Church Potluck, Meal Planning, Random Thoughts and A List

8-30-08 We had a very large potluck today--lots of rice! Yummy! I am so very glad that I like rice. The four of us girls have decided that we are going to switch over to a diet that is more like the Marshallese diet, but healthier. Basically, we will buy cheap foods, like rice and lentils (again, yum!) and spend the big bucks on the good stuff, like vegetables and fruits (which, from being all imported, are very expensive). So, for the most part, we're going to be switching over to mostly rice, lentils and such, throwing in a little tuna now and then. (Yes, I said tuna.) We figure that we'll cut down on food expenses if we do that.

Anyway, it was sort of weird, knowing that Southern started back up this week and I wasn't there. What's more weird is that one of the seniors wants to go to Southern next year--and I would no longer be his teacher, but his fellow student. That would throw him for a loop, I think. I really miss all of my friends, but it's a comforting thought that most of my "group" of friends are scattered across the globe for the next ten months. I mean, Kenny's in Chuuk; Lucas and Desi are in Tanzania and Kenya, respectively; Aaron's task-forcing in the States; and on and on. There's only a few of us left back at Southern, and I miss them, too!!! But I am making friends here (which is good, since I have to be with these people for the next ten months!). The two guys from Walla Walla (who are actually from Idaho and worked at Ida-Haven with people I knew from IA) are really funny. Jordan is teaching the high school sciences, along with some other classes, and Alan is teaching fourth grade. On Thursday this last week, I (along with the other girls) hurried to school and staff worship early, because it looked like torrential rain was coming. We got there, ditched our bags in the library, and went to talk with the people in the computer lab. When it was time for worship, we headed outside. It was torrentially raining--and Alan and Jordan were thoroughly soaked. They had run to the school, wearing their backpacks pregnancy-style, and futilely trying to use Alan's tiny umbrella to keep the rain off. It didn't work, needless to say. (If the pictures uploaded, there should be a picture of Alan and Jordan with the umbrella in the library. Alan's the tall one; Jordan's the one with curly blonde hair.) Everyone else had either been early with us, or had ducked under some roof's overhang to keep from getting soaked.

So, I was pondering things recently (along with one of the other teachers) and I have realized that, even in the short amount of time we've been here, I have learned many things. Here's the current list:

1. Electricity is a privilege, not a right.
2. Rain can come through a classroom's ceiling, even if there is a floor above that classroom.
3. Fresh vegetables and fruits are very tasty and very expensive.
4. Unfortunately, re-applying sunscreen does not always prevent a sunburn.
5. It is difficult to teach students who neither care about passing high school or going to college.
6. Teachers talk about their students to other teachers. (I should have figured, but whatever.)
7. Having enough supplies for an entire class and resources for the teacher would be great, but make do with what one has.
8. Rinses taken in the courtyard in the sunlight with cold "fresh" water from the rainwater catchment are more fun than showers inside with the same water.
9. Drinking water and "fresh" water are both necessities and luxuries.
10. Triple J (the local everything store) is not Burger King, but the food suffices when one is hungry.
11. A classroom runs more smoothly if the teacher comes into it with lots of preparation and confidence (even if the confidence is an act).
12. When it rains, it pours. Literally. But the rain is usually followed by incredible rainbows.
13. Being a teacher is a lot harder than it looks.
14. Even high schoolers like stories being read to them.
15. Events may be scheduled to start at 6:30 PM, but don't expect anything to happen until at least 7:00. However, still be early to whatever the event is.
16. Students are devious when it comes to trying to get out of assignments and wily when it comes to trying to get out of class early.
17. I miss Southern!!
18. Having the Internet and all it implies (e-mail, MySpace, Facebook, Skype) is wonderful, even if it is slow! Something's better than nothing.
19. People matter more than punctuality. (Although, punctuality's still important.)
20. Air conditioning is incredible--but if the power's off, a strong ocean breeze will do.
21. People can do without a lot better than they can do with.
22. Lots of water plus lots of rice and lentils plus lots of walking and swimming equals lost weight. (Not like I want to find it again.)
23. Rain makes people fidget--and the breeze from the storm can make the students frozen and me finally cooled off. :D
24. Rain can come through a closed window, if there's enough wind.
25. The ground underneath water shimmers in little diamonds of wavery light. Plus, breathing through scuba equipment is just cool.
26. Blowing water out of a snorkel is not as hard as it could be. However, I still want the snorkel that doesn't let water in.
27. Losing weight is both a good and a bad thing. Good, because it's good for me. Bad, because my clothes are already starting to not fit well. (Yay ambiguity! :) )
28. Mail (either letters, cards, or packages) is a great way to bring a smile to an SM's face.
29. It's easier for me to be joyful in general than it used to be for me.

