Hello all, sorry for the lapse in blogging, since the last post my community was without a computer for 2 weeks and then Chuuk spent one straight week without electricity. I really enjoy spending much less time on the computer, but don’t try and talk to me about current events when I get back.
Things here have been picking up momentum. Today at St. Cecilia we finished the 1st Quarter of the school year, so I have been giving exams the last two days. It’s hard to believe that 1/8th of my time teaching is already up. In some ways I am thankful. Life in the Chuukese education system is still challenging, I am continuing to deal with language barrier issues daily. I AM allergic to chalk dust and by 5th period everyday I am sniffling and sneezing and my 8th graders ask what’s wrong with me.
The students are getting more comfortable with me. Carter, one of my favorite 6th graders, visits me in the mornings in the library. But there are also hard moments- this week my 6th graders were finishing up a writing project, just a one paragraph story but we worked on it for a week. When it came time to hand it in, all that my student Jerome had written on his paper was, “I am sorry.” It was heartbreaking. He is one of the students who struggles the most in English and since there are no resources like special Ed or after school tutoring, it’s difficult to help students so far behind, especially for me because I don’t have as firm a grasp on Chuukese as would be necessary. But I am constantly looking for creative ways to get to those students.
The two JV communities on Weno are doing well. This Wednesday Saramen Chuuk Academy (the high school where I live and where my 3 community-mates teach) played Xavier High School (where the other 4 JVs live and teach). They are the only two Catholic high schools in Chuuk. Marcos coaches SCA, Josh coaches Xavier, both JVs, so needless to say there is a huge rivalry. We all went up for the game on Wednesday after school. St. Cecilia lies on the road (there’s only one road) about halfway between the two schools, so I hopped on the back of the flatbed to join SCA and the JVs as they were going up to Xavier. It was great to see Marcos and Josh in action- they’re both really passionate about what they are doing, the rest of us found it amusing to watch. Xavier won by 5 and it was a great game. This weekend were are throwing a small Halloween party for the JVs and some faculty- Jessie is far more excited about it than I’ve ever seen anyone be for a party. It’s funny to try and decorate with the resources we have here. We love the simplicity.
I hope everyone is well at home and elsewhere. I am missing fall! It’s still 85 and humid here every day.
Peace,
Caitlin
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