I sohte wehwehki! = I don't understand!
We started language training on Monday, and today I demanded to know this phrase. My poor, patient language instructor obliged.
Even though I've been listening to Pohnpeian for nearly four weeks now, I still get flummoxed when I need to process & answer a direct question. Mostly because I have the deep-seated desire to be perfect (in fact, while writing this sentence I inspired a debate between two of my PCT friends over "which is right? deep-seated or deep-seeded?" ... we went with the former), and the language-learning process just doesn't work that way. I have to make mistakes in order to learn. The best and most frequently used analogy for what I'm experiencing right now is that I'm pretty much a baby here in Pohnpei, linguistically, culturally, whatever. Even though I've had a few decades to learn in the U.S., I have to relearn everyday things, especially language and behavior. It can be frustrating, but it's also going to be incredibly rewarding when I finally become ... a toddler!!!
So patience is the word of the day. For me. For using the internet here (So slow! No photo uploads today!) For the people waiting for me to finish this blog post.
On that note, I must be off.
Love from Pohnpei!
Mollie
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Alive & Well (With a Site Assignment)!
Hello All!
I've been in Madolenihmw, Pohnpei, FSM for just over a week, and things are going great! Just this morning, in fact, I found out that I will be here (in Madolenihmw) for the rest of my service! Hooray! That means that P.O. Box 9 will be my permanent address, so get on with writing those letters! They seem to be arriving from the states in about 5 days, but they're much slower going the other way. Also, my access to the internet will be spotty for the next few months, and then probably only once every other week, so letters are definitely the way to go.
In terms of how it's been so far, I've got to say that everything about this place is perfect in a way that unfolds over time--the island itself is beautiful (I can't wait to explore it more), the people are becoming better and better friends (both locals and PC), and my training is adding to my skills daily.
Some highlights of the experience so far:
- Daily morning workouts in the training room before school starts with friends (yoga and boot camp exercises are the favorites)
- Visiting a local waterfall & Nan Madol (cool military ruins) with PC Trainees and my host nieces/nephews this past weekend
- Dance parties to Chris Brown's "Forever" in my host family's living room with my nieces and their friends
- My host mother (nono) ... she's the best
and last but not least
- The view from our front porch every morning & evening
Hope everything is going well with you all. Send me letters and tell me about it!
Lots of love,
Mollie
I've been in Madolenihmw, Pohnpei, FSM for just over a week, and things are going great! Just this morning, in fact, I found out that I will be here (in Madolenihmw) for the rest of my service! Hooray! That means that P.O. Box 9 will be my permanent address, so get on with writing those letters! They seem to be arriving from the states in about 5 days, but they're much slower going the other way. Also, my access to the internet will be spotty for the next few months, and then probably only once every other week, so letters are definitely the way to go.
In terms of how it's been so far, I've got to say that everything about this place is perfect in a way that unfolds over time--the island itself is beautiful (I can't wait to explore it more), the people are becoming better and better friends (both locals and PC), and my training is adding to my skills daily.
Some highlights of the experience so far:
- Daily morning workouts in the training room before school starts with friends (yoga and boot camp exercises are the favorites)
- Visiting a local waterfall & Nan Madol (cool military ruins) with PC Trainees and my host nieces/nephews this past weekend
- Dance parties to Chris Brown's "Forever" in my host family's living room with my nieces and their friends
- My host mother (nono) ... she's the best
and last but not least
- The view from our front porch every morning & evening
Hope everything is going well with you all. Send me letters and tell me about it!
Lots of love,
Mollie
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
A laugh before you go
Mom: Do you think you're going to put on any plays as part of your community development?
Me: Sure, yeah, maybe. Probably I'd want to kill many birds with one stone by making it a play in English that deals with hard-hitting issues like safe-sex, nutrition, recycling...
EJ: So, Cats, right?
Dad: I was going to say Hair...
This exchange happened at dinner tonight-- our last together as a family before tomorrow's staging in LA. The last couple of weeks have been full in a lot of ways. Two weeks ago I was visiting friends and roommates in New York and DC. This past week I've been frantically packing and connecting with Tustin friends and family. All told there has been mostly stress, joy & address-collecting. So it was nice to have one more family giggle-fest in the backyard before things change.
Ps: I'm bringing two kinds of Kathy Wright's famous/delicious homemade cookies to staging tomorrow, hoping their effectiveness as icebreakers haven't worn off since freshman year of college. Some things never change.
Me: Sure, yeah, maybe. Probably I'd want to kill many birds with one stone by making it a play in English that deals with hard-hitting issues like safe-sex, nutrition, recycling...
EJ: So, Cats, right?
Dad: I was going to say Hair...
