Peliliu... a not so relaxing vacation

This story is from Thanksgiving break.

After a rough couple of weeks, I was ready for a nice relaxing vacation ... away from my misbehaving students. Jenny and Erin, two American friends teaching at Bethania, were going to the island of Peliliu for Thanksgiving break. I was invited along too so I jumped on the chance and was looking forward to some kayaking, swimming, exploring, and so on.

The boat ride to Peliliu was long but the view from the third story of the boat was beautiful. The only downfall was the close proximity to pot smoking teenagers... one of which took a long puff on a joint and looked up to see me staring him down. Alcapone, one of my sophomore students, started gagging as soon as he saw me and quickly retreated to a lower level. He was lucky. I was on vacation, and though I didn't approve, I wasn't planning on supervising. For these next few days I was considering myself a tourist, not a teacher. Jenny, Erin, and I were just three pasty white American tourists.

We stayed at Storyboard Beach Resort in a cute little cabin along the beach. It even had hot water... you have no idea how wonderful the thought of a hot shower was. But it turned out that a group of students from the girls' school were staying in the cabin next to us and the parents had requested that we watch them. Babysitting. Just great. And they specifically said no drinking or smoking weed. We had no idea what a challenge this would be.

That night, we were woken from sleep by a loud banging sound. I jumped out of bed and looked out the window to see two teenage boys trying to kick in the door of the girls' cabin. We went running outside and chased the boys off, but they came back ten minutes later to try again. These boys were obviously high and maybe drunk, and they were definitely stubborn. When we came out yelling, they would run away like scared little girls. But it wouldn't be long before we'd see them sneaking back through the trees. We gave up trying to sleep and started patrolling the area around the cabin.

At some point we noticed that there were seven pairs of flipflops sitting on the porch... but there were only five girls. The two extra pairs were also way too big to be for girls. So we pounded on the door until they opened up and the questioning began. Here's what we were told:
1. They were all hanging out until a fight broke out.
2. A large group of boys ganged up on two boys (cousins of one of the girls) and wanted to fight.
3. It wasn't a fair fight so the girls were hiding the two boys in their cabin.
4. The other boys were trying to break into the cabin to get to them.

Well, we weren't going to let this happen. I grabbed some flashlights and we split up. The boys kept coming back and they definitely outnumber us, but we chased them off each time. So they resorted to throwing coconuts and that just made me angry, especially when one came very close to hitting me. They started throwing other things and when I spotted one boy in the woods pick something up and throw it at me, I threw it right back at him as he ran away screaming. I was starting to enjoy this.

At some point I checked under the cabin and saw someone jabbing a stick up through the floor boards. I yelled at him to get out, but he just froze... as if I could only see him if he was moving. I told him again to get out but he didn't move. So I did. I dove under the cabin and yelled that if I got my hands on him I was going to break him. He jumped up, smacked his head on the floor boards, and started running. I chased him off the resort, down the beach, then up through someone's yard and started chasing him down a road. He stopped at one point where there were some trees behind him and turned to face me. I couldn't see his face; he had a hat on and his hoody over that. He was far enough away that he could have easily escaped. I'll admit it, I'm out of shape. Why was he waiting for me?

It hit me that I had to make a decision at this point. I had now run far away from my friends. It was dark. I didn't know where I was and he might have some of his own friends hiding and ready to jump me. I breathed deeply and slowly walked right up to him and asked him what his problem was. He kept his face down so I couldn't see who he was. He said he didn't have a problem with me, but just wanted to talk to the boys hiding in the cabin. I told him he could wait until morning, and I continued to question him to try to figure out exactly what was going on. He stopped answering my questions and started asking for my name and to shake my hand. I didn't trust him so I didn't tell him and I definitely didn't want to give him an opportunity to try something. But he became insistant. I told him my Palauan name, Ngerium, and made him promise to leave for the night. If he still wanted to talk to the boys, he could come back in the morning.

We finally got to bed at 4:30 AM and we were exhausted. At 6:00 AM we were woken up again, this time to a party going on in the girls' cabin and a fog of smoke from weed between our cabins. We were pissed. Jenny went over to talk to the girls and made the boys leave. They were obviously high and there were bottles of alcohol all over the floor. The boys were back ten minutes later. Nothing we did made them leave for good and we didn't get any sleep.

We told the girls that they couldn't have any boys in their cabin after 6PM the next night, but we spent the entire night trying to keep them out. Jenny kept going back to the cabin and searching for the boys, sometimes finding them hiding in the beds and kicked them out. But they always came back.

