As I’ve previously written, it’s hard to get “close” to Marshallese. The culture is very hands-off and I still have yet to feel like anyone here really knows me…or anything personal about me at least. It’s a crazy feeling to feel, especially being thousands of miles away from all my friends & family that I am so entirely close to. They know me, inside and out, so it’s never been something I had to really wonder about and analyze. Anyway, it hasn’t happened here. Not even close. This all seemed to change when I started coaching the KAHS girls volleyball team and then playing on the Gugeegue women’s team. For some reason, volleyball seemed to open the doors for all the people in my community and all the students at my school to seemingly get to know more about me. Since becoming more involved in both my school and community, I have made new friends and met new people I often saw around the island & never knew. For once, I felt like myself—not covered up by the Marshallese disguise or quieted by the language barrier.
My high school girls went on to win the championship among all the high schools, and the team I played on won the championship among all the other island groups & communities. It was an awesome feeling! I was on display more than ever and for the first time, I didn’t even mind because the attention I was getting wasn’t necessarily because I’m a ribelle and stand out everywhere I go but more so because I was making an effort to be a part of their team and the tournament they all anticipate so much. Since, my students & the Gugeegue children still talk about it. I’ve been told I ‘jump like a man’ (women here play volleyball barefoot & don’t really jump at all) and there’s been jokes about how Gugeegue cheated by having the ribelle on their team. Oh dear….
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| A few of the KAHS girls after their win |
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| Gugeegue Women's Team |
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| Parading around Ebeye, celebrating Gugeegue's win |
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