Snorkeling in Our Backyard

Stefani took some pictures today while we went snorkeling. Here are two!

Manit Day

This morning I woke up around 7:30 am. As I was mulling around the apartment, getting ready for Manit Day (Marshallese Custom Day) I heard a long piercing cry. After listening to it for a few seconds I realized what it was, a pig being killed. You would never believe how loud and startling the sound of a pig dying is in the quiet of the morning. By 8:30 am I am pretty sure three pigs were no longer. More on the pigs in a bit.

Manit Day is a big celebration of the Marshallese Culture. In Ebeye and Gugeegue much of the culture is becoming lost as a result of the overcrowding. Since there are almost no trees in Ebeye there are no handicrafts and many of the traditional foods are unable to be prepared. The overcrowding also causes over fishing which changes the diet as well. The islands have internet, cable, and other amenities that the outer islands do not have. To celebrate manit and to share traditional customs with the younger generations the Marshallese have Manit Day.
Manit Day started with prayer, singing, and a few speeches. All in Marshallese of course. Following we had a lunch of traditional foods and we learned how pigs are traditionally prepared. I posted the pictures below, they are pretty graphic so be prepared.

First, as I mentioned earlier the pig is killed. They puncture its chest and let it bleed out, saving the blood of course. After they shave the pig with a large knife.

Second, they dig a pit and light a fire. On top of the fire they put rocks. The rocks are heated for about an hour or two.



Once the rocks are warmed they cover them with leaves. This is sort of like the tinfoil.

Now the gutted and sliced pig is added.

In the next picture the pig is laying on the fire. To make it fit better into the pit they break the pig's legs. This part, especially, made me feel a little queasy. The people around me kept looking at me to see my facial expression. One student asked me why I was laughing. I don't really know why I was giggling... I giggle when I am nervous or uncomfortable sometimes, so maybe that was why.

The pig is covered with leaves. The leaves are covered with hot stones.

Then the whole pit is covered with tarps. The pit is covered with sand. I could still see a little smoke coming out from under everything. The pig is left like this for about four hours.

The next events were really fun. We were split into four groups and we had competitions. We competed in tug-of-war, musical chairs, and volleyball. My students were laughing at me when I played the teacher verses parent musical chairs because I was dancing. Actually, they were encouraging me to dance. It was pretty hysterical.

Wow, what a busy day!



For school I would really like to have class sets of children's chapter books. I have been reading books to my students, but I think it would really benefit them to have their own book to read while I am reading (or they are). If you are interested in sending me books for my classroom I would love (used or new):
Holes by Louis Sachar
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
If you order them online, most places will deliver here. They shouldn't charge more as we are on the US Postal Service. If you send them yourself, be sure to fill out a customs form at the post office.

Thank you for all of your support from back home! I couldn't do this without all of your prayers, letters, comments, emails, and love!!!!

Feast Day

My apartment from the water!

This weekend was such a busy and fun weekend. The local Catholic School hosted a feast day. On Friday night I went to singing and dancing practice. I learned two Marshallese songs and a dance. We had practice from 11pm-past midnight. I had to leave early because I was so tired. On Saturday morning the Youth Group walked the 5 mile causeway from Ebeye to Guegeegue carrying a cross. On their way they did the stations of the cross. I wasn't able to go, but it seems like it was a spiritual experience for most of the youth. On Sunday everyone from the Catholic church bused in to Guegeegue for the 10am service. After lunch there were competitive games. Everyone was split into saint groups. The Gugeegue group was St. Thomas. They competed all day then I joined them for a huge dinner. I missed a lot of the day because I had to lesson plan and get ready for a week of school. After we finished with dinner the performances began. Each Saint group had singers and dancers and musical instruments. Many of the guys did step dances that were really cool. My group was last. I was so tired that I actually feel asleep watching some of the performances. I was waiting until after midnight to get onto stage. We did our dance first then sang two songs. Some of my students were there to see me! The dance was very simple a lot of shuffling and cha-chaing, and even a bit of the electric slide! I had such a fun weekend!