Friday, September 20, 2013

Themed parties, waterfall fun, and sunsets : ]

Guess who we are....

TMNT!!!!

"Go Ninjas, Go Ninjas, GO!" 

Sprouting Coconut...cool right?!



Casual rest stop...

What beauties!

Slippery stairs

Liduhduhniap Falls!

It was cold!!!

Yay for waterproof cameras!


Brian in his "shampoo ad" glory


Naps - Micro style

Just the view from our front door...

no big deal...

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Apartment Photo Shoot!


We took these awhile ago,
we now have a blackboard for a wall!
And we are getting ready to paint a mural,
but here is a peek of where we live!


Product of Spirituality Night!





My and Kristin's Room!


My bed and wall...with Mer!

Working hard? Or hardly working?

Natural Habitat...

BATHROOM!


Old school spinner for drying clothes!

Mer's Room

Yes, we have a deer skull...

My window...


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Lifelong Honeymooner...

Sometimes we feel excluded. People do not remember our admissions or desires. They build bonds with others and you start to feel like friendship or love is part of a zero-sum game. You know intuitively (or at least you try) that love is boundless and infinite so it should not be diminished if increased for another. But, alas, our time is not boundless or infinite. And so we get caught up in this race or competition for time. We get to thinking that everything needs to happen this moment and it needs to involve you. You are missing out on time to build deeper bonds, to create stronger connections, to make meaningful change.

I felt like this a few weeks ago, one afternoon, and I got angry. I felt excluded, overwhelmed, and unknown. It was my night to cook so I went out to buy some food and take a needed walk. On my way toward Yoshie (food mart), I was over thinking everything and totally inside my head so on the way back I decided to go to a former JV’s “secret spot”. It is this ledge behind the Drops of Life Water Supply place that overlooks the lagoon and is stunning. It had been drizzling a bit and when I turned the corner around the building I was met with a breath-taking sight: a vibrant full rainbow. I saw the entire arc, end to end, ascending out of the lagoon and then cascading back in. As soon as I beheld it I gasped…and teared up a bit. This flood of relief washed over me and I realized how much I needed to be reminded of awe and wonderment, of where I was, what I was doing, and who I am. It also reminded me to pause and not to jump to conclusions about others; my community-mates probably had no idea how I felt. I just had to smile.

I recognized something else with the help of that rainbow too. On the right side behind the rainbow were grey and dismal, dare I say ominous clouds. The sky looked miserable. But if I just turned my head 90 degrees I saw bright blue skies with white puffy clouds and sparkling lagoon waters. The rainbow was incredible in both conditions…but it was the most vibrant against the grey skies, they drew out its true beauty and potential. It reminded me of life and how we need both blue and grey skies. It’s a balance and a dance. Sometimes the greatest goods or beauty shines through the miserable struggles.

I skyped with my Program Coordinator(PC), for the first time, a few days ago and she asked me about something that I had said at orientation that had stuck with her. At orientation we talked a lot about the stages of culture shock and the first stage is known as the “honeymoon stage”. It is characterized by how great and new and amazing everything seems. You comment about all of the amazing opportunities and beauty you see around you. It is known for being unrealistic and inauthentic. I commented to my PC that I kind of felt like my whole life has been in the “honeymoon stage”. I have always been very happy and smiley and (probably) annoyingly optimistic. I have been described as a “beacon of shining light”. I do not consider it a bad thing or unrealistic or inauthentic. But the rainbow gave me a better way to describe my lifelong “honeymoon stage”.


It is not that I never get sad or frustrated. I get upset and angry; I actually feel each of my emotions super strongly and totally get inside my head and over think loads of things. But then I always go back to being happy (usually pretty quickly); my rainbow shines out from my dark dreary moments and I am back to blissful old me. I do not hold on to the misery for long. Maybe that means I will never be able to truly understand someone else’s constant pain or suffering, and thus will not be able to truly share their burden. But maybe I am not supposed to. Maybe I’m supposed to sneak the joy back in, share it through my very being and nothing else. This trait that defines me allows me to try to see the beauty in everything and everyone around me and if I am angry I can sit back, gaze at the first complete rainbow I have ever seen and smile.

Monday, September 2, 2013

It rained and we got slightly "chilly" so sweatshirt time! CRAZY!


The Poets of Pohnpei…

Here begins the story told,
Of a JV community that is not that old.
One month is all we’ve had to mold,
But serious we are as hands we hold.

It started in a flat bed truck,
Three tired souls, a bit star struck.
We drove back to the house in the muck,
We realized once we met Brian we had all the luck.

Our ICO was full of fun,
We climbed a rock and loved to pun,
We swam a lot and got some sun,
And on we go, we’re still not done,

We started making friends over here,
We want to be more then the four musketeers,
Peace Corps and World Teach we both endear,
We look for more with our eyes and ears.

We cleaned our classrooms to prepare for the new year.
We swept and mopped getting ourselves into gear.
Our staffs are great and do not jeer,
As we began teaching subjects that were a bit unclear.

We all decided that we like to cook,
Chocolate chip pancakes are worth another look,
After we’re done we like to settle into the nook,
And watch a movie or read a book.

We love to eat with the Jesuit priests
Who always provide us with a decent feast,
Discussing what we can do for the least,
While watching the sunset and drinking brewed yeast.

And last but not least we feel we must say,
Our community is a beautiful bouquet,
We work and play and pray all day,

But stop each night and appreciate the Milky Way.

                                    - JVC Pohnpei Community