First Week of School, Deep Sea Fishing, and Feeding a Whole Village (Seriously)

This past week has been pretty crazy--full of fun new adventures and revolutionary experiences. School started this past monday and it was mayhem! My schedule had been changed around 5 times before it finally settled on Wednesday, so I went into the beginning of the week not really knowing what was going on. On Monday, the school had orientation. The day was organized by the principal--a wonderful man named Len Lenja who is very passionate about the success of his students--so none of the teachers really knew what was going on. The day started with all of the students coming in uniform, gathering in the gym (which in actuality is a concrete structure with open sides), and listening to Principal Lenja and other administrators talk about old rules new things happening at the school this year. All of the talking was done in Marshallese (and went on for about two or so hours) so I did not know what was going on, but I was sure to raise my hand when I heard my name so that the students could know who I was. They gave me a round of applause and that was my first welcome to Majuro Middle School. Unbeknownst to me I was given a homeroom that day and we were expected to establish homeroom etiquette and rules over another two hour period. Since I didn't expect to have a homeroom and was told not to prepare anything for the first day, I was at a complete loss when I had 30 Marshallese students staring at me. I managed to find a list of rules from last year posted on the wall and fumbled through the rules (since the students were not interested in helping me create them...or talking at all) and then attempted to play a game with them, which they also were not interested in. We were informed during our orientation with the DVTP that Marshallese youth are extremely shy and are reluctant to participate in class in general and I was seeing this first hand. Eventually I was relieved of my classroom and the orientation was cut short so that the teachers could retool the schedule.

The next day was more of the same. I had a different set of students, more courses to teach than I had originally (including Pacific Island Social Studies, which I knew NOTHING about), and even less of an idea of what was going on through the course of the day. Thankfully the other teachers were very helpful and commiserated with me since they were not sure what was going on throughout the course of the day either. Tuesday was also a half day so that the teachers could finally solidify the schedule. Finally Wednesday, with a solid schedule of two sections of reading and two sections of writing and grammar (so two classes to whom I taught two courses each) I was finally able to get into the swing of things. I started my grammar and writing curriculum on the parts of speech and my reading class on parts of a story arc. I also initiated a classroom management technique that came to me through Harry Potter. I split my classes into four teams -- red, green, blue, and yellow -- and told them that they would get points for various things like participation, having someone on the team get the highest score on a test of quiz, or having the whole class have perfect homework and.or perfect attendance for the week. The prize at the end of the month for the team with the most points would be a movie party complete with candy and popcorn. The prize for the team with the most points at the end of the quarter would be a pizza party. This definitely inspired my students to become involved in class. Many of them have a good grasp on basic English language and I find myself only having to explain longer words like participation, pediatrician, and enunciation. I have also taught my students to quiet down when they hear me clap out a rhythm. They copy the rhythms and turn their attention towards me. They do it so well and are so musically inclined that for fun I added in knee slaps, snaps, and stomps to make the rhythms more complicated. They LOVE it. I also have started using songs to teach them parts of speech. I would put lyrics to a Disney song or something like "Waving Flag" by K'naan and have them compete to identify the correct number of nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives. The week ended with my students asking me to sing for them (I sang the American National Anthem and A Whole New World from Aladdin), me playing volleyball with the students and teaching them hacky-sac during recess, and showing them the wonders of Photo Booth on my Macbook.

The teachers at my school are wonderful and have been very helpful and welcoming to me. We talk a lot about the differences in our cultures and try to teach each other our languages. The other volunteer teacher at the school is from Japan and is named Ryo. He teaches math and we frequently bond over my affinity for all things Japanese and our confusion about the Marshallese language and culture. The school itself is very nice as well. The classrooms are not air conditioned (the teachers' lounge is and I think everytime I walk into it I say, "It feels like a dream" -- who knew you could build up such a sweat teaching?) but because the school is right on the ocean there is always a wonderful breeze. For lunch, government certified venders bring food cooked at their homes to the school campus for the students. For a dollar you get deliciously roasted chicken, rice, and a slice of a hot dog. Phenomenal eating. This next week I plan on continuing with my lessons but also focusing on teaching the kids organization. Many of the students have no idea how to take notes in orderly fashion; basic things like putting the date or a heading or writing in the name notebook for the same class. I hope this will help them for the rest of their academic lives.

