Chuukese

I have been thinking a lot about the language barrier that exists here in Chuuk between English and Chuukese speakers. The subject comes up in conversation daily among my community-mates.

Each state in the FSM speaks its own language. In Chuuk, the 70,000 people who live here speak Chuukese. Chuukese is that strangest language I have ever heard; it makes Kiswahili look easy. There are no books published in Chuukese other than a translation of the Bible- the language was historically only oral. The way the school system here works (or at least in theory) is that students speak Chuukese in school through the 3rd grade. After that classes are supposed to begin to switch over to English. The only language spoken in the high schools here is English; the only opportunities for Chuukese to go to college are in English speaking schools. The only college here in Chuuk is COM- college of Micronesia, a 2 year associates program in education. And that’s the only option. Most students seeking a college education who do not attend COM go off island, to Pohnpei, Guam, Hawaii or elsewhere in the States.

The lack of options frustrates me daily; it is a type of poverty I hadn’t considered before. Try to wrap your head around not even having the opportunity to attend college in your native language. Part of the reason for the English system is the small number of Chuukese speakers, and part is the America education system enforced here on this small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. As with many challenges Chuuk faces, the Chuukese are not often assisted by the foreign system at work here in this non-Western location.

For me at St. Cecilia, the language barrier is more apparent than for the other JVs. As the only elementary school teacher, most of my students are only beginning to learn English. At St. Cecilia, the students do not start classes in English in the 4^th grade. In fact most teachers teach in Chuukese through the 8^th grade, knowing that when they arrive in high school, the students will be forced to speak only English. Most of the teachers aren’t fluent in English either. It is difficult for my students and I to understand each other. Often directions must be repeated 5, 10 times in the classroom. I worry that I will never be able to connect with my students in any sort of depth due to the language barrier that divides us.

Every day I grapple with the implications of my presence here, as I participate in a system that forces a foreign language on Chuukese people. Am I facilitating an effort to strip the Chuukese language away from its speakers? Should we just let Chuuk be, take our language and head home? I don’t know. I do know that the only option for a college education is in English, and with that education a Chuukese person has the potential to make these decisions for herself or himself. I try to explain to my 7^th graders that bilingualism is an important tool they will need to claim their own voice in the world- I’m not sure they get it.

In asking these questions to my community-mates the other night, Marcos turned to me saying- whenever you question why you’re here, remember that you were invited. Marcos’ reminder, along with Tuesday night Chuukese lessons has been enough solace for my restless wondering for now.

Pisar and Pisiwi

I've been trying to get this post up for a while. We just got power back on island after a week!

“I think we lucked out on weather,” Jessie says to me as we are sitting in a small fiber glass boat cruising through the Pacific. I look around at the deep blue water surrounding us, “I think we lucked out in life,” I say back.

The past two weekends I have been able to spend some time off-island, out of Weno exploring different islands in Chuuk. Now, this type of luxury is not normal for JVs, just coincidence really.

Last weekend my community and I went to Pisar, a football field sized island about a 45 minute boat ride away from Weno. Pisar lies on the outer reef that surrounds the Chuuk Lagoon. It is paradise. Pisar looks like every post card, corona commercial, screen saver image of an island paradise that you can recall in your memory. So much so that it seems completely surreal. There are white sand beaches, palm trees, hammocks made of fish nets, mountainous islands in the distance and gorgeous coral in the water. Locals say it is one of the two most beautiful islands in Chuuk. It’s ridiculous; there is no other way to describe it.

Marcos, Jessie, Lincoln, Monica (Lincoln’s girlfriend who is visiting) and I spent the day there. It was the best vacation I have ever had. We waded in the warm waters, unable to concentrate on any conversation other than that of the beauty that surrounded us. We geared up for about an hour and a half of snorkeling, swimming about 200 yards out to discover coral walls 10 feet high off the sea floor, bold colors, bright blue starfish. It was incredible, comparable to the Great Barrier Reef but better since we were alone on an island with no one around us for miles. After swimming I napped in a hammock, read some, ate, and went back to swim before leaving for the day. It was wonderful and relaxing. The JVs return to Pisar annually for our Re-Orientation and dis-Orientation at the end of each year. Anyone who wants to make the trip out to Chuuk- I promise to take you to Pisar.