Okay. That's the current list. I probably will have more, but that's all I can think of at the moment. Also, tomorrow (the 31st) is my 21st birthday. I'm excited. Megan's planning on making me a cake, and Ryan implied that there's more in the works than what I'm aware of. Maybe something will come of it, maybe not. Who knows? Anyway, I received two birthday cards last Wednesday--thank you Jim and Mrs. Schulz!--and before that, I got one from my grandpa. Thanks! I really appreciate you sending it all the way out here for me to get. So, it's official that snail mail only takes five to eight days most of the time. Ryan says that it will slow down around Christmas, if you're sending packages. So, if you send a package, send it a good while before the Christmas rush.

Oh--I wanted to tell my church family something. Every Sabbath I am reminded of you. Want to know why? Because during offering, they bring it back up to the front as we sing the Doxology--just like we do in Michigan City. So, I'm thinking about you all. Please let me know if the whole new schedule thing works out. :) More later.

~Ashlee

Thoughts from In-between classes

8-26-08 It’s Tuesday, and I’m in the middle of free period right now—Emily’s let me use her computer so that I can try to get some Internet-y things done in between classes. When there’s too many people on, it slows down something awful. More bearable than having no Internet, I imagine. I am quite happy to be keeping this blog!

Our (mine and Emily’s) first day here was the Thursday we arrived on the island hopper flight, along with Ryan, our principal. We were escorted by the Kwaj Police to the dock and sat around, waiting for the ferry. Ryan bought us food from the “American Eatery”, which is basically a Burger King with rice and various other foods—and much cheaper than anything here on Ebeye. We sat there, sort of in a stupefied daze (because of the time-hopping), meeting the other teachers who’d ridden out on the ferry to meet us. The ferry is a US government ship thing that looks like a landing craft straight off the shores of Normandy. It takes about half an hour to get to Ebeye (which does have more than two trees, thank you very much!)

Well, I’ve got to head to class. More later.

~Ashlee

Book troubles and Shell Island

8-24-08 Sorry for the long break between posts, but our electricity was out for four days and the Internet's been a bit sketchy. Plus, I haven't had many chances to actually write another post--I've been too busy writing lesson plans, grading papers, and recording scores and such. Also, I was trying to consolidate my various lists of e-mail addresses into one master list that will be easier to send out to everyone.

We are on the brink of our second week of teaching--right now, we're all gathered around the girls' dinner table, laptops set up and books spread out across the top of it. Five of us are currently working on our lesson plans for the week of the 25th through the 29th. (I actually finished mine this morning, before we went off swimming, snorkeling, and trying out dive equipment. I'll get to that later.)

It is sometimes difficult to figure out what to teach when there's not a lot to teach with. There's a great lack of textbooks out here, and that makes for a tough time sometimes. For some of the classes, there are student textbooks, but no teacher editions. For other classes, there is a teacher's edition, but no student editions. Sometimes there just aren't books, or enough of them--and sometimes the books are outdated, but are the latest that we have. For example, my freshmen through juniors have grammar textbooks, but I have to teach out of one of their textbooks. They have no literature books. My seniors have literature books, but no grammar textbooks. Luckily, I have a teacher's edition of the literature book--and, oddly enough, a teacher's edition of a grammar book for the senior level. For World History, I have textbooks that were printed in 1997 (and no teacher's edition), and for Advanced Reading, I just have the books that they read out of. At least I have books--some of the lower grades don't have any textbook for English, and so their teachers are hard pressed to figure out what to teach.

But I don't really have complaints (even though it may sound like it)--I'm just stating the facts of the school here on Ebeye. I had a lot of interesting times last week (and some frustrating ones, too)--but I enjoyed it. I'm enjoying this craziness, believe it or not. (Though, if you know me, that may just make sense.) I mean, the biggest problems I've had thus far have been classroom management related, not material related. But I'm getting tips and such on how to deal with the kids when they're pushing the limits and seeing where they are.

