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!
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