This last weekend we had 4 days off! Monday was Teacher in Service Day and Tuesday was Liberation Day. Because we had such a nice long time off, we decided to go camping at an outer island. We left Friday immediately after school and took an hour long boat ride to the atoll (called Ant). On our way there a huge pod of dolphins swam next to our boat and accompanied us for part of the way. They were so cute!! The ocean was kind of crazy in such a small boat, but it was a fun ride. I was soaked by the time we arrived. I scouted out some good palm trees and set up my hammock. By the way, sleeping in a hammock- fun , yes. Comfortable, NO. Just thought I'd clear that up. We ate mostly pancakes and ramen noodles the whole weekend. It was so nice to be on a sandy beach and be barefoot all weekend! There were crabs everywhere too, you had to be careful where you stepped! Saturday we played on my slack line and snorkeled most of the time. I saw an octopus while snorkeling! It was really cool. I've always wanted to find one. So, it turns out that the tiny strip of exposed skin between my rash guard and board shorts, yeah, that needs sunscreen too. Ouch. I think I was actually one of the least sunburned of the bunch of us, but I hurt a bit on Monday and used aloe very liberally. We went scuba diving Sunday afternoon just before returning to Pohnpei, which was fun. I didn't see anything fabulous, but it was the first time I'd been diving since my checkout dive in February so I had fun. It was such a chill and relaxing weekend. I think it's the first time since I've been here that I've really really enjoyed myself. I wish we always had four days off for every weekend! School is going alright. Some days are dare I say "good", and some are not so much fun. Today would be the latter. I think they put a shot of caffeine in the lunches sometimes because my kids were bouncing off the walls today. If any of you get a hankering to send me a letter, or even a package, be my guest, it would be much appreciated. My address is -
Pohnpei SDA School
PO Box 518
Kolonia, Pohnpei 96941
FSM, Pohnpei
I always appreciate mail, it brightens my day like you wouldn't believe! Thank you for all your support and prayers!
Its been a long time since I've posted! Last week on Friday it was our elementary school picnic. We went to a man made beach called Nihco Marine Park. The kids absolutely loved it. They played in the water and tried their best to coax me into the water with them. I gave in eventually. It was a lot of fun, but planning things like that take so much work! Calling parents for rides to a from the park and getting supervision and collecting money, it was a long process. This week went slowly for me. It was a rough week because our copier is totally out of ink until the next boat comes. It is very hard to teach 3rd grade without worksheets of some type, let me tell you. I did a whole lot of "in class" work and gave points based on participation. This week looks to be another creative lesson planning week as well. I'm getting more used to school, but there is always something to surprise you, like when the kids get hit in the face with a swing and have to go to the hospital to get stitches, or when you have an irate parent yelling at you in front of your students. Always something to deal with. This weekend was a welcome break, only to wake up this morning feeling horrible. I tried to go about my day and just ignore it, but I nearly passed out in my classroom, so I decided to go back to bed. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be recovered enough to teach. Last weekend was very fun though. We hiked through the jungle to a waterfall and played there for a while. It was not the prettiest one we've been to, but still a lot of fun, and the hike was gorgeous. Sunday a few of us went canoing through the mangrove mazes in a channel. That was soo cool! Some of the passageways wind on for a long ways, it felt like touring the Amazon or something. It's hard to believe that it's nearly October already! The days go painfully slow, but the weeks usually go pretty fast. Well, I've got science tests to write and a huge stack of papers to record so I'd better get to work. I miss you all, thanks for your comments and prayers!
