Today was the 13th Sabbath of the month. Until today, I had no idea that this was a special Sabbath, but apparently it's communion. After sabbath school with over 30 people in a giant, noisy circle, we headed up and found out about communion. Jeanine and I decided to try something new and sit up on the balcony, which we found to be really quiet and had a great view. The songs and prayer and all of the other rituals were the same, but when it came time for the sermon, it was short! He probably only talked for about 20 minutes and then we separated for the foot washing. Jeanine, Tami, and I all switched around and it was a really nice experience. We had a nice prayer afterwards and a big hug! Then we went back upstairs for the bread and grape juice, which was also a really nice experience. Ben introduced us to a man who he'd met during foot washing that had never been to an Adventist church before. Ben opened his Bible and showed the man why we did foot washing and why we ate and drank in church. The man was really nice and seemed really interested.
After church, there was a huge potluck. It was extra big because there were so many more people at church today than usual, but I'm not sure why. We had all sorts of good things like guava and tuna, rice noodles, lumpia, and egg patties. It was definitely the best potluck since we've been here! After we went back for a bit before prison ministries. I got to skype my family and it really lifted my mood. I was so happy to get to talk to them and see how they were doing. Then we headed down to the prison and got there just in time. We greeted the prisoners and sang some beautiful songs that they picked. Then Meskit talked about ants and being spiritually dead and I learned a lot. After it was over, we got to talk to the prisoners again before we headed back to our apartment.
We waited around for a while and then decided to go out to Rock Island Cafe for dinner with the boys. Getting there was an adventure. After they came here to get us, they couldn't get the van started again. They tried letting it coast down a hill, but it just wouldn't start. Then it started shooting off bright yellow flames right under my feet! There were sparks flying everywhere and little shots of fire randomly mixed in. After kicking the engine fore 10 more minutes, it finally started and got us there. We had a nice dinner, though Victor and Austin watched ESPN most of the time. Fortunately Chris was there to talk to, and it was a lot of fun! (Mrs. Tan, if you're reading this, Chris is sorry he doesn't give you more information. He wants you to know that he wishes you were here and he'll try to post more) After a delicious dinner, we got to relax in our apartment and have some good talks. It was a really nice day, only highlighted by the fact that my dad will be here in only 5 days! I am so excited, and everyone here knows it! During potluck I talked to Nelson about where he will stay, and found out that he's staying in the clinic behind the school. I just can't wait to show him Palau and do stuff with him. I want to go kayaking, scuba diving, and to the rock islands, and so much more. Sorry for telling you again, but I'm so excited!
Before I left California, my parents wrote about 20 Bible verses on index cards and hid them all around my stuff. Today during church, I took them out and copied them down into my Bible. They are such good verses that are really going to help me while I'm here. It's nice to know that the Bible has encouragement for when I am lonely or sad or discouraged. Oh, and a miracle happened today! Last week I asked all of my kids what SDA meant. I wanted to know who even knew what our church believed. A few kids knew, the daughter of one of the teachers, the daughter of the head elder, and the son of another elder. The rest just stared blankly and didn't answer. I asked them how many of them were SDA, and only 6 or so raised their hand. I found out that most were either Catholic or didn't go to church. I challenged them to come to our SDA church and told them that I'd love to see them. After I was done, when they went back to normal classwork, I stopped at Krystal's desk. I didn't plan to talk to her, but she was the closest person to me and I was impressed to talk to her. I asked her why she didn't come to church and told her that I missed her every Sabbath. She told me that she didn't have time and that her mom was always too tired to take her. I told her that I would love to see her if she ever could come by. Today, as I was walking out of the youth sabbath school, I passed the kids class. A waving Krystal stood behind the glass, smiling like crazy. It made me so happy to see her and she even stayed for church! If that's not God working, I don't know what is.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Only in Palau
(This is the second time I wrote this post. The first time it all got deleted, causing me to write a less interesting and much shorter blog. I apologize in advance, because this isn't what I wanted this to say. I'll try to remember as much as possible) Only in Palau could I have a day like today. It's unfortunate that life is so spectacular sometimes that putting it into words only ruins it. I will absolutely do my best to tell you why today was so incredibly fantastic, but as a side note, it was really indescribable. We started off the day with worship like every other Friday. It was particularly emotional and Betty, who was in charge, started crying while reading the story. First period bible, almost every kid got 100% on their memory verse and everyone got over 60% on their english test which was next. Then during math all the kids worked quietly and helped each other, and the most stubborn troublemaker in my class, Makani, gave me a hug! Recess was fun and I gave them piggy back rides and played tag too. Then after during science we learned about reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals. We were putting different animals into categories and Mairee came up and asked "What category is a bird in?". I laughed so hard because she was serious. When I asked her what she though, she said, "Is a bird a mammal?". How do these kids not assume that a bird is in the BIRD category! Then we cleaned up the classroom and had library for the rest of the day.
After school I had an amazing conversation with Carl about home and people and I was just so happy to have another real conversation besides "Miss Chelsea, can I spit?" and "Miss Chelsea, Shayne is singing, Max hit my eye, or Laurie is looking at my paper". Not that those things aren't fun, but adult conversation is amazing. We went to lunch with Vanessa, the girl visiting from Germany, and got some really good iced coffee. Jeanine had to leave to do make up diving, so Tami and I decided to take the bus to PMA to go spearfishing. We ran up to our apartment as fast as possible, threw on the first thing we saw, and rand to catch the bus. Once we got to PMA, we started on the most ridiculous adventure I could imagine.
First, Victor, Austin, Tami, and I slid down the muddy hill to the chicken farm near PMA. The smell of chicken poop, corn, and blood was especially strong today as we tried not to breathe while looking for the canoe that is down there. The stones on the hill leading us there were so slippery that we had to take off our flip flops in order not to tumble down the hill. Once we found the canoe, before we could even pick it up, Victor spotted two GIANT spiders inside. One was bigger then my hand! I have never seen such a huge spider in my entire life, but I didn't scream as loud as you would imagine. Just a small gasp before sliding away as fast as my legs would carry me. As the boys picked up the canoe, I literally saw one of them jump a foot onto a nearby log. We carried the canoe uphill in calf deep water and mud to where the path led to the river. While we were walking, it started raining which made us feel even more adventurous. Tami and I left our shoes back at the chicken farm because they were too slippery to walk in and kept getting stuck in the mud, but as we started down the path to the river, we realized that it was COVERED in hundreds of thorns. In just two or three steps, there were probably six hundred tiny burrs in my feet, legs, and hands. Luckily, she only took one step and ran back to get our shoes. Once we finally could move again (ignoring the painful thorns embedded in our feet) we tumbled down a muddy bank into the canoe. Trying not to tip it, Tami and I got into the middle and the boys paddled. It was like we were in the Amazon river! There were so many trees and vines hanging down, not to mention the crocodile nests lining the river. We paddled down and finally made it to open water. The, it started raining. Never in my life have I experienced rain that hard. We couldn't see or move the boat, because even paddling fast we were blown back. Victor was in the water looking for a place to spearfish so Austin and I had to paddle through the hurricane. We saw an island in the distance, so Victor got back in and we tried to find our way there. When we finally made it, we tied our boat up to the rock and the boys went spearfishing. We couldn't get out because the whole island is literally just a giant, extremely sharp rock, covered in trees. Sitting down, water was up to our hips, so we started scooping it out with our hands. Once they got back, we all swam around for a while until the rain finally died down. We decided to leave because we didn't want to run the chance of getting stuck out there after dark. It was already 4:30 and we didn't want to have to spend the night on the island. That would just be AWFUL. We started paddling back and the rain started coming down again. When we got back to the channel that led to PMA, we noticed two things. Not only was the water a very muddy brown, but it had risen a lot! This meant that the current was 10x stronger. Every five or six paddles would only bring us another two or three feet up the river. After a while of getting hit by branches and pelted with rain, everyone started getting annoyed. Because the water was so high, the channel was much smaller. The current made us drift from side to side, so as soon as we got hit with the branches on the right, we'd get hit with the branches on the left too. Finally, the boys got so mad that they decided to switch positions in the canoe. Unfortunately, the picked a time when we were almost tipping over and going under low branches at the same time. This caused Austin to fall, which made me get smashed into the side of the canoe. It's going to bruise. When we finally made it back to PMA, everyone was pretty happy to be back. Even though it was crazy, dangerous, and really cold, I had such a good time! It was such and adventure and so much fun! After hiking up the steep, muddy, incline, we finally made it back to the road. On the way we saw a decomposing crocodile skull and some chicken feet-not comforting.
