Wednesday October 21, 2009

Hi Everyone,

A note to the inexperienced teacher:

If you are ever in a situation where your class does not have enough seats/desks, take a special note of who does not have a seat. In the rare (please note the obvious sarcasm) event that your class gets a bit rowdy and a few students are out of their seats it is helpful to know which students don't have a seat to return to. So, before you hastily tell your students to return to their seats, think fast and make sure their seat exists! It is also helpful to understand the language so you understand all the things your 18 wild students are getting excited and worked up about!

Needless to say, today was eventful. I made my students rotate so the same kids weren't stuck w/out a desk and chair which was good for the students but challenging for me. I really like all of my 5th and 6th graders though so it is easier to handle the very-nearly-out-of-control moments!

Tonight my church celebrated Father's Day. It was quite an event and one I'd gladly repeat. If you were a father her you would have gotten turtle, fish, chicken, (and I bet pig but I never actually saw it to be sure), ramen, rice, rolls, and donuts presented to you by all the women of the church. You would have also received a flower crown and a toothbrush or deodorant as a gift. All of the women sang for the men and patiently waited for the men to finish eating before they ate. I don't know how the women do it. THey didn't eat until quarter to 9! I would have been starving!

Bona fed me before the party cause she knows I get hungry "early" (even though 6 doesn't really seem early to me)/ I also got to eat at the same time as the men. I got donuts, rolls, rice, and turtle. Let me tell you a secret, turtle is DELICIOUS!!!! I ate it only guessing it was turtle (it's funny how often I am unaware of what I'm eating here and somehow I survive) until I was nearly done when a sweet lady asked me if the turtle was good. I can't really describe the taste but the texture was like a beef roast. I hope I get to eat it again! :)

By the way, my unexpected turkey is still the best (my fav) meat I've had here, but turtle and hot dogs are a close second. Ha ha ha!

There was a fight today at school. A 5th and 6th grader were fighting over something that I never quite understood. The principal broke it up but not for quite a while. The thing is, all of the 7th and 8th graders were around just watching (and probably encouraging) the fight. Why, you might ask, were the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders not in class? I don't know. It probably has something to do with the fact that each day at least 2 teachers miss school. Some of the teachers haven't been to school since Tuesday (which you might recall was their first day teaching as well). It is annoying; at any given time just under half of our students are NOT in class. I want to take a vacation.

As I write I am looking out my window and I bet you can't guess what I see. All of the 5th and 6th graders are trying to catch a bird. By trying I mean they have caught it and probably injured it , then they let it go again just to catch it. Poor thing.

Other than teaching, not much changes from day to day. Last night I got to watch the Prince of Egypt because a new family on the island (the pastors family) has a nice collection of movies. The mom (can't remember her name) let me borrow some. I've now seen High School Musical 3, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and the Prince of Egypt. It's been a fun 2 weeks w/movies. We even watched HSM 3 on a school night!

Love,

Heidi

Sunday October 18, 2009

TOday at lunch I was like a starving wild cave girl. I was served what looked like chicken, a drumstick and something like a breast and leg, and was excited it wasn't fish! After further inspection I knew my food wasn't a chicken from Kaben (I've eaten enough of those to know what they look like) so I asked Bona what it was. "Turkey," she said as if it was as normal as fish. TURKEY!!!! I didn't believe her but after my fist bite I knew she was right. TURKEY!!!!!!! It was so delicious! Turkey on Kaben? I was in heaven because I love turkey and it wasn't fish! I couldn't believe how intensely I picked the meat off the bones. Being my niave (and spoiled?) self I wasn't quite sure where to seach for my meat but it didn't take me long to find it. I even hit a jackpot with what I think was the best white meat I've ever eaten. TURKEY!!!!

You might be wondering where the turkey came from. Well, yesterday a plane came and someone in Majuro bought these turkey parts for Bona, put them in a big container/bin and sent it on the plane. Today she served it to me! I'll tell you two things I ignored that I don't think I'd ignore in different circumstances. First, my meat was a pretty pink all over; and second, the meat had definitely not been in a fridge for at least 1 1/2 days. I ate it knowing both of those facts and SAVORED every bite.

