Half Way Through and A New Beginning...

One year down in my Peace Corps experience and somehow I'm back at the beginning again. Since I left in July, I've said hello to my new community in Ulithi and goodbye to my old home in Woleai. Both experiences were positive yet challenging in their own ways, and it's been interesting to transition from one island home to another.

I fell in love with my new island community on Federai from the get-go. It's a very long, skinny island with open, friendly people. Long beaches line the shore and the water is invisibly clear. I'm staying with William and Andresa, two very kind and amiable people. We live right by the school and I'm staying in the coziest little local hut that was built by a previous PCV and my host brother, Frankie (who looks like a professional heavy weight boxer).


My local hut on Federai - home sweet home!


Inside my hut at night :-)

I have found the language to be more difficult that I anticipated, but fortunately I can get by speaking English and listening to Ulithian. This made me realize what a gift a common language is because it allows room for me to really express myself and show my personality. I feel like I'm known for who I am on Federai, and this feeling is very grounding and helps energize me for the rest of my service.

Another great part of feeling energized is my daily routine of running to the end of the island in the evening and then jumping into the ocean with my 9 year old friend Nick during the sunset. It's times like these when the phrase "island paradise" floats across the brain for some reason :-)


Sunset on Federai


A weird thing happens in Federai. At night, the mosquitoes go away. That means they run rampant from sunrise to sunset, but when the moon comes out, we on Federai are blessed with cool, buzz-free night air.


The apple tree we sit under at night to talk story

My favorite way of enjoying this phenomenon is to sit out with my host mother and father by the glow of our solar powered light. During these talk-story sessions, I get to share about who I am and the places I come from. We love to laugh and joke about funny stories, foods, customs. One of my favorite times was when I told my host mother when I owned a motorcycle. She was saying she couldn't picture me on one, and I said it wasn't like I was wearing a lavalava :-)

Speaking of lavalavas, I have successfully completed my first full lavalava, winding and weaving it from scratch, so to say :-) It was fun to sit in the women's house with Alyssa "cheating" as she coached me in English, then to laugh and joke with my host mom as she taught me to weave on the "pop," or loom, in my house. It's far from perfect, but as it was my "learning lavalava" intended for my Grannie, I think it's just swell. Besides, I remember learning about how certain Native American tribes purposefully incorporated flaws into their crafts so as to not offend the gods by feigning perfection. Let's just say no gods were offended during the making of this lavalava. I look forward to much more weaving in the future.


Host mom Andresa and friend Joanna helping set up my first lavalava!

At the end of August, I hopped on the state ship out to Woleai. It was a great summer time adventure upon the waves shared with Gita and two other PCVs who took the ship all the way to Satawal and back. It was difficult yet good to have time to say goodbye to Falalius.


My final boat ride from Falalius with all my stuff and yes, that is a pig :-)


My final farewell to maweshe Ashley on Falalius

There were many reasons for me to stay, and many reasons for me to go. One of the saddest parts was discovering that, I'm sad to report, Tiny the Turtle passed away. She was well-loved in her short life, an unforgetable Christmas gift and a delightful island companion. All in all, I'm very thankful for my time spent in Woleai.

Coming back to Federai I found myself in the throws of teaching full-time, a plight I blame on my genes (thanks four generations of teaching behind me!). On the first day of school we had a Back To School Party. I was just sitting on the side, minding my own business, when all of a sudden I noticed all of the students huddled together secretively and staring at me. Then they attacked me - with floral maremares, that is! Each student had made me a lei to welcome me to the school and the community. I could feel the weight of their welcome as my head towered and teetered with the most beautiful tropical flowers. I'm very blessed to be part of this community!


Being buried by maremares - one from each student!

Three cheers for my island life partner Alyssa and all the other M75 PCVs in Yap! Alyssa is officially done with her time in Federai and while I'm sad to see her go, I'm happy and excited for her future adventures and all of her "first impressions" to come. My two weeks back on Yap have been delightful and donzerly in every way. I'm healthy, happy, and excited for the future. I will come back to Yap in December before heading to Pohnpei for Mid-Service Training (MST). After MST, my travel plans look a little something like this:
Portland, Maine Dec. 19-22
Colorado Dec. 22-Jan 4
Bolivia Jan. 4-12 Then back to Yap!

