Getting ready for Finals

Just want to write a quick update... I need to get into bed!

Finals are this coming week. So I have been busy writing study guides and tests, and will be busy grading. We have Monday off for Nuclear Victims Day to remember the people who died and suffered from the US testing nuclear bombs on Bikini Atoll. You know Spongebob lives in the Marshall Islands on Bikini? There is an episode with a reference to the bombs...

I can't believe after next week I will be starting my last quarter teaching here. It is so unreal how fast the time has gone.

I am knitting a lot. I have learned so much from Andrea. Maybe I'll post a picture of everything I have made so far, and what I am working on.

MISS YOU ALL

Valentine's Day

Some of the 90 cakes we decorated.

Valentine's Day was a bit of a stressful day for us on Guegeegue. Andrea was running a fund raiser for her school. Her students asked friends and family to order Valentine's Day cakes and cookie grams. Andrea and teams of students made the 90 cakes and all of the cookie grams. Andrea worked around the clock trying to get it all done. So Stefani (with her cake decorating expertise) and I helped her with the cakes. Stefani taught the students how to make the frosting, make flowers from frosting, and how to frost the cakes. Andrea's house was covered in sugar, frosting, ramen, and ants by the time we finished the cakes. It was crazy!

Me, Stefani, and Staci at the Valentine's Day Dance

After decorating from 11am until 6pm Stefani and I ran to our school to help with the set up for the Valentine's Day dance. We set up, got dressed and ready, ate dinner, all in time for the dance that was supposed to start at 7pm, but ended up starting at 8pm. The dance was funny. I use the word dance because that is what it was supposed to be but in reality no one danced. Maybe a better term would be sit-in-the-dark-listening-to-music-with-friends, or hovering-outside-to-scared-to-enter, or even hang-out-in-sara's-classroom-too-nervous-to-put-on-a-dress. Haha. Anyways, it was really fun and the students seemed to have fun as well. That is what counts right?

Kwajalein Liberation Day

On Monday we celebrated the day Kwajalein Atoll was liberated from Japan by the Americans. The day started with a lot of waiting around and organizing. We had to wait until everyone showed up, which always takes a bit of time. Next the schools organized for the 'parade'. We were going to parade around the island, but because we took so long getting ready we just paraded down one block. The high school band from Kwaj (the US base) came and played in the parade. Then we had an assembly with at least four speakers. From where our school was sitting we couldn't hear the speakers so there was utter chaos. The juxtaposition of the public school with the private school was quite interesting. The private schools seemed so much more organized and put together, while our students were running around. After the assembly the schools all trucked over to the other end of the island for the races. Each school had a sprinter for each grade and the schools competed against each other. The team with the highest points at the end wins.

We have had two three day weeks because of Liberation Day. Our school canceled classes last Thursday and Friday so the students could race to find who our runners would be in the competitions. Then we had Monday off for Liberation Day and Tuesday off for a rest day.

I was going to run in a 6 mile race. I'm sure I told some of you. However, I lost track of time watching the girl's volleyball team with the Championships. Staci and I rushed to find the truck to get back to Guegeegue to change and start the race (starting line was supposed to be right near our houses). The causeway was flooded and so the race was started a mile up from our house. We actually had to walk the last mile to our house because the puddles were too big for the truck to get through. By the time I started running I was 20 minutes late, plus I was starting a mile behind everyone. Sooo I didn't run in the race, but I had a nice run on Monday... I was so disapointed.