On Sunday December 27th I had gotten up early thanks to jet-lag and didn't know quite what to do. Then I figured out that I was thirsty and our apartment aka Lion's Den was out of water. So I told Corey we should go get water. So after going around to all the SMs apartments we gathered quite a bit of barrels for water. We were about to head in when Corey told me that West, Tim, Kirk and Jon were going in to get water. So I decided to go with them to get water. So off we went. Our first stop was at the local dock here in Kolonia. While we were headed their Jon, Kirk and Tim convinced me to go with them and purchase a boat ticket to the island of Pingelap. I was excited, this would be cool to see another island I'd probably never see. So later that afternoon after a quick trip to town to gather food and pack we were off to the docks to get on the Carolina Voyager which was going to take us to paradise. Little did I know this ship would be the vain to my existence for the next 4 days.
We arrived at the ship and boarded at 4 but it never left till 5:30 and it was already full. We ended up having to sleep in the walkway on the ship. It was epic, because in the middle of the night it rained and we got soaked and on top of that pigs were sleeping next to us 10 feet up higher on the deck, so the smells were interestingly different. To add to the already epic situation, I ended up getting really sea sick. I never felt better until after we arrived in Pingelap on Monday night. So happy to be on land we walked to the place where we were staying and ended up staying at the only theater on the island, which consisted of speakers and a small t.v. It was definitely interesting. We got there ready for a shower but the shower consisted of a rain water tank, a bucket for the water and scope for the water. It was definitely the most primitive place I've ever been to in my entire life. Their supper was pretty interesting too. They gave us rice and fish that still looked the same the first day they caught it!! It was definitely different!! We went to bed early from all the traveling and ended up just chatting it up. We discussed that the most poisonous creature was the centipede. That night I woke up to a sharp pain and realized of all things I had got bitten by a Centipede. After the intense pain and local brew they made for my finger which consisted of Vix, leaves and charcoal I fell asleep.
The Next day we did a lot of snorkeling and saw lots of fish and sea turtles and then we headed back on the boat. Went back to the Island of Moukal and did more snorkeling. It also had a lot of fish in the reef and lots of sharks and more sea turtles!! It was awesome. Finally we headed back to Pohnpei. Though on the way back the entire ship ran out of toilet paper. In 8 hours it all ran out, but my 1 dollar and 65 cent investment in toilet paper became my best investment!! It was AWESOME!! hahaha, but yeah, we arrived back in Pohnpei today!! It was great. And now we are celebrating New Years by watching Eric, Tim and John set off a pipeline and saw lots of flares from the locals and heard a lot of pots banging!! It was awesome to end such a great 2009 year!! Happy New Years everyone!!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Arriving to Pohnpei
I had promised lots of people I would blog down my adventures of being a Student Missionary in Pohnpei. So I guess I'll start from the beginning!!
I woke up early Tuesday Morning December 22nd and was about to embark an a 2 day journey to Pohnpei. I had to catch the shuttle from Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, California that shuttle will then take me on to San Francisco International Airport. Once I got to the shuttle and hugged my mom good-bye for the last time till May, reality began to sink in a little bit. It was the first time in my life felt homesick watching my mom drive away in the car. After a short flight to L.A. and a long flight to Honolulu I finally arrived in Honolulu around 8 pm local time and buckled down for a long 10 hr layover for my next flight. Those 10 hours were the longest I have ever felt in my life. I was super nervous, scared, unsure, excited and stressed all at the same time!! Finally at 6:55am my plane departed for Majuro. After a Five and half hour flight I landed in Majuro. It was the first time since I was born there that I had been back. It was quite breath taking from the sky. When I landed I was super excited to see my friends Jonathan and Kara who are currently Student Missionaries there in Majuro. I went to School with both of them, Jon was actually my roommate last year and we all hung out a lot together. We also had worked at Leoni Meadows together so it was great seeing them both, since they have been there since August. Though when I walked into the waiting area I excepted to see them both, unfortunately they were no where around. I was super bummed, since I had to get of the plane for a security check, I was hoping to catch up a bit with them. Jon had told me how they were going to get fake boarding passes and chill with me, but that idea apparently didn't work out. So the next thing I know a guy from the airport security came in and yelled my name in Marshallese and I wasn't quite sure so I raised my hand, he spoke to me more in Marshallese and pushed me out of the waiting area into