8-13 - Getting ready for school

Day 2 on Bikarej - Note from Boo

The school

Boo's new home

Here's Boo's new digs on Bikarej for the next year.  Bottom pictures are her 1st welcome meal - pig and octopus stew, along with fresh coconuts.  Maybe a Bikarej altenative to Lenny and Joes?  And her home looks sturdier than many parts of the cottage the new shower not being one of them :-).   Hmmm, since I haven't yet finished that shower, maybe I should point out (begfore Tom or Doug beat me to it) that both places do not have running water . . . .

First pictures from Bikarej

Great pics from Angela Saunders on Boo's arrival on Bikarej

The trip to Bikarej

Bethy recieved this nice e-mail - our 1st word about Boo since she left Majuro for Bikarej.  Attached are some great picures she took as well!

From: Angela Saunders

To: b_c_flynn

Sent: Mon, Aug 13, 2012 02:45:43 GMT+00:00
Subject: Marshall Islands Picture

Hi Mrs Flynn, 

My name is Angela Saunders, I am in the Marshall Islands right now researching of my Masters thesis. Previously I was WorldTeach Field Director for 2 years, the Field Director for the two current directors who are Boo's directors. I helped out with some of the orientation session and have gotten to know this group of volunteers. I am really good friends with them and have been to Bikarej a couple times where Boo is now place. I was able to go on the boat out to Bikarej with her, Todd and two other volunteers Leslie and John last Friday. It is such a beautiful island, it holds a special place in my heart. I wanted to send you some of the pictures I took. When we are the boat on the way out and just about at Boo's Island we came across a pod of dolphins. The sun was shining and the dolphins were jumping everywhere around the boat. It was really beautiful and Boo could not contain her enjoyment. I think she was able to capture some on video that is on a card that I believe will be on it's way to you soon. Once we got to the islands she will be living on all she could keep saying was "I can't believe this is real, it is so beautiful". I am sure you will hear it from her as well, so I don't want to ruin that letter for you :). She was extremely happy and the host family welcomed us with lots of food and fresh coconuts. There was pig and octopus stew, quite a treat. We then saw walked over to the school and she got to see her classroom. 

Picture 1838 is her, Leslie and John waiting for the boat to leave. 

1893 on the boat just starting to go

the the dolphins (sorry I can't remember what number goes with which one)

and then we are on her island

Cheers, 

Ange

How to reach Boo

Now that Boo is on Bikarej, she has no access to phone, email, internet, etc.  I'm sure she would love to hear from anyone via snail-mail ;-)

Her address:

Boo Flynn
c/o World Teach
PO Box 627
Majuro, MH
RMI 96960

Marshallese Floss

A day late, but not a dollar short

No news is good news - we hope ;-)  Boo finally leaves for Bikarej!  Happy and sad - Beth and I spoke to her for the last time until late December, when she has a mid-term break and goes back to Majuro for a few weeks.  We tried not to get too teary eyed but . . . .

Hi Mom and Dad, just fyi someone called off the boat the other day because it was too wavy.  I plan to leave early in the morning for Bikarej, and should be there by 5:00 your time.  You might not hear from anyone after I get there...no news is good news!  Hopefully leslie will be able to send my SD card.  Love you and miss you!

Waiting to leave Majuro

Hi Mom and Dad,

This might be the last time I get on a computer, but I'll talk to you on the phone before I leave.  Nothing much has been happening.  We cleaned out the dorm kitchen today because one of our volunteers has to live there all year and it just wasn't in a liveable condition.  There were dead bugs everywhere, in the fridge, in the cabinets, stuck to the walls... cockroaches running around, the windows weren't see-through.  We moved the fridge under it and there was a good 3 inches of dirt and live bugs to shovel out.  It's much better now but still gross.  I feel so bad for her.  The Dartmouth volunteers have been using the kitchen like it's no big deal for a week now, and didn't understand why we were all cleaning it.  It's worse than the cottage after winter.  Our volunteer talked to the Dartmouth volunteer who will be living there all year too, and he had no idea what the problem was.  He asked her is the Marshall Islands is a poor country.  I don't know what planet he is from.