In recent, exciting news, I'm getting scuba certified! I started at the beginning of the week and it's been an amazing experience that I'm so thankful for. I'll never forget my first open water dives and being brought into a whole new world :-)

That's all the time I have now for this little update. Please be in touch and let me know how you are and what adventures you are having. Mail is come and go in Federai, but I will do my best to keep in touch.

And lastly, a very special Happy Birthday today to Andrew!!

Be well! Whee! emily

If you wait till the last minute...

A fellow traveler and friend once told me, "If you wait till the last minute, it'll only take a minute!" I'm keeping this in mind as I write this update.

As it stands, I've been back on Yap Proper since the last weeks of May - almost two months. And in those two months, I've had three days of training.

In the meanwhile, a significant change came about when the Peace Corps told the three of us Volunteers in Woleai that, due to the shabby state of the runway and a rescinded emergency contract with the local plane, we are no longer able to serve in our sites.

At the time there was some hope that the runway situation would miraculously improve, but it has become evident that the solution lies in part of the problem; no ship has been able to go out to Woleai in order to deliver the materials or workers for the improvements. As it seems to me, this is an instance of stunted potential as far as sustaining and improving life in the outer islands of Yap. There is funding, there is community and government support, and there is want, need, and drive. But there is a missing infrastructure upon which to hinge the existing systems that would address this transportation problem. From what I've seen and heard, the runway will indeed be patched up and improved soon, just not soon enough for us to remain at our sites. It seems as though we were only one ship away from being allowed to stay, and that's difficult to deal with. If only...If only the state ship hadn't been indefinitely delayed, then we'd be able to fix the runway and Porter, Gita, and I could stay in our sites. If only...

And so here I am, in the last several minutes (read: days) before I leave on Friday for my new site - Federai, Ulithi. (Said: Fed-er-eye, You-lith-ee)

Logistically speaking, I shall be taking a plane to Falalop, Ulithi and then catching a boat across the lagoon to Federai. I'll meet my new host family and community while settling into my new digs. Then, whenever the state ship is finally fit to leave, I'll hop on it from Federai out to Woleai. In the time it takes for the ship to loop around the eastern outer islands, I'll have to say goodbye to my host family, community, digs, and turtle on Falalius. Then back on the ship to be deposited again at my new site. Now let me tell you a little more about Federai.

On Federai, I will continue to be teaching in the local school, which is about the same size as my school on Falalius. The condition of the school is much less dilapidated, and there is a beautiful library already in place. At least initially, I'll be living with William, the principal, and his wife, Andresa, whom I'm told is a "shooabuuto chille," or small woman. Ulithian, the local language, is similar to Woleaian but a different dialect, and in general I should be able to also communicate more in English if I need.

Federai has power (usually) as well as (occasional) cell phone access. Across the lagoon on Falalop there is also internet (at times). There are (up to) two planes a week to Ulithi that deliver supplies, as well as mail to the local post office.

Speaking of mail...I will technically have a new address, but I can still get mail from the PC PO Box. The important thing is to note my change of site in the address so my mail doesn't get sent to Woleai - i.e. Emily, Federai instead of Emily, Falalius. (All in all, there's not much need for us to worry about this as I've spoken to the lovely women at the local PO and they know the low down to help sort things out.) So here are my two viable addresses should you ever have the inkling to write - pick whichever suits your fancy:

Emily Hurianek, Peace Corps Volunteer
Ulithi Post Office
Federai Island
Yap, FM 96943

Emily Hurianek, PCV Federai
PO Box 190
Colonia, Yap FM 96943

I feel almost as though the Fellowship of the Ring of Woleaian Islands has begun to break. Gita left Friday night for her new site on Fais (a rocky outer island in Yap past Ulithi), and Porter is sorting out how to get to his new site (Hoak Island) in the state of Chuuk. It will be very difficult to envision a future PC experience without my two companions in it. To help ease the transition is the fact that Alyssa, Federai's current PCV, will be finishing up her service sometime this fall and so we'll have some overlap. I met Alyssa on Federai in April on a stop-over to Woleai, plus we've gotten to know each other much better while she was here for a few weeks before her COS (Close of Service Conference). She's a firecracker (literally - she made her 'debut' on the 4th of July) from Wisconsin and a fellow explorer and weaver. I'm glad to have her as a friend at the beginning of this new adventure.

