Bon Voyage!

My ship, The Voyager, is set to depart this evening at 6 pm. It will take me to Woleai over the course of four or five days (Falalus is the island in the bottom left corner). I am excited for the journey to my new home. It may sound like a long time to be on a crowded ship in an expanse of blue (and I'm sure it's going to feel like it, too), but right now I'm looking forward to the voyage as a transition into my new experience. I imagine myself floating "away from the things of man," as they say in the movie Joe vs. the Volcano. But then again, I'm exciting to be floating towards the people - my new family and community. It is sad to have to leave my host family here on Yap - they've been a wonderful family and I'm going to miss them. I've been busy making hats so they won't forget me - my legacy is a crocheted one :0)!

Well, I need to be off to do some last minute packing, make some final phone calls, and hopefully get a letter or two in the mail while I still have access to a post office.

Thank you everyone for your tremendous support. It's because of you that I have the strength and excitement to get on a boat and begin this big adventure out in Woleai. It's called 'ubuntu' - I am because you are. It will be some time before we're able to connect via conventional means, but think of me now and then, as I'll do you, and we'll connect often.

In a spirit of ubuntu and gratitude,
emily

It's Official. Emily Hurianek - Peace Corps Volunteer.

Friday night was the swearing-in ceremony for us Micro76s, as my group is affectionately known. It marked the transition from lowly trainee to mighty and powerful volunteer. Well, maybe not quite that big of a change, but still, when Elizabeth, our Program and Training Officer, announced that I was now a Peace Corps Volunteer, I felt a thrill. The ceremony was beautiful. The seven of us new PCVs in Yap all 'went local,' as its called, and we were stunning. I had brilliantly colored, fragrant, and skillfully-made mwaremwares, or leis - two on my head and three around my neck. Each different language group - Yap, Ulithi, and Woleai - presented traditional songs and dances. Singing is NOT my forte, but I was happy to be sharing our song with my host family. It's called "Three Birds," which we wrote in English and then had translated and set to a Woleaian tune. Our song says that we are three birds from far away nests, and it talks about our journey - how we're learning to sing new songs and build new nests here. I may have been offkey, but my sentiment was right on when we sang our thank yous to everyone who has helped us here.


Tino, our langauge teacher, Porter, Me, and Gita singing our song!

Now I have a few free days to prepare and relax before the ship comes to take us out to Woleai. Rumor has it that it's supposed to arrive tomorrow and leave either the 16th or the 18th. It's vague and likely to change, as most plans here are. For instance, our ceremony on Friday was supposed to be at 1 pm at YFTI, then 2:30 at the Youth Center, then 7 pm at Oasis, and then 7 at the park, and finally 7 at O'Keefes. Let's just say that, if you make a plan, make sure you pencil it in and have a good, flexible eraser :-)

I'm all packed up and I am stoked to be so prepared. I have TONS of yummy food to supplement my diet for at least three months, my guess is longer. It's a nice feeling to be prepared, and an even nicer feeling to know that I'm getting on my way. I've been on two islands now for two months, but I have yet to see my new home for the next two years.

I've been finding it difficult to be present in the here and the now since I've been constantly preparing for Woleai, but there are moments that just smack me in the face and make me pay attention to and appreciate life. Last night, for instance, I found myself driving home from my brothers' semifinal basketball game in the back of a pickup truck, mouth agape and eyes glued to the stars. Never, in all my life, have I ever seen such stars. I hope you sometime have the chance to find yourself on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean at night. There are also countless moments with my host brothers, where they just smack me in the face with how amazing or funny or quirky or insightful they are. I am really excited to be a part of this family for the next two years (any time I come back to Yap Proper, they're my family). I've been busy busy crocheting hats for them as thank you presents - thanks Grannie for the yarn, it's perfect! I've finished 6 hats so far and have about 6 more to make. I just can't wait to put down the crochet hook and pick up the scuttle when I learn to weave lavalavas. Just think, in three or four months you'll be getting updates about all the fun mishaps of me learning island skills!

Here's a brief review of what I know about the future...After I depart for Woleai, I will not be back to Yap until the end of Feb/beginning of March for what we call IST - In Service Training. This first year, I'll be in about every three or four months (depending on the ship or plane) for IST or 'resource trips.' That means I won't have internet access for three-four months at a time. Mail will get to me whenever there's a ship/plane that comes out. Each week, I'll have a SSB chat with Regina, the PA, to make sure everything is going well (there's a satellite phone and epirb for emergencies). I'll try to use these chats to get news to my good friend Laura back on Yap, who will then communicate with my mom, who may then post to let everyone know I'm alright. But in case this doesn't happen or isn't possible, just assume no news is good news. Of course, I'll do my best to write to each of you, and I'd love letters in return! Basically we'll have to see what things are like and then go with it. But what's new?

Okay, and now it's finally time to show you a little bit of what life here is like (one of the great perks of being an official volunteer is use of the office computer!). So here goes, starting with the most recent first!


Me and my host family before the ceremony - these women made these gorgeous mwaremwares!