Today church was an hour and a half which is much longer than the 30 min. I'm used to. We got a new pastor and I think he means business!! Church did consist of a lot of singing of different groups like the youth, the middle aged, and the older folks. I really enjoyed it! When my students were up there singing I was so proud! :)

WHile my students were singing I was also trying to figure out how many of them I didn't know still (most Kinder and 1st graders) and tried to figure out how many students came on the plane (I think 4 but I'll know tomorrow!).

The plane also brought my infamous principal, Tuna. I believe I'm in for quite a treat now that our school is fully staffed at 6 (instead of the 2 for 5 months then the 3 for the past 2 weeks) and the students will have a full schedule! I imagine my schedule will change yet again and I'm excited to see what it will be.

Monday October 19

Alright, new and improved schedule!

8:15-9:15 Reading 7/8

9:15-10:15 Reading 5/6

10:15-10:30 Recess

10:30-11:30 MATH!!!! 8 :)

11:30-12:15 Reading 3/4

12:15-1:15 LUNCH

1:15-2:00 PREP!!!! :)

2:00-2:45 English Language Arts 5/6

2:45-3:30 English Language Arts 7/8

I am thrilled about this new schedule. Yes my school day is now 30 minutes longer and my lunch is 15 minutes shorter but now I get to teach MATH!!!! :) Granted, I don't actually know enough Marshallese to teach in Marshallese but the books are in English and I believe math can be taught with few words (this is not in my letter but now, I learned math is HARD to teach with few words....can anyone say WORD PROBLEMS! Ha ha ha ha!!!). I'm so excited!!!

My 5/6 classes are going to be a challeng3e because I know have 18 students but I only have seats for 12 students. Good thing we're used to sitting on the floor here cause that's the only place I have to put them. I wonder how that will effect the dynamics of my class....only time will tell. It also sucks cause if I ever decide to be ambitious and make a worksheet or play BINGO (I've made 12 BINGO boards so far!) I have to make 18! How nice a copier would be right about now.

Tomorrow (Tuesday Oct 20-Happy Birthday Grandpa!) will be the first day of our new schedule and our full teaching staff! Things can only get better.

My principal also said she will talk to the Ministry of Education about getting text books out here. I think I can expect them by Feb. but cross your fingers and hope they come soon cause I imagine life will get a bit easier with them. Who knows, maybe I'll get them and not use them (I can't imagine that) but I'd love to have the option.

Math will be interesting but I'm ready for the challenge. My students do have math books at least. Some of my 8th graders can't do simply addition but I'm going to change that! I can't wait for tomorrow at 10:30! :)

Other interesting news, I took my magazines to school to let my students find pictures to use for a project we're doing. It was interesting to see what the popular pictures were: cars, families, and food. Also, many of my older boys put really good looking men on their covers (People did a best looking bachelor section....mmmmmmm good looking men!). I think they liked the muscles, that's my guess anyway.

And now I have new classes to plan for!

Can't wait to hear from everyone again (to date it's only been 3 weeks since my last mail.)

Much love,

Heidi

Sunday December 13

For all of you who haven't heard, I have returned to the states indefinitely (this post on the rest from here on out will be written by me). It is with mixed emotions that I share this news but unfortunately I have some personal matters awaiting me here that requires my immediate attention.

I wished many days out there that I could be home, but at the end of the day I was always impressed by the experiences I had and left with a heavy heart. My principal will be teaching my classes which gives me great comfort because I do believe she will be a more affective teacher than I was.

I slowly, but surely, grew to love my host family and I dearly miss my host mom Bona and my 2-year old sister Roxiana who became the light and joy of my days!! Her smile was contagious and her laugh could make anyone smile.

I am excited to be home with delicious food, quick communication, and a bug-free world (well at least compared to Kaben) but I will miss the challenges and rewards of being in Kaben. Some days were LONG and HARD but I have learned more and grown more than I ever imagined possible. My time there is invaluable and I will forever carry these experiences with me.

Thank you for all of your support, as it made the past 5 months mean even more!

I will now try to fill in on the past 2 months since I actually arrived home before my mail (go figure!).

