Friday, May 2, 2008

The rains came down and the floods came up!



This week was the closest thing to winter that I’ve experienced all year. It rained and rained and rained all week long. Tuesday we had to put sandbags in front of the office to keep it from flooding. We waded through inches of water on our way to recess in the gym and all my students busted out their jackets. As a result of the rain, the temperature was wonderful, barely any sweating all week!! It was probably 78 or so most of time, which was a wonderful change, I thoroughly enjoyed it. This week was a big one for us, we had the evaluators here checking the school, it was midterm week, and I had to give chapel on Friday. The week was slow, but everything turned out well and now it’s Sabbath!! Yay for weekends! Three weeks of school left and it doesn’t seem real that at the end of this month I’ll be back in Cali to see my family and friends again!!! I’m very excited, although sad to say goodbye to the 19 crazy little kids that I will miss very dearly. The year is wrapping up and it will be incredibly busy up until the very end with graduations, concerts, school fair, camping trips, and parties to plan! The myth that 4th quarter goes the fastest is definitely false, however, the busyness gives a wonderful façade of time moving quickly.

Last weekend we hiked up “Mr. B’s Mountain”. The mountain doesn’t actually belong to him, but the land at the base belongs to his family, so we still refer to it as his. “Hike” is maybe the wrong word for this excursion. There is no trail, it is more like clambering straight up a muddy slope of 2000 + ft, grasping at any living vegetation to prevent slipping back down the few feet that you just gained. It was a muddy, slipperly, sweaty good time! The view from the top was breathtaking though!! It is the 2nd highest point on the island, so we had a great view of most of the island. The wind was blowing up in our faces off the edge of the cliff and at one point it rained UP on us. Getting back down the mountain was even more interesting than climbing up. There were many America’s Funniest Home Video moments as everyone present probably spent a good share of the way down on their butts or in that not quite stable position , arms flailing and legs kicking to stay under you. It was the craziest hike I’ve ever been on and I loved it.

We just finished our last SM Sabbath at the Kolonia church. It went really well although it was a long one! We had a nice potluck afterward and are now enjoying relaxing. I’ve got to recharge this weekend to get ready for the coming onslaught of planning and parties that come with the end of the year.

Things I’ve learned in Pohnpei:

  1. when the ship doesn’t bring fruit, it’s a sad day
  2. 78 degrees can feel cold, temperature is all relative
  3. It’s impossible not to overeat at potluck, yum!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Bee,
I've eagerly looked forward to each of your blogs while in Pohnpei. You have a way with words that makes me laugh!! I love the "Things I've learned in Pohnpei" section. Some are so simple but so true...others just crack me up! Anyway...just a shout hello and looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks. Love you...Auntie Denice