Me, Divine, and Lindsey on Halloween


The "Local Boys" on Halloween - My twin bros Rodney and Riley and friend Lawrence


Halloween in Maap - fending off evil spirits :-)


View from Maap, Yap (Halloween)


Gita and Porter, my Woleai-mates, on Water Safety Day


Water Safety Training on Halloween


Sunset at my house


Sunset on the lagoon that the Yap Canoe Festival


Jaden (4), Lindsey (12), and Divine/Duck (8), some of my host brothers in my room


Laura, Gita, and Porter in our lovely PC office in Yap!


Gita and I at a basketball game our second day in Yap - the first thing I could do after food poisoning!


The Mirco 76 Group - all 30 of us plus PC staff!


Lauren, Laura, Me, and Porter at the Mand waterfall (ropeswing!) in Pohnpei


JR, my 3 yr. old host cousin in Pohnpei (my room in the back)


Me at Nan Madol - ancient ruins in Pohnpei


PATS - our traning cite in Pohnpei

Enjoy!

PS - Hi Kathy (Rob's mom!)!! Thanks for reading!

Halloween and Gratitude

Halloween in Yap
For 23 years of my life, I’ve woken up on Halloween to crisp leaves and chilled air, to candy corn and bare trees. Now imagine how this could be as different as possible. That was my Halloween this year. I woke up to tropical sun, heat, and humidity. I spent the day in the most translucent water I have ever imagined. Coconut trees and snorkeling, salt water and beach. Instead of looking up to bare branches, I looked out to clouds showing the curve of the earth on the horizon. And then came the scary part because, after all, one must be scared at some point on Halloween. It involved knives and death and guts. It was gruesome. It was horrid. It was me gutting my first fish. The horror, the terror!

After we gutted loads of tropical and brightly colored fish, our wonderful Program Assistant, the one and only Regina, treated the Yap Volunteers to a barbecue on the beach. While our supper was cooking, I took the opportunity to climb my first coconut trees (we were on a tourist beach away from locals, so it was ‘okay’ to climb as a woman) and then we made our plates out of coconut leaves. Sun-kissed and satisfied, we piled in the back of a pickup truck to be dropped off at our host families.

It was dark by time I arrived and instead of finding my host brothers and other sundry neighborhood kids, I found witches and goblins and ghosts! I had just enough time to through on my snorkel and mask as a costume before heading out to our neighborhood in search of booty. Here’s where I started to feel in my element. The kids were planning the route to hit the best houses first. We would travel in packs, the little ones lagging behind and holding my hand. Every once in a while, my host brothers would go missing only to reappear by jumping out of the trees at a gaggle of young, shrieking girls. At one point I caught up to a group of kids in a circle close together commanding “cover, cover.” By time I got close enough to figure out what was going on, a sparkler erupted and sent the whole group of us stumbling backwards with glee. A few houses, handfuls of candy, and screams more, the entertainment turned to running around and dancing with signal flares. Now would be a good time to comment that safety standards for kids are much different here than in the states. That’s all I have to say about that. Anyway, no one was hurt and fun was had by all. All in all, an A + Halloween.

In other news, which isn’t actually news, because it’s a well-established, practically antiquated fact, I have the best family and friends. Ever. Not only did I have a tower of FOUR packages to open today, I have received the most packages out of anyone by far – thank you so much, I feel the love! And now I’m typing on a huge chunk of that love right now. My wonderful family has given me a new Netbook with lots of trimmings. Oh, and a whole box of Thanksgiving trimmings. I’m rich with trimmings. And with technology (I even have a solar panel and battery for my electronics!). And with dried grains and beans and bars and nuts and candy and deodorant. Which has actually worked out perfectly b/c I am well-stocked now for my first voyage out to Woleai. It looks like my next trip back into Yap will be sometime around the end of February, and I am happy to report that I am supplied adequately, if not downright sumptuously, until then. Really, thank you.

I will do my best to communicate any future needs, but for now, your job is done, Care-Package Givers. I think it’s best to try to coordinate future packages for my resource trips back to Yap so as to avoid packages sitting around, just begging ants to infiltrate them. In the meantime, letters are as good as any physical food because they’re food for my soul  I am sorry that I am unable to reciprocate all your generosity with souvenirs and even frequent letters from my end. Once training is over, I will have much more time, and hopefully resources, too. But please know that I think about you all daily. It’s a treasure to have such fond memories to connect me to you over the distance.

To paint a brief timeline of my immediate future, I have a language test tomorrow morning (PC wants us to be at an ‘intermediate low’ level…fingers crossed). Then Friday is our official swearing-in ceremony that will mark as passage from trainee to Volunteer…oh la la. Fancy. The three of us Woleaian Volunteers are singing a song in local dress for the ceremony. Which means a.) I have to sing in public and b.) I will be topless. Trust me, between the two, being topless is by far the lesser of two evils. I’ll let you know how it goes. But until then, send some tune my way, because I have none. Seriously.

Thanks all for following along my adventure. It feels like it has yet to begin, yet in many ways it already has. I appreciate all your thoughts, prayers, packages, and letters. They nourish and support me daily.