When we got back to PMA, the fun still wasn't over. First, Tami and I decided to play catch with M&M's. She kept throwing them and trying to get them in my mouth. After a few tries, she threw one up in the air and I ran to catch it. It smacked me in the tooth and chipped a piece off! Luckily you can't see it, but on the back of my front right tooth, there is a piece missing! After that we decided to go inside, even though we were still wet. Sadly, we didn't know that Ben had just put clorox all over the floor. We slipped and slid and almost fell tons of times, causing us to laugh. The laughing made us unstable which made us slip, which made us laugh again. It was a vicious cycle. After Tami fell and cut her knee, we decided to stop and just sit on the couch. Tami went to the bathroom to clean her knee, and Austin was in the kitchen making rice. He started to tell me about how one day someone was going to fall and actually get hurt. He walked over, carrying his rice, and just as he was telling me about how dangerous it is, we had a Funniest Home Video moment. Simultaneously, his foot slipped, his face looked terrified, the bowl of rice flew out of his hand, the rice flew out of the bowl, and he landed hard on his back. I wanted to ask him if he was okay, but I couldn't stop laughing. Even 5 hours later, I still giggle at how ridiculous that moment was. I finally could calm down enough to help him, but it was so funny! I felt bad because he got the wind knocked out of him and a few bruises, but he couldn't have had better timing!
After that they took us back to our apartment. We sat down and made dinner and got to talking. Two hours later, we were interrupted by a blood curdling scream. (We had the best talk! I am so thankful that I have such a good roommates and that we get along to well) We thought it was the TV next door, but it was so loud that we went out to investigate. We found out that there was a group of about 15 people across the street, screaming at cars as they pass by through a megaphone. Two ladies approached us, and we found out that they were from the Pentecostal church. They told us all about their services while some of the men shouted their testimonies at the passing cars. This really got me thinking about Adventism and what I'm doing. I mean, I think that yelling at cars through a megaphone is not only annoying, but also pretty useless. No one was stopping, no one cared. But still, they are doing so much more for their church than I am doing for mine. These people are so on fire, so moved by God that they will tell anyone who will listen about what He's done in their lives. They told me that God told them to preach tonight, even though it was pouring rain. You know what? God told me to write this blog tonight, even though I was really frustrated that it all got deleted. After I wrote it the first time, I felt so happy and full of joy because it was full of praises to God. After seeing it was deleted, I just wanted to forget the whole thing and go to bed. Anyway, it made me think about how I should be like them. God calls us to preach the good news to all the world, but do Adventists do that? We sit in our cubicles, on our couches, or in our pews and go on with our lives. Sometimes we say "God bless you" or "I'm praying for you", but are those ever to people who don't know who God is? I feel like we stay in our circle of Christians, when what we're supposed to do is tell the people who don't know. Even here in Palau, we are around church members and board members and people who already know who God is. I want to be able to share God with the people who aren't already aware of how amazing He is. I was talking to a friend this week who is an atheist, and it was really interesting to hear his point of view. He told me what he doesn't like about religion, and I explained that religion is different than God. It honestly made me realize that the whole point of being a Christian is to spread God's love. Without love, we can't be the mirror image of God.
Whether it's back in the States, here in Palau, or anywhere else, sharing God has to be a conscious choice. At first when I got here, I just expected my relationship with God to get stronger. I didn't think I'd have to work on it but I just assumed being here would change me. Even though this isn't the case, asking Him to change things makes a huge difference. There are so many things that God has done here already, and I'm hoping that He'll keep using me to tell people who know nothing about Him who he is. What has God done, you ask? God has turned me into a teacher. God has given me an amazing support group. God has given me strength. God has taught me many lessons thorough my kids. God helped me grow up. God has given me the opportunity to be patient. God blessed me with this amazing experience. God knocked on the door. And what have I done? I opened it.
After school I had an amazing conversation with Carl about home and people and I was just so happy to have another real conversation besides "Miss Chelsea, can I spit?" and "Miss Chelsea, Shayne is singing, Max hit my eye, or Laurie is looking at my paper". Not that those things aren't fun, but adult conversation is amazing. We went to lunch with Vanessa, the girl visiting from Germany, and got some really good iced coffee. Jeanine had to leave to do make up diving, so Tami and I decided to take the bus to PMA to go spearfishing. We ran up to our apartment as fast as possible, threw on the first thing we saw, and rand to catch the bus. Once we got to PMA, we started on the most ridiculous adventure I could imagine.
First, Victor, Austin, Tami, and I slid down the muddy hill to the chicken farm near PMA. The smell of chicken poop, corn, and blood was especially strong today as we tried not to breathe while looking for the canoe that is down there. The stones on the hill leading us there were so slippery that we had to take off our flip flops in order not to tumble down the hill. Once we found the canoe, before we could even pick it up, Victor spotted two GIANT spiders inside. One was bigger then my hand! I have never seen such a huge spider in my entire life, but I didn't scream as loud as you would imagine. Just a small gasp before sliding away as fast as my legs would carry me. As the boys picked up the canoe, I literally saw one of them jump a foot onto a nearby log. We carried the canoe uphill in calf deep water and mud to where the path led to the river. While we were walking, it started raining which made us feel even more adventurous. Tami and I left our shoes back at the chicken farm because they were too slippery to walk in and kept getting stuck in the mud, but as we started down the path to the river, we realized that it was COVERED in hundreds of thorns. In just two or three steps, there were probably six hundred tiny burrs in my feet, legs, and hands. Luckily, she only took one step and ran back to get our shoes. Once we finally could move again (ignoring the painful thorns embedded in our feet) we tumbled down a muddy bank into the canoe. Trying not to tip it, Tami and I got into the middle and the boys paddled. It was like we were in the Amazon river! There were so many trees and vines hanging down, not to mention the crocodile nests lining the river. We paddled down and finally made it to open water. The, it started raining. Never in my life have I experienced rain that hard. We couldn't see or move the boat, because even paddling fast we were blown back. Victor was in the water looking for a place to spearfish so Austin and I had to paddle through the hurricane. We saw an island in the distance, so Victor got back in and we tried to find our way there. When we finally made it, we tied our boat up to the rock and the boys went spearfishing. We couldn't get out because the whole island is literally just a giant, extremely sharp rock, covered in trees. Sitting down, water was up to our hips, so we started scooping it out with our hands. Once they got back, we all swam around for a while until the rain finally died down. We decided to leave because we didn't want to run the chance of getting stuck out there after dark. It was already 4:30 and we didn't want to have to spend the night on the island. That would just be AWFUL. We started paddling back and the rain started coming down again. When we got back to the channel that led to PMA, we noticed two things. Not only was the water a very muddy brown, but it had risen a lot! This meant that the current was 10x stronger. Every five or six paddles would only bring us another two or three feet up the river. After a while of getting hit by branches and pelted with rain, everyone started getting annoyed. Because the water was so high, the channel was much smaller. The current made us drift from side to side, so as soon as we got hit with the branches on the right, we'd get hit with the branches on the left too. Finally, the boys got so mad that they decided to switch positions in the canoe. Unfortunately, the picked a time when we were almost tipping over and going under low branches at the same time. This caused Austin to fall, which made me get smashed into the side of the canoe. It's going to bruise. When we finally made it back to PMA, everyone was pretty happy to be back. Even though it was crazy, dangerous, and really cold, I had such a good time! It was such and adventure and so much fun! After hiking up the steep, muddy, incline, we finally made it back to the road. On the way we saw a decomposing crocodile skull and some chicken feet-not comforting.
When we got back to PMA, the fun still wasn't over. First, Tami and I decided to play catch with M&M's. She kept throwing them and trying to get them in my mouth. After a few tries, she threw one up in the air and I ran to catch it. It smacked me in the tooth and chipped a piece off! Luckily you can't see it, but on the back of my front right tooth, there is a piece missing! After that we decided to go inside, even though we were still wet. Sadly, we didn't know that Ben had just put clorox all over the floor. We slipped and slid and almost fell tons of times, causing us to laugh. The laughing made us unstable which made us slip, which made us laugh again. It was a vicious cycle. After Tami fell and cut her knee, we decided to stop and just sit on the couch. Tami went to the bathroom to clean her knee, and Austin was in the kitchen making rice. He started to tell me about how one day someone was going to fall and actually get hurt. He walked over, carrying his rice, and just as he was telling me about how dangerous it is, we had a Funniest Home Video moment. Simultaneously, his foot slipped, his face looked terrified, the bowl of rice flew out of his hand, the rice flew out of the bowl, and he landed hard on his back. I wanted to ask him if he was okay, but I couldn't stop laughing. Even 5 hours later, I still giggle at how ridiculous that moment was. I finally could calm down enough to help him, but it was so funny! I felt bad because he got the wind knocked out of him and a few bruises, but he couldn't have had better timing!
