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

Saturday Oct. 2, 2009

Hello!
I GOT MY MAIL!!! It has been 5 weeks, but I got it! A boat came to our island on Thursday & with it came my mail!! :) :) :) :)

This week has definitely been my hardest week to date. Maybe 5 weeks is my limit for isolation? It was the most encouraging thing to see all the love & support in letter form that I have. I haven't even been able to read all of it yet and I'm still reaping the rewards & benefiting. Here is a HUGE thank you to everyone that has written. I cannot say how great it is/was to know people are supporting me at home. Getting my mail was 1000 times better than Christmas, if you've ever been isolated from your family & friends for 5 weeks you'll understand! And, since most of you haven't, just trust me, mail is the best thing in the world!!!!!

I got my mail late Thursday night & couldn't read it then, had to teach yesterday (what a challenge it was teaching a full day knowing I had a LARGE stack of mail waiting for me!) & finally around 3:30 I was able to read my 1st letter. Unfortunately, it's been an unordinarily busy couple of days and I've only been able to read my letters up to Sept. 8 (yes, of course, I put them in order as best I could!) There is supposed to be a plane this afternoon so I don't have time to read, let alone respond, today but I'll get it all done!

I'm going to throw out some special thanks since I won't get personal letters out for a bit.
Grandma, Grandpa & Grandma J your letters brightened my day! :) Thanks for thinking of me! Ronnie the pictures you sent are great! I love pictures, especially of family!! Chelsie-OMG! I loved your pictures. What an adventure you had, lucky! :) Dad, I appreciate the jokes- it makes me feel like I'm at home & is a great touch to your letters! And, finally, to everyone, thank you, thank you, thank you for writing!!

My field director is here (hence why it's been so busy) trying to make changes to my host family. Today we will be working out those messy details. I also have to do my laundry, grade papers, write a test, plan lessons, and clean my room (the cleaner it is the less bugs I have). I need to also find the time to open my packages & properly store all of the goodies I'm dreaming are in them! :) Oh yeah, and tonight there is an island wide birthday party!

I have so much to say but for once I'm under a time crunch.
I'll wrote soon & hope you get it soon!
Sending my love & appreciation!
Heidi :)

Oct. 1, 2009

Everyone,

I encountered my first mouse today. It was kicking back in my shower bucket this morning. What a nasty surprise! I woke up & wasn't going to shower because it hasn't been sunny for almost a week & it been raining so that means my water is FREEZING cold, but I had convinced myself a shower would be nice. Imagine my dismay when I found the mouse contaminating my bucket after I'd put in so much mental effort to shower in the first place. I still decided to shower, but I found a different bucket to use. My water was, once again, freezing cold, but, now I'm clean & feel much better.

I've also learned that the days my lunch doesn't have meat are the hardest days physically. Today my lunch consisted of rice, coconut, and a soup. I was told not to eat too much soup cause it would make me sick so you better believe I didn't eat any of it. I'm not crazy and I don't want to be sick here. Cone to find out, there was fish in the soup (fish & coconut to be precise) & right about now I'm wishing I'd eaten some. It's 3:30 & I'm STARVING! I guess I'll really appreciate dinner tonight. I've had meatless lunches before but I usually get ramen when there is no fish & I can eat a lot more ramen than I can eat just plain rice.

Today I had my first issue with discipline in my class. One of my 6th graders, had quite a day. He was throwing paper & yelling, & was just out of control. I learned the importance of my teacher look & voice today. I know he didn't understand what I said but he understood he was in trouble or had done something wrong. Thank goodness for MEAN Heidi! :)

The 16th of this month marks the end of the 1st quarter. By my calculating that makes each quarter 2 months long & puts school out mid-May! :)

I wear my hair in french braids a lot because it is easy & keeps my hair out of my face. My favorite little girl here, Layna, has started wearing her hair the same as me. I love it! She is so funny!

I made it to 4:15 pm but I had to eat some peanut butter with a precious granola bar. I still have to plan lessons so I need the extra energy!

My field director is coming to visit today & she is bringing me apples & oranges! Oh happy day! Hopefully many changes take place as well from her visit. I'll keep you posted.

Love, Heidi

Sept. 28, 2009

My dear friends,

What a lucky day. I found a math puzzle book to help exercise my brain! Would you believe there was a perfect joke in it for me?

*Which insects are excellent in Math?
A-Mosquitoes! They add to my misery, subtract from my pleasure, divide my attention, & multiply quickly!!

I'm also excited to report that I've found a game that is entertaining & helpful for the class. It's called: See How Many Mosquitoes We Can Kill! Yes, I really had my 5th graders play that. Today there were too many mosquitoes in class and my students kept giving their attention to the mosquitoes instead of the activity. I don't blame them at all & I even caught myself slapping at the mosquitoes on me so I turned it into a game. We spent 5 minutes killing mosquitoes & getting rid of the some excess energy! The kids enjoyed it & were able to sit & participate in the rest of the lesson. There's an activity I never learned/played in school!

