The Real Reason I'm Here

It might be hard to tell from all the previous posts, but I really am here for a job.  I did not come to Pohnpei just for the awesome views and adventures.  They are simply a nice bonus feature.  I am indeed here to teach at the College of Micronesia - Pohnpei Campus.  Classes started 2 weeks ago, and I am so happy to be teaching here.  Even after the first day or two I could tell this was going to be a good fit for me.  After 2 weeks it has been  confirmed even more that I love working with these students.  All my life I thought I was definitely meant to be an elementary teacher.  I thought wrong.  I am completely shocked at  how much I enjoy having older students.  Not once have I had a students tell me their shoe was untied, that someone cut in front of them in line, that someone was mean to them, or that they didn't have the right color crayon.  They take care of themselves!  It's amazing!  So here was my first day of school:

At the main entrance to campus

A few students coming out of the main hangout area

 I took a picture of each student, but it would take the rest of the year to get 100 pictures uploaded.  Just trust me that they are absolutely wonderful individuals and great to work with.  I am teaching 4 sections this semester.  I have Intermediate Algebra, College Algebra, and 2 sections of Business Math.  I love teaching all math since it's always been my strongest subject.  And it feels great to finally use my degree to teach the Business Math.  I get to teach them all about reconciling bank statements, calculating inventory levels, and other very useful business concepts. 
I share an office with everyone in the math and science department.  They are all great and I really enjoy our office.

My very own desk where I can work and
have students come for office hours!!!

We are VERY privileged to have air conditioning computers, a printer, and a copier.  It makes teaching way easier for us.  We also have a very nice campus with great classrooms, also equipped with air conditioners and white boards.  I'm pretty happy to not be using chalk!  They keep the grounds really nice too.

One of the 3 classrooms I teach in

Administrative building with offices, conference room, library,
computer labs and bathrooms.

A shot of a strip of classrooms.  The second door is the
classroom I spend most of my time in.

My office building

The Nahs - where all the students hangout during the day
when they're not in class

COM-PNI

Another great feature of working on the island and on such a small campus is that you get to do a lot of things that you probably wouldn't get to do in the states.  Like this past Friday, I also got to take on the role of aerobics instructor.  Laurel teaches a health class, so she asked me to do an aerobics demonstration for them.  I chose kickboxing because it's my favorite and great for guys and girls.  We had a blast!!!  We were punching and kicking, getting our heart pumping, and having so much fun!

Jab

Act like you're punching someone!

Now knee them!

Sidekick - make sure you use the heel

Boxer shuffle - they really thought this was hilarious

You're making us do jumping jacks?!?!

I made sure to follow the rules of a good workout - warm up,
workout, and cool down with stretching

They use to have aerobics classes on campus, but there's no one to lead them any more.  They've told me I can take over.  After how much fun we had, I really think I might want to do it.  College professor and aerobics instructor?  This is great!
 I came here unsure of how I would like working with big kids after working with the little ones for 2 years.  I think I've made it pretty obvious that I'm a big fan of this college professor thing.  I'm not sure I'll ever be able to go back to teaching elementary.  I'm so thankful for this opportunity to figure that out and realize how much I can love being in the classroom!
This time I will not leave you with a flower.  Instead I will leave you with this little blessing I had on my walk home from the market.

I am always with you!
Love,
God

Kool-Aid

I couldn't resist doing a quick post on Kool-Aid.  Kool-Aid is probably one of the most loved items on the island.  Pohnpeians seriously go crazy over it!  And it's not just to mix with water and drink (although the drink is served at all important events).  "You can put Kool-Aid on everything" according to my host family.  I'm pretty sure that some people's fingers are permanently dyed red because of all the Kool-Aid they eat.  Many will simply rip open a packet and begin eating by sticking their fingers in and licking.

Notice the red fingers; he's enjoying his Kool-Aid
on ice.

So what might you put Kool-Aid on?  Well, you can put it on bananas, papaya, mango, rice, breadfruit, popcorn, or (the local favorite) ramen.  That's right, ramen noodles!  I had heard about this treat and tried to give them the benefit of a doubt.  I thought maybe the crunch with the fruity flavor could be tasty.  But it wasn't until this weekend that I was personally introduced to the this delight that is Ramen & Kool-Aid.  I went to visit my host family for the afternoon.  Their cousin was there and she asked me to go to the store with her.  Once we got there she informed me that she was buying Ramen & Kool-Aid so I could try it.  Oh boy!

