Recipe for a perfect day in Majuro

Get up slow, it’s Sunday.

Do a little school work.

Go to a great worship service with an amazing praise team.

Take a “country” drive to Laura (opposite end of island) and buy coconuts for 50 cents each.

Take the coconuts home, put in fridge.

Go snorkeling out your back door with a handsome ribelle. See amazing fish, coral, and an EEL!

Come back, shower, and drink your coconuts on your porch with a view.

Relax, grade papers and read

Have sashimi, tropical local fresh fruit and a beer for dinner.

Watch your favorite video.

Oh yeah, life is good in the Marshall Islands today!

Our love to all,  Becky

Flexibility 101 (Jaben Ebata)

An immediate task I inherited as High School Principal was to organize and lead a two day retreat on a small island for 90 plus junior and high school students. This event was budgeted and paid for through a Substance Abuse Prevention Team grant. I am happy to say I live to tell the story!

I am also happy to say I have a great staff! They are all team players and of course, each one brings his/her strengths to the table. They are smart, funny, and raring to go. They love kids and it’s all good. We spent many hours as a team agonizing over a schedule that met the objectives of teambuilding, substance abuse prevention, and fun for all. We shopped for the food and bought the supplies. The Cabana Boy pitched in and ran more errands for a day.

There were a couple of interesting glitches in our preparations. Our shopping included 16 five gallon bottles of drinking water. When I called the manager he was happy to oblige, selling us the water without the typical $10 deposit for each bottle. The next day (after Willard had paid for the water), however, he called and said sorry, bring in the $160 deposit. Another trip. We also ordered 27 loaves of bread from the local Wellness Center. I did this in person with the manager of the center and agreed on the price and time of pick-up. When my cohort showed up for the bread on the afternoon before our departure, he had forgotten our conversation completely. So they were up all night baking bread and Kathy made a second visit at 7 AM the next morning. No worries (that’s jaben ebata in Marshallese), we were ready to go! That is, except, we needed to make our plates.

For our plates, a lovely family donated a pick-up load of palm fronds from their property. It was delivered Wednesday after school and the students who were hanging around unloaded them. One of our Marshallese staff, Helle, got out his machete and showed us how it was done. He cut the tip off, and then split it down the middle. He then cut two pieces with an equal number of “leaves” of the frond. Then he sat “criss-cross applesauce” style on the ground and wove. When he finished the weaving, he tied the loose ends into knots. The kids then worked for the next two hours creating over a hundred bio-degradable, and very effective plates for our trip. Now we were ready!

We load the supplies (3 runs with 2 vehicles back and forth to the dock) and we are all at the dock at 8 AM ready to go. The sun is shining; all is great! There are two boats that are going to make two trips each. Will and I are in the second boat. After the captain realizes the battery is dead and gets a fresh one, we get a mile off shore and the boat overheats. Back we go. They water it up and we take off again. This time we get half way to our destination. The boat is still overheating. So as boat #1 is now on the return, it picks us up in the middle of the lagoon (we transfer 20 of us, mostly students, into another boat that is barely big enough for us, and note, there are NO life jackets on board either vessel. Also, it turns out that most Marshallese are not good swimmers.) and takes us to Eneko. We are all supposed to be on the island at 9:00 doing our scheduled activities but by the time the last group straggles in, it is 11:00 and time to prepare lunch.

Oh, at this point I need to mention there is a volleyball court on the island. It is one of the favorite pastimes of the Marshallese – they LOVE volleyball! So to kill time, they all start playing and guess who kills a ball in the first 15 minutes of the game? Yes, Mischief owes yet another family a volleyball. But I digress.

My amazing staff regroups and decides what to ditch in the way of our schedule since we have lost 2 hours. We proceed. We welcome students, go over rules, make lunch, erect a monster tent cover, put up tents, and prepare the chicken marinade for dinner. Then Beach Olympics. This about kills the ribelles because it is a HOT day and we are cooking. The sunscreen is not as effective as we’d like. But it’s fun and the kids are having a ball. Water kickball, volleyball, tug-o-war, and a fill the container w/ water relay are all going. Then we have free swim. We encourage everyone to stay hydrated and we are not concerned because we have at least ½ gallon of water per day per person. On to dinner. Well, we did forget tongs and a few other things but we barbeque 50 pounds of chicken, cook 15 pounds of rice and peel and slice 25 pounds of papaya. Time to eat, and of course, the staff eats last. One minute there is a ton of chicken on the platter and I am inwardly wondering WHY we bought so much chicken and the next minute four staff, including Willard and I, are eating a rice only dinner because the chicken and the papaya are gone. Oh well. By this time it is dark (dinner prep ran late) and we are running on a single light bulb. We also notice the drinking water is really low – we are down to 3 – five gallon bottles for our next day. One of my amazing staffers says, “no worries (jaben ebata), we’ll just take tap water and boil it, never mind that it will take an hour to get it up to boil.” Beautiful, I am happy for the solution. But oops, the tap water has run out because our teenagers have used it up on their showers (remember the catchment system?). Now I am stressed. Meanwhile the kids are oblivious. They play their ukuleles and guitars, make s’mores, and carry-on. The staff, by this time, are dying on the vine. We are dog-tired and can’t wait until 11:00 when we can put them all in their tents. But when 11:00 rolls around we realize the tents are not all up as we thought. So now we are putting up tents in the dark. Ouch. Finally, we are off to bed, all except the two who have to do their two hours of night-watch duty to make sure everyone stays put. I was happy to have the 5:00 to 7:00 shift so I could at least have 4 to 5 hours of continuous sleep. When I got up I noticed it was beginning to rain.

