Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Holliston Reporter Article Part 3: Why World Teach?
Having fallen in love with teaching young students while at
Wooster, Boo also had several international service opportunities. One
was in a small community outside of Tijuana, and the other were 2 trips to
Ghana – see the picture of Boo with a child from Ghana. 
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.
Teaching in the Marshall Islands proved to be quite a
challenge and eye-opening. Students
in the Marshall Islands are not raised with the same academic discipline as our
students – they are just as likely to jump from their chairs and run out of
class on a whim as to stay at their desks, and small children often wander in
and out during the older kids classes.
While we have snow days, school in Bikarej may be cancelled if it rains
too hard. Boo’s school year
started late – seemingly at the whim of the principal – more likely while he
waited for the teachers to arrive from some other island . While the emphasis
may be different, the children really do enjoy school – in fact, parents often
use the threat of keeping them home from school to try to get them to behave. And the kids are always curious about
the US, and Boo’s family and hometown.
At first this proved frustrating for Boo. But she came to terms with it. She has led her 5th through
8th grade students in publishing a book of writings and drawings of
Animals and Creatures of the Marshall Islands, and has received praise from World
Teach on the things she has done.
Boo’s letters on her blog have many wonderful stories from
her students – questions only kids from a culture different from ours can ask,
stories of animals running in and out of the classroom, and mischievous things
done by the children.
One favorite is of an suspected “academic integrity” issue. During a spelling test, Boo found a boy
with 5 of the spelling words on a piece of paper. Now, while this boy is
energetic in class, he has no idea how to read or write in English. He swore to
Boo that he wasn’t cheating. But
here are the results of his test – guess which words were on the piece of paper
he was caught with:
1.
animals
2.
habitat
3.
ocean
4.
jungle
5.
burrow
6.
xzqat
7.
psry
8.
bgsp
Holliston Reporter Article Part 2 : Why Bikarej
Boo requested an assignment on one of the outer
Islands – and Bikarej was where she went. The
World Teach web site describes outer islands as ”Pristine and
remote, these placements are in small communities living on atolls that have
remained largely untouched by modernity. Life here is beautiful and very
difficult. Internet and telephones are largely the stuff of dreams.
Necessities as basic as water can be hard to come by. Food consists of fish
from the lagoon and fruit that can be grown on the island. Volunteers live with
a host family who provides a doorway into the complex and all consuming social structures that allow these communities to function. Classes are smaller and
usually not as advanced. School supplies are limited at best. The outer islands
are, by all accounts, a true adventure.”
While the lack of modern technology is striking, Boo underwent many other adjustments to this different culture. Bikarej, on Arno Atoll, is small, with only about 125 people – all natives - living on it. Of these, 80 are her students. Only a few of the islanders speak any English, none fluently.
The Marshallese love their celebrations and parties, card
playing, singing and dancing. One
of the biggest parties held this year was for Boo’s birthday, all the kids made
gifts for her, the women made handcrafts – amimonos. These beautiful hand-woven baskets, coasters, wall hangings,
necklaces, etc are made from palm fronds and shells. Birthday songs and dances were performed.
Boo has learned to eat anything and everything without
hesitation, because she’s afraid if she does she won’t be able to eat it. She eats lots of fish and rice – the
Marshallese eat just about everything but the bones. Delicacies are when a pig or chicken is slaughtered for a
special event, or when someone comes from Majuro bringing western food. When Boo’s Mom visited they bought 3
cases of chicken and 2 cases of hot dogs – picture them carrying that on the
small boat slamming through the waves on it’s way to Bikarej. Food can get low as the Island waits to
be resupplied – on the outer islands one never knows when the next boat will
arrive.
Boo shares her quarters
with lizards, land crabs, unknown insect species or other creatures, while avoiding
lizard poop and other inconveniences. While the Marshallese do not have the
same love for animals that we do, they have bestowed many animal gifts to
Boo. These include baby pig
named Garlic Powder, her own Rooster (short-lived as he became a delicious
meal), two puppies named Mogli, neither of whom survived the – shall we say –
differences of Marshallese culture towards pets, and her very own sea
turtle. 
Holliston Reporter Article - Part 1. Holliston Native ventures to the Marshall Islands
In today’s world of smart phones, iPods, iPads, 4G, twitter,
facebook, the “cloud”, and on-and-on, could you imagine living in a world
without them? How about no
electricity, telephones, television, or other basic comforts of life? Well, Boo Flynn, a lifetime Holliston
Resident and 2008
After graduating last year from The College of Wooster with
a major in French (thanks Holliston French Immersion) with a concentration in
Education, Boo volunteered to teach on Bikarej, a small, remote Island that is
part of the Arno Atoll that is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands
(RMI). The program, run by World Teach, sends volunteers to help teach English
to the Marshallese, as the RMI Government tries to adopt English as it’s
official language.
A collection of hundreds of small islands and islets with a
total land area about the size of Washington DC yet spread across a physical
area the size of Mexico, the Marshall Islands are located approximately 2,500
miles west of Hawaii in the Micronesia area of the Pacific. Strategically located, the Marshall Islands
were occupied by the Japanese during World War II and saw many battles during
the war in the Pacific. The Kwajalein
Atoll, home of the US Army Reagan Ballistic Missile Test Facility, and the
Bikini Islands, site of post World War II Atomic Weapon Tests, are two of the
more known Islands.