May you find some hidden, special nourishment in your day today! Blessings from Micronesia and a big, almost topless WHEE!
emily

Learnings...with 2 weeks to go

Laughter. People here are serious about laughter. There's lots of it a lot of the time. For how culturally traditional people are here, they are unreserved with the fun. People are also unreserved with their bodies, which is, to be fair, what one might expect of a culture in which women go topless and men wear loin cloths. But it is interesting to observe families' physical affection towards their kids. Massage here is a tafeeli faliuwashe, or a local remedy for the majority of minor aches or illnesses. My favorite example of this to date occurred between my 24 yr. old host brother and his buddy Catowin. Now, let me set the stage a little. My host brother looks like a professional tight end and I'm sure he's come out the winner of any skirmish he's been in. Catowin, on the other hand, I first met when he was showing off his scar from when a shark attacked him at the age of ten. It's gnarly looking and he supplemented it with a tattooed cartoon shark with its mouth around the scar. Not to mention that he's built of muscle. (How do I know this? Let's just say it's one of the advantages of young men wearing only a thu.). So these are the characters and here is the rest of the story. A couple of weekends ago the fam and I were hanging out under the beranta (the outdoor living 'room'). My brother and Cat were sitting next to each other as everyone was chatting. The next time I looked over, there was Mr. Shark-Bite himself giving the Woleaian Shannon Sharp a coconut oil massage on his arm with total nonchalance and absolutely no awkwardness. All this to say that I am really appreciating the small parts of the culture upon which I'm slowly, and hopefully not too clumsily, stumbling upon.

Here's a random update on my thoughts/observations about gender roles and respect in Yap. In Woleaian culture, women cannot be higher than men. As a result, for example, they are not supposed to climb trees. Another manifestation of this is that when a woman's brother or uncle passes her on the road, she must cross the road and squat down. My current understanding of this is that these behaviors are how respect is shown here. In the States, we often spout ideologies (myself highly included) about respect - about equality for all and showing every person the same level of respect. But how often do we really "show" our respect for one another? I'm honestly hard pressed to think of specific examples that bring my respect for people to the surface. Here, however, I can see the respect that women show for their family. The tricky thing is whether I will also be able to detect ways in which other people in the culture are shown respect or disrespect.

Adventures in mwongoo...Mwongoo is the most common word I say and hear here. Why? Well, we've been told that mwongoo is love. So what is it? Food, of course. Interestingly, there is no common greeting in Woleaian, no 'hi' or 'good day.' Instead, people say 'buutogo mwongoo' (come eat) whenever someone approaches. Needless to say, food is central to life in this culture. My most recent adventures up to date include 'al dente' (read: barely cooked) ramen with ant floaties galore (more protein, right?); delicious fiiyefiiye, a sweet rice, pumpkin, coconut pudding drink; a bite of sea turtle (it's a frequent meal in Woleai :-( ); and a declined offer of gelaagu...dog. I tried to do my best to respectfully decline and explain that, to me, dogs are part of the family and it just wouldn't seem right to eat part of the family!

Dogs in Micronesia are aplenty, and we're not talking pedigreed pooches here. We're talking about nearly or totally wild canines that are scrawny and mangy and battle-worn. When walking about, one must be weary of dogs and either carry a stick or rock for self-defense. On the whole, I've found that dogs are better treated here in Yap than in Pohnpei due to two factors. One being the availability of free vet clinics to have dogs spayed or neutered, and the other being that dogs are seen more as pets than pests. My family has a dog named Spike plus a few others who have island names I can never remember, plus a new puppy. Notwithstanding, dog is an occasional guest on the dinner table as well as a constant guest under the table. (Side note to my cat loving friends: there are cats as well, but they are just ignored, which is probably safer for them to be outside the realm of mwongoo potential.).

This weekend was the first annual Yap Canoe Festival. I got to hang out at it on Friday and I volunteered on Sat. It was fun to get to help out and my favorite part was getting to hang out with the local kids that were volunteering. The kids here are wonderful - they'll start teasing you the second they meet you. I spent most of the time working with a kid named Jake. He's sixteen but could be some lost relative of Hagrid. He is big, big-hearted, and a barrel of laughs. This weekend was also fun b/c it helped me realize how many wonderful people I've met and friends I've made. For instance, there was a wrestling demonstration Saturday night and I knew probably half the boys. My twin brothers wrestled against each other and one was recognized as a hopeful for a great scholarship opportunity to Singapore. There was such a spirit of fun and instead of competitiveness and jeering from the crowd, there was camaraderie and cheers and laughter from the crowd. Like I said before, laughter is one of my favorite parts of this culture.

In other news, I've started reading A Walk in The Woods by Bill Bryson. I've also discovered that Yapese ants' favorite food is the Just Tomatoes brand of freeze-dried veggies. It's intense how they always seem to go for it and none of the other tasty treats around it (thankfully). Well, I best be off to start my second to last week of training.

I hope you are all well and thanks for thoughts! Whee!

emily

Feel the love...

Just a quick update. Everything is going really well...language training has calmed down a bit and training in general is a little more relaxed. I'm enjoying my host family and community here, but I'm also really looking forward to getting out to Woleai so I can really settle in and get my feet set for the next two years. Everyone I tell I'm going to Woleai replies with one of two things - either "take a mosquito net" or "lucky! It's so beautiful!" I'm stoked.

I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to my family and friends who have sent letters and care packages. At the PO today I had four packages and I could definitely feel the love! It's really great to hear from friends and I love opening packages in front of the other PCVs, who have all declared that they're taking notes from me on what to ask from their friends. They keep saying I must have really great friends, and I tell them YES. I ABSOLUTELY DO! So thank you thank you thank you!