After that they took us back to our apartment. We sat down and made dinner and got to talking. Two hours later, we were interrupted by a blood curdling scream. (We had the best talk! I am so thankful that I have such a good roommates and that we get along to well) We thought it was the TV next door, but it was so loud that we went out to investigate. We found out that there was a group of about 15 people across the street, screaming at cars as they pass by through a megaphone. Two ladies approached us, and we found out that they were from the Pentecostal church. They told us all about their services while some of the men shouted their testimonies at the passing cars. This really got me thinking about Adventism and what I'm doing. I mean, I think that yelling at cars through a megaphone is not only annoying, but also pretty useless. No one was stopping, no one cared. But still, they are doing so much more for their church than I am doing for mine. These people are so on fire, so moved by God that they will tell anyone who will listen about what He's done in their lives. They told me that God told them to preach tonight, even though it was pouring rain. You know what? God told me to write this blog tonight, even though I was really frustrated that it all got deleted. After I wrote it the first time, I felt so happy and full of joy because it was full of praises to God. After seeing it was deleted, I just wanted to forget the whole thing and go to bed. Anyway, it made me think about how I should be like them. God calls us to preach the good news to all the world, but do Adventists do that? We sit in our cubicles, on our couches, or in our pews and go on with our lives. Sometimes we say "God bless you" or "I'm praying for you", but are those ever to people who don't know who God is? I feel like we stay in our circle of Christians, when what we're supposed to do is tell the people who don't know. Even here in Palau, we are around church members and board members and people who already know who God is. I want to be able to share God with the people who aren't already aware of how amazing He is. I was talking to a friend this week who is an atheist, and it was really interesting to hear his point of view. He told me what he doesn't like about religion, and I explained that religion is different than God. It honestly made me realize that the whole point of being a Christian is to spread God's love. Without love, we can't be the mirror image of God.
Whether it's back in the States, here in Palau, or anywhere else, sharing God has to be a conscious choice. At first when I got here, I just expected my relationship with God to get stronger. I didn't think I'd have to work on it but I just assumed being here would change me. Even though this isn't the case, asking Him to change things makes a huge difference. There are so many things that God has done here already, and I'm hoping that He'll keep using me to tell people who know nothing about Him who he is. What has God done, you ask? God has turned me into a teacher. God has given me an amazing support group. God has given me strength. God has taught me many lessons thorough my kids. God helped me grow up. God has given me the opportunity to be patient. God blessed me with this amazing experience. God knocked on the door. And what have I done? I opened it.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Day 53, 20:12 pm
A day can be so bad, but still have so many amazing moments. It's like snapshots in a scary movie. It's possible that you are terrified, but if you take a picture, it looks like the girl is smiling and giving a high five when she's really screaming and shielding her face from a monster. My kids are so amazing one day and the next they make me want to go crazy...it's possible that I already am. Everything is so good, but sometimes they just won't listen to what I say.
The amazing snapshots of the day:
1. I taught them De-bug. When someone is bothering you 1) Ignore 2) Move away 3) Ask friendly 4) Ask firmly 5) Tell teacher. After the day was over, at least two kids told me that they "ignored" and it worked! Then right before they left, I asked them what's the first step if someone is bothering them. Max was like, "just follow the bug"! It was adorable and I had to laugh at how cute he was.
2. Were learning about rules and laws in Social and so today we played red light, green light. Then we played simon says and did relays to see how they "learn the rules". I told them to get in a pair with a girl if they were a boy and a boy if they were a girl...yea. Good try. They were like "ewwwwwwwwww no!". It was quite funny. Then I taught them "under" tag, where to unfreeze someone you had to slide under their legs. They loved it! Even after when I gave them free time they kept playing, until one bigger kid fell and sat on a small kid. It was so funny, but that was the end of that.
3. After school today, sitting in my apartment, the rain got so loud that it drowned out my music when it was turned up all the way. I heard Tami calling me from downstairs to come out and enjoy. I literally dropped everything (sorry people I was skyping and chatting with) and ran downstairs. The rain was pounding so hard that I couldn't see. We slipped down the road and past all the kids that were still at school. We splashed in puddles and sprayed the kids with water. Down near the gym, a huge pool was forming and we splashed in that too. Then one of the kids found a huge crab hiding in the water and tried to throw it at us. That quickly ended our fun and we ran back home as the rain stopped.
4. We went to watch the SDA team play basketball against PPR and the game was so close. All game we were on the edge of our seats as the score went from 21-29, 30-33, 50-48, and finally 68-72. Our guys won in the last 30 seconds with lots of trick shots and 3 pointers by Chris. It was lots of fun screaming and cheering on our team, especially because they needed it.
The bad moments of the day just fade to grey when I think of all these things. One sad thing about watching them play basketball was that it really made me miss playing. Thinking of all the good times, like when I scored 21 out of the 32 points in one game, or when we only made 3 points in a whole game and everyone-even the opposite team's fans- cheered as I made my shots. That just starts a chain reaction that gets me thinking about friends and other good times which makes me miss home a lot. I'm not going to lie, it's getting harder and harder to be here-especially seeing everyone go back to Walla Walla without me. I hate thinking about them moving on while I'm still "stuck in the past". Being here really just feels like a pause on life, and I want it to be the same as I left it when I get back. I know that's not fair and I know it's not going to happen, but I wish it would! I just don't like the thought of being forgotten. On the upside, I've been able to skype a lot of my friends and feel somewhat connected. I know when school starts everyone will be busy, but I'll just be the same. Part of the package deal I guess. I still wouldn't trade one single moment of this, even the water itch. This experience is so much more then I expected, and it's only been 53 days! Also, small note, I know how to say "I love you" in German now. If only the pictures would load, you'd know why I love this place so much! Now that I think about it, I guess today wasn't really a horror movie after all.
The amazing snapshots of the day:
1. I taught them De-bug. When someone is bothering you 1) Ignore 2) Move away 3) Ask friendly 4) Ask firmly 5) Tell teacher. After the day was over, at least two kids told me that they "ignored" and it worked! Then right before they left, I asked them what's the first step if someone is bothering them. Max was like, "just follow the bug"! It was adorable and I had to laugh at how cute he was.
2. Were learning about rules and laws in Social and so today we played red light, green light. Then we played simon says and did relays to see how they "learn the rules". I told them to get in a pair with a girl if they were a boy and a boy if they were a girl...yea. Good try. They were like "ewwwwwwwwww no!". It was quite funny. Then I taught them "under" tag, where to unfreeze someone you had to slide under their legs. They loved it! Even after when I gave them free time they kept playing, until one bigger kid fell and sat on a small kid. It was so funny, but that was the end of that.
3. After school today, sitting in my apartment, the rain got so loud that it drowned out my music when it was turned up all the way. I heard Tami calling me from downstairs to come out and enjoy. I literally dropped everything (sorry people I was skyping and chatting with) and ran downstairs. The rain was pounding so hard that I couldn't see. We slipped down the road and past all the kids that were still at school. We splashed in puddles and sprayed the kids with water. Down near the gym, a huge pool was forming and we splashed in that too. Then one of the kids found a huge crab hiding in the water and tried to throw it at us. That quickly ended our fun and we ran back home as the rain stopped.
4. We went to watch the SDA team play basketball against PPR and the game was so close. All game we were on the edge of our seats as the score went from 21-29, 30-33, 50-48, and finally 68-72. Our guys won in the last 30 seconds with lots of trick shots and 3 pointers by Chris. It was lots of fun screaming and cheering on our team, especially because they needed it.
The bad moments of the day just fade to grey when I think of all these things. One sad thing about watching them play basketball was that it really made me miss playing. Thinking of all the good times, like when I scored 21 out of the 32 points in one game, or when we only made 3 points in a whole game and everyone-even the opposite team's fans- cheered as I made my shots. That just starts a chain reaction that gets me thinking about friends and other good times which makes me miss home a lot. I'm not going to lie, it's getting harder and harder to be here-especially seeing everyone go back to Walla Walla without me. I hate thinking about them moving on while I'm still "stuck in the past". Being here really just feels like a pause on life, and I want it to be the same as I left it when I get back. I know that's not fair and I know it's not going to happen, but I wish it would! I just don't like the thought of being forgotten. On the upside, I've been able to skype a lot of my friends and feel somewhat connected. I know when school starts everyone will be busy, but I'll just be the same. Part of the package deal I guess. I still wouldn't trade one single moment of this, even the water itch. This experience is so much more then I expected, and it's only been 53 days! Also, small note, I know how to say "I love you" in German now. If only the pictures would load, you'd know why I love this place so much! Now that I think about it, I guess today wasn't really a horror movie after all.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Certified!
Today was truly spectacular, and it's only 5 pm. That's saying something! I was roused out of bed at 7 am because I overslept and quickly had to grab a bathing suit, towel, and sunscreen to head off diving! We got down to Sam's and after getting together our diving stuff, headed off to the first spot. I was the only one left who had to do confined water III so Kostas took me down alone while the other's got to snorkel. We practiced taking off mask underwater, taking off gear, taking off weight belt, and then all of those again at the surface. When I was done all of that, the other three got in the water so we could do our next skills. It's funny how we started off with 9 divers, and today we were down to 4. Anyway, we learned navigation and buoyancy and other fun things for a while, and then we went swimming around the bay for open water II and saw a barracuda. I thought it was a shark, so when it swam close to me I just eyeballed it and didn't move at all. Everyone was practicing controlled emergency ascent one at a time, and while we were waiting we saw a very scary, very long, black and white sea snake. It didn't bother me so much when it was on the bottom, but then it started swimming up to the surface. It was just swimming and skimming the surface, which made my heart pound because it was almost right above me. After I decided that it wouldn't bother me, I went back to looking around. Seconds later, the sea snake shot down, speeding just inches from my face. I literally could have stuck out my tongue and touched him. Of course, that just terrified me and gave Chris, Victor, and Carl a chance to laugh at me for being "such a girl". IT WAS A GIANT SEA SNAKE THAT ALMOST CAME DOWN ON MY HEAD! I think that is a legit reason to freak out!