When I got to the shelter to make breakfast, there were a dozen bodies lying around. These were the students who slept outside without a tent and now moved to get out of the rain. Next year we’ll buy some more tents and insist they all have a tent to sleep in! We eat and get our activities going. Miss Katie has them all under the shelter and is well into her Facts About Alcohol and Tobacco presentation when Mr. Brian approaches me to let me know that it is going to POUR in about two minutes and everyone should get their personal belongings under cover NOW. So we interrupt Miss Katie’s spiel and off they go. We finally regroup and continue. We have to pause occasionally because it is raining so hard on the metal roofing, we can’t hear ourselves think. The kids are good though and they go with the flow. For one of our fun activities the Japanese teacher does her Japanese version of “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” She does an amazing job and everyone loves it. She has them play the game where the loser gets behind the winner and a train is formed. By the time the game is over the group is in one long train with one winner. Meanwhile, I am actually relieved that there is so much rain and it is much cooler because that means our low water supply is no longer a crisis. We are fine. The day continues with lots of improvising but we cover the intended content and everyone is doing well. I bring the kids in at 1:00 because the boat company has told us they will pick us up at 2:00. I harp at them to get packed up, take the tents down and pick up litter. Faster, faster! Miss Katie calls the boat company to confirm. Oops, no, they will come at 3:00. Oh well, there is volleyball to be played.

Two boats come at three but there are 16 of us who don’t fit. Oh well, there is still a volleyball on the premises, so all is good – we are still in jaben ebata mode. That is until a girl cuts her foot on a rock and is really bleeding and we realize the first aid kit is on one of the returning boats. Mr. David has his own personal supply with him which includes 1 band-aid in his wallet, some antibiotic cream, and a t-shirt he sacrifices to the cause. I am also a little concerned because the last of our water is on the boat too. I am really hoping the boat returns!

It does, and we all get back safe. Success! I have included the highlights of our odyssey but trust me there was more! All in all though, I think my staff and I have passed Flexibility 101!

 Love to all, Becky

P.S. Make sure you go to Willard's fishing story and see the pictures - they are up!

 

Fishing Marshallese Style

Friday night I went down to the Billfish club house to find a ride on a boat for Saturday’s fishing tournament. A couple of members I know directed me to boat at the fuel dock and told me to ask for Ronnie. They said that Ronnie often took new members. Following their directions, I found Ronnie’s boat, the Keritake, and there was Ronnie loading diesel fuel onto his boat by siphoning from some 55 gallon drums sitting on a truck parked next to the pier. I introduced myself and asked to crew on his boat the next day.  Ronnie was agreeable and told me to be at the boat at 6 AM and bring my lunch.

6 AM Saturday morning I’m at the boat and meet the rest of the Ronnie’s crew. Ronnie is the Captain of his 38 foot fishing boat which he uses to taxi people to the nearby outer islands during the week. He is a Marshallese from one of the big families in the country and an elder statesman of the Billfish Club. Then there is John who is Marshallese and Ronny’s son-in-law. Next is Gary who is from Guam and last is Hue who is from Taiwan.  With me on board we have a very international crew.  Although we planned to leave at 6 AM we can’t leave because the little store next to the boat dock is late opening and we must have his coffee before we can go.

We leave the dock around 6:30 and fifteen minutes later we cross into the open ocean.  As soon as we hit the ocean Gary and John start putting out the poles.  Each pole is about as stout as a shovel handle and has reel about 12 inches thick. I found out later each real is wound with about 1000 yards of 150 pound test line. Two poles were let out the back and one pole was let out each side. The lures were rubber squid that were about two inches thick and a foot long. Each squid had two hooks.  Now I don’t know how they measure these hooks but they were about 2 inches wide and seemed to be made of at least eighth inch stainless steel.

