With school and work officially finished, my time has been open to whatever I want to do to make the most of it. I'm trying to soak up as much as I can of the great relationships I've been blessed with here, so that has led to quite a variety of activities over the last couple of weeks.
We had a church potluck to honor all of the wonderful moms. Men did the cooking, or at least they said they did...with a little help from the wives.
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| Two of the amazing moms! |
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| Bob made chicken pot pie! |
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| I know what she wants :) |
At the beginning of the year we were really good about having group dinners every week or so. Once we all got busier they kind of disappeared, so I decided we should pick it back up again at least one more time. Especially since I had just gotten a box with some special pasta in it! Look closely to see what makes it so special.
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| Any guesses? |
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| Yep, mango pasta! |
The recipe to go along with it is perfect for Pohnpei. It calls for coconut milk, which I can make fresh from the coconut! It was even more delicious than I had hoped. The pasta actually smelled and tasted fruity, but it went perfectly with coconut chicken sauce.
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| Notice a little local mango on the side for garnish |
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| Add some friends and you have one fantastic dinner! |
At one point Mike claimed, "This is the best thing I've ever eaten!" Thanks for the pasta Grandma!
No more teaching also means that I'm able to go to Story Hour at the public library. I wish I could have done it all year, but I'm happy I at least get to help out a few times. Kids come every Thursday afternoon for story reading and then a craft to go along with the stories. Cori Jo is the wonderful organizer. This month's theme is Robert Munsch, and Cori Jo decided to bring out the FINGER PAINTS! I love seeing the kids so eager to read books and then the fun of crafts!
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| "Where do our hands go during story time?" |
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| Painting on ponytails |
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My favorite is the green HAND paint
She was having a great time! |
After story hour, Lori and I were invited over for some long awaited time with Bob & Carol. They even did an extended birthday celebration for me since they were gone on my birthday. So sweet!
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| "Happy birthday to you..." |
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| My very own little heart birthday cake |
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| Green is my favorite! |
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To top it all off - deliciously gooey chocolate brownie
with ice cream and a cherry on top! |
Last weekend was our WorldTeach End-of-Service meeting. We voted to have it out on Black Coral. Some of us decided to head out there early to extend our time on our own little island. I had hopes of getting out there early so I could snorkel and get some extra sun. The weather didn't quite cooperate with that plan, but it was still great. There's something really cool and relaxing about having an island to yourself even when rain is dumping down all day. Hey, at least we had water in the catchments for flushing and rinsing :)
As soon as we got out there our boat driver, Patterson, offered to cook some breadfruit. You don't have to ask me twice! We threw a couple on the fire and before long, we had breadfruit!
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| Nicely charred, then you just peel off the skin |
Once the breadfruit was peeled, Patterson realized he needed a place to put it. Not to worry! I can make a local platter! I was so excited to put my newly learned skill to use.
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| Patterson was so impressed to see "white skin weaving" |
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| Yumm! |
After that excitement we soon retired to the nahs for relaxing and waiting to see if the rain would ever stop. It let up a little bit, but I don't think it ever really stopped. Even through all of that rain, somehow Joseph managed to keep a nice fire going all day and well into the night. It was crazy and definitely became his slight obsession to keep it going despite all odds.
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| Yep, we're cold in Pohnpei |
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| Joseph's fire |
Thankfully the next morning brought sunshine so we could do some swimming and snorkeling. It also brought the rest of the group for our final time together. Wow!
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A great way to start the day - ClifBar and soursop on a
local plate by the ocean |
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| My little home for the night |
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| Welcome everyone! |
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One more fantastic Kate meal just like back in the good
old days of orientation |
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| and we got our t-shirts! |
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| What a good lookin' bunch! |
The next day was my last Sunday to teach Sunday School. I'm so thankful I got to work with these kids and my fellow teachers. They're all really great! We enjoyed brownies and snickerdoodle cookies together for our final class.
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| 9 & 10 year olds |
And this was followed by one last brunch at The Village which is always quite a treat.
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| These two have been such a huge blessing to me |
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| as well as these two |
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| So many tasty looking plates |
That night we said farewell to my lovely roommate Laurel. It felt really strange to send her off and no longer have her around. She is certainly missed! But we couldn't send her off without one last delicious Pohnpei meal!
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| Jay helped out with the BBQ |
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| We won't let a little rain stop us |
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| Chicken cooked over a coconut shell fire = finger lickin' good! |
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| Maryanna does it again! |
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| How to roast marshmallows on a short stick... |
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| ...so that Jay Jay can eat all of them! |
Yep, these are definitely some of the times I will miss the most. Good relationships are priceless, and I'm so thankful for the time I have with all of these people! And very soon I'll be making the most of my time with priceless relationships on the state side.
Farewell from Pohnpei!
