were playing awful again. That school wasn't very organized, but they beat us anyway. We won the second game; I don't remember the score. The tie breaker we lost 8 to 15. Our girls can play much better than them, but it can be very hit and miss. The good news was that the two teams we lost too were the only ones left in the tournament, so we came in third. I told the girls that was really good, but they wanted the championship so bad. They all stormed out and sat and pouted by payless. There is another tournament in April. I really hope we win, because these girls are good enough to beat both of the teams that went to championship, but they've gotta play good every game and quite being careless in the first game.

I went to a high school basketball game this Thursday and it was a lot like our games. The team we were playing wasn't that good and five minutes in the score was 8 to 4 and we were down. Everyone was playing so lazy. We were down a bit at halftime and suddenly they started playing. It was a completely different team. Coach yelled at them the whole first half and encouraged them when they did sometime good, but I don't know if they respond. I don't why they just turn on and start playing all of a sudden. We won 33 to 38 or something. One more game and we'll be in the championship.

I've been here 8 months and I'm finally learning how to talk to island people. Last meeting I had with the parents I stood up and lead it like a normal American meeting. In America people argue back and forth until a topic is decided. The islanders are very nonconfrontational and they are very laid back about how they answer. I started 30 minutes late, went 30 minutes and closed. I asked if anyone had anything so say and they didn't say anything so I had prayer and closed the meeting. The next day my kids told me the meeting was just starting when I left. I do remember that some people were just getting there when I left. An hour late seems crazy to me and I figured the other parents would fill them in.

This meeting I approached completely differently. I sat down and told the parents what we were talking about and let them lead the conversation. It went very well and we got some stuff accomplished. It went a little longer, 8:15, but I felt like everyone was on board. Rubino, Rubina's dad, led a lot of it and spoke in Marshallese. This included many of the people who don't speak good English. There were a lot less parents because I called the meeting at the last minute. Maybe some people were so late we didn't see them at all. I felt like it was a success and people were more on board this time. My kids didn't complain, so that was good.

Love and Hate

The Marshall Islands is a crazy place. I have experiences here I would never have in the US. Today was crazy. It all started yesterday when Katrina saw this kid Ari. He's a 7th Grader and speaks almost no English. He does nothing in class and is learning nothing. That is beside the point of the story. A lot of the guys like to give Katrina high fives. Ari came walking by with his hand out and she didn't give him a high five for whatever reason. He left his hand out there and grabbed her breast. She yelled and him and kept going. That afternoon she told us guys and we were all really mad. I think I've written about he inappropriate behavior that has happened in my class. A lot of the guys here have no respect for girls but this is a whole new low for them.

Today Coach Zac decided to punish Ari for what he did. He called him up at PE and told him he was going to be punished for his inappropriate behavior toward Katrina. Despite his bad English, Zac made sure he understood. Then he proceeded to make the kid do lots of pushups, situps and running laps. I came in and the period was more than half over. Ari had been exercising for awhile. Coach told him to run more laps. When he came around Coach gave him a rock about twice as big as a football and told him to carry it. I laughed because I thought it was awesome the kid was getting what he deserved. The next time he circled around Zac shouted at him to carry the rock over his head. I laughed at that too. Ari walked a few steps and then threw the rock on the ground. He walked over and grabbed his backpack and started back. He started screaming something and I could see tears were running down his face. No longer sporting his characteristic stupid grin, his face was twisted in rage. He ran at Zac and acted like he was going to fight him. Jon jumped up and herded him out the door of the gym. He disappeared for an instant and then popped back with a rock which he threw at Zac's feet. Jon pushed him back around the corner. Ari just broke down and cried. Then he went home.

I instantly felt bad for laughing when he broke down like that. On the one hand, Zac was pretty harsh and I didn't make it any better, but I don't think the punishment was excessive. I wonder what emotional problems this kid has that prompted a complete and total loss of control. I definitely didn't want to reduce the kid to tears. On the other hand, guys here are inappropriate with girls in public and it is shameful and degrading and they don't care. They have no concept of the feelings of the girls when they feel up in front of all their friends. I may have shared this story but I'll share it here for effect. This one kid in my class went up to a girl. She was sitting on a table in front of the class. He acted like he was going to give her a high five and then "missed" and slapped her chest lightly. All his friends who were watching laughed. Hopefully this incedent will remind the guys who are thinking about feeling teachers up of what will happen if they try it.

This afternoon I went down to the ECC where they have volleyball and basketball games because my students said they would be down there watching games. I had nothing else to do and I was bored. I ended up having a great time hanging with my students. I walked back with them and had a great conversation. I realized today that they stuggle dealing with our culture. Their culture is a shock to us and we are immersed in it. We never really think about what effect we have on them. We are arrogant and assume we are here helping them and they are suppose to be learning from us. To them our culture is harsh and abrasive. They don't get our humor and it sounds mean to them. What we think of as a motivational talk to them is yelling. I think both of us miss a lot in the translation.

Volleyball Season

Volleyball season started last week. It has been really fun. The first game I went to and took a camera. I took a bunch of pictures and cheered for them. They won both games with ease. They were in the zone and playing really hard.

The next game wasn't quite so smooth. The game started at 4:30 and we told them to be there at 4:00. They showed up at 4:24. They onlly got five minutes to warm up and when they got on the court they were still super nervous. They weren't playing as good as they could in the first part of the game. We lost about 5 points to serves that were off. We were still chasing them though and the score was 17 to 21. Then Sancha got up to serve and kept serving consistant, fast, serves. The ones they were able to pick up, the other girls bumped, set and spiked back. We won with a score of 25 to 21. The next game we lost by a few points. They were playing good, but so was the other team. Sancha evened it up at one point with her serves, but it wasn't enough. We had a tie breaker game to 15. We got ahead in the beginning and stayed ahead to victory. The girls were so excited. One ran up to me and jumped up and hugged me she was so excited. Volleyball is really important to them. I had about three different girls come up and ask me to go see their game. It made me happy that they wanted me to be there.

