So if a little fallen gecko poop on your arm is not enough of a welcome

This was actually written over a week ago but because of power and other such things, I haven’t been able to post it. So it’s a little longer than normal. Enjoy anyway.

Note: If you are one of my cousins reading this to young children- read this paragraph first. The rest of the blog is safe- but this is a little disturbing.

I apparently had not yet been welcomed enough in Chuuk. I think that yesterday I saw the most disturbing thing I have seen in Chuuk thus far. I was walking to my volleyball practice. It was about 3:30pm and as I passed the forested area that is normally a hang out spot for the routine drinkers, I noticed a couple of men preparing a campfire while a couple others were pulling dogs by a rope. Next thing I knew- the men threw the rope over a tree and pulled it as hard as they could in order to hang the dogs. I certainly did not ask to witness this nor was I warned. So as I tried to ignore the pitiful yelping noises coming from the dog as it gasped for air, the men picked up large sticks and starting whacking at the dogs’ heads. My whole body cringed as I tried to walk even faster and clear my mind of the brutal image I was just left with. I tried to just tell myself “it’s okay. I live in Chuuk now.” Yes, people eat dog here and it is not uncommon for people to slaughter their own animals whether they are chickens, pigs, or dogs, etc. Dog is not only a meat people eat, but it is almost a class above most other (gross, but then again who knows when the opportunity will arise when I will be served it). To say the least, my westernized perspective that values domesticated pets and animal rights found this nauseating.

No animals are domesticated in Chuuk really. Cats are seen as bringing good luck by some, but despised by others. And people are known to kick or throw rocks and sticks at dogs. So with that being said, I had the pleasure of taking in a small kitten that I named Cinnamon, or Cimmy for short (thanks Mom), a couple weeks ago. She was starved and so weak that she could not even move her back legs. For the first couple of nights we kept her inside some of the volunteers’ offices for protection from “predators” and fed her canned tuna. This drew some very polar reactions among the staff, who come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have diverse attitudes towards animals. Within a couple of days, Cimmy (who also goes by “Shingles”) had developed enough strength to walk and roam like any other curious cats. Those of us taking care of her decided it would be good to “free” her to the Rec House- a gazebo-like structure behind Xavier. Well, then problems arose since there is a lack of communication of how the Xavier community was going to keep Cimmy as a pet. She sometimes rebels and wanders upstairs to the porch/kitchen area where we played with her during her first few days of recovery and leaves her “trail.” Understandably this is upsetting for people that live here. And while I am a proponent of keeping Cimmy around Xavier and training her to stay outside, others want to kill her. Cimmy lives in Chuuk – just that fact makes her hardy and undomesticated- so her survival outside is very possible now that she is not at immediate risk of death.

Apparently last year there came a time when the old director was paying employees for dead or caught cats around Xavier because of the problems they were causing (Note: The entrance to Xavier is open on both sides on the ground level so anything can wander in). While in the scheme of things this situation is not a big deal, it does somewhat upset me. Luckily, when I first wrote this blog, it was full of venting thoughts. Since then, I have been able to edit it and say things have calmed down towards Cimmy. People aren’t expressing such distaste towards her now that she is starting to “follow rules.” And I have a new adorable friend. I just crack up now every time I watch her have a stare contest with the very curious campus dog, Puma. Although she is about 1/100 of his size, she carries more presence and is not scared of him. One swipe of her hand and he backs off.
Cimmy is getting a little bigger, but is still adorable and loves to crawl up on me and curl into a ball. We have a nightly date, which usually results in me ending up with itchy legs for mosquitos.

Last weekend my Chuukese friend, Nievic, told me that she would be leaving this coming Sunday to return to Hawaii for school. She will be working to continue her third year of college at Chaminade, and while I must be happy for her and encourage her to go, I’m also sad. She was my first Chuukese friend in Weno and she has done a lot for me thus far. We play on the same volleyball team and she knows the most English of the players since she has been to school in the states before and can help me with translating a lot. She was also the first to treat me with local medicine- good ol’ coconut oil on a gash I got on my knee. It apparently heals wounds well, and while I later also cleaned it with hydrogen peroxide and antibiotic ointment, it healed well. Last Sunday she invited me over to her house and made me soki-sok. It is a type of banana cooked with coconut milk- very common here and very good. But they don’t use the good-ol’ Chiquita types of bananas you are probably familiar with. There are several types of bananas here on island, and the kind used in soki-sok are very starchy. You wouldn’t eat them plain and people term them “cooking bananas.” Then we had “sardines,” which was actually canned mackerel. I asked her if she thought it tasted like tuna fish because that is exactly what I thought it tasted like, but she quickly shook her hand no and said it tastes different. So for those of you reading this that know me well and as having a “refined palette,” that apparently does not apply when we talk about “canned fish.” I am making baby steps with seafood here. You probably know I am not a fan of it, and while the opportunity to eat it is frequent, I try to steer clear. Probably the most exotic thing I have tried is sea cucumber (flavored to be salty and spicy, but slimy like worms) and it was actually okay to me. I haven’t quite mustered up the courage for shashimi –raw fish, sushi like- yet.

