Free fall

So I've finally got enough Internet to blog, but who knows just how long that will hold up. There isn't much Internet anywhere so far as I can tell and skype does not work in the slightest. There is so much to take in and so few hours that we've had here. After leaving Hawaii around two Wednesday afternoon we enjoyed the 8 hour flight to Guam. As we were going to our Koror gate I felt like everyone was staring at me. You could tell they knew who we were and what we were coming to do. Once we got to the airport in Palau and cleared customs we were shocked by the reception waiting. Besides the whole town there to greet us, our host families were waiting with leis and a bag of food for us to eat for breakfast, as well as smiles and hugs. I have the same host family as Ben and they all seem fantastic. We then loaded our stuff up in the back of a pick up truck and took a school bus over to Koror. Oh, did I tell you that it was now Thursday night! We missed Wednesday night and Thursday morning!
When we got to our apartment the guys were nice enough to unload our things and carry them up to our third floor apartment. Us includes Tammi, Jeanine, and myself. We were so exhausted that all we wanted to to was go straight to bed, after a nice shower of course. After discovering there was no hot water and finding a spider in the shower, I went to my OWN ROOM and fell asleep! It is fantastic that because there is only three girl SM's we each get our own room. Hailey and Jesse live below us-a married couple who are teaching English and Vice Principal of SDA.
This morning was an even bigger adventure. I woke up at 6 and realized that I'm not in California anymore. I went outside and just stood there taking in the beautiful view. I wish there was a way to portray how I felt. As I explained to Austin on the plane, you know that feeling when you do something out of your comfort zone, or just plain crazy. Like jumping off a cliff. That moment when your feet leave the ground and you're suspended in mid air, waiting to pierce the water below. That free fall moment. I'm living a free fall life right now.
Fortunately our kind host families gave us breakfast food or I don't know what we would have done. We discovered that the stove only emitted smoke and we couldn't boil water for drinking. We had some cereal and discovered that ants are common wherever food is found. After unpacking our stuff we decided to go the Surangles grocery down the street. When I went back to my room to get my wallet I looked out the window and saw a face staring back at me! There was a man on a ladder fixing the roof, his face merely inches from mine! It doesn't help that there are no curtains in the whole apartment.
After that fun experience we headed out and ended up spending around $250 on groceries and starter items, a fan included. Oh, did I mention the sweltering heat? Yea, it's humid here. Very humid. I feel like I'll never be dry again. Between all the sweat and the sporadic dumping rain that gives no warning whatsoever. When we returned to our apartment we found men putting in new door knobs, lights, and they brought us a brand new stove! That was really a blessing because now we can boil water and cook! We bought a big industrial bag of rice and plenty of ramen! We went to the school after that. I got to see my classroom and even though it's full of junk at the moment I can tell it is going to be great. It's hot in there too. The AC is up so high I can barely reach it when I'm on a chair. I had 3 of my packages waiting for me at the school, but the one I really need isn't here! And I sent it a month ago! I'm praying that it'll be here before school on Thursday.
Our first cooking experience was rather hilarious. We pulled out the rice cooker and fried some eggs and mixed them all together and that was our meal. Oh, and Sunny D. I suppose it could have been worse :]. After dinner we went to prayer meeting at the church which is right across the street by the elementary school. It was so great to finally be with some people of the church, a past SM, and Misty and Jeff and Hayley and Jesse. Even though it was only a day I have never felt this alone in my life. Not only am I away from home and my family, but I'm away from the one person I knew from Walla Walla and all the people I met in Hawaii! The German girls are great, but I just wish I understood what they were saying. It just puts me on the outside when they're having a conversation and I'm just smiling and nodding.
We found a lizard behind our fridge that was three inches long. He's still there. We are way to scared to kill or capture him and when we found him we screamed so loud that we woke up a neighbor who came and asked if we were okay. It is going to take a LOT of getting used to, but I think that I will be okay here. The only bummer is that WiFi is very bad and skype doesn't work. If I can't get skype to work sometime I don't know what I'll do. But you know what? I'm completely confident in my decision. Even though I don't know how to cook, teach, or find a way to live without Internet, I am completely content. On the plane Rychelle and I were reading Galatians 4 and I feel like I resonate with that right now. I know that things could be better, but they could be worse too. I'm so happy to be in this moment right now, even though it's not the typical ideal moment. I hear the screaming of kids through my windows that won't close and the sound of a draft of wind slamming Tammi's door closed. The pitter patter of ant's tiny feet on the linoleum and the sound of rain beating down on the roof. I am so excited to take on the challenge of Palau. I am so ready to explore this fantastic island and rely on nothing but God. I'm so thankful for all the people that put me in this moment. This is a moment of free fall.