So for the last few months, the “C.V.’s” (U.S. Navy Civic Action Team) have been on my tiny island doing random projects. One of which was building a new restroom for the school. What the school had before was a set of outhouses that were nowhere near as nice. Since its creation back in 1945, this is the first time there have been flush toilets.
Anyways, the restrooms were finished back on Thanksgiving, but we were not allowed to use them until the official “Ribbon Cutting” has taken place. So, nearly a month later and after much preparation there was a big ceremony. Principals from the other schools, the governor of Angaur, representatives from the Ministry of Education, the C.V. Team, PTA members, representative from the U.S. Embassy, parents, teachers, and students all gathered to celebrate the ribbon cutting.
Needless to say, I’m grateful for the new amenities. Enjoy the short clip of the actual ribbon cutting.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
I’ve got a green thumb!
I’ve got a green thumb! Well, not really. Here in Angaur we are far from the capitol city and so all imported foods (read: fruits & vegetables) are very hard to come by. So, I’ve expressed interest to my host mother that I wanted to start a garden. I’ve dropped enough hints to her and those in her circle of my desires that finally one day she found me some seeds, planters, and designated a part of our yard that I could use to grow.
The first step was the seeds. As of now, I’ve got 300 seedlings started. Chinese cabbage, tomatoes, snap beans, cucumber, squash, watermelon, okra, and a few other vegetables are soon going to be on my dinner plate. They are all growing decently, and should be ready for transplant soon. The part of the yard designated for my project is said to have “good soil”. Cortez and I worked to clear the land. We cleared it completely, which is no easy task. There were trees we chopped down that were at least as old as me, stumps that we had to dig out, tons of root-rich ground cover, a bunch of crabs, beetles, ants hills, and remnants of WWII (nothing interesting, just rusty scrap metal)- and everything had to go. After a gnarly sunburn (we cleared the trees providing shade before clearing the undergrowth- poor planning on my part) and nearly suffering heat stroke, we finished. I’m pretty proud of myself. I’ve got blisters on both hands from the digging, chopping, and swinging of the machete.
I’ll let you all know as soon as I can how good the veggies taste.
Before
AfterTuesday, December 8, 2009
Happy (late) Thanksgiving Everyone!
Thanksgiving is celebrated here in Palau. Although I didn’t have turkey, I did have grilled chicken- which is close and welcome substitute. No stuffing, no cranberries, no mashed potatoes, no gravy- but plenty of good food and people to share it with.
I’ve been in my site now for a month, and I cannot believe how fast the time is actually going. Every week has gone faster than the last. Nothing too notable has happened, so I’ll just share a few random thoughts:
1. I love fish now. For 23 years I’ve not eaten fish. I’ve refused, avoided, and even lied about possible allergic reactions to get away from eating it. Now I eat it every day. My parents marinate it with fresh lemon from our lemon tree and pepper and then pan fry it to perfection. Also, I’m learning to eat Sashimi (raw fish). Usually, it is caught only a few hours earlier, expertly cut, and chilled. Dip that in some lemon juice and soy sauce- and you’re set. The fish I eat is also sometimes in soups- that is my least favorite, but that’s only because, in my opinion, it’s way to hot here to eat soup.
2. Last weekend I took the 6-8 mile walk (I’m not really sure how long it was) around my island. Although I might be a little biased, I think it is awesome. There are multiple war memorials, remnants of battles, abandoned mines, and even a coast guard base that’s been aboandoned since the 1950’s. Nature is slowly reclaiming everything left behind- it is truly amazing to see. My island also has numerous beaches and rocky cliff-like shorelines that make for some amazing views- especially during sunrises and sunsets.
3. I’ve got two toothbrushes in my bathroom. One I use for brushing, the other was used to clean. There is no storage area in my bathroom except for the medicine cabinet, and every time I brush my teeth, I tell myself, “You should really move that toothbrush, you’re going to use the gross one next time”. I then get distracted and never move it. Well, Wednesday morning, it happened. While brushing I noticed the texture of the bristles were different, and was slow to realize what was actually going on. I was brushing my teeth with a toothbrush that has been on every surface in the bathroom (including toilets and drains) and was now in my mouth. Immediately, I rinsed with mouthwash and brushed again with the correct toothbrush. You would think that I’ve learned my lesson, but to this day the cleaning toothbrush is still in the medicine cabinet, only inches from the correct toothbrush.
I’ve been in my site now for a month, and I cannot believe how fast the time is actually going. Every week has gone faster than the last. Nothing too notable has happened, so I’ll just share a few random thoughts:
1. I love fish now. For 23 years I’ve not eaten fish. I’ve refused, avoided, and even lied about possible allergic reactions to get away from eating it. Now I eat it every day. My parents marinate it with fresh lemon from our lemon tree and pepper and then pan fry it to perfection. Also, I’m learning to eat Sashimi (raw fish). Usually, it is caught only a few hours earlier, expertly cut, and chilled. Dip that in some lemon juice and soy sauce- and you’re set. The fish I eat is also sometimes in soups- that is my least favorite, but that’s only because, in my opinion, it’s way to hot here to eat soup.
2. Last weekend I took the 6-8 mile walk (I’m not really sure how long it was) around my island. Although I might be a little biased, I think it is awesome. There are multiple war memorials, remnants of battles, abandoned mines, and even a coast guard base that’s been aboandoned since the 1950’s. Nature is slowly reclaiming everything left behind- it is truly amazing to see. My island also has numerous beaches and rocky cliff-like shorelines that make for some amazing views- especially during sunrises and sunsets.
3. I’ve got two toothbrushes in my bathroom. One I use for brushing, the other was used to clean. There is no storage area in my bathroom except for the medicine cabinet, and every time I brush my teeth, I tell myself, “You should really move that toothbrush, you’re going to use the gross one next time”. I then get distracted and never move it. Well, Wednesday morning, it happened. While brushing I noticed the texture of the bristles were different, and was slow to realize what was actually going on. I was brushing my teeth with a toothbrush that has been on every surface in the bathroom (including toilets and drains) and was now in my mouth. Immediately, I rinsed with mouthwash and brushed again with the correct toothbrush. You would think that I’ve learned my lesson, but to this day the cleaning toothbrush is still in the medicine cabinet, only inches from the correct toothbrush.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
In Angaur
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.
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 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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