Last night I helped Bona make rolls. It was fun but I didn't get to help on the mixing part so I didn't get to see what went in them. Maybe next time.

I didn't get my mail again Saturday even though there was a plane. I can't even express how upset I was. This is the 2nd time a plane has come with no mail for me. I know it's not a lack of mail so I wonder why am now facing my 5th week with no word from home. I hope there's a good reason!

My 6th, 7th, & 8th grade classes are going well. I think I would be okay teaching those classes (middle school), but I still struggle with my 4th & 5th. They know so little & have a SHORT attention span! Again I say, they are cute but the aren't much fun to teach if you ask me.

I do still hate planning. I dread doing it & I'm always putting it off. My brain is out of creative ideas to say the very least.

I have spent more nights at Bona's house. I sleep much better even though I sleep on a traditional mat on the floor. It's just better being with company & her house is much cooler than mine. My field director is coming to visit and I'm hoping we make some changes to my living conditions while she is here.

I had crab for dinner tonight. I wasn't a big fan. I just don't think I was meant to eat seafood. Here is my ranking of all the meat here..1. chicken (but only white meat) 2. some fish 3. crab
4.pig 5. lobster 6.octopus 7. other fish. Canned meat fits in there somewhere but I haven't had any for so long I forgot what it tastes like. I dream of eating a hamburger almost every day!

I miss everyone!
Love, Heidi

Thurs. Sept. 24, 2009

Everyone!

I've been here 4 weeks now (remember I am slow to post this) and this morning when I came back to my room after a quick trip to the bathroom, I tried to turn on my light that doesn't exist! You know the familiar swipe of the hand along the wall? That's what I did! Much to my disappointment, no light turned on. It's sad too because today is an overcast day and I'd love to get ready in some light. Oh well.

I used to think I was a pro at getting water from my well (9 pales of water every time I do laundry, 3 every time I "flush" my toilet, & 3 when I take a shower), then I had to do it in the dark. Ha ha ha ha ha!!! I wasn't so good anymore.

Eating is a chore here I decided. I go to my meals only because I feel obligated to not because I actually want to eat. Last night I had decided I was going to enjoy my dinner though. So with a new & improved attitude I made my way to dinner. Would you believe the world was out to test my resolve though? My rice tasted burnt and my fish tasted too much like fish and though I sure tried, I did NOT enjoy my dinner. Maybe today will be a better day!

I've found that fish caught by fishing western style (w/a real & rod) is not really as good as fish caught by spear fishing. I can now tell the difference between the 2 and I definitely prefer the latter. Delicious! (last night the fish was caught w/a pole not a spear)

It has been rainy the past couple of days which is great except it makes teaching a challenge. When it rains it is dark & noisy in my classroom. The school has a tin roof, so we hear every drop of rain that falls! Plus it is always windy so we also battle the wind. Even if the sun is shining the classroom is dark when it rains as well. We have to close the windows because otherwise EVERYTHING get soaking wet!! So, rainy days mean dark & noisy classes! I haven't quite figured out what to do on these days since we have no lights at school but I've managed to survive a few days like it.

Last night was actually a chilly night. It was fun to see people in sweatshirts!! I didn't get mine on, but if it would have been any cooler I would have broken mine out! The nice change in weather reminded me of the fall season I'll be missing this year. I'm going to miss seeing the trees change colors & being cold!

With love, Heidi

Sept. 19 2009

Hello!!

There's so much to say! Where to begin. First thing on my mind, I made bread with Bona the other night. What a treat, but let's not kid ourselves Bona made it & I watched and asked questions. While the bread was rising we started a fire in a metal box let it burn down to coals, then we put the bread & box into a large wooden oven to cook. The oven is lined with metal on the inside & has re-barb for a shelf. Very nice! Anyway, somehow Bona knows just when to take the bread out (maybe 40 mins later) to have perfectly delicious bread! Yummy!!!

Last night I had a "sleep over" at Bona's & enjoyed every bit of it. Let me share the highlights. First, it was cool!!! It was so nice to use my sheet for once! Plus, they have real tile floors which were nice & cold to lay on. Second, there were minimal bugs. No battling with roaches last night!! Finally, I was in great company with her & her kids! Last night was also my first night of sleeping on just a mat (Grandpa Cal, exactly like the one I practiced laying on at your house!), which was, I'll admit, not the most comfy. I do plan to spend many more nights there so maybe I'll get used to it.

I,m 3 weeks into my adventure (remember I am a bit slow at posting this) & I've eaten rice & fish at least 42 times (lunch & dinner every day). Yes, I'm tired of it, but the good news is my stomach seems to be handling it okay. Most days after school I eat a granola bar to help hold me over till my next bit of rice and fish and I never thought a granola bar could taste so good!

Tonight for dinner octopus! I don't know how I feel about this one. Hmmm...octopus was okay. I liked it better than the lobster but I had a hard time eating it. It was a bit chewy for for my liking and I think the fact that it was octopus played games with my head. Anyway, I ate with Bona's family & they have octopus a lot so Bona said I will eat with them every time they have it until I like it.

