Burn baby burn, discus inferno!

Last Tuesday, instead of lying around and relaxing on our President's Day off, we rallied a group of volunteers together to enter in the Marshall Islands National Track Meet. "Team Dartmouth" consisted of both Dartmouth and WorldTeach volunteers, so for the first time in my life I can say I was on an Ivy League sports team...well, not really....

Organized sports here are sometimes hard to come by because Marshallese plans are always subject to change and cancellations, which come often. Yet the track meet went smoothly, with the 200m, 400m, 1500m, triple jump, and discus events. Though I was never a track sort of athelete, I was excited about the day and entered in the discus category. Not sure how I placed, but I can safely say it was the farthest I have ever thrown a discus...since I've never really thrown a discus before until now! Team Dartmouth actually held a practice a few weeks prior with discus pro Captain Lee in the one field on Ejit to somewhat learn technique before the big event. Haven't heard the results yet, but I'll keep you all posted once I find out! Overall, the day was a success and all went home happy...and very sunburned.

Scared Shipless

Once upon a time on an island far away, three adventure seekers set out on a voyage to explore an ominous abandoned ship lurking in the Majuro lagoon. After hiking across several island reefs and fjording the seawater channels (remniscent of the Oregon Trail), the three travelers tightened their masks, put on their flippers, and began their journey into the sea.

The menacing sky did not relent as the torrents of rain began and the gusts made the usually tropical climate capable of giving goosebumps. As the adventurers approached the ship, they noted a rickety rope ladder hanging off the side...what luck! With a bit of teamwork and flexibility, they all managed to scramble up the ladder and discover what lay inside this relic of a boat.

Perhaps due to a flooded engine room, the boat fell crooked and swung wildly in the gusting wind. Our travelers knew their time on the boat was limited as the gloomy skies released the full fury of the approaching storm. Perfectly preserved captain's logs, books of ports of call, and other artifacts entranced the travelers and they couldn't help but take a few life preservers...just for fun :)

The boat, entitled "Angelina" had a curious "MV Florida" label underneath, leading the travelers to question its origin and purpose. The Angelina/MV Florida is currently scheduled to be dragged out to sea and sunk, never to exist in the lagoon again. Yet as the winds picked up and our travelers literally had to jump ship, the trio felt exhilarated that they had been able to explore this rusty treasure.

Proof

...it was THIS BIG!

Street Cred

Spearfishing.

The word itself sounds pretty bad a**, right? When I originally found out my placement in Majuro, I cast away any dreams of spearfishing and living an outer island life I had. However, I didn't picture how close I would come to experiencing these outer island traditions. One of my favorite activities is visiting my friends, Malcolm and Kiersten, on Ejit. While Ejit prides itself on being an outer island, it is still within the Majuro atoll and reachable either by walking at low tide on the reef or by a quick boat ride. Since the waters are cleaner in this area and reefs more abundant, my roommates and I often head out to Ejit to snorkle, swim, or just relax. More recently, we've been introduced to the sport of spearfishing. Malcolm was kind enough to show me how to spearfish and it has become absolutely addicting. Holding the spear and actually catching a fish on it the first time was a thrill for sure. It's become more than just a thrill though, and now a path to Maj street cred.

The last time I went spearfishing, I wasn't planning on going out for too long since I had a bit of a cold which created a lot of pressure when I dove down. But after everyone had taken their turn on the spear, I decided to fish a little and just practice a bit. Within ten minutes and an underwater struggle, I popped my head above the water, proudly showing off the 3-4 foot long fish I caught. (note: this was literally the biggest fish I have ever caught, poles and spears combined)
That night, after chopping the head and tail off the fish and gutting it, we cooked and ate the fish (of course after checking with local islanders that it was o.k. to eat). (pictures of fish to come soon!)

The next week, I was in a boat on my way to Ejit and a middle schooler was along for the ride as well. He looked at me and goes, "Aren't you the one who caught the dok?" 'Dok' is the name for the type of fish I had caught the previous week (and fyi I completely made up that spelling). I smiled and said yes, realizing that I have indeed gained street cred in the Marshall Islands.


(Note: Due to cultural norms (aka "Manit"), I have to cover my knees and shoulders at all times, even when I swim, hence the guam)

Halloween

Although Halloween isn't as big of a deal here in the RMI, I took it upon myself to be overly excited about it and invite my students into doing the same. Though my actions may have been a sign of a young adult desperately clinging to their childhood, I thoroughly enjoyed making every single one of my students trick or treat to get into the classroom and using Halloween vocabulary the entire week. My students may not know how to write a paragraph, but they sure as heck know what a vampire, fairy, and pirate are.


