Majuro...up close and personal....

Please feel free to edit this for errors or make comments....I'm thinking of using it to send as a letter to a few people....such as those who played a role in getting me here by writting my letters of recomendation.... :)

The heat envelops you. From the minute you wake up until you fall asleep you are conscience of the perpetual perspiration on your face and back. Even after being here for seven weeks I still sometimes find the heat inescapable. I spend many hours in the faculty room, because it is air-conditioned. The faculty room is in the basement of Assumption Church. The floor and walls are all cement, and the room is packed, 18 teachers’ desks fill the room. All the desks are piled high with textbooks and school supplies, because there is no room for shelves to put the books on. Some of the desks are adorned with handy crafts that the students have made in Marshallese class, and in turn have been given to teachers over the years. If it wasn’t for Marshallese class many of the students would loose an appreciation of their own culture.
During the school day the three teachers’ computers are all occupied. One usually occupied by a teacher playing Spider Solitary, passing the time between classes. There are 7 class periods in a day. Each period is 45 minutes. One of my homeroom students is responsible for ringing the bell at the beginning and end of each class. Her sister graduated valedictorian last year, and so the privilege/responsibility had to be past on.
The students for the most part remain in the same classroom for the entire school day, for the exception of Marshallese and computer class. There are two sections of: freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, one section of a new pre-9 program, consisting of 3 students who are not yet quite ready for high school, and only one senior class. The reason why there is only one senior class is do to students failing, and either getting someone pregnant or getting pregnant. The school itself is a cement fortress that has been in the works for over 30 years. Three of my four classes are on the third floor, which affords a nice view of both the Pacific and the lagoon. I try to appreciate the view and hope to make it up hear to watch the sun rise one day soon. The high school has been dubbed “The Project,” because there is always work to be done. Most of the classrooms do not have lights, but this is only a problem on days that are heavily overcast, which so far, has been very rare. The students’ desks are a random assortment that has suffered the wear of time. Many have deep gouges where they have been carved into and are brown with rust. A left-handed student may be hard pressed to find a desk that would be comfortable for writing. Being a good teacher requires more charisma and creativity then any Oscar winning actor has ever been able to capture on film. The attention span of students is 2 minutes on a good day when the heat has not lead them to rip off the back cover of their Composition notebook in order to fan themselves as they sweat heavily while copying notes from the board. On bad days a teacher should be lucky to hold the classes’ attention for more than 30 seconds. It is not easy attempting to compete with American influence. Even while in the class room ideas of video games and shopping malls are not at all foreign. A few of the students have spent time in the U.S., and have experienced first hand the consumerism that we Americans have grown up with. The appeal of American culture is easily witnessed, watching students crowd around a celebrity magazine, looking at what the white American celebrity is wearing, many times, the cost of clothing far exceeding the amount of money many of the students parents make in a year. The Marshallese refer to Americans and all white skinned foreigners for that matter as “Ri belle” a term meaning, a person with many possessions. The term has been around ever since the first western missionaries came to spread the word of Christ. The missionaries would offer goods such as clothing and food hoping in return that the local Marshallese would convert. Only about 9% of Marshallese are Catholic. The Protestant influence is very strong and has lead to an interesting mixing of faith during Sunday services. Mass is offered in English on Saturday nights at 6:30 the congregation usually consists of Americans, Fijians, Japanese, and many other Pacific Islanders who do not speak Marshallese. The American Ambassador attends mass, but is not Catholic. I believe she is Episcopal and prefers a high mass. There are two morning masses offered on Sunday, as a JVI community we have agreed to attempt to attend mass on Saturday as well as, at least one of the Sunday morning masses in an effort to become more a part of the Marshallese community that we are attempting to serve. The mass is all in Marshallese except for when Father Rich is off island and the visiting priest doesn’t speak Marshallese. Otherwise, I spend most of the mass attempting to follow along in a Marshallese/English Missile. I hope to at least be able to say an Our Father in Marshallese by the time the two years are up. A weekend has not passed that we have not been offered an invitation to attend a dinner, barbeque, or party. The hospitality among the Marshallese and the religious who are here on island is over pouring. Some of the Sisters have been in Majuro longer then I have been alive. They have seen not only the development of Assumption schools, but also the development of Majuro. They have educated some of the grandparent and parents of my students. I typically have around 18 students in each of my four classes. I teach English Composition 3 to juniors and biology to sophomores. I am finding it enjoyably challenging, and am realizing that teaching English has only motivated me to better understand the rules of English. I especially enjoy my sophomores who are beginning to show an interest in the subject. I am accepting of the fact that I am going to make mistakes, and find comfort in the fact that I will be able to learn from them and try to do better next year.
I enjoy spending time with both my students and the local kids after school. A few of the sophomores are highly competitive and enjoy having me quiz them after school. I usually leave the faculty room around 4 and head to the JV house, which is located on Assumption property. Several children from Small Island, the village located directly to the South of the parish considers the JV house one of only a few plays they are welcomed.
Small Island is one of the poorer communities in Majuro, and many of these children are not in school, because even the public elementary schools are over crowded. Currently, several of the children are suffering from horrible cases of Pink Eye, and luckily Sister Dora, one of the hardest working individuals in Majuro is treating them. The kids, range in age from 9 to 18 months. The older ones taking care of the younger ones; many of them without shoes, and open wounds from the mosquito bites they have scratched raw. They knock on our screen door, because we have had to teach them not to just come in. They commonly ask for food and water, but we only give them water. Not because we don’t have food, but because we don’t have the means to feed them everyday. We are not here to create a dependence, but rather to walk in solidarity. Even though we are unable to give them food, we attempt to feed them in other ways that they are starved. Many of them enjoy spending time coloring and playing with the blocks from and old Jenga game. These kids are starved for attention and they feed off of every word and smile you offer them.

Today was good!

PS. I think im on to something....I am having my biology kids create hand signs for their vocabulary words....I think its a great trick espessially for ESL learners. We are starting a section on microscopes and some of my students who have failed the last two tests stayed after school (at my request) and I think they enjoyed looking through the microscope at a lice...off of the head of one of the students.....mmmmm yummmy! Lets just say they only get uglier the bigger they get.

PSS. Today is Emily's birthday. She is one of my community members....Dinner, wine, and dessert....So excited.
Nothing but love,