Things that happen in Micronesia!!!

“It’s Lard!!!” Hearing that was the second time I realized I cannot identify food in Micronesia!!! One of the first nights I was making dinner I decided to make breakfast for dinner. I thought this was a wonderful idea when I found bacon! I was so excited because I had not seen bacon on the island until that night. I opened the bacon and it wasn’t in the bacon strips, but I just thought that was a difference in Micronesian bacon. I cut it in chunks and started to fry it, it didn’t look or smell like bacon. When I put it on the table, my community member asked “is that lard?” To my confusion, I said, oh, no, it’s just some kind of pork. He replied, “No Jess. It’s lard!” So, I made lard for dinner!!!
Additionally, a couple days ago one of the women in the office told me some horrifying news! Ha-ha. So we were having a moment where I was telling her how sweet and loving she is and then I gave her a hug. She was sitting down and I was standing when this happened. I went outside to throw my trash away and then came back into the main office. She had lotion out and gave me some. Jokingly I asked her if I smelled and that’s why she was giving me lotion. She said “no, yes, no” and I asked “Which is it,” Meaning, yes or no. Then she pointed to her vagina to tell me that my vag smelled bad!!! I later found out she was joking but I was so scared I smelled like vag all day long!!! It took me a couple of days to find out she was joking.
Then, for the second time since coming to Chuuk I woke up with a swollen upper lip. Some bug tends to bite me while I’m sleeping. I’m going on a swollen lip once a month at the moment. The first night I was in Chuuk I woke up with a lip that looked like I got the crap kicked out of me, and it happened again. But hey, waking up the first morning with a swollen lip was much better than the following 3 days having horrible stomach pains and everything that goes with it (I’ll spare you, but I’m sure you all can imagine). We claim the second years poisoned us so things would just get better the longer we’re here…which they have.
And, the finale!!! I really really needed to do laundry so I was wearing that green skirt we have had for a long time. It is really big on me though but, I figured what the heck, my hips are bigger than my waist so all is fine. So I wore it around the school, upstairs and downstairs. My friend Grace came over and we were walking out to the STUCO car wash together. We were right in front of the side doors of the church (there was a wedding going on) when 4 guys around my age walked by. They said “Waioo” which means wow, or an expression of happiness here. I looked toward them but not too directly because I knew they were cat calling. When I turned back forward I felt something at my ankles and looked down. There I saw my green skirt!!! OMG!!! I assume that’s why the guys were yelling…and in front of the wedding!!! WOW!

quick update

Everything is going well here in Chuuk. There isn't much to report at the moment. This weekend I have been grading a ton. It took me 45 mins to grade 5 tests, and i had to grade 40+. Tomorrow I have to get 105 grades together!!! Last time I put 100 together in two days...so it's a crazy weekend but as soon as the weekend is over all will be good!!!
I have gotten a few packages the last couple of weeks which was exciting!!! Thank you to those of you who sent them. I always feel super loved when i get packages and know all the time put into it from people who love me!
um, really that's about it. I sent my first student to the office for taking 25 mins to get a tardy pass and finding him standing outside the office shooting the shit with another student. It happens. Welp, that's about all. Like i said, nothing exciting is going on right now. I miss ya'll yet i'm getting more and more adjusted here.
Peace, Love, and Cold Coconuts!!! (We finally got a freezer!!!!!!)
Jessica

Oh, and sorry ya'll are getting cold...i have been sweating ALL day!!

Student Esssay on the Problems in Chuuk

This is an essay from one of my students, Parky. I asked the students to write a 5 sentence paragraph about the problems in Chuuk because we are working on paragraphs, and she handed me a 5 paragraph essay. SWEET! I thought I would share it with ya’ll because this is some information on the problems in Chuuk, from a Chuukese lady. I was very proud when she gave me this, especially because not only is it a whole essay, but each paragraph flows so well! It is all her words other than some small editing, but not much at all. I changed position of a word here or changed an ending but it is almost completely her words-from a non-native English speaker…and let me tell you, Chuukese is a far different language than English!

“Essay-What are some problems in Chuuk?”

There are many problems that occur in Chuuk, but I would like to talk about some of them. Here are some problems that I want to talk about; pollution, population, and drinking alcohol.

Pollution is one of the problems in Chuuk. The ocean is polluted by the sewer, disposable things such as plastics, aluminum, and transportation stuff. The land is polluted by human beings and also from the island power, oil, diesel, and any fuels. Therefore, pollution is hand-made.

Population is the biggest problem in Chuuk. Chuuk is the smallest state among the states but it is extremely more populated than the other states in FSM. As we know, if there is a populated area, so there will also be more problems occurring. We need more land for our people but there is no such land that can be given out because of not having enough land and having too many people.

Drinking alcohol is also a problem in Chuuk. In Chuuk, adults think that drinking alcohol is a way to show that they are strong and broad men. They think of themselves as great and think that they can control everything. In this way, this situation can cause fighting. The fighting can cause death or many other harmful events.

We all learned that population, pollution, and drinking alcohol are just some problems in Chuuk. Besides these problems, there are a lot of other problems in Chuuk that frequently occur every year. Therefore, pollution, population, and drinking alcohol are just some of the problems in Chuuk.

Also, on a more personal note, I am doing fine. Teaching is going…I love it some days and hate it others as many jobs people do. We were not damaged by any tropical storms in the Pacific, and only have normal rain. The rain cools life for an hour or so and then it’s hot as hell again!!! We had a good conversation last night in community which made me feel better about life here. Yea, that’s all I have for now. It’s just daily grind of life and work in another country right now.
Peace, Love and COCONUTS!!!

Jessica