Sallyanna & Grace with the goods!

 I was under the impression that they just poured the Kool-Aid powder over the plain dry noodles.  Oh no!  The correct way to do it is to rip open the Kool-Aid, rip open the seasoning packet from the ramen, pour the beef flavored seasoning into the Kool-Aid and mix well, THEN pour it over the dry noodles.  Oh, but don't forget the crunch up the noodles before opening the bag.  Mmm...beef flavor, tropical punch, and crunchy noodles.  Dig in!

Braving the first bite!

It was not that bad, but I don't think I'll be craving any time soon :)  But the locals absolutely devour these bags!

She was a lot of fun!  She's 12 going on 20!

It didn't last for long as everyone fought for the treat, but
they all were left with the lingering red fingers

I just get a kick out of this Kool-Aid obsession!  Please let me know if you decide to give this a try.  I'm sure you've never before even thought of the greatness of mixing these two things together! ;)

Finally Home!

After living out of a suitcase for a month I've finally moved into my home!  I couldn't be happier to unpack and settle in.  I really like my new place and throughout the week I've been able to clean and organize to my liking to make it feel like home.  I have a wonderful roommate named Laurel.  She has taught math and science for quite a few years, so she has a lot of ideas and experience to share.  She's always full of energy and keeps life fun.  And she loves to cook so we're going to be eating good this year :)  

Laurel trying out her Ube "Purple Yum" the guys got her
for her birthday

We live in an apartment above a family, the Samuels'.  I absolutely love them and they are so good to us!  Pahpa Samuels is the dad, Mariana is his daughter, and Maloney (17) and JJ (8) are Mariana's kids.  Even though we're technically living in the apartment above, they have taken us in like family.  The place itself can best be explained and understood through pictures of course, so here we go.

The family store is directly below my room.  You can buy quite
the variety of items from their little place.

This is our place as you walk up on the road

This is the other angle walking up the other side of the street.

Here's a better view of the store; you just walk up and buy
what you need.  That's my bedroom window on the top left.

You walk in to the kitchen/dining area and the living room
is on the far side.

Looking back at the kitchen you can see that we have a
big refrigerator and an oven with a stove top!

From the living/dining area you walk into the bedrooms -
a door on the left and right.

Here's my bedroom!!!  The essential fan, luggage as a night stand,
bags as wall decorations  - pretty great! :)

Yep, I thought you might want a closer look to confirm that my
sheets are indeed too small for the bed.  An emergency set has
been shipped by my wonderful mother :)

The most exciting part of my room...the closet!!!

I no longer live out of a suitcase!!!

We have an extra room on the opposite side of
our bedrooms and the bathroom is in that room.

I am a big fan of our bathroom.  Let me tell you why...I started off in a home with a bucket shower.  I came to really like it but it took a little more time.  Then I spent a week in a house with a full shower and it was great to be able to stand under a shower again, but the water feels even colder when you can't get away from it.  So now I have the perfect in between: the shower hose.  It's faster than the bucket, but not as cold as the shower.  It's juuusssst right!

Walking out our front door, we have a GREAT porch!!!
We call it The Porch and it has been the location of
choice for many of our hangouts.

On the back side we have a place to hang
clothes and towels.

We also have our own rooster - that's a sound that's going
to take a little time to get use to.

Yes, this is the view I have any time I want!

This is looking down into the yard from our porch.  The tin-
covered area is for cooking and behind to the left is ...

the pwihks (pigs)!

oink, oink

cute little piglets with the momma

if only they stayed this cute

"Just imagine how good we all smell!"  Haha!

We have a rushing river just across the street
behind us.

Dog #1 - Brownie

Dog #2 - Lassie

Momma cat & 2 week old kitten. 

 Those of you who know me well know my lack of love for animals in the house.  I often walk in to find 1 of the 3 cats in our house trying to get our food.  I am not very nice to them.  I shoo them out as quickly as possible.  I even had one surprise me by jumping out of my closet as I was picking out my clothes for the day.

Well I think that is a pretty thorough overview of the new place.  I'm loving it and happy to have a place to call home.  Mariana takes good care of us.  I came home for lunch one day and she provided me this "very balanced Pohneian meal":

Blue reef fish caught right here in Pohnpei, breadfruit picked
right off the tree and cooked in the umw, and a papaya that
I selected off of the tree across the street.  It was
udahn yo! (very delicious)

More to come soon about actual teaching too!  And now I leave you with your flower of the post: