Really Old Pictures!

Some Beautiful Sunset Pics! Sorry I couldn't choose just one : ]

Unbelievable Dinner of Pumpkin and Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Lehn Pei Pohn Waterfall!!! It is literally like a scene out of jurassic park! I kept expecting dinosaurs to fly over.

The cliff on the right is 40ft up and is the perfect place to jump in! There is also a nice little 25 footer too!

Pebble Beach!!!

3 months...

Sorry it has been so long! But, I have 2 four-day-weekends in a row so hopefully I will be able to catch up.

We have officially been here for 3 months! Crazy! For the past 3 weeks I have been teaching a poetry unit in 7th grade. One of the things I was really excited about doing with them was spoken word. I have shown them a couple videos and assigned them to write their own poem that they will perform for the class. To give them a little inspiration I did one too. Here it is.... (it's really meant to be spoken but just imagine me saying it : ] )

I have been here for a little over 3 months.

3 months.

I left my home, my family, my friends, my school, everything I love and came here.

Here to one of the most luscious, beautiful, green places I’ve ever seen.

Here to one of the most fragrant, dewy, coconut-y places I’ve ever smelt.

Here to one of the most humid, sweaty, kind, open, generous places I’ve ever felt.

3 months.

And I miss my family and friends more than I ever thought imaginable. I miss the weather, the changing leaves, the seasons, Boston College, jeans, coffee shops, cities…but mostly I miss the people I carry in my heart.

3 months.

And I want them here.

I want them to see, smell, feel what I have.

I want to bring them to mass in Weno, with the singing in the big open church and the service in Pohnpeian. To one of the most sacred experiences – where I always feel immensely peaceful and full of grace.

I want to bring them to school! And have them meet all of you. My students, who are naughty, loud, lazy – but who are also amazing, dynamic, helpful, brilliant, beautiful – inside and out, and so FULL OF LIFE.

I want them to meet Meredith, Kristin, and Brian – my roommates, support system, and family. But it’s okay if they don’t because there will be another chance. These people will be in my life forever.

3 months.

Sometimes it feels like more: eons, centuries, lifetimes. Sometimes it feels like seconds; although less often.

3 months.

And I have a host family that calls me one of their own. Who wonder about my well-being and share their home, food, time and love with me. Me. A family that loves BINGO and laughs when I announce N-silihsek limau. A family made up of at least 50 people who could not be more welcoming.

3 months.

And I’ve fallen. Too fast. I’ve fallen in love. I care too much. I feel hurt and guilty if my students fail or get in trouble because I believe in the goodness of each and every one of them.

3 months.

And my favorite part of the school day is just talking to the students outside of class. And hearing their stories. Stories that are inspiring. Stories that are funny. Stories that are true. I wonder if they know how much I have to learn from them.

3 months.

And I already know Karat are udan yo and I am “pretty good at hula for an American.” But I also know that Pohnpei will challenge me more than I ever thought possible. So many people here want to go to Xavier or college in the US. How are they all so brave?

3 months.

And I know that bioluminescence is real and confuses the twinkling stars with the twinkling seas.

3 months.

And I know this is the second wettest place on Earth and the rain often brings the most incredible rainbows. Teaching me that grey skies are the best backgrounds for bright and colorful futures.

3 months.

What will 2 years be like?

Oceans of Love,

Britt

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...

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...

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.

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