Five minutes into the day, line starts screaming off one of the poles. The first thing we do is reel up the other lines. We have plenty of time because this fish just keeps running. Then I see him tail-walk! He comes up out of the water maybe 500 yards away and dances across the ocean before diving back down.  This thing is HUGE! At about the 700 yard mark on the reel the Marlin stops running and we begin the process of bringing him in. Ronnie doesn’t have a fighting chair so the rod stays in the holder and we work in shifts to bring in the line. One of us will pull the line in by hand while another will reel in the line.  This is a crazy hard work out for your arms and shoulders and we rotate frequently. Every now and then the fish will run little and almost pull you off the boat if you don’t release the line quick enough. Sometimes the fish will run at the boat and you have to pull like a mad man to keep the slack out of the line and even yell a Ronnie to speed the boat up.  After 45 minutes we have the fish up to the boat and we can see it’s about a 12 foot Marlin and well over 250 pounds. That means it’s a keeper and we have to get it into the boat.

Now Ronnie leaves the captain’s chair and comes to the back of the boat and John drives. Ronnie sets up the gaff hook which has a detachable head and looks like it is made from one inch stainless steel. The gaff head is attached to a length of ¾ inch nylon line which is secured to the boat.  Gary maneuvers the marlin across the back of the boat to where Ronny is waiting as the fish passes Ronny, he sets the gaff. This of course sets the marlin off again but Ronny has placed the gaff perfectly just behind the gills and the fish can’t go anywhere. Now to get it into the boat takes a coordinated effort from all of us. Ronny and Garry work the bill and head of the fish so it comes up and over the stern of the boat and then Hue and I haul on the gaff line and all four of us pull the fish forward. This is the most dangerous time for us on the boat because the fish still has lots of fight left and although we are wearing gloves the bill is very rough and sharp and could cause a serious injury if you got hit with it.  But we hold it down long enough for Gary to use a fish club on him and it’s over.  We all sit and catch our breath a minute then Ronnie resumes his place at the helm and we start shaking hands and high fiving each other.  I get special attention because it’s my first marlin. We wrap the fish in a thermal blanket and wash down the decks with salt water and then get the poles back in the water.

As soon as we are fishing again, John and Hue go below and go to sleep.  Gary and I talk and tend the poles from time to time. For three hours there was not a single bit of action and then at about 11:30 line started screaming off one of the poles.  Same drill as before and except this fish was much easier to pull in. When we got it up to the boat we could see it wasn’t a marlin at all but was a yellow-fin tuna. Again Ronny left the helm to set the gaff and we pulled it aboard.  A 50 pounder at least which makes it a qualifier for points in the tournament. 

By noon we are back to fishing.  We have crossed to the next atoll and are trolling up and down the reef about a half mile off shore.  The afternoon heat is on us and I am actually looking for a rain squall to cool us down. We all stay under the awning and out of the sun.  It’s too hot to go below to sleep so I stretch out next to the marlin and lean up against a cooler, just looking at the lures skipping across the water. I was thinking about napping when I see this sail-fin come out of the water and hit a lure. I yell fish on as the line starts to scream out.  This one does not tail-walk but we know it’s a marlin because I have seen the sail-fin. This fish is heavier although he didn’t run as far. It still takes us another 45 minutes to get the fish up to the boat. When I see this one I’m a little concerned. This one’s really big!

Ronnie come’s back to set the gaff and he and Gary begin their choreographed dance. Just as Ronnie is about to set the gaff, the fish surges and Ronny sets the gaff in the belly rather than just under the gills. Oh boy, Oh boy! Bad stuff is going to happen. The fish is really upset at this point and Hue and I are looking at each other and I know I’m thinking this could be really bad. Ronnie gets a second gaff hook ready and this time he sets it perfectly under the gills. They get the head up over the transom and we haul this monster in.  This thing is 15 to 16 feet long from bill to fin and he is not happy. It takes everything Hue, Ronnie, and I have to hold the gaff lines down and keep the head pinned. Gary grabs a fish club and swings at the fish, misses, and loses the club which flies overboard. So while we wrestle this monster Gary scrambles to find a second club and then dispatches the fish. Ronnie estimates this marlin at 400 pounds.

