Teachin' in Pohnpei

Oops! Wrong Address In Christmas Card.

2009-01-08T01:21:00.000-08:00

Hi all. We put the wrong web address on our Christmas letter for our New Zealand blog. If you want to see some more Pohnpei pictures, feel free to peruse the site you're currently on, however, if you want to see NZ pics, head over to our-kiwi-adventure.blogspot.com.

Sorry about that!

Happy New Year!

-Love,
Carrie & Thomas

May Keremwel! (Happy May!)

2008-05-21T02:25:00.000-07:00

Hello again!

Here are some of our latest pictures from Pohnpei.
We'll also putting together a slideshow of some of our other pictures to share this summer. We're really looking forward to connecting with everyone back home in person again!
Thanks for all your prayers and support this year.

Our presentation dates are listed below:

Michigan Slideshow Presentation/Open House

Date: Friday, June 13th at 7:30 pm
Location: Salvation Army Church in Holland
104 Clover Street (zipcode 49423 for mapquest users)

Southern California Slideshow/Open Church

Date: Sunday, June 22^nd at 6 pm
Location: Rosewood Christian Reformed Church in Bellflower

Interior Alaska Slideshow Presentation

Date: Mid to late August (more specific info. to come in August)

The infamous cargo plane that almost went for a swim! :)
Pilot and crew members are fine; the landing gear and bottom of the plane didn't fare so well. Sokeh's ridge in the background is Pohnpei's most photographed landmark.

Carrie & Melina (the freshmen math teacher that just recently had a new baby) are working on editing some of the freshmen names in the yearbook. Jualyn and Welder in the background are working on the sophomore names.

Thomas' juniors enter for the Mr. & Miss competition.

Seniors Beauty (yes, that really is her name) and Brady win second place.

Freshmen Alisha and Royal (yes, that really is his name!) take first place

The royalty don their glittery, cardboard crowns and sit on their "thrones." Elementary students posed as flower girls and scattered local petals all around the cafeteria floor. The flowers were freshly picked from local gardens... beautiful! At one point the Principal misspoke and called them Mr. & Mrs. MHS. It really did feel like a wedding!

Yearbook Photography Crew Making "Their Style" For The Camera

Our yearbook team of student editors. It was great because they all come from the Mand village (close to school) so we could work long after the buses left when necesssary. All three girls in the back are currently mothers or mothers-to-be!

Oatey tries to help Carrie open a care package from the Villas.
(We think she smelled the jerky and M&Ms.)

Our most common canine visitors--Cocoa, Oatey, Rusty and Barky--are always eager for food; it's so hard to chose which one to feed first!

When storms come, Oatey tries her best to look pathetic in the hopes
that we'll let her in the house and out of the rain!

Thomas and Oatey "kaman" (enjoy) a dry Sunday afternoon.

Sylvia and Stasha arrive at the courthouse for Pohnpei's State Debate.

The Negative Team arguing that economic progress should NOT take priority over environmental responsibilities in Micronesia.

MHS Debate Team Members (2 teams of 2 debaters/2 alternates)

The recently completed MHS fish pond (about 1/4 mile from our house)

The causeway near our house that leads to the ancient fortress of Nan Madol; we do the 5 mile hike around Temwen island every Saturday.

Oatey and Thomas check for fish as the tide goes out.

A local iris-type of plant; one of Carrie's favorites.

The welcome party for the newly appointed Pohnpei Director of Education, Joseph Villazon, third from the right. We canceled school that day to prepare tables and tables of food for him.

March Madness

2008-03-29T19:45:00.000-07:00

Hello again from Pohnpei. We hope this photographs make it easier to picture some of what we described in our e-mail. Enjoy!

Taking advantage of a beautiful day to get some laundry dried.

Sila-Rose poses for her senior portrait; the background is an air-brushed painting of Nan-Madol, the 2,000 year-old basaltic ruins found on Pohnpei.

Ettner presents a scholarly pose in an attempt (in his words) to look intelligent.

Rhonda, Lorelei, and Tricia snag Carrie to take a little less formal picture after graduation pictures are finished.