This exchange happened at dinner tonight-- our last together as a family before tomorrow's staging in LA. The last couple of weeks have been full in a lot of ways. Two weeks ago I was visiting friends and roommates in New York and DC. This past week I've been frantically packing and connecting with Tustin friends and family. All told there has been mostly stress, joy & address-collecting. So it was nice to have one more family giggle-fest in the backyard before things change.
Ps: I'm bringing two kinds of Kathy Wright's famous/delicious homemade cookies to staging tomorrow, hoping their effectiveness as icebreakers haven't worn off since freshman year of college. Some things never change.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The Aquarium of the Pacific: A Photo Essay
During the first weekend of August, my family and I took a day trip to the Long Beach Aquarium (alternately titled the Aquarium of the Pacific). Although it's obviously nowhere near as cool as "being there," I was very pleased by the amount of FSM/Palau flora, fauna & facts the Aquarium had on display. Here are a few of my favorite moments (all photos credited to the kind & generous Kathy Wright):
The first section of the museum we discovered was the "Tropical Pacific" Gallery--16 exhibits dedicated solely to the "beautiful marine life you would find off the coast of Palau" (AoP website). Here's the map to one side of the entrance:
And a close up of the expanse between Palau (in the west/left) & FSM (Kosrae is furthest east/right):
I learned something about Palau's Rocky Emerald Isles:
And got a glimpse of Nemo! (The photo taken of my brother & me in front of the "Baby Clownfish" filled mom with glee):
The biggest exhibit was a replication of Palau's Blue Corner -- a reef shelf noted for its beauty & its diverse sealife. We saw a diver demonstration with experts who had been to the real Blue Corner; they said it was the best in the world for variety!
But my favorite representation of FSM/Palau is from this map (found in the colorful, chirpy bird section of the Aquarium). As you can see, it is a map of the neighborhood, with other countries represented as land masses, but FSM/Palua represented as a sea monster. Awesome!
So in lieu of something new, I just thought I'd post something interesting/fun. Now I'm off to the beach--(un)fortunately my present corner of the Pacific doesn't look anything like this. No sea monsters of any sort.
Peace!
Mollie
The first section of the museum we discovered was the "Tropical Pacific" Gallery--16 exhibits dedicated solely to the "beautiful marine life you would find off the coast of Palau" (AoP website). Here's the map to one side of the entrance:
And a close up of the expanse between Palau (in the west/left) & FSM (Kosrae is furthest east/right):
I learned something about Palau's Rocky Emerald Isles:
And got a glimpse of Nemo! (The photo taken of my brother & me in front of the "Baby Clownfish" filled mom with glee):
The biggest exhibit was a replication of Palau's Blue Corner -- a reef shelf noted for its beauty & its diverse sealife. We saw a diver demonstration with experts who had been to the real Blue Corner; they said it was the best in the world for variety!
But my favorite representation of FSM/Palau is from this map (found in the colorful, chirpy bird section of the Aquarium). As you can see, it is a map of the neighborhood, with other countries represented as land masses, but FSM/Palua represented as a sea monster. Awesome!
So in lieu of something new, I just thought I'd post something interesting/fun. Now I'm off to the beach--(un)fortunately my present corner of the Pacific doesn't look anything like this. No sea monsters of any sort.
Peace!
Mollie
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Welcome!
I'm joining the Peace Corps and you're coming with me!
What has passed:
I began my Peace Corps application around Thanksgiving 2008 , so I suppose that is where this journey starts. But if you really want to get down to it, I've been thinking about doing something like this for years--most vividly since my trips to the Philippines and Costa Rica in 2007. Likely before then as well. But one can't roam the world do-gooding without an education, so I didn't pursue these ponderings until this past year, my senior year at Harvard College (school friends will note this blog's web address is a loving homage to my dearly departed college email address, mkwright@fas.harvard.edu).
After submitting my app in November, I interviewed with the recruiter in December and accepted my nomination for the Pacific Islands in January (that means the recruiter/nominator gives me the go ahead for an array of countries/assignments in that region, and then sends me along to the placement office to get further processed & approved). Then I had to jump through all the medical and legal hoops necessary to join any well meaning bureaucracy, which took the rest of spring -- until after graduation! Thankfully, in late June I was officially invited to serve as an ESL & Community Development Volunteer in FSM & Palau, departing in September.
I was so excited that I promptly put off doing any of the preliminary acceptance paperwork in order to go on a road trip in the Midwest with a friend from school. Then I arrived home, turned 22, and found myself facing a whole lot of to-do lists before group staging & departure on September 2. It's exciting and nerve wracking in a way that can't possibly be adequately captured in blog form, so I will leave my precise day-to-day activities up to the imaginations of my dear readers (hint: I'm doing a lot of novel reading, T.V. watching & Mexican food eating; it has been a lovely summer).
What is yet to come:
I leave for staging in LA on September 2, where I will meet the other volunteers in my class and say goodbye to America for two years! Then we fly together to Hawaii on September 3, and onto Pohnpei (the capitol of Micronesia) on September 4. In the interim we will cross the international dateline, so I have no idea what day/time it will be once we get there.