Ronnie resumes the helm and we shove this marlin under the thermal blanket with the other, clean the decks, and get the lures out. Ronnie is in a great mood but the rest of the crew is tired and hot and are hoping we are done for the day. No such luck. Ronny is a strong competitor and we won’t pull up lines until 5 PM. By 3:00 we have trolled back to Majuro Atoll with no more hits on the lures. Suddenly as we are passing the airport line starts to scream off a reel for the fourth time today. We start the drill all over again but this time when we get the fish up to the boat we can see it’s a smaller marlin that Ronnie estimates is less the 150 pounds and he decides to tag and release. For tagging a marlin Ronnie will get 250 points. Because points are based on poundage (one pound=one point) it makes good sense to tag and release and marlin under 250 pounds.

This time the dance is different. Ronnie doesn’t have a gaff; he has a short spear with the tag mounted on the tip. He must place the tag at the leading edge of the sail-fin. Gary brings the fish in close and Ronnie sticks the tag right where it’s supposed to be. Then as part of the documentation, Hue takes a picture of the fish in the water with the tag visible. Once the tagging and documentation are done all that’s left is to get the hooks out and release the fish. This time with no gaff it will be a different drill for all of us. Garry and Ronnie bring the fish into the boat by the bill and the line. Once in the boat Hue and Ronnie hold the head and bill, I lay on the tail, while Gary works the hooks out. Let me tell you that even a 150 pound marlin has lots of fight, especially on the deck of boat with four guys trying to hold it down without hurting it. Gary got the hooks out and I jumped off as Hue and Ronnie slid him back into the water where he floated for a second then flipped his tail and was gone.

Once again, Ronnie resumed his place at the helm and we cleaned the decks and got the lines back out. I think by this time the crew was praying for no more fish. I know I was. Anyway we trolled until 5:00 PM when Ronny ordered the lines in and we headed for the weigh-in which was being held at one of the local resorts. On the way I asked Gary and John if this was a usual day and they both laughed like I was an idiot because they thought this had been a great day. At the scales we were the last ones to weigh in. Apparently Ronnie must have let them know that we would be winning. Our large marlin weighed in at 385 pounds. The smaller marlin was 258. The yellow-fin weighed 55 pounds and with our tag worth 250 our total for the day was 948 points. Nobody was even close to us. So we got our pictures taken for the newspaper while standing next to the fish hanging on the scale. Then we loaded the fish back onto the boat for the ride to the dock. Here Ronnie would sell the marlins to a local fish merchant but he decided to keep the yellow-fin and he had John start fileting on the back of the boat. We all had a bite of the raw tuna which was excellent and then Ronny offered me a piece of the heart and after I had eaten it he said now I was a real Marshallese fisherman.

I came off the boat with about a five pound piece of tuna, a good sunburn on my face, and an invitation to return for next month’s tournament. An unbelievable experience. Life’s tough when you’re a Cabana Boy.

Willard

A Couple of Confessions and The First Days of School

Confession #1

Once upon a time in a land that is now far away, Willard’s brother, Steve, and his wife gave him an alarm clock for Christmas. Willard LOVES this clock because it shows the time on the ceiling. And because it has a battery back-up, it seemed like a smart idea to bring it with us. It turns out this is pretty smart because the electricity goes out here frequently. In fact it has gone out three times in the last week, anywhere from a few hours to a little over a day. On the first outage we went to bed happily knowing I could still get up in time for work. We were thrilled when the alarm clock rang and we realized the power had come back. I was tired but got myself ready and we were out the door. We drove ten minutes down the road oblivious to the fact that it was pitch dark; there was no sign of the sun beginning to merge anywhere. We get to Kathy’s and get ready to knock on her door when we realize there are no lights on in her place. Willard looks at his watch and it’s off; he asks me what mine says. I tell him mine was wrong by several hours and I had reset it before A Couple of Confessions and The First Days of School

I left. He thinks about this for a minute and decides we better go back home and check the computer for the time. It turns out that our lovely alarm clock sets itself back to its original time zone when the power comes back. The watches that said 1:00 a.m. were correct after all. It was a loooong day!

Confession #2

Last Sunday we went to Enemanit, a small island that is part of our atoll. The families that have property rights there have turned the beach into a park for picnicking and playing. The snorkeling is marvelous. One of the families has a vested interest in our school because one of the elders is a founding member and because several of their children attend Co-op. So annually, they generously invite our staff to come. They take us by boat, roast a pig on a spit, and let us enjoy a potluck, snorkel, and relax. We had a lovely time.