Students proudly posing with their Halloween pictures and masks


A ballerina (Kathryn), two mermaids (Emily and Rebecca), and a flying fish

At my school's Halloween, I dressed up as a fairy princess, once again donning my lovely guam dress snazzied up with a set of wings, wand, and homemade crown. For the real deal, I wanted to be more island oriented, so with the help of the wings and foam fish we made, I went as a flying fish...get it?!

One down, three to go

Now that we’re well into second quarter, I’m going to be completely honest in saying that I am so relieved that first quarter is over and done with. Most former World Teach (and teachers in general) have told me that the first quarter is the hardest, as I’ve come to find out. Yet after the grades have been tallied (by hand, which took forever!) and the report cards handed out, I now have a full quarter to reflect on and to learn from to make the next three better.

Things I’ve learned about teaching in a Marshallese classroom:
-Kids will be kids; Somedays they’re great, other days they’re bouncing off the walls. I’ve decided that I’m going to write a letter to every teacher I’ve ever had as an apology...and a thank you.

-Marshallese kids love to sing; you can literally take any subject you’re teaching and make it into a song. When I was in about first grade, we used to sing a song called “Pick a Pumpkin”, so I used that with my classes almost every day leading up to Halloween. Apparently it caught on, because my fellow teachers told me they’d hear my students humming it during their other classes! Actually, I still heard them singing it today during a spelling test :)

I also tried to spice things up a bit by adding rap battles about phonics, but that’s largely for my personal entertainment. How can you not be in a good mood when you have one half of the class beat-boxing while the other is rapping about how to make a “long A”?

-Beware of recess; while recess can be a great time for me to zone out and read The Economist, it’s also a time for kids to get hopped up on loads of sugar and covered in Kool-Aid. Most kids are undernourished and don’t have access to healthy snacks, instead eating chip-like snacks and loads of Kool-Aid powder to hold them over until lunch, leaving their face, hands, and classwork covered in red or blue stains.

-Get to know your students after school; with over 200 students total, it’s hard for me to get to know each and every student. I know my third graders the best, since I spend every day with them, so I’ve begun to stay after school a few days a week and read with the ones who just want to hang out. While giving a detention one day to a student, a group of girls stayed and taught me a cute kids song and dance. Moments like these have showed me that I can’t just judge my students on being a student; some of the worst students are the nicest kids and just want to have fun with someone they can look up to.

-Learn the language; by knowing some Marshallese, classroom management and simple directions are much easier when you can repeat things in English and Marshallese just to reinforce your point. While my fellow roommates teach mostly in the high schools where their students have a fairly good grasp on English, my students are just learning, but that makes them absolutely wonderful Marshallese teachers to me.

Marshallese Gothic

As a homage to Grant Wood's "American Gothic", my roommates and I staged the depression era painting in front of a corn field on the island of Enemanit. We found it appropriate for Lee, John, and myself to be in the picture since we all hail from the Midwest (Ohio and Iowa), states known for their corn farming. While the pitchfork in the painting is now a tree branch, and the woman's dress is my fashionable guam, the picture is simply our modernized and Marshall-ized version of the classic. Enjoy!

Tsunami Tscare

When I was in elementary school, I remember having to practice tornado drills. We’d go into the hallways, wedge ourselves between the locker and the ground, and hold our heads, slightly excited about the prospect, since most of us had never actually encountered a tornado personally. Today was no drill, however, when I received a text message about a tsunami watch for Majuro.

See the following link for more information: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8281616.stm

As I received calls and texts and understood the severity of the tsunami that may or may not hit, I took my first period class upstairs. After telling other teachers, no one really seemed to be doing anything which was the most confusing problem to me. Eventually, I sent the class back down and went about the day, until about 30 minutes later when the principal told everyone to bring all students to high ground.

For some physical reason (which I am not qualified to fully explain), an atoll and a tsunami don’t usually mix due to the structure and steepness of the ocean shelf. Just the idea of a 20 foot wave and an atoll is the equivalent of a lemonade stand facing a steamroller. After my first natural disaster scare, I realize the fragility of the Marshall Islands and other atoll nations. Whether it’s a tsunami or rising ocean levels, any changes in the sea have the opportunity to wipe out an entire nation. After today, the livelihood of the RMI depending on survival just a few feet about the Pacific has become extremely apparent.

