An Overdue Update

Now that I have moved to Woja accessing the Internet has become increasingly default. I am not sure if it will remain this way throughout the year, but as things are now I will only be able to check my e-mail and update the blog once a week or so. I am hoping, however, that when I do update the blog it will have such abundant wit, information, and pictures that I will leave you satisfied for the whole week.

Let us begin.

I have just completed my second week of teaching at Ajeltake Elementary School. I am teaching 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 6^th, and 8^th grades. Now, I originally requested in my WorldTeach paperwork to teach younger students. I thought, “Heck. Little kids are cute and I know that I am smarter than them. How hard can it be?” Why did no one tell me that small children are idiots?! They cannot reason. They cannot sit still. They have no empathy. I hate them. I was scheduled to teach 1^st – 3^rd in a row for an hour each. After the second day I told my principal that 20 minutes in 1^st and 2^nd grade was all that I was physically and mentally able to do. (I always go over time, but at least this way I have an out.) Apparently he had met these kids and quickly agreed. My schedule is now as follows:

8:15 – 8:35 1^st Grade

9:15 – 9:35 2^nd Grade

10:30 – 11:30 3^rd Grade

11:30 – 12:30 Lunch

12:30 – 1:15 Prep

1:15 – 2:00 8^th Grade

2:00 – 2:45 6^th Grade

I realize that there are a few breaks in my schedule. I plan to use the extra time to pull out students from my classes to work with them if they need some one-on-one assistance. I would also like to contribute a little of my time to assisting the special education teacher in any way that I can. (Interesting Fact: His position is paid for by IDEA) The development of the special education is proving to be a very interesting facet of working in the RMI. (I would love to discuss this further if anyone is interested)

I will talk in more detail about what I am doing in each class in more detail as the year progresses. For now I will just briefly explain my thoughts on what I am going to do in each class. I feel that all of the classes are missing the basics. They seem to be lacking knowledge of letter sounds (phonics) and how letter sounds allow readers to decode and writers to spell. I am treating 2^nd grade as a accelerated version of 1^st grade, and essentially planning the same series of lessons for both classes. Currently we are reviewing letter names and correct letter formation. We are going slow and also focusing on basic classroom procedures and phrases. (There is an added level of difficulty because I do not speak much Marshallese and they speak little to no English) After the students master the letter names we will move into phonics. (I think.)

In 3^rd grade we are starting with phonics and building words using work families. This group of students is going to be really wonderful to work with. They are funny and truly seem motivated to be at school!

In 6^th and 8^th grade we are currently reviewing basic grammar and parts of speech. I have lots of ideas for both of these classes. I would like to have them journaling everyday. I think that this is a good way to differentiate instruction of the many different ability levels. I also would like to get them excited about reading. This will be hard because of my lack of resources. And like every other class think that phonics will need to be incorporated into class as well.

As for my home life. Some of you have heard that I was thrown a bit of a curve ball when I found out how far it is from my school and that my host family does not actually live there. After two weeks I love it. Transportation to school is a bit annoying, but it is making my more flexible and able to adapt to new situations. There is not much to say about the house. When I get home I am really tired. I go for a jog and try to avoid the crazy dogs. My host mom bought me Cinnamon Toast Crunch and I almost cried I was so happy. Thats about it.

I love and miss you all. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

p.s. I have not heard anything from Ben, Jacob, David, and Zack. Could someone pass on my blog information to them and send me a mailing address for one of them. Thanks.

Outside of Ajeltake Elementary School. I wanted to get a better pictures, but as you can see when I pulled out the camera kids came running. They were fighting over who was closet to the camera, so I had to put it away.

My desk. My area consists of the table and two drawers in the filing cabinet. The rest of the space is the library. I hope to use some of my time to clean this area out and organize it. I have heard in the past every volunteer has tried this and it never lasts. The wonderful home of Nika and Danny Wise. (aka where I live)
The porch where I spend a lot of time rearranging mosquito coils to try and minimize the number of bites I get while eating, lesson planning, or reading. My Room. There is a living room area where the rugs is. It really acts as a storage room for all of the stuff I have somehow accumulated in the last 6 weeks. Then, as you can see, my bed. And the door in the back of the room leads to the bathroom.

Can you wait?

Life has become a little more dramatic recently. Damn! I have, however, learned to handle my problems with ice cream. (Hidden benefit of living in a developing country -- ice cream is "healthy" it provides you with fat and calcium! There is a little house next to my house that sells a cone for 50 cents.)

I had to come into town for two reasons today. One, my friend Greg is leaving tomorrow for Arno. Arno is an island about 10 miles away from Majuro. Also, we have an emergency meeting with all WT vols on island tonight at 6 about the effects of the broken plane. (I will explain more tomorrow.)

I have to go. It is important to note that I will be composing a blog tonight when I get home and posting it this weekend with a lot of pictures. Also, I am doing okay. I came here for challenges and am pretty proud of how I am rolling with with the "punches."

Who New My Blog Was Soooo Popular!