We had been told we could bring Mischief and I was happy because she had been crated quite a bit with all of the things we had been doing the week before. At the picnic she turned out to be a handful because there are pigs and chickens running all over the place and she wanted to chase them all. We were constantly yanking her back to us. Late in the afternoon it was time to go and we had everything packed and the dog in tow. As we made our way back to the boat we passed a volleyball game. Kids, adults, everyone was having a great time playing the game, and we stopped to watch the fun. Mischief was trying to run to and fro and I figured out that she was chasing the ball from side to side. It seemed harmless since we were on the sidelines, plus I thought it would wear her out for the boat and car rides home. So I gave her some length on her rope and everyone was entertained by the crazy dog that was running back and forth, back and forth. That was, until the ball was knocked out of bounds and Mischief was on it. She grabbed that ball and killed it for good. At first everyone was laughing hysterically until they all realized that she really had killed their ball. Then no one was laughing and I was mortified. The game was over, the net came down and we quickly got on the boat and came home. Needless to say, Willard went out and bought a new ball. What a way to introduce myself to them as their new principal.  I am glad they are a forgiving people! Mischief is now infamous and nobody asks anymore why she has her name!

On a side note, there were several other dogs on the island that were not leashed. They too, were interested in the pigs and chickens. At one point a black lab got too close to a sow’s piglets and the chase was on. I didn’t know a pig could move that fast!

The First Days of School

The first day at Co-op was a half day and went pretty smoothly. Students came back ready to go in their red shirts. The preschool children were adorable, but their teacher did Facebook that there were a lot of tears that day! The middle and high school students spent all morning in their homeroom classes doing the student handbook routine. At 9:00 we all broke for an “assembly.” The students all lined up outside according to their grades. Announcements were made and staff were introduced. Our music teacher, Yoora, played the electronic keyboard and everyone sang the national anthem. Then they went back to class until lunch. Lunch was served and they all went home.

It wasn’t until the second day that I actually taught class, because I don’t have homeroom responsibilities. I have 8 students in my Algebra 2 class and 13 in my College Seminar Class (not everyone has this sweet class-count, there are 26 students in Geometry and 23 in Algebra 1). But the amazing part of teaching was that they were all there ready to learn on the first day! They were not surprised and there were no complaints when books were passed out and 30 math problems were assigned. Their work was carefully written and during work time not one student had to be asked to get on task. You can hear a pin drop. I about died when one student had a cell phone out but it turned out he needs it for his electronic dictionary because he doesn’t speak or read English well. And it’s not just my classes – the geometry teacher said the same thing. We almost didn’t know what to do with all of that focus and learning! It was my favorite part of the day. After that it was back to trying to iron out a master schedule. The school is too small for much flexibility, but yet we need to find it because we have several transfer students who have not been on our small inflexible plan. There has been a lot of problem-solving and untangling of messes. It’s a huge learning curve for this green leader. My staff, though, is awesome and they seem as forgiving as the volleyball players. I am happy it’s Saturday morning though, and I have had a couple of hours of peace and quiet before I go back in and attack it all again.

Before I leave off, here are a couple of updates to previous blogs:

Tonica – it turns out her name is Donica – did in fact enroll as an 8^th grader! We are so happy to have her. The World Teach teacher we have worked in her school last year and is working to keep her overnight a couple of nights a week so she doesn’t have to take (and afford) the bus from the far end of the island. We hope she can keep coming.

The diabetes tubs – it looks like our friend Greg who works at Target can get 20 of them to us! Our science teacher has funded and built one and can’t wait to get the others! Yay Greg!

Our love to all,

Becky

Diabetes

The Marshallese diet is ramen, white rice, and some fish or chicken. Many of them never see vegetables. There are small produce departments in the grocery stores here but they are out of range for these folks – often for us too! An avocado is $6 and a small bag of cherries is $8.

Because of their diet they are now the number one country in the world for diabetes. According to a recent Ministry of Health report, diabetes is the number one cause of admissions at the local hospital, the second leading cause of surgeries, and the number one reason for use of physical therapy services. I was told of a young couple in their 30’s who are each on their second marriage because they have both lost a spouse to the disease. All of this is recent; 60 years ago diabetes was unheard of here.

As part of our staff training, we attended a lecture by a man who works for our island’s Wellness Center, a non-profit agency that is working to educate the public and combat diabetes. He has devised an ingenious way of creating container gardens that are yielding amazing results. He tells us one container can produce 60 pounds of tomatoes a year! They are raising cucumbers, spinach, and melons, along with just about everything else. He showed us how to make the containers and my teachers are so excited they can hardly contain themselves! They envision teaching the students and then having the kids teach their parents. We could have contests to see which team grows the most or best produce. The containers would be a one-time expense. Once established they would be used year after year. In fact, the some of the vegetables could be sold and the proceeds used to create container gardens in the community

Each container requires a large, tall Rubbermaid container with a lid along with two large bags of potting soil.  The lid is tailored so that it creates a shelf on the inside of the container with holes that drain down into compartments that are made with 1 gallon recycled water bottles to make a hydroponic system for the plant roots. The soil is layered on top of the lid and there is an efficient watering system created with the small recycled water bottles. The containers are important for keeping the nutrients in and the rats out. Insects are managed by rubbing a leaf that has numbing qualities on rocks that are placed along the perimeter and then adding coconut shavings. The shavings attract the ants and the numbing agent kills them!

