Happy 2010!

Happy REAL New Year! The holidays were absolutely fantastic and relaxing. It involved relaxing on campus, visiting Saramen more frequently, and spending New Years Eve with my host family (which included embarrassing myself playing volleyball). New Years is celebrated from New Years Eve through Jan 2/3 (people are still saying Happy New Year!), by banging pots and pans to drive out evil spirits. Meg and Steph had family members visit, and Sam (indy volunteer) had one of his friends over as well. School’s started up and it’s looking good so far. It’s started off well so far, and I hope to update a bit more than I have in the past.

Last month we all enjoyed Xavier Day. It was filled with some awesome games, some dancing at the end of the night, and the eating of our pig, Isabella (we fed her leftover or half-eaten foods that we can’t use as left-overs, we now have another pig we’re getting ready for graduation). I got to take part in a few events, the most memorable being the “dizzy race” and an eating contest (I ate a bowl of whipped cream with an alum). This semester, we have cultural day to look forward to (it only happens every other year), and the students are already preparing dances and finishing up their huts for it. We also have track and field day, Catholic schools week, and probably some other things I’m not aware of.




Following: a reflection (optional reading!):


Although the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord just happened, marking the end of the Christmas Season, I figured this would still be a worthwhile reflection, something I’ve been thinking about for some time. NB: for the sake of this focusing on Jesus (a historical man who Christians believe to also be God), I’ll be primarily using the masculine pronoun in reference to God.

This reflection is based on the song “One of Us” by Joan Osborne…Not the most Christmas-y, but it drives a good point home.

The lyrics (I think, didn’t try to copy and paste):

"If God had a name, what would it be and would you call it to his face if you were faced with him in all his glory, what would you ask if you had just one question. And yeah, yeah, God is great, yeah, yeah, God is good. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, what if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us? Just a stranger on the bus, trying to make his way home? If God had a face, what would it look like and would you want to see, if seeing meant that you would have to believe in things like heaven and in Jesus and the saints and all the prophets? [Chorus] Back up to heaven all alone, nobody calling on the phone, except for the pope, maybe, in Rome."

This song offers a few thoughts for reflection. What was the point of the Incarnation, the Word becoming flesh in the person of Jesus? It was to become one of us. God humbled Himself in order to allow us to know how much He cares for us, all of us. Jesus experienced life as a refugee in Egypt, as a learner, as a young boy (or man) who experienced the death of his earthly father, a teacher, healer, prisoner, and convicted criminal (and others…). God showed His love for us by becoming human and living a human life, showing us that all aspects of humanity are able to be holy, that God desires to be part of our daily lives – not just on Sundays or when we really need our Creator.

Another thought that this song reminds me of is the parable of the last judgment in Matthew 25. For those unfamiliar, this is the parable when Jesus declares that what we do for the least of others (the poor, homeless, hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, imprisoned, etc), we do to Him. Do I see Jesus in the people around me, even those I don’t know, or perhaps wouldn’t want to associate myself with? Do I see Jesus in those I live with or those I regularly serve? Do I see Jesus in my students and those in my local community? Do I serve all those with love regardless of how I feel about them personally?
Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Well, happy liturgical new year at least! Today we celebrate the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the new liturgical cycle (year C for any of those who care to know). We celebrated last night at 8 pm with pizza, soda, and a brief prayer with all the boys. The weekend we celebrate Xavier Day, a day after the actual feast and into the weekend. I'm sure that'll be all brought up in a later post (since it hasn't happened yet). There will probably be two more posts this month (one catch up, another a reflection I've been praying and working on).

Finals are in two weeks, crazy! I've had time to write one exam, hopefully it's a "good" one. One of the coconut trees fell yesterday in Peniasena (sp?) and is currently being held up by electrical poles. SO, we're on generator power until that gets fixed. Unfortunately, the tree is hanging over a road, and we're pretty sure the busses won't be able to get through (nor are we sure about the safety if they could!). So, up in the air if we'll have classes tomorrow.

I hope everyone back home has had a good Thanksgiving weekend and a not too stressful black Friday for those who ventured out.