This past weekend Jessie and I unexpectedly traveled to Pisiwi, a small picnic island only 20 minutes by boat away from Weno, with a Chuukese family. Picnic islands are common recreational sites for Chuukese, there are smaller, uninhabited islands where people go to eat, swim and relax with family and friends. Our day at Pisiwi served a completely different purpose that our time in Pisar, however. Kathy Lucas is that name of the Chuukese woman who brought us along with her family. She is the mother of one of Jessie’s high school students who has spent a fair amount of time in the US and who Jessie and I felt was an appropriate person to learn about Chuuk from. Having lived in the States would have provided better understanding for her about why Jessie and I have millions of questions about life in Chuuk- dress, gender roles, HIV/AIDS, customs, local religion, oral traditions, sexuality, etc, etc. (We have lots of questions.)

In our mission to understand this place, Jessie asked if Kathy would be willing to share some of her perspective with us, she agreed, told us where to meet her daughter who picked us up and brought us to their village. There we discovered that we were being taken off island as guests with their family of about 20. Family has a very loose definition here. All cousins and Aunts and Uncles are what we would consider immediate family. Everyone is related. There are many cultural adoptions practiced where if one family couldn’t care for their children, a child may go and live with their aunt or uncle. Everyone is taken care of by their community. Here, my brothers and sisters are Lincoln, Marcos and Jessie.

Once we arrive in Pisiwi Jessie and I talk to Adleen and Dubo, Kathy’s daughters who are 27 and 23 respectively. It was my first opportunity to talk to Chuukese peers. (I spend most of my time with kids 11-14.) Both Adleen and Dubo spent many years in the US with their adopted grandparents, until they returned home for high school. So they could talk to us in English, and give us their unique perspective on the differences between both cultures. They encouraged Jessie and I to ask as many questions as we wanted, honestly. The conversation continued when Kathy joined us.

The women explained many things to us in Pisiwi, information I will continue to process for a long time. They described the history behind the way women dress- all women have knees and shoulders covered now. However, years ago before Chuuk was imperialized by Spain, Germany, Japan, and America most people did not wear clothes at all. In many places in the outer islands of Chuuk and in Yap the women still remain topless. But the tradition is dying out. So it’s difficult to understand the dress customs when they are not authentic to the Chuukese culture. Some outsider came in to Chuuk and told the people to cover up. We asked about gender roles. Women cook, clean, and are not allowed to leave the house after dark. No one visits friends after dark, even on the weekends. Men, however are allowed out, can tell the women to fix them dinner without being questioned and may drink publicly. If a woman is seen drinking it is considered disrespectful. Additionally, there are special roles for brother and sisters. Even if the brother is younger he may tell the sister what to do. Sisters must remain most formal around their brothers before anyone else. They must not show their knees, use strong language and so on. We discussed dating in Chuuk, it is basically unacceptable. Most people either end out sneaking out of their homes late at night to visit someone they are interested in dating, or get married as nearly strangers. This leads to problems like divorce and domestic abuse in Chuuk. I won’t be able to write everything I learned in Pisiwi, but I will attempt to relate it later as I have more experiences in Chuuk.

Life here in Chuuk has begun to take on its own rhythm. Work Monday to Friday, relax and run errands as much as possible on the weekends. We are all doing well here. More thoughts to come later

Peace,

Caitlin

pictures are up

hello out there, just wanted to let you know my pictures are up on Flickr. The link is to the right screen of this blog. Jessie and I are going to be sharing the account for the next two years so there will be double the pictures. enjoy!
peace and love
caitlin