Some of the debate team girls pose with Valley Elementary's Flat Stanley during a break while researching at COM-National College during Easter Break.

Palm Sunday procession into the Catholic church near our house. It was really neat; everyone gathered about 1/4 mile from church and carried greens, singing triumphantly as they walked toward the church.

Thomas reestablishing our view of the ocean.

Carrie mowing our front yard.

Here we are posing on our freshly-macheted lawn after the Palm Sunday service.

Sawarlap and Sawartik (the twin brothers) waterfalls; we now have officially hiked to all waterfalls on the Pohnpei tourist's map!

Thomas, Ben (World Teach-Kolonia), and Flat Stanley enjoy the pool near Sawartik Falls (tallest waterfall in Pohnpei).

Carrie stands in the midst of the Japanese owned Sei Botanical and Pepper farm. This particular pepper is exported to Japan, Guam, and the States.

Carrie with Clinton, a rather mischievous freshman, but a great guide to Pahnsile Waterfall! (He did get extra credit and candy as a reward.)

Thomas relaxing at Nahlap, one of our favorite atolls.

A view of Nahlap's newly renovated boardwalks.

Carrie succumbs to Oatey's begging; Oatey jumped on Carrie's lap and promptly applied her newly learned technique, "sitting," for a piece of chocolate chip cookie.

Students eating in the cafeteria. This displays the typical food: rice with some sort of pinkish meat--SPAM, corned beef, or hot dog . We share 10 glasses (to drink rain water) among 450 students and teachers. Students (usually) enjoy the food a bit more than is expressed by the look on Larinda's face. :)

The friendly counselor, who, when present, is our greatest ally and resource!

9B General Science takes a picture for their Byron Center, Michigan penpals. (Fridays are free dress days--no uniforms needed).

The Chinese farm (actually owned and operated by PRC) is located near the high school; it's a great but sporadic place to get cucumbers, tomatoes, and green beans.

Main street, Kolonia

What the grocery store shelves look like when a boat hasn't come in for a while!

February Update

2008-02-17T00:15:00.000-08:00

Here are the latest pictures from our work in Pohnpei. We tried to capture the students' enthusiasm for sports in the photos below, as well as include some more pictures of "life as it is in Pohnpei." Enjoy!

Carrie presents her Earthwatch talk to local teachers during the Madolenihmw Teacher's Forum.

Carrie's friend Merlain (left) serves up ice-cream and cake during our staff retreat. The freshmen math teacher, Molina, (right) had her baby the weekend after this picture was taken.

Larinda works on her planet brochure for general science. (Thanks to all of you who helped contribute paper, colored pencils, markers, and glue... the final projects turned out great!)

9 C students prepare their final drafts of their penpal letters for our letter exchange with Byron Center Christian Middle School (in Michigan); MHS students went all out this time, taking pictures around campus as well as a Pohnpei info packet of maps, brochures, and even a couple CDs of local bands.

Outside the cafeteria at lunch time.
We're amazed that students can find the correct zorries (flip-flops) back before class starts!

This is one of many banana markets in town. We purchase our bananas here (usually sold in 5-10 lb bunches) for 35 cents a pound.

Joycelinda and Sinmarlinda display some MHS spirit during the track and field championships.

Alentha passes the baton to Permaleen during the 4 x 100 relay.

Marvin leaps for length in the long-jump.

The boys complete another successful softball victory.

The start of the boys first basketball game.

Eliza (the catcher) prepares for a pitch as the girls' softball game gets underway.

Clinton ducks as Allenson spikes the ball during a volleyball practice at MHS.
MHS girls on our high school volleyball court. (The court isn't very fancy but the backdrop is spectacular!)

MHS girls' basketball practice (there's usually more talking than playing).

A gecko sneaks a few sips from Thomas' soda while we're watching a movie on the laptop!

Our favorite dog, Oatey, is waiting patiently for the next hand-out. She especially loves ripe bananas!