This weekend the pathfinders are camping out. For some reason they chose to camp right in front of our doors. It's kinda a pain to have kids on your front steps all the time. Oh well. They seem to be having fun. Maybe they will sleep better tonight. The kids were so excited last night that they didn't hardly sleep. The guys woke up at 1 am and thought it was 5 am. They were ready to get the day started. Then the girls were playing a card game after that. I was safely in my apartment and didn't have to deal with all that. The girl teachers are heading that up.

Sailing and Kitesurfing

This sunday was great. Rudy came up to me on Friday and said that the sailing club was going out to Enemanit. I've been wanting to sail with them for awhile, so I said I'd go. We got it cleared with Lenney, which was a big hurdle. Sunday morning I got all my gear together and we headed over to the docks. The "yachties" where all hanging out and talking. They were really cool right off. They all have nice sail boats and most of them live on them full time. Most of them are retired and are traveling around the pacific for fun. This one guy named Mike came up. He had sailed from Hawaii in 25 days by himself. He hadn't seen anything man made for 3 weeks before he got to the Marshall Islands. After talking to him I found out he had a doctorate in Economics. He left San Diego awhile back in is headed for Japan. The next leg of his trip is going to Guam. There are a lot of islands in between, but he isn't going to stop on them.

We all got in little dingies and made the trip out to the boats. We went on Mike's boat and it was just Rudy, this other yachty, Mike and I. I got to pilot the boat for awhile. We just let out the jib and were cruising at about 6-7 knots. If we let the mainsail out we could have cracked 8 knots for sure. We caught up and passed the boat that left before us. I helped put the outboard back on the dingy and we cruised onto shore. Rudy and I laid out my kite and we pumped it up and launched it. He helped me put the board on and I took off. It was my longest ride up to that point and I was really stoked leaving the island with a nice ride. Then I bumbled around for a long time. The wind was strong and I couldn't depower the kite completely. It is really hard to put a board on your feet in the middle of the ocean with a kite dragging you. Finally I got it back on and got some sweet rides in. I would dive the kite to get power and it would lift me out of the water. Then I'd bring it down close to the water for consistant power. Once I was planing there was a lot less resistance and I'd take off. The first few times you do it is the most amazing experience ever. You are flying across the surface of the water. It takes constant focus on the board and the kite. I went faster than I've ever been being pulled behind a boat. Once I started planing I would keep accelerating until I was going so fast I couldn't stay on the board as it bounced across the choppy waves. After a good while I was starting to get worried. Rudy had promised to grab a dingy and come out and get me. The winds were offshore and I was just getting farther from shore. At this point the sailboats were little sticks and the island was white sand and green trees in the distance. I have not idea how far out I was, but Rudy was a welcome sight bouncing across the choppy water. We loaded the kite up and get took me back. It seemed like a good 15 minute ride back. Ofcourse we had to go slow in the chop. I couldn't believe how far I had come.

We hung out with the yachties for awhile. They had some crazy games. One of them involved a guy holding a stick and being blind folded. A girl would hold a toilet paper roll between her knees and direct him to put the stick in. It was pretty funny. What got funnier was Rudy played and for some reason he played the girl part. I even took video for him. There were three cute teachers there from Laura. One of them I'd met before and Rudy had met them all at previous get-togethers. We hung out with them for a bit.

I took one more short kitesurfing run. This time I stood up and took off. The wind was a little lighter and we were close to shore. It was almost glassy and I stayed up for a really long time. I went between the two islands and then got in the wind shadow of the second island. At that point my kite went down because there was no wind. Everyone on shore was really stoked for me and enjoyed watching even though I'm still not very good. That was my longest ride to date. I thing I might have gone about 300 yards or so. I feel like a couple more days of practice like that and I'll be competent at the sport. It's so hard to stay in the water for a long time here. I either get taken out to sea to far or blown onto shore or toward a shipping yard. I may see about renting a dingy for a couple hours next weekend or something.

We loaded back up in the sailboat and sailed back to Shoreline. The wind wasn't as strong coming back and it was slower going. But the three cute teachers were on our boat on the way back and so conversation was nice. Mike, the guy who had been out to sea for so long, was really glad to see females again. I don't think he'd had females on his boat for awhile. Today I'm sore as anything from all that kitesurfing. It's all good though. I need some more long sessions to get good. Previously my longest session has been about 10-15 minutes. The more board time I get the better I'll become and the longer I'll be able to ride. Hopefully conditions will continue to cooperate.

Survivor weekend

This weekend is a three day weekend. It's Nuclear Day so we get Monday off. We decided it would be a great time to go camping at Callalan. We all packed up and jumped on a boat for Eneko Friday afternoon. We had planned on returning on Monday at 2 pm, but at the last minute some of the girls wanted to come back on Sunday, so we booked two return boats. Once we got to Eneko we had a 6 mile hike between islands to Callalan. The boat dropped us off at 5:40 pm and the tide was dropping, but still a little high. We walked to the end of the island and looked at it. Damien and I thought it was a little high and so we sat down to wait. Mitch and John just started walking. Ben, Nicole, and Alise followed. Everyone else just relaxed on the beach. The water between the first islands, called Three Bag Islands, was about waste high and we were glad we didn't push it. I opened a bunch of coconuts and the girls drank the milk and ate the coconuts. Damien had taken his surfboard, but decided it would be too much work to carry, so he hid it really good on the island. In 30 minutes the tide had dropped to knee high and we set out. I walked on the ocean side on the shelf and the it was easy going. Kara and Katrina got stung by jelly fish and so they moved into the middle where there are piles of rock. This is much harder to walk on, but the water is shallow and they didn't want to be stung. Around dark we got to the first of the Three Bag Islands. We thought about stopping, but everyone wanted to push on. The moon was up so we walked in the moonlight. The tide kept dropping and it got easier to walk. We passed the Three Bag Islands and came to this one after that. It was a small island with a channel between it and the next big island. No one lived on it so we decided to camp for the night even though it was only 7:30 or 8:00. The first people to leave were no where in sight.

We started a fire and cooked over it. Rob we having trouble getting coconuts and he didn't bring water. He wanted to tough it out and so he didn't eat much. I gave him some of my rice and soup. He claimed there weren't any good coconuts, but it turned out the next day he was wrong. He was just bad at looking for them and worse at climbing coconut trees. We stayed up until midnight laying on the beach, talking. It was Rob, Damien, Kara, Charity, Katrina, Shari, the South African couple, and me.