Yeah, Definitely Need To Update

View on Pisar
Sunset on Param
Sunset on Pisar

Boys on Param

So, as has been mentioned in a few e-mails, I'm very behind on updating my blog. Part of this is because the past two weekends and this weekend I am off-island on other islands. Two weeks ago was our JV retreat on Pisar, this weekend we are having a staff retreat/outing there as well. Last weekend we were on Param for the Junior CSP (Christian/Community Service Project, we're not exactly sure which is the correct C).
Teaching has been getting better and busy. I also now have a host family, they're awesome and very involved in the Sapuk community. My brother is thinking of having me help him next year with some youth group stuff...we'll see! Lately our electricity has been on a 4 hour cycle, which can get frustrating if you forget to save a document on the computer (just an FYI if it takes me a while to get back to you). However, it's easy to get used to. I've also finally gotten ok with showering in the dark in the morning (our power doesn't turn on till 8 am-ish).
Other news: Boils are gone, I have 20 envelopes which means I will be writing letters again soon (sorry for those I owe letters to!).
Above are the pictures taken from Param and Pisar. I'll post more on Facebook sometime in the near future, hopefully. Some may already be posted thanks to Robin (Australian volunteer).

Joys

It's been a while, so I guess I'll start with some bad news: boils, everywhere. Ok, slight exagerration, but a have 2 boils plus a carbunkle (that's the technical term for having more than one boil in one spot). Also an annoying infection on the finger which makes it hard (annoying) to type at length. I thought I had known discomfort before, now I laugh. No, this isn't complaining, just letting you know why I may come back with a bunch of random scars on my body :)

Fun news!
I went to Tol again two weekends ago to get some info for a Christian Service Project the juniors were supposed to go on. It was pretty awesome and provided a lot of great things to reflect and pray on. I learned some Chuukese (very very little amount...ekis Chuuk). Unfortunately, we had to cancel the CSP due to the boat captain not wanting to go out when the weather was bad (it got better when we got back up to XHS, after all the girls had gone back to their sponsors). Don't worry, one WILL happen, and we will still get to go!

I'm currently talking like a Russian (with a very bad accent) in Literature. You may be asking yourself "Why?" Here's the answer: We're reading Animal Farm! By far one of my favorite books ever. I really should get to reading 1984 sometime...
The seniors have been given a case study project, I gave for case studies, they pick one and apply methods they've learned about so far in class. Hopefully it will turn out well. In English Skills, we're writing an Essay and prepping for the PSAT. They are really worried for some reason, so we're working on vocabulary skills (plenty vocabs, as we would say here) as well for the moment, I spent a good part of today writing prefixes and their meaning, I think I'm going to have them write songs in order to memorize them.

We have some Australian high school students visiting this week, should be interesting. They are staying at one of the nicest hotels here to sleep at, but spending most of their time with us and at Sapuk Elementary. 5 of the boys will be staying overnight tomorrow in the dorm. Hopefully this brief immersion experience will be helpful for them in some way.

Question: What is your image of God? What do you think it means about you and your relationship with God? Your vocation? (No, you don't have to share)

Heads Up

In case you were worried, no, none of the natural disasters taking place are anywhere near me. Thankfully, the Pacific Ocean is very large and, if a tsunami or something were to come in our direction, the water gets really shallow in random places within the lagoon, plus I'm on one of the highest points of this island. So please, if you were worrying, don't. :)

A better blog post to come. The power is probably going to turn off in a few minutes (it has been turning off at this time for the past couple of days).

It's been (over) one week!

...since our first day of school. Wow. So much to say, but so much beyond words! In just this one week I've experienced many ups and downs, joys, frustrations, sorrows, etc. that come with teaching. It's quite the roller coaster. One thing I realized this morning is that I need to be more firm and sure of myself in my morality class. Not that I am not right now, but I have been unsure how to handle the "touchy" topics we will be discussing in the class -- i.e. drinking and sex. I think being up front may be the best way to go The other day we did an activity and the class seemed a bit divided on those and more than a few issues. Hopefully it will make for good discussion and good reflection (my hope is that the class not only teaches them about moral theology but also how to think critically and prepare them for college, they are seniors in high school afterall!).
In other news, in case I haven't shared this already on here, I' ve been named "one" of the moderators for Campus Ministry. Currently, we are still awaiting the other Jesuit scholastic to arrive to teach and also help with CM, but his work papers haven't been pushed through yet. Right now, Steph is helping me out with it for the time being (helping meaning meaning completely guiding me). So far we're just trying to figure out who the student leaders are! Most of my job as CM moderator will be planning the service projects for the Fresh, Sophs, and Juniors, as well as planning out the Junior retreat and the Fresh and Soph days of prayer. It should be great and keep me busy enough, although I'm also thinking and praying about whether or not to suggest to our future "team" the idea of adding Bible study to the mix (currently one of the Austrailian volunteers, Robin, is doing this on his own. So making it part of CM would help to "institutionalize" it in the XHS community).