The other night there was a thunderstorm! It was so cool!!! The lightening was beautiful and the thunder was deafening; I loved it! I was one of the few who liked it though. The 7, 12, & 2 year old all screamed every time it thundered & Bona started chanting some black magic type chant. She taught it to me & after a lot of chanting we finally made the thunder stop. What a fun night!!

Sun Sept. 20
I got to enjoy another movie last night. I don't know what it was but is was older & corny!! It was probably called The Rainbow Room or something like that because the people went to the Rainbow Room to time travel. It had the worst computer graphics; it's amazing how much improvement there has been in that area!!

I miss everyone & apples!
Love, Heidi

Sept. 19 2009

letter from sept. 11

Hello!

What a week it's been. I experienced my first bit of missing home ( at least to the extent that I wanted to leave) and at some points this week I'd even decided I would leave. Of course, the only day that's an option is some Saturdays so we needn't worry I'm still here! I realize I was just having some bad days and things will (and have) gotten better. Each bad day from here on out will be easier because they will be one day closer to a successful completion of this year. :)

This week I had a cold. Don't ask me how I caught a cold out here bit I did. It wasn't the worst cold, but I didn't have any tissue so my nose got irritated, I was congested, and I was tired! One night I slept for almost 12 hours 7:30 PM to 6:45 AM! On top of my cold, my, my catchment ran out of water so I had to haul my water for showers,laundry, & the toilet from my well. Don't worry, I can now get water out of my well like the best of them & my arms are getting stronger by the day!

If I had to give this week a title it would be "Attack of the Killer Mosquitoes". Now Kaben is well know for its lack of mosquitoes; on a typical day one might see 7 mosquitoes. This past week mosquitoes have been everywhere and in huge swarms. Up until this week I think I've had 3 bites total. This week I probably got 40+ bites. These mosquitoes are not regular mosquitoes. They are monstrous! These monsters are abnormally large and vicious. I have mosquito bits on my back & stomach which means I'm being bitten through my clothes! It is awful! I get bit all day and excessively while I'm teaching but today is promising, some mosquitoes seem to have left!

I came to a weird realization yesterday while walking to breakfast. If this island disappeared tomorrow few people in the world would be concerned. What a weird thought. I wonder if the people here think about that. I doubt it because for many their whole world is the RMI, but wow! I thought about that while I was swatting at mosquitoes wondering why they even exist.

This morning for breakfast I had ramen noodles. I wasn't to thrilled about that even though I have been wishing for ramen for a few days. I only wanted ramen for lunch or dinner instead of rice, but be careful what you wish for cause you might get ramen for breakfast! Anyway, I ate a few bites but ramen isn't very good in the morning (at least to me) so I didn't eat much & was content to eat a granola bar before school. Well I had just gotten back to my house when my neighbor said (in Marshallese), "Heidi, eat!" I was going to pass & stick to my granola bar but then I saw she had pancakes and I love the pancakes here so I went to eat. Much to my surprise, the pancakes had BANANAS in them!! What a treat!!! I was only going to eat 1 because I wasn't all that hungry but when I tasted the sweetness of the banana I had to have more! I had 3 pancakes and was offered plenty more but I couldn't eat any more. I was also offered a dried and salted fish but I can't eat fish in the morning yet. Maybe one day, but definitely not a day I get banana pancakes!

I was so excited about my banana pancakes I forgot to tell you the funniest thing. When I was asked/told to eat with my neighbor she asked me what I had for breakfast but before my brain had time to translate her question into English and my answer into Marshallese she answered for me and said, very confidently, "Ramen?" I was shocked she knew already. It had only been maybe 6 minutes since I'd finished my ramen but she knew! Also, my neighbor's name is Nerry or Tolly depending on the day. Everyone here has 2 names which, you can imagine, is confusing. I'm slowly starting to remember who's who now that I know things like Nerry and Tolly is the same person!

For lunch today my family had bananas! I bet word got out that I was impressed & excited about having banana pancakes so then my host family got me banana for lunch! Apparently there is a (or more, I don't know) banana, lime, lemon, and papaya tree somewhere on Kaben. Have I mentioned how delicious the bananas were? Delicious! Keep in mind, these bananas are not the same as we're used to. They are the mini bananas that I used to see in the store & wonder about. I'd say they are more sweet & have a different texture from the bananas I eat at home.