It looks like we will all be together for a preliminary orientation for the first two weeks, and then we will receive our site assignments and adjourn to smaller groups in local capitols for the rest of the 2-3 months of training. I'll be sent to my 2-year solo site-to-be-named-later in November. Once we arrive in-country we will be staying with host families. So although I will be with dwindling numbers of Americans as my time progresses, I will always have island relatives to look out for me.
An important note for you, my friends:
The point of the blog is twofold: to entertain and to keep in touch. However, I won't be traveling with my computer AND I won't necessarily have frequent internet access. But the mail works. So it's a very real possibility that I'll be sending "blog" letters to my mom, who will painstakingly transcribe every word for you, the great electronic audience.
But snail mail will be the best way to stay in touch with me. In fact, since FSM & Palau were recently US territories, the cost of sending letters or packages is pretty similar to doing so in the US. So that means you should
a) send me mail (this will be my address for the first two weeks at least):
b) send me your mailing address! If you're not sure where you will be living, send me backup mailing addresses or addresses for family who can forward letters to you.
I'll have email access for the next month, and I will be compiling my contact information in an address book during that time. If you don't email me your mailing address, feel free to send mail straight along to my Micronesia mailing address with your return address clearly written.
So to sum up, I'm going away for 27 months and I'd like to keep in touch with you!
Much love!
Mollie
What has passed:
I began my Peace Corps application around Thanksgiving 2008 , so I suppose that is where this journey starts. But if you really want to get down to it, I've been thinking about doing something like this for years--most vividly since my trips to the Philippines and Costa Rica in 2007. Likely before then as well. But one can't roam the world do-gooding without an education, so I didn't pursue these ponderings until this past year, my senior year at Harvard College (school friends will note this blog's web address is a loving homage to my dearly departed college email address, mkwright@fas.harvard.edu).
After submitting my app in November, I interviewed with the recruiter in December and accepted my nomination for the Pacific Islands in January (that means the recruiter/nominator gives me the go ahead for an array of countries/assignments in that region, and then sends me along to the placement office to get further processed & approved). Then I had to jump through all the medical and legal hoops necessary to join any well meaning bureaucracy, which took the rest of spring -- until after graduation! Thankfully, in late June I was officially invited to serve as an ESL & Community Development Volunteer in FSM & Palau, departing in September.
I was so excited that I promptly put off doing any of the preliminary acceptance paperwork in order to go on a road trip in the Midwest with a friend from school. Then I arrived home, turned 22, and found myself facing a whole lot of to-do lists before group staging & departure on September 2. It's exciting and nerve wracking in a way that can't possibly be adequately captured in blog form, so I will leave my precise day-to-day activities up to the imaginations of my dear readers (hint: I'm doing a lot of novel reading, T.V. watching & Mexican food eating; it has been a lovely summer).
What is yet to come:
I leave for staging in LA on September 2, where I will meet the other volunteers in my class and say goodbye to America for two years! Then we fly together to Hawaii on September 3, and onto Pohnpei (the capitol of Micronesia) on September 4. In the interim we will cross the international dateline, so I have no idea what day/time it will be once we get there.
It looks like we will all be together for a preliminary orientation for the first two weeks, and then we will receive our site assignments and adjourn to smaller groups in local capitols for the rest of the 2-3 months of training. I'll be sent to my 2-year solo site-to-be-named-later in November. Once we arrive in-country we will be staying with host families. So although I will be with dwindling numbers of Americans as my time progresses, I will always have island relatives to look out for me.
An important note for you, my friends:
The point of the blog is twofold: to entertain and to keep in touch. However, I won't be traveling with my computer AND I won't necessarily have frequent internet access. But the mail works. So it's a very real possibility that I'll be sending "blog" letters to my mom, who will painstakingly transcribe every word for you, the great electronic audience.
But snail mail will be the best way to stay in touch with me. In fact, since FSM & Palau were recently US territories, the cost of sending letters or packages is pretty similar to doing so in the US. So that means you should
a) send me mail (this will be my address for the first two weeks at least):
Mollie Wright, Peace Corps Trainee
Peace Corps/Micronesia
PO Box 9
Kolonia, Pohnpei, FM 96941
Peace Corps/Micronesia
PO Box 9
Kolonia, Pohnpei, FM 96941
b) send me your mailing address! If you're not sure where you will be living, send me backup mailing addresses or addresses for family who can forward letters to you.
I'll have email access for the next month, and I will be compiling my contact information in an address book during that time. If you don't email me your mailing address, feel free to send mail straight along to my Micronesia mailing address with your return address clearly written.
So to sum up, I'm going away for 27 months and I'd like to keep in touch with you!
Much love!
Mollie
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