Honeymoon?

August 11, 2007

I am standing in a Chuukese supermarket holding a pinapple, looking blankly at Ellen and Marcos as they discuss the type of beans we should make for dinner. I have just arrived in Micronesia maybe 3 hours prior, and have barely slept between DC to Houston, Houston to Honolulu, Honolulu to Majuro- Kwajalein- Korosae- Pohnpei- and finally Weno. I am now home, but it feels nothing like home. All I want in this moment is to go back to Saramen, be fed dinner and put to bed. Which, thankfully, happened exactly as i desired. Thanks Ellen and Marcos!

After I emerged from my jet lag- I awoke to discover that I am in a very strange, but amazing place. Downtown Weno is a juxtaposition of gorgeous tropical scenery, palm trees, placid blue water, distant uninhabited islands mixed with a dusty foreground of noisy cars, potholes, haphazard markets, and people bustling about. It is the manifestation of a Pacific Island trying to live and thrive in an American system that has been forced upon it. Yet Chuuk is not exactly thriving. I am only beginning to understand the complex issues that Chuuk faces, but i know that the number is many.

On our very first full day in Chuuk Ellen and Marcos took us off-island to a neighboring lagoon island, Fefan. There are no cars on Fefan, no roads, no island power and it is very, very beautiful. The island is surrounded by mangrove trees which have large roots jutting into the water, and the church is perched on a hill overlooking the lagoon. We attended the Chuuk Youth Festival, which is an annual Catholic youth celebration involving Chuukese liturgy and much singing and dancing. The 2 day affair would have been fantastic had Jessie and I been completely out of sorts with the sleep deprival/jet lag that left us attempting to sleep in the middle of singing practice that our group decided to commence at 12 am in the ut we were sleeping in. An ut being a meeting house, an open structure with a roof and tile floor where our parish was staying the night. The experience was somewhat like a dance party going on in our bedroom, generator lights, synthesizer. It was crazy, but it is becoming progressively more hilarious as time goes on. It was great to experience Chuukese culture and ecclesiology immediately after arriving.

This past week I began faculty meetings at St. Cecilia, the Catholic Elementary school where I will be teaching 6th, 7th, and 8th grade English...without textbooks. I am the only American working in the school, only white person, only native English speaker. This means that my placement at times may be lonely or seem very foreign, but also that I will have the opportunity to learn much more about the Chuukese people, and more fully enter into relationships with my Chuukese co-workers. The faculty has been amazing and very welcoming to me.

That's all the time I have for blogging today, the JVs and I are headed to mass. I will post more soon if the power chooses to come on.

kinamwe (peace),
Caitlin