Shades of Chuuk

Here I am, about a week in and I am still sweating like a whore in church (pardon the expression). It is not overly hot, but the humidity is very difficult. I have had a lot of down time since there is just not a lot to do on the island (the nearest swimming beach that I know of is a good 6ish miles away, however snorkeling there is sweet). I have read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and am about 200 pages into HP and the Deathly Hollows. It is a little lame, I know, but I saw the teaser for the new movie and had to get caught up on the story line since there are no movie theaters here, but there are some on Pohnpei.

We went to Xavier last weekend for some phase II stuff and Xavier's campus stunned me. They had grass huts for kids from the different islands, a big field, newly painted buildings, etc. It even has a generator so that they don't need to rely on the extremely sketchy island power. Also, their toilets flush without having to dump a bucket of water in just the right place. However, you still shower out of a big rubbermaid bucket of water, so its not that adavenced.

And now we have appled for an USDA grant to get solar panels on the roof of Saramen, so that could mean that we will have a steady power source... how frightening is that?!?!

We have been cleaning and getting ready for classes which has been nice, but I am sick of lesson planning and seriously procratinating doing them anyways. I have done my first week and written out a tenative pace plan so I know where I want to be at the end of the year, but I am waiting for my first classes so that I can better judge where the kids are at and where we can realistically get. For instance I asked our principal, Wayne, how far I should get with the sophmores in World History class. He responded, "Well just start with the beginnings of humankind and get all the way to now, or at least through the cold war." Now Wayne is a great guy and we get along well, especially since there are only about 4 males employed at the school. But how am I supposed to get from the dawn of civilization to the cold war in 2 semesters. So, I'd say I have a pretty full plate in history. Not to mention the fact that I have only taken about 2 econ classes in my life and now I have to teach it... that should go well... But english, jr english skills to be exact, I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on. I am going to have them do a portfolio throughout the year doing units on various forms of writing, so I at least feel like that should be decent.

Next weekend we are going to the island of Fefin, its about an hour boat ride and it is much more remote than Weno (pronounces Wetta or Wenna, the "n" in the original spelling makes a sound somewhere between an 'n' and a 't'). I am really excited to get out into the bush and see what the more remote islands are like.

Xavier is coming down for a community night tonight. I am looking forward to tonight not only because there is a male JV at Xavier and I went to orientation with 2 of the girl JV's up there, but also because there will be beer and frankly, I'd die for a beer right now. I am also hoping to get them all involved in several of my favorite passtimes, not the least of which will probably be pong or catchphrase. ok, well I hear lesson planning and Harry Potter calling me, I wonder which one I will answer???