These are worth at least a thousand words

A black and white of Ajeltake during sunset:


Sunset from Rita (near my stomping grounds):


I saw the silhouettes of these children while they were sitting on a ledge next to the lagoon at sunset and had to get this shot:

Rita and R.E.S.

I moved into my new home a few days before school started last week. Our dorm is located on the school campus of MIHS (Marshall Islands High School), MMS (Majuro Middle School), and NVTI (National Vocational Technical Institute). Rita Elementary School is about a 7 minute walk from my doorstep, and going through this campus and community makes it inevitable that I will see either my students or the students of the people I live with (3 other WorldTeach and 3 Dartmouth volunteers).

After living in Ajeltake for about a month, Rita has shown a completely different side of Majuro. Ajeltake could be considered the suburbs as the area is green and lush with good amounts of space between houses. Rita on the other hand is one of the most crowded parts of Majuro with shacks and houses jumbled together and people just sort of hanging around at all hours of the day/night. The move here is keeping Majuro interesting though, as I’m living the rest of my year in a completely different environment than when I started.

The teachers in Rita have been extremely kind to me so far, and I can’t help but think that they’ll be one of the major forces that will keep me enthusiastic and positive this year. Whenever I’ve felt or looked completely lost at staff meetings, there is usually somebody who offers a kind gesture, whether it be a can of iced tea, a breadfruit nut, or a slice of chocolate cake during our 10am recess.

My role at RES is to serve as the main ELA (English Language Arts) teacher for third grade, and supplementary to the second grade. From 8 am until noon, I teach four sections of third grade of about 27 students. After my lunch break and planning period, I go back to teach one of the four sections of second grade, which changes every day from Monday through Thursday. This year, RES implemented a major teaching change so instead of having the students rotate, the students stay in the same room all day. Because of the change, I’m working as a traveling teacher so it definitely takes a bit more planning to make sure I’m prepared to go to each class every day with all the supplies needed. There’s a huge gap in ability levels between the students in every class which also creates a challenge to planning, but hopefully throughout the year I’ll learn how to deal with that and help everyone improve. All teaching tips and advice are much appreciated! :)

End of Orientation

Near the end of our orientation, we hosted a "camp" for local children at Rairok Elementary, essentially acting as our teaching practicum. The practicum that our three days of "camp" offered were completely invaluable, especially since our real teaching started in just a few weeks from that time. My group was expecting 5th to 6th graders and had planned our lessons for that age group, yet when we were all inundated with youngsters climbing out of a school bus, we had to quickly switch our plans to fit about 2nd and 3rd graders. Practicum also provided us a completely empty slate on what topics to teach, yet as I found out, plans can quickly change. My group chose space, which we had to completely ditch the first day, but did end up using space for the last two days with slightly older students. All in all, the practicum camp was extremely exhausting but prepared me for how much time goes into planning if you want to make your classroom successful.

A group of students:


I wish I had pictures from our End of Orientation banquet, including the talent show our language group had prepared a song for, but unfortunately I was really sick for about 5 days. Apparently it’s quite a feat if you make it through orientation without getting sick, and maybe I was getting cocky, but literally the last day I just crashed and burned (with a fever of almost 104). On a more positive note, I’m glad that happened before school started...and I got caught up on a lot of DVDs!

Laura

A lot of my pictures from Laura were taken on my disposable underwater camera (and I haven’t send the camera back to the states to get developed yet), but here’s a few pictures from the trip to enjoy:

The group hanging out on a fallen palm in the water:


A view of the ocean side of the beach:


A view of the road from the back of the truck:

Week 2

This week went by really smoothly and definitely opened my eyes to what I need to learn for this upcoming year. The majority of our sessions focused on teaching methods and class management, concepts that are pretty new to me and will be necessary for me to survive in the classroom. This experience seems to be something you can try your best to prepare for but then you just have be able to roll with the punches once you get into the classroom. Seeing how adorable the Marshallese children are makes me really glad I got assigned to an elementary school.

Besides our teaching sessions, we have our language lessons almost every day of the week. I am fully convinced that our language group is by far the best. Simply put, our teacher Baby ROCKS. She spices up class with songs and games that we absolutely love, and our Marshallese is drastically improving. We’re going to perform one of the songs she taught us at our end of orientation talent show…will keep you all posted on that!