Anyway, after we did controlled emergency ascent, we took a small break and ate lunch with all the snorkelers. In case I didn't mention, there is a past SM here from 3 years ago and her friend as well. They are both from Germany and are very nice and friendly. They came along with us on the boat today and Vanessa, the past SM, even went scuba diving. After lunch, Kostas took us out to the complete middle of the ocean to our last open water dive! The spot he took us to was a beautiful Japanese cargo ship that was covered with coral and fish. We saw a lion fish which was fantastic! It was really neat getting to see the wreck, and do our deepest dive ever- 65 feet! It was so much fun and after about an hour under the water, we went back up to the top and were officially certified! It is such a great feeling to know that I have this new, and amazing, skill. When we got back to the dock, a bunch of us signed up to do advanced diving, which includes things like wreck diving, cave diving, night diving, and lots of other things we could do.
When we got home, Tami and I went out to eat because Jeanine still wasn't feeling well. There was the cutest dog by the Burger House and I just couldn't help but share my burger and scratch his cute little ears. After that we explored the WCTC, which is like a big shopping center that we'd never been in. We found that they have TONS of food, a lot of it American. Some stuff is even cheaper! I bought some blueberry muffins (oops, we don't have a muffin tin) and aloe juice. Sounds interesting right? But oh my goodness, aloe is DELICIOUS! I'm going to try to ship some home, but who knows how that will work. Hopefully I can find aloe when I get back to the US, but if not, I'll drink plenty here!
Anyway, after we did controlled emergency ascent, we took a small break and ate lunch with all the snorkelers. In case I didn't mention, there is a past SM here from 3 years ago and her friend as well. They are both from Germany and are very nice and friendly. They came along with us on the boat today and Vanessa, the past SM, even went scuba diving. After lunch, Kostas took us out to the complete middle of the ocean to our last open water dive! The spot he took us to was a beautiful Japanese cargo ship that was covered with coral and fish. We saw a lion fish which was fantastic! It was really neat getting to see the wreck, and do our deepest dive ever- 65 feet! It was so much fun and after about an hour under the water, we went back up to the top and were officially certified! It is such a great feeling to know that I have this new, and amazing, skill. When we got back to the dock, a bunch of us signed up to do advanced diving, which includes things like wreck diving, cave diving, night diving, and lots of other things we could do.
When we got home, Tami and I went out to eat because Jeanine still wasn't feeling well. There was the cutest dog by the Burger House and I just couldn't help but share my burger and scratch his cute little ears. After that we explored the WCTC, which is like a big shopping center that we'd never been in. We found that they have TONS of food, a lot of it American. Some stuff is even cheaper! I bought some blueberry muffins (oops, we don't have a muffin tin) and aloe juice. Sounds interesting right? But oh my goodness, aloe is DELICIOUS! I'm going to try to ship some home, but who knows how that will work. Hopefully I can find aloe when I get back to the US, but if not, I'll drink plenty here!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Austin's birthday
Why is it that every time we finally have peace, something new has to happen? I suppose that's the mantra of all student missionaries, but it's just so true. Of course, like all days when things are out of the ordinary, the day started as any other. Oh wait, minus the part that I couldn't sleep and woke up at 6 am. I've been doing that a lot lately. All last week I set my alarm to wake up for school at 6:45, but instead I'd wake up just before 6 every day. Annoying! Anyway, on the upside I had a lot of time to get ready for church. We headed off to church at 9 and went through the same routine of Sabbath school as last week. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but during our lesson Jeanine said that she was really tired and needed to go home to sleep. We proceeded with church and delicious potluck. One of the 3rd graders who absolutely loves me came and sat by me. She is just so cute, but she had a cold and kept coughing on me. Worth it though! After potluck we headed home and found Jeanine asleep. I thought I would finally get to skype my family, but after only a few minutes of talking to Janelle, Jeanine knocked on my door. She was so pale and looked awful. She told me that she didn't feel good. I went out to the kitchen with her and got her some water and a cool cloth. Suddenly, she started shaking and moaning. She told me that she couldn't feel here fingers and her whole body was tingling. She also said that her vision was going black. I ran back to the church to find Jesse and Hayley so they could help! She felt so awful that we rushed her to the ER (in the back of a pick up in the rain) and after a unneeded hour and a half wait, she could finally see the doctor. By that time she was feeling a lot better, and the verdict was that she had heat exhaustion. They gave her some pills and sent her back home. She went straight to sleep, and because it was Austin's birthday today, Tami and I got ready to go out to eat. Right before we were about to leave, Jeanine went back into a tailspin of sickness. I ran to Surangles and got her gatorade, apple juice, and water, in hopes that it would make her feel better.
After all of that happened, all the SM's but Hayley and Jeanine headed to the dropoff to eat, as is our new tradition. Even though it was pouring rain, it was still a lot of fun to eat, talk, and just hang out. At the end we I really wanted to jump in this pool nearby, and so did everyone else, but at the last minute they all chickened out and so I decided I wouldn't do it alone. Maybe next time...When we got back to SDA we went up to Hayley and Jesse's apartment and ate amazing chocolate cake that Carl baked! It was so fun! When we got back up to the apartment, Jeanine was asleep. Just a few minutes later she was back in the bathroom throwing up. I don't know what will happen to her or what's even wrong, but I'm praying that she'll get better soon. It's sad that she has to miss our last diving lesson tomorrow, but it will be even more sad if she has to miss school because of it.
On a happier note, as I just said, our last diving lesson is tomorrow! After that, we'll be certified! Last time we didn't get to do it because of planning, but we saw Kostas tonight at the dropoff and he's ready for us at 7:30 am tomorrow! I'm just happy that I'm getting certified before my dad comes, so we can scuba together!
After all of that happened, all the SM's but Hayley and Jeanine headed to the dropoff to eat, as is our new tradition. Even though it was pouring rain, it was still a lot of fun to eat, talk, and just hang out. At the end we I really wanted to jump in this pool nearby, and so did everyone else, but at the last minute they all chickened out and so I decided I wouldn't do it alone. Maybe next time...When we got back to SDA we went up to Hayley and Jesse's apartment and ate amazing chocolate cake that Carl baked! It was so fun! When we got back up to the apartment, Jeanine was asleep. Just a few minutes later she was back in the bathroom throwing up. I don't know what will happen to her or what's even wrong, but I'm praying that she'll get better soon. It's sad that she has to miss our last diving lesson tomorrow, but it will be even more sad if she has to miss school because of it.
On a happier note, as I just said, our last diving lesson is tomorrow! After that, we'll be certified! Last time we didn't get to do it because of planning, but we saw Kostas tonight at the dropoff and he's ready for us at 7:30 am tomorrow! I'm just happy that I'm getting certified before my dad comes, so we can scuba together!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Treasure
Today was the best Friday of the year! I went to school early to hide the clues for my kids scavenger hunt and prepare for worship. After I gave worships in staff meeting, I started getting ready for class. Our day started off with Bible workbook, which is so easy and everyone was quiet! Then we did only 8 math problems which most kids understood. After we did English, which was writing paragraphs so most kids were annoyed, but it used up a lot of time and they all did pretty good after the initial grumbling. Then we went to recess and I hid the rest of the clues for the scavenger hunt. Afterwards they were anxious to go, but I made them clean the whole classroom, that means desks (inside and out), the floors, and all the games and puzzles in the back. Then, I gave them the first clue of their treasure hunt. It brought them upstairs to Miss Joy's classroom where she gave them another clue. Then to Miss Tami's room, the library, the flagpole, the music room, Mr. Ben, and Miss Dina. Finally, Miss Dina gave them a clue that led them back to me. When they got back to me, I gave them a puzzle to solve that said "Go ask Mr. Austin". They all rushed to his room and tackled him, waiting for their treasure. Once they were all quietly seated at their desks, I opened up the bag and gave them all brownies! I even had some left over for Austins kids too. I would have had more, but last night Tami, Jeanine, and I had to eat the ones that were falling apart...hard life :]. My kids were so hyper and happy and it was fun to watch them work together to find the clues. We ended the day with story time and then I send them home. My Palauan family invited me to lunch at the Taj, which was delicious! We went through the buffet and it was really fun to talk to them about Palau. Uchel (pronounced U-el. Did you know the ch sound is silent in Palauan?) owns a travel agency so he helped me find out touristy things to do with my dad and mom when they come here! Then we went to the office and I talked to an agent about planning spring break and getting a few countries in on the way home in May. It was lots of fun and I got to talk to the whole family and meet his brother which was nice. Then I headed back to the apartment. When I got back, no one was there, so I decided to skype my best friend Njeri. Four hours later, it was a weight off my shoulders having much needed conversation. It is so much fun to hear about what is going on back home and let people know all my adventures here!