Oh, and just as a quick side note on the wardrobe...I have not yet 'gone local' to the full extent. I have been given two beautiful lavalavas, but it's not tops-off until the swear-in ceremony. It's been fun to hear the little stories about all the fun and laughter my new lifestyle is causing :-) I'm happy you think of me when you laugh. There are many, many moments here where I smile or laugh just thinking about you and the memories we have.

I have another post in the works, so be on the lookout for Mr. Shark-Bite and what a man-eat-dog world it is here. Stay tuned...

Snippets of my life here:

[posted by MOM]

= Not always getting what I expect. Case in point: ordering the veggie burger for the first time at Oasis (one of a very few restaurants here). The veggie burger, it turns out, is a pile of suateed veggies on a sweet burger bun. It was good and I enjoyed it, but I also learned that a menu in a foreign country contains all sorts of mysteries!

= Where everybody knows your name. Yap is a small, insular place and a group of seven new Peace Corps are nobody's stranger. Many times walking in town I'll have people say hi to me by name and I've never met them. Case in point: the other day I was eating lunch with Gita and Porter, the other two volunteers going to Woleai, when a young woman approached us. The first thing she said was, "you're going to Woleai" and all we could say is, "yes we are, what's your name?"

= Raw gums. I mentioned before that betel nut chewing is ubiquitous here and constant. Which means people will be speaking to me in another language while chewing betel nut and spitting red in the middle of a sentence, which may be a contibuting factor to why Woleaian is so hard to learn. I've tried it a few times myself and the gums on the left side of my mouth are raw from the lime, which ppl sprinkle in the middle of it to purposefully make their mouths raw. Why? Because it let's the 'buzz' properties of the betel nut get into the body and cause a mini little high.

= Death by volleyball. I have six host brothers and we play volleyball together a lot. Now, you might think that as their host sister they'd give me a break. Or you might be like me and underestimate their abilities. But boy oh boy. When I step onto the court (read: patch a dirt with a clothesline as a net and bounded by rusty metal pipes) they have it out for me and get a huge kick out of spiking the ball in my face, esp. Riley and Rodney, the 16 yr. old identical twins. In the states I can hold my own on the court, but here I cower in fear. Sad, but true.

= Kissing lizards. We have countless house lizards that eat bugs and make kissing noises at you. When we first arrived in Micronesia, we were told about nightcrawling, where young men crawl outside thier sweethearts' rooms at night as a form of dating ritual. We were warned that it might happen to us and several of the girls here mistook the kissing lizards to be nightcrawlers.

= Christmas carols. I've heard several since coming to Yap. What can I say? They're catchy.

= Picture imperrfect moments, like the sun setting after a run and Gita double-fisting a can of spaghetti in one hand a cup of chocolate water in the other.

Here is a run down of what communication is going to look like once I'm on Woleai:

-Mail about once a month

-Phone and email about once every three or four months

Here's a little more detail. There are two ways to get to the atoll - by plane and by ship. The plane goes out very rarely, only when the are enough passengers or when there is an emergency. The ship is supposed to come about once a month. Any time either of these makes a trip to Woleai, any letters/packages for me will be brought out to me and I'll be able to send mail back. Also, I'll have a number of resource trips or training sessions throught the next two years that will bring me back to the main island.

As far as communcation available on Falalus, there is an SSB radio and I'll have a satellite phone for emergency purposes. I'll have weekly checkins with my program assistant on Yap with the sat phone, but all other communication is going to have to be written.

Im going to end this quickly to send off while I'm still connected to wifi. Be well, thanks for following along, and keep in touch!

whee !

emily

EMILY'S NEWS IN DETAIL [posted by MOM]

Week one of six of PST 2 on Yap - check. This week, marking my first experience of Yap, had a rough start to say the least. It began quite well at first after a day of travel and a cool, breezy night at a hotel. The next day, however, I got a bad case of the burps. Many of you who know me know that usually means bad news, and let me tell you, these burps meant BAD news. Unfortunately it coincided with meeting my new host family. What a first impression. I show up and immediately curl up in a ball for a few hours until my system starts to revolt, at which point I proceed to expel any and everything in my system to the point that my family insisted that I go to the Yap Memorial Hospital. Fun. And if that weren't enough, Tropical Storm 19W decided to extend an extra hand of welcome. Magotin - welcome to Yap.

As unpleasant as this experience was, I'm happy to report that many a good thing came of this episode. For one thing, I am 100% certain that I have the most wonderful host mother in all of Uap - Ramona was such a comfort and support during many first experiences, incl. horking from a car, getting full-blown food poisoning, and visiting a hospital in a foreign country. Another good thing is that, even when I felt like my body was trying to explode, I didn't have even an inkling that this isn't where I want to be.

So let me tell you a little bit more about where I am and what I'm doing. I have training every weekday, shich consists of at least four hours of language training with Tino, or Augustino. Porter, Gita and I are in this together, but it's still rough at times. Our afternoons are spent with the other Yap volunteers for technical trainings or meetings with the CoE and whatnot. My family drops me off and picks me u0p every day, so pretty much everything I do is planned by and in the hands of other people.