My first week of teaching was a lot the deep sea fishing experience I had this weekend. It started out rough and choppy (like the ocean once we got out of the lagoon of the atoll), students started getting interested (like the first impressive catches we had), there was a bit of a lull in the middle of the week (then there was about and hour and a half to two hours where nothing was biting), and then more success at the end (where we had a few more catches). I had never been deep sea fishing before (in fact I had only been fishing twice before that I can remember -- once when I was very young with my cousin Nuffy and the other time at this camp I worked at for the past few summers in a pond in one of the park districts in Chicago = not the same experience) and the experience was all thanks to Justin's parents, Steve and Angela Curtis, who came to visit Justin this past week. They chartered the XXXX boat, which is one of the nicest boats in Majuro available for charter and we went out trolling around Arno, the atoll that is closest to Majuro. The process of trolling includes letting out a number of lines and then driving the boat around until the fish jump onto the lure which looks as if it is moving. Leaving the lagoon was a bit rough since I had just eaten and I could really feel the waves moving the food in my stomach, but once we got around Arno, the water became smooth. Within about 40 minutes of leaving Majuro we got a bite. About 800 yards of line dumped out (I learned all of these terms on the trip) and it took Justin about 20 minutes to reel in the fish. It was a 400 lb. blue marlin. Absolutely insane. The fish was gorgeous and our Marshallese captain and crew were extremely impressed. The next catch was mine. I caught a 25 lb. Wahoo, which is silver in color. Mr. Curtis then caught a 25 lb. barracuda. Finally, after a bit of a lull, Alex Huestis caught a 35 lb. Wahoo. It was a wild trip and while we were trolling we were able to see multiple dolphins jumping out of the water.

What was even more rewarding was what happened afterwards. We brought all of the fish back afterwards and after taking numerous pictures and hearing many "oohs" and "ahhs" about the impressive American fisherman that Justin was, the owners of a restaurant right next to the dock took Alex and my fish and used it to create a special for the dinner menu. The wahoo was cooked perfectly and was one of the most delicious fish I had ever eaten. Before the meal though Alex, Justin, and I took the fish to Ejit, the island that Justin and Alex teach on, and passed out all of the marlin to the people there. At first the residents were confused when we pulled up with a huge fish and offered it to them, but word spread quickly on the small island and soon children were running up with anything they could find to carry the ~8 lb slabs of fish meat, including bowls, garbage bags, and their hands! Everyone was extremely grateful to Justin for his generosity. At one point, one of the men helping Justin cut the fish said "You could sell this for a lot of money. Are you sure you want to give it away?" and Justin said, "Of course I do." While I did not catch or cut the fish I felt proud to help and be a part of feeding the entire 300 person community with enough food that they would not have to worry for the next few days. Justin's mother reminded us that these were the experiences that we would not forget and that this should show us how a little gesture can be invaluable to someone else. It was one of the more amazing things I have been a part of and I am happy to say that I was there to see it.

Anyway, I should be off to bed. After an amazing weekend and a wonderful Sunday snorkeling on Enamanit (where I saw some of the most beautiful fish I have ever seen in coral that was eight or so feet from the shore) I am exhausted. My first full week of teaching ahead of me!

But before I go, a few more to add to the list of surprises that the RMI offers everyday:

#10 Geckos CLUCK! Yes, you read correctly. The entire time that the DVTP group was in a trailer together during orientation we would hear these noises that we assumed were rats. I later found out that the noise was actually geckos. I can't really describe the noise so I suggest you find an audio clip somewhere...but I can promise you that it is nothing like you thought they would sound. That being said, the only noise I have ever thought a gecko made had to go with car insurance...

#11 The kids here are amazing at volleyball. While I do not have much experience playing volleyball with elementary students in America, these little kids are strong and accurate when it comes to hitting the ball. I played with some of my students during lunch on Friday and their slams were knocking me back off my feet!

#12 Rat tails (the hairstyle) are totally in. Many of the young guys here have them and rock them liberally. This continues to surprise and confuse me everyday.

Bar Lo Kom,

Andrew

(And be sure to check out my Picasa account that I just created. Click on the pictures in the scrolling thumbnails or follow the link here - http://picasaweb.google.com/117345389807646883401/Orientation?feat=directlink - It takes a while to upload pictures so I have just added pictures from the first part of orientation, but you can some shots of Enamanit and the other volunteers. I will add more pictures and comments so that you know what things are in the next few days.)