With sad news, I regret to say that I will bot be able to Skype as often due to a broken head set. I'll try to borrow others' when I can. Sorry for the bit of sad news.

Thank you to those who have sent actual letters. It's always wonderful to receive something in the mail! A lot of people have been getting packages, but I feel like letters are just as awesome because then I get to write back, sweet! If you would ever like to send a letter, but don't have my address, feel free to e-mail me.

As promised, some pictures

The ladies after Feast of the Assumption Mass on Tol (l-r, Jessica, Caroline, Megan, Stephanie). Note the beautiful marmars (flowers around neck and head)

The guys minus Matt, who was working on a speech (l-r, me, Tyler, Sammy)

A picture of the hill road we take down from Xavier to Saramen. Forgot to take some of the actual road at sea level.

The field via roof view, with the water in front. The island in the very back ground is a marker for the lagoon. Past the lagoon the water is a bit choppier.

There, some pictures.

DON'T PANIC!

(shout out to whoever can name the piece of literature I just quoted for the title of this post)

But really, don't panic. I'm ok. In fact, you probably don't even need to panic right now. Until you hear this (sorry mom):
Apparently I have developed an allergy to something. Not sure what yet. But yesterday morning I woke up with some hives, which got worse last night (even though I was taking some benedryl). Went to the clinic today downtown and they told me to take loratadine (ie claritin). Believe it or not, it is working, I just have to take multiple doses in the day. We'll try to figure out what the allergen is once the hives go away (I may post a picture or two once they're loaded)...can we say "community builder?" We'll have an epi-pen and a benedryl injection ready "just in case" the reaction is bigger than the one I had. Hopefully they won't be necessary.
The ride to the clinic was pretty fun, I always enjoy riding in the back of a truck or flatbed and just letting the wind hit me and feel like an adventurer (Indiana Jones, perhaps). Even when broken out in hives, it's awesome feeling.

School is officially starting in less than a week, more of the students are on campus and I'm starting to learn some of their names and just chatting wtih them. Hopefully they don't think I'm a total nut case from this allergy stuff (and hopefully they don't use it against me if they find out what it is!).

Yesterday I watched A Clockwork Orange, crazy movie to get you thinking about morality/free will. We're in the process of transferring all our VHS movies on campus onto DVDs so that they're easier to skip through and watch with students (well, when they can be watched with students, Clockwork would definitely not be one of them!).

Again, don't panic. It's rarely necessary. Just keep remembering to breathe.

Editors note morning after this post: Even though I was taking loratadine even over the night (when I woke up and checked my watch it was time for another!), I still broke out again -- the hives were almost completely gone by the time I went to bed. So, Joan (the infirmarian) and I believe it to be the laundry detergent. We'll be trying out a new one once someone can go downtown to buy some and then we'll try it out. If it's not that, it might be the bed.

Shingles!

No, not the disease, a cat! He roams around campus a bit, no he is not anyone's pet (actually, there is no concept of pet on the islands...people may keep dogs, pigs, cats, etc around for whatever they may be needed for but "most" -- meaning not all islanders -- have no issue with killing it if necessary). For the second time in as many weeks, Shingles has used my bed as a bathroom. I would classify this as infinitely more annoying than the spiders I've been finding (and killing if they're not in a web) in my room. The other day he also had a rat that he had killed and was sitting on some clothing with it.
So now I need to be more careful about closing doors and making sure I'm not followed in by Shingles.

In other news, school starts in 8 days or so (Sept 1)! Our class schedules are being smoothed out, but right now it's looking solid. Once the students are all here (they're already beginning to trickle in), I'll most likely not be posting as much due to slower internet (or my posts will be shorter, who knows). Just a heads up so that I don't upset anyone by unresponsiveness. Also, well aware that I haven't posted pictures, I keep forgetting to bring my camera into the computer room with me. Sorry.
Song of the Moment (courtesy of Robin, an Australian Volunteer, and Sam, an Independent): Can You Feel the Love Tonight?

Tol

Greetings back at Xavier.
This post is dedicated to the past 72 hours...
We left Saramen around 2:30 with Fr. Fernando on Friday towards Tol, an island a few miles away from Weno, to stay at Assumption Parish. Saturday was the Feast of the Assumption, which meant a big shin-dig was in store, and was the reason we (JVs) were invited.