Like I said, I have six weeks in the state of Yap, the western most state in the FSM. Yap on the whole seems to be a very traditional and relatively quiet island. There remains a strong sense of family, a social caste system (where outer islanders, like me, are at the bottom), and gender roles that prevail in determining most aspects of daily life. Now, I know this is a very loaded generalization and one that initially gave me reservations before coming here. I have the next two years and five weeks to explore this further. So far, I have come to see (and been told) that a sense of respect guides the culture and, however different it may seem from how I would establish a way of life based on the principle of equality, each person is seen as valuable. I also want to qualify that I haven't been here long and have not had the chance to really observe in depth how these aspects of culture play out (plus they're not obvious). All this to basically say, I have not yet reconciled myself to or understood the social structure at work here (and It's likely to be different once I'm in Woleai) but it is different and much less of an issue that I would've anticipate. Like I said, I'm leaving room for future investigation and reflection.

I am living with a Woleain Family in order to begin the slow learning process that will hopefully equip me with the linguistic, cultural, and technical knowledge I'll need when I get to my post (read: island). I say slow for a couple of reasons. The main one is that woleain is HARD! For example, here is how to say thank you: go sa gashigashige, pronounced along the lines of ho sa hasihehasihe. Yes is ngoa. It's a language with mostly unvoiced vowels and vowels up the wazoo. Plus, being the language of only a tiny Pacific atoll, there aren't many resources to turn to. Wish me luck. My family is very helpful, but that hasn't stopped them from laughing at me many, many times.

I live with about fourteen people. There's my host mom and dad, theri six sons (including one set of identical twins), two other couples, and two other women (cousins, I think). Our house (imwashe) is comprised of two open platforms, one of which is the cookhouse (mwaluumwu), and two buildings. There's an indoor toilet and both an indoor and outdoor shower. We have power and fans, and overall it's a nice setup.

My friend Gita, one of the other PCVs going to Woleai, Lives two houses down from me so we've been learning and getting laughed a lot together. Yesterday we went for a run and were laughed at outright by the neighborhood kids. Exercise isn't a normal concept here (& I can't blame them with the heat), but we did get most of the kids around to play a game of volleyball at sunset. It was one of those beautiful moments in life where there's so much goodness and beauty around you that you can taste it. Life is delicious.

Another such moment happened Thursday night when Elizabeth, the PC Program and Training Asst., treated all the PCVs on Yap - past, present, & future...M47s-M76s to beer and pizza at a restaurant on a ship. It turns out a favorite pastime at Mnuw is to jump from the top deck into the bay, which is roughly a three-story distance. The Woleai Trio - Gita, Porter, and I, took the plunge together, and me in a lavalava no less (sorry mom). It was another beautiful moment.

Oh, yeah, what's a lavalava? It's the traditional skirt worn by the outer island women of Yap. It's a handwoven piece of fabric that is wrapped around and folded on the waist held in place with a "belt" (I use a shoelace). It comprises the whole of the warrobe for women, as it's a topless culture. I'm already very used to the women in my community letting it all hang out so to say, but I have yet to join them. My family is going to wean me off of shirts slowly with the cunning use of smaller and smaller leis :-) The men here similarly have a one piece wardrobe that consists of a thu, more or less a loincloth created by any number of ways of folding. I love seeing people conduct their daily business so comfortably and causually. For instance, several of the DoE representatives with whom we met today were wearing thus. My favorite was a macho young man strutting around like nobody's business at a birthday party wearing a thu and a tank top that said "I love my attitude" as he handed out melting ice cream cones.

Diet here is mostly imported - my brunch after mass today was Chef Boyardee cold out of a can. There are lots of root crops like taro and tapioca (very much like a potato). Breadfruit is in season and I've had it a kajillion different ways. It's a big skikey fruit that has an almost feathery flesh. Canned meat is ubiquitous, as is turday tail (which I'm convinced entails no meat, only fat). I've been fortunate in that I haven't had to have much of either, but it'll be a long five weeks. I have ramen for breakfast, lunch in town, and then any variety of fried food with peraasi (rice). I haven't seen a vegetable in days. The other staple of the Yapese diet is betel nut, a little green nut that people sprinkle with lime and wrap with a pepper leaf. They chew it constantly and spit red all over the place (you don't actually eat it). It gives you a little buzz, but it also makes your mouth raw. I tried it this weekend and I'm no a huge fan.

Speaking of diet, now might be a good time to implore health food care packages. I've received some amazing care packages from the fam (incl. this iTouch I'm now typing on) that have lots of freezedried fruits and veggies from Just Tomatoes...they're super light and ship well. Other great items I'd kiss you for include:

( bran flakes [fiber is SPARSE!]

( nuts - especially walnuts and cashews, mixes are great, too

( quinoa

( dried beans, esp. garbanzo and black beans

( just add water mixes, like hummus or beans

( seeds for veggies and herbs...I'll ask you to do the research for me on what will grow well here

( spices

( dried fruits, i.e. mango and cranberries

( bars of any variety, like Kashi, Clif / Luna, or those green superfood ones

( popcorn and nutritional yeast :-)

( canned spinach (weird, I know...just call me Popeye)

*quick note about packages / mail: we have a US zipcode and all domestic shipping rates apply. Check out flat rate boxes and make sure to ship by air. It seems to take between 1 & 2 weeks for me to get things here on Yap proper...it'll take longer once I'm in Woleai - I'll hopefully get mail at least once a month. I'll definitely be excited for any mail.