Leaving Massachusetts last July, Boo arrived in Majuro – the
capital of the RMI – for a month of training and orientation with the other volunteers
before sailing to her official home of Bikarej in Early August. It is Bikarej where Boo is the only
“Ribelle” – literal translation meaning “person who wears clothes” but now
meant as a non-native. Her home
for the next year is a garden shed-sized tin hut, on an island with no
electricity, no running water, no direct ties to other communities, but yet a
most delightful location in an exotic setting.
The only means of communication for Boo is via mail – the
lost art of written letters. Often
taking weeks to arrive, as mail is sent from the Island only when a visiting
boat from Majuro arrives to transport any mail back. Boo’s parents have created a blog – http://BooSurvivingParadise.blogspot.com
- that contains her letters home.
Open for all to read, it is a wonderful diary of her experiences. “Surviving Paradise: My Year on a
Disappearing Island” is the name of a wonderful book written by Peter
Rudiak-Gould
And to demonstrate that even the smallest, most remote islands
of the world are closer than it may seem, there is a great section on the
connection with a Bikarej native now living in Maine who contacted Boo’s
parents after stumbling upon the Blog.
He has been wonderful in explaining situations to Boo’s parents and
writing his relatives still in the RMI to connect with Boo.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Sunday, March 3, 2013
She made it!
I just received this e-mail from World Teach letting me know Beth met up with Boo in Majuro, and made it to Boo's Island of Bikarej!
I know how excited Beth was to see her Boo!
Hello,
I just wanted to let you know that Beth has arrived safely in Majuro. Boo came into Majuro and we all met her at the airport. They left for Bikarej, Arno and are doing well. I will be talking to them over the radio on Monday and Wednesday and will update you if anything changes. Talk to you soon.
Thanks,I just wanted to let you know that Beth has arrived safely in Majuro. Boo came into Majuro and we all met her at the airport. They left for Bikarej, Arno and are doing well. I will be talking to them over the radio on Monday and Wednesday and will update you if anything changes. Talk to you soon.
WorldTeach
Assistant Field Director
Republic of the Marshall Islands
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Beth made it to Majuro - I think ;-)
After long hours of delays (and uncertainties of whether a plane would actually make it from Honolulu to Majuro), I think Beth is there!
Instead of the original 5:30 AM flight, due to equipment delays, Beth finally left on her last leg to Majuro at 8:00 PMish. I checked the airline website, and the flight did arrive in Majuro - 11 hours late at 7:30 PM Saturday (which was 2:30 AM in Boston) - a total of 43 hours gate to gate if my math is correct. Being a glass half full guy, the way I look at it, we are getting a better deal on the airfare - the average $ per travel time has gone WAY down . . . .
I'm guessing that Boo met Beth in Majuro, and hopefully they'll catch a boat Sunday to Bikarej!
Instead of the original 5:30 AM flight, due to equipment delays, Beth finally left on her last leg to Majuro at 8:00 PMish. I checked the airline website, and the flight did arrive in Majuro - 11 hours late at 7:30 PM Saturday (which was 2:30 AM in Boston) - a total of 43 hours gate to gate if my math is correct. Being a glass half full guy, the way I look at it, we are getting a better deal on the airfare - the average $ per travel time has gone WAY down . . . .
I'm guessing that Boo met Beth in Majuro, and hopefully they'll catch a boat Sunday to Bikarej!
Beth's Trip Begins - Halfway to Bikarej
After a 2 week postponement, Beth started her journey to visit Boo Thursday morning.
Ted and I dropped her off at Logan for her 7:30 AM flight - original itinerary had her flying Boston to Chicago, then Chicago to Honolulu - 14 hours. Then a 14 hour layover, and a 5 hour jaunt to the Marshall Islands.
The layover would allow her to sleep in a hotel, vs. hanging at the airport (only - at most - one flight a day to Majuro)
An auspicious start however - flight from Boston late and she missed her connection. Finally made it to Honolulu - but 7 hours later . . . . 21 hours total.
From: bflynn6733
Subject:
Half way to Bikarej!
Date: February 28, 2013 4:54:12 PM EST
To: Doug&Kathy, Tom&Anu,
Pete&Karen, Todd&Wendy, Mom&Dad, Jim
Hi everybody
I'm on an excessively long and
unplanned layover in San Francisco ... was hoping to be half way to Honolulu by
now... but by Saturday I should be on a boat to Bikarej with Booey! I heard
word that she is going to try and get over to the main island with the official
councilman’s boat to meet me. I'll have some entertaining pictures I'm sure
after a week of island life. I hope to be as brave as Booey is when it comes to
food ;) I will report on how she's doing, which I'm sure is as well as it
seems in her letters... meantime I hope all's well in Michigan and
Massachusetts and New York and Connecticut and North Carolina!
Beth
Sent
from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Smartphone
From: JAMES
FLYNN
Sent:
Thursday, February 28, 2013 8:45 PM
To:
bflynn6733
Subject: Re:
Half way to Bikarej!
Don't buy Beth's contention that she
will be brave with her food - the real brave one is Ted who will have to eat
what I make while she's away . . .
Sent
from my iPhone
Jan 26 - Letter to Natalie & David
Natalie & David, daughter and son of Chris and Allison (Beth's long-time friend from Madison), have been great friends for Boo. They sent her a letter and package. Below are the notes Boo sent back to them, along with some thank-you notes from some of the Bikarej kids!
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