Today was a good day for food. For dinner I had rice &meat (sound familiar?) but when I tasted the meat I wasn't sure what it was. Important sidenote : we eat dinner in the very dimmest of light. As most of you know, I like to see what I eat and am very particular about what goes in my mouth so this has been quite the experience. Too bad I can't just ask them to turn on the lights! So, in the near darkness I tried to discover what meat I was eating (also, it wasn't on a bone or I would have been able to tell). After several bites I thought it might be pork cause it didn't taste like fish except every now and then I would think I tasted fish. The problem is, I wasn't sure if I was imagining the fish taste or if I was imagining the fish taste or if it was really there. In the state of my confusion I asked Jessica (my host mom) what it was and she either said fish or pig. She doesn't speak much English but for some reason she decided to try saying fish or pig in English. unfortunately the f & p sound exactly the same as do the g and sh sound for most people here. I continued eating, wishing I knew what I was eating because it was delicious! Fortunately, I came across a tiny bone (which I am very familiar with) so I finally knew it was fish. I never thought the day would come that I wouldn't be able to tell I was eating fish, but tonight I couldn't tell. (it was a relief knowing I wasn't imagining the fish taste too!)

It's Saturday Sept 11. no plane today.

Last night I watched another movie with Bona's kids (6 of them!). It was in an Asian language that I didn't know though so I don't think I really understood what was going on. I think it was similar to the Denzel Washington movie where his son needs a transplant and he ends up "holding up" the hospital to get it done.

Right now I'm sitting under a coconut tree by the beach on a day long picnic. We walked to the end of the island to a house that I'm very confused about. Loa, my host grandpa, told me it is my host parents house but no one lives in it, but when we arrived there were clothes inside and out on the line as if someone lives here. Who knows, maybe we're borrowing it for the day. Anyway, some boys cut some branches/leaves off a coconut tree and made a nice mat for me to sit on while another climbed a tree to get me a coconut to drink. then they found me a straw (some kind of thick grass thing) so I'm sitting on the beach, on a mat, under a coconut tree, drinking a coconut with a straw. Paradise!

Well, today I had pork for lunch. Still on nasty bone too. What a different life here. I didn't love it (I've never been a pork fan) but it was a nice change from fish.

My favorite part of any day is when Bona lets me sit on their hammock in the evening! the stars start to come out and the hammock is in the just right place to see them and enjoy the breeze!

I went swimming at my picnic with all of the kids and they found the most amazing coral. We saw bright blue, purple, green, pink, white, and yellow coral that we could see without goggles just looking down! it was beautiful!

I'm trying to enjoy everything Kaben has to offer but I'm glad I have a few more weeks to see everything. I'll deal with the challenges of island life a bit longer sense I get to enjoy the beauty of it!

I hope everyone is well! I look forward to the next batch of mail I get!

Sending my love,
Heidi

letter dated Sept. 6

Greetings!



Saturday came and went but with no mail. What a sad day it was! That's not to say I didn't have mail it's just that my mail didn't make it on the plane.



Today I went with Bona to some church event that I don't quite understand but this is what I saw. About 12 women came & brought some food. After almost an hour of talking they started to divide the food. Keep in mind that I thought we were definitely waiting for people by the amount of food that was there but oh was I wrong. I imagine the hour of chatting was everyone catching up with the most recent gossip before they began the feast. We had chicken, fish, donuts, rice, rice balls. and coconuts. I was really excited to have chicken because I do love chicken & haven't had any for quite a while, but what a different experience eating chicken in Kaben is from in Utah. First, they, of course, serve whole chickens, then they chop the chicken in half and leave it up to you to decide what to eat. Let me say, I have always been served to much food, and a half of a chicken is too much food alone, not to mention everything else they gave me. So I picked at my chicken & ate a good amount of the breast & decided I better eat some of the other food as well. The ladies are very good at getting every last bit of meat off those bones. I was amazed. I moved on to my rice ball which I liked except it was very sweet. The rice tasted like rice & the coconut like coconut so no surprises there. Also, of course I liked the donuts! :) They dip their donuts in water, tea, or coffee (whichever one they are drinking at the time) and I can't get myself to try that one. Maybe in 7 months. The bwiro, now that was an adventure. It's made from old, dried breadfruit, then wrapped in pandarus leaves and cooked on coals. It comes out as a pseudo pudding but with a more solid consistency. It was weird and I wasn't the biggest fan, but oh well. This entire meal was eaten on the ground under some coconut trees, on lids to pans & with our hands! I was given enough food to feed me for 4 days so I took my leftovers to my neighbors so they could enjoy! Now I have about 2 more hours till I go to church again & nothing to do. I even did my lesson plans yesterday so I can't even do those! I guess I'll read.

love Heidi

sorry for the long delay to update blog

Hi Everyone

I didn't realize that I hadn't posted her letters that we got on the 7th of Oct. I will update the blog with that info first, and then we got mail on the 26th of Oct.

An email Heidi was able to send Friday Sept 25

Just thought I would share this email with everyone. It made me very sad to read and to know she hasn't got mail for 4 weeks.

Hi mom! These very nice yachtys stopped at Kaben and I'm on their yacht right now getting to say hi so don't reply to this cause they will be long gone from Kaben. Things are good here. I've had some REALLY hard days, but also some great ones. No planes or boats for 4 weeks has been tough but I should be sending my mail tomorrow on a plane. I miss everyone so much! Life here is hard but I'm surviving. I'm being taken care of so don't worry about that! I think about home all the time and miss it desperately but sometimes I get so wrapped up in this wonderful place that I forget I'm homesick. Those are the best days. Keep in mind when you read my mail that I usually write on bad days.