The speaker at the Wellness Center is convinced that if the Marshallese will begin growing their own vegetables, they can regain their health and cut their hospital costs by half. Our staff is excited to be part of the education process. We are applying for some grant monies for the initial tubs and soil and then we will be off and running. I hope to send you pictures of beautiful fruits and vegetables in a few months!

Take care, Becky

Pigs, Cars, and Bureaucracy!

Sunday we took a 30 minute boat ride to a small island on the other side of the atoll for an afternoon picnic. The island is owned by three or four of the wealthy families here and is uninhabited except on Sundays when they open the island to their friends and have a potluck picnic in the middle of the afternoon. One of the families helped start the Coop School thirty years ago and most of their children have attended the school. There is a standing invitation for any Coop teacher to come out to the island and on this Sunday, the entire school and their significant others were invited to the island and there was a roasted pig on a spit to add to the potluck. The food was great but the snorkeling was spectacular. Beautiful coral and amazing fish were twenty yards off the shore. About fifty yards off shore was a World War II era airplane and a helicopter in about twenty feet of water. Very cool.

This island is about a quarter mile wide and a half mile long with a picnic area on the lagoon side with the rest of the island in palm groves. The only full time inhabitants were about 30 or 40 pigs of all sizes and colors. They wander around like they own the place and are not shy about being around people at all. As different size pigs strolled through the picnic area nobody seemed to notice them at all unless they got too close to someone’s food.  I wonder if they knew that one of their kin had joined us as the guest of honor at the pot luck.  Another 30 minute boat ride and we were back on Majuro before dark. A point of interest for any educators reading this, Becky said it was the best in-service training she had ever attended.

Monday I resumed my search for a car. I have been looking for a car since arriving on the island three weeks ago.  There are several things to consider when buying a car here. Number one is that apparently the Marshallese do not sell their cars. Once purchased, the Marshallese drive their cars until they stop running and are not worth repairing.  The only cars I heard of for sale were from people who were leaving the island and those cars were already sold when I heard about them. Second, generally, the Marshallese do not get their vehicles serviced or repaired unless they vehicle stops running. Third, the salt air and water makes rust the preeminent color on many vehicles and the electronics on most cars is the first thing to go.  The last thing to consider is all vehicles are imported and taxed. This adds about four to five thousand dollars to anything that runs. I was able to touch base with a dealer last week who was expecting a shipment of used cars any day and on Monday he showed me a base model, 2006, Chev, Aveo. Nothing powered, manual transmission, no AC. It was at the high end of our budget for a vehicle but it was new to the island and should give us good service while we are here.

Tuesday morning at about 10:00 I began the process of registering my new vehicle. First I took the paperwork to the police station where they started the process. But because the vehicle was new to the island they needed to do a safety inspection on it. So I had to go to the dealer pick up the car and drive it to the police station without plates for the inspection. When I returned with the car, the office clerk had to find the officer who did the inspections. This took half an hour and the inspection consisted of checking the turn signals and brake lights. After the inspection I returned to the clerk who took my paper work, gave me my new plate, and then gave me a bill to take to the cashier located up island at the government building. He told me I would get my new registration when I brought back the receipt. He also told me to come back after lunch (it was 11:30). Then he added that after lunch meant after 2:00 PM. So having two and half hours to kill I took Becky to lunch. After lunch I thought I would swing by the government building and see if the cashier’s window as open. Much to my surprise the window was open and there was no line. I was in and out in ten minutes.  I got back to the police station a little before two and a different clerk took my receipt and then told me that the Commissioner had to sign the registration and could I come back before five. So I left again and was back at four thirty to pick up my new registration with the scrawl of the Police Commissioner prominently displayed.

So this week we’ve picnicked with pigs, purchased a car, and danced the bureaucratic shuffle of car registration. I guess I better take the rest of the week off. Don’t want to get overworked. Life’s tough when you’re a Cabana Boy!

Willard

Church and State

August 02, 2011

Church and State

Hi Folks!

First I’ll mention that there is no separation of church and state in the Marshall Islands. Whether it’s a fishing club meeting or a celebration of kids from science camp, they open and close with prayer. I am not talking about a quick “bless this meeting or these kids” kind of prayer, but rather a detailed heartfelt petition. It is quite a change from our culture where we are so careful to keep religion separate from our work lives. Speaking of church, we did get to a service last Sunday.

