Nearing the end (10 months)

As I sat in the boat waiting for a bite from the brightly colored fish swimming around underneath me, I think about my adventure during the past year and how we are nearing the end. 

I vividly remember driving to LAX with my mom and wondering if I made a mistake deciding to come here.  I would have two more days left in America, having seen family and friends across America.  I felt nervous, excited, and full of wonder.  The time got closer and closer, and finally it was time to go to LAX.  I got to my gate, sat down and waited for the other volunteers to arrive.  I recognized some of them from Facebook.  We all arrived with excitement on our faces, eager to meet the other people who would have a similar experience.  I sat back and just observed the scene in front of me.  Their faces, their clothing, their interactions.  I also wondered where the other Deaf volunteers were and how I would find them.  All of a sudden, I saw hands fly not too far from where I was sitting.  I felt relieved and walked over to meet them.  We introduced each other and made small talk while waiting to board the plane to Honolulu.  

We arrived in Honolulu at some crazy time late in the night and had to find the shuttle to our hotel.  We all walked together and people assumed roles on their own-the leader, the follower, and the skeptic who questioned whether we were going the right way.  And the rest of us who just wanted to go to bed and didn't care where we were going as long as we would reach the hotel.  We arrived the hotel and checked in, allowing us 4 hours of sleep before having to be at the airport "bright and early".  Again, people assumed different roles. 

The plane took off and we were over the big blue ocean for 5 hours.  Finally, we saw land!  Photos were taken, from cameras and camera phones.  People who were lucky enough to sit in the middle (yours truly) got a brief glimpse of the place we would call home for the next year.  The water was different shades of turquoise clear, you could see the coral beneath the water.  We landed and got off the plane like tourists, taking pictures of everything.  The plane, the "yokwe" sign, and waited in line to get our passports stamped.  I was shocked. The time has finally arrived and I am here!   It felt like a dream. 

We got to know each other, learn about Marshallese culture, Marshallese lifestyle, and just get used to living in a developing country while living in an elementary school classroom. Each room had about 12 volunteers sleeping on the floor.  As time went on, the shock that of being here wore off.  

School started, I got into routine of teaching and finding stuff to do on the weekends, such as watching what is going on in front of my own eyes and face timing with family and friends back in America.  

During Christmas break, we had mid service training when all the volunteers got together to get a break from volunteering and just enjoy being around other ribelles (some volunteers were the only ribelle on their island and there was no one else who could speak English).  It was time to decide when we wanted to fly back home.  We had a choice of June 1, 3, 5, or 8.  I picked the first, thinking that I would want to get out of here as quickly as possible.  

Now, I have a week left here, the place that I have called home for the past year. It is hard to even imagine leaving.  This magical place in the pacific has grown on me.  

I am not sure what happened during break, but I started the second semester feeling different.  I felt like I was a part of this island rather than an outsider.  The Marshallese people consider me one of them for the most part.  They have opened up to me, showing their true colors and the amazing culture that they own.  I know that I will always have a "home" here. 

I do not even think about my answer when people offer me fish (raw or cooked).  Children walking around naked make me laugh to myself.  Dogs no longer scare me.  I know secrets to staying cool under a thousand layers of clothing.  I automatically stand in the shade while waiting for a taxi.  I am not shocked when kids arrive to school without shoes.  I get one glass of water for my class and remind them not to drink the entire glass because there are other students waiting for some water.

I will definitely miss this place and the laid back life. 

Off to make the most of my last week here!

And if anyone was wondering, I made the right decision coming here. 

Names

Names are how people identify themselves.  Here it is no different.  However, what is different is the fact that everyone has two names... The one that is on their birth certificate and one that is given by the people.  

I know that many people around the world have nicknames.  Heck, even I have one.  I use my nick name almost all the time.  The only time I use my full name is for official business.  

Here it seems that no one knows other people's full names and only use their nicknames.  I have one story that clearly represents that. 

I needed to make a call so I asked Chinilla to call a number for me and to ask for a certain person.  I gave her the name.  After the call, she told me that the person was a relative and she didn't realize that until she found out his nickname.  

Now, I have a Marshallese name In addition to my full and nick names.  It was given to me by Chinilla.  it is... Get ready for this... Juji... Which also means kick.. So Juji bidum means kick your ass. :-)

WAM (waan aelōñ in majel)

I have seen those traditional Marshallese canoes around and always wondered how it worked. I finally got the opportunity to ride in a canoe and it was really interesting.

Setting up the sail

Ready to go

4 of us could ride at same time along with two men to "drive" the boat.. On one side, Ariel and Joann

Other side, thu and myself.  Why do my eyes always look like they are closed..