Payday! (Sung to the tune of "Friday")
Out of all the things that can make my day great, nothing can beat it being a payday! Even though my kids drew me pictures, even though we got to draw treasure maps, even though only one kid cried today, and even though over half my class got 100% on their spelling test, the thought of cashing a check is better sustenance than coffee. After school, we went shopping! It's just the clinking of coins in my pocket and knowing that I have more than a dollar in my wallet that makes me content. Even better, the ship came in today so there was fruit! I got "fresh" celery and carrots. Just a little brown! I also got yogurt for under $2 and brownie mix for my kids. Tomorrow we are going to use the treasure maps that they drew to find "treasure", which is the brownies I made. I know they'll go crazy! I also got some yummy tea and olives! I felt so rich walking down the street with all the food in my bags.
I want to take a little time to let you know some fun facts about my life here and Palau:
1. We don't wear shoes in the library.
2. The kids ask to spit almost every minute of the day.
3. Raising your eyebrows means yes, and now it's a habit of mine.
4. Shoes are optional.
5. When buying eggs on September 15, if they are marked June 22, they're still okay to eat.
6. Ants are typical, spiders are annoying, cockroaches will lay eggs.
7. Having no hot water isn't always a bad thing.
8. Everyone waves but not everyone is friendly.
9. I go to church with the President of Palau.
10. Most of my kids don't have front doors, but they have chickens!
11. No one knows what Tic Tacs are.
12. If someone is crossing the street or trying to turn, cars will just dodge around at full speed.
13. I haven't seen carpet anywhere but the library since I've been here.
14. Palauan time: If you're supposed to leave at 8, add an hour...then add one more.
15. Grandmothers are the head of the home.
I want to take a little time to let you know some fun facts about my life here and Palau:
1. We don't wear shoes in the library.
2. The kids ask to spit almost every minute of the day.
3. Raising your eyebrows means yes, and now it's a habit of mine.
4. Shoes are optional.
5. When buying eggs on September 15, if they are marked June 22, they're still okay to eat.
6. Ants are typical, spiders are annoying, cockroaches will lay eggs.
7. Having no hot water isn't always a bad thing.
8. Everyone waves but not everyone is friendly.
9. I go to church with the President of Palau.
10. Most of my kids don't have front doors, but they have chickens!
11. No one knows what Tic Tacs are.
12. If someone is crossing the street or trying to turn, cars will just dodge around at full speed.
13. I haven't seen carpet anywhere but the library since I've been here.
14. Palauan time: If you're supposed to leave at 8, add an hour...then add one more.
15. Grandmothers are the head of the home.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
The road less traveled by
The sun is getting lower over the brilliant yellow and blue of the Palauan flag, rippling in the breeze. Cars are backing up and honking at each other as "rush hour" is coming to an end. Brown eyes peek out of car windows, shop doors, and vinyl restaurant booths as you walk down the street. A random "hey", friendly wave, or catcall is voiced every few minutes. Starting down a small, bumpy, concrete road, you see the foliage bending over to touch the ground. A emaciated, speckled dog lounges by the street side. The sound of talking drifts out of door less huts as you trod up the road and through the undergrowth. The smell of cooking and sweat bubble up into the humid air. A little girl stops to touch your hand. She smiles, you smile back. You continue down the path which switches between uphill, downhill, twists, turns, and multiple branches off into driveways, trails, and the noisy jungle. As you get further from downtown, the sound fades as the silence becomes deafening. The only noises are tropical birds singing to each other and the lull of crickets as they drift off to sleep. Passing old, but stunning, buildings faded blue and pink, you end up at a huge white building. The faded chips of paint cling to the wall and the dome sitting on top. A huge black cross perches precariously at the summit. A Japanese man with a thin, pointy moustache sits cross-legged on the lawn. He is gazing at a faded Bible and smoke ascends from the tip of his cigar. He invites you to enjoy the beautiful view of the sunset from wherever you please. Your heart skips a beat. The adrenaline shoots thorough your veins as you glimpse the amazing architecture and see the luscious palm trees that are surrounding the compound. You climb dusty, rail-less steps to the roof of the church and gape at the marvelous sunset. The dark blue above you turns to a lighter blue, then to red, pink, orange and white where it meets the sea in the distance. Through the trees you can see the outline of a bridge over water that looks almost black. The humidity is cut by a gentle breeze rustling the palm leaves above. A tiny spotted lizard scampers across the red tin roof, making a pitter patter with his small sharp nails. As you descend the stairs, the relaxing sound of a guitar reaches your ears. It is accompanied by melodious voices harmonizing in the distance. As the sun completely submerges, you wave goodbye to the now snoozing man and dodge a nearly invisible dog as you make your way home.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Taste of Taj
Oh man, today was good! Typical mornings, typical afternoon. I got new stickers in the mail from my parents and my kids went wild! Stickers for my kids=peanut butter and pickles for pregnant womem-or something like that. We had extra time in the morning, so my kids formed at mambo line and danced around the classroom. The reason we had extra time? Today was picture day! My kids all got sweaty from doing the mambo and then we went into the library to take pictures. It was quite the ordeal. They were good all day, so for the last class of the day I let them play red light green light. It was so fun that even kids from other classes joined in-with permission and without. As I was giving a lecture today, Kylie goes "You are the best teacher in the whole world. Really, the best". It made my day! They are so sweet and loving no matter what kind of day they've had. Another thing that happened during school: A lady from Southern University came to visit all of our classes. I guess Southern got a new SM coordinator and she wanted to meet the SM's on the islands. Palau was her first stop, and since she lived here for 4 years (her husband was the pastor here) she knows a lot more about Palau then we do. She was very nice and offered to take all the SM's out to eat at 5 pm. I know the time seems irrevelant, but no, there is a point, I promise. Anyway, so we're waiting in our apartment, singing, hanging out, not eating anything. Then Jesse comes by and says that dinner is moved to 7:15 because of a basketball game. So when 7:15 finally comes around, (we baked bread in the mean time)[Disclaimer: If you know me AT ALL, you know I cooked nothing and was only there for moral support) we headed down to the public gym to pick up Ben and Chris who were playing on the SDA team against PPR-a resort here in Palau. Unfortunately, they were still in their 3rd quarter, but on the plus side we got to see them play. It is so funny because Ben is not only the whitest person on the court, but also the tallest. People literally bounced off him multiple times. It was quite hilarious. SDA won 65 to 40 which was exciting for our guys. When we finally headed to eat it was 7:45, but we were happy because we went to the Taj, a fantastic Indian place that us girls had never been to before. The atmosphere in the Taj is great, really exotic and really expensive. We ordered tons of different things to put in the middle of the table for us all to try like lamb and cashew curry with lamb, garlic nahn, red curry with chicken, vegetables, flat bread, cheese nahn, green curry with tofu, rice, and all the mango juice we could drink. It was so amazing that I can't even describe, hands down the best meal I've had in Palau. It was such a fun night getting to hang out with everyone and getting to talk to Julie, the Southern rep. They treated us so good at the resteraunt that I didn't want to leave! Sadly for him, Jesse is a part of the board and even though it started at 5, board meeting still wasn't over when we finished at 9:15. The sad part about it is that the reason that board meeting took so long was because they were making a new rule- no boys in the girls apartment, and vice versa, ever. So now if we want to hang out we have to be in the school library or somewhere else like that. It's not the biggest deal ever but it is too bad because we were having so much fun! Oh well, on the plus side, my dad is coming a week from tomorrow!
Monday, September 12, 2011
Written in the past, looking at the future.
Last year my major was Physical Therapy. I go to Walla Walla University by the way. I took Anatomy and Physiology and chopped up cats for lab. I talked to the representative from Loma Linda at least 4 times until he remembered my face, name, and other random facts about me. I could have gotten into Loma Linda, but God has other plans. I've been told all my life that I can be whatever I want to be. I find that to be cliche, but true. I could be an engineer if I really wanted to. I could be an artist, dentist, or candle maker. But at this point in my life, I feel that God is holding up a neon sign telling me where to go. There are two points to my future, so I'll explain them separately.
I feel that God is calling me to work as a missionary for the rest of my life. Now, before you freak out and tell me that I'm crazy, I know I am. Remember, there are many ways to serve as a missionary, even in the United States. Specifically, I am hoping to become a SM Coordinator or SM Director at an Adventist university or company. I want to be able to help other kids, adults, anyone, go out into the mission field so they can experience what I am experiencing now. I want them to be able to feel the way I do about God, children, and life. I feel that I am so blessed to have been given this opportunity and I want to help others have the same feeling. I want to work in the SM office when I go back to Walla Walla, and hopefully work my way up to director one day.
