Hey everyone,
Well we just got back from our monthly camping trip. We went back to Black Coral again this weekend. I had a great time, got to relax, but it was really sad as we drove away in the boat--thinking that that was probably the last time I'd get to see that little island!! We have a camping trip in March, and then those of us who are staying here for spring break in April will probably get to go to a farther away island, but then that's it! May will be here and we'll be headed for home... It's crazy to think about.
Well the weekend started out nice and peaceful with only our group on the little island Friday night, but all of that soon changed the next day! First of all three people from Australia showed up--they are working here for 3 months as accountants for the government I found out. So there went one hut for us to sleep in. Then a mass amount of Philipino people (extended families I guess) showed up later Sabbath afternoon (we'd been told they were coming). So as of about 3 o'clock in the afternoon we had a stereo blaring music with everything from Shaggy to Madonna and the peace was slightly broken. I didn't really mind that much though. I'd brought my hammock, so I didn't need a hut (we were down to 2 by then--one for the girls and one for the guys--and there's no way we could all fit!), and it's not like it's my island so who am I to say what they can and can't play or do! I knew one of the ladies from aerobics class that I sometimes go to on Monday nights, so I went and said hello to her and then went my own way. Well the fun didn't stop there because around about 10 o'clock Saturday night a boat load of Japanese people just showed up!! Needless to say that tiny island was hopping with people. They strung out a tarp and all slept on blankets and such on the ground, but the lights and generator never got turned out, the music went till who knows when, so our sleep was a little broken that night. I tried to block the music out with my discman, and the sides of my hammock blocked the lights, but the generator was right near me so I woke up quite frequently. I didn't really get to bed till late either because I was having a discussion with the Australian people (who, as of about 6 that evening had been drinking) about careers and what they were doing there, and then it turned into a religious discussion. The girl was pretty interested in things and had been raised Buddhist but didn't really claim a religion, and said she thought Christianity had the best beliefs. Well the two guys (especially one) claimed they believe in a higher power but that was it, they didn't need religion, and hated having people push it on them. I agreed that was annoying, and just sort of explained why I believed the way I did--from the Bible and all, and said that I agreed with their philosophy that everyone should make their own choice. Wasn't really sure what else I could do to spark any interest, but I just commented where I could and let them say their peace. It was interesting though... seems like that's happened to me a couple of times--meeting people and getting into a religious discussion when they've been drinking... I just never know if what I say will ever have any impact which makes me kind of sad. Guess actions speak louder than words though right?
Well aside from all the people there I did get some nice relaxation in. I read some, took a couple short naps, went out snorkeling for a bit, played frisbee in the water, and also got to go trolling early this morning with some of the girls! That was probably the most exciting part. Mr. B took me, Melissa, Lorena, Stephanie, Heidi, and Brad's sister Shayna out fishing early this morning (we watched the sun rise! for me, that doesn't happen very often!). Right away Melissa had two yellow fin tuna, Lorena got one and another got taken by a shark, and then Shayna got one. And that is where our luck ended. No more bites in that area, so we headed all the way out to Ant, stopped for a few minutes, went around the end of the Atoll, and came back without a single exciting catch (I got two bites on my line and that was it). But the ride back was over some good swells, so we had a good time, even though I had the back with Mr. B and was soaked. Overall I enjoyed my weekend immensely though.
We had our class picnic on Friday--5th, 6th, and 7th grade all decided to go to Nett Point. At first we were joking about how we were going to sink it, that it was going to be really crowded and all, but it turned out really well. It's a pretty big pier with an empty cement building on it, so everyone spread out and it was fun interacting with all the different classes. A few of my boys attempted to lure me to the edge so they could push me in by asking me if I wanted to take a picture of them, which I did, so I grabbed my camera and headed their way. Of course they hadn't thought about the fact that I'd have my camera in my HAND, so their plan was foiled and they asked "Miss, don't you want to put your camera down??" To which I started laughing and replied that I knew they wanted to throw me in, but they were just going to have to wait. They did. One waited till I was picking another girl up to throw her in, then pushed both of us in. After that we all went and jumped off the end of the pier and floated our way down to the other end to get out. No jellyfish, thank goodness, though Yohei found one when we'd first gotten there. Nobody got hurt and we all had fun, so it was a good day. One of my students, Kemble, and I layed near the edge of one part of the cement pier singing some country songs we both knew, and then I was having her teach me a couple new phrases in Pohnpeiian, which I think I've already forgotten. It's so nice when I can just sit and enjoy my students' company and not have to worry about teaching. Well we all called it a day at about noon and piled into trucks to head back to school--the end of another week.
My student who left earlier this year for Hawaii is back as of this weekend! Emi should be coming to school on Monday, and I'm excited to see her again. She's a sweet girl and a good student, I enjoyed having her in class. So I'll be back up to my original 23 students. I just happened to swap one out at Christmas for a different one. Right about now I'd like to swap them back. Jack, the one that left, I really liked. Jamie, who came from Guam after Christmas, is a tough one and I just don't know what to do with him. He doesn't do his work, and partly I think that's because he just can't. He's 14 and in 7th grade, but he belongs in a lower grade--he can't spell, write, multiply, anything that's required for 7th grade! I just don't really know what to do because I can't go over the basic stuff with him when I have 22 other students who are at a higher level. I'm guessing he's just going to have to repeat next year. I need to go talk with Mr. B about him though.
My roommate Lorena and I decided to go "out" tonight--so we took the little white truck (it's working again! God bless Noli and his mechanic skills) and headed out to eat at SouthPark. It was really nice to just go do something by ourselves as friends. We sat and ate and talked for a couple of hours--had a great time comparing teaching ideas and problems and frustrations, and then talking about how fast the year has gone and the things we're going to miss from here and what we'll be doing when we get home. She is one of the people I am truly going to miss from here, but we're planning on visiting--sometime. Wish California was closer...
Well I've accomplished all my grading and lesson plans for this weekend. It's getting late, so I'm going to head for bed. I do have a couple of pictures to send out that are on Megan's digital camera, but she hasn't downloaded them so it'll have to wait until tomorrow or whenever she does that. I hope you've all had a wonderful weekend! Drop me a line and tell me how you're doing if you get a moment! It's been a while since I've heard from many of you! Take care, God bless.
love,
Lindsey
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