We sat on the "canoe" part with a sail attached to it.  On the other side is this

The two guys who took us out on the water... The guy with black hat controlled the sail by holding on to a rope, tightening/loosening it as needed and the guy behind him used an oar to steer the boat.

We went past many tuna boats 

We reached the end and instead of turning around, the guys moved the sail over to the front of the boat.

Going back

Again with the closed eyes 

Better..

How the sail is connected to the boat

Sailing through the water

We saw a bunch of people riding in their boat to get to their tuna boat.  Mom was wondering how people in the tuna boat get to shore.  This! :-)

Close up of a tuna boat with helicopter on top of the boat

Close up of helicopter

Sailing back to shore

Getting off the boat

Group photo (sorry about the water drop making the picture blurry)

Entire canoe.. We sat in the white part where the sail is...

Guys' turn

This is where they make the boats...

Workshop and classes.. They train people on how to make and sail the canoes.

Frame for a 26 foot canoe.. It takes about a month to make a complete canoe from start to finish.  We rode on a 20 foot canoe.  They once took a 26 foot canoe to Aur, it took 2 days.  On a motorboat, it takes 14 hours... For comparison..

Canoes... They use breadfruit tree parts to make the canoe

Interesting architecture

My favorite pictures:

I am glad I finally got the chance to ride in the canoe.  I wish I knew about this when Abby and Jenny were here.

Fish family

I got a new underwater camera (Thanks, Bob and Jean!), and had the opportunity to test it out last weekend when we went along the reef to the good snorkeling place.  It was cloudy so the colors aren't as vibrant as it usually is, and for some reason, the water looked somewhat "green" in one area.  By the way, the fish say Hello to you, Abby!

View video of snorkeling

I am looking forward to going there a few more times before I return to America, so be on the lookout for more videos/pictures.

Enjoy the video!

May Day

May 1st was "Constitution Day", also called "May Day".  I had no idea what to expect for this day.  I knew about all the Christmas festivities, but no one told us about Constitution Day.

A brief history:  This is the day that the RMI signed their constitution in 1979! Only 9 months older than I am...

I really enjoyed the day.  I think this is going to be one of my favorite events here in the RMI, along with the Ekiden run and Christmas festivities.  Do you see a pattern?  Those are the days that the community come together to celebrate.

I had a little project that I took on and since I hadn't completed that project close to May 1, we decided to make it our goal date, and it was completed by May 1st.  See our new uniform shirts!

Front of the shirt.  The logo was designed by one of the Deaf Marshallese people.  It incorporates the island life with signs for those items.  The school name (Majuro Deaf Education Center) is around the top of the circle with the finger spelled alphabet for M D E C.  

The back of the shirts have a Marshallese flag on the top. 

I asked local organizations for donations and received enough to get each student a free shirt to reduce the financial burden for parents. 

Picture of my very small class (3 students showed up for the march), and 2 educational assistants... Can you see why I feel like a giant! LOL 

I took many pictures and videos.  I figured the best way to share the love is to separate the day into three parts.

The first part:  March

All the different organizations of the Marshall Islands march about half a mile from the ECC to the "Castle", where all the governmental offices were.  That building is not safe to use anymore, so it is just sitting there waiting for its fate.

I arrived at 8:15 (we were told to meet at 8) but of course no one was there.  People started arriving around 9 and it was packed.  We stood around waiting for the march to start.  It was very hot and children were complaining that they were hot and thirsty.  Finally, we walked to our position behind Marshall Islands High School band and in front of Marshall Islands High School.  I have no idea the logic behind that, but when we arrived the castle, we let the MIHS people walk past us to join the band.  There were people around telling us that it needs to be set up this way.

We walked about 1/2 mile, and along the way, we saw many Marshallese people cheering us on.  We held posters that we designed and waved Marshallese flags.  When we arrived the castle, we posed for a picture and then walked around the "center of the castle to  reach the sitting area where we would sit and watch different people give speeches.  We sat to the left of people entering the area, so we could see how different organizations (schools, governmental offices, businesses) entered.  You will see some in the video.

Video of Constitution Day march

We sat watching different people give speeches (the president, ministers, etc.) and then we were dismissed to the park area where there were many different tents set up selling food, mostly BBQ chicken, fish, rice, breadfruit, etc.  By that time, we all were starving so we were glad to get food!