Thank you everyone for following along. I've been busier than I expected here and so I've fallen behind on all the letter writing I wanted to be doing. If you sit down and write me a quick note, I promise I'll get back to you with some inside sotry or little trinket. I'll be learning how to weave soon, so maybe you'll get something handmade! Here's my address:

Emily Hurianek, Peace Corps Trainee

PO BOX 190

Colonia, Yap FM 96943

Be well, be happy and keep in touch! My love to you all and a great big Woleain WHEE,

emily

Go sa gashigegashige (thank you)!!

Thanks to everyone for posting and reading! I typed up a nice long new post on my new iTouch, but I'm having trouble getting it online. Cross your fingers for me and be on the lookout. In the meantime...

The good news is aplently, including:

• I AM SAFE! I know there were a lot of natural disasters in my neck of the ocean, but I steared clear for the most part (my host family moved me to a church one night just as a precaution)
• I AM HEALTHY! I guess it must have just been food poisoning. It passed :-)
• I AM CONNECTED! Well, somewhat. I will be here in Colonia, the capital, for the next five weeks and there is access to internet. My fam sent me some great packages - thank you! - including an iTouch, and I'm hoping to use it to receive/send email and make some calls via Skype. Be on the lookout for an international number

Like always, I'd love to hear from you, esp. as communication now is going to be much easier than in the future. I'm very isolated here, so I'm hungry for news from the people and places I love :-)

Kristin - congrats on the move! Be prepared to entertain my qusetions about possibly tackling the AT when I get back

Jamie D - glad you're healthy. I did see 500 days of Summer...I loved the dance scene and the Hans Solo reference. Otherwise, I'd say I just liked it.

Jamie O - miss you too, can't wait to be penpals!

Cate - "When elephants fight, it's the grass that suffers"...read this today and thought fondly of you. Keep a list of all the movies we'll have to watch together in two years :-)

Mary - I hope you figured it out. I know mail can be a little tricky. Kick butt at poker for me!

Everyone else, thanks again and be well - I'll hopefully be in touch again soon!

emily

Woot. Except not.

We - meaning the other 6 Yapese volunteers and I - arrived in Colonia two nights ago. Our first night was spent at a hotel and yesterday, in rainy rainy weather, we met our host families.

I wish I could say it was smooth sailing, but I seem to have contracted some degree of food poisoning. The good news is that my new host mom is a wonderful mom, taking care of me on my very first day with her like I am one of her own. The worst has past, but I'm still recovering. My fingers are crossed that it's nothing parasitic, just food-related.

Just a quick review of my experience so far: the first three weeks were spent in Phase 1 of PST, during which we had daily class sessions on culture, TESL, and community-development. Not very specific or terribly useful. However, PST at PATS (the facility in a rural municipality on Pohnpei called Madoleniemw) was a very special opportunity to bond with my fellow PCVs. It made branching off into our smaller training groups difficult, but it was wonderful to establish the community that we did. Plus, my training group here on Yap is super.

I know I posted about my 'buzz' adventures in paradise, of cliff jumping into the ocean and rope-swinging into tropical waterfalls. But there have been many more edifying and positive experiences on a smaller scale, such as JR (the 3 yr. old) finally warming up to me; the sound of the 'kissing' lizards; the taste of fresh vegetables and kimchi paste; of the rain and the support from other volunteers.

Well, good news to report - I have just eaten my first solid food in a day and things are going well.

I hope that you are all well and let me know how you are doing.

Yap-tastic

Just a quick note to say that I arrived in Yap safely. It's dark and I haven't seen any of the island, but we had a great reception at the airport from other PVCs and the island has a good energy.

My last week on Pohnpei was stellar, filled with my wonderful host family (who drove up to Kolonia to see me off today with marmars and shell leis), savoring the last days with all 30 of us PCV's Micro 76 group, snorkeling in the beautiful and colorful blue lagoon water, and more watefall jumping.

Please take note of my new address and don't be a stranger. It's harder than I expected to feel connected to the world back home, but I really want to keep in touch. Email and maybe even phone/Skype *may* be more accessible over the next six weeks, but once I'm on Woleai, snail mail is going to become my bread and butter.

But enough about me. It's been at least a month. What's going on with you? New stories and adventures?

PS - sorry no photos yet. I've got some wonderful ones to hopefully post soon.

Kasalehlia!

From now on, consider no news to mean: I'm having a wonderfully positive experience, but internet access is VERY rare.

This is my first chance in three weeks to get online and I don't have much time, but I want to cover some basic updates. I'll start backwards...

This weekend was full of tropical adventures, jumping off rocks into the ocean at ancient ruins (Nan Madol) and swinging into waterfalls with lots of local kids.

These past two weeks we've been on Pohnpei going to school (Pre Service Training Phase 1) and living with host families. My family loves to laugh, celebrates and feeds me local foods (vs. imported canned meats :-(), and has all sorts of adorable kids running to and fro. I get at least one coconut a day, which I now know how to open on my own - I'm turning into a true local, my family says.