Day three... same thing, and we were angry. So Angry. And sick, all three of us. We were running on very little sleep and were exhausted and now sick. We left Peliliu and decided never to be anywhere near students when leaving for vacation again.

So much for a relaxing break. At least we had the chance to explore the island before we left. We ran into a large pig walking down the road, and did some hitch hiking... Erin managed to fall off the back of the pickup truck (Don't worry, she was ok). Hopefully, we'll have the chance to return and see the swimming hole one day.

Fiesta

In an attempt to provide students at Emmaus with fun activities (and to keep them from sneaking off campus), Taylor and I decided to throw a fiesta toward the beginning of the school year. It turned out that most of them had no idea what a fiesta was... or had ever seen a pinata.

I had the Sophomore class make pinatas during Arts & Crafts class, blowing up balloons and covering them in shreds of paper which were soaked in a mixture of flour and water. I told them to make as many as they could and we would fill all of them with candy. Unfortunately, many balloons popped before the paper dried and we only had a handful of pinatas at the end of the week. Taylor and I filled them and provided food and music on Saturday...

but they were scared! With the speakers up, Taylor stood on the porch of Jonart's house holding the microphone and called to the students to come eat, enjoy the music, and smash pinatas. We were surprised that these boys, who usually came running at the mention of junk food, were hiding in the dorms. Eventually they came over and got to work on the nachos and salsa, but when we hung the first pinata from the basketball rim, they hesitated. Jonart went first, as we were celebrating his birthday. After being spun in circles, he slowly tried to figure out where the pinata was. But as soon as he swung, I yanked on the rope attached to the pinata and raised it well above the stick, and snickers spread through the eagerly waiting students. He eventually figured it out and when he smashed the pinata open all hell broke loose. The pinata quickly disappeared from sight as it was buried under a pile of students. There was screaming and laughing. The boys started volunteering to hit the other pinatas and soon the candy was all gone. I'd say it was a success.

Some Old Stuff

September 18, 2008
I'm doing well here, just got over two weeks of being sick with the flu. My classes are good but challenging. In Algebra and General Science there are a few students (the ones who are related to me) who make things difficult. I've had to yell at one on a regular basis and have kicked him out of class a few times. This week I've had to resort to having him do physical labor during his free time. English class is going well, but even I think it's boring, haha. Arts and Crafts is my only sophomore class, and I have them doing still life drawings this week. We've been doing basketball and volleyball for P.E. these past few weeks, but the Interscholastic Sports League is starting this week so we've been having the kids run instead. Tomorrow is their first Cross Country meet... wish them luck!


October 3, 2008
I haven’t seen too much outside of the Emmaus High School, but what I have seen has been great. Palau really is beautiful. I spent a weekend at the rock islands with some women from the school and church. I have tons of pictures I wish I could show you, but the internet is so slow that nothing will upload online. It was funny watching all these women prepare the boat that was taking us to the rock islands. They brought enough food for a small army and comforters, solar powered showers, giant batteries, etc. The two Filipina women and I packed a small bag each and then we tried to run off and set up camp down the beach from everyone else. I spent a lot of time by myself at the islands, kayaking, swimming in beautiful crystal clear water, exploring the beach, chasing eels and stingrays, etc. It was a much needed break.

Now I’m sitting at my Aunt Laura’s house in Airai, on the porch overlooking a valley and some rock islands and the edge of the ocean. It’s a gorgeous view… and I can enjoy some peaceful alone time.


December 10, 2008
The Emmaus boys played Palau High School today for the championship and.... they WON!!! 62 to 67... it was another exciting game.


January 6, 2009
I hope you had a great Christmas and New Years!!

Guess what! I'm now part of the worship team at the church here. It's only been two weeks so far, but it's a big step for me. Two other ladies and I stand up front and lead worship! Ahhhh... it still scares me and the first week almost no sound came out of my mouth because I was so nervous and the Pastor was concerned I think... but I did really well the second week :) Yea!


February 13, 2009
Classes at Adult High are going well, the students are a lot more mature and they actually listen to me. It still feels wierd when I start lecturing and they take notes without me having to yell at them for 10 minutes to listen and get out notebooks first, haha. They don't throw things at me or argue with me, etc ... so it's going well.

Looking Back

I realize I haven't shared many of my stories from this year, so I'm looking back through my old emails to find things to share. I hope you enjoy them.

... oops. I guess I have some catching up to do

It's been quite a while since my last post and so much has happened...

For six months I taught classes at Emmaus and spent time getting to know the students and faculty. I will admit that it has been very challenging... and I'll leave it at that, haha.