Just hanging out waiting to leave for Bikarej.  Todd and Ken might take me around tomorrow or Tuesday to spend the $300, I have a whole list with prices that I made up last week, including a world map and composition books for each student.  I'm so excited.

I'll be excited to leave for Bikarej but it will be hard not to be able to talk to you guys.  I'll write lots of letters.  Oh and I got another envelope from you, thanks for the pictures!  I passed them around at dinner because everyone wanted to see them.

I miss you, say hi to Teddy and everyone for me!
Boo

Boo meets her Host "Dad"

Hi Mom and dad,

I met my host dad yesterday!!!!! He seems so nice!!! I also met my principal, his wife, and another teacher.  They were all on Majuro for an MOE meeting.  They were all so friendly and excited to have me.  It was hard to communicate but there was lots of smiling and laughing.  Now I'm even more excited to get to Bikarej.

More people left this morning.  We moved out of the school and into dorms, but its so cramped that me and a few other girls dont get rooms.  Oh well, it's only for a few days.

Talk to you soon!
Love Boo

Unbound Bookmaker Project

Hi Mom and Dad,

I have a little bit of free time so I wanted to e-mail you whil I'm downtown.  We just had a session from the unbound book project, which was really cool.  Basically every volunteer is going to choose a class to work with to make a book on a certain topic.  I chose the topic creatures of the RMI.  The kids write and illustrate it, then we translate it to Marshallese and bring everything back during mid-service so it can be assembled on the computer.  The Unbound Bookmaker Project is working on gettting funding so we can give a copy to each of our students.  All the books will be sold on Amazon after they're made.  It will be a lot of work but I'm really excited about it.

Note:  for more information on the  Unbound Bookmaker Project go to the following link:  http://www.unboundbookmaker.com/the-unbound-bookmaker-project.html

I got to ride on an outrigger canoe on Saturday!  It was so fun, and I have a few pictures.  The water is really really blue, and the ride is so smooth because the boat is so well-built.  It fit 2 marshallese men, me, and another volunteer. 

People start leaving for their placements on Friday!  I don't leave til the 8th, so I have to wait around a little.  I'm getting a little nervous now, but I'm still really excited to get to my placement.  People keep telling me that the kids and women there will love the friendship bracelets!  Also, the women love volleyball so I plan to bring some with me.  I played volleyball with some neighborhood kids and it was really fun.

 I should go so I can get to lunch in time, but I miss you and think about you all the time!

Boo

Letter to the Cottage ;-)

Getting Ready for Bikarej

Hi Mom and Dad! 

 

If you decide to send a care package any time, here's a few things that would be useful:

More friendship string

Mad Libs (for teaching grammar)

Sign language alphabet or dictionary

No rush on these things, they're just some ideas I had!  Eveeryone loves the friendship string so I've been sharing a lot and making people bracelets.

Do you want to call me at 3:00 on Wednesday?  That's 7am Thursday for me, and it will be right after my first day of practicum so I'll be able to tell you about it.  Practicum is basically practice teaching.  We are in groups of 4, and teach 3 hours a day for 3 days.  Our lesson is on patterns.  Basically the way we get students is we go out in the street and offer them candy if they stay for the lesson.  You could never do that in the US, but the Marshallese love it!!! It will be pretty rocky I think, because we could have children of all ages, and it will be hard to adjust to their learning styles, but at least I'll learn a lot! 

Today I have 3 hours of free time in town so I have a lot of shopping to do.  There are tons of things we need to get that we just found out about, like toilet paper, detergent, tupperware, packing tape, etc.  The packing list was not very thorough so people are pretty  frustrated.  I'm lucky because I am one of 4 people who has already opened a bank account here.  It's mandatory, but takes FOREVER!!! There's always a huge line at the bank.  I got it done with a friend really early on, so I can use today to shop.  Everyone else is waiting in line at the bank, and probably will be for the next 3 hours. 

