that's awesome! wait...where is it?

Before I start logging all of my experiences during and leading up to my stay in Pohnpei, I should perhaps let you know why I have decided to undertake this challenge.  Seeing as how I missed out on the whole ‘study abroad’ train – or cruise ship, in the case of some of my friends – during undergrad, I was anxious to get out of the country and do some real exploring.  Not wanting to pay thousands of dollars for a pre-packaged, vacation-esque month in some country you’ve never heard of, I decided to apply to WorldTeach.  Now, I’ll be spending a year truly volunteering ($0 out of my pocket) with a lot more personal autonomy, actual work to do, but still in a country that you’ve never heard of.  I’ll admit that I also had to look up Pohnpei on a map when I considered applying there, but I quickly grew fond of the idea of going to basically the most remote place I’ll ever have the chance to visit and teaching something I am truly passionate about.  

Although I’ve been getting lots of dumbfounded attaboy’s from different people since I decided to take this route, please know that I do not expect to “change the world,” nor am I trying to.  If anything, I’m being self-centered by forcing my parents to keep all my possessions in limbo in the garage and mail me packages when I run out of girl scout cookies and other such essentials (thanks Mom and Dad!).  I figure that if I’m going to take a year off before heading to med school, I might as well do something worthwhile.  From the perspective of the people I am volunteering FOR, the worthwhile-ness of this endeavor of course depends on my strength as a teacher.  I’m not doing anybody any good if I can’t get the job done!  So, I’ve been substitute teaching for the past couple weeks with the intention of picking up a few tricks of the trade that I will be able to take with me to Micronesia.  This is something I’ll definitely expound upon later, as the majority of these “tricks” I’m learning are also applicable to zookeeping, babysitting, and being an invisible doormat – no one sees you, but everyone manages to walk all over you.  But the good news is that I am learning, and I think that the experience will definitely be reflected positively in my approach to teaching in Pohnpei - which is the goal!

I’ve got about a month left to go before I depart from Los Angeles, have a one-night layover in Honolulu, and then “island-hop” my way to through Micronesia to Pohnpei.  Life. Is. Tough.  Until then, I have a little bit of working planned, a lot of saying goodbyes (or see-ya-laters, for the sake of optimism), and a ton of preparation in store for me.  And yes, preparation entails more than just getting a good base tan!  For now, I’m off to try out some new beers that the kitchen gods (aka my parents) have magically bestowed upon the fridge!