We're never at a loss for pets. While Carrie was catching up on the Fairbanks Daily News one Sunday afternoon, some of the neighborhood dogs and chickens decided to join her.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-06T19:24:00.000-08:00

Parakapw Mwahu (Happy New Year!) from the South Pacific. Just as in the States, Christmas in Pohnpei is a time for bringing family and friends together. Feasts and parties are abundant! Since we're without family on the island, we teamed up with another World Teach Volunteer (Ben) for Christmas dinner and some island hiking. We'll start with a few pictures of the staff Christmas feast, move to student activities and parties, and then describe some pictures from our holiday island explorations. Kauno en ketket rehmwi nan parh 2008! (May God bless you in 2008).

This is the preferred form of "hot dog" here in Pohnpei. We hope that while we are here no one eats our favorite (living) canine visitors: Rusty, Otie, Blackie, Cocoa, etc.

The carving of the dog begins. Even Rihner, our host mom (the woman to the right) looks a bit grossed out!

Pohnpeian hospitality is expressed through food. There is never a shortage of it at a feast--especially desserts. Many people (from 4-year-olds to 84-year-olds) eat 6-8 pieces of cake during a feast. Diabetes (due to the types of imported foods ingested) is now a huge problem in Pohnpei.

Children of the staff enjoying skipping school to be at Owha's resort (the site of the staff party.)

Making sakau (the traditional local drink) from pepper plant roots, mud, and water. It's commonly drunk from carved out coconut shells.

Language Arts seniors in their (read-through) production of Dicken's "Christmas Carol."

The student Christmas party--an eclectic collection of student-performed Pohnpeian and English Christmas Carols, dancing, candy-throwing, speeches, and plenty of food. Here the 12B students are led by Tricia Hinga in a rendition of Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

One of 30 chickens that commonly runs through our yard. This hen happens to perusing our landlord's waste pile of old coconuts. The idea that roosters crow only at daybreak is definitely a myth (they crow all day and night long!)

The view from Nahlap, a resort on the other side of the island.

Snorkeling at Nahlap is usually great; because we're in the "winter storm" season, visibility isn't as good as normal right now.

Ben, a Kolonia World Teach volunteer, accompanied us on many of our Christmas ventures. He was very helpful as he had just toured most places when his parents visited back in November.

A good view of Nahlap from the ocean. (Kayak rentals are $1 an hour.)

There are no sand beaches on the main island of Pohnpei--just a lot of coral and mangrove swamps.

The restaurant at "The Village" (a hotel composed of 20 thatch-roofed bungalows where we stayed on Christmas Eve).

Carrie heads to the beach from our bungalow.

The view from the Village restaurant (the cliff in the distance is Pohnpei's most famous geographical feature, Sokehs Rock.)

Thomas enjoys an ocean breeze in the restaurant "look-out." At night they'll bring kerosene lamps out there if you want them (a bit reminiscent of Orealla).

Reading in the "look-out" at the Village.

The inside of our room at the village (comfy beds and hot showers!!!)

A view of PahnTakai, one of the waterfalls that we hiked to. Its name means "under the rock."

Enjoying the water at Liduduhniap Falls, one of the few waterfalls safe to swim in.
(The rest are polluted by run-off from the many pigs people raised for feasts and funerals.)

After waiting 1 1/2 hrs in the rain (after a hike) for the prearranged taxi, Carrie tried to break into the Kitti World Teach house to "call" the cab company. Of course, right as Carrie was preparing to climb down inside, the taxi showed up and she had to back out. (Very painful!)

The start of the hike to Nan Madol, the site of an ancient Pohnpeian fortress. Archaeologists believe that people began constructing this site around 50 AD. It was abandoned in the 1500s after its ruler was overtaken by an invader from outer islands.

"The Throne Room" at Nan Madol.

One of the windows, or perhaps an old sewer drain??, in the namwarke's (king's) chamber.

Nan Mandol as seen from the ocean.

A Mangrove and its roots. (You can see why no one lays on the beaches here--ouch!)

One of the many reptiles that lives here--they possess vibrant blue-tails. We still haven't managed to get a picture of the geckos that drink Thomas' soda or eat our freshly baked brownies.

Hiking to Kepirohi, the nearest waterfall to our house (1 mile away).

