There was a part two to my last post, but then this happened...
Since I'm updating from my iPhone, though, here are a few things I've been up to lately
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Lwen Wo! (Good afternoon!) Today school was canceled after 3rd period due to high winds and the danger of the roof flying off of our old school building. Yikes. Good news for me though, because I’ve got plenty to catch up on. Primarily, I’ve got some blogging to do. Secondarily, I need to get my GRE study on. Tertiarily, (?) outlining a plan for our Fantastic Mr. Fox unit (thanks again for those books, Dad + Gpa!) Get ready for a lot of pictures. A handful of family members came to visit Kosrae recently and I had a ton of fun showing them around. My Gpa, Gma, Aunt Alison, Uncle Jeff, and cousin Jackson are big on island vacations. As an Oregonian, escaping the rain for a week each Spring is something I can understand. Me being in Kosrae gave them the perfect excuse to check out a place they probably wouldn’t have otherwise. It was a win/win, they got to check out a new place and escape the rain, and I got to take advantage of hot water and aircon in their hotel room. Day 1- Family arrives, checks in, and Jackson and I go for a kayak with my friends Danielle and Liz. It was also Movie Night at Bully's, so we all enjoyed a packed restaurant showing of "Man On a Ledge". Day 2- Maria, one of the owners of Treelodge, got an itinerary set up for my family for the week- she's an amazing hostess. That day my family was set to go on a boat trip to Walung and Yelu forest. Maria thoughtfully stopped by my school to see if I could bow out early and go with them. Because of the way the tides work, you have to leave at a certain time of day. I got picked up a little early that day, and we went to the marina. Yelu Forest is 1 of 2 places in the world these interesting Kaw (spelling?) trees can be found. They can also be found in Pohnpei, though not as many of them. Walung is Kosrae's smallest village, home of less than 100 residents, and it can only be reached by boat during high tide. There used to be a road going there, but it hasn't been maintained. That evening my host family cooked up a standard Kosraean barbecue, and invited my family (plus Danielle) over for dinner. It seems I've grown accustomed to the mass amounts of food Kosraeans prepare for family get-togethers, because what seemed like a standard spread to me, amazed my guests. After dinner, my host family serenaded us with Kosraean church songs. We kept clapping, so they kept singing. Even the boys joined in.
The Big Blue Envelope. If you are in the process of applying to Peace Corps, are a current PCV, or have served as a PCV over the past couple of years, you probably know what I’m talking about. The invitation packet. Just over a year ago, I received my invitation to serve with Peace Corps Micronesia, departing June 6th. I was nervous, and I was excited. http://www.funnyordie.com/embed_videos/5c8e58b8a5/high-school-musical-4
Peace Corps has a fairly big presence at University of Oregon, and sometime within my first 3 months there, I started attending info sessions. By the time I received my invitation 3 1/2 years later, I had read hundreds of past, current, and future PCV blogs. I had ordered and read books written by volunteers, and contacted a ton of different people with way too many questions. Everything leading up to that point had been pure speculation. I used peacecorpswiki to try and gauge where I’d be sent, but it was really anyone’s guess. Once I got my invitation, I could start the real research. I quickly scouted out all the current Peace Corps Micronesia blogs I could find. I stumbled upon Janelle’s blog (she extended her service to May and is still a PCV in Pohnpei) and a post wherein she’d offered to help any of the incoming M78s with packing questions. Without hesitation, I sent her some questions I had about whether I should bring my laptop ( I should), if bringing leather flip flops is a good idea (it isn’t) and what kind of dry bag to purchase (one big enough for my laptop). She was super helpful and a great resource! That being said, if there are any future Micronesia/Palau Peace Corps Volunteers reading this in preparation for your departure, us M78s are SO excited to meet you guys, and can’t wait to welcome you to Micronesia! If you have any questions, I’m happy to be a resource. Leave a comment here, or get my email address from the envelope icon in the upper right corner.T-minus 2 months! |