And now is the part of the blog post where I begin to list and ramble randomly with no sense of cohesion...much like the messages I leave on voicemails, actually. Anyway...

Speaking of voicemails (nice transition, huh? :-P)...I will still have my satellite phone that I will be checking daily and can receive mini-messages that way. I cannot, however, use the satphone to respond. Which is why I'm very excited that I also have a local cell phone. Signal and phone-card permitting, I will be able to actually communicate WITH you!

As far as where this new adventure will take me, I can't be sure. But I am optimistic, hopeful, and excited. I am hoping to take a resource trip back to Yap sometime this fall. Next along the path is Mid-Service Training, which will take place on Pohnpei in December (very likely during my birthday, actually). AND THEN! Oh, I'm so excited, my WONDERFUL parents have concocted the most fantastic travel itinerary for me. In one fell swoop, I will go from the tropics to mid-winter Maine, then dip down to Bolivia for a visit with my kindred spirit Katie, and finally fly back up to Colorado for Christmas and New Year's with the family. Let's just say there are twinkly lights on my horizon, and I love it.

As always, thank you for your love and support. This continues to be a dynamic adventure for me on many levels and I am blessed by the experiences I've had and the people I've met. I'm happy to share my adventure with you and would love to hear about yours. Thank you.

Allow me to catch you up...

Let’s go Marty McFly. If you were to step in the Delorean and time travel back to the last few weeks in May, you would have found me in the final days of my first school year at Falalius Community School, caught up in the throws of graduation preparations. I would be practicing about ten local dances to perform with my students on the big day and brainstorming my speech (in Woleaian) to my four graduating 8th graders. If you asked me, I would have told you that I'd be arriving in Yap for In-Service Training II around the beginning of June and no, I have never seen a Cheeze-It on my island, thank you very much.

Oh, how little did I (do I ever?) know!? My last scheduled day of class was Friday, May 21st and on Thursday, May 20, I was all set to collect my students' final projects and not at all worried about calculating grades - after all, I'd have plenty of time before I would be leaving to schlog through grades. I was confident in this conviction because, if anywhere, it is on a tiny island in the middle of a big ocean that you should literally be able to see your means of transportation coming for miles.

Nope.

Not only was I blindsided with the news that I'd be leaving in less than a day on a patrol boat with none other than the President of the FSM, but this news was fantastically preceded by an honest-to-goodness boat-load of Cheeze-Its arriving on my island!

In one mad dash, I managed to finish my grades, pack, and ant-proof my mountains of food with enough time to catch the high school graduation on Falalop Friday morning. President Mani Mori’s address to the graduating seniors? “Don’t get married and be humble. Oh, and your island may be 60 ft. under water soon. Congratulations!”

Leaving Woleai on the 01 Patrol Boat was every second an adventure. Taking a little inflatable raft up to the boat, Porter was instructed to climb the ladder while Gita and I, the only females taking the trip, were hoisted aboard – whee! Then, within minutes, we were given mail – always a delightful treat – as we sailed passed the back side of Falalius. A number of my students were there waving us farewell with giant banana and coconut leaves. From a distance they reminded me of Tiny and her flippers flapping away to bid us farewell. The ship honked its horn and we were out to sea.

Now, normally going out to sea from Woleai entails many days of bland open ocean and crackers. This adventure, however, was marked by receiving fresh fruit and cold Fantas on the way to the W.C., pork and coconut crab for dinner, eggs and toast for breakfast. In the evening we chatted with President Mori about life in Woleai and climate change. We slept in cozy bunks in an air-conditioned room (thanks to our school area supervisor, Stan, essentially our boss, for insisting we kick him out!). On the quiet deck Porter and I spotted any number of creatures and beasts in the clouds as we had a soul-heartening conversation in the morning. Gita and I reverted to seventh grade girls as we giggled our way through New Moon in the afternoon. All the while, I shamelessly made friends with all the crew members so as to secure rides in the future – “hey, if you’re ever in this neck of the ocean again…” Yap appeared on the horizon and as wonderful as each moment was on the ship, it was made even better for how short the voyage was! We arrived Saturday evening, in little more than a single day's time. Needless to say, I loved every second of this adventure!