The boat ride was fun, to say the least. It started raining as we were walking to the dock, and the waves were fantastic. Needless to say, we were all soaked when we got off the boat. Once we arrived to the island area, we were surrounded by beautiful mangrove trees, which Tol apparently has a LOT of (thanks Matt). When we docked, we were greeted by singing children and given mar mars (I'll post pictures soon!), I was lucky enough to get decked out in the most extravagent, which also, unfortunately, fell apart the easiest. We were shown to our rooms, and given showers. This was the first time I ever bucket showered, and, to be honest, it was amazing. Anywho, after we all finished showering, we got fed, which was a feast in itself (again, picture to come). Apparently, it is tradition on the islands that visitors always eat first. This may sound like the normal "serve guests first," except it is to the extreme. Our hosts wouldn't eat anything until we were finished. It was a bit awkward, to say the least. After dinner, we began "taking part" (ie, watching) the ceremonies which had begun. We were warned that the singing and speeches may go on till 1 or 2 AM. We showed up to the church late (we lost track of time), and were sitting outside. As people were exiting, thanks to Tyler, we realized we were all in the way and wanted to go to the other side of the river. We moved and followed. When we arrived to the classroom we would be in (fitting about 100, I think), we were offered chairs and got to witness some talks, as well as a lot of singing. It was fun. It ended at about 9. We went back to our rooms, talked, and played a game of Mafia and eventually hit the sack.

Saturday
We woke up and after showering were treated to a huge breakfast consisting of what we would probably consider lunch or dinner foods, as well as some "normal" breakfast foods (cereal). Then we headed to Mass, which was, again, beautiful, although I have found it hard to pay attention when everything is in Chuukese. We sat in the back and as the Liturgy began we were offered chairs to sit in (there are no pews in the church, everyone was sitting on the ground, like in the classroom). Afterwards we sat and talked with ourselves and some of the kids. Lots of laughing, lots of fun. More food at luch, with singing, followed by listening to people speak and hearing songs. Matt got to speak on behalf of us, thankfully we didn't have to sing! After the fun, we headed back to Weno. Our boat ride back to Weno was smoother and quicker this time around. However, our fun had not ended.
We unfortunately missed the bus that had picked up Lydia (US independent volunteer) and the three returning Austrailian volunteers from the air port, so we waited at Saramen for the truck. I had forgotten to mention that we returned with a LOT of food from Tol. The truck eventually arrived as the sun was setting (circa 6 pm) and we began our journey, with about 9 people in the back of the truck plus our bags and the food. One minute in we get a flat tire, which was changed in less than 8 minutes. Half way to Xavier, the engine overheated, which was easily fixed. To our "delight," once we jumped back in it was discovered that the battery/engine wasn't "connecting", so, with a few locals from the houses around us, we pushed the truck up and down the road until it started. I have to admit, it was actually really fun. As we continued our trip, we found out that our driver was having difficulty seeing in the dark without any headlights, so we fished for a few headamps in our backpacks and eventually got light. It was quite the sight! To top it off, due to the flat, we all moved to one side, thankfully, as on one sharp turn on the hill to Xavier there was definitely some tipping action! We got to Xavier though, safe and sound, and were able to successfully which Tomi a happy birthday (there was a cake being held in the truck), and we also got to meet our two new American independent volunteers as well as the Austrailians (who have already been here a while, they leave in Nov/Dec and will be replaced by some more via some post high school volunteer program).

Today has been much more relaxing, and the day is actually almost over (ok, not really, but the power has been working since last night, and I'm worried it'll go out soon as I post this). Kiniso chapur! Thanks for reading :)

Tiro

or "excuse me." This was a phrase I got to repeat many times times today as we walked through the properties of about half a dozen families during a four hour hike back to Xavier from Saramen (and that was the short walk! The other direction is 6 miles but we usually drive it). We walked through road, jungle, and sparse trail. Other than complete exhaustion and being a bit thirsty, we all felt it was a worthwhile event, although maybe not something to do every day.

Anyways, I wanted to spend this post to just write a bit on how the Chuukese deal with land on Weno. Hopefully I have most of my information correct, although I haven't been here long this has been a topic brought up on multiple occasions during stage two orientation and something most of may find interesting.

In short: all the land is owned by someone.

