Teaching in action

Here are some action pics of me teaching from last week.  Thanks to one of the interpreters who took them. 

First picture-running a "writing" activity where students needs to draw a scene from the book. 

Second picture-reading "Rainbow Fish" to the students. 

Laura beach

Today we went to Laura beach, the beach you probably see in pictures when you google Marshall Islands... Sandy beach, turquoise waters, lousy snorkeling spot.. It is on the very southern tip of Majuro... It took us about 1 hour to drive from middle of Majuro to Laura, only about 20 miles... 

And now a treat for those who were curious about the swim attire... I finally got mine on Thursday (been swimming in shorts and a t shirt since arrival)... It's called a guam.  It is basically a muumuu made of polyester... *drumroll*..

The all of the deaf volunteers and two interpreters (at the end of us).. Two will go to Ebeye and three will stay on Majuro.  The interpreters are going back home next week.  

Another shot of my lovely feet... 

Taste of teaching

On Wednesday-Friday of this week, we have practicum where we were required to teach at least 2 hours each person within the group.  My group consisted of 5 people all teaching Deaf/Hard of Hearing students.  Since we all work with Deaf/Hard of Hearing students, we had a wide variety of age levels to prepare for while the other people had a target age/grade range (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, high school).  The entire Deaf school on Majuro was informed about it (they have 40 students) and we had no idea how many students would come or what grades they would be in.  

I was scheduled to teach on Wednesday so I showed up to the class prepared and expecting the unexpected.  9:30 rolls by, no students but all staff members of the center were here.  The coordinator of the Deaf program said that she was informed to bring all the teachers and aides so they could learn from us but nothing about the kids so she left to pick up some students who live nearby.  They arrived around 10:30 and my lesson started.  

It was difficult to plan for activities because we didn't know how many students would be coming, their grade/age levels and what their skills would be.  I planned to read "The Rainbow Fish", discuss how it feels to be excluded, then have the students perform a skit of the story.  Well when the students arrived, their skills were much lower than I expected and more than half were younger students so I adapted my plan to read te story, have a brief group discussion and then perform the skit as a group with my assistance.  It went well and the students understood the basic concept of the story, so I am satisfied. I felt my lesson went quicker than 2 hours so I taught again today for a short time. I read the story again as a review with more input from the students then drew a scene from the book. That was much better because we split the group into two smaller groups-the younger students with me and older students with another teacher. 

I am impressed at how well behaved the students are.  They lined up in order by height and stayed in line to move from place to place.  The students are adorable and the younger students aren't too different from the students I used to work with in terms of their language skills.

In order to have a class, we need students, correct? And since school hadn't started yet, an announcement was placed on the radio informing the community that we (the ribelles-white people) need students to do our practicum.  Also, the mornings of practicum days, the field director drove around the area offering blow pops to students who are willing to come to school.  

I found out that the supervisor of the Deaf center convinced students to come to school by telling them that ribelles (signed like moving your hand up and down the opposite lower arm) would be working with them today. 

Shows how much they are fascinated with the ribelles. 

Since I have met the staff members and students of the Deaf center, I am excited to start teaching.  I haven't seen the 3-5 year olds yet though. I am very curious what they are like. One of the teacher aides calls them the "babies" and told me that they don't walk yet. Ah, gotta wait til around the 15th to find out. 

A nice change

Our language lesson teacher did not show up so the field director let us go to his friend's house which is behind the school and faces the ocean to practice our Marshallese language.  Who could study with this view!?!?

It was a nice change from the usual classroom.  He also owns a clam and coral farm that he sells for use in aquariums.  

Giant clams! (Above and below)

Baby clams

Growing coral reef

And I leave you with this picture..

Life is good! 😎

A sad history

During orientation, we have presenters on various topics such as how to teach Rnglish, setting up your classroom, culture and customs (more to come on this), etc... One of the best topics (for me) was the history of Bikini Atoll.  I did read about it before I came but what I read was nothing compared to the man's presentation.  His name was "Bikini Jack".  He's been in the Marshall Islands for 33 years, starting out as a Peace Corps volunteer on one of the outer islands and did different jobs here.  He married a woman whose family is from Bikini so they told him lots of stories and he did a lot of research. 

Bikini Atoll is about 400 miles northwest of Majuro.  In the 1940's (I am not good at remembering years), the US Government decided that they wanted to test nuclear bombs on the island so they moved the approximately 150 residents to one island that was inhabitated because there was no food and water.  After a while, they moved the residents to Kili island, a desert wasteland with no food and water. 

While the residents were living on those two islands, the US tested atomic and hydrogen bombs both from the air and from the water.  After the US Government was finished testing, they told the residents that they could go back to Bikini in the late 1970's.  The council discussed it and decided that they would not return to the island as a group but would leave it up to individuals to decide if they wanted to go back.  

Here in the Marshall Islands, wealth is measured by how much land you own (it still is like that today). So when people moved to Kili, they each got an equal amount of land so of course some people wanted their land, home and wealth back so they returned to Bikini.  Radiation was still high so people's limbs started to grow to monstrous sizes and eventually explode.  I saw a man on a video talking about his health issues after he returned to Bikini.  He had a huge hand and his legs had already exploded.  

The US realized that the radiation levels were too high so they moved people out of Bikini and back to Kili I believe.  Today, no one lives on Bikini because there is still radiation on the island.  Currently, the former residents of Bikini is spread all over Marshall Islands in Majuro, Kwajaelin, and Kili and some are in America.  There is a high population of Marshallese people in Arkansas working at a chicken factory there.

The residents sued the US Government for ruining their land.  They gave them a little money and basically told them to shut up.  The residents sued them again and again over the years because they need the money to clean the island. Right now, each person who is related to a Bikini ancestor gets $600 a year from the US Government.  Bikini Jack is trying to get more money so that they can clean radiation off the island. 

Bikini Jack said that Bikini has some of the best snorkeling, scuba and fishing locations around Marshall Islands and no one goes there anymore because it is too expensive.  It is too expensive because no one goes there anymore. 

Really sad story.  

If you are interested in learning more, watch "Radio Bikini" the movie.  The DVD case said it had no captions but the people who watched it here said that it has subtitles. I haven't seen it myself. The movie has actual footage of the bombs and the result of too much radiation. 

Juxtaposition Island

Chris (one of the guys who is picking up on ASL quickly) and I went to the ocean side to watch the sunrise. It was very beautiful.

The reason for the title of this post: 

The top three pictures were taken at the same location without even moving my body other to look down.

It is beautiful but ugly at the same time. 

We saw a bunch of crabs at the tidal pool hiding under a rock. It is a bit hard to see in the above pic.

Love the sky's reflection in the water 

Don't be jealous 😉

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!