life here

So far I have been enjoying my time in Micronesia. I am staying with a host family until the end of training in November. They are very kind and have been incredible welcoming to me. I have 2 host sisters and 2 host brothers. Maylany, Madonna, DX and Enson. Maylany’s 3 year-old son, Kyle, also lives with us. And my host parents, Enerihko and Ehlinda. I have a 10 minute walk to our training site everyday. And on the weekends they have brought me to a local site of ancient ruins, Nan Madol and a nearby waterfall. After training I will be moving in with another host family at my permanent site.
My meals here mainly consist of rice and fish. White rice is the main component of every meal. With that I usually get a fried reef fish. Which I can now eat without swallowing too many bones. I have also had pork and chicken quite regularly. The weirdest things I have tried so far have been turkey tail and turtle. Turkey tail is not very good, it is mostly fat but turtle is delicious!
Some nights I go with my family to a local sakau market for community fundraising nights. Sakau is a local drink made from a pepper plant that everyone drinks. You can get drunk off of it, but it mostly mellows you out. I like drinking it but never really feel much different afterwards. At the fundraising events, everyone brings a few crops, skirts, pigs or other miscellaneous goods which are grouped together to make about 5 good prizes. Then everyone buys 25 cent raffle tickets to try to win. I have been 5 times, bought a lot of tickets, and never had any luck. My family won twice the other night though. The money made off the raffle tickets is going towards a community party that will be held on October 3rd. (or so I think… it seems like some nights the family that owns the market just makes money)

placement and mail

I can’t believe I have only been gone for 3 weeks. It feels like a lot longer. Things are going really well here. Training is keeping me very busy, we are in class from 8:30 to 5 every week day. We learn technical skills about teaching ESL and have a lot of sessions about Micronesian culture. This past Wednesday I found out my site placement. I will be staying on the main island of Pohnpei. I will be working at an elementary school that has kindergarten to 8th grade with about 300 students teaching 7th and 8th grade English Language Arts. I will also be helping run a computer lab for all grades. Two of my good friends in training (Kate and Amber) are staying in Pohnpei too!!
The good thing about me being on a main island is that I will have somewhat regular access to the internet! I am only about 20 minutes outside of the capitol town that has an internet café type place. I would still love letters as I will have a lot of time on my hands on weeknights (besides lesson planning) to write back. And I will only check my email about once a month. My address will remain the same:

Erica Dunn, Peace Corps Trainee
P.O. Box 9
Kolonia, Pohnpei, FM 96941

And it only cost 44 cents to send a letter! I have received one from my sister and it only took about 10 days to get here. Also, if you are planning on sending me a package the best way to do it is use Domestic Flat Rate Boxes that cost about 11 or 13 dollars no matter how heavy they are. And just specify that it is Airmail or it could end up on a ship that only comes every few months.

in micronesia

i am in pohnpei! the flight from honolulu was long and tiring. the plane is called an 'island hopper' as it stops on 2 military islands in the Marshall Islands, Kosrae (an FSM state) then Pohnpei. It has 2 more stops after that before the final destination of Guam. Pohnpei is beautiful! And hot. And rainy. I have been here for about 24 hours and there has been 3-4 rainstorms lasting about 20-30 minutes each. So far I have had 2 meals at restaurants, of fried rice for dinner and eggs for breakfast. Once I am with a family I will be eating more traditional meals for sashimi and many varieties of bananas.

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am safe. The PC Staff is very helpful and friendly. Tomorrow (Monday) we move in with our host families in a more remote village on the island of Pohnpei. I will probably not have internet again for a few weeks. The next 3 weeks I will be in technical and cultural training.

jordan (college roommate) and i in honolulu

first view of Micronesia- Island of Kosrae from the plane

"downtown" kolonia (on Pohnpei island)

Bye!

I am currently in the airport in Honolulu waiting to board the long 10 1/2 hour flight to Pohnpei, Micronesia. It is 6am on Friday in Honolulu and we will land at 2pm on Saturday in Pohnpei. So I am about to lose a day of my life because we cross over the International Date & Time Line.

The last 2 days in LA and Honolulu have been tiring but fun. I have been spending time with the 29 other volunteers and got to see my college roommate, Jordan, in Honolulu. Hopefully I will be able to post again soon!

saying goodbye is hard

Goodbyes are never easy, but at least this is only a 'see you later' (in 2012). My family and friends have been absolutely amazing though. I will miss everyone, but you all have made it easier by giving me so many good memories over the past month to think about. I had a fantastic going away party, complete with a performance by one of my favorite bands. And more lunches, dinners and dessert dates than I deserved or needed. I will gain enough weight from eating SPAM over the next 2 years.

Here are pictures of some of the wonderful people that I will be missing:

My family at the going away party.

My party planners and best friends with Micronesia blue drinks


Fordham girls

Long Island Friends

And perhaps most of all, my nieces and nephew... Julianna, Ethan and Leah will be so big when I get back!!

write to me

Internet access will be sparse in my new home so I am going to have to rely on snail mail for communication purposes. Please send me letters over the next 2 years because I will have more than enough downtime in the evening (no tv) to write back to you. Write to me about anything. Little tidbits about important news will be greatly appreciated. (What's Barack doing? Who's winning the late night ratings battle? Did Britney shave her head again?)

My address during training will be:

Erica Dunn, Peace Corps Trainee
Peace Corps/Micronesia
PO Box 9
Kolonia, Pohnpei, FM 96941

I will have a new address beginning in November which I will post then. It will take 2-4 weeks for mail to get to me. If anything arrives at this address after I have moved to my post, it will be forwarded to me. Please feel free to begin sending things now as the first month away from home will surely be tough!

5 more days until departure!!

Packing

Just over 2 weeks to go! I am done with work now and focusing on packing and other preparations. Things are going okay packing wise... I occasionally freak out that I have nothing and won't be prepared but remind myself that I don't need much. And there are post offices in Micronesia so if I forget anything it is not the end of the world. I ordered a watch off Amazon and it is in Russian... mishaps like this are not helping my stress level. I also don't know what my living situation will be like exactly so it is difficult to pack in some ways. (Will I have electricity? Will I have plumbing? etc.)

My family and friends are throwing me a going away party this Saturday which I am very excited about! Friends from high school, college, and study abroad are coming so it should be a great time. I can't wait to see everyone.

Oh, and fun new realization about my flight there.... on the 10 1/2 hour flight from Honolulu to Pohnpei there are 3 stops. I think I will probably be able to stay on the plane and they are just dropping off passengers on other islands, but still, that is a lot of take-offs and landings!