Kepirohi, Pohnpei's most famous and largest waterfall.

Happy December!

2007-12-10T18:15:00.000-08:00

Seasons Greetings to One and All!

Although seasons here really only vary from rainy to super rainy--we're getting in the holiday spirit nonetheless, and thought you might like to see some pics of our little abode. Despite some quirks (as in no kitchen, really low wattage of electricity, and a pack of very noisy neighborhood dogs), we're really enjoying having our own place.

Our current landlord is super friendly (much improved from back in October) and very involved in the community. We're impressed by all his family does for the local Catholic church (fund-raising, mowing lawns, leading worship, etc.) It's been great to be able to walk to school, although we're looking forward to one day doing exercise for "fun" instead of necessity. The walk comes out to about 4 miles each day--on the way to school it's all uphill.

We've also included some pictures from our belated Thanksgiving celebration with World Teach, Jesuit, and Japanese Peace Corps workers. Enjoy!

Home Sweet Home!

We're grateful for the giant mesquite tree that provides us with
both storm-protection and shade.

A view of our house from the road; notice how close the road is to our house (sometimes it sounds like trucks are going to hit our house)

Our porch: site for laundry, schoolwork, hammock hanging, and dog fights over leftover food

Another view of our house from the road; neither the garbage (overflowing barrel) nor the car are ours. Our front lawn and driveway are used as a parking lot for our landlords and their visitors.

The view from our porch before we went to work with the machetes

Thomas at work

Carrie at work

The finished result. Pretty view, huh? Since this picture was taken, we've added Christmas lights to our porch. It almost feels like a restaurant patio on the harbor in Long Beach. :)

Our banana tree (unripened bananas are in the center of the photo)

One of our potted garden plants--green onions

View of the kitchen facing south

Another view of the kitchen facing south so you can see our cooking station better; the toaster oven (white object on table) was a gift from Rosewood and is our most-prized kitchen possession. We've used it to bake brownies (which staff and students love), pizza, burritos, and more. When Thomas' sister's chocolate chips arrive we hope to make our first cookies.

View of kitchen facing north

Thomas attacks the freezer with a knife again!
Our freezer produces a massive amount of frost (enough to create a snowball every two days); thus we have to chisel our way in and out each time we want to retrieve a frozen item. The fridge, however, works great!

Our pre-rinse dishwasher cycle

Since there's no kitchen, we wash dishes outside. Rusty, the dog, and Boca, the cat, often try to help. We learned that dishes shouldn't be left outside over night the hard way (several dog's marked them as their territory).

Our bedroom facing south; we've pushed two twin beds together to make a master bedroom set. The mattresses don't fit on the beds however, so sometimes if you're not careful you can fall out of bed (while still on the mattress). There are screens on our windows this year, but we'll still use a mosquito net on rainy nights to keep off the mosquitoes that get through the screens' holes.

Our bedroom facing north. Our overhang on the porch isn't big enough to keep clothes out of the rain when it storms, so we often hang clothes inside so that they can fully dry in 1-3 days depending on the humidity.

Wardrobe (how people store clothes here); about every 3 weeks it needs to be emptied and bleached to remove new mold build-up. All clothes smell nasty unless just pulled off the clothesline.

Our indoor bathroom. This year we have running water--a shower with great water pressure and a toilet that usually works.

Thomas and Rusty on a Saturday afternoon looking through some newspaper clippings Thomas' mom sent.

30th Birthday Party! Thanks to Lori (Carrie's best friend from high school) we had cake, frosting and even candles!

The frothing of Rusty Jr.'s mouth isn't from rabies (there are no known rabies on the island). It's flour! The dogs and chickens are crazy about it. Since flour molds in less than a month here, we often have to throw excess unused flour out.

Our belated Thanksgiving Celebration at the World Teach Field Director's house. It was a fun mixture of American, Pohnpeian, and Japanese food.

Life in Pohnpei Continues...

2007-11-03T23:33:00.001-07:00

Here are the latest pictures from the beautiful island of Pohnpei.
Enjoy!

