Meet the Mortlockese

A few Fridays ago, our Mortlockese teacher, Belinda, organized something incredibly special for us that I’ll remember for years to come.

She took us to meet her family.

There is a great amount of value placed on family here in the FSM and we all felt very honored that she, and her family, was willing to take us in for an afternoon and treat us like their own.

Peace Corps staff drove us an hour to Palikir, the capital of the FSM, where we met Belinda at the entrance of her family’s compound. We were shocked to see her in a tank top that showed off her shoulders and cleavage (Go Belinda! She looked GOOD!), but also pleasantly surprised that she felt comfortable wearing it around us.

She ushered us into the fal (Mortlockese meeting house) where more than 20 members of her family were waiting for us. Once we were seated, Belinda’s eldest brother stood up and welcomed us (As a woman, Belinda is not allowed to speak at meetings. Instead she has her brother speak for her.). He introduced us to the Chief (who had a cat perched on his lap), and the rest of their family.

It was then our turn to introduce ourselves, so we each stood up and thanked them in Mortlockese for having us. Talk about being nervous.

My speech was a blur, I’m not even sure if I said everything correctly:

“Laloas allem! Itai Rachel. Ngang sangei Los Angeles, California, pwal ngang ia ier ruameelu. Ipwe aiti English lon Ettal. Ike pirer fito eke, nge iiei pwapwa pwe oumi chiechiech. Ren emi etiwa amem. Killisou chapwur.”

“Good afternoon! My name is Rachel. I am from Los Angeles, California, and I am 23 years old. I will teach English on Ettal. I was nervous to come here, but now I am happy because you all are friendly. Thank you for welcoming me. Thank you very much.”

Once we finished our speeches, the family performed several Mortlockese songs and dances for us, which not only illustrated their culture’s love for musical expression, but was also a very special treat. In return, the 6 of us spontaneously decided to sing the song we had been practicing for our Swearing-In Ceremony. It was a train wreck (our voices were shaky and we sang way too low!), but her family appreciated the gesture nonetheless.

They came up to us afterwards and introduced themselves. We had been very confident in our Mortlockese-speaking abilities up until that point, but once they started talking to us individually, we were lost. They spoke so quickly and used words we hadn't learned yet. I'm pretty sure we looked like dear in the headlights. Belinda came to our rescue and helped us translate. She also offered to send parts of her body with each of us to the Mortlocks so we wouldn’t be so lost (another reason why I love her so much).

Her family had also cooked food for us, konen maai (pounded breadfruit in coconut milk) and iik apwech (grilled fish), which was incredibly kind of them. It did, however, remind me of sorority recruitment where you’d try to balance eating and talking, without making a fool of yourself. That made me laugh.

Looking back on the afternoon makes me laugh awkwardly in general, but I’ll always keep the memory close to my heart.

Ole no,

Rachel