So, shockingly, the Internet has been down for most of the last week and a half. I apologies for depriving you all of updates. Today is Friday and we have most of the day free because it is the last day of "summer camp" or what some might call orientation. Tomorrow I move about 15 miles to Woja where I will be living with my host family. I have a lot of mixed emotions about this. The past four weeks have been great. I have learned a lot, made great friends, and handled this whole experience very well. Now, moving, I am again fearful that I will become overwhelmed and not be the traveling champ I have started to think of myself as. I am also excited because I didn't move 7,000 miles to spend my days speaking English with a group of like minded people who are very similar to myself. I want to break out of my comfort zone. I will keep you all updated on how the move goes. Ahhhh!

As for what I have been doing over the past 2 weeks:

1. We had Practicum last week. Practicum took place at Ajeltake Elementary School. Bonus Points if you remembered that this is where I will be teaching. This was a very special event because I got to meet a lot of the staff and students, and now I feel more calm about the upcoming school year.

2. We attended yet another Ministry of Education party. This party was for all current teachers and principals. Extra little tidbit : After the party we headed down to the lagoon and drank vodka and Gatorade. Then later danced the night away. Until the bar where we were dancing was shut down by the police. This is apparently how bars here close. No closing time the just wait until things get rowdy and the police come?!

The following picture is of Greg and Kristen at the MOE Party. Not the best picture, but I know that many of you would like to put faces with names. Around their necks they are wearing long strings of bubble gum. Greg has since become addicted and goes through extreme withdrawal without it. 3. The day after the MOE party the same group that I went to Laura with headed out to Mile 17. We had heard that there was a rope swing and felt that it could provide us with hours of fun. Needless to say, there was no swing and I cut my foot! We did however spend the whole day playing in this tree building a "tree house". Anyone who knows me I am sure is aware that I would like to live with close friends in a tree house commune when I am an adult and anytime practicing this lifestyle is a good time to me. The picture is of Dan installing his hammock on the second floor. (ps I need a hammock... mom??)

I have more pictures that I would like to upload and send, but there are people waiting and it is taking forever. I will try to write tomorrow. I have great pictures and stories to share about a camping trip I took to one of the outer islands on my atoll. I will also be sending pictures of my new house and school as soon as I can. I miss you all. Please keep writing and telling me what is going on with you. (Specifically I am upset that Libby and Mary have not written me)

Our Trip to Laura

Sunday we had the day to enjoy and do as we wish. Dan, Daren, Greg, Ben, Kristen and I decided to head to Mile 17. Mile 17 is near Ajeltake where I will be teaching. It is called Mile 17 because it is 17 miles from somewhere. I have no idea where the starting point is, but that's how it got the name. Greg really wanted to play on a rope swing and insisted that we go to Mile 17, because somewhere he heard they had one.

At about 10am we had all gathered our PB and Js, filled out water bottles, collected our snorkel gear, and were ready to go. Hitchhiking is the best way to get to any distance on the island. A cab would cost up to $50 to get the 20 or so miles to the other end of the island. We started walking hopeing to quickly be picked up. Dan, as you can see in the picture, made a sign to let drivers know our destination. (Jouj means please) We walked for at least an hour before finally the man in the picture pulled over. As you can see in the picture he had a very small car and we had a lot of people with a lot of things. He was okay with it, so we made it work. Greg had to ride the 30 minute drive with his head out the window, but it was worth the pain. We found out once we were in the car that this was no ordinary man, but a respected Senator for over 20 years. He told us that he was not going to take us to Mile 17, because it was not as beautiful as Laura. (If you look at the map you can see that Laura the very end of the island.) He took us on a mini tour of the island which included showing me my school and where my host family lives. When we arrived in Laura we were amazed. The beaches were amazing and we were the only people there. The family that owns the beach charges a dollar a person, but the Senator explained that we were his personal friends and we were let in for free. When we arrived the Senator then called the local police to come see where we were (he made them drive there to talk to him in person) and instructed them to pick us up at four and take us back to Rairok where we are saying! Can you believe that?!

The day was wonderful. We played in the water, took pictures, listened to music, and drank water from coconuts that Ben collected. It was heaven!

The way home is not as good of a story. The police never showed up and we were left to walk the 20 miles home. A long story short... we all made it home.

Dan and the Senator! Thanks to him we had a great day!

Kristen and Daren in the hammock reading and talking.

The greatest place on earth! I sat at the end of this sandbar forever reading and listening music!

Crazy Day - Tune in Tomorrow

So, day one of trying to include a picture and already no picture. Oops. However, I have great pictures from yesterday and an even better story to tell. Here is a little story teaser.

1. Hitch hiked
2. Found heaven
3. Police

I have to get back to getting work done. Tomorrow, I hope, I will write and post more than one picture.

(Dad e mail me at kathrynsmit@gmail.com I tried to call today but I was out of time on my cell phone. I am going to try again sometime this week when you get home from work.)

This picture was taken tonight at the Ministry of Education building. WorldTeach invited all of the principals and teachers to come meet the new volunteers. Both my principal and the 6th grade teacher came. I will be teaching English Language classes for the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. I am very excited to get started. My principal brought me this beautiful headpiece to welcome me to the school. Obet, the principal, was the star of the party. He sang, told jokes, and made everyone laugh. The more people I meet from the community the more excited I become for the school year to begin!

I am now going to try and post a picture with each blog. Try.

(Dad you did a great job with the message post. You can also email me personally if you want. I love you.)