I’ve arrived in my permanent site now, and I must say- I love it. Angaur is small island about fifty miles south of the main island in Palau. This island has everything from lush forests, rocky shorelines, and sandy beaches. The population is small (about 150) but the people that do live here are awesome- very kind and welcoming to me as a guest on their island.
My host family is great as well. My dad is a fisherman and my mom manages the household, her four children (20, 16, 11, and 10), and me. She is a great cook, and I’m becoming a big fan of fried fish as well as sashimi (raw fish). The two oldest children spend the school year in Koror, the capitol city, while the youngest two live in Angaur.
I’ve been assigned a counterpart at the elementary school. She is to provide help and support during my stay here. If I have problems at home, school, or in the community- I have someone to turn to. We also team teach English classes. I think that I really lucked out with my counterpart; she has made my transition to Angaur as easy as it could possibly be.
The food here is good- lots of fish and crab. I’ve requested that my parents take me “crabbing” with them the next time that they go. I’m not sure what the process involves all I know is that they do it in the forest at night.
Thanksgiving is tomorrow and the students (all 24 of them) all have school off. I had wanted to do some exploring on the island, but the weather is not cooperating with me. I guess it is the rainy season, as is evident by the daily torrential rains. Instead of exploring, I’ll be converting a storage room at the school to a small classroom for me to teach in and do some tutoring after normal school hours. Cleaning is not nearly as fun, but at least it is productive.
Overall I’m happy and healthy. Feel free to drop me an email anytime. I don’t get mail unless I take the 4-hour boat ride into the city to check it. So, apologies if you’ve written and not gotten a response, I’ve not received your letter yet.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
I'm In!
After nine weeks of training, I’m officially a Peace Corps Volunteer. I swore in on Monday, November 9, 2009. It was a quite an event. Our training host families, community members, permanent host families, future team-teachers, principals, representatives from the Ministry of Education, Peace Corps, US Embassy, Governors and many others all came to the ceremony to show their support. The ceremony itself was short, maybe an hour or so. We had words of wisdom from those chosen to speak. It was really nice to see such support for what we are doing in Palau. My participation in the event was to give a speech in Palauan and humiliate myself by attempting to do some contemporary Palauan dance (and a hula?).
There are supposed to be pictures below, however I'm having issues uploading them from here, so they'll have to wait until I get into the capitol city next time. I’m told that it was recorded for the local cable access channel. So, I’ll see if I can’t get a copy of that somehow.
Overall, it wasn’t that bad. I guess that it is Palauan custom for the audience to get up and dance with you and give you money- I earned $22 in a matter of minutes! After the ceremony, all of the Volunteers were whisked away with their new host families and spread across the entire country of Palau. It was a bittersweet goodbye, even though we were all excited to get to our permanent sites, we knew that it’ll be an adjustment not seeing a familiar American face everyday. I was headed for the capitol city of Koror to wait a few days for the boat to take me to my new home, the small island of Angaur.
There are supposed to be pictures below, however I'm having issues uploading them from here, so they'll have to wait until I get into the capitol city next time. I’m told that it was recorded for the local cable access channel. So, I’ll see if I can’t get a copy of that somehow.
Overall, it wasn’t that bad. I guess that it is Palauan custom for the audience to get up and dance with you and give you money- I earned $22 in a matter of minutes! After the ceremony, all of the Volunteers were whisked away with their new host families and spread across the entire country of Palau. It was a bittersweet goodbye, even though we were all excited to get to our permanent sites, we knew that it’ll be an adjustment not seeing a familiar American face everyday. I was headed for the capitol city of Koror to wait a few days for the boat to take me to my new home, the small island of Angaur.
Monday, November 9, 2009
October 4, 2009 - Update
This post (with the exception of the pictures) was written and saved to my computer- I've finally been able to get some internet access to update.
My first phase of training has completed, and my group of 30 trainees, has been separated from each other by hundreds of miles of ocean. Five other trainees and I arrived safely in Palau on Saturday, September 26. We had the longest flight from Phonapei, with stops in Chuuk, Guam, and Yap. (Luckily though, I’m racking up the frequent flier miles!)
As we arrived late in the evening, Peace Corps put us up in a hotel for the night. I think that it was a courtesy to us and the host families. After a restful nights sleep in an air conditioned room, a shower where I could completely disrobe, and a breakfast that did not include hot dogs or spam- I felt as if I was more than ready for the next phase of training.
The training site is in Ngermetengel, Ngeremlengui. It is a nice little town in a more rural state. I think that they are trying to keep us out of the main city, so we can focus on the training rather than other, more distracting things (cough:::bars:::cough). The actual training center is a community center called the “Old Age Center”. It resembles a Bai and is right on the water.
I have training every weekday from 7:45 – 5:00. The days can get pretty long- we have multiple, two-hour sessions of language. Even with that, I’m not picking it up as fast as some of the other trainees. We’ve met with the Ministry of Education, the Governor, and made multiple trips to the main city, Koror, as it has been a holiday week for Palau. I’ve been to festivals, fairs, and boat races- and the best part is that all that counts as “cultural training”. The first week is now over and I’ve got five more before I swear in as an actual Peace Corps Volunteer.
The rest of my time is spent with my host family. I lucked out, yet again, and got a really awesome family. They call me “Junior”, as my host-dad is named Robert too. I’ve got a mom, dad, three brothers (29, 24, 9) and one sister (11). My room is bigger than my room at home, and the bathroom (yup, you heard that right) is just feet from my room!
There’s been some bad weather earlier in the week, which for Palau just means rain. They are not in the typhoon belt, or at least that’s what I’m told. Even with Palau being more developed/advanced than the other islands, I don’t have any access to internet and haven’t heard/seen a news report since we first arrived and stayed in a hotel. I have heard though, through the “coconut wireless” that there has been some bad storms over the other islands.