Aunt Laura (Director of Adult High School) needed a science teacher for the Spring semester, so she spoke with Aunt Theo and they made arrangements to have me teach at Adult High School at Palau Community College. For about a month now, I've been teaching Biology and General Science. The load is much lighter, and lectures are only Monday through Thursday with Fridays reserved for field trips. I'm enjoying my experience here... especially General Science class because it's a small class and the students are very outgoing and entertaining. Today we're going on a field trip and I'll be lecturing on Oceanography... followed by swimming in the ocean :P


Let's see... what else has happened in the past 7 months?

I've joined the worship team at the church.

I moved from Koror to Airai.

My twin brother, Josh, has left for Iraq as a combat medic in the National Guard.

My little sister is finishing her last semester at Columbia College in South Carolina. She'll have a Bachelor's degree in Biology and if she doesn't go straight back to school we may both end up here in Palau next year... we'll see.

I went to the rock islands a few times and loved it!

Over Thanksgiving break, I went to Peliliu with Jenny and Erin (teachers from Bethania). We ended up patroling the resort area at night and chasing high teenagers from our cabins... it's a long story.

The Emmaus boys won the championship for Varsity basketball... beating Palau High School.

Learned how to do a Shooting Star at T-dock

Watched dolphins at Dolphin Pacific

Gone kayaking around the rock islands and through caves, snorkeling, etc.

Explored Ngatpang and Ngardmau waterfalls


I don't know yet when I'll be returning home... probably sometime this summer. I still have to see Jellyfish Lake before I go... ok, I have to get ready for the field trip.
I hope everyone back home is enjoying the cold weather, hehe.

I woke up around midnight to the entire house shaking... an earthquake!! I just stayed in bed until it was over, but there was nothing to worry about... it was a small one.

Some of the students have already arrived, so I've had the chance to meet some of the freshmen I'll be teaching. I really enjoy playing volleyball with them each afternoon.

The classes I'll be teaching have changed a bit... here's the updated list of what I'll be doing:

Algebra I
General Science
English I
Physical Education I
Art
Intramurals/Coaching for the ISL Games
9th Grade Advising
Tutoring

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed for my first time teaching, haha... so wish me luck and keep me in your prayers.

My First Week in Palau

August 02, 2008

I reached Palau late Saturday night, about two and a half days after I left home. From Harrisburg, Pennsylvania I flew to Cleveland, Ohio and then to Houston, Texas where my departing flight to Hawaii was delayed for a few hours. Almost one day was spent in Honolulu where I stayed with Tina Delumeau and her daughter Faith. Before we even got back to the house from the airport, Tina stopped to buy tons of food including sashimi and sushi (Mike... I know you're jealous). She was so excited when she found out I liked this type of food, haha.

Faith and I went to some look out spots the next morning and at one lookout we hopped over the wall and hiked closer to the water. Then we expored the tidal pools where we found sea urchins, crabs, anemones, fish, and an eel.

I ended up getting soaked by the waves crashing in and then we had to run back to the house to get my luggage... I just barely made my flight to Guam.

At the next airport I made some final calls to family members to say one last goodbye. My phone would no longer have service once I left Guam. When I reached Palau I used my Palauan passport for the first time rather than my U.S. passport and some of the locals tried to speak to me in Palauan but I had to admit that I had no clue what they were saying to me. At the last check I went through, the worker told me "Welcome home." I didn't know how to respond and it finally hit me that this is now my home for the next year. I no longer live in Pennsylvania!!! After living there for eighteen years it's difficult for me to imagine not calling it home.

As I write this I'm sitting in my room at Aunti Theo and Uncle Billy's house. I have a two-bedroom apartment all to myself upstairs for the time being but that will probably change next week when the rest of the teachers arrive. Ok, I really need to sleep. Tomorrow I'm going to a Palauan church for the first time. The second service is in English... so that's what I'll be going to, haha.


August 03, 2008

Today I attended the English service at the Palauan Evangelical Church located on Emmaus High School property. I really enjoyed it and recognized all of the songs which is definitely a plus. Afterwards I saw my cousin Jason for the first time in years and then I finally met Rhonda, my cousin who attended Taylor in Indiana.