baggage claim and on into customs and told me that there was someone who needed to talk to me. Around this point I am Scared out of my mind not sure what is going on and so as I walk through the brown door he told me to walk through, there was Jon and Kara and Kaylie (Kara's Sister) waiting there to talk with me!! That had scared me so bad I wasn't very talkative as I could of been, but all in all it was great to see them. After saying a quick hi and bye I went and boarded the airplane since I was the only person they were waiting on and took off to Kwajalein. That stop actually turned into a 2 hour ordeal since they couldn't get a computer working so we sat for a while. Finally after what seemed like years we flew on to Korsae and then finally on to Pohnpei!! When I landed in Pohnpei my friends Corey, Charlotte both of whom work at the school in Pohnpei and my friend Nicole who is an SM in Majuro greeted me. It was a great reunion. I hadn't seen Charlotte or Corey since May of 07 so it was fun, then I met the other SM's Jon, Joy, Natalia, Katie, Tim and West. It was a great welcome and a big relief to finally be in Pohnpei. Once I got to the school and saw my apartment that I'll be staying at for the next 6 months reality sunk in on what I was doing here. I'm still quite excited and nervous but extremely jet-lagged from the extra 5 hours and a day I received when I arrived in Pohnpei. Later that night after arriving all the SMs had a Christmas party which I got to meet more SMs and spend Christmas eve together just having fun. It was a great end to a very long journey. Hopefully I'll get over the jet-lag soon, but as for now I've made it here safe and sound.
I woke up early Tuesday Morning December 22nd and was about to embark an a 2 day journey to Pohnpei. I had to catch the shuttle from Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, California that shuttle will then take me on to San Francisco International Airport. Once I got to the shuttle and hugged my mom good-bye for the last time till May, reality began to sink in a little bit. It was the first time in my life felt homesick watching my mom drive away in the car. After a short flight to L.A. and a long flight to Honolulu I finally arrived in Honolulu around 8 pm local time and buckled down for a long 10 hr layover for my next flight. Those 10 hours were the longest I have ever felt in my life. I was super nervous, scared, unsure, excited and stressed all at the same time!! Finally at 6:55am my plane departed for Majuro. After a Five and half hour flight I landed in Majuro. It was the first time since I was born there that I had been back. It was quite breath taking from the sky. When I landed I was super excited to see my friends Jonathan and Kara who are currently Student Missionaries there in Majuro. I went to School with both of them, Jon was actually my roommate last year and we all hung out a lot together. We also had worked at Leoni Meadows together so it was great seeing them both, since they have been there since August. Though when I walked into the waiting area I excepted to see them both, unfortunately they were no where around. I was super bummed, since I had to get of the plane for a security check, I was hoping to catch up a bit with them. Jon had told me how they were going to get fake boarding passes and chill with me, but that idea apparently didn't work out. So the next thing I know a guy from the airport security came in and yelled my name in Marshallese and I wasn't quite sure so I raised my hand, he spoke to me more in Marshallese and pushed me out of the waiting area into baggage claim and on into customs and told me that there was someone who needed to talk to me. Around this point I am Scared out of my mind not sure what is going on and so as I walk through the brown door he told me to walk through, there was Jon and Kara and Kaylie (Kara's Sister) waiting there to talk with me!! That had scared me so bad I wasn't very talkative as I could of been, but all in all it was great to see them. After saying a quick hi and bye I went and boarded the airplane since I was the only person they were waiting on and took off to Kwajalein. That stop actually turned into a 2 hour ordeal since they couldn't get a computer working so we sat for a while. Finally after what seemed like years we flew on to Korsae and then finally on to Pohnpei!! When I landed in Pohnpei my friends Corey, Charlotte both of whom work at the school in Pohnpei and my friend Nicole who is an SM in Majuro greeted me. It was a great reunion. I hadn't seen Charlotte or Corey since May of 07 so it was fun, then I met the other SM's Jon, Joy, Natalia, Katie, Tim and West. It was a great welcome and a big relief to finally be in Pohnpei. Once I got to the school and saw my apartment that I'll be staying at for the next 6 months reality sunk in on what I was doing here. I'm still quite excited and nervous but extremely jet-lagged from the extra 5 hours and a day I received when I arrived in Pohnpei. Later that night after arriving all the SMs had a Christmas party which I got to meet more SMs and spend Christmas eve together just having fun. It was a great end to a very long journey. Hopefully I'll get over the jet-lag soon, but as for now I've made it here safe and sound.
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