Today was a good day though! I got to eat chocolate chip cookies, drink clean, cold water, have bread with jam, and I'm getting ready to eat dinner on the yacht. We are having corn on the cob and sausage! I'm mostly just excited about the corn on the cob, oh and green beans!!! I can't wait to here from everyone and I can't wait for you to get my mail. I've definitely started my countdown and look forward to coming home already!

I also got to talk to Cornelia on the radio for the first time in 4 weeks today. It was the best treat and it was a reminder that I have friends out there to support me! It's been hard not having anyone to talk to.

Yokwe everyone!

This letter is dated Sept 3.
I have finished my first week of school which totaled one whole day! I feel like a true teacher from the islands; instead of an apple on my desk, I have a coconut! I am teaching English Language Arts and my current schedule goes like this:
8:30-9:15 ELA 7,8
9:15-10:00 ELA 6
10:00-10:45 ELA 4,5
10:45-11:00 RECESS! :)
11:00-11:45 ELA 8
11:45-1:00 Lunch
1:00-1:45 ELA 7
1:45-2:30 ELA 6
2:30-3:15 ELA 5
I like my schedule well enough. It will be hard having to teach most of my students twice a day but I'll figure out a good system. The kids are really cute and excited to be at school so it helps the environment in the classroom. now keep in mind that there are only 2 teachers currently on Kaben (myself and Tortius, the Principal's husband) so not every student has class yet. most of the younger kids don't have class but you better believe they had pencils in hand & a few even had backpacks in tow & they sat outside the classroom all day & looked at books. Too cute!!

My 8th graders are better at English than I anticipated & I'm excited to work with them. My 6th and 7th graders won't be too bad either, but my 4th and 5th will be quite the challenge because they don't understand me/English! I'll figure it out.

Today for lunch I had rice & tuna and what a treat it was to not have to pick my meat off a bone! Granted the fresh fish tastes better but the presentation of the tuna was appreciated today.

I've found that bugs don't really bother me much anymore. I mean I'm not a fan but I don't react to them anymore. It was too much energy and work to react; now I just ignore them or kill them. Honestly, though there aren't many bugs here. Just flies, ants, a few spiders, mosquitoes, & cockroaches. Not to bad.

The little girls who live by me have started have started picking through my hair looking for lice. They seem quite disappointed every time because they don't find any!

Well, it's Thursday afternoon and I am being rushed off to church. Why didn't I think I know we went to church on Thursday? Don't worry, we go on Wednesdays, Thursdays and twice on Sundays! Good thing the meetings are short, maybe 30 minutes or so!

Much love, Island Girl

More from the letters

We haven't got any letters from Heidi since the ones that are dated Sept. 3. Here is some more for those letters.

She writes...here comes the biggest surprise of all. The food is delicious! I've yet to be given anything I didn't like. It took me a day or 2 to fully appreciate coconut milk but after 4 unappreciated coconuts and one very thirsty day, I finally drank a full coconut AND thought it was delicious! :) The good news is, there are plenty of coconuts as long as I can find someone to climb the tree to get it down-maybe I'll learn how to climb them. The fish is delicious as well, but I did have to have to get used to being given the whole fish ( much like the chicken on the cruise except head, eyes, fins, everything is there!!) I had to be shown how to eat it, but now I love it! I hope I get fish everyday now (although I know I won't, but someone in my family is good at fishing so I should get it often). Although the food is good, I don't usually eat as much as I'd like because they have a very different culture about eating. The adults eat first and the kids eat what's left. It is hard to watch but it's life here so I try to stop eating when it looks like there isn't going to be enough food and if I'm still hungry I grab a granola bar before I go to sleep. It works.

My neighbors are really nice. One of them, Boona, is helping me with my Marshallese (she speaks very limited English) and is an all around kind person who looks after me. The other neighbor is quiet but her kids are plenty loud. they come talk to me all the time & laugh when I don't understand. They frequently say, "konke ribelle" which means "because she's American." I catch that every time it's said. At least they understand!

She made it to her island!

We finally got a letter from Heidi. I will copy must of the letter just the way she has written it. She is very descriptive in her writing

I made it to Kaben. My flight was good. We actually flew up to Utrok first (about an hour) and we got to get off the plane for a few minutes. I was exceptionally happy about this because Cornelia is on Utrok and was at the runway!! It was a nice treat. Then we were off to Kaben (about 30 min flight back the way we come). En route I saw the most amazing rainbow. It was a complete half circle or more and and every color in the spectrum was brilliantly visible! Beautiful! Now imagine an island covered in palm trees, pandanus trees, breadfruit tress and many other plants with just a small strip cleared so the airplane can land and that's Kaben.

