A week already!?!?

Wow.  I have been here for a week now! I am getting used to taking bucket showers, sleeping on a mat on the floor and taking turns cleaning and cooking.  We have been eating rice and canned vegetables, canned beans, or tuna (yes, I will eat tuna now... It has to be really seasoned tho) almost everyday. I even ate a few nuggets of fried fish when they served it for lunch (fish and chips).  It wasn't too bad. 

Yesterday we had a feast fit for a king when we went to the wellness center to learn about their services (more about that later). Everything is locally grown in their garden and delicious!  We all miss having fresh fruit and vegetables. After the wellness center, we had some time in town and some people went to a food store to get some fruit and vegetables (and some treats... yummy). I did not go to the food store.  I went to a restaurant to use their internet then went swimming instead. I need to check the food store out soon. 

Beginning of a sunset at Marshall Islands Resort. 🌅

Sunset at a beach that is close to the school so we go there often. 🌅

The Wellness Center was established to educate people about diabetes and try to  reduce the incidence of diabetes. 50% of people over 35 here have diabetes because of their diet. They eat a lot of sugar, white rice and spam.  They have a gym, serve lunch everyday for $5, diabetes education program, diabetes testing program, their own garden to grow stuff for use at their lunch and they sell to a few local restaurants.  

Papaya tree at the Wellness Center garden 🌴

Rows of different plants at the garden 

Using plastic boxes to grow stuff because this island is on top of coral so everything (compost, water, etc) goes through the ground.  This is to encourage people to grow stuff for their use at their homes.  The garden does not use plastic boxes. They just put compost in the dirt often. 

One guy here who is picking up sign quickly showed me some pictures of a sunrise and I wanted to see it.  I finally woke up early enough to watch the sunrise and it was beautiful! 

The sunrise pictures were taken from the second floor balcony of the school that we are staying at for orientation. 🌄

The Marshallese people seem to be fascinated by us but shy at the same time. Almost everywhere we go, there will be children and some adults looking at us discreetly. A lot of them will be near walls or in a place where they aren't so obvious. Many children will stand at the fence of the school we are staying at and look at us playing stuff.  I feel like I am in a zoo sometimes! Haha. The children are very good at climbing stuff as well.  Recently I saw 3 children climb to the top of a tall fence (taller than me) without shoes!  There's a lot of people who walk around without shoes (ouch!) 

Children walking over the rocks and coral on the beach without shoes. 

I find it interesting how many people are out and about during the day. In America, most people stay inside working or doing whatever during the day.  Here, you will find adults and children just sitting in groups under a tree or a pavilion during the day. 

The Marshallese people seem to really like to play basketball. A group of young (teenage) men tend to come to our school and play basketball. They are really good. They also tend to play on a court in town. They even have electronic scoreboard outside. I will try to post a picture. 

Most of the volunteers are interested in sports and working out. On the first day, a group of us went running for about 3-4 miles and they all ran way faster than I did so one of the guys stayed with me when I slowed down.  I told him that he could go ahead but he stayed with me. That was really considerate. We haven't gone running again since then.  Most of the men and some women tend to play some sort of sport such as basketball or soccer. I joined a soccer game so I could run a bit. They have very good skills for both basketball and soccer. It is really nice to sit and watch them play.  

Most of the people here at least know the alphabet or a few basic signs.  One girl took ASL in college so she signs pretty well. There are a few people who are really curious and interested in ASL.  They really learn quickly and it is nice to be able to communicate with everyone at least.  

2 more weeks left of orientation.  I will really miss everyone when we all go our separate ways.  At least we will see each other again in December!