Being back on Yap, it's always delightful to spend time with the other PCVs and my host family here. My brothers are all doing well - they have finished their school year and Jimmy (aka Cobrino – I’m Cobrina) graduated from Yap SDA High School - we are all very proud of him. Summer time with my host family includes watching MANY movies, taking walks at dusk with Gita, and a little something I like to call Night Court, wherein I am the judge, the twins are attorneys, and any number of defendants, plaintiffs, and witnesses are on hand. In the last case we tried, Lin was charging his friend Nathan with the murder of his dog. Riveting.

The weekend before training began, the three of us Woleai Volunteers caught wind of a rumor about the Peace Corps closing our sites in Woleai. The new Program and Training Officer flew in from Pohnpei to meet with us and over pizza that Wednesday she dealt the blow. On account of recent developments, or rather deteriorations, in the “safety and security situation” in Woleai, we will not be allowed to return permanently to our sites barring a miracle. Basically, PMA, the airline that had a contractual agreement with the Peace Corps, has since rescinded their agreement in writing and can no longer guarantee to fly to Woleai of emergency on account of the state of the runway.

I now have one of the worst track records with the Peace Corps. Twice the Peace Corps has come to me saying it’s time to go back to Woleai and I said, in effect, “Well, what if I stay?” Now that I want to go back, wouldn’t you know it, the Peace Corps is saying to me, “nope, now you stay.” This has been a very challenging and dynamic change of circumstances. It’s difficult for me to wrap my brain around this decision and even harder for me to grapple with what my role in this whole situation is. I did not join the Peace Corps to be told that the answers to a key problem facing my community are out of my hands and not to push. “Emily, you’re not an engineer, let it go.” (Well, I’m not a teacher either, but here I am.)

Moving on.

So when it comes down to it, Porter, Gita and I have been cleared to return to Woleai to finish out the summer. We’re planning on leaving on the next ship, which has just been bumped back from the 18th to the end of June. We’ll have time to spend in our communities and try to bring about some sense of closure, however conflicted it may be. Then we shall pack up and leave Woleai on the next ship (August-ish). Our futures after that point are still around the bend, but the Peace Corps has allowed us to explore many options for ourselves. Right now I am exploring a couple possible placements both within the Ulithi Atoll and on Yap Proper.

At present, I am waiting to hear back from PC Pohnpei and very much in limbo as to my future as a PCV. Well, it is what it is and what will be will be good.

And with that in mind, thank you for all the support and goodness that I receive from you. I’ll be in touch soon, and in the meantime, drop me a line and let me know how you are – what is your life like and what goodness lies around the bend in your path?

See for yourself...

Some pictures from the last few months in Woleai...

Tiny!


Not so tiny any more!


She still likes to eat out of my hand, but she's getting too big to ride on my shoulder...so sad when your turtles grow up.


Where I go to watch the sunset.


There are many different kinds of sunsets...


Some are dynamic and awe-inspiring...


Some are purple and pink :-)...


Some are yellow...


Others are simply magnificent manifestations of light...


And some look rather like rubber duckies :-)


School Picnic (no, he's not a student...that's Santus)


School Picnic


Reunion with Gita in Woleai


High School Graduation


Sow-how in his first thu!


BIG FOOT...literally. Infection (cellulitus) - VERY unpleasant!! All better now.


Host mother and littlest brother (Yap) - gotta love 'em!

Opening up and Letting Go...

(Written mid-April...)

I have been back on Falalus for just over a week now but time seems to expand here, so it has felt much longer (maybe it’s because being on the ship for a week seems to suck up time!). Plus, things are going well. One of the biggest differences for me here so far (other than not being miserable with a resident parasite in my gut) is that I’m following my dear, wise friend Barbara’s advice to be an ‘observer,’ which she said means letting go of the outcome. To me this means simply being present (which is made ever so much easier on an island where there really isn’t much choice!). It also means not letting what might/could/should/may/can be to crush or stifle what is.

And so I’m trying to let go. I’m trying to let go of the outcomes of this whole ‘Peace Corps Experience.’ I’m especially trying to let go of the outcomes of these next 2-3 months before the next training. Shoot, I’m even trying to let go of how my island cooking concoctions turn out! (To date, the tahini-less hummus was fabulous, the corn meal mush was satisfactory, and the polenta scrumptious.)