The second part is that I am going to change my major to education. I know that I can wake up every day and do what I am doing now. I also know that this is rough, and the US will be totally different. I also know that it will probably be a lot more challenging. There are many things about modernism that make teaching harder, kids less focused, and life in general more difficult and busy. Regardless, I know this is what I want to do the rest of my life. I adore my kids. I truly and completely love them with my whole heart. It is the best reward to see them finish their work early, get papers that say "I love you Miss Chelsea" on them, and play with them at recess. I could sit all day and listen to their funny conversations and the way they interact with each other. It isn't easy to decide what to do every day for the rest of your life, but I think I just decided.
Life is a set of choices, and there are so many different options that sometimes I just want to close my eyes, point in a direction, and follow that path. It is a great gift to know what I will be doing for the next 45 years. Of course there are many other things I'd like to do; take a summer at Newbold to attend English classes, spend a year in Italy at a cooking school, be a student missionary once again in Africa or Asia. The great thing about these dreams is that I can make them happen. It's really exciting knowing that I have my whole life before me, and so many opportunities to choose to do. It's nice to know that along the way, I can pursue my brand new dream of becoming a teacher and eventually a SM coordinator. Just thought I'd share them with you, because in a few years when I'm writing from Newbold, you can say "hey! she said she was going to do that" :]
Disclaimer: Don't get me wrong! I am not in any way thinking of anything but Palau 24/7. This place is Heaven on Earth. I am so thankful to be here and enjoy every moment I have. I am only looking to the future because of what a great experience I am having here. It helped me decide the rest of my life! I just want everyone to know that in no way am I playing down the experience I'm having here, because I'm sure nothing can compare to this!
I feel that God is calling me to work as a missionary for the rest of my life. Now, before you freak out and tell me that I'm crazy, I know I am. Remember, there are many ways to serve as a missionary, even in the United States. Specifically, I am hoping to become a SM Coordinator or SM Director at an Adventist university or company. I want to be able to help other kids, adults, anyone, go out into the mission field so they can experience what I am experiencing now. I want them to be able to feel the way I do about God, children, and life. I feel that I am so blessed to have been given this opportunity and I want to help others have the same feeling. I want to work in the SM office when I go back to Walla Walla, and hopefully work my way up to director one day.
The second part is that I am going to change my major to education. I know that I can wake up every day and do what I am doing now. I also know that this is rough, and the US will be totally different. I also know that it will probably be a lot more challenging. There are many things about modernism that make teaching harder, kids less focused, and life in general more difficult and busy. Regardless, I know this is what I want to do the rest of my life. I adore my kids. I truly and completely love them with my whole heart. It is the best reward to see them finish their work early, get papers that say "I love you Miss Chelsea" on them, and play with them at recess. I could sit all day and listen to their funny conversations and the way they interact with each other. It isn't easy to decide what to do every day for the rest of your life, but I think I just decided.
Life is a set of choices, and there are so many different options that sometimes I just want to close my eyes, point in a direction, and follow that path. It is a great gift to know what I will be doing for the next 45 years. Of course there are many other things I'd like to do; take a summer at Newbold to attend English classes, spend a year in Italy at a cooking school, be a student missionary once again in Africa or Asia. The great thing about these dreams is that I can make them happen. It's really exciting knowing that I have my whole life before me, and so many opportunities to choose to do. It's nice to know that along the way, I can pursue my brand new dream of becoming a teacher and eventually a SM coordinator. Just thought I'd share them with you, because in a few years when I'm writing from Newbold, you can say "hey! she said she was going to do that" :]
Disclaimer: Don't get me wrong! I am not in any way thinking of anything but Palau 24/7. This place is Heaven on Earth. I am so thankful to be here and enjoy every moment I have. I am only looking to the future because of what a great experience I am having here. It helped me decide the rest of my life! I just want everyone to know that in no way am I playing down the experience I'm having here, because I'm sure nothing can compare to this!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Changing it up
Why do humans like routine so much? Sit in one place once and you'll sit in the same spot every time. Do something one way once, and it'll stick forever. I've pretty much got the church routine down. After Sabbath School, we sing the opening hymn. Then there is a welcoming and prayer. Then we sing a song(the same song each week) as people get on the stage. Then we have offering collection and sing a song. Then children's story, and after the deacons bring the money up to the front as we sing Praise God From Who All Blessings Flow and then they pray over the money. Then we sing or someone does special music. Then we have the long prayer and sings a song after. Then the sermon, and when it finished, another song. Got it! I feel like even though there is complete freedom here in Palau, I am just walking in circles. So, today I decided to break out of my circle. I started by going to Palauan sabbath school and actually trying to participate. Then, during church I found passages in the Bible to read on my own. After, when I'd usually go to potluck and sit with the other SM's, I was approached by some of my students. One gave me a letter and cookies to apologize for cheating. The other one, and another little girl in 3rd grade, grabbed my hand and begged me to sit with them. I also sat with 2 new little girls that somehow knew me, and some parents. After getting our food, the little kids had to move to the kids table so I just stayed and sat with their parents. Nice change of pace! After potluck I decided to go to prison ministries. The prisons here are so different from in the States. The people can just walk around wherever and talk to eachother. We went in to do a church service for them and they just were sitting right beside us, shaking our hands, and singing hymns. It was really cool! I really liked talking to them and the service was great too! Afterwards, Jeanine and I watched Amazing Grace and we all relaxed and watched the sunset.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Oh, for the pictures
So today I went back to school after being home sick yesterday. It was like my kids knew how bad I felt and made up for it by being extra sweet and adorable. Luckily there was chapel, so that took up some time. They whipped through math and we had a fun recess full of jump rope and piggy back rides. After recess we did our spelling and phonics fast and got ready for lunch early! I got some delicious food for lunch from my "mom" and my kids gave me food too. After lunch we had reading time where everyone was quiet and social studies where only one kid got in trouble for throwing a paper airplane. I gave them another recess where I pushed them on the swings, became superwoman and flew them around, healed a "broken leg", owned them in basketball, and taught them some fun new sounds like Dory when she was trying to be a whale in Finding Nemo. We did our last subjects, handwriting, science, and language quickly and quietly and then had free time! It went so well that I waited all day for something awful to happen but it didn't! How great is that! After school I visited with some other kids from other classes and my room was full for at least another hour with students just coming in to say hi or to play games in my room. When I finally locked up and headed home, I found Jeanine cooking! She made us both a delicious lunch of potatos, mixed vegetables, and meat. I made fried eggs and we had a great home cooked meal. Then we went out shopping for food and I got a delicious mango drink. It was such a great day :] I can only hope that tomorrow will be the same. The only small downer is that I think I'm getting those annoying bumps back. It's possible that they are bug bites from this past weekend on the island, but I'm pretty sure that they're those dreaded bumps. Please no! I just want to be painless and not sick for a week or so. For those of you who don't know, my dad will be here in Palau in exactly three weeks to do week of prayer for SDA and PMA. I am SO excited to see him and show him Palau. It's great to know that when I go home and describe this experience, he will have a point of reference and will know how amazing it is here. I seriously am in love with this place. I adore it. Also, my mom will be coming for Thanksgiving! She will also get to see the island and meet my host family. Can't wait! I wish pictures would load from this past weekend, because it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my whole life!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Labor Day weekend
I don't even know where to begin. This weekend was so great and so full of new experiences! We started off Friday after school packing up the boats to head over to the Rock Islands. It took a while to get everything all packed up from all 30 teachers going, but we were finally ready to go. After a beautiful 45 minute boat ride, we finally arrived. The first thing we saw were stingrays! There were about 5 or 6 in the water around the island. The island was amazing! Perfect, white, sandy beaches, clear blue water, and amazing palm trees. We unloaded all our stuff and then went swimming! The water was so warm and everything was paradise. There were tons of teeny white crabs that covered the island, so many that I probably stepped on 10 the first hour we were there. After getting out of the water, we started to set up our hammocks to sleep in. We found some nice palm trees and set up camp. Victor found another camp site a little ways down the beach and wanted to move there, so we took down all our stuff and moved. Then Nelson came by and told us that the tide would cover us there, so we had to move all our stuff back. It was quite the exercise! After that we had vespers where Jesse and Hayley gave their story of why they were in Palau. We also sang songs and just relaxed around the fire. Nelson caught some fish and I kissed one! After that we sat on the beach and talked and waded in the water. We finally tried to go to bed around 10, but hammocks are so hard to sleep in! I tossed and turned and finally ended up laying face down with one leg off the hammock and the other one curled up under me.