There's a group of 30 of us, and I have to say, we make a great group. I'll be sad to see us go our separate ways next week when we divide into our smaller training groups based on where we're going...

On Wednesday we received our site placements and I'm heading to the...drum roll please...

WOLEAI ATOLL in YAP!!!

I won the jackpot, because Woleai is a collection of 22 outer islands that still strongly maintain their traditional culture and at the same time, I'm going with two other wonderful friends and PCVs (we we're known), Gita and Porter. It flabbergasts me just thinking about the experience I'm having and will continue to have over the next two years.

Here's what's on deck for me. I have one more week on Pohnpei, then I head out to Yap with the other Yapese PCVs. We'll be there for 6 weeks of intensive language training, as well as cultural and technical training. Then I'll head to Woleai (the island of Falalus) in November after I'm sworn in as an official PCV (right now I'm technically a PCTrainee).

Oh, a few more finer points. Well, I'm not sure how to say this, but part of Woleai's lingering traditional culture affects what I have to wear over the next two years. Or what I don't have to wear, to be more precise. I just have to lay it out there - Woleai is a topless culture. Hello, world, here I come!

Once I'm there, I won't have electricity on my island (there's electricity on Gita and Porter's island) and there's no internet, so MAIL. I would GREATLY appreciate mail and/or packages. Here's my NEW ADDRESS:

Emily Hurianek,
Peace Corps Trainee
PO BOX 190
Colonia, Yap 96943

And on a similar note, here's an updated wishlist should you care to send me anything:

• LETTERS AND PICTURES, first and foremost
• Dried fruits and veggies
• Nuts
• Dried beans
• Quinoa
• Chedder Bunnies
• Other goodies that will travel well and be able to withstand humidity and hot weather (did I mention it's hot here? I've had to resort to conventional deoderant...the rock just ain't cutting it)
• Fun resources for my classroom, like flashcards and posters...I'll try to get more specific once I know more.

Okay, this isn't everything - there's so much more to talk about like the stars and the house geckos and the betel nut and the dhoudhous (showers) - but I've got to get going.

Thank you everyone for your support and for keeping up. It doesn't look like the blog will be very active, but keep an eye out for it and become my snail mail pal!

KALAHNGAN (thank you) and WHEE!
e

Kaselehlia! {Pohnpein greeting similar to ALOHA!]

After SEVERAL flights, over three days, I'M IN MICRONESIA with my Peace Corps group beginning training.

I flew to LA on Wednesday, Sept. 2, and met the group at our 'staging' event. I got to see Katie O. and met people who will definitely be longtime friends. On Sept. 3, we flew to Honolulu, stayed in the Ohana Hotel near the airport, rode a bus to Waikiki Beach to watch the sunset, and then got a little sleep. We got up at 3 AM and took off on an 'island hopping' trip to Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia.

We spent a couple of nights and a day, figuring out how to communicate with family and friends, having our first interviews, and catching up on sleep. (Somewhere over the Pacific, we "lost" a day and several hours of sleep.)

Now, we're at the Training Center. We'll be in this area for 6 - 9 weeks staying with our first host families. I will have VERY limited phone or email access. So, the best way to communicate with me is by USPS mail. FSM and Palua use a postal system similar to the U.S. - costs of mailing letters and packages are the same. Airmail takes about two weeks (things that go by sea take months.) My address is:

Emily Hurianek, Peace Corps Trainee

Peace Corps / Micronesia

PO BOX 9

Kolonia, Pohnpei FM 96941

I'd LOVE to hear from you!!!

THANKS for all of your support! The adventure is has truly begun!!

Emily [posted by MOM]

WISH LIST

If you feel so behooved to send me a care package, here are some friendly suggestion:

1. LETTERS and PICTURES! This is by far the best thing you could send me.
   
2. "Just Tomatoes" freeze-dried fruits and veggies
3. Annie's Chedder Bunnies
4. Bars: Cliff, Kind, Luna, Lara, etc.
5. Dried fruit, ie berries, mangos
6. Tea - I like black teas (can do loose, I'm taking my tea straw); Good Earth is good, too
7. Games/Cards
8. Tofurkey Jerkey
9. TLC Cookies and bars (I like oatmeal choc chip)
10. Nut Thins

Keep in mind it takes 2-3 for packages to arrive. The address on the side bar is temporary - I'll update it when I know more about where I'll be.

And with that, I'm officially ready to depart!

Love and gratitude to you all!

Bags packed, Crocs Painted, I'm pretty much ready to go!

Good news to report: I have arrived at my last day and all is well!  My bags are packed (except for some last minute goodies) and I'm looking at around 40 pounds of check luggage and two carry ons - woot!

On my dwindling TA-DA list (just swap an 'a' for an 'o' in to-do and it becomes infinitely more exciting) remains: 

• Make doughnuts with Mom (equipped with matching doughnut makers, no less!)
  
• 'Bequeath' my scooter to Dad
  
• Finalize my music selection for the next two years and load up my iPod Shuffle
  
• Print out and MAIL my deposit slips and checks b/c there are no depositable BoA ATMs in the states of Colorado :-(
• Make a last call for addresses and finish my address book :-)
  
• Make my Wishlist and publish a list of goodies and supplies that would be very welcome in care packages over the next two years, hint hint... [Side note: check out USPS flat rate boxes - you can even ship w/ domestic rates!]
• Enjoy a final farewell fiesta with the fam!