We were talking about extracurriculars last week and I want to try to have a book club after school so kids can make their own books.  I also want to organize basketball tournaments because of the new court.  At the end of the year, when I come home, I'm going to try to make a children's book about the life of a Marshallese child.  They're easy to make online, and I think it would be really cool to send back to Bikarej, and to use in Ghana and my classes when I'm a teacher. 

I just put a letter in the mail addressed to the cottage!  I don't know who will still be there when it gets there, but I thought I would send it there for fun. 

Mom, are you preparing any more for your trip?  Have you been biking a lot?  Dad, I hope work isn't too stressful. 

I hope all's well!  I love you and miss you!

Boo

Our 1st e-mail from Boo

From: "Frances Flynn"
Date: Jul 19, 2012 1:10 AM
Subject: Re: Edies cell
To: "Beth Flynn"

Hi mom! Sorry I don't have long because the bus is picking us up soon.  I'm having such an amazing time here.  I feel so relaxed and I love sitting back and learning things that I'm genuinely interested in.  We had our fifth language lesson today and it was so fun.  I love mashallese!  Oh and the other day I got Peter's autograph!!!!!! (NOTE:  Peter is the Author of the book "Surviving Paradise")  He lives downtown, so we saw him walking by when we were in a language lesson.  Todd and Ken, the field directors, pointed him out and everyone told me to get his autograph because they know I want to get it but was too shy last time.  He was walking away though so Todd just yelled his name and told him to come over because he has a fan that wants his autograph and he signed my book!  I told him about aunt kathys book group and he laughed and said he hopes she likes the book.

I leave for Bikarej around the 8th, which is one of the last days that volunteers will be leaving.  Ken is riding over with me on a boat.  He was the one who wrote the letter about my placement.  He stayed there last summer.  He said I have to wade to the island to go to school, but don't worry because all my host brothers and sisters will want to walk with me and will want to carry my stuff for me.  I can't wait!  And I might get to learn to weave baskets, fans, hats and things but I'm not sure yet.

School is going to be so awesome!  I met a few outer island kids yesterday, and they are so sweet.  They are much quieter than the Majuro kids.  They are very shy, and we were told never to single them out in class because they will be mortified.  Also girls are too shy to work in groups with boys.  Classroom management will be a learning process!!! 

I'll probably eat some wird things too.  Peter said he ate a bunch of fish stomachs one day.  He also said the stuff you squeeze out of a crab is really tasty.  Todd said one day he told his host mom he hated this one dog, and the next day the family served it to him for dinner!!! He showed us a picture of its boiled head.  Todd also said that he was so tired of the food that when his mom sent him craising, he opened the package and started weepeing!!! He's really funny and kind of a drama queen so I'm sure I won't get to that point. 

I miss eveeryone so much!  Sorry I don't have time to message you.  Will you call me on Sharlen's phone on Saturday (which is sunday for me)?  7am my time, 3pm your time?
We have a cookout at the beach on saturday where the snorkling should be awesome.  Miss you!  Don't forget to pack things in tupperware (tind may be better) before you send them and fill out a customs form!  I just bought 100 stamps so I'll write soon! 

Love,

Boo

Boo Makes it to the Marshall Islands

Our 1st Message from the Marshall Islands!

"

Iakwe from Majuro!

Ken and I were happy to greet our new WorldTeach volunteers at the airport today. Everyone has settled into Ajeltake Elementary School, which will be the volunteers' home for the next three and a half weeks. The volunteers were happy and healthy despite the new climate. We are excited to get to know our wonderful new volunteers better and wish to assure you that we will do everything in our power to ensure their well-being.

Volunteers do not have Internet access at the site but may be accessing Internet within the next week.

All the volunteers send their greetings!

