I'm Here/Safe/Alive

Hello all, sorry that I haven’t been able to dedicate much time to my blog until now. The last few weeks have flown by.

All of the volunteers are living with host families in a rural community outside of the capitol. It isn’t until just now that I’ve had a chance to get back into the city, get internet connection and update my blog.

I’m currently living with a host family. I’ve got a 15 year old brother (Don) and a 14 year old sister (Darleen or Doi). My mom’s name is Lynn and my dad is Bumio, although we call him by his title, Nahlem. They are taking great care of me while I’m in Pohnpei.

I’ve had a chance to explore this community a little and have seen the ruins of Nan Madol- some call it the Venice of Micronesia. It is what is left of an ancient city that was built on the water. My brother acted as a tour guide and was able to share what he knew about it. Also, I got a chance to see one of the island’s waterfalls. It was beautiful. Have a look at the pictures below and see!

The end of this week, I will be leaving Pohnpei and the Federated States of Micronesia. I have been assigned a permanent site in an outer island of the Republic of Palau. It is a small island with only 150-200 people. I will be working at a school that only has 30 or so students. But, before I get to go there, I have another six or seven weeks of training (in Palau, but not at my site) where I’ll learn more teaching strategies and learn the local language.

Should you want to drop me a note, feel free to email or send some snail mail my way:

Robert Steffens
C/O Peace Corps
P.O. Box 158
Koror, Palau, 96940

(Palau, like the FSM, is part of the US Postal system. So a regular stamp will work)

Enjoy the pictures, and I hope to get some more updates soon.

The Palau Group- Six New Volunteers.

The whole M76 Group

Jumping into the ocean.

Me and my brother in Nan Madol

The Waterfall

My brother and sister bored at the waterfall

My host mom and dad

The view from our training site.

I'm Off...

It’s here, the experience I’ve been waiting nearly a year for. In a few short hours I’ll be on a plane to Los Angles to begin my Peace Corps journey. What was excitement and anticipation a few days ago has changed into anxiety and apprehension. The “good-byes” from the last few weeks are really starting to set in. Luckily, the Peace Corps literature says that this is normal. I’m certain that once I set foot on the airplane things will be different. By then all the “good-byes” will have been said and I will start doing just the opposite, meeting new people.

I do believe that I owe everyone a big thank you- I really couldn’t do this without the love and support from my family and friends. These last few weeks really reaffirmed how lucky I am to have you all in my life. From the baked goods to the help shopping/packing- thank you, thank you, and thank you.

Not knowing exactly what the near future holds for me, I don’t know when the next time I’ll be able to update my blog will be. I will do my best to update as soon as I can.