When I landed there were about 50 + people waiting on the side of the runway to welcome me. They had a push-cart for my bags so I didn't have to carry them the 1/4 mile walk to the village. So, my bags and the 50+ parade of people made it to the village where I was given one of the few lawn chairs to sit on while repairs to my house were completed. I enjoyed a coconut and some chatting (Marshallese with a bit of English) then was sent on a walk to the end of the island with some kids. The end of the island is spectacular. There is a giant tree that must be hundreds of years old that shades the SANDY beach! Paradise! The water is crystal clear and has a great mix mix of blue hues. After my walk I came back to find all my stuff moved into my house. The people are very nice and helpful.

My house is a plywood square with a smaller room inside where I sleep and leave all of my stuff. I have a toilet (it only flushes when I pour water into it) and a shower, sadly it's covered, nearby as well. I also have a catchment and a well. There are probably 30 chickens that run around my house and they are quite annoying.

I live next to the school, which is a yellow, 4 room building very similar (but smaller) to the purple school we stayed in for orientation and the doctors office (which is of course merely the house that the doctor lives in) Today (Sept 1) we cleaned the school. My class hasn't been used for a year and it was so dirty! I was concerned about having to clean it because I didn't want to deal with all the bugs and spiders, but have no fear, a very rowdy group of boys did all of the dirty work! When I was moving some papers a cockroach appeared. I jumped & gasped and the boy's laughed quite merrily then grabbed the roach & took it outside! My class is still messy but I like to believe it is bug free for the time being.

Heidi is on her island!

I received an email from the field director letting me know that Heidi made it to her island on Saturday Aug. 29. She talked to Heidi on Monday Aug. 31 via the radio and said Heidi is well. They were starting registration for school, but classes probably won't start until this coming Monday Sept. 7.

Since there won't be any phone calls or emails, I am anxiously awaiting letters from her. It will be interesting to hear about the plane ride and see how much of her stuff she was able to take with her. Also, to hear about life on Kaben.

I hope everyone continues to write to her. Now that she is away from all the people from orientation, I am sure getting letters will be very important to her.

Final email (hopefully) from Heidi

Hi! This is my final email before I attempt to leave. From here on out communication is via snail mail! :)

After 2 weeks waiting around in Majuro I'm finally planning on leaving tomorrow on an airplane! :) Hopefully in the next 18 hours the plane doesn't break so I really do get to go. Since I'm taking a plane and not a boat, as was initially planned, I have to take the time to repack my bags so I have one 30 pound bag with my essentials in it because I am only guaranteed space for one bag. After that I have to pack my stuff according to what I need most. I might not get some of my stuff for a month or two (or three?) so I'm kind of thinking if I don't need it for 2 months, why will I need it at all? I'm sure life will be easier with everything I have purchased here, but it's obviously not crucial to my existence to have...how frustrating. Anyway, if the plane is not full I will be able to put more than one 30 lb. bag on. Cross your fingers!

My time here has been good. I've grown very close to the 3 other girls who are still here and I will miss their company dearly. I'm anxious to get to Kaben to see what my life is going to be like for the next 10 months though, and look forward to my departure early tomorrow! :)

Letters might (will) be slow coming from here on out, but I will still diligently write because I get great joy from all the letters I receive and want to continue receiving them! Thanks for all your support!

email from Heidi Aug19

The things that happen in the RMI are completely random and exciting. Last night myself and a couple of girls were enjouying the sunset at the MIR (Marshall Islands Resort) and we met a few fun people there. We got invitied to a mixer, hosted by the owner of the hotel, a birthday party for a very old, rich "yachter" as they call themselves, and we got invited to go tour a Chinese fishing boat. Since we all have such pressing social schedules here (ha ha ha!) we decided to head to the fishing boat. Today (Wed. Aug 19) we met the very nice (and might I add handsome) New Zealand helicopter pilot that works on the boat for our tour. We had some problems getting past the gate at the dock because the security guard there told Daren (our guide) that no women are allowed on the fishing boats (whcih is true to Marshallese culture because women are bad luck on boats.). After a failed bribe (beer) and a short call to customs (as if we were planning on leaving the country) the guard finally let is on to the dock. The fishing boat was a decent sized boat housing about 40 crew and it was quite interesting. We got to see the living quarters (about 8 to a room, but they did have air conditioning), the helicopter, the bridge, the mess hall, and the place where they store the fish. They were actually unloaded fish while we were on so we got to see a bit of that process....not a life for me. Anyway, what a random morning activity, but it sure was fun!The birthday party is tomorrow night, and anyone who is anyone (and white) will be there so you better belive we will make an appearance! The mixer is on Friday night and we will also be making an appearance at that. My departure from Majuro is still TBD, but I'm in no hurry what with all of my social events!Thanks again for all the mail. I love mail days! :)

Saturday Aug 15

This is from an email Heidi sent us and wanted it posted to update everyone.