--
Todd Mulroy
Field Director, Marshall Islands 

Ken Hagberg

Assistant Field Director, Marshall Islands

WorldTeach
PO Box 627
Majuro, MH 96960
MARSHALL ISLANDS

office: 011-692-625-5971
cell: 011-692-455-6443

WorldTeach Head Office in Cambridge, MA, USA: 1-800-4-TEACH-0

Boo leaves for the Marshall Islands

Boo spent a good part of her summer preparing for her trip - getting necessary paerwork, health check-ups, supplies and information on the Marshall Islands from other volunteers.  She also spent a good amount of time with her cousins and family at the cottage in Madison.  Her cousins and brothers organized a going away bash - with lei's, tiki torches, and good food and company.  Boo's brother Matt was also part of the festivities, as he spends the month of August in Palau doing some Marine Biology work - with fishing, scuba, and music mixed in.  Track his trip on http://mattstriptopalau.blogspot.com/

Boo left Boston on Tuesday, July 10th.  She flew to LA, where she met up with the other World Teach volunteers, where the flew to Honolulu, spending the night there.  The next morning they took Air Marshall Island  - known for having 3 jets, of which they hope to have 1 running at any given time ;-) to Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands.  This started a one month orientation before heading to their outer island assignments.

Bikarej

Arno Atoll

Island of Bikarej



In early July, just a week or so before leaving for the Marshall Islands, Boo found out that she was assigned to teach on the small island called Bikarej.  Bikarej is a small, remote island of some 300 people.  It has no streets, no sewers, no cellular phones, no electricity and no running water.  Boo was thrilled, as she heard about her host family.  And being on a remote island was what she wanted to experience

Bikarej is part of the Arno Atoll.  The Arno Atoll consists of 133 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only 5 square miles. Unlike most other atolls, Arno encloses three different lagoons, a large central one, and two smaller ones in the north and east. Its main lagoon encloses an area of 130.77 square miles. At a distance of only 12 mi, it is the closest atoll to the Marshall Islands capital, Majuro Atoll, and can be seen looking east from Majuro on a clear day. It is located approximately 29 mi east of Ujae Atoll.

Why the Marshall Islands

Having fallen in love with teaching young students while at Wooster, Boo also had several international service opportunities.  In addition to spending a semester abroad in Paris, Boo did some volunteer service projects.  One was in a small community outside of Tijuana, and the other were 2 trips to Ghana. 

In Mexico, she worked helping build or fix dwellings for a family, and in Ghana, as part of the Akaa project, Boo worked with many of the kids.  The Akaa Project ( http://theakaaproject.org/site/ )is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization that works with the rural community of Akaa in the Eastern Region of Ghana on education, healthcare and finance.

These experiences seemed to be life-changing for Boo, and when she approached graduation, she found out about World Teach.  After talking to a previous volunteer on the Marshall Islands during the interview, Boo determined this was the best place to challenge her and develop her teaching skills.  Having already taught in many situations during her excellent education experience at Wooster, and having seen 1st hand the rural situations of other parts of the world, Boo felt the challenges of working on the remote outer Islands of the Marshall Islands would be a great experience - developing her skills in a way not many people get to experience - and to experience the adventures and trials very few of us will ever under take.

A Little About the Marshall Islands

The Marshall Islands are located in the Pacific Ocean - the region known as Micronesia.  The Marshall Islands are a series of  atolls and coral reefs - the entire land mass of the Marshall Islands is about the size of Washington DC - but they are spread over a region of the Pacific Ocean the size of Mexico.

Located 2,000 miles from Hawaii, and 2,500 miles East of the Phillipines, the Marshall Islands are remote.  They are famous for battles in the Pacific during World War II, and are infamous for hosting the Atomic Tests in the 1950s.  The Bikini Islands were used for many of these tests - with the 160 odd inhabitiants of Bikini Island re-located to another Island.  More recently, the Kwajelein Atoll is used by the US for missile tests.

With an average elevation of less than 4 feet above sea level, the Marshall Islands are very much at risk from the effects of Global Warming - with rising sea water jeopardizing it's water, coral reefs, and land mass itself.