Plus, planning has gotten easier, since I've been in the classroom and with the kids. I have a pretty good idea of what they grasp and what they don't and how fast we can go. I've learned that a lot of what goes into teaching is an extreme preparation and a gutsy confidence which borders on bravado, sometimes. At least, that's how it seems at the moment--but I suspect that I will never hear that in an education class! (Maybe I'll be surprised next fall.)

Well, my mom requested that I post what a typical day is like--and so I will. I get up approximately from 5:30-6:00, take a shower (which may or may not be taken in the shower), get dressed, have personal worship, eat breakfast (Cheerios and vanilla soy milk--breakfast of champions--oh, wait, that's Wheaties...), and then head to school. It's about a ten-minute walk, but it's definitely cooler then than at any other part of the day. We have staff worship at 7:30 AM (which to me has echoes of camp in it), and then the day begins at 8:00. First I have the sophomores from 8:00-9:00, then the freshmen from 9:00-9:45. Recess is from 9:45 to 10:00, and then it's Junior English from 10:00-10:45. I teach the seniors next, from 10:45-11:30. Then it's time for lunch, which I either have to pack or walk back to the apartments to fix a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Sometimes, when there's no power, we will walk down to Triple J (the local everything store--groceries, clothes, furniture, fast food) and order something there. Then, from 12:45 to 1:30, I have World History with the juniors--and then, my free period. The last period is from 2:15 to 3:00, in which I have Advanced Reading with the juniors. Friday is a shortened schedule, and the reason for that is twofold. One, it's Friday, and the sun always goes down here at about 7:30. So, in case we need to buy some food at Triple J, we end at 2:00ish. The second reason is that we have chapel after classes, from 1:00-2:00.

Today was an interesting day. We hired a taxi (trucks with taxi signs on them) and drove out the half hour or so to Shell Island. There's a half-sunken, abandoned pier there, and the dive instructor fellow said that there's two submarine searchers sunk within a couple hundred yards of the beach. The pier is more like huge concrete rocks sticking out of the surf--and the lower part that is constantly covered by the ocean is slowly becoming a reef. We jumped off the top of the pier thing into the deep side, paddled around a bit, and then I borrowed Emily's mask and snorkel and tried it out. It's really fun!!! More paddling, then climbed back up onto the concrete, went up the steps, and walked back to the shore, where we ate a semi-potluck. I say semi because we were supposed to bring our own food, but we all ending up sharing anyway. Alan hurt his foot with some board's splinter--and of course the only first aid equipment we brought was the vinegar Ryan had brought in case any of us had run-ins with coral or jellyfish. (Alan was very determined to still try the dive gear out, even with his hurt foot, which had stopped bleeding by the time the instructor arrived and felt fine--or, at least, he said it felt fine. So he tried it out.)Then we waited around and the dive instructor fellow (who is very nice) came, to let us try out the stuff and see if we want to take the dive class.

Well, I tried the stuff out. Mind you, it was the first time I've ever worn flippers, I had only snorkeled for the first time that morning, I had no weight belt on (on account that none he had with him fit me), the tank slipped around, and I'm not the best swimmer in the world (yet :P ). But I did get something right! I understood how to take in long, deep breaths and how to exhale in long breaths in a regular fashion--and I figure it's because of playing the bass clarinet, which takes a lot of air (and which I really miss playing!). SO, I'm looking forward to ordering my dive gear (mask, snorkel, fins) and taking the diving class and working my way towards being certified. Yes, it will cost money and will be hard work--but it will be fun. Plus, whoever said that all the fun things in life must be free and easy?

Then we rode the taxi home, bumping along the causeway, and arrived back to discover that we had no power. So we did what we did last week--draw water from the fresh water well and rinse off in the courtyard. Actually, we went up to the apartments, grabbed our shampoo and washed up a bit out in the courtyard as well. Fun stuff--because the water is cold and the sunshine is warm. Then we went back up to our apartments, dried off, dressed, and set to work. The five of us (Megan, Landen, Emily, Lorraine, and I) had shell pastas with alfredo sauce and slices of tomato for dinner and that brings me up to now--and I'm going to bed. More later.

