As of the lates, I have been feeling like I am never, ever going to get off this island. I am tired. I am an 80 year old trapped inside a 21 year old body. Dramatic much? Yeah, I guess. They work us hard over here. I had my first dream about going home last night. I even put away a few things in my suitcase. I get butterflies and spurts of excitement when I think about flying away. My naturally bubbly self has been overcome by tiredness. I am usually a positive person that focuses on pretty, happy things. Lately, it takes too much energy that I don't have to do that.
Luckily, I remember that I am tremendously blessed. I am in a beautiful place and I have made lifelong friends. I love my 17 headaches of children. I do. My friend here says I glow when I am with them. I like that because my heart glows too. So even with all the drama of administration and 20 college students that see each other every day, I live in a beautiful place with beautiful people. God has given me challenges and blessings at the same time. God gave me both.
I missed writing you guys in February. Being that Pohnpei doesn't get on the news often, I am guessing you missed hearing that we were in a drought for a week in February. Yep, the second rainiest place on earth was in a drought. Pohnpei relies heavily on the rainfall. We didn't get rain for one week which means no water pressure. No showers, no doing dishes, no flushing the toilet. I was roughin it up by taking bucket showers and letting my pile of dishes just build up. In the States, schools have snow days. In Pohnpei, schools have drought days. School on Valentines Day was cancelled due to the fact that we couldn't flush our toilets. What teacher wants to deal with kids who have to go but cannot? Not this one:)
I went camping on an outer island the other weekend. This island had nothing manmade on it. It was small, filled with palm trees and dropping coconuts. The water was crystal clear. We sang songs around the campfire and slept in the jungle. My friends and I snorkeled to a beachy island that was neighbors with our camp. I always seem to miss seeing the sharks and string rays, but other people saw them. I laid out under the sun, got burnt from the sun, and then laid under it some more. My favorite memory from this camping trip was paddle boarding. Sunday morning I woke up early to watch the sunrise while most everyone else slept in. The ocean was mysteriously calm, so my friend and I took out the boards. We paddled a ways away and laid out on the boards. The sun was still rising, the water was warm and clear, and the main island looked giant and beautiful from my board. It was one of those peaceful moments that you have with just you and the sea. Sometimes I feel far away from American life, but being in the middle of the Pacific Ocean definitely has a good life as well.
3 more months to go on this big, gorgeous island. 3 more months with the kiddos. 3 more months of endless hugs and back rubs from them. 3 more months of spontaneous moments in the classroom. 3 more months of being a teacher, mom, and friend to classroom 16. 3 more months, but a lifetime to cherish them.
Thank you for your love and prayers. It means the world.
Island love.