Of course, the task of letting go might be made much easier with some divine stroke of clarity or omniscience as to how the present will unfold and expand into the future. But then again, there’s something to be said for the Bend in the Road and all that lies beyond. Leaves plenty scope for the imagination, as my dear friend Anne Shirley would say. Besides, I’m finding that sometimes consciously letting go can be easier than unconsciously holding on. Some eggs can crack themselves if we let them ;-P

Each evening at sunset I have been heading to the ‘end of the island’ to ‘checkii yaai phone,’ or check my new satellite phone for messages (which works wonderfully so far! THANK YOU to everyone who has sent me messages so far, it really does make me feel connected and I’m sending you positive energy back!). Faalimaase, the name of where I go, is on the western side of the island. Everyone else thinks it’s haunted, so I pretty much get it to myself, which is a rare occurrence on this highly communal island. Being alone and in such an idyllic setting, I am able to have a daily check-in – with my friends/family via satphone, with my body via yoga, and with my heart via meditation. As I arose from a savassana the other day, I simply had to laugh at how surreal it is to find myself where I am! It’s moments like these that help me sink into the present.

Speaking of sinking, the island might be sinking – the beach is much steeper and narrower than before – or it might just be seasonal. Whatever the case, it makes it easier for me to run in the morning while it’s still dark (I have to run then when no one can see me) because there’s now a clear path at the top of the beach. (Special thanks to Uncle Tim for the great headlamp that a.) stays in place and b.) has great range so I don’t end up running into a coconut tree )

In my time on Yap I received a flabbergasting outpouring of support and supplies, and I can never be grateful enough! I have food galore, teaching resources, books, candles, yarn, you name it! I even have three choices of water filtration systems to choose from to help me stay healthy (plus lots of traditional and modern remedies). The water filter I’m using now is just about the coolest thing ever – it’s called the SteriPen (and comes from Blue Hill, Maine of all places!). It’s basically a UV light wand that I use to stir the water for about a minute and it takes care of all the germies! Neato!

My language skills continue to improve bit by bit, and the kids are learning English bit by bit. For instance, some of the kids now say ‘hi,’ which is something I had to teach them (there’s no greeting in this language other than “buutogo mwongoo,” or “come eat”). Anyway, it may seem small, but it’s good for my soul. I need to be careful, though, because I today I somehow found myself in the thick of an all-out discussion of all the English swear words my 7th and 8th graders know (and I may have unintentionally taught them some, I’m not gonna lie). Here’s how it went down. I began the class with a warm-up activity explaining the important difference between the letters P and B (thanks to PCV Mike for the example). Take, for instance, the following sentences – “I eat crab” and “I eat crap.” One letter makes a big difference in what you say, but most of the kids have trouble pronouncing the difference. In order for this example to really hit home, however, the kids needed to know what ‘crap’ meant…which led to a discussion of how “poop” was the good way to say it, “crap” was in the middle of the field, and “sh*t” was at the bottom of the ladder. This little discussion snowballed and soon I found myself throwing out all propriety and cultural norms in a full-steam-ahead discussion of “kepate ngawe,” or bad words. We covered everything from expletives and derogative terms for women to racial slurs and sexuality. Oy vey! I did my best to maintain a thread of integrity and pushed the importance of understanding and comprehending the words you use so as to not hurt people intentionally or unintentionally. One of the best/most awkward parts was that my principal/co-teacher walked into the classroom late in the heat of the discussion. He looked at the board, I sputtered out some explanation/apology, saying that maybe this wasn’t the best lesson for us to team-teach, and he left before even sitting down! It was one of those classic moments and I hope my students appreciated it as much as I did :-)

And with that yarn, it’s time I wrapped this update up. Thank you, as ever, for your love and support.

Whee! Emily

PS – Tiny is ever so much bigger than I expected, but she still likes to ride on my shoulder :-) She sends her love, too!

There again

Hi, this is Emily's Mom letting you know that, after a five day boat trip and a day's visit with Porter and Gita, Emily made it back to Falalus (on April 8.) She spent at least two days unpacking and wants to thank everybody for the amazing gifts and communication and support you gave her. Special thanks to those who have already emailed her SAT phone. Emily can't use her phone to respond (we'll have to wait for her letters) but she loves hearing from you.

Back to Falalus

Just a quick note to say that I'm off again to Woleai, healthy, hearty, and happy. Talk to you all in 2-3 months! WHEE, emily