Even though I have not put any pictures from Micronesia up yet, if you want to see my pictures when I do put them up, go to www.snapfish.com. The user name is mmille14 and the password is mm7841. It seems to be the best way to share pictures, mainly because its free and it uploads the fastest.
Ok, so back to Siis. It was awesome. We were barely there for 24 hours but it was very very fun. We left Weno late on friday, close to 5 or 6. It was about a 45 minute boat ride. We rode right into a storm, so the ride took a little longer because the water was a little choppy. So, Siis is an island in the lagoon, meaning that it is protected by the reef that protects all the islands in the lagoon. Basically it is not open ocean. The marine life and water is all the same but we don't exactly get waves here in the lagoon.
Pulling up to Siis we had to pull up the engine and push ourselves in because it was so shallow and there were a lot of plants growing under the water. As we were approaching I looked down and saw, as the water splashed off of the outside of the boat, the phosphorescence lighting up on the surface. This made me very happy and reminded me of the Puget Sound. They did not light up as bright and are much more scarce, but it was still a little taste of home. When we got there it was night and we ate dinner, talked with the family, then went to bed. Oh, we also sang. Turns out that everybody in Chuuk is a phenomenal singer. I don't know how it happened but it did. And apparently Saramen is famous around here for always having the best choir. A rumor which I completely believe after hearing them sing at mass! I want to try and record them and maybe make some cd's to sell in the States in order to raise money for the school. If anyone has any ideas how to record them well, I am all ears. I was actually thinking of emailing Uncle Johnny to see if he had any suggestions.
So the next day in Siis we walked around the island, that took all of 20 minutes. Then we went to the sandy beach there and snorkeled around a coral reef out there. The water was literally too warm at times, but if you go deeper it cools off. After swimming we played some volleyball with the local kids some of whom were in the pack that walked with us around the island. We returned to the house (more like a compound really because the whole extended family lives there too) and had lunch, then prepared to leave.
While I did not get to go spearfishing this trip I heard a lot about it and it is definitely on the top of my list for of things I need to do while here. They take a boat out and dive in with a spear and an underwater flashlight. They basically spear tuna and other big fish but what sounds really fun is all the fish that you get to swim with (like stingrays). Then they told me that sometimes the blood from the spearing attracts sharks and if a shark comes you just give them your fish. While a little scary it sounds awesome. I mean, if they can do it, I certainly can do it with them, I hope.
I finished my first week of school and although it was challenging and difficult I did enjoy it. I just hope I do well! I ams till waiting for our Vice Principal of Activities to return from Beijing (he is on the FSM Olympic committee so he is at the Olympics) we can open the gym and start basketball stuff, which I am most excited for. I am really worried that they will not play man-to-man because literally all they play here, even in pickup games at the park, is zone.
Speaking pickup games at the park, I played in one. The Micronesians loved it because the rim was lopsided so I hung on it to straighten it out. That was an instant hit with the locals and after that they were much nicer to me.
As for our community, we are still in the polite phase, but we do get along pretty well. There are some differences to be expected: since I am new I have a lot of energy and have all these ideas I want to help undertake (by 'all' I actually mean like 3 or 4) but they often explain how that is not possible of insinuate that it would not be a good idea, for whatever reason. I think they are a little disillusioned with the whole process here because life can get a little stagnant and we hang out with a lot of Peace Corps people who are better paid, get better scholarships after leaving, get better training, support, and live in more remote and seemingly more fun areas. But the way I see it is that we have the opportunity to educate the future leaders of Chuuk and possibly Micronesia, so that is how we can contribute and change. A disclaimer for this paragraph is that these are only my opinions and observations, that does not mean that they are accurate.
So I have been taking a few things in my own hands and I do not know if that is good or bad for the whole community thing. For instance, we are supposed to have someone come about once a week to tutor us in Chuukese, but it does not seem that this is a high priority right now, so I am just going to find someone I can do that with personally. That way I don't feel like I am stepping on their toes but I can also begin to learn the language... We'll se how this goes.
Also, a Navy ship called the MercyShip is here right now and it is quite the big deal. The ship is basically a huge floating hospital. It has a staff of 600 and can sleep 1200 patients. They do all the work for free. The only stipulation is that you get a TB test before you can board. They administer the TB test for free at a local clinic. It sounds like we might get to go and tour it soon. However the bad news is that the people aboard the ship confirmed a rumor that had been going around the "coconut wire" (the local gossip) lately. We already knew that there is a Hep A outbreak on the island, but now we have confirmed that the case of Multi-Drug Resistant TB that surfaced in Canada has been traced back to Chuuk. So there is also apparently a TB outbreak here too. We are all really excited about this. But we are taking care of ourselves, and honestly, I am not that worried....
So a lot has been happening, but I will only tell one more story before I get off of here. Last night I was sleeping in my apartment. The girls live in the apartment upstairs so I get the whole downstairs to myself (the kitchen, dining room, and two other bedrooms are in the downstairs apartment) which is great because that is where we spend most of our time anyways. But last night I heard something slam against the wall outside. I assumed it was the neighbors and that maybe they had drank too much and were throwing beer cans up at our windows, which has been known to happen. So I rolled over and tried to sleep. Then I heard the screen on the window outside my room rattle. I laid silently still for a moment and heard some more movement and some papers fall. So I slowly and (hopefully) stealthily got up and walked out of my room until I was about to see the window where the noise was coming from. I turned the corner, turned on my headlamp, and began to talk. I was saying "hello", then I realized that there was someone on the ledge outside of the window. As a side note, there is a cement ledge that goes around the outside of the entire second floor of the school. So, startled, I yelled some profanities and ran at the window. The person bolted and did not come back the rest of the night, but it did add a little adventure to my life. After the adrenaline wore off I went back to bed. It was, nonetheless, quite the experience.
Thanks for reading!
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