sakau

Sakau is a drink that traditionally was only made for special ceremonies or feasts and drank by men who had high titles. Nowadays, you can find sakau being made all over the island for anyone to drink. I have posted a link to the wikipedia page about how it is prepared but I will also do my best to explain it.


First, men take the roots of the sakau plant and clean the mud off of them. The roots are pounded on a slab with another rock. Next, water is mixed in. The mushy roots are then squeezed through... this part is hard to explain... other roots? You can see in the pictures. The result is a rather thick, muddy drink. Some people add more water and sell 40 oz. bottles for $4 a piece. My host family usually just pounds their own sakau and we drink at home.

After drinking a few coconut shells of sakau you feel very mellow. And if you drink enough without standing up, a little dizzy. I enjoy it a lot. Especially now that it is Christmas time, I will be drinking a lot of sakau. And attending a lot of feasts with interesting food. I will save details about that for another post...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakau

it's december?

I can't believe that I have been gone for 3 months and that it is almost Christmas! My host family put up some Christmas lights yesterday and I was shocked. Partly because I did not know that Christmas lights were used here but also because it does not feel like Christmas season at all! It is weird to hear Christmas music playing--most with an island beat worked in-- while wearing skirts and t-shirts. Hope you are enjoying the beginning of the Christmas season where ever you are!

week one

I have now been living at my permanent site for a little over one week. Just when I thought that I had adjusted to living in Micronesia, I was proven wrong. Not seeing other Americans on a daily basis is a big adjustment. Not having a jam packed schedule from 8AM to 6PM everyday is different. Not having snack time at our training site at 10AM and 3PM everyday is missed. And my status change from PCT (Peace Corps Trainee) to PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) means that people expect a lot more of me, especially when it comes to speaking Pohnpeian. And speaking Pohnpeian in my language class is a lot different than it is out in the real world. My new host family and co-workers realize that I am not fluent, but they sure want me to be. So for every conversation I have, I need to decide if I am just going to nod along and laugh when it seems appropriate or ask for a translation. Translations are always given, but I can tell that people think that I should only need this for a little while. So one day soon, I will hopefully be able to hold my own in Pohnpeian.

Next week I will begin teaching and also celebrate my first Thanksgiving abroad! The Country Director has kindly invited all of the volunteers on Pohnpei to his house for dinner so I will be enjoying at least some American dishes (I think? I hope?).

Happy Thanksgiving! I'll be thinking of all of you!

Swear In

Mollie and Ruthanne

Amber and Kate

Micro 76 Pohnpei being sworn in

Nate, me, our language teacher Anterro and Amanda

I'm a Volunteer!

I am now officially a Peace Corps Volunteer. I was sworn in yesterday with the 9 other volunteers who make up Micro 76 Pohnpei. We are the 76th class of volunteers to serve in Micronesia since the Peace Corps came here in 1966. Our swear-in was held at our training center and our training host families, permanent host families, principals, co-teachers and the current volunteers all attended. Our country director and program assistant made short speeches and the country director gave us the oath of service. At the end we performed a traditional Micronesian stick dance. I have a video of it which I will hopefully be able to post soon.
I am very happy to be done with training and to begin my service. My house in my permanent community is very nice and it is great to be fully unpacked finally. Next week I will go to my school and meet my class! I am nervous but I am not going to begin teaching right away, I will observe for a few weeks to see what the kids know and what they need help with. We also have Monday and Wednesday off next week, so it is good to know I will be eased in to the school week. Pohnpei has a lot of holidays in November. :)
I will write again soon about how my first week at school went. Today I am meeting up with the volunteers who are leaving for outer islands on Monday to say goodbye. We won't see each other for at least 3 months and probably will not be able to talk either.

Scuba and Swimming

Last weekend I went scuba diving for the first time. It was really strange at first to go under water and not hold my breath. But once you get used to it, scuba diving is amazing! We were mostly practicing different skills but at the end of our dive we got to explore a little and saw some coral and fish. We only went down 20 feet though; going down to 60 is going to be a lot different. Amber and Ap are taking the classes with me along with some volunteers that are here through World Teach. I have another dive this weekend, and 2 more next weekend… then I will be certified! This week was the same as most in training. We went to an elementary school and observed an 8th grade English class. Next week I have to teach 2 lessons in the class. I am very nervous. I still don’t know what I am doing a lesson on and the more I look at lesson ideas the more I realize I do not know about English grammar. (As you may have realized from reading my blog) I probably should have brushed up on my own English skills before I came to teach it. Amber will be teaching with me (and she has teaching experience) so that is helping calm my nerves a little bit. I will let you know how it goes! Yesterday we had a nice day off of regular training and went to a nearby island for a picnic. We also learned how to weave baskets and start a fire. The fire starting involved a lighter and a sytrofoam ramen bowl so clearly, western influences have reached the islands. We asked our language teachers to show us how to light a fire with just 2 sticks but their reply was, “When are you ever going to be on an island without a lighter?” Very true, except possibly for those going to the outer islands. We also had a lot of time to swim around the island. There was a sandy beach which was very nice as all of the swimming spots on Pohnpei involve walking on some pretty sharp coral. After all, I joined the Peace Corps for luxury, not scraping my feet up. I have not been very good at taking pictures lately but I am receiving an underwater casing for my camera this week from my sister so I will take more then!

Mouse Update

Earlier I may have stated I did not mind the mice in my room. My feelings have drastically changed. A few nights ago I awoke to a mouse on my leg. In my bed. At 5 in the morning. Aren’t mice supposed to be afraid of people? Shouldn’t they run away from me? What are they doing climbing in my bed? Well, to say the least, I did not appreciate it. Somehow, I did not scream. In fact, all I did was sit up and shake my leg until I heard it scurry off my bed and back into its hole in my wall. Then rolled over and went back to sleep. I would have had a way different reaction a mere 2 months ago. I guess I am getting used to my critter friends in a way. But if one joins me in bed again, I am going to have to buy some traps.