I don’t think I realized how difficult it is to keep up a
blog when faced with jet lag, slow wifi, and experiences that need to be
experienced rather than explained. But please bear with me as I attempt to
capture all of these past few day’s activities in this post.
M81s at Staging in Honolulu 6/2/15
After meeting in the hotel lobby in Honolulu Wednesday
morning, we (a tired, yet eager group of 19) took a bus to the Honolulu Airport
to catch our 7:30am Island Hopper. As we were walking to check our luggage, I
heard a snap and my laptop case that I was carrying fell the floor. I looked
down to see that the shoulder strap had separated from its clasp and there
would be no way I could use the strap again. Lisa, another Trainee in our group
who I had also been roommates with in Honolulu, quickly came to my aid and
handed me a roll of duck tape. With two strips I was able to repair my broken
strap, while giving my laptop bag some character. It’s amazing what duck tape
can do.
Since we were such a large group it took a while for us to
check our baggage and go through security. But, we finally all made it through
and boarded the plane that would take us from Honolulu to the Marshall Islands
of Marjuro and Kwajelein then finally to Pohnpei. Flying over miles and miles of ocean and then seeing these
islands come out of nowhere was the most insane yet beautiful thing I had ever
seen. It made absolutely no sense that there should be life in the middle of
such an extensive ocean, but there the islands were, beautiful and flourishing.
Definitely post-card worthy, but unfortunately I didn’t snap any photos. I was
sitting next to two Micronesian women on the plane and didn’t want to seem like
“that American.”
After the 9 ½ hour flight, security checks at each island,
and almost-lost luggage at the Pohnpeian baggage claim, we made it to our
destination. We were greeted by Peace Corps staff at the airport and were each
given flower crowns. The welcome made the heat and humidity much more bearable.
We were then taken to a hotel in town where we would be staying for a few days
until we moved to our training site.
Lisa- my awesome roommate and fellow Trainee!
Bananas and water from the hotel
Flower crowns from PC staff
The view from our hotel balcony
Coming from a culture where both men and women are
encouraged to care for themselves, many Trainees and I began bringing our
luggage to our rooms upstairs when we arrived at the hotel. We were quickly
told to put our bags down and let the hotel staff do the heavy lifting. I felt
awful letting 4 men carry around 80 pieces of luggage up the stairs by
themselves while we all watched. But even when we tried to help with the
lighter bags, we were told once again to put them down. It was very kind of
them, but it reminded me that were going to be many cultural changes ahead.
Once we settled into our rooms we were invited to a welcome
dinner hosted by Peace Corps staff. After introductions, we all ate together
and enjoyed a wide variety of foods local to Pohnpei: breadfruit, sashimi,
pork, chicken, crab, and others I honestly don’t remember (thank you jetlag). The
Trainees then introduced themselves and told the staff what state they were
coming from. There are only 2 other Trainees aside from myself that are from
California, which really surprises me. The majority of the Trainees are from
the East Coast. Everyone is so unique and has a plethora of experiences they
bring to the table. The majority of us are in our early to mid 20s. Most of us
have studied abroad, or at least traveled outside of the U.S. Crazy to think
we’re all so different, yet similar at the same time to bring us all to join
the Peace Corps. It’s great that we’re able to project a diverse image of
America.
After dinner I noticed that my feet and ankles were swollen
to almost twice their size, so I sat with my feet on my suitcase for a couple
of hours before heading to bed. They were still swollen in the morning, but
luckily my Chacos have adjustable straps so I was able to loosen them before we
headed out into town for our first day of Pre-Service Training (PST—Peace Corps
loves acronyms). It reminded me of my first few weeks studying abroad in Italy
when my feet were equally as swollen and uncomfortable to walk on. I thought it
was due to walking on cobblestone, but I’m now thinking it has more to do with
altitude and temperature changes when traveling from one place to another (did
I mention Micronesia is incredibly hot and humid?).
From when we arrived to when we left Kolonia, the Pohnpeians
we met were all incredibly warm and welcoming. Not only our staff, but people
we came into contact while walking through town. Some would go out of their way
to say “hi” to us and one man even stopped his car to let us cross the street
and called out the window: “Welcome to Pohnpei!” From what we noticed so far,
the women seem demure but seem to have this loving aura around them. We’re
obviously still learning and observing the culture, but so far we’ve really
enjoyed and appreciated the hospitality the Pohnpeians have given us.
I’m thankful not only for their hospitality and kindness,
but also the opportunity to return such things to them. My fellow trainees are
just as awesome, supporting each other as we try to integrate into this new
culture and environment, and I hope I can be just as supportive as they are to
me. I know these next 27 months are going to be challenging, but I can’t wait
to see what’s in store. I love it so far.
Sending all my love,
Rachel
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