-Carrie and Thomas

The view from our host family's land

A local (imported from Asia) water buffalo

The local bakery where our host mom, Rihner, works for extra income. They make donuts, rolls, bread, and more--working until 2 am, deliveries around the island happen between 7 and noon.

There may not be large mammals on the island but the size of the snails is pretty impressive.

One of our students, Salter, takes us a hike to see volcanic overflows and WWII battle ruins.

Hallways--Pohnpeian style (outside with an awning to keep off the rain)

Our campus' restroom--always locked with the key often missing. We've found we wait until after school is over to hydrate ourselves each day. :(

The site for the eventual secondary school library; with 9 classes and 200+ students a day, it will take a while before we can finish it.

Our senior classroom lending library (to help students get ready for their English reading/writing college entrance exam).

Our host family's home with "Tiger" in the foreground
(we hope they don't eat him before we leave!)

Celebrating the rare arrival of a vegetable shipment to the island (celery, tomatoes, even lettuce!)

Practicing Flute (the music stand is a discarded refrigerator)

Filtering drinking water; all water is pumped to homes straight from the river. When it rains, the water turns brown with all the sediment run-off.

A local elementary school gardening project.

The first time our the borrowed school bus got stuck on our World Teach 7 Waterfalls Hike

Hikin' As A Group (all 10 volunteers showed up despite the downpour)

Nearin' the end of the hike (quite wet... but it was fun, anyway)

One of the "7 waterfalls," about 70 ft tall with a great swimming hole at the bottom.

Our First Pics of Pohnpei

2007-10-05T13:26:00.003-07:00

Hi everyone.
Here are some pictures of Pohnpei (and our trip there).
Hope you enjoy! :)

Our last evening on American soil (in Honolulu).

Flying into Pohnpei.

A view from the causeway

Willfred's (the school bus driver) family feast

Giving fabric is one of the traditions at a feast, and
it's typically wrapped around guests' heads (regardless of gender)

The elders are presenting sakou (a plant used to make a local drug) to
man of highest rank (kinda like a chief)

The first of the pigs arrives

Butchering begins

Many yams are cooked for the feast,
but several of the biggest ones are presented as gifts and taken home by guests

Each guest gets a tray with an odd assortment of local and imported products--more food on one tray than most Orealla Amerindians eat in a week!

Our host family parents--Alson and Rihner trying tacos for the first time

Alson and Rihner's food storage;
they don't use the fridge but keep food on the table

Our homestay room

Thomas with his 12D students--33 students (only 4 girls!)

Carrie and her 12 B students

Where we're headed next!

2007-08-27T11:54:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

As you probably noticed by the new blog address, our plans have greatly changed over the summer. Instead of heading back to Guyana, we have a new placement in Pohnpei, Micronesia. On the 9th of September, we will depart for a multi-day plane trip through Hawaii on to Kolonia, Micronesia. We'll be teaching Science & English from mid-September through June 2008 at a secondary school in the village of Madolenihmw.

Rumor has it that there may be electricity, running water, and even internet! (We'll believe it when we see it.) In addition, the mail service is deemed to be quite reliable--2 weeks for anything under 15 lbs. Larger parcels only take 2 months (instead of 4+). Please let us know as soon as possible (especially classroom teachers/homeschoolers) if you're interested in doing penpal activities, so we work out some of the logistics early in the school year.

We enjoyed the opportunity to see so many of you this summer. The food you cooked (blueberries, moose, pig-in-the-blankets, yogurt, ice-cream etc) was a delightful reprieve from rice, rice and more rice. :) It was fun sharing with you stories of Orealla and catching up on what's going on in your lives as well.

Our hearts still long to return to our Guyanese village, but we are also looking forward to exploring the opportunities God provides in the South Pacific this year. As always, you're always welcome to come visit us, wherever we are!

We have been reminded time and time again, that regardless of location, it's the people of a town/village that make it remarkable. We'll miss you all greatly. Please stay in touch.

God bless!
Carrie and Thomas

Our New Address (as of September 1) Is:
World Teach
Carrie Vander Zwaag and Thomas Brand
P.O. Box 2378
Kolonia, Pohnpei
96941
Federated States of Micronesia