In other news, yesterday I discovered that one can very successfully transform an otherwise highly un-scrumptious colored (think neon) pair of Crocs into a very attractive and rubberized red!  (Fashion opinions aside, Crocs are a wonderful island and travel shoe, although I wish they'd comp me a pair.)

Thanks to everyone who has wished me well on my new adventure!  I've changed the settings on the comment feature on this blog, so it should be up and running and I'd love to hear from you!

And with that, I'm off to finalize my preparations, crossing my fingers that I've done my best to prepare myself to be unprepared!

"Fate leading, she must needs go on and on, 

Blindly, yet fearing not, till the goal be won."  

Stoneflies, trees, and me

From Ellery Akers "Metamorphosis" -

Oddly, touchingly, it reached over to its old shed skin, still perfect except for the split down the center, and began stroking it all over with its antennae, as if in some kind of farewell.  Then it made its way back toward the stream, stopped, and stood facing the water where it had spent so many months.  I began to feel afraid for it again: it looked so flimsy.

As if in response to an inner signal, it dashed to the top of the rock, lifted its wings, and fluttered off.  Drifting into a weak patch of evening sun, the stonefly seemed to catch fire: for a few seconds I watched with longing as it flared in front of me like a living spark.  Then it wobbled off into the shade, and out of sight.  

From my Peace Corps Aspiration Statement - 

So how do I plan to adapt to a new culture with respect to my own cultural background?  By maintaining the core integrity of who I am while allowing myself to grow and change as I live and serve in FSM and Palau.  In other words, I plan to mindfully transplant my roots to the rich cultural soil of FSM and Palau, fully understanding and anticipating the need to adapt according to the realities of my experience.  Many of my branches will change their shape or the color of their leaves; some may reorient themselves to face different sources of light; some will grow higher than I could ever imagine; and perhaps some will beat against certain cultural windows or not grow an inch.  My trunk will sway and my roots will grow deeper.

As hard as I may try, I cannot anticipate all the ways I will need to adapt to my new culture during my service and the process will not be easy.  But I can be mindful of my adaptation; within that mindfulness, be open to new experiences and directions; and when faced with challenges and struggles, be confident that my trunk is strong yet flexible.

Call for addresses and contact info

I realized I really don't have any sort of address book.  That needs to change within the next two weeks and I need your help!  I'm calling on friends and family to email me their contact info.  Here's the communication scoop.  Snail mail is the only means of contact with the outside world that I am guaranteed.  There is, fingers crossed, a chance that I will have access to the internet, so it may be possible to stay in touch through email and Skype.  So...

Please email me your address and/or Skype name at e.hurianek@gmail.com

I am also compiling a contact list if you'd like me to email you whenever I update my blog.  Please specify if you'd like to be included on this list (wow, that sounded official).  

And in other news...

Yay yay yay for my uncle Tim!  He fixed my computer, which the Apple store called 'vintage.'  Now, thanks to my skillful uncle, I guess you could say it's an oldy but a goody!

Did you know it is possible to condition a 10 foot pew with one cup olive oil and half a cup of lemon juice?  My pew has never looked better.

PS - I have my ticket - I fly to L.A. for staging Sep. 2nd!  And the good news is: I've finally unpacked, so now I can start packing!  Other than that, my focus is simply on preparing myself to be unprepared :-)  Whee!

Road Trip '09

Road Trip '09: Success.

With the help of my two dear 'tub' friends, Dorothy and Tori, I traveled from Maine to Colorado in a 22-foot Penske rental truck, aka The BFT.

Adventures were aplenty and laughter abounded over the course of 6 days on the road.

Highlights include:

• Pre-Game: Dinner in Boston with the gang

Me, Dorothy, Erica, Tori, & Jamie

• Day 1: Picking up the truck, saying goodbye to Buelah the Buick, then inadvertently exploring the back roads of Maine thanks to our free-spirited friend GyPSy. Fortunately, we happened to find the Colbrook County Club in NH - not a bad place to stay

Trading in Buelah the Buick - I'll miss her - for the BFT. And yes, that is the truck completely packed.

• Day 2: The Speculator Farmer's Market and driving through Vermont & the Adirondacks

VT = Vermont. Clever, we are.

• Night 2: Staying with Rachel in Constantia, NY whose crotch chairs around the fire and hospitality will not be forgotten any time soon :-)

• Day 3: Niagara Falls & Crossing into Canada
  

• Day 4: Watching the sun rise over Lake Erie - Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario
  

• Night 4: Depositing the BFT at an inner city WalMart and going out on the town in Chicago to Christine's Wine Bar, Websters
  

• Day 5: The Most Intense Thunder Storm of My Life, 60 miles east of Des Moines, including phone calls to the family for final farewells and weather reports

• Day 6: Stumbling upon Fern Thomas (Green Fern, Doubting Thomas) and her beautifully quaint antique store outside of Kearney, Nebraska

• Night 6: The Welcome Home Sunset over the Rockies

The home-stretch

And we still like each other. A lot.

Ladies, thank you for your tremendous friendship and for sharing a journey full of laughter and adventure!

And thanks to everyone who wished us well on our voyage - it couldn't have gone better.