The Little Drummer Boy...

So now that school is over, Malem is focused on one thing and one thing only: Christmas Marching (Mas in Kosraen). I am staying buisy working on secondary projects during the day but each evening I have marching rehearsal with my fellow Malemites. There are three divisions of Malem: Yatta, Midtown, and Walunga. I am marching with Walunga since it is the zone that I live in. A relative of mine is the president of Walunga. We gather around 7:30 Kosraen time (which translates to around 8 or 8:30) and practice singing and marching at the church until around 10 pm. This pictures given you an idea...

And The Money Keeps Rolling In (And Rolling Out)

So having been in Micronesia for 3 months now and Kosrae for 14 weeks here are some observations I have noticed:

The US is sustaining the island communities of the South Pacific. Here on Kosrae the Dept of Education receives 90 million dollars a year as a flat rate due to the Compact between the FSM and US. That does not include all the special grants and arrangements applied for which is an extra sizable amount of money. The Chinese government has subsidized the building of a new high school which is in the process of being completed. All teachers salaries including the College of Micronesia are being paid for by the US. Any government position is paid for by the US. Yet when you ask Kosraen's about this they are completely perplexed do the situation. If you ask them who is giving money to the Island they say the Chinese.

Kosrae is completely dependent upon foreign aid. There is no priate industry for ecenomic development on the island. The most prominent company KCSO, is a Conservation NGO, which Madison Nena, my boss, happens to be the Chairman of.

Money is spent with no accountability and without a sense of self-ownership. Once funds simply dry up Kosraen's simply apply for other grants. I have been barraged with a number of projects that has kept me buisy since school has ended. Lots of research with little resources. Welcome to the Peace Corps! Stay tuned.

Beetlenut

So a couple weeks ago I experineced another cultural phenomenon very important here to Kosraen's: I chewed beetlenut. Throughout all of the South Pacific, Micronesian's chew Beetlenut. Like being offered a peice of gum or a cigarete people are always offering me beetlenut. Here's how it goes:

You take an actual "beetlenut" from the tree. You crack it in half with your teeth. You then pour in limestone powder, which is melted down from limestone rock. You add a piece of cigarete and then close the beetlenut. Then you wrap a leaf taken from the beetlenut tree around the whole thing. It is certainly an interesting experience. Perhaps not my favorite Micronesian custom however I can now always say to the locals I have tried it.

Thanksgiving

So it has been a couple weeks since I have been able to check in to this blog. Thanksgiving here was an interesting event. Instead of celebrating with a turkey and gravy, Kosraen's all gathered together for a church service in Tafunsak. Each village sang 3 songs. I was thrown into the Malem choir the night before Thanksgiving. We had a rehearsel at 11pm that went until 1 am. It was the first time I had performed since the March of Dimes music event that was hosted in New Mexico. While I was singing (bass by the way...males don't sing anything higher) instead of drumming it was a great feeling. I was given the words and hearing the song once was able to fill right in on the second run through. I guess I have to thank CCM for that...

While in Kosrae I have also been reading at a prolific pace. These are the books I have read to date.

Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by John Lee Anderson
Chronicles: Volume I by Bob Dylan
The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
Schindler's List by Thomas Kennelly
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortinson and David Oliver Relin
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
The Kite Runner by Khaled Houssaini

We Don't Need No Education...

So I just finished teaching for the 4th week in a row now. We have a break until January 4th when school resumes. This is a picture of Malem Elementary School where I teach. The top floor are the 8th and 9th grade classrooms. I roam between three classrooms in the middle right-hand corner. I have roughly 50 students. I have learned most of their names by now and am coming to learn their personalities as well. I see them on the streets walking. I play with them. During the break a couple of the kids are going to take me out and show me how to surf kosraen style.