Apparently that worked, because next thing I knew it was 5 am and I was getting up to take pictures of the sunrise. It was so peaceful and beautiful. Some of the staff's kids, Rosie and Joanie, were out in the water too. They trapped a fish and then picked it up with their bare hands! I got so many good pictures! Then we went back and ate breakfast and got ready for Sabbath school. It was pretty good, just singing together and reading the Bible. After Sabbath school we had church which was also pretty interesting. After, we had haystacks for lunch! So good! I haven't had haystacks forever! The girls made the lunch while the guys...waited to eat. It was funny. After lunch, because we can't swim on Sabbath, we laid out on the beach to get a tan. Some of the kids came by and asked us why we weren't swimming. When we told them, they dragged us into the water! It was so funny, and because we were already wet we just stayed in there for a while. Dr. Flores announced that we were going on a "walk around the island" so we all changed into our last dry clothes and got ready. I even brought my non water proof camera. Unfortunately, this walk was through the ocean and water up to my shoulders! We didn't wait long enough for low tide and so it was pretty wet. It was fun to see the President's island though and we even found a spot where they had just had a wedding. Tammi and I pretended to get married while the wedding party stared at us like we were crazy. When we were almost back, we passed a school of fish. Nelson had a machete with him and just started hacking at the water and cut up the fish! Sashimi...yea right. Victor actually ate the raw, still moving, fish right out of the ocean. I wasn't that brave, especially because it was still moving. When we got back we cleaned up a little and made dinner. Then we had vespers. It was the SM's night to be in charge, so we all talked about how we made the decision to come to Palau. It was so cool hearing what brought everyone else here! While I was talking, it started to pour rain! I mean, it was like sheets and sheets that hurt. It was kind of funny, because as soon as the last SM stopped talking, the rain stopped too. By then it was dark and so lots of people went to build a fire and get dry. The rest of us went spear fishing! It was pitch black and the boat was soaking wet from the rain. We went out to a spot in the middle of the ocean and dropped them off. Apparently spear fishing is something for men, so Tammi, Jeanine, and I stayed in the boat and sang songs! A few seconds later, Austin came up with a huge Red Snapper! It was so cool to see him take it off the spear and watch it flop around the boat. In all, the guys probably caught 5 fish, and then another 10 from Nelson. One wouldn't die though, so Ben had to hit it on the head with a paddle. While we were out there it started pouring rain. Jeanine was feeling sick so I tried to shelter her as much as possible while we were waiting...When we finally headed back we were so tired and cold but it was such an awesome experience. Back at camp, one of the guys fried them up and we got to eat them! Jojo tricked me and got me to eat the liver-so gross! Some of the old Palauan men wanted me to try the fish eye and fish brain, so after a seconds consideration I did it! I had to crack the skull with my teeth and suck out the brain and eye, but it wasn't as bad as it sounded. The brain was actually good! We finally headed to bed around 1:30 am, but the night didn't end there. At around 2:15, I woke up to Ben's face by my head. Apparently he was screaming but I couldn't hear him from all the rain! It was pouring-more rain then ever! We rushed over to the house that the Palauan's were sleeping in and brought our soaking blankets so we could sleep there. After we all got settled we looked around and realized that Jeanine was still out there. I went back and found her curled up in her hammock, waiting for the rain to stop. I tried to lead her back to the house, but because I didn't have my contacts in, I couldn't see! We were lost just feet from the house. After searching for a few minutes, we were able to make it back, completely drenched. I was shivering uncontrollably, and was wondering how it could be so cold in a place so warm! The boys and Palauan's had some left over dry and damp clothes so they put them in a big pile and let us have them. I got a semi wet tshirt of and some pants that were dry! We just laid down on the ground and tried to sleep, even though the floor of the hut was covered with water too. An hour later, after finally drifting off, I was woken up by a shriek. Apparently, the tarp covering the awning was so full of water that it snapped the stick holding it up. The water came crashing down on the people under the tarp, sleeping outside. After that was finally all settled, we went back to sleep for another hour before it was time to get up.
In the morning we sat around, soggy and wet, and laughed about the night before. Then we cleaned up the camp to go. They told us that we were leaving at 10:30, and when they said that I jokingly under my breath said, "you mean 1"? The worst part is that I was almost right! After making breakfast, packing up all our stuff, and loading the boats, we had to clean the island. We raked the sand and mopped the floors and made everything look awesome. Then it was lunch time! We finally pulled out around 12:30, and headed for Clam City! The diving was so pretty and there were lots of giant clams. Then we went to Jellyfish Lake! It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my whole life. After a smallish hike uphill on rocks and then back, we got to this perfect little lake. Once jumping in, we saw THOUSANDS of jellyfish. They were beautiful and soft and squishy! It was so fun to hold them and in some parts I couldn't even move without hitting 10 or 20. It was spectacular. When we were hiking back, Ben didn't have shoes so he wore his flippers. It was so funny! Our last stop was the Fish Cemetery. I thought it would be scary because of the name, but it was the most beautiful place. There were the most fish in one place I've ever seen. Jojo and some of the guys on the boat threw bread in the water and started a frenzy! The fish were all over me. Then he passed me some bread and I fed them straight out of my hand! It was such a cool experience. Of course, it had to start raining. The water got too choppy to stay in so we started the 45 minute journey home. When we got back, we unloaded and headed home. I knew I was going to be sick today. When I woke up with a fever and runny nose, it was unfortunate, but totally worth it. And we don't have school today because it's Labor Day! I even wore a sweatshirt and sweatpants for the first time here! Talk about a one of a kind experience.
Apparently that worked, because next thing I knew it was 5 am and I was getting up to take pictures of the sunrise. It was so peaceful and beautiful. Some of the staff's kids, Rosie and Joanie, were out in the water too. They trapped a fish and then picked it up with their bare hands! I got so many good pictures! Then we went back and ate breakfast and got ready for Sabbath school. It was pretty good, just singing together and reading the Bible. After Sabbath school we had church which was also pretty interesting. After, we had haystacks for lunch! So good! I haven't had haystacks forever! The girls made the lunch while the guys...waited to eat. It was funny. After lunch, because we can't swim on Sabbath, we laid out on the beach to get a tan. Some of the kids came by and asked us why we weren't swimming. When we told them, they dragged us into the water! It was so funny, and because we were already wet we just stayed in there for a while. Dr. Flores announced that we were going on a "walk around the island" so we all changed into our last dry clothes and got ready. I even brought my non water proof camera. Unfortunately, this walk was through the ocean and water up to my shoulders! We didn't wait long enough for low tide and so it was pretty wet. It was fun to see the President's island though and we even found a spot where they had just had a wedding. Tammi and I pretended to get married while the wedding party stared at us like we were crazy. When we were almost back, we passed a school of fish. Nelson had a machete with him and just started hacking at the water and cut up the fish! Sashimi...yea right. Victor actually ate the raw, still moving, fish right out of the ocean. I wasn't that brave, especially because it was still moving. When we got back we cleaned up a little and made dinner. Then we had vespers. It was the SM's night to be in charge, so we all talked about how we made the decision to come to Palau. It was so cool hearing what brought everyone else here! While I was talking, it started to pour rain! I mean, it was like sheets and sheets that hurt. It was kind of funny, because as soon as the last SM stopped talking, the rain stopped too. By then it was dark and so lots of people went to build a fire and get dry. The rest of us went spear fishing! It was pitch black and the boat was soaking wet from the rain. We went out to a spot in the middle of the ocean and dropped them off. Apparently spear fishing is something for men, so Tammi, Jeanine, and I stayed in the boat and sang songs! A few seconds later, Austin came up with a huge Red Snapper! It was so cool to see him take it off the spear and watch it flop around the boat. In all, the guys probably caught 5 fish, and then another 10 from Nelson. One wouldn't die though, so Ben had to hit it on the head with a paddle. While we were out there it started pouring rain. Jeanine was feeling sick so I tried to shelter her as much as possible while we were waiting...When we finally headed back we were so tired and cold but it was such an awesome experience. Back at camp, one of the guys fried them up and we got to eat them! Jojo tricked me and got me to eat the liver-so gross! Some of the old Palauan men wanted me to try the fish eye and fish brain, so after a seconds consideration I did it! I had to crack the skull with my teeth and suck out the brain and eye, but it wasn't as bad as it sounded. The brain was actually good! We finally headed to bed around 1:30 am, but the night didn't end there. At around 2:15, I woke up to Ben's face by my head. Apparently he was screaming but I couldn't hear him from all the rain! It was pouring-more rain then ever! We rushed over to the house that the Palauan's were sleeping in and brought our soaking blankets so we could sleep there. After we all got settled we looked around and realized that Jeanine was still out there. I went back and found her curled up in her hammock, waiting for the rain to stop. I tried to lead her back to the house, but because I didn't have my contacts in, I couldn't see! We were lost just feet from the house. After searching for a few minutes, we were able to make it back, completely drenched. I was shivering uncontrollably, and was wondering how it could be so cold in a place so warm! The boys and Palauan's had some left over dry and damp clothes so they put them in a big pile and let us have them. I got a semi wet tshirt of and some pants that were dry! We just laid down on the ground and tried to sleep, even though the floor of the hut was covered with water too. An hour later, after finally drifting off, I was woken up by a shriek. Apparently, the tarp covering the awning was so full of water that it snapped the stick holding it up. The water came crashing down on the people under the tarp, sleeping outside. After that was finally all settled, we went back to sleep for another hour before it was time to get up.