Earlier in the week we stopped by a church that we were told had services in English. We met a young man who told us we were welcome to come and that services would begin at 9:30 on Sunday morning. So on Sunday we dress our best and go, feeling bad that we are getting there just as the service is supposed to begin. We walk into a large room filled with the famous plastic chairs I have previously mentioned, but they are only filled with about 5 people. We are a little surprised but the folks that are there come up and greet us warmly and tell us we can sit together, wherever we like. We took a seat about 8 rows from the front, thinking that was a good strategic spot. It turns out, this is where the kids are all sitting – rows and rows of them, with the parents sitting in the back. I don’t know if this was because it was a special Sunday where the VBS kids were performing or if this is the usual but we stuck out more than usual. I think it was about 10:00 before things really started rolling and the attendance was still pretty thin. But the praise team was unbelievable – one electronic keyboard and three vocals and the place rocked with wonderful rich, contemporary praise music! We actually knew quite a bit of the music and I loved how they did it in their own style. As time went on, we could tell that there was no hurry with this service, and that slowly, the place was filling with parishioners. By 11:00 the place was full (after an hour of our service at home, the service would be over!). At one point in the service we were told to get out of our seats and personally greet every other person in the sanctuary. So the whole congregation gets up and does just that! There was a sermon, prayer, and benediction, but they were all done by different men so I never did figure out exactly who was the pastor! At noon we were excused to go home. I will say that next time I go I’ll make sure I have a good breakfast and an empty bladder!

Monday was back to school. I have included pictures of our in-service but let me say it has been like no in-service I have ever seen before! There are ten days of teacher training so there is a lot of time for teachers to set up their rooms, explore the small campus and learn our rules and procedures. But we also listen to lectures on the socio-economic state of the Marshall Islands, how to take care of our medical needs on the Islands, and the nuclear history of the Bikini Atoll.

            The socio-economic state – Some highlights include the fact that the average wage is $3.50/hr with the average wage earner making $6,700 annually in purchasing power. Mothers have an average of 4.5 children and 20% of the students drop out by the 8^th grade. There are 29.000 people who are within working age range (16 to 64) but only 10,000 of these are employed. 5,000 more would work but cannot find employment.

            Medical facts – TB and typhoid are alive and well in the islands, and the flu comes around every four months. Pink eye runs rampant and you don’t want to scratch your mosquito bites because you “open the portal” for all sorts of bacteria. Many of the fish are poisonous and if you eat them different parts of your body will go numb – along with vomiting and diarrhea. It’s reported to be very unpleasant. It pays to know your fish here! The bottom line for health is to know who prepares your food (not everyone has clean water, electricity, or toilets here) and to always drink bottled water. Hand sanitizer is your friend.

            Nuclear history – I can’t describe the horror we did to these people and am amazed they even speak to us, let alone let us into their country. We displaced them and then bombed their land repeatedly, with at least one bomb being 1,000 times the power of any we used in Japan. The good news is that part of the land is now finally habitable. Some of the islands are beginning to have folks re-establish their islands. If you want interesting reading, the man who did the lecture, Jack Neidenthal, wrote a book: For the Good of Mankind, A History of the People of Bikini and their Islands. I think you can Google the author and get to his website, request the book, and he will send it to you free. 

We’ve also run around getting medical cards from the hospital, checking accounts from the bank, and cell phones from the phone store. The power then went out and we worked around it for an afternoon. This is not a boring adventure!

Take care – love from afar, Becky

What Happened to My Plans?

As we all remember, the plan was for me to be the cabana boy and take care of the house and dog while Becky went off to work each day and was the bread winner of the family. That is exactly what happened for our first two weeks but this week has been different. Our poor dog has been home alone and I have been dragooned into assisting with the ramp-up to school opening. My days have been full of running new teachers here and there around the island (bank, embassy, etc.) and doing anything that Becky or Kathy identify as an urgent need. Now I know that I told Becky that I would support her in her new role as principal but I thought it would be more of the emotional/advisory type support not the do actual work type of support.  

Thursday. Back to my usual cabana boy routine. Last night we had a strong wind squall come through and this morning we woke up without power. Our alarm clock has a battery back-up so we got up on time and Becky got ready for work by flashlight. No power also means no water but we had taken some good advice and have stored several gallons of washing water. Drinking water is not a problem but if the power stays off I’ll be carrying sea water in to flush the toilet.