Love,

Heidi

Dear Friends

Things I'm thankful for:

• Batteries & my water purifier
• 100 Calorie pack chips A'hoy fudge drizzled cookies! Need I say more? I will anyway- they are the best treat ever!
• Peanut butter
• Dove chocolate :)
• Bug spray & mosquito coils
• Bleach
• Family and friends, of course!

My field director came to Kaben to work out my host family situation (I think/hope I mentioned that), missed her boat home and is stuck here for at least another week & a half. She is good company and I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to speak in English & be understood. I guess I missed talking (imagine how much I'll have to say when I get back next summer!) cause that's all I do now!

In my non stop talking I mentioned how impressed I was with my junior high teachers who taught mixed 7th 8th and 9th grade classes. Split classes are tough (who would have thought?) Angela kindly pointed out they had a curriculum, book, collegues, copier, internet, they weren't isolated & spoke the same language as their students. Yeah, their job sounds a bit easier now! They were still amazing even if they had all of those things. I like my students more every day. They are eager to learn and excited to come to class! It is fun to watch them scurry in & out of my class;always in such a rush because they don't have any time between classes. When the bell rings (which is a little kid with a hammer hitting a big metal bar) it's chaos! Kids scamper out of my room while others run in to get their cherished notebooks & sharpen pencils. My room serves as a classroom, lockers, library, sometimes a playground and the pencil sharpening spot. My $5 pencil sharpener, from Walmart, was a great purchase! Sometimes the chaos is a lot to handle but I manage to survive.

I've eaten tuna hamburgers with Bona as my new mom. It was just tuna shaped like hamburgers then fried & of course eaten with rice. Not bad but it reminded me of all the things I would put on a hamburger.

Yesterday my host brother wore a hoddie all day! I didn't think it was that cold, but I did get the chills a few times.

My Marshallese seems to be at a stand still. Maybe people started talking faster, but I sure have a hard time understanding everyone right now. It will get better.

Much love, Heidi

Hi Everyone

Many people asked what things they could send. For me letters are great & the occassional treat from home! For the community:

School supplies: (I ahve > 50 students)
The school has children's books that are to hard for the students, white paper & pencils.
helpful things: scissors, pens, notebooks, (those are the little things I can think of). Backpacks would be a great treat that the students only dream of. Educational games/activities.

Clothes: Kids clothes would be great!!! They love denim(for some crazy reason because it's much to hot for jeans if you ask me!) Kids pants, shorts, shirts, undies, shirts would be great! Mens pants/shorts & t-shirts well. Keep in mind that the kids here are TINY!! I don't think there's one kid here bigger than me (even close for that matter)

Entertainment
Kids movies (both VHS or DVD). They watch a movie every weekend but they have no good movies. (we are watching movies in Japanese instead of English or rated R movies).
Basketballs, volleyballs & nets :), and baseball gloves would be loved dearly here.

The thing is, these people REALLY have no form of entertainment but each other so anything new is always appreciated.

I appreciate every one's willingness & desire to help! It gives me much joy & strength knowing we (the people of Kaben & myself) have your support! Thank you!

I get a $50 stipend each month for shipping things to me so once something gets to Majuro World Teach covers the cost (& hassle) of getting boxes to me which is a wonderful blessing for the community (& me) since they can't just mail in request for clothes & such.

Thank you again for your support!

Love, Heidi

(side note from Heidi's mom, Shauna)
We have sent her packages in the mail and the least expensive way is to use the flat rate boxes from the post office. I don't think basketballs and volleyballs would fit in it however. You need a customs form but it is domestic postage rate.

another letter but still no mail since Oct 16

Hello Everyone,



I forgot to finish telling everyone about the rest of the birthday party. After we ate I had NO IDEA what was going on so I tried to go with the flow of things. There was singing & yelling & laughing. Don't forget the big dog fight that some poor little boy (maybe 7) got trampled by (not a planned part of the party, just a random act of nature). He was a bit shaken but okay. Then it started raining so people moved under trees or into the house. I was rushed into the cook house with all of the old women & was given a spot with no leak in the roof to sit. Nut, the party continued. (I forgot to mention EVERYONE from the island was at the party so the trees, cook house & house were packed with people) & by this time it was about 11 p m. I was enjoying watching everything that was happening when Bona grabbed my hand and said, "Etok!(come!)" as she dragged me into the house. We proceeded to sing & I was encouraged (some might say forced) to dance and everyone got a kick out of that!