Hi! I am in Majuro for an unknown amount of time and I'm okay with it. Initially I was bummed to not be leaving but Cornelia didn't make it to her island as planned either so she is here for the next week (scheduled to fly on Saturday). I'm not leaving till one of 2 things happens (or both, who knows): first, my principal is prego's (she is about 50!!!) and isn't going back to our island until she has her baby so her husband said he would be the acting pricnipal but he doesn't know when he is going back either so I will go back when he goes (since school won't start until he get's there anyway even though it is supposed to start on Monday), or I have to wait for a drum of gas to get to the main island of my atoll so when I get there I can hire a boat to take me to Kaben but they don't know when the gas will arrive (even though they sent it on a boat about a week ago). Anyway, it is hard not knowing when I will be leaving but I'm enjoying my time in "the city."

Yesterday I went scuba diving!!! It was so great!!! Friday night we were all hanging out at a restaurant and Sarah (yes Sheila, I do have a friend named Sarah here) told me they were going out diving tomorrow and said I should come because we only had to pay for equipment. There is an Aussie here who said he would take some of us out so I jumped on the chance. I spend $25 to rent all my gear and we headed out. I was disappointed though because we didn't get to go to the reef he wanted to take us cause it was stormy yesterday (as it is most days actually) and he said it would be too dangerous (it sounded like we were going to a pass between to reefs and the water was really choppy so when we came up it would be pretty challenging) so he took us to a wreck instead. Now, I love diving and I'm happy to go whenever, but there is only so much to see of an old boat on the ocean floor (we went about 25 meters which I think is around 60+ feet) and I can only imagine the sea life by the coral (since I've snorkeled in the shallows and seen amazing things!!!). So maybe in December if he is still around he will take us out again.

While I'm in town, I'm also going to go see Harry Potter this very afternoon! Someone heard there were a bunch of American's in town and rushed to get the reel out here so it is here in the theater that is very near my new residence and it is a whopping 3 bucks! :) I'm excited. (and we heard Sunday matinees are only 2 so we'll see)

So, mail hasn't gotten out for a long time because I was told I was leaving for Kaben a day before I was supposed to go and didn't have anything ready so I was busy. Then I was told I wasn't going. Then the whole group was told we were moving out of our elementary school earlier than they originally said so we were busy cleaning and packing. Then we were moved into 4 different locations in town (I'm with one of the field directors with Cornelia and 2 other girls!) and other people started leaving so we've been having almost daily "last days" together. It's been a lot of fun but very busy! I will get my letters out that are almost a week old so keep in mind everything has changed since I wrote them. Let me update everyone. I now live in a 2 bedroom apartment that is SMALL!! With all of our luggage and wonderful sleeping mats, there is just enough room to get in the door and get to whatever area you are sleeping. It's fun! We also share the apartment with an army of cockroaches that really gross me out. We have a cockroach bowl that we just catch them under then slide the bowl to the door and kick the roaches out. Fun, fun, fun! As I said, my date of departure is still unknown! I'm going to try and email updates instead of writing, but we'll see how that goes!

Love,
Heidi

I talked to Heidi on the phone

I was able to talk to Heidi on the phone on Wednesday. The school house they are staying in had a phone in the office that we could call on. With the 18 hour time difference we had to set up a time that works for both of us. I called her at noon our time and it was 6 a.m. the next day for her. She had to get up early, but said it was worth it. She is still loving every minute of it and sounds very happy!
She was in town having pizza, fries and chocolate milk shakes, and her tooth broke. She doesn't like to go to the dentist, so you can imagine going to one in a third world country. The field director made her go. She didn't want her to get to her island and have any problems. For anyone that has been to Pioneer Village at Lagoon, she said walking into the dentist office it was like they had taken the Dentist office building in Pioneer Village and placing it in Majuro! She had just broke off part of the filling and the dentist said she could leave it or fill it again. I am sure you know what she decided on. She just left it.
She misses everyone but is having a wonderful time!

Pictures from Majuro

One of the girls in the group has her computer with her and sent some pictures.

This is on the bus ride to Majuro. They are about 45 minutes outside of town.
A few of the ladies sporting our Mumu's. The more formal apparel..
A group at the picnic gathering where we met the Ministry of Education as well as many of our principals.
Drinking coconuts at the picnic.
Our visit to the US Embassy. The talked with us, gave us Earth Day posters, and fed us pizza. And also gave us Obama postcards.
A group of us went bowling.
This is Laura beach about 15 miles down the road at the tip of Majuro Island. Incredible beach and great snorkeling. A neat tree to sit on, too.
Some of the girls on the tree branch. Heidi looks good and happy. I would assume that one of the girls is Cornelia.
Beautiful tree in Laura beach. Many of them enjoyed climbing.
Laura Beach. girls on the tree at Laura.
The whole crew that trekked out to Laura.
Laura Beach(up) (below) this is from Edamamet, the small, almost uninhabitited island we took a boat to for our first Saturday. Great beach for swimming.

Heidi sent this post card to her dad for his birthday. It is hard to see but she made the little bubble like he is talking and it says Happy Birthday Allen! For any of you who know Allen, he is not a Obama fan at all, making this very funny!!

