Brittany's Adventures: Another hodgepodge!

School is in full swing.

So, I haven’t written in awhile. I don’t even know where to start as so much has happened in this time.

School is in full swing, indeed. And by ‘full swing’ I mean that last week Monday we had a half day (an unannounced presentation by EPA took up the second half), Tuesday we had no school (both of the buses are broken), and today (Wednesday) we missed 5^th period because we were having a staff meeting. Other than the minor & not-so-brief interruptions, school is in fact going on. For me, this means that from 8:30AM-6:00PM, our pleasant little island called Gugeegue is invaded by 400 students (ranging from teens to 20-something-year-olds). It’s not that they have random free periods & just sit around anywhere & everywhere. They aren’t quiet; they disrupt classes; they blast music on their cell phones and laptops (how some of them have MacBooks or Ipads truly boggles my mind); they decorate any flat surface (including our apartment) with their names; they litter their Kool-Aid wrappers, Ramen bags, and all other trash all over the island.

Onto more important things…. The first five weeks of my first ever teaching stint have come to a close. It’s been a wild ride thus far. I started off teaching English to one section of 9th graders and four sections of 10th graders. A teacher has since come from the Philippines to teach 9^th grade English, so as of now, I have a total of 148 students that I am teaching—4 sections of 10^th grade English & 1 section of 10^th grade Literature. The past five weeks are best described as a roller coaster ride. Teaching here brings a lot of events that do not necessarily act in one’s favor. The circumstances are somewhat what I had imagined, but it’s a lot different when you throw your first experience as a teacher & all the pressure/responsibility that come along with it into the mix. Needless to say my emotions, sanity & stress levels have been shifting on a period-to-period basis each & every day. Looking back at the past five weeks as a whole, it doesn’t seem like it’s been so bad. But reminiscing about the daily talks/venting sessions Liz & I have had the past five weeks paint a completely different picture—the roller coaster ride in the form of a dialogue. I’m glad I don’t remember all my waves of emotions. At this point, though it has indeed by a struggle some days, I am happy where I’m at & content with what I’m doing. These past five weeks have taught be so much about my students as a whole, and I’ve definitely gotten to know a lot of students really well. I’m happy to even say that I feel that I’m improving as a teacher (last week’s quiz grades show it J), and that by far is the most important thing.

So here are some of the interesting things that happen here at KAHS:

-Like any other school where sicknesses and infections spread among the students, KAHS doubles as a breeding ground for pink eye—last week, it literally spread like wildfire among students of all grades & sections. They still come to school; they either wear sunglasses or bring a washcloth to wipe their eye with all day.

-Student conduct and general mannerisms are something you have to get used to. Period. Students lay all over their desks—legs on the desk top. I’m unsure as to how this is comfortable but they love it. Sitting properly is a rule in my classroom. In every period of every day I have to remind at least one student about this rule.

-My students love to eat Kool-aid powder out of the packets: just dip their finger in & lick it. The end result: red finger prints all over class papers & notebooks. This sugary powder is also used to redden their lips like lipstick.

-They write one sentence on a sheet in their notebook; apparently they don’t like the way it looks, so they rip it out & throw it on the classroom floor. There’s a garbage can by my door that doesn’t really interest them at all I guess.

-Students love to pick their noses. I mean sure at times it’s a job that needs to be done, but the difference in the RMI is that eye contact does not deter one from doing it or stop them from continuing the deed. Here, there is no shame in nose picking.

-Students ‘cornbeefing’ or looking into my bedroom while I’m sitting right there. I usually open the window and ask them to stop (‘jab cornbeefing’ = ‘no cornbeefing’…..my Marshallese is better than that, but this does the trick in this situation). Either that or I just close my curtains.

-Like nose picking, there is no shame in hitting on a teacher. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been asked for my cell phone number or what my plans are for the weekend or told that I’m ‘likato’ (beautiful). I can’t tell if these are serious questions, and I definitely can’t help but smile/laugh. After mild rejection, one student even came back & said “Here’s my number: 999-nevermind!” He’s a gem.

-During class, students will slide their desks over to sit closer to one another. This is usually done just so they can draw with pen on each other’s arms—like tattoos. It happens in every one of my classes.

The race to the bus

Boys congregating outside our door

We’re going to Ebeye. Why? The body.

Who’s going to Ebeye? Us. All of us. We’re all going to Ebeye. Why? For the body.

School ended early last Wednesday. The queen, or leirooj’s, daughter passed away last weekend in Hawaii. The ceremony was to being on Thursday, but on Wednesday the body arrived. School ended early for all of us to go to Ebeye & wait at the dock for the arrival of the boat carrying the body. We arrived in Ebeye; everyone was dressed in all black except the students who wore their school uniforms. The streets were filled with people waiting. This was the middle of the day & it was hot, sweaty, and positively miserable standing there waiting. Anyway, the yacht docked and the truck began down the road. The truck was beautifully decorated with coconut fronds and bright (fake) flowers. It was followed by a processional of family members and the men that were to carry the casket. After this we headed to the church where everyone was gathered for a short service.

Thursday there was no school so we could go to the (actual) service and viewing of the body as a school. This was definitely a cultural experience and it went on all weekend.