In the middle of the night it started raining. I got up out of my hammock and wrapped my blanket up. There was this little tarp covered shelter. Small pigs were sleeping in it but Rob and I kicked them out and we went and stayed in it. The rain stopped after about 15 minutes. We weren't worried because it always blows over fast. We were to find out this was only the beginning. When we awoke the next day it was overcast. Every one of the girls had blisters. Since they were returning the next day anyway we decided there was no point in them walking all the way to Callalan with those bad blisters. Plus, Callalan had no shelter and we hadn't brought tarps. I brought one on the last camping trip and we didn't use it. No one felt like carrying the extra weight. It rained pretty hard a couple times. We piled into the small shelter. Some of the guys thought it was too small and so they propped up the back and took an old tarp and propped it up in front. The one in front turned out to have many, many holes in it. When the back got propped up the water didn't want to run off it anymore. We tried to reinforce it, but that night we just dropped it back down and huddled close.

During the day we went snorkelling. The channel between the islands was running fast at high tide so we float through and out into the lagoon. Rob and I saw a big sea turtle. It was so beautiful. It looked like it was flying in the water. The reef was really pretty and there were tons of fish. The South Africans took their spear fishing gear and went out to do that. Despite the on and off rain, it was a beautiful Sabbath day. That night we talked about what to do. Everyone wanted to leave on Sunday now because of the bad rain. We still had the five other people ahead of us who didn't know what the plan was. The girls, Rob and Damien wanted to hike back to one of the Three Bag Islands where there is a vacation house and shelter. They figured we could stay in the shelter if someone was at the house. I still wanted to see Callalan so I said I would hike to Callalan on the low tide that night and return with the five people the next morning. Damien and Rob decided to hike out there with me and return on the same tide with no gear. Right was it was getting dark it started raining really hard. We huddled in the shelter until 8 pm. By that time the tide was low and we started off at a fast pace. It took us about an hour to get to Callalan.

Mitch, Ben, Jon, Nicole and Alise were sitting around the fire when we came up. They were disappointed we hadn't made it that morning. They hadn't brought a machete and our group had four of them. It sucked because they couldn't get any coconuts. I climbed a coconut tree and cut several down for them. I cooked a meal over there fire and then they were getting ready to go to bed. They met this really nice Marshallese guy and he loaned them a tarp. Alise slept on the ground under the tarp and everyone else hung the hammocks up. About 1 am the first shower came. It rained pretty hard for a bit. We huddled under the tarp until it past and went back to our hammocks. A few minutes later it started raining again. This time it was a storm. The wind blew and the waves were crashing onto the beach. The rain was so hard we were all soaked in no time. The rain was going sideways right under our tarp. Ben and I were in the front and soaked first. My once damp blanket was now completely soaked and doing no good. The tarp started leaking all over and no one was dry. It didn't let up for an hour and a half. By that time we were cramped from crouching under the tarp. I sat with my back to Nicole. I think our shared body heat kept me from freezing. I cursed myself for not leaving with Damien and Rob to go back to the house. It was so miserable sitting there soaking wet in a storm. Rain in the day time neve bothered me because you are running around and it's not cold here. I found that rain at night while you are trying to sleep is hell.

The nice Marshallese guy had offered them his shelter and so when the rain let up we voted to go over there. We were worried because it was 3 am by this time, but he was sitting on his front porch watching the down pour. We asked if we could use his shelter and he offered us his house. We all went inside and laid down on the floor. It was the greatest feeling in the world to be dry and warm. I have never been so greatful for shelter in my entire life. We slept for a few hours and then got up at first light. The Marshallese guy told us to come anytime we needed shelter. We think he is the king that owns the island. (There are about 10 kings of the Marshall Island who own most of the land.) He is the nicest guy I've met since I've been here. When were returned to the camp site we found everythere wet and sandy. By the time we loaded our backpacks the tide was low enough and we set out. Not even Ben was arguing with us about going back early. It was the worst camping night of our lives and we were not interested in repeating it.

It only took us two hours to cover the 6 miles back to Eneko. The tide was super low and we were walking on dry land or ankle deep water the whole way. It was 10:30 am when we arrived and we found there was a Tsunami warning for 11:30. We were freaked out at first and drying to get a boat back before then. But we couldn't and nothing happened. I wish I could say we lived out a Tsunami on an outer island, but the truth is I didn't even see the surges they got in New Zealand. It was a super low tide and so if their were surges it didn't make much difference. This weekend is suppose to be the most extreme tides ever recorded in the Marshall Islands. In the end, if there aren't big waves, it doesn't make much difference. It's only about a foot higher than normal. If there are big waves at the same time, then it can flood low places. My students told me it flooded Small Island last year. Extreme tides always come around this time of year.

I got back, ate some good cooked food, and crashed. I slept from 4 in the afternoon until midnight. I'm not sure if I'll be able to sleep more. I hope so.

Two Fights and the Banquet

The last week has been a very eventful one. The drama and craziness that has gone on is ridiculous. Last Saturday night I was bored, as usual, because no one wanted to do anything. I went over to the gym and I sat through three volleyball games and couldn't play. The gym is complete chaos and can have 100 people in it Saturday night. You count and keep score if you want to go next. I was keeping score for me and some of my students. But they wandered out of the gym and didn't come back in time and so I couldn't get on because I was by myself. After I got really frustrated with that I went back to the AV room, which is usually the lamest place to be saturday night. When I came in the guys had put on music really loud and were dancing. That was fun so I got in on that. The music was really loud and the girls watched us for a little while then left to go watch some lame chick flick. Certain girls are very girly when it comes to movies and all they will watch is Miley Cyrus and romance movies. I don't mind one every once in awhile, but they get lame if you do that every saturday night. We were still dancing and having a good time when Rudy came in and told us we should move it to his classroom. We said there were only four of us and there was no point. Then Rob grabbed the ipod off the speakers and walked out the door. We put another ipod on and kept jamming. He came storming back in and started saying stuff about being immature. Tony came back with something. Tony knows just how to say stuff to piss people off big time. Rob walked over and put his hand on Tony's chest and said he had enough of Tony. I'd never seen Rob angry like this. Tony was like, "Get your hands off me!" Ben stepped in and pushed them apart. Rob said, "Get out of the way Ben. I'm mad at you too!" Ben was like, "What's the problem?" and Rob explained that people were next door and below and they were upset with our music. Ben said, "Oh! I didn't even realize it." And he turned the music off and we all went back to our computers. Everyone who was there knew how close Rob and Tony were to a fist fight. Tony has no idea how to calm someone down and he was making Rob madder and madder. It was good than Ben defuse the situation.


