Me dancing the christmas jebta in my yellow mumu.
Erica, Jay, and my dad receiving gifts from my Marshallese Aunt.
Me, Erica, and my dad on a walk to the island north of Guegeegue.
Well, it has been awhile since I have updated my blog. December was a busy month, the beginning of January I was getting back into routine, then as I was finally getting ready to write a post, the internet died. It has been out for two weeks. It was out because of a late bill. Once the bill was paid there was a $10 reinstallation fee, which no one knew about, that took another week to be paid. Now instead of writing the longest post ever, I decided it would be best to give brief bulleted updates. So here goes…
I watched the Sex in the City Movie and loved it.
I finished knitting my washcloth. Andrea gave me a washcloth that someone started last year and didn’t get to finish. I messed up 5 times on the row she left off on. Now finally I am on my way to completing a row with no mistakes.
Andrea’s grandmother taught me how to make chow mien. Sebastian turned 2!
Stefani and I watched all of Grey’s Anatomy Season 4. Everyone was kissing at the end of it, I didn’t know what to think of all of those characters being happy at once, it didn’t make sense to me.
I got really sick. On the first day of finals I woke up super early and started throwing up and having poops (Stefani’s and my preferred name for diarrhea). I spent the entire day in my bed or in the bathroom. Luckily school was canceled because the causeway flooded. The next day I didn’t eat until school was finished because I didn’t want to have to leave my classroom during a final. Don’t worry Mom, I gained back the weight!
Last semester I failed over 30 students. This time I only failed about 10, yay!
I ate lunch on Christmas with my brother Hamill. We didn’t have a table or a fork. I held Hamill and the plate with one hand and with the other I ate and picked up the food Hamill dropped on us. Hamill ate with both hands, he even fed me some of the food.
I wore the brightest yellow mumu you can ever imagine on Christmas. When we did our beat (dance) my Marshallese mama made sure I danced in the front row. At least I didn’t have to sing in Marshallese without lyrics in the front row. We were in Ebeye from 10am until 1am on Christmas. I have never had such a tiring Christmas day/night.
I baked cinnamon buns. They were supposed to be Christmas morning breakfast. Stefani and I ended up eating them on December 26th at 2 o’clock am.
Erica, my dad, and Jay visited me for 10 days. We had a ton of fun. We crammed as much as we could into their stay: beach combing, watching Christmas dances, a BBQ with Guegeeguers, a family Christmas party with my Marshallese family, kayaking, ferry and water taxi rides, a walk to the island north of Guegeegue for a picnic, fishing cooking and eating the fish all in 3 hours, a 5 mile causeway walk during the hottest time of the day, snorkeling, puzzle making, a pig roast for New Years, jambo, and a bunch of movies. I wish they could have stayed longer.
I finished reading the book Those Who Save Us; a story of a mother who lived through WWII in Germany and her daughter who wants to know more about her past. It was a great story.
On the first day of classes after Christmas vacation the vice principal introduced me to a new teacher. I shook his hand and asked, “Which classes will you be teaching?” He replied he didn’t know. Altrid (the VP) asked me if it would be okay for him to teach my Pre-Algebra class. Now I teach five freshman English classes. (Remember when I was studying Elementary Education and Mathematics in college? Now I am teaching English to High Schoolers. Just another reminder that nothing goes exactly as we plan.)
Stefani gave me a hair cut in the middle of our living room. My hair is just above my shoulders now. Marshallese style is the longer the better, so I was hesitant to cut it but it had to be done.
Stefani is trying to apply to grad school with no internet. Pretty much impossible. Thankfully she is going to be able to stay on Kwaj (the base) to get it in.
My students took a health survey. One of the questions asked how often they wear seat belts; that was funny because everyone rides in the backs of pick-ups.
I finished reading The Gunsery Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I highly suggest it. It takes place after WWII and is written in letters.
I finished knitting my second washcloth. Andrea’s friend from the states sells them at Relay for Life. The day before I finished Jess sent me yarn, needles, and a pattern to make a hat, I think it was my inspiration to finish. Now I am almost finished with the hat… about 4 rows left!
My student Racey got up, walked across the room, took her friend’s Marshallese comb (the type of comb you can wear in your hair), handed it to me, and told me to comb my hair. I was wearing my hair down and curly. I laughed and told her I like crazy hair. She rolled her eyes and tried to hand me the comb again.
I am freaking out a little about what I want to do next year. This week I will make a huge effort to fix up my resume and start looking for places to apply.