While getting changed in the apartment after church I noticed what looked like star fruit growing from the tree right outside the back window... so I went outside and climbed up on the ledge around the second floor of the building. Then I climbed up on a small roof and pulled a star fruit off the tree... victory. I stepped on the edge of the roof to get back on the ledge only to find that nothing was supporting it and it gave way under my feet so I threw myself on the ledge and managed not to kill myself. Sheesh, I'll have to be more careful ;P

My Aunt Theo took me for a tour through the area... we drove past President Tommy Remengesau's house. Uncle Billy is the Pastor of the Palauan Evangelical Church and is the Chief of Staff under Remengesau. He is also the running mate for Surangel in the upcoming presidental election in November.

I played my first game of volleyball with Palauans today, haha. It was a lot of fun and I tried a couple spikes but didn't get much power behind them. Some of my sets were off, so I'll have to work on that too. They said they'll be back tomorrow to play :)

Aunt Theo and Uncle Billy talked to me about graduate programs. Apparently I have a decent chance of getting a scholarship to study in Australia, Japan or New Zealand. If accepted all costs would be covered and I would get to spend a few more years abroad... hmmm


August 04, 2008

I'm still having trouble adjusting my internal clock it seems... I keep waking up around 4 AM, so here I am trying to find something to occupy me. My throat is getting worse... thanks for the laryngitis Laura, haha, just kidding. I think the thing which has been most difficult for me to deal with is not being able to text or call friends and family whenever I feel like it or not being able to connect to the internet (and knowing it will be a long time before I can again). For once, I can only communicate with people face to face and half the time everyone around me is speaking in Palauan. It is also difficult to go anywhere because I don't know my way around. I feel confined... so I might as well view it as a challenge or opportunity.

Goals:
Make friends my own age
Start learning the Palauan language
Get my Palauan Drivers Liscence (that's right... Palau is big enough to need cars)
Wander around and get to know my surroundings
Find out how to get on the internet at least once in a while
Skype

There's a gecko chirping at me from the wall just above my bed :P

P.S. Cordy -I'm not home sick yet, really... but I miss our daily talks. I think of you every time I see a spider and I imagine you running around sceaming, haha.


August 05, 2008

Most of the teachers will not arrive until next week and the students won't get here until the 18th... so it's fairly quiet and slow right now at Emmaus. Yesterday, Aunt Theo showed me where my desk is in the teachers' office and gave me some of the text books I'll be working with. I went through the first few chapters of the Algebra book and planned out lessons and homework assignments for the first semester. Today I'll probably start working on English or General Science.

I went exploring again and found my classroom. I'm not sure but I think I might be teaching barefoot. When you enter a house or building you leave your shoes outside the door and it seems that might also be the case with classrooms. That's fine with me, haha.

Aunt Theo, Mrs. Lim, and I went out for lunch yesterday to a really nice restaurant with a great view of the ocean and many islands. I ordered large shrimp with chili sauce and ate the tails, but I was told that I forgot about the best part of the shrimp ... the heads. They had me chew on the heads (eyes and all) and it was actually pretty good.


August 06, 2008

Aunt Theo and I left Emmaus at 6 am and after an hour of driving we reached a house where I'm told my mother grew up. The actual house is no longer standing because it was destroyed in a tsunami long ago, but another house has been built since then. There were many people there (all of them related to me) and more kept coming throughout the morning. The elderly women all sat under one hut, many of them on a wooden platform, and some of them on wooden benches. On a large beam over their heads I saw paintings of Palauans in loin clothes and war canoes. The men sat under another hut and the children ran around on the beach. I wandered off and explored the beach, looking at shells and chasing ghost crabs.

The family is gathering today because of the death of a relative on papa's side. It's tradition that the family spends time together. Then four days after the burial there will be a great feast.

When it came time for lunch, the middle-aged women gathered in the house and prepared the food. They sat barefoot on the floor and passed around containers, dishing out portions and finally passing the containers to the young women (me included) to hand out. The elderly women were the first to receive food (it's a matriarchal society), then the elderly men, followed by the younger men and everyone else not involved in preparing lunch. Once we knew that everyone else had food, then we were allowed to eat. I told my cousin, Rhonda, (just graduated from Taylor University in Indiana) that I wanted to eat on the beach and pointed to the bench near the men's hut, but Rhonda told me that we aren't permitted to eat near the men so we went further down the beach and sat on some tree roots. We ate fish, fruit, taro, and some other things I can't name.

Most of the elderly women have lost their husbands. Some of them waved me over and spoke with me. One of them asked if I was still single... I hope they don't try to set me up with a distant cousin, haha. Rhonda told me that when you meet someone you want to date, you are supposed to tell your parents so that they can check if that person is related to you.
Another relative asked if I have a Palauan name, and I told her my name is Ngeriam. So she said this is what I will be called from now on.