Letters from July 29

Right under the date she has written 7:00 pm on the beach at sunset! :)

Hi everyone... It is one week into my adventure & I've come to 2 important realizations. First, it is time consuming to write letters and second, the Marshall Islands requires us to use official RMI stamps and they are very hard to come by! They are having a stamp shortage! I've decided to write one letter & have asked my mom to send it out. (this is why I am doing the blog). I will respond to personal letters privately!

I got my first batch of mail today! (The field directors bring our mail from town every Monday and Thursday. We are about 45 minutes out of town. ) it was like Christmas and made my day! When I head to my island I fear there will be a much longer delay.

Okay, on to the good stuff! RMI (Republic of the Marshall Islands) is the most beautiful place I've ever been. There are palm trees & pandana trees all over with a nice mixture of other island plants that make for beautiful scenery. Add in the lagoon which is an amazing clear blue and has splotches of green a mile or so away where tiny islands of the atoll sit, and the ocean which runs into the sky & it's pretty amazing. I can't complain. I frequently sit on the coral beaches & watch the sunset with Cornelia and chat about our current adventure.

Side note from Mom(Shauna)...When she met Cornelia in Los Angeles, there was an instant bond between them. Heidi told us they are like soul mates.

I haven't been swimming too often yet. Orientation keeps us busy from about 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with short breaks for swimming or sleeping or eating. I've been swimming lagoon side a few times and encountered my first jelly fish. SCARY! I haven't been been swimming ocean side yet because I fear what might be lurking in the water. Only a few people have ventured out ocean side and every one of them have seen multiple sharks! I imagine the snorkeling is amazing but I'm going to have to wait to go with some locals on Maleolap so they can take care of me.

Besides the beauty I'm surrounded by, my next favorite thing about the RMI is the clothes! The girls were advised not to bring much from home because we could buy everything here for a decent price. Clothes are more expensive than I'd like but shopping sure is fun. We get to wear skirts, guam's and mumu's plus a slip (so we don't show the silhouette of our legs) and it really isn't bad. The guams are my favorite because they are the coolest and most comfy and have a pocket for my much needed chapstick! :) The clothes are made from the obnoxious designed material and Carnelia and I have made a point to find the worst designs possible to add to our wardrobe.

We have to take bucket shower which I love! Don't get me wrong, I'll enjoy a real shower when I get one in 11 months, but for now I enjoy my cold bucket of water. We talked to Heidi on the phone and she said they have made a few shower stalls with something like a pallet for the floor and then put some poles up and hung tarps around them. She said it is really hot in them during the day so she takes her bucket shower at night. She can look up and see all the stars and it is a little cooler. We also have to do our laundry old-school style by hand. What a task! Actually, the hardest part about laundry is getting my clothes to dry! The humidity here is out of control!!! I'm sure the humidity is at 200 % every minute of the day!! Keeping that in mind and the fact that it rains at least 10 times a day, you can imagine air drying my clothes is challenging. This brings me back to guam's, they dry fast! Maybe 2 hours in the sun and they're ready to wear!

If any of you were wondering, Marshallese is hard!! I can listen and read it fairly well considering my short exposure, but I can't pronounce it well at all. I think I struggle with because, they have sounds that my mouth doesn't know how to make.

Another challenge here is the food. OH MY GOODNESS! Initially we weren't fed traditional food, but it is slowly being put into our diets. I've had fried fish, deep fried fish (like chicken nuggets but fish nuggets) grilled fish and raw fish. I've also had coconut rice, pumpkin rice, plain rice and cold rice. I've tried them all but really only liked the plain rice so far. Octopus has been offered but I didn't have the guts to try that yet. I've had coconut milk('ll grow to like it because it is a crucial part of my diet in 2 1/2 weeks and fresh pandanas. (I'll grow to like that as well) and to top it off breadfruit! We've had breadfruit prepared a couple of ways but I've only liked one so far. They fry them and make chips out of the slices and boy are they tasty! Go figure. Don't worry, I'm not starving yet.

All in all, this has been a great experience. Everyone here is excited to start teaching but we all dread the day (Aug 13 or 14) we go to our islands. We know that is when our challenges will really begin!

Where we are living for the first 4 weeks.

When we flew in it was beautiful! The landing was a bit scary because you couldn't see land on either side until we touched down. What a sight it was. It's hard to describe the sensation that you're going to land on the water!

Our first hour or 2 was spent in this INSANE humidity and every hour here on out I believe will be just like the first ones.

I feel like I'm at a summer camp right now. We are staying in the purple school house with nothing much in the classrooms (there are only 10 rooms) but a few ceiling fans that don't seem to do much. We have 3 classrooms w/people staying in them. We sleep on the floor with our mats. The mats are probably 2 in pad so it offers some comfort. We have about 15 people sleeping in our room. In a later letter she says that there room is the non snoring room. They had to pass our test and if the failed (snored) we kicked them out! We have lights out at 11 but I'm usually asleep around 10. I wake up around 6 with a few other early risers and get to enjoy a nice bit of quiet, which is hard to come by these days.