The next fight was just crazy. The Valentine's Banquet was Thursday night. When we all went out to eat for Valentine's Day the girls picked names out of a hat and asked us. The deal was that we would do the same and ask them for the banquet. Wednesday night we had done nothing and so we sat down and talked about it. Since we are dudes we didn't just want to leave our dates to chance. We decided to play Counter Strike to decide who would get first pick. The real reason for the whole thing is that at least four guys wanted to take Katrina. They didn't want to leave it to chance and her end up with Mitch or something. We made a complicated multi round system to narrow down the best players. The first round Ben and Zac made it to the next round. The next one Rob and I did. I'm not the best player, but given a good computer I can be competitive. My computer must have a virus using my processor because even Counter Strike had performance issues. Even so, I still made it to the next round. Damien was the last one to make it to Finals. Tony was a sore looser and kepts saying, "I don't give a s***" and so we told him he didn't have to take anyone. I don't think he wanted to and he didn't want to get stuck with last pick. Since we had two more guys that girls he and one other person was going without a date. Since Rudy wasn't there he was given that spot by default.

Tony started the it by being a sore looser and complaining so much. After that everyone that go eliminated complained a bunch. We were in the finals and Damien was leading by a huge margin, Zac was second, Ben third, I was fourth and Rob was last. Damien got a big sniper rifle that you can kill with one shot with. He would camp in a corner and take out the bots like crazy. Ben was arguing that that was cheap and the gun should not be used. Damien said this rule was not made in the beginning and he was not doing anything illegal. Ben got really annoying and kept saying, "I don't give a s***" while holding his nose. I didn't know what that was about but Damien thought he was making fun of his accent. It turn out later he was making fun of Tony. Anyway Ben realized he was pissing Damien off and that made him feel better since he was pissed off Damien was using the sniper rifle and winning the game. Damien walked up to him and said, "Stand up! We'll settle this once and for all." Damien was completely ready to fist fight. Damien has the worst temper of anyone and is the most physical. He would be the last person I would want to fight and I wouldn't have pushed him anywhere near that far because I know these things. Ben wouldn't stand up but he kept running his mouth, which was really stupid. He kept saying, "What is your problem?" I walked over there to try and defuse things and Jon said, "Ben, just be quiet!" and he finally shut up. We stopped Counter Strike.

I was super frustrated now because we were no closer to knowing we would take to the banquet. Now it was such a touchy subject I was afraid to bring it up. I was so pissed off at the immaturity that the guys were showing. We aren't dating any of them and we won't be. It's stupid that they should get so worked up that they almost get into a fist fight over it. I went to Cameron's place and hung out with him for a bit. I had gone with Alise on the Valentine's Day thing and had a good time. If I were to choose someone it would be her.

I went over to where the guys were hanging out and asked them if it was a free for all now. They said it was and anyone could ask anyone. By this time it was getting late and I had something cool in mind. I got an ipod speaker and played "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" with it over my head out in front of the girl's apartments. It was really funny becaue that was in a movie and I found it the cheesiest thing I could think of. The girls found it humorous. I went back inside and everyone said they were going to just ask some random girl. They were talking about it and they realized that that wouldn't work because several guys still wanted to go with Katrina. Also, no one wanted to go with someone who shall remain nameless. They talked about having a fight club to decide, but scrapped that idea. Finally they just all drew names out of a hat, but with a twist. The people who had made it to the final round of Counter Strike could put a name back once and redraw. This guaranteed that none of them would have to go with the one or two people they didn't want to go with. The couples were like this: Rob and Katrina, Damien and Kara, Ben and Shari, Jon and Charity, Zac and Nicole, Mitch and Lauren. Mitch was in bed so he just ended up with the last person in the hat. Of course we told the girls it was completely random and drawn out of a hat. This is a secret to be kept until the end of the year for sure. No one reads this blog.

The banquet was great. The kids showed up about an hour late, pretty standard for Marshallese. That was ok though. We ate, had Kareoke and had a good time for awhile. My 8th grade girls came about 30 minutes after that. They were really shy and didn't want to come in. At least three of them had dates from high school, but the guys didn't come over and the girls didn't go sit with the guys. It was really strange. You would never know they were going with anyone. Marshallese culture is strange sometimes. The girls wouldn't come out of the foyer and so I went and talked with them and took pictures for awhile. They finally started to feel more relaxed and we got them a table. They had all went shopping especially for the banquet and gotten new dresses. They looked very beautiful. I don't mind saying they were the prettiest girls at the banquet as a whole. No one high school class had more pretty girls at the banquet. They could have done so much better if they knew how to capitalize on it. They were constantly trying to hide and not be seen. I guess it's natural for 8th graders to be very insecure and shy. Like I said, Marshallese culture is very shy anyway.

Later that night we had a skit with Zac, Rob, Tony, and Rudy in it. The kids loved it. We had a how well do you know your date game. They chose Ben and Shari, Junior and Monolin, and two Chinese kids. It was a great cross section with teachers, Marshallese, and Chinese represented. I don't even know who won, but it wasn't Ben and Shari. Shari has a boyfriend and I'm sure we would do many times better than Ben.

The banquet was a huge success. The seniors said it was the best banquet they had ever been to. We have a group of highly dedicated teachers. From what I hear usually they have a group of teachers who mostly don't care that much. They are always slacking and trying to get out of responsibilities. I think we have done a lot for this school. From the stories we here from Pohnpei, we are doing much better than most teachers out here.

Coasting. . .