In long: you cannot walk anywhere, even on a road, you are walking on someone's property. There is no "public land" so to speak. For the most part, this does not create much of an issue, particularly on well traveled roads. Right now, as construction begins soon with the roads though, people may try to prevent construction -- for whatever reason -- as eminent domain (while existing) is not something looked highly on. Land is sacred and owned by families. When traveling on back roads, like today, we had to ask permission to walk through and thankfully many of the people, mainly because it was the only road, were willing to let us through. It is still polite and courteous to say "Tiro" profusely as well as "Kiniso chapur" (thank you very much...I hope I spelled it right!). Some people may ask for money to pass (it used to be food, but money has become more valuable). If a person wants to take a coconut or piece of fruit from a tree, it would be very impolite to take it without asking the owner (which may require talking to a number of people to find the owner). Usually, though, most of this isn't an issue. Anyways, all this to say, if you find yourself in Chuuk, always be nice and curteous, remember that the land you walk on is not your own.

In other news...tomorrow we are going to Tol and coming back Saturday evening. Faculty meetings start on Monday, and I officially know what I'll be teaching (Soph. English, Jun. Lit., Sen. Religion -- I may have gotten the Soph and Jun classes mixed up though). Things are picking up, hurrah!

Peace!

Good day!

or ran annim, as is said here in Chuuk. The first full day is almost complete and it has been quite a full trip since leaving from John Carroll U on Monday morning! To keep my thoughts on the flight simple and straightforward, I'm REALLY glad I don't need to make that flight again for another two years.

It has been amazing and beautiful so far. The island is absolutely beautiful, although yesterday we had rain so it was difficult to get a good view. Today though...gorgeous. We've been trying some foods prepared by the two generous second years still on the island and we've been slowly getting into our stage two orientation. Last night we all slept at Saramen and we arrived at Xavier a few hours ago on a fun but bumpy ride in the back of a flatbed truck. It gets dark at about 6:30 (conversely, the sun rises at about the same time in the morning), so I haven't actually seen the campus much yet, but from what I can gather, everything is wonderful. This morning I got to wake up to roosters crowing by a neighbors yard. It was awesome...it actually got louder as the sun came out more. Sort of like those gradual alarms.

Just so you all know, the internet is just as slow as I was thinking it would be, so it is more than a little difficult to get onto the blog, facebook, and e-mail. So please please please be patient.

Peace to you all.

(ps, I have no clue what time it is for you all, but it's 9:45 pm here, so please excuse bad grammar, spelling, incoherence, etc).

Two Days!

Hello everyone! In just two days I will be leaving for John Carrol University in Cleveland for two weeks of Orientation before heading out to Chuuk with the rest of the FSM crew. As packing gets finished up I am filled up with a mix of feelings and emotions. I think about 60% of it is general excitement over everything, 40% feeling of trust in everything going on as part of God's grace, and 10% fear/anxiety of wondering if I have everything I need or if I packed things I won't need, along with the usual anxieties of wondering what I'll be teaching and what it's all going to be like. But most of that fear and anxiety has subsided and is replaced by the peace of trust and excitement. A very special thanks go out to a number of my friends who have gone abroad or spent time doing post-grad volunteering and helped me cope with some of my fears about leaving. The past few weeks have definitely had ups and downs, and I think it's leveled off for now and will probably change again (in a positive way) as orientation goes on.

It is a complete relief to have fundraising over, and also a blessing to know how many people are supporting me on this journey. Thank you to those who have helped contribute with financial and/or spiritual support. It really means a lot, in so many ways I can't explain.

Once I get in Ohio, I will probably not be able to be in contact with anyone via the internet (I may be able to get on once or twice, maybe), but don't plan on hearing from me! If you do, think of it as an unexpected gift (for both of us). From there, on August 3 I'll be leaving for Chuuk, finishing the travel on August 5 (local time). I'll let you know the time difference once I get there, I think it's 13 hours, it may be 15...Once I'm in Chuuk, I'll be trying to update here once a month, but it will probably be more or less pending especially interesting things to share and electricity/internet availability on Chuuk.

To end, I'd like to share a brief prayer quote which has meant a lot to me over the past number of years (and was a bit of inspiration for the title of this blog, since I have no clue where it's going to go). I hope it will have meaning in your life as well:

"Above all, trust in the slow work of God

We are quite naturally impatient in everything
to reach the end withour delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something
unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of progress
that it is made by passing through
some states of instability ---
and that it may take a very long time.

And so I think it is with you.
Your ideas mature gradually --- let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste.

Don't try to force them on,
as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and cirsumstances
acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.

Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete."

~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ; "Patient Trust"