Panoramic view of the park with different tents set up

The tents stayed there all day until after dark.  There was supposed to be fireworks, but it was cancelled. :(  

The second part: Floats

The night before (April 30th), we gathered at the Field Director's house to decorate posters for the parade.  I thought it was the same thing as the march, but then I found out that there would be another one that afternoon.  It was supposed to start at 3 pm, of course, island time...  We arrived to end of Rita to find different decorated vehicles.  You will see some in the video.  We were supposed to be with World Teach, but since it was raining off and on, we joined the Ministry of Education float. It was much more elaborately decorated, with a roof and a bench for people to sit on.  We threw candy to children along the way until we reached Delap park, where there was a huge crowd of people (mostly children) waiting for us.  We ran out of candy in the middle of the route so the Field Director and another volunteer ran to a store to buy more candy.  I hit some people in the heads with the candy, oops!  It was so much fun.

Video of Constitution Day Floats

The third part:  Dances

The Delap park was full of people from the day's activities and there was a tug of war between different businesses, then people were invited to go on the stage and show their cultural dances.  In the years past, there were fireworks, but this year there were no fireworks apparently due to budget issues, but it was very windy so it would not have been safe anyways.

Video of Constitution Day dances

I rode past Delap park the day before (April 30th) and saw people setting up tents.  When I rode past it again that morning at 8 am, people were already cooking food.  That is how huge it was.

We all were exhausted and I zonked out right when I arrived to my room.

Diabetes situation

I previously posted that the Marshall Islands has a diabetes problem.  I think that it will make a bigger impact if you see pictures explaining the statistics... So enjoy 

This is a chart posted at Canvasback Wellness Center that works on educating people how to eradicate diabetes.  I eat there almost everyday for lunch.  They serve food that I wouldn't be able to get otherwise such as salads for practically pennies.  They do not "serve anything that has a mother" (vegetarian food).  They also have breakfast but I don't eat there due to having to work.

Sections of the chart is posted below. 

37% of the people here have diabetes, the highest of all the countries listed.  The south pacific countries have some of the highest rates of diabetes.  

People here get diabetes mostly because of their lifestyle (food choices).  They eat lots of rice, canned meat (spam), fish, chicken, sweets, processed food such as chips and sweetened drinks such as soda and fruit punch.  

There are not a lot of overweight people here, yet the diabetes rate is high. Most  young men (teens-40's) are lean with lots of muscles on their arms from all the physical work they do.  Yet some of them have diabetes.  

Their food choices paired with not having a doctor on the outer islands and not knowing what diabetes is makes this a difficult disease to conquer.  

The Canvasback Wellness Center serve food that most Marshallese people do not see on their plate regularly such as vegetables.  They also offer a gym that people can use for free and classes educating people about diabetes and how to reduce diabetes.  

There are some success stories posted in the center telling us about people who have gone through the class and successfully eliminated diabetes.  The stories are amazing! 

The center was established when the first president got diabetes and went to Hawaii to get treated.  He found out that diabetes here is caused because of food choices so he wanted to set up a Wellness center.  

This place helped me eat vegetables.  Before I started eating there, I was actually craving salad and vegetables, so I started eating there.  Vegetables here are crazy expensive and often have mold.

On a side note, Canvasback Missions is an organization that often sends doctors from America to provide services for Marshallese people that the hospital is not able to provide.  For example, they sent a team of doctors here to provide on/gyn services a few months ago.  They stayed for about 2 weeks.  Another team of doctors will be coming to focus on something else.  The specializations rotate. They also donate a lot of money to get things that people need.

Hearing aids

The EHDI team consisting of an ENT doctor and audiologist came here in the beginning of April.  They come here twice a year to provide services to the Marshallese people such as doing hearing tests and surgeries for ENT issues such as inserting ear tubes. 

Two children got hearing aids, both donated.  One is a baby and another is a child in my class.  

When he showed up to school the next day, it was funny to watch how the other children reacted to his new hearing aids.  A lot of them wanted to know what they were.  As students arrived on their buses, the students who already saw the hearing aids would tell them to look at his new hearing aids.  Now, a month has passed and the novelty has wore off, but there are still a few students who are curious about the hearing aids and ask me about them, especially one student. 

One of the other students in my class always look at his hearing aids when he is next to the student with hearing aids as if he expects something to jump out of his ears. He does it every time they are next to each other.  

I just think it is funny.  I am sure that's how people reacted when hearing aids were first introduced in America. 

None of the other children have a hearing aid except for that one student in my school.  There are a few adults who have hearing aids on island.  There is also no one who wears a cochlear implant on island. 

I would imagine that it is difficult to maintain hearing aids here.  There is no audiologist on island so if it is broken, they would have to wait for the EHDI team to come.  If the child needs a new ear mold, they would have to wait for the EHDI team to come.  There is no speech therapist or people knowledgable about auditory development on island, so no one to really teach the child how to listen.  We work with what we have.  

So it's been an interesting experience for everyone.