wedding

Tour…wedding

One of my aunts got married! It was great to be so close to all the planning and see how things are done here in Chuuk.

Most of the planning revolved around food (typical for any Chuukese event). An interesting tidbit…the bride has no part in the planning! It is done by the family.

My family slaughtered two pigs. I watched from the balcony of my house, so I was able to see what they did without actually seeing everything. First they boiled a huge pot of water, then 8 men got in the pen and wrangled the pigs and hog tied them. They slit the throats, poured the boiling water on them to easily remove the hair. Finally, ending in cooking the pigs in a fire overnight. Our side of the family made plates of food to serve to all the guests, I cannot be sure of the number but it was definitely over 100!

All the women on my side of the family wore the same uniform, meaning we all had the same material for our muumuus, our color was pink.

The ceremony was a Catholic mass, of which I am assuming, is similar to a mass in America; but since it was all in Chuukese I cannot be certain.

The celebration after was in a local utt. First we stuffed as many people into the utt as possible, and then we sit and listen to speeches from all the important men of the family and village. Then we pass out the plates of food for everyone to enjoy.

The fun part…dancing! We played the music my brother sent from America and everyone loved it and was so excited that I was dancing!

It was a beautiful celebration!

running

Tour…track race

Fefan Constitution Day!

A part of the celebrating of the Constitution Day is a track race between the 6 communities that are a part of our church called Macheweichun. UFO, Parem, Siis, Sapata, Fanipw, Sapora.

It is a two day event, full of excitement! (it has actually been one of my favorite cultural experiences so far!) (sad news, my camera is not working so no pictures…)

The racers are very serious here! They have been practicing since October! They have practice twice a day (6-8 am and 3-6 pm). Anyone can join the team, but the majority of the runners are in their 20s. They are in great shape, even better than most Americans. (They asked me to join but…I do not like running)

The crowds go so wild and crazy for their team! Running around, screaming and cheering on their team. There was throwing of umbrellas, chairs, waving t-shirts in the air. (it is like a mini Olympics)

The second day was out of control fun, it rained all day…so the track was a big muddy mess! The racers were slipping and falling, and the crowd was screaming and laughing!

The winner was Fanipw.

It was a blast and I cannot wait until next year!

Random thoughts…

My host mom is such a mom; she holds my arm on the boat when it is bumpy so I do not fall out.

In America when I leave the house I always have keys, purse, wallet, phone, and other important things like an ID. In Chuuk when I leave the house I always have my room key, put on bug spray, water bottle, umbrella, and my camera. Ahhh the wonders of a simple life!

a mom is the same all over the world

Tour…goodbye and feeling better

The last member of the PCV group before my group left this week…it was sad to see the last one go. It is weird to not have so many people at the office…

I have been sick since November…and I am finally feeling better! I had a cough that wouldn’t go away. It was making me tired and bringing me down. I believe it was the enemy’s way of well, getting in the way. I had many prayers near and far from family and friends! My family thought there were many reasons in which I was sick…because

I missed the previous PCV

I had a sea ghost from riding on the boat when the waves were too big

I walked on the road while it was raining and the sun was shining at the same time

My water was bad

I ate something that I was allergic to

The classrooms are too dusty

Weno is too dusty

I washed my laundry

(I am sure a few of those things did not help once I was sick but as to the reason I became sick, who knows? God does!)

When you are sick all you want is to be at home with your mom, because nothing is more comforting than your own bed and mom always knows just what to do. (there were a few nights that I really just wanted to be back home in my own bed with my mom taking care of me…).

However…God blessed me with an amazing family (especially my host mom Aimy!). They took care of me and did so much for me. They asked me what I wanted to eat…even though it was the same choices I have been eating for the last few months, but at least they asked me before they cooked it. They always told me to rest and when I was tired they would let me sleep in. They would ask if I needed or wanted anything. When I first got my cough my mom made me warm water with sugar and lemon to help my sore throat. She even would massage coconut oil on my throat. There was two different nights in which I came down with a fever, and my mom would massage me with coconut oil to help me relax and make sure I was okay all through the night. She made sure I was comfortable, not too hot and not too cold. The culmination of my sickness ended in a rash (I think my body was finally pushing out all the sickness…) My mom and one of my aunts made me a warm bucket shower! They heated the water with leaves from our guava tree to help my rash and get all the sickness out of me. It smelled good, was warm and relaxing (and it I think it really did help my rash!)

Well finally after 2 months of fighting this sickness, I am healthy and back to my old self!

It does not matter where you are in the world a mom will always be a mom and take care of their kids. I am so thankful that I have four moms! (my American mom, Pohnpeian mom, Weno mom and Fefan mom)

New Year's Eve

Tour…New Years Eve

New Years Eve is a big deal here…

My family combines Christmas and New Years Eve. First we had our family gift exchange and ate tons of food.

Then we had a dance party (thanks to my brother, Ryan! He sent my little brother Enrich a mix of music for Christmas)

This is how it works…you bang on pots and scream “Happy New Year ese pwan nappe seni efew okasi” (which basically translate to I wont ask you for more than one piece of candy) and then people throw candy at you (the kids at my house liked my candy because it was from America)

Everyone stayed up all night until the morning.

Large groups of people passed the house all day screaming “Happy New Year ese pwan nappe seni efew okasi”

There is no work done on New Year’s Day (not even any cleaning), it is a day to rest and relax and bring in the New Year with no stress, just enjoy the day.

It was a great way to bring in the New Year!