In my experiences, I’ve realized you need two major elements to survive in a new place: adaptability and a sense of humor. Case in point: we came back to Ajeltake one afternoon and I thought I saw a big spider on my bed. As I got closer, I realized it was an angry looking crab just hanging out on my pillow. As his beady little eyes stared at me and he raised his claws, I couldn’t help but laugh. Only in the Marshall Islands...

We registered at the US Embassy the other day as well, where the staff kindly provided us with Cokes and pizza…how wonderfully American! Each person introduced themselves to the staff there, and the Foreign Service Officer came up to me later, shook my hand, and said “It’s great to meet a fellow Tar Heel.” I never thought I’d be meeting another alum in the RMI, but I’m extremely proud to call UNC my alma mater after seeing the amazing things that so many alumni are doing.

The highlight of this weekend was definitely our trip to Laura, one of the prettiest places in Majuro. Our field directors rented us a truck for the weekend, so we loaded up the truck bed and set off for the beach there. Laura is located right where the ocean meets the lagoon at the point of the atoll. The sand was absolutely amazing, and the beach is really different than the more rocky areas near Ajeltake. Looking back, one of my favorite moments was the ride back…I felt like I was in a movie or something since we were all just so happy with sunburned cheeks and salty hair, mesmerized by the palm tree leaves zooming by overhead. How could you not be in a good mood after a day spent snorkeling, swimming, and climbing the coolest beach tree? Pictures to come soon!

Finding Nemo

Took a day trip on Saturday to a beach within Majuro atoll. The boat ride took about a half hour or so to get there, and we were warned to stay on our best behavior since the president of the RMI was there that day as well. The beach was so incredibly pristine and beautiful…we were all just in complete awe that here we were on this fantastic place in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The snorkeling was AMAZING. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen water this clear.

When we snorkeled, I literally felt like I was in the movie “Finding Nemo”. Saw huge coral, clown fish in the anemones (and baby ones that seriously did look like Nemo), angel fish, and schools of fish that glittered when they moved. Took my underwater camera and got some neat pictures, but I’ll have to send that back to the states to get developed.

We also snorkeled and dove down to see a plane wreck, which was apparently a Japanese plane. The side of the plane had “Seastar Pacific” written in huge letters, so if anybody knows what that means please let me know! A little ways out from the beach was a swimming platform with a high dive that everyone was having a great time on. I remember standing on the top of the board and thinking how crazy it was that I’m in the middle of the Pacific Ocean going off a diving board!

A few of us took a “jambo” (walk) to the ocean side which looks like another world to the lagoon side. Since it was low tide, the landscape looks really rocky and the water is really hot since it’s just been sitting in puddles, baking from the sun. Even though there’s big waves, the coral reef breaks it up into ripples. We decided the closest thing the area looked like was the moon with palm trees in the background.

It rains pretty much every day here, and the beach day was no different, except that we actually loved having it. The rain gave our skin a break from the sun and we just kept playing in the water like usual. There were wild pigs roaming the beaches which took a bit of getting used to…I can’t say I’ve ever seen a huge pig on a beach before until now. Yesterday was by far one of the best days we’ve had so far for sure and was the closest I’ve ever been to being on a deserted island.

Just the beginning...

From the plane to Majuro, I looked out from the window seat and saw the tiny atoll that I’d be living on for the next year and that’s when everything hit me…the RMI is the most physically isolated place I’ve ever been to in my life. We just completed our first week of orientation so I’ll try to sum up this last week:

-We’re staying in classrooms in an elementary school outside of Majuro in a beautiful area with the lagoon on one side and the ocean to the other. It’s definitely roughing it since we’re sleeping on mats on the floor but I’m having a blast…it feels like a mix of summer camp and school, since we have sessions throughout the day. I actually love the bucket showers, especially at night when you can look up at the stars and hear the ocean.

-We befriended some local kids here and have been playing volleyball, basketball, and ukulele with them when we have free time.

-Began our Marshallese language classes…Yokwe!

-Our classes during the day focus on pretty much everything from teaching methods to local customs.

-We go to sleep just after dark and wake up with the sun…I don’t even wear a watch. I’m just getting used to “island time”, where if you say you’ll be somewhere around 4, it means you’ll be there between 4 and 5. Oh yeah, we also wake up to the neighborhood roosters (which I have definitely chased in the mornings to get them away from our door…they’re SO LOUD)

-Watched an eclipse the other day…almost full from our atoll, but not quite. Some people bought some welder’s masks that we used to look at it with.

-Tried Marshallese food…a staple of their diet is fish, rice, and breadfruit, which is a sort of starchy fruit that isn’t my favorite on its own, but breadfruit chips are awesome. We also ate some raw fish that is sort of like ceviche and pretty tasty.