Moving on-

A lot has happened at school since I last posted- we have hosted a group of Australian high school students for an immersion trip, we have held freshmen “Entertainment” Day, and held a dedication ceremony thanking the Mabuchi Corporation of Japan for their generous gift of waterproofing the school’s roof over the summer- a project that cost close to three-fourths of a million dollars. For both the Australians and Japanese visitors, the students performed traditional dances. It was really cool for me to watch. They dressed up in grass skirts or traditional thu’s (which are basically a cloth flap tied around a males’ privates like you see on maybe the Discovery or History channel) and covered themselves in coconut oil and “tribal paint.” The dances were very well done, with a lot of chanting, although it was a little weird for me to see some of my students basically half-naked. They even did a fire tossing performance. About 10-12 of the boys twirled “batons” of coconut wood whose ends were lit on fire. It was impressive and dangerous. Only one of the boys accidentally burned a part of his toe. This would have never ever happened in an American school! I’m excited to send pictures soon.

The entertainment day was ridiculous- it was basically a 2 hour show of upperclassmen cross-dressing and posing as freshmen. The freshmen loved it. I didn’t agree with it. In my opinion it was inappropriate and certainly did not necessitate students to miss class, which happened, but culturally cross-dressing is extremely entertaining. I guess we are also dealing with the maturity of 13-17 year olds.

The school received a plentiful donation of sports equipment from the Australians, which was much appreciated. As for the immersion experience, I don’t know how much of an immersion trip it actually was since the Australians only spent one night sleeping on campus- the rest they spent at a hotel, the nicest hotel actually, in Weno. But they remarked that they were very moved by their experiences. They spent one morning learning how to build the huts out of coconut leaves/wood. It was encouraging to see the students get excited to host the boys, and I think both groups learned from the experience. I am guessing the Australians’ experiences were profound since they come from what I have heard is the wealthiest boarding school in Sydney. They experienced the 1 to 1.5 hour bus trip from their hotel to Xavier every day on the pitiful road of Weno. The trip is only about 9 miles so that will give you an idea of the condition of the road. As well as they passed through the “downtown” and several villages, exposing the hardships of the Chuukese people- the lack of a sewer or trash collection system, the pothole-filled road, the long stretches of sheet metal posted to give the people some privacy to their very humble houses, some which would be labeled shacks. However, they also enjoyed the luxury of paying a company to go snorkeling, which the locals would never do and participated in other sight seeing on other islands.

The student body’s goodbye to them on Thursday actually brought tears to my eyes. Micronesians are extremely heartfelt people from what I have experienced thus far. They express emotion and thanks in a different way than I am used to- a uniquely warm way. They are very intentional about it. The students gathered around the Australians- literally only leaving room for them to breathe. Envision about 10 people crowd by a group of about 130. No, personal space is not really honored here. With their arms stretched out, the students sang to them. Students are not scared of singing here- I love that about them. I think it was the words of the song that actually got me. It spoke about how they had touched each others lives and while they depart or separate, they hold each other alive in their hearts and their memories. I think it made me think of home and the love I felt when I left in July. May not sound like much, but the couple of minutes were peacefully beautiful and reminded me of how much I appreciate everyone back home and the generosity that has been shown and shared with me in the last few months. Thanks again. (Can you believe it is almost 3 months since my send-off? Wow.)

I have started teaching the students and other neighborhood kids how to do backbends and other gymnastics skills. I have actually perfected my backbend (T, you would be proud). It’s ironic that I didn’t do so in the 4 years I taught gymnastics from an actual gym with mats and such, but demonstrating the skills is an easy way to grab the kids’ attention and connect with them, especially when a lot of the village kids speak no English. They are always impressed to see that I can do it and want to learn. It’s great. The other days I started playing and dancing with these 4 girls between the ages of 3 and 10. I have to tell you- no joke the 3 year-old could shake her hips better than I can (which doesn’t say much ha ha but you get the idea). They start training them for hula early.

So before I end this very long blog (sorry for that), I want to say one thing. I am beginning to feel very settled. Marca, my volleyball coach, told me yesterday that she wants me to know that her and her relatives consider me part of their family now. While I still know barely any Chuukese and obviously nobody can replace those I love from home, my adjustment is coming along slowly but surely. Thanks for all the continued support. I do feel like in some way I don’t really understand yet, Chuuk is where I am supposed to be right now.

Hope to hear from you soon.

-Steph

Random thoughts:

Living in Chuuk has truly solidified my belief that poverty encourages resourcefulness and creativity. Every now and then I see things that really strike me as being extremely creative in lack of better resources. For instance, using a box that a six-pack of soda bottles or cans would come in to create a hat with a stiff bill or using torn up cardboard box pieces or banana leaves as fans for small relief from the stifling heat and lack of electric fans or AC. I’m disappointed I can’t think of more, but they will come to me later.