After my dance show more songs were sung, can was thrown at us(quite forcefully I might add). Then a lady brought out Pine Sol and started pouring it on people! I was confused! (I was also spared the Pine Sol shower!) All of this happened in a crazy, wild, out of control scene that reminds me of something you might see hyper 10 yr olds doing, but it was all the older women of the island! CRAZY! ( I (meaning Heidi's mom Shauna) wrote and asked her why pine sol and what that means, but we have not received any mail since I wrote that letter).



We then waled around the baby we were celebrating (who slept through everything I described because we were pushing mid night by this time) and eventually dropped our gifts (mine was a soggy $1) by the sleeping baby & that was it. Then I had to find my flip flops in the pile of maybe 60 shoes! Luckily my current pair is orange & easy to spot. I worry about when I were my black ones!

That was quite a party!



Before I came here I never imagined I would be busy & wouldn't have enough time to get things done. I didn't realize a few key things though. First, teaching is exhausting and planning takes so much time, energy, & work! Second, I am encouraged to rest & lay down all the time especially after I've done ANYTHING (for example: Bona,"Heidi what were you doing?" Me," I showered. "Bona, "Oh, lay down! Rest! Relax! ). Third, doing laundry takes at least 1.5 hours (no that does not include the time my clothes are drying or putting them away) & must be done once a week. Fourth, writing by hand is a slow process. Fifth, getting 5 weeks of mail all at once takes a long time to read. Finally, the sun sets around 7 but the last good light is about 6:30 so I have to do everything that requires light before then (I've yet to find anything besides reading & writhing to be "easy" at night). Oh yes, how could I forget, Sundays are spent doing NOTHING! Sundays are good days to read & write as well.



I now have all my stuff (previously I only had 30 lbs of stuff). As I'm trying to decide what to do with everything (did I mention my house leaks?) My roof has many holes in it so I have to be careful where I put things. I now have a much better idea of the dry spots & have my stuff in random places in the middle of the floor. My house is quite a sight, but I promise it's organized! I'm very thankful for a few things. My mail-I don't know how I survived 5 weeks without it, bleach-to clean my nalgene bottles (not going to lie, they got cleaned once in 5 wks & it was with cold water & laundry soap-probably not sanitary but my standards have changed.), batteries- to power my water purifier! (It is very nice to have my water taste good! Which of course means it doesn't taste like tea or smoke & merely tastes like nothing!) and all of the goodies received from you lovely people. For those who are wondering, I have LOVED EVERYTHING you've sent!



I feel like sharing a typical day. Wake up at 4 am when my neighbors kids get up and start raking rocks (in case you didn't know that's quite noisy!), go back to sleep & wale up between 6-6:30. Get up, shower (1st decide of it's really worth the effort to wash my hair or if I should just do a quick rinse), get ready, spend a few minutes getting me mentally ready for another day by reading, writing a letter, or listening to my IPOD. Then I head to breakfast (around 7-715) chat a little bit, go back to my house eat a vitamin & possibly a granola bar if breakfast was ramen, brush my teeth & head to school around 8-8:15. Teach until lunch break which thankfully is 1 hr & 15 min. Eat lunch then relax in my room & try to find the energy for my last 3 classes. Schools out @ 3:15 then I stick around & plan (which often ends up being me reading some of the children's books or me writing letters) until I'm done (4:30-5ish). Head home & steal a few minutes of quiet me time & around 6 head to Bona's for an evening with her family. I usually head to bed around 9:30 -10, brush my teeth, get rid of all the bugs & try to sleep. When I'm lucky I fall asleep by 11 but that is rare.

I miss everyone. Hope all is well!
Much love, Heidi

Sunday Oct. 2, 2009

Hello!!