Compared to the last couple weeks this one I was coasting. I had the really bad week, then I cracked down the next week, and now they are starting to accept things. It's never easy. Sometimes I think they are on some drug they get so crazy. Sometimes they come back from lunch running around yelling at each other. I think they may eat a lot of sugar at lunch. They are starting to accept my new rules and buckle down and do their work. It is getting better.



I went kiteboarding about three times after school this week. I'm learning a lot and getting much better. Rudy has been helping me. It makes a big difference to have someone to help you launch. On Tuesday we went out and launched the kite. I got on the board and took off. I got several 5 second rides in. My board skills are perfect but I can't keep the kite powered up for very long. Kite flying is a very technical skill, but I'm learning all the time. I got a ways out and the wind died and the kite came down. I relaunched it once and then it came down again. Rudy was out in the water taking pictures and he was suppose to have my surf board but he had left it on the bank. He swam over and was trying to help me get the kite into the air. I asked him what he was doing because he and the kite were going upwind of me. Obviously you need the kite downwind to launch it. I looked back at the bank and realized we were upwind of where we started. Since I can't kite upwind that means we were in a fast current. We couldn't get the kite launched some I wrapped up the lines. By that time we were way past the point. In a matter of minutes we were very far out to sea. I knew that if this current kept up there was no way we were going to make it back because we couldn't swim that fast. We swam across the current around the point. I didn't want to land there because the waves were much bigger. On the other hand I knew I couldn't make it back to where we started, so landing amid crashing waves was better than floating out to sea. Rudy wasn't worried at all at first. After about 20 minutes of swimming and we were still quite a ways from shore, he realized the situation we were in. I think we swam for about 30 minutes to get back. Fortunately the waves were small that day and it wasn't bad coming in. This instance renewed my respect for the ocean. I know more than anyone how powerful it is. Between wind, waves, and currents it can get you in trouble very fast. The good thing is we weren't in immediate danger of drowning. The kite has a lot of air in it and we could float on that for as long as needed. On the other hand, three days in the ocean would not be fun.

The next day we decided to look for a new location to kiteboard. We went down to the bridge and found a nice place. Unfortunately I lost my air pump and so we had to blow it up with our mouths. (The day before I think a Marshallese stole it because I have to leave in on the bank when I kiteboard. The pump only cost $4 so I wasn't worried, but the place I bought it doesn't have them anymore. I hope I can find another one.) The kite didn't fly nearly as good without being pumped up. I can fly it in the power zone fine, but it won't go out because the structure isn't rigid and so it flaps and collapses when it is in the low power zone. It went into the power zone and I went racing across the water and never could get my board on. I went for a really long ways moving quite fast. It was very fun and I'm really good at controlling the kite. Finally I just got tired of being drug along so I flew as close to the shore as I dared and then let the kite drop. The problem is I landed at the worst possible place on the whole beach. The shore was covered with old car and engine parts and glass bottles broken everywhere. This I could not tell from the ocean, only when I landed. My kite got washed up on some junk and a huge whole was ripped in the fabric. Day before yesterday I did my best to patch it. I still haven't tested it, but I have my doubts about it holding. I have some other ideas though. I'll do some research. It is fixable. If I were in Florida my gear would be in way better shape. This island has the worst shores of anywhere I have ever been.

This Sunday is Valentine's Day. I had been thinking awhile about doing something for my kids. Friday I sat down at lunch and wrote a bunch of notes to all of the girls. My mom sent me Valentine's cards so I used those. Kids are incredibly curious and the minute I walked into class they want to know what they were and wanted them. I handed them out and the girls loved them. I wrote a personal note on each one and said something positive about each person. They kept coming up to me, "You really like me smile? AWW!" They all gave me big hugs and it was great. The 7th grade girls called me over and told me they had something too tell me. When I got down then all jumped on me and yelled "Happy Valentine's Day!" and hugged me. It was really sweat.

After school on Friday we had a basketball game between the staff and the high school team. The staff were behind the whole way, but fighting hard. I didn't play because I'm really bad at basketball. Coach Zac, coach of the Shrenz, tried to get me to play so that it would help his team. I took a bunch of pictures and hung out with a couple of my students. It got down to the end and the staff would be up by one and then the Shrenz up by one. With 7 seconds left on the clock the staff was 44 to Shrenz 43. They set up a play and pulled it off in 7 seconds to take the win. Everyone went crazy and the team picked up Zac and carried him around the gym yelling. It was such a close good game. Even though I was cheering for the staff, because I'm staff, I was glad the Shrenz won. I think they'll do really well this season. It will be great because they have not been a good team in the past. Our school does really well at Volleyball, but they loose almost every baskestball game. I think that is going to change this year.

Friday Night, Feb. 5th

Wow, this week went by in a blur. So much happened and I've been so busy. The first two days of the week were very hard in class. The guys were just running around like crazy and leaving the class a lot to play in the hall with the high school students who don't go to class. I don't know what the security guard does around here, but he doesn't make people go back to class. I would think that would be his main job. I sent two guys to detention with the guard and they just left. The last time they did that I sent them to the principal's office, but it didn't seem to make a difference because they just did it again. At the end of Tuesday I was very frustrated and I told them that this class was going to change. Up until now I have run it with a very relaxed style. The students who are self motivated work very well under that. The girls don't get into trouble and I think they learn a good amount. A few of the boys are very self motivated and do their work before talking to friends or anything. But I've recently been overrun with these guys that don't care about school at all. This one kid has been in and out since I've been here and been caught drinking and other stuff. He just hangs out in class and does no work at all. I told them that the last couple weeks they have made my life miserable and if they don't straighten up I'm going to make theirs miserable. The next day and came in with a completely different attitude. I wasn't as hard as I probably should have been, but if people were running around or talking loud I got on their case. If they didn't listen, I made them do pushups. If they left class for any reason without asking me, I made them do pushups. I must say, they weren't angels, but it was way less stress on me because I had a recourse if they didn't listen. The principal has told us not to do physical punishments in class and other teachers have gotten into trouble for doing these things. But these 8th grade guys do not respond to anything but physical punishment. If you tell them to write sentences after class, they ditch and don't show up. You have to be immediate and physical. It works too. Like I told them, I took the pressure off me and put it on them.

