Solar eclipse and lunatic foreigners (ribelles)

Wed. was a rare solar eclipse, with people across the world flocking to the best viewing spots. Turns out the Marshall Islands is a pretty good destination. The day of the eclipse coincided with our first trip into town. The astronomers of our group found a welder's mask in a hardware store, a suitable prop for viewing the total eclipse of the sun.

Picture this: a school bus full of ribelles, each sequentially hanging out the window wearing a welder's mask, peering at the sun. Amusing when those white faces are hanging out on the right (the lagoon side), but nearly disastrous when they're hanging out on the ocean side. The masked foreigner peering up doesn't notice that a car is coming the other way on the one-lane road, leaving scarcely enough clearance even without a masked ribelle head out the window. Luckily the other driver does notice. The laughs of the idiot ribelles ripple through the bus all the way home.

Days are filled with classes about teaching, kajin majel (Marshallese) lessons, swimming in the lagoon, exotic food (octupus isn't my favorite, but pumpkin/coconut rice -- delicious!), deep sleep, and sweating!!! Very few of my fears are being realized, and lots of the gorgeousness of this place is seeping into my soul.

Safe, sound and sweating

I'm here! All 39 of us WorldTeach volunteers arrived, with all our luggage intact (most with our lunch intact too). Our month-long orientation is in a village on the capital atoll Majuro, before we fan out to our various assignments.

The country is indeed the beautiful island in the photos, where a single-lane road traverses the length of the island (70 miles, maybe?), but you can walk the width from ocean to lagoon in, oh, 5 minutes. Orientation is in Ajeltake village, where we're sleeping on mats in classrooms, taking bucket showers, and taking over the elementary school kitchen to cook our meals. The sea breeze from ocean to lagoon helps make the humid heat less oppressive -- I can actually breathe here. One of the volunteers said of this morning's rain: "It's not raining; it's the Gods sweating."

We're in town now (Day 2 of orientation), hitting the internet cafe, opening bank accounts in the Bank of Marshall Islands, shopping, registering in the healthcare system, etc. Not sure when I'll be able to check in again, but so far so good!

Thanks to you all for your emails of support -- I so appreciate it!

Until next time -
-Marci

Ready to go -- No keys in my pocket

I have no keys in my pocket. Not one.

I have always had keys in my pocket: my childhood bike lock key and house key when I was in old enough to be trusted, a dorm room key and a gym basket key in college, followed by the car keys, house keys, and safe deposit box keys of adulthood. Today I have no keys in my pocket.

Each chapter of this preparation phase has been marked by letting go of one key after another.

I left my office key in the drawer and locked the door behind me late at night after I finally finished the handoff document to my faceless replacement (they're hiring sometime soon, I hear).

I left the key to "the marital home" on his brand new kitchen table, after removing the last remnants of my half of our twenty years together.

I slipped my condo key through the mailslot at the realtors, for the renters to settle in next month before grad school starts in the fall.

I put my car key on my mom's keyring. There's space in her Texas carport for two cars. She'll keep it in the shade for me, taking it out for a run into town from time to time.

I've placed each key where it belongs now. It's just me and my suitcases. My pockets are empty.

you're going where?

OK. Pick a spot about halfway between Hawaii and Australia in the Pacific (about 8 degrees north of the equator). Take a solid piece of coral about the size of Washington DC (70 sq. miles). Break it up into 1225 islands (34 are inhabited) and sprinkle it over 1 ½ times the size of Texas (375,000 sq. miles of ocean). Add a year-round tropical marine climate that ranges from about 75-92 F with a sweltering 84% humidity year round. That's the Marshall Islands.

I'm taking a year-long leave of absence from Brandeis and volunteering as a teacher of English through WorldTeach. I've been assigned to Gugegwe on Kwajalein Atoll (click on the link to see the map).

Gugegwe is pronounced "goo-jee-goo," with hard "g"s like "Greg" on both ends and a soft "g" like "George" in the middle. It's 5 miles away from Ebeye (one of the most densely populated place on the planet, where most of my students live). I'll be teaching high school English, living in faculty housing on the high school campus. I'm told I have intermittent electricity, and a rain barrel out back, so I should have water. No way to tell how often I'll be able to email or blog, but snail mail works. My address in RMI will be:
c/o Kwajalein Atoll High School
P.O. Box 5129
Ebeye, MH 96970
Republic of the Marshall Islands

It's the US mail system, so it goes at US rates!

I read today in the blog of a friend (Alison Courchesne) that the neighboring island "Ebeye was originally called Ebje, which is Marshallese for “your canoe will tip over trying to get there,” but due to a spelling error reminiscent of Ellis Island, it was mistakenly named Ebeye on an American map and the error became permanent."

I hope to be in touch during the year. . . Off I go! Wheels up on Sunday morning, July 19, 2009.