I'm trying to stay more connected with people back home, and this blog post is an attempt at that.
I'm now oficially the only white person (okay... let's say American since the people there have light skin) in Salapwuk. The other volunteer just finished her service last Sunday and took off to the world outside of Pohnpei. It's been fun having another person to take notes on and talk to, and I'll try to continue the good work she's done.
The weeks have gone by really fast. I find that Monday through Thursday fly by; by the time it's Friday, it's time for Kolonia or some adventure out in the jungle. Around Kitti, one of the names I've heard my family and the Salapwuk guys being called in the Jungle Boys. I makes me feel a little bit like Mowgli from The Jungle Book, just without Baloo. Here's some imagery for you: machetes, deep hikes into the jungle, 50 foot cliff dives, blisters without a reason, green leaves for miles, and no cell phone coverage for days. When you think of Nick in the Jungle, think of that.
My students hate me because we just had our 9 weeks test. One of my bonus! questions was the following: explain the idiom "When pigs fly!". I feel that if anything, my students will forget that idiom when pigs fly.
I'm becoming more comfortable with my host family. We're starting to eat together more at the same time, and we're starting to think of each other as peneinei (family) and less of each other as brown people vs. white people. Cue the song "Ebony and Ivory".
I just voted online in the presidential/local elections for Colorado. I can only imagine the noise that's going on in the States right now about it. Part of me misses it, and part of me is relieved; kind of like a bladder with no piss. It's not really participating, but it feels relieved. Do you get my metaphor? I don't...
If you'd like to know more about what I'm doing, send me an email or leave a comment. I need to know what my audience wants to know. Let's call it 'market research'. Thanks CU marketing professor.
Dejando mi amor con vosotros,
Lepen