We had a volleyball game with Coop, the school next door. My girls showed up really late and so they were about to sub in Coop students in our team because we only had three or four players. So I walked over to the girls' house where I knew they would be hanging out and roused them over there. The first game was really bad. I don't know what happened. Our girls just weren't into it at all. But then after that we just owned them. Our students are much better volleyball players than Coop students. It might be because our PE teacher doesn't actually teach them anything. He just lets them have a bunch of free days and they play volleyball the whole time. But they were really good when they got here, so that doesn't explain everything.

About two weeks ago one of my students' grandmother died. She was upset about it for a few days and told me she hadn't been eating. Her relatives were flying in from Hawaii and all over and so they embalmed the body and kept it in a freezer for a couple weeks until everyone could get there. Today they had the funeral. She told me she wanted the class to come so I asked her what time. She said any time. I thought that was kind of strange so I asked if we could go at 1 pm when school gets out. She said that would be fine. One of the girls got her father to come with his pickup truck. Most of the 8th graders piled in and we all drove down there. They wanted me to ride in the front, but I told them I'd rather ride in the back. All my students were back there and we had a great time driving over. (It's about a 30 minute drive to Long Island not to mention the many stops we made along the way to pick up people.) When I had announced that we could go all the students acted really excited and started making a bunch of noise. It's very interesting around here because they treat funerals as mild entertainment time. They always have a bunch of food. I guess the family of the deceased is expected to provide it. On the way over I brought out my camera and instantly everyone wanted to be in the pictures and look at the pictures. They asked who was going to speak for us. I didn't really know what that meant. They asked me if I would and I said I could, but I didn't know what to say. They told me to say we were sorry about her and stuff. We got there and we went in to the church. The flowers were out and the casket was sitting there. We sat down and the kids told me this was the time to speak. There were a few family members there and some of them were taking video of the whole thing. Other than that the place was empty. I went up there and talked into the microphone. I told them who we were and how much Pearlynn (my student) means to me and all of us. I told them I was sorry I was never able to meet her grandmother and we would be praying for them. Then I sat down and one of the family members got up and made a similar speech thanking us for coming over and at the end he offered us food. We walked by the casket and left a dollar or so each by it. That is their custom here. They do that at birthdays too. The casket had a glass covering so you could see in but it wouldn't stink up the place. I've never seen one of those before. We went out and they served us rice, chicken, koolaid, and crackers. The kids sank the crackers into the koolaid until they were all soggy. I thought it was gross. As we were leaving Pearlynn told me she really liked my speech and she really appreciated me mentioned her in it. The other kids told me it was really good too. I felt awkward because I hadn't been to a funeral like that before and I didn't now what people normally said. Plus I had never met the deceased. On the trip back the kids were in a great mood and having tons of fun. They were whistling, waving, and blowing kisses and every stranger they saw along the rode. It was hugely entertaining. I'm really glad I went and it was a great experience.

I also had a parent/teacher meeting this week which I was really stressed over, but it went well. Maybe I'll write a blog about that when I have more time. I've already spent more time than I have on this blog. Better get busy with other stuff.

End of another Month

Time if flying by on Majuro. I stay so busy and have so many experiences all the time. It's strange because sometimes it seems like there is nothing going on, but I always have plenty to do.

Last week was much better than the week before. The problems guys were gone a lot, which made my class flow much smoother. Monday morning three of the guys came to school late and didn't bother going in PE. The coach came out and took them to the office. Since it was the second time in as many days that they were in there, the principal suspended them for a couple days. Until Thursday it went very smooth. Johnny and Stevenson were still in my class, but if it is just them, I can control them even though they are the most trouble. On Thursday all the guys came back and it was crazy again. I easily have six kids who are constant trouble. It is so hard to deal with that. I was giving a lecture and I looked over and they are sitting on their desks just having a party talking really loud. I am used to talking loud in class and I couldn't even be heard over them. I told them to listen up and be quiet and no one even acknowledged that I said anything. I got so angry that I gave them three laps the next day. Then I slammed the door of this cabinet and told them I was sick and tired of them not paying attention. All their eyes were huge and they were completely silent. They had never seen me angry before. I feel kinda bad because I don't like loosing control, but sometimes they just push you until you are mean to them. The teachers that have been here a long time are very firm and raise their voice often. The kids don't really like them that much either. If I were teaching here again, I would probably be like that. To maintain control here you have to be so strong. The kids are used to running over everyone by 8th grade. They've had a bunch of pushover teachers in the past.

After that I was having a hard day. At recess we went to the gym and were playing some volleyball. Before I came here I had never played volleyball before and I'm pretty bad at it still, although I am mostly competent. I can usually make the ball go where I want. We had several low fast serves that came in right over my head. They are super hard to pick up especially with an overhand hit. I kept trying to do it but it kept shooting off all over place. The girl behind me could have picked up at least one or two with regular hit and I should have let her take it but I didn't think about it. They got frustrated with me and then I felt bad. Then I served into the net and I was even more frustrated with myself. I didn't really say anything but we just went back to class and I prayed and tried to pick myself up. I guess it was just everything together that was getting me down. One of the girls came up and told me she was sorry. But I didn't really think to much of it after that. The next morning we had free day at PE and I usually just sit and watch but the girls told me they wanted me to come play volleyball with them. Then again at recess they went out of their way to make me feel welcome to play with them. It surprises and touches me how in touch they are with other people's feelings and how they go out of their way to reach out to me. They can be so wild sometimes you don't think they would be so sensitive. The fact that they care about the way I feel makes it worth all the crap I go through sometimes.

Saturday night we had a birthday party for Zac and Tony. It was legen -wait for it- dairy! That is not other word to describe it. We played music out of this giant speaker and just rocked the place. A bunch of the guys drank a bunch of coffee. I remember Damien running down the hall, literally running down the walls. He came to the door and just kicked it straight open without even stopping. I guess it wasn't latched because he was super lucky not to have broken it. None of the guys could sit still all night, it was crazy. We messed around and danced a bunch. It was great because everyone knows that we are all friends and so there is no pressure with the girls. We just danced and didn't care if we looked stupid. The majority of the people there had never been to a dance club before so most everyone were noobs and looked stupid out there. At the end they brought out the cake, after everyone got a piece Katrina plastered the birthday boys with cake in their face. It was really funny and we got some sweet pictures.