So much to say...where to begin. I'll start with the birthday party I went to last night. It was a great event. (Keep in mind we just had a boat here so more food is on the island then usual.) The party started at 7 pm which really means it started a little past 9. There were balloons & lights (powered by many trusty car batteries) and it looked like quite the event. The party was a 1st birthday (1 yr old) and they are a HUGE deal here so I was excited sitting on my mat waiting for the short 2 hr. delay. When the party started I was AMAZED at how much food there was!



I was served the BIGGEST lobster I've ever seen. I didn't know lobsters got so big. There was also 2 donuts bwiro (which I've yet to like. It's made from aged breadfruit), a big bone with pork on it and, of course, rice. I've seen all of those things here before, but on top of all that I was given fried chicken (truely like a chicken breast from KFC but with a much different taste), a slice of ham (like sandwich meat, but I debated for a long time if it was ham or spam & finally decided it was ham), and my FAVORITE part, a half a hot dog!! There was more protein on my plate that most of the kids eat in a month(probably more than I've eaten in a month as well) not to mention the amazing variety!



Not everyone got lobster, I quickly noticed. You may recall I don't really care much for lobster but I do LOVE hot dogs so I decided to try to trade my lobster for HALF a hot dog. I bet you wouldn't believe that I could find no one willing to swap me! Not one person!!! People here aren't dumb, they know a hot dog is much more valuable than a lobster. Needless to say I was a bit disappointed.



Remember all of that food & now I must back up a bit more & update everyone on my life.



My field director came on the Captain Peter (the boat) and has been trying to work out my less than ideal host family situation. After she talked to many people (including me), she decided to change my host family! It was the cause of much drama here on Kaben and I fear it will be the talk of the island for weeks to come, but it is definitely the best thing for me (and when I say drama it isn't all bad drama, I think everyone but maybe 2 people are glad my family has been changed & support the decision which, as those of you from small communities know, is important!). My new host family is the one and only Samson family! This is Bona's family & I'm relieved.



Let me tell you about my family. Bona is my new Mama & she is great company & takes very good care of me. Junior, my baba, is the doctor for the island and is only concerned about my well being and happiness, I now have 7 brothers & sisters. My favorite is Roxiana, the energetic, talkative 2 yr. old. I think we'll have a good time together.



Along with the change of host parents came a threat that I had to move out of my house(you'll recall I was living a decent 6 min. walk away from my old host family). After many conversations in Marshallese, none of which I understood, my very upset old host grandpa lost the fight to kick me out & it was decided I would stay. This was good because otherwise I would have moved into Bona's 2 bedroom house & they would have given me one room all to myself & put the 9 of them in the other room.



Now I live next to my host family & couldn't be happier about it!



Back to all the food I was given. Naturally, I didn't eat all of it. I ate the hot dog (delicious!!!), some of the mystery ham, some chicken, a bit of rice, a bit of breadfruit, and both my donuts (of course)! After i ate all that (and it was so much after 5 weeks of eating so little!) Bona took my leftovers home, including the giant lobster, I didn't touch. I was glad cause I figured the 9 of them would enjoy the lobster & I wouldn't have to eat it. This morning at breakfast Bona happily showed me the whole lobster that she was warming in the oven for lunch. I'll try to enjoy it.

For breakfast this morning I got chocolate "milk". It was hot water, chocolate milk mix, and coffee creamer. It was surprisingly good (did I mention that is was the first time I've drank anything other than water or coconut in 5 weeks?) I've started to wonder if some things REALLY taste good or if they just taste different so I enjoy them. At this point I also wonder if it matters, and , of course, it doesn't!

Yesterday I also ate shrimp(apparently we have shrimp here as well) and not surprising, wasn't a fan, once again. I just wasn't meant to eat seafood.

My school schedule has also been changed. I now teach 2nd - 8th grade. My schedule is now 8/7, 6, 4/5, 2/3, 4/5, 6, 7/8 and I am NOT excited! I was also told this is potentially temporary & just for this coming week. I guess it's a good thing I procrastinate & didn't have much planned with my old schedule. I think one more teacher is on island and 2 more are supposed to be coming on the next plane (supposed to be sat. the 10th) which is the cause of the change.

Heidi