Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Go Pee at 3am

I lived with just my mom and sister for a good amount of my life.  I've learned how to share the bathroom, deal with mood swings, and understand the necessity of a once a month band aid.  That was for 2 females. 

How about for more than 110 packed in a place with 3 toilets, 3 showers, and limited space?

That was Camp G.L.O.W. in the shortest of blurbs.  In all, it was a great experience where us Peace Corps Volunteers had the chance to teach 8th grade girls about the things to come in high school and with being a woman.

Some highlights were teaching some girls taekwondo, staying awake at night to make sure no Micronesian borrowing happened to our supplies, and telling multiple girls that 3am is not the time to hang out by the bathroom.

It was a great camp, but afterwards I needed a lot of sleep.  Girls are tiring.

Other news: I'm starting up my summer here in Kolonia looking for any volunteer activities to keep myself occupied.  I'm planning to do a summer reading camp at the library and coach some sports teams here, maybe even introduce Kolonia to Ultimate Frisbee!

Here's some Camp G.L.O.W. pictures.  Enjoy!

The Campers and "Staff".

Making Local Baskets.

Fun.

Dance Party.  Yes, I made a fool of myself.

The Blind Snake Leadership Activity.

Sunsets Forever.

Summertime on an Island Feels Like Winter

Well, it's officially been a year; well, almost.  Close to 11 1/2 months anyway.  Summer has just unofficially started, and that means a dilemma for a Peace Corps Volunteer assigned to an education position.  It means a huge change in my daily routine.  It means no students, no teachers, no classrooms ( *cough* Alice Cooper, it's your time to sing).  But here's what it really means:

Boredom.

To combat this brain-drain, I've been trying to find some other projects to take up my time.  I'm researching into the public library to see if I can help with their summer reading program and general library duties ( *cough* *hmmhmmm* Mr. Cooper, you can stop singing now).  I've been working on my school's library for the past month with categorizing books and helping the kids to sign-out books, so if needed I could boost my verbal resume' with that.

I also have some vacations planned.  The biggest being to Malaysia to party and see the beautiful country.

In other words, this summer is going to be a lot of downtime, but I'm going to use this opportunity to volunteer and see the world.  Oh, and it'd probably be a good time to skype with you guys more frequently than the once per never I'm currently doing.

More to come, and I hope you're enjoying your delicious hamburgers wherever you are.  Oh how I miss hamburgers.  And chicken nuggets.  And beer.  And wings.  Oh food...

Frisbee Golfin' and a Peace Corps Valley

I don't have enough time to give this post what it deserves, but I'll give you a Cliffnotes version of my past 2 weeks.

It's been difficult.  I got an awesome birthday package including a Denver Broncos SIGNED cheerleaders calendar.  I made Salapwuk into Boulder, Colorado by teaching frisbee golf to my kids.  I was reassured that I don't have TB or any other severe medical illness.  I got to see my Kolonia host sister's baby (I'm pushing her to name the boy 'Nick' haha). 

In all, it's been one of those Peace Corps lows and reevaluation points, but at the same time it's been great.

They say pictures say a thousand words, so I'll shut up now.

The frisbee golf hole constructed solely out of hibiscus branches and bark for the nets.

The almost finished frisbee golf hole.

At the dinner table.

He really likes frisbee golf with the finished product.

Volleyball in NanMand.

3 hours of free time translates into a world of possibilities.