Today is Monday, Feb 1st and I started the month off great. I took my kite out and Lauren helped me launch it. I went to put the board on my feet and after I got one foot in my kite powered up with a gust of wind. So I just stood on the board and it pulled me along pretty nice for a bit then I got jerked straight about and I was in the air. I didn't go very far that time but my board went off the one foot I had in it. I didn't worry because I had a leash on it. I steered the kite over to the edge but it was pulling me out fast. When I went to bring it up to the middle, so that I could try and get on my board again, it lifted me straight up and I got serious air that time. I could have kept going up but I was depowering the kite. The farther I got out the more powerful the wind was getting. I went down wind a ways and finally the wind died down. I went to bring my board up and realized I had lost it somewhere along the way. The handle that my leash was attached to had come off and the board was nowhere around. It took me awhile to swim back in to shore and get everything packed up. I went back along the shore and some kids told me they found my board. Sure enough, some Marshallese grabbed it when it washed up. I was so stoked and it was actually an answered prayer because I was praying the whole swim in that it would wash ashore and not off into the ocean someplace. I lost the handle so I've gotta figure out how to get another one or another way to attach the leash. But I'm super stoked because I stood on the board briefly and got big air. Lauren says my feet were about 5 feet up. That feels about right, maybe a little higher.

The Week from Hell January 23rd

It actually started the week before this one. On Thursday Johnny was in and out of my class and he was copying work so I gave him a zero for that. Friday he skipped the last two periods. On Monday I knew I was going to have to get him in trouble. I was busy and forgot until mid-morning when one of the teachers came up to me and said, "One of your students is smoking outside." Johnny and Stevenson (another trouble kid) came around the corner at the next minute. I had them breath in my face. Stevenson did, and smelled like smoke. Johnny wouldn't even. One of the other teachers came by about that time and said he saw Johnny smoking so he took them to the office. A few minutes later Mr. Grant came in and said Johnny was being suspended. The next day he wasn't in school and the next day was an in school suspension where he worked all day.

The first couple days of the week the rest of the guys would sneak out of class and go hang out somewhere. I talked to them and it didn't help, as always. If you don't assign a punishment, they just don't care. Wednesday and I told them that every time I turn around that side of the room has almost no one in it. I said, "If you are gone, I'll write your name down and give you detention." They were a little better that day but still taking off so I gave them detention. Stevenson just took off and didn't do his detention. That's his standard thing. He seems to think that running from your punishment will get you out of it. Unfortunately, it does work sometimes.

Thursday we were doing reading and I look up and one of the smart kids is out playing with a basketball in the hall. I asked him if his work was done and he said yes. I asked him where it was and he said with the guys. "Are they copying your work?" "No, umm, I mean yes." I told him to never let people copy his work or I would count him off points. I found his work but several kids and already "finished" the assignment. I took the ones I knew were copied and told them they had a zero unless I saw them doing their reading. They didn't care. They started gambling with pocket change.

After lunch those same guys came back 30 minutes late. I knew they had left campus, which is a big no-no. I waited until the next day and sent five guys into the principals office. He told them if they did anything else they would be kicked out. They were good on Friday, but they have all heard that before. They'll probably be good for awhile. I sure hope so. Next week has to be better.

After that constant conflict all week I was so drained. To top it off our class had chapel on Friday. The kids did pretty good up front and I told two stories. They really liked the stories because they stayed quiet for them and paid attention. That never happens in chapel.

After chapel and saw some of the girls and invited them over to my place for Ramien. I cook up the Ramien and we sat around a talked for awhile. At first they talked in Marshallese but they switched to English and we had a good conversation. We talked about all kinds of things. Then we got out a deck of cards and played some games. We played a game I have never heard of but it was so funny. We were all yelling and laughing. The girls had a really good time and thanked me several times. I had a really good time and it was a very nice ending to a crazy week. It reminded me that I really do love my kids even though some of them make me want to get a baseball bat out and start hitting people sometimes.

It got me to thinking. I need to break through to these guys. I've made friends with the girls and they've responded really well. It's a lot harder to make friends with the guys. They just run around and push each other around all the time. They also make strange jokes that I don't get a lot. But if I could make friends with them maybe the class would go easier. That's my mission for this week.

January 16th, Good times and hard work

I'm really glad we got back to school. I have a purpose and I get to spend time with my students. I've made a few changes in my class from last semester. Some people complain about Marshallese and their lack of respect and stuff. There is some truth in it, but the bottom line is that a class is what the teacher makes it. When the class is out of control, I figure it is my fault and I need to change something. The kids have been talking a lot in my class and last semester I just called them out one at a time. It worked somewhat, but the class was never quiet. I decided I needed to make changes so I told everyone that this year they were going to be quiet for lectures and if they weren't I would assign laps to run. So far it has worked quiet well. They haven't had to run more than two laps except for one day. We got to the end of the day and they had done really well and we didn't have any laps. Then the last lecture a group of kids just wouldn't shut up. I kept saying something and adding laps and we got up to four. The other kids were mad because it was about 6 people who were being disruptive. We went outside and I made just the trouble kids run laps and I made it a little less so they would want to run it then instead of the whole class running the next day. It works really well with the girls who sit in the front; Sancha, Rubina, Nujin, Jasmine. They pay attention now. The girls who sit in the back don't care as much. The guys are in the middle, they don't talk as much as they used to.

Another change that I made right before break was reading. I was giving them books to read and they were suppose to write summaries on what they read for the day. They didn't do the reading, they just copied a few sentences from the book and made it look like they had read. I got a reading book and it has hard questions at the end of each story. For the most part, they do their reading. I think a few kids copy off others. I remember one day that every single person was quiet doing their reading. That is unheard of. I was just sitting back thinking, this is bliss.