I’m doing well here, meeting many great people and getting to know my new community. I’m still adjusting to the heat (although I’m unsure if I’ll ever get fully adjusted to it). I’m going to leave you guys now with some Palauian phrases and some pictures- hope you enjoy them:
Good Morning: Oungil Tutau
Good Afternoon: Oungil Kbesnei
Delicious: Oisii
I’m going to bed: Ak mo mechiuau
Yes: Choi
No: Diak
How are you?: Ke Uangerang
I’m fine: Ak ma sisiich
I’m full: Ak mla mo medings
My host sister and brother in their school uniforms. They were very concerned that I did not have a picture of them in their uniforms, so they posed so nicely for one.
This is the capitol building in Palau- does it look familar?
This is one of my Palauan Language trainers, Johnny and I next to a stone monolith.
Darline, Lauren, me, and Mr. Lamb. This was at a birthday party for a relative. Mr. Lamb was one of the first Peace Corps Volunteers in Palau back in 1966.
My brother and sister on Halloween. They are ghosts.
These are the kids that are all family and stayed with us- from left to right: Casey, Coby, Kyle, Ashley, K-Tissja.
Working hard in class. We are playing a game to help us learn Palauan.
The sunset from our training site.
Fruit bat! It didn't taste that bad- although I didn't eat much of it.
Found a shark while snorkling
Jellyfish I saw while snorkeling in Jellyfish Lake-
The Palau group at the waterfall.
Beefy and Asahi- the two dogs that run the town.
Hanna, Young, and Johnny: Hanna is the PC Head Honcho here in Palau, and the Young and Johnny are language teachers.
Lauren, Kyle, Me and K-Tissja at another waterfall.
The group on a bird-watching hike. Alan (the man to my right) was a Peace Corp Volunteer in Palau back in 1966.
The group again.
My first phase of training has completed, and my group of 30 trainees, has been separated from each other by hundreds of miles of ocean. Five other trainees and I arrived safely in Palau on Saturday, September 26. We had the longest flight from Phonapei, with stops in Chuuk, Guam, and Yap. (Luckily though, I’m racking up the frequent flier miles!)
As we arrived late in the evening, Peace Corps put us up in a hotel for the night. I think that it was a courtesy to us and the host families. After a restful nights sleep in an air conditioned room, a shower where I could completely disrobe, and a breakfast that did not include hot dogs or spam- I felt as if I was more than ready for the next phase of training.
The training site is in Ngermetengel, Ngeremlengui. It is a nice little town in a more rural state. I think that they are trying to keep us out of the main city, so we can focus on the training rather than other, more distracting things (cough:::bars:::cough). The actual training center is a community center called the “Old Age Center”. It resembles a Bai and is right on the water.
I have training every weekday from 7:45 – 5:00. The days can get pretty long- we have multiple, two-hour sessions of language. Even with that, I’m not picking it up as fast as some of the other trainees. We’ve met with the Ministry of Education, the Governor, and made multiple trips to the main city, Koror, as it has been a holiday week for Palau. I’ve been to festivals, fairs, and boat races- and the best part is that all that counts as “cultural training”. The first week is now over and I’ve got five more before I swear in as an actual Peace Corps Volunteer.
The rest of my time is spent with my host family. I lucked out, yet again, and got a really awesome family. They call me “Junior”, as my host-dad is named Robert too. I’ve got a mom, dad, three brothers (29, 24, 9) and one sister (11). My room is bigger than my room at home, and the bathroom (yup, you heard that right) is just feet from my room!
There’s been some bad weather earlier in the week, which for Palau just means rain. They are not in the typhoon belt, or at least that’s what I’m told. Even with Palau being more developed/advanced than the other islands, I don’t have any access to internet and haven’t heard/seen a news report since we first arrived and stayed in a hotel. I have heard though, through the “coconut wireless” that there has been some bad storms over the other islands.
I’m doing well here, meeting many great people and getting to know my new community. I’m still adjusting to the heat (although I’m unsure if I’ll ever get fully adjusted to it). I’m going to leave you guys now with some Palauian phrases and some pictures- hope you enjoy them:
Good Morning: Oungil Tutau
Good Afternoon: Oungil Kbesnei
Delicious: Oisii
I’m going to bed: Ak mo mechiuau
Yes: Choi
No: Diak
How are you?: Ke Uangerang
I’m fine: Ak ma sisiich
I’m full: Ak mla mo medings
My host sister and brother in their school uniforms. They were very concerned that I did not have a picture of them in their uniforms, so they posed so nicely for one.
This is the capitol building in Palau- does it look familar?
This is one of my Palauan Language trainers, Johnny and I next to a stone monolith.
Darline, Lauren, me, and Mr. Lamb. This was at a birthday party for a relative. Mr. Lamb was one of the first Peace Corps Volunteers in Palau back in 1966.
My brother and sister on Halloween. They are ghosts.
These are the kids that are all family and stayed with us- from left to right: Casey, Coby, Kyle, Ashley, K-Tissja.
Working hard in class. We are playing a game to help us learn Palauan.
The sunset from our training site. 
Fruit bat! It didn't taste that bad- although I didn't eat much of it.
Found a shark while snorkling
Jellyfish I saw while snorkeling in Jellyfish Lake-
The Palau group at the waterfall.
Beefy and Asahi- the two dogs that run the town. 
Hanna, Young, and Johnny: Hanna is the PC Head Honcho here in Palau, and the Young and Johnny are language teachers.
Lauren, Kyle, Me and K-Tissja at another waterfall. 
The group on a bird-watching hike. Alan (the man to my right) was a Peace Corp Volunteer in Palau back in 1966.
The group again.
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