~Ashlee

Getting Here/Yokwe!

8-11-08 Yokwe! That's how we on Ebeye say hello. Well, it actually means a lot of things--one of which is hello. The others are "You are a rainbow" and "Love to you". Still, the greeting is something that I so far find characteristic of the Marshallese: it's friendly, and so are they. They are some of the friendliest people I have ever met, and I am falling in love with this island.

Currently, I'm writing this blog in the apartment I share with three other student missionaries--in the dark. Ebeye has some power issues, and we don't ever quite know when we'll have electricity or not. It usually switches between oceanside and lagoonside, but sometimes it will hopscotch between a couple transformers. There's hope for new generators within a few months, and then we'll have power everywhere at all times. We adapt, of course. Flashlights are handy little friends, and we have some candles.

Power (and/or the lack of it) sort of affects how we eat. My flatmates and I have decided to mostly share expenses (because food is super expensive here, along with everything else), but we are trying to avoid buying perishables, because we don't know when our refrigerator will work and when it won't. I don't know how many peanut butter sandwiches I've eaten in the last few days. Actually, Monday night was the first night when we actually got to cook something. You see, we planned to cook spaghetti Sunday night, but right before we could fire up the stove, the power went off. Bad timing on our part!

Well, I flew out of Chicago's O'Hare Airport very early on the third of August, landed in Houston, and then flew to Honolulu. I had never been to Hawaii before, and I hadn't realized just how far away Hawaii is from the rest of the States! The island SMs from Southern met up with all of the other island SMs from various other Adventist colleges and universities and from the NAD. There were even a couple people from Europe and Australia who had come to teach in the islands.

The orientation was tiring--but fun! We had classes on how to teach, great devotional messages from Pastor Jose Rojas and a few other people, good food, and wonderful fellowship. I left Hawaii with a lot of knowledge, a focus on the need for God to make me salty during the upcoming year, and friends that I felt like I'd known for years (even though it had only been two days!). They bunked us on the floors of various classrooms of Hawaiian Mission Academy, and we used the gym bathrooms for showers and such. One morning a group of us got up and walked the twenty minutes down to the ocean, where most of us proceeded to take pictures. On our way down to the beach, we passed a 76 gas station that had listed prices that were--well, high compared to home. It was $4.40 a gallon there--and the whole group took pictures of it, too, because we know people at home who are complaining about the cost of gas at $3.40 a gallon. It could always be worse! :) As a little sendoff, the SM coordinator from SAU took us Southern SMs out to dinner, after having spent the afternoon shuttling us from Wal-Mart to Waikiki Beach, etc., You are awesome, Gayle!!!

We left early Wednesday morning to catch the island hopper flight. The island hopper stops at Majuro, Kwajalein, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, and Guam--in that order. Ebeye's near Kwajalein, but it is too small (and too crowded) to have its own flight strip. Plus, Kwajalein's a United States military base (something to do with Reagan's STAR WARS, I think), and thus, we have to process through there to even reach Ebeye. We arrived on Kwajalein on Thursday, after only flying six or so hours from Honolulu, with only a brief stop in Majuro. Yay International Date Line! Believe me, this is confusing to the traveler as much as it is to the reader of this. For example, when it is midnight on Saturday night here, it is 8:00 AM Saturday morning in the US Eastern Time Zone (7:00 AM for those of you in the Central Time Zone). When it is noon on Sunday for me, it is 8:00 PM Saturday for you. The future's a rather nice place--I like it, anyway.

My fellow SMs and I (me, Lorraine, Emily, Megan & Landon) have been settling in, going to the grocery store, helping set up the school, meet people and try to remember names!, and--wonderful thing--got our textbooks today and are supposed to start writing out our lesson plans. Former teachers of mine, I sincerely appreciate you even more than I did when you taught me--and I've only just begun to plan only one of my classes. By the way, I'm teaching seven classes: English 9, English 10, English 11, English 12 Composition, English 12 Literature, Advanced Reading, and World History. I am really excited about this upcoming year, and am already busily planning!

Well, I must be off to bed (seeing as my battery's starting to run low and I'm still adjusting to this time). Night. More later.

~Ashlee