Leaving Tuesday

The following entry was written on Tuesday, August 12.

About ten minutes after my last entry I found out my flight to Gugeegue was moved to Tuesday the 19^th. Almost everyday there is something in our schedule that changes for one reason or another, planning anything concrete is almost impossible. Because of the difficulties I have with keeping track of time, I sometimes don’t even notice the changes in schedule. So it works out for me!

One more week of life on Majuro and then I will be settling into my “apartment” with Stefani. Until then we have a busy schedule. Tomorrow and Thursday we will have our Marshallese lessons and teacher sessions all day. On Friday the volunteers staying in Majuro are moving out while the rest of us clean the school. That night we will go into town to finish up our shopping and have a dinner/talent show at a local hotel with our language teachers. Most of us will come back to the elementary school we are staying in to sleep. The next morning we all move out so the school can start getting ready for classes. We will move into an array of different places until our boats or planes come to get us. I will be staying with Darren, the co-field director, Stefani, Matt, and Nick the Kwajelein volunteers. We will have a few relaxing days before heading out. Maybe I will indulge in bringing my clothes to the laundry mat. Bucket washing them just isn't the same; they all smell so musty.

Quick Update

Hello! Thank you for all of your messages. I love reading them!

I don't have much time, so I am going to try to update quickly. I am leaving for Gugeegue on Saturday the 16th. I have just over a week here. School is supposed to start the 18th but knowing a bit about the Marshallese culture I doubt it will start that early. I still don't know what I will be teaching at the High School and I probably won't know until I get there.

I am healthy, though there are four volunteers that are very sick. I am taking my vitamins and trying my best to not get sick.

I will update this blog more often once I am on my island. During training we are super busy and don't have much access to the internet. Pictures are coming soon :D

Miss you very much! Hope you are all enjoying your summers.

Sidenote: I hung my laundry next to the ocean under the stars and moon on coconut trees. I'm so lucky to be here.

A Break From Training

Hello Friends! I am currently sitting outside at a restaurant eating french fries, using free Internet, hanging with friends, and looking out over the ocean. We are not usually at a place were we can enjoy such things so I am taking full advantage!

I think I figured out how to post pictures, yay! I hope they work. Last time the internet was too slow so I didn't have time to put them up. The first picture is a picture of the bus our group travels around on. If there was ever a problem and we had to get off the bus fast it would be very hard. When we travel we have to have at least two people sitting on the floor and two people standing. So funny. To travel from the school we are staying in to the town, where we have spent most of the past week it is about an hour trip. The speed limit is 15 mph and gas is $6.75/gallon.

My new favorite activity is showering in the rain. I sweat a lot here. Basically unless I am in an air conditioned room I am sweating everywhere! Don't worry I still enjoy a good bucket shower, but showering in the rain is thrilling. I shower under a spout from the roof completely clothed. At home I would put on a bathing suit but here my bathing suit consists of more clothes than I would normally wear on a hot day; covered knees, shoulders, and chest.

Last weekend we traveled to an uninhabited island to go to the beach. I had such a wonderful time. The beach was sandy and there were little structures with benches and tables to sit under. I was in the water for about two hours because the coral was so beautiful. The colors of the coral were golden, yellow, and orange. The fish ranged in size from tiny to about a foot long. I was so glad I remembered to pack goggles! I saw a nemo fish, stripped fish, iridescent fish, schools of little blue fish, they were all different colors. Eventually I was tired from swimming and holding my breath for so long that I had to get out of the water. On shore the water looked aqua blue. There were pigs, crabs, and chickens wandering around the island. I hope we get to go back soon.

I am learning to speak cajun majel (Marshallese). I am in a group of five volunteers and Arther is our teacher. He is great; just graduated from high school and is going to go to Hawaii for college in August. My computer is starting to act weird. I will update soon! XOXO