In the morning we sat around, soggy and wet, and laughed about the night before. Then we cleaned up the camp to go. They told us that we were leaving at 10:30, and when they said that I jokingly under my breath said, "you mean 1"? The worst part is that I was almost right! After making breakfast, packing up all our stuff, and loading the boats, we had to clean the island. We raked the sand and mopped the floors and made everything look awesome. Then it was lunch time! We finally pulled out around 12:30, and headed for Clam City! The diving was so pretty and there were lots of giant clams. Then we went to Jellyfish Lake! It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my whole life. After a smallish hike uphill on rocks and then back, we got to this perfect little lake. Once jumping in, we saw THOUSANDS of jellyfish. They were beautiful and soft and squishy! It was so fun to hold them and in some parts I couldn't even move without hitting 10 or 20. It was spectacular. When we were hiking back, Ben didn't have shoes so he wore his flippers. It was so funny! Our last stop was the Fish Cemetery. I thought it would be scary because of the name, but it was the most beautiful place. There were the most fish in one place I've ever seen. Jojo and some of the guys on the boat threw bread in the water and started a frenzy! The fish were all over me. Then he passed me some bread and I fed them straight out of my hand! It was such a cool experience. Of course, it had to start raining. The water got too choppy to stay in so we started the 45 minute journey home. When we got back, we unloaded and headed home. I knew I was going to be sick today. When I woke up with a fever and runny nose, it was unfortunate, but totally worth it. And we don't have school today because it's Labor Day! I even wore a sweatshirt and sweatpants for the first time here! Talk about a one of a kind experience.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Feelin good
I woke up to sweat beads pooling on my forehead. It was eerily quiet. I could tell something was different before I even opened my eyes. After realizing that the air conditioning was off, I tried the lights and found that they too didn't work. No biggie. I'm sure we just shorted out, I told myself. I went to Surangles and got some stuff for this weekend and headed to school. Upon reaching my classroom I realized that there was no power there either. Apparently, a bill should have been paid that wasn't. When I got to class, with no fans or lights of course, I was surprised to hear that none of my kids had power either! Apparently, it was an island wide power shortage. Common. Nothing weird about that.
After this small detour from the daily routine, things went back to normal. I started off the day excited about teaching, patient, and happy. Unfortunately, at lunch I had to talk to a parent about their kid cheating and write the first two names of the year on the board. It's not that school was bad, just typical. No one in my class knew what a hamster was! So I googled it to show them, which started an endless cycle of googling sharks, spiders, snakes, bunnies, butterflies, and tons of other things. It was actually really fun and most of the kids were quiet! It was Mariah's birthday, so at the end of the day her mom and aunt came and brought cake and pizza. Win!
After school I went to 3rd grade to get some stuff I left there and experienced a miracle. So far this year, Austin has been complaining about this girl in his class, Patsy, who should have been held back. Apparently she hasn't done any work, is way out of her skill level, and doesn't even talk in or out of class. She is really shy and really blank faced any time he says anything. He's been working really hard to get her moved back a grade, but it just isn't working out. Anyway, she has to stay every day after school to get one on one help with every single assignment and needs motivation to even write her name. When I went in to get my stuff, Austin was talking to a parent so I didn't want to interrupt. I saw Patsy, staring off into space with an open handwriting book on her desk. Another girl in her class, Diem, told me that she was supposed to go to page 45, and she was only on 40. I asked Patsy why she wasn't working, what was wrong, how she was doing, and lots of other questions just to get her to talk to me...but no answer. She just stared off into space. "Let's surprise Mr. Austin and do this page of handwriting while he's talking!", I said. She didn't even look at me, but her finger touched her pencil. A minute later, she picked it up. She started on the top of the page, which I immediately countered with positive feedback. "I love how you do your loops on your H's! What beautiful handwriting you have. I wish I could write like that." Every word she wrote, I'd say another positive thing. She kept going and going and finished the whole page. Then, to my surprise, she started on the next page! It was amazing to see her keep going and she even smiled at me as I complimented her capital G's! Once she finished, she went to the back of the room and read while she waited for her mom. When her mom got there, she didn't want to go home! She told Austin that this was the first day her daughter wanted to stay at school! I just sat there smiling, feeling so proud! Needless to say, Austin was completely shocked that she had not only responded, but finished two pages! It was so exciting to teach someone something, and motivate them to do their best!
After school, we went to get supplies for this weekend. When we got back, we decided to just relax and put on a movie. While we were watching, I noticed a huge trail of ants. Being me, of course I wanted to know where they were going, so I followed the trail. My heart jumped up into my throat. I shrieked like I had been burned. Under a bench in our house was a HUGE dead cockroach that the ants were eating! There were hundreds of ants covering the cockroach so that it looked like it was moving. Normally I'm pretty calm, but I just couldn't deal with that one. I made the boys flush it down the toilet while I shuddered. Another sad thing that happened today was that I did my laundry. The sad part about that was that once I put it in the dryer I just left it. One hour later I went down to check it and found that not only did I not click the start button, but I had also lost all my quarters! Luckily, Jojo was outside right at the same time and had some quarters to give me. Oh well, live and learn eh? I am so excited for tomorrow that I just can't even explain it. I am all packed up: Bible, water, plates, silverware, clothes, hammock, flashlight, sunscreen, snorkel gear, etc! All I need now is for it to be tomorrow already!
After this small detour from the daily routine, things went back to normal. I started off the day excited about teaching, patient, and happy. Unfortunately, at lunch I had to talk to a parent about their kid cheating and write the first two names of the year on the board. It's not that school was bad, just typical. No one in my class knew what a hamster was! So I googled it to show them, which started an endless cycle of googling sharks, spiders, snakes, bunnies, butterflies, and tons of other things. It was actually really fun and most of the kids were quiet! It was Mariah's birthday, so at the end of the day her mom and aunt came and brought cake and pizza. Win!
After school I went to 3rd grade to get some stuff I left there and experienced a miracle. So far this year, Austin has been complaining about this girl in his class, Patsy, who should have been held back. Apparently she hasn't done any work, is way out of her skill level, and doesn't even talk in or out of class. She is really shy and really blank faced any time he says anything. He's been working really hard to get her moved back a grade, but it just isn't working out. Anyway, she has to stay every day after school to get one on one help with every single assignment and needs motivation to even write her name. When I went in to get my stuff, Austin was talking to a parent so I didn't want to interrupt. I saw Patsy, staring off into space with an open handwriting book on her desk. Another girl in her class, Diem, told me that she was supposed to go to page 45, and she was only on 40. I asked Patsy why she wasn't working, what was wrong, how she was doing, and lots of other questions just to get her to talk to me...but no answer. She just stared off into space. "Let's surprise Mr. Austin and do this page of handwriting while he's talking!", I said. She didn't even look at me, but her finger touched her pencil. A minute later, she picked it up. She started on the top of the page, which I immediately countered with positive feedback. "I love how you do your loops on your H's! What beautiful handwriting you have. I wish I could write like that." Every word she wrote, I'd say another positive thing. She kept going and going and finished the whole page. Then, to my surprise, she started on the next page! It was amazing to see her keep going and she even smiled at me as I complimented her capital G's! Once she finished, she went to the back of the room and read while she waited for her mom. When her mom got there, she didn't want to go home! She told Austin that this was the first day her daughter wanted to stay at school! I just sat there smiling, feeling so proud! Needless to say, Austin was completely shocked that she had not only responded, but finished two pages! It was so exciting to teach someone something, and motivate them to do their best!
After school, we went to get supplies for this weekend. When we got back, we decided to just relax and put on a movie. While we were watching, I noticed a huge trail of ants. Being me, of course I wanted to know where they were going, so I followed the trail. My heart jumped up into my throat. I shrieked like I had been burned. Under a bench in our house was a HUGE dead cockroach that the ants were eating! There were hundreds of ants covering the cockroach so that it looked like it was moving. Normally I'm pretty calm, but I just couldn't deal with that one. I made the boys flush it down the toilet while I shuddered. Another sad thing that happened today was that I did my laundry. The sad part about that was that once I put it in the dryer I just left it. One hour later I went down to check it and found that not only did I not click the start button, but I had also lost all my quarters! Luckily, Jojo was outside right at the same time and had some quarters to give me. Oh well, live and learn eh? I am so excited for tomorrow that I just can't even explain it. I am all packed up: Bible, water, plates, silverware, clothes, hammock, flashlight, sunscreen, snorkel gear, etc! All I need now is for it to be tomorrow already!
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