We left the house at the usual time but the road looked like bombs had been going off up and down the sides of the road. We were one of the first cars out this morning and the amount of debris on the road was pretty impressive. Most of it was palm fronds and small tree branches but the real landmines were the coconuts that had fallen into the road. I have been warned about driving over coconuts and have actual had the car stopped when I backed over one so I had to slow down (relative term) to avoid them. Fortunately, with traffic light, I was able zig-zag our way to Kathy’s house like a down-hill skier.

This morning looks a little grey but it looks like the clouds will pass over and there is blue  sky on the horizon. Should be another beautiful day in Majuro and a great day to be a cabana boy!

Willard

My First Week as a Principal

July 30, 2011

Some Memorable Events as a Beginning Principal

Every day at work has been interesting so far, trying to figure it all out and get ready for a new school year. I work with equipment that sort-of works and people whose first language is not English, so they don’t always understand how we want the task done. The last two days have been particularly interesting, the first from a cultural sense, and the second because today was the day our teachers arrived.

Yesterday Kathy and I attended a ceremony for newly certified teachers for the Marshall Islands. I sat through an hour and a half of a meeting and understood “komol ta ta,” which means thank you very much, and ”commissioner.” Since I know I stick out like a sore thumb I did my best to look attentive and interested. At the conclusion, we realized we were sitting through a completely different meeting and the ceremony we had come for was yet to begin! The ceremony came next and each principal for every school in the Marshall Islands was called up to receive an envelope with the new teaching certificates. Thankfully, this ceremony was mostly in English. I now possess a beautiful certificate that says I am certified to teach in the Marshall Islands!

While I didn’t understand but two words for the initial meeting, there were some interesting things I observed. The meeting was held on a large covered patio at the Marshall Islands High School. We sat in the plastic chairs many of us own for our patios. On the back of most of the chairs was written someone’s name in Sharpie. It turns out that if you graduate from the high school your family can donate a chair and put your name and class year on it. Men sat on one side and women on the other. Men were all in long pants and collared shirts; women in skirts or “Guam dresses.” You could hear a pin drop; no one had side conversations. Folks did feel free to get up and move around and take-out style chicken and rice along with bottled water was offered to everyone on the house. The man who ran the meeting struck me as looking like a Marshallese gangster. He sat at the front table wearing dark sunglasses and gesturing while he spoke into the mike. He never stood but sat and addressed the audience. It turns out the meeting was addressing the concerns about new certification rules for teachers; they now need a 2.5 g.p.a. and two years of education past high school to teach in the public school.

Today was a whole new adventure. Kathy and I were at the airport at 8:30 a.m. to pick up the new teachers. Of course all ten arrived with their two huge suitcases and two carry-ons, just as we did two weeks ago. The difference was, there were ten of them for two cars. Kathy had tried to plan ahead and had also arranged a van but there still wasn’t enough room. She had to flag down a couple of folks she knew that also happened to be at the airport and have them help haul luggage. We had people and luggage crammed into our cars, the likes I have never seen, maybe because in the U.S. there are seatbelt laws and such. But this trip was extra special because of the cars. “Junker” is almost too kind a label for these vehicles. The AC doesn’t work and the windows don’t roll down. Some of the doors don’t work either and lately the car I have borrowed doesn’t want to start a good part of the time. What a welcome to Majuro! We dropped them off, let them settle and then took them to buy water ($5/gallon gets it delivered) and groceries. Meanwhile we discovered one of the refrigerators wasn’t working so Kathy had to run to replace it. We loaded the cars with folks sitting on laps and groceries in the trunks and headed back. At this point it is about noon. The rest of the day was more of the same but we got them settled in. They are all very interesting people from all over the U.S. and Canada. They are mostly young and way more adventurous than I could dream of being. Some have worked in remote villages in Canada and Alaska where the groceries are ordered and delivered by the postal service and where there is no available water in the homes. One young woman worked as a World Teach volunteer on the opposite end of Majuro last year and lived with a host family. She ate ramen in the morning and white rice and tuna at 9 p.m. at night. That was it for a year. She really never wants to see white rice again but she is back because she loves the work and the people here.

I was relieved to get home around 6:30 in time for a swim. Our neighbor who works for the water company joined us and had some amazing stories of his own. They are a blog for another day. I was refreshed and happy to be home. We hung out a little and then went a mile down the road where a local has built an outdoor bar. Willard is acquainting himself with the neighbors and we are trying to support them a little so we drove down and had a beer at his place. We were hoping for live music but they didn’t get it together as hoped. We’ll try again another weekend.

Tomorrow we are going to try to attend the local church and see how that goes and then off to a birthday party. We hope you are well and will stay in touch. I feel badly I don’t have enough time to write to all of you individually but right now there is little time. I hope to catch up soon! Take care, Becky