I had them write a 2 page paper about their break and what they did. Then they were suppose to share it with the class in a speech. The paper went well, the speech not so much. The papers were kind of boring for a couple reasons. First, they just don't do much on break. They sleep and play basketball and watch TV. Second, when they do stuff they skip over it and don't share details. They don't really know how to write an interesting story. On top of that, they are embarrassed to tell the class the interesting stuff. The first day of speeches only three people got up and shared. I allowed them to read their stories. I told them if they told the story without reading it they would get bonus points. The second day one kid did that. It was the most interesting and the only one any of the kids paid attention to. I kept telling them to be quiet, but when the other students were up there I didn't want keep stopping the speech to tell the class to be quiet. They said, "We don't want to give a speech because the class doesn't listen and they talk." I said, "That's what I go through every day. Welcome to my world." I hope they realized how disrespectful it seems. They don't mean to be disrespectful. It never crosses their mind. Just like they think nothing of throwing trash on the ground or eating KoolAid.

On Monday I got out of class and I was bored. I knew I needed to go to Payless but didn't want to do it alone. A couple of my students were standing in the shade so I asked them if they wanted to go down to Payless with me. They didn't seem to interested because it's a little walk and they didn't have any money. I told them I would buy icecream for them and four girls were instantly on board. We walked over there taking our time talking and hanging out. I bought my food and then their icecream. We ate at some tables they have at Payless for just that purpose. While we were eating I asked one of them about her parents. Her dad is in Ebeye. He sends money for her cellphone and school and she talks to him on the phone sometimes. Her mom left when she was three. She is in Samoa now. Nujin said she doesn't have a mom which means they never talk and her mom isn't involved at all. I felt bad for her.

After we ate icecream we walked up to an electronics store that I didn't even know was there. We looked at the iPods and computers and cellphones. As with all kids that age, they love to listen to music all the time. They play music on their phones all the time. We walked back to the school and they helped me carry my food. They thanked me several times for the icecream. It meant a lot to me that they said thank you a bunch of times. A lot of kids here seem to take a lot for granted. When they are grateful it means a lot.

On Friday I got done with school and ate a big lunch. Then I walked over to laundry with some of the SMs. When I got back several of my students and one of the high school boys were hanging out in the guard shack. I went over and sat with them I talked to them on and off when they weren't talking in Marshallese. At one point I got pretty bored, but then they started to talking to me again and I'm really glad I stayed. The wind was nice and it felt good just to do nothing. I hung out for about an hour and a half. I've changed a lot being over here. I used to never do nothing for that long. I don't have the drive to go and do stuff as much as I used to. I'm content just to hang out. Island life is was slower and laid back. I understand my students much better than when I first got here. I like my old life of going to church, climbing 6 pitches Sabbath afternoon, doing something Saturday night. Going climbing on Sunday for another 6 pitches. Coming back and doing homework until late and crashing into bed. I used to be irritated by people who would sit in their dorm room all Sabbath afternoon. Now I'm content to do nothing all Sabbath afternoon. Here it is different because you just don't have the option of doing anything. I've adjusted to my environment. I will always look back with good memories to taking an hour and a half to go to Payless with my students and hanging out doing nothing with them. I'm glad I can do that. The thing that I admire about them is their focus on relationships and friends and I'm learning that from them.

Broken Toes and BandAids

Last Monday I decided to go fly my kite. I have been tying myself to a rock so that the powerful kite doesn't take me away. This time I wanted to do it in the water. I found a place where the wind was going along the shore. Everyone was being very lazy so I went out by myself. A bunch of kids came out of nowhere and one of them was a 7th grader from our school. They all wanted to help so I explained to him in English and he translated for the rest of them. They were a great help setting everything up. I launched it on the shore, which is rock. I didn't expect it to pull so hard because the wind was light so it pulled me down the shore a ways before I lost control and it crashed. It took me awhile to teach the kids how to flip the kite over so it would relaunch. (Supposedly there is a way to do it yourself, but I haven't figured it out yet.) I worked my way into deeper water and I really wanted to get on my board, but it was still shallow and I didn't want to run my board into something. I launched it and let it drag me through the water, it's called body dragging. It's a step to practice kite flying in the water before getting on a board. It was much easier than flying on the beach and my body offered just the right amount of drag. The kite fly amazingly without hardly a flutter. At one point a wave broke on my head and I went completely under but when I popped up it was still flying. I got pulled into a more shallow area and so I was walking on the bottom with my flipflops. Of course everything is sharp and jagged around here in the water. Suddenly I took a step and found nothing beneath my feet. I still don't know how deep the hole was, but it was more than shoulder deep. I lifted my foot as the kite pulled me forward to try and find the next land. Suddenly a huge rock was right in front of me and my foot ran right into it. I lost my sandal and I knew I had scratched up my foot. I didn't think it was bad though. I found footing but tripped and the kite crashed. When I checked out my foot I found my second toe on my left foot was broken and curved over my big toe. The kids helped me recover my sandals and kite. I packed it away, threw it on my back and headed for the hospital. It was a short, albeit painful, walk over there. I was dripping water and blood all over the emergency room floor. It took them two hours to take a couple x-rays and and set my toe.

The next few days were very painful and all they would give me was ibuprofen and Tylenol. Typical Marshallese hospital. On Friday I had a follow up and they unwrapped up. I could move my toe so they said that it would be fine. They taped it to my other toes and told me I could take care of it now. If I ever break a toe again, I just do it all myself. There isn't much a doctor can do for you. They just tape it up.

Now that my toe is a little more mobile, I can walk a little better. Leadership has decided to encourage us to do things for the community Sabbath afternoons. I think it is great. We've been bored out of our heads Sabbath afternoons anyway. There is a huge list of stuff we can't do. Church people do nothing on Sabbaths. We are going to try and get some youth programs together and get people involved. Today we did BandAid clinic. I think I described it in an earlier post. Basically we sing songs to the kids and at the end we put bandaids on them. They love bandaids even if they aren't hurt. Kids in school where them on their faces all the time. This time Zac brought slingshots. I was worried that would go south, but it was ok. He had a bunch of paintballs. It turns out the kids love being shot at by paintballs. We used it in our skit of David and Goliath. At the end Zac handed out paintballs and it was a mob scene with them all trying to get some. Then they turned them on him and threw paint all over his legs. It was funny. I'm really glad we are spending time bonding with the locals. Sometimes it seems only a couple of us teachers are interested in connecting with students on a personal level. Hopefully everyone will get involved this semester.