-Bought my ukulele!!!! This is definitely a major highlight of orientation…a few of us bought them and have just been jamming at night. We’ve already got a band together and have written a few original songs which are absolutely hilarious and ridiculous…more on that later.

-Went to our party at the Ministry of Education where we got to meet our principles. My principle is really nice and interesting…apparently she went to the University of Nebraska and has a master’s degree. I ate dinner with her at the party and she presented me with a gorgeous Marshallese necklace made of shells.



-Learned how to open a coconut to drink the milk inside…you basically gnaw the top off a bit until you reach the “mouth” of the coconut, then take your thumb and just try to pop it open. It sprayed everywhere when I did it but I was so pumped I didn’t care.

-We’re hot and sweaty every single day so everyone has pretty much given up on trying to be clean except for the few precious moments after our bucket showers

-Marshallese dress code is quite a bit more conservative than we’re used to, and as women, we have to cover up our knees and shoulders. A lot of people have already bought muumuus and guam dresses, but I’ve stuck to long skirts thus far. I’ll definitely get some eventually but I’m not ready just yet…

-There’s usually a bug crawling on my bed, around me, or on me. No big deal.

LA LA Land

Before my arrival in the RMI, I took a mini trip to California since my flight to Honolulu and Majuro left from LAX. At first, I was thrilled to see LA, especially since I got to see Cam and Sara (hey girls!). But LA has got to be the strangest city I have ever seen in my life…it is literally the most surreal place and difficult to describe.

Throughout my time, I saw downtown Hollywood and so many random other sights (Warner Bros Studios, Universal Studio…at least from a distance). Traffic would have been unbearable had I not had the great company of my UNC and Toledo girls. It feels like you’re driving forever and getting absolutely nowhere.

Anyways, LA definitely did have its redeeming points: saw Harry Potter 6 (dressed up as Luna Lovegood), celebrated Cam’s 23^rd birthday, hung out in Westwood (near UCLA), drove by Beverly Hills, picked the BIGGEST lemon I have ever seen in my life, relaxed at Hermosa Beach, had some of the BEST Mexican food of my life (amazing fish tacos), and watched the sun rise over the hills of LA from an amazing viewpoint.

On Saturday, Cam and I roadtripped to San Diego to see Liz, a Cal Poly water ski friend. Definitely my new favorite city! Everyone is so active there, or at least from what I could tell when we went to Pacific Beach. People actually seemed to be enjoying themselves, very unlike the fast pace of LA. Maybe I’ll just stay there after my flight back from the RMI…

My last night in LA was the first time I met the other World Teach volunteers, since we all stayed at a hotel together. We all got along really well, probably because it takes a certain type of person to move to some random islands for a year.

We arrived in Honolulu around noon-ish and had the rest of the day to spend there. Our group scrambled for suits, towels, and then hopped on the first bus to Waikiki Beach we could. Definitely the best layover I’ve ever had! Our night ended with a sunset on the beach and stargazing…nice to relax before our super early flight to Majuro the next day.

So WHERE are you going?

Hi all! I'm writing this to update my friends and family back in the good 'ol U.S. of A. while I'm abroad for the next year. Here's a recent life summary to bring everyone up to speed:

I just graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (my home away from home), having majored in International Studies and minored in Business and Entrepreneurship. During my time in school, I was bitten by the "travel bug" after multiple study abroads and international jaunts. Post-graduation, I was offered the chance to spend the next year teaching English in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. So about a month later and two suitcases packed, I'm just about ready to begin my journey! The trip begins with a few days in L.A., a stop in Honolulu, and then off to my final destination, the capital city of Majuro, where I'm working as an elementary school teacher (most likely 3rd grade).

Anyways, a lot of people keep asking me, "so WHERE/WHAT are the Marshall Islands?!" Here's a quick breakdown:

-The RMI (Republic of the Marshall Islands) is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator (quote 'borrowed' from Wikipedia)
-the RMI is about 2000 miles south west of Hawaii and 2000 miles north of New Zealand
-The people speak Marshallese, which I'm currently trying to learn
-there's a bit more than 60,000 people on the islands and 25,000 on Majuro Atoll
-the RMI is a sovereign nation, but is in the Compact of Free Association with the U.S., meaning they receive financial assistance from the US in return for defense rights (there's a US army base on Kwajalein Atoll)

More to come....stay tuned for the next year!