After the WorldTeach orientation ended, the Deaf Ed people had more orientation and meetings with the DeafWorldTeach program so we haven't really had a chance to really get settled. We have been working half days then doing orientation and meetings in the evenings. The last person leaves tomorrow evening and I so can't wait to get into routine and especially get food!
School started on Monday. We decided to have half days this week because of our orientation, meetings, etc. Like I said on Facebook, I had a great first day. The children are very smart and motivated. They want to come to school and learn. We haven't really had time in our separate classes with our students until today by accident. It was very nice to work with my students and really get to know them. I took it "easy" today and had 10 minutes at the end of the day before the kids went home so I decided to give them paper and crayons. The children drew beautiful pictures including cars and planes. I giggled a bit because I deal with bullying all th time in America, I thought it would be different here... Nope, same! One of my students "x" in ASL another student's drawing. Lol! It's universal!
Bullying aside, the children are the happiest children I have ever seen although they do not have much at school or home. They are very motivated to come to school and learn. They will give up something so their friends have something as well such as sharing food items although they may have little for themselves. It is a collective culture here. Here is a group picture of the school staff and kids.
As you can see, the majority of Marshallese people are short. I feel like a giant sometimes. I bent down a little in that pic.
One of the meetings we had was at the US Embassy with ambassador Armbruster. We went to the Embassy a few weeks ago during orientation but Armbruster was not there so we met with the assistant ambassador. This time, we were able to meet with the ambassador. He is a very funny guy who knows some sign language. We were there to inform him of DeafWorldTeach and what we plan to do on the island. At the meeting, he informed us about two big events happening this week. First, there would be a welcome party for the coast guard on the coast guard boat on Tuesday night (which is why I was there, Cousin Steve...) and then on Wednesday the coast guard would be hosting a field day at a local park for special education children.
We made their Facebook page twice?
First time:
Second time:
The welcome party was nice. Appetizers were passed around, wine and beer was served, and there was a live band. Appetizers were crab cake, some kind of fish (I think mahi mahi), quesadilla and pulled pork sandwich. I tried the quesadilla, crab cake and fish! I may be a convert soon. We met the ambassador's secretary and she is a certified scuba diving instructor. I hope we take classes with her! We chatted about it on the boat. She said that she's seen many different animals, including turtles. I really hope I get to see a turtle!
On Wednesday, the field day was so much fun. We were the only students who showed up. They had different physical activities set up for the children. They had sort of a football game set up but instead of playing football, we played a game with the football where we had to throw the ball to another person if someone touched us while holding the ball. It was so much fun and for anyone who knows me well knows what I did... Join the game, of course! It was so hot and then. It started to rain. It was a nice break from the heat and cooled us down a bit but then it stopped raining. 😞. The game was fun anyways and I got my exercise in! Win! The coast guard people run very fast!
Here is a pic of us with the coast guard.
After the long and fun day in the sun and heat, I had a meeting with the local EHDI provider to discuss the EHDI part of my job here. It was not a good idea to have the meeting on that day but I made it! I had a hard time staying up. After the meeting, we visited a 10 month old DeafBlind baby. It was a first for me in three different ways. First, I never worked with a DeafBlind baby before. Second, it was my first time entering a real Marshallese home. Most of their living quarters is outside under a roof but without walls. Their kitchen and living room is outside, then they have a bedroom that is inside (basically the only part of their house that is fully enclosed). The whole family sleeps on mattresses on the floor in the bedroom. Third, the bubu (grandmother) gave us a gift when we entered the home. I felt so honored to receive it. She put it on each of our necks herself.
On Saturday, there was a fishing tournament. The fisher people go out to sea all day, then need to return at 5 pm to weigh their catch. I was there to see the different kinds of fish that they caught.
Then I guess they grill the whole fish.
Tiny and tastes like the bigger banana. By the way, my whole breakfast that morning (one hard boiled egg, two bananas and a can of guava juice) cost me a whole $1.25!
One afternoon, we saw a marlin (or something like that) on the dock after being cleaned. It was more than 6 feet long!
I am developing a nice farmer tan, especially on my feet! Lol!
I think I got everything that I typed last night. I will be sure to save all my blog posts from now on!
