Half A World Away

On My Way Home

2010-12-19T00:49:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays everyone! I sincerely apologize for the large gaps of time between my blog entries. I am currently in Hawaii taking a short vacation before I head back to the States where it is a lot colder. I will arrive in Baltimore on December 22nd at 4:44 p.m., just in case you want to meet me at the airport. I left Chuuk on December 11, stayed in Guam for 2 nights and have been in Hawaii since the 13th. I'm staying with some host family members of my fellow Volunteer friend John. We've attempted to do a lot of touristy things, but have spent most of our time riding Honolulu's public transportation system called The Bus, which is supposed to be the best in the country. However, we have done a lot of hiking , hung out on Waikiki beach and gone to a picnic, among other things.

So I know a lot of you are wondering about my water catchment project. Before I left Chuuk, I bought all of the materials and transported them to my island on a ship. Community members have prepared the site for the water tank, placed the reinforcements. and have poured the cement for the foundation. There was quite a bit of money left over. I have given that money to the new Volunteer at my site named Johnny. He has taken over my responsibilities for the project. He will oversee the construction and make sure all the materials will be used for our project. Johnny will use the leftover money to buy additional materials, such as PVC pipe, if needed. Before I left, I gave community a speech to motivate them to work on the project. I know they want a water tank, but it seems like the community leaders are doing all of the work and the youth are not helping as much as they should be. I only saw them unload materials from the ship and bring some cement blocks to the construction site. One of the goals of this project is sharing of skills between the men and the youth. By working with the men, the youth will learn valuable transferable skills they can use later in their lives in order to earn some money or build their own water tank or house. I hope the youth will get more involved when that actual tank construction happens. I told Johnny to take pictures during each phase of construction. I will do my best to post those pictures so you all can see what has been done with your generous donations. Without your help and support, I could not have not bought all the materials and witness the beginning of construction. I wish more work was done on the catchment before I left, but things move slow here on the islands. I want you all to know that the project is in good hands and it will be completed, hopefully within the next couple of months. Any leftover funds will be donated to other Peace Corps Volunteer projects around the world.

Now that my Peace Corps service has come to a close, I have to start thinking about my future. I really don't know what I'm going to do. I haven't really been able to do any job searching in Chuuk due to the rare occurrence of power at our office. I will figure everything out when I get back home. I do want to apply for some government jobs, maybe even to a job at Peace Corps Headquarters if one appeals to me. I'll probably apply to a few teaching jobs as well since, after all, I've been teaching for the past 2 years. I'm a pretty open minded guy so I'll keep my options open. If you have any suggestions as to how to go about my job search or if you know of any job opportunities in areas I have mentioned above, please let me know. I would love to hear from you.

I would love to see all of you when I get back home. If you want to meet up sometime, send me an email at bbgruver@gmail.com. I don't have a cell phone or car but I plan to get those things in the near future. Bye for now.

Fundraising for Water Project

2010-07-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July everyone! I'll be missing the fireworks and good food here and light a firework and eat a burger for me. I hope you all enjoy it.

I know it's been a while for my last post and for that I apologize. In my last entry I briefly mentioned about a water project. Since then, it's been posted on Peace Corps website (www.peacecorps.gov/contribute) and folks in the U.S. has raised over half of the amount I requested.

For those of you who don't know, I am raising money for a water tank that will serve 75 plus people in my community. This number included 6 families who go to other peoples' houses to take a shower and wash their clothes because they don't have water tanks or running water of their own. The water catchment system I am raising money for will provide running water to these folks. PVC pipes will allow water to flow from the water tank to each family's home. They will no long have to leave their home to do daily tasks such as washing clothes. This project will benefit the out-of-school youth in my community by allowing them to help build the tank and learn valuable skills from more experienced workers. Hopefully this project will help them find paid work in the future.

Thank you to those of you who already donated to my project. It is amazing individuals have donated more than $4,000 a month and a half. Your contribution will make a difference in my host community long after I'm gone. Community members will remember you all for your kindness and generosity. You all are allowing me to do this project through your financial gifts. I am just facilitating it. Please keep on spreading the word to other people. I have 4 and a half more months left of Peace Corps service so I would like to raise the rest of the money as soon as possible. With your help, I know this will be possible.

If you have not donated yet but would like to, please visit Peace Corps website at www.peacecorps.gov/contribute and type my last name (Gruver) in the space provided on the main page and click search. That will bring you to my project, "Improved Community Access to Water." Click on the title so you can read the project summary and to contribute. I would suggest that you all donate online since that will be the quickest way to raise the money. However, if you feel uncomfortable with that, you can donate by mail. Please fill out this form and mail it to the Peace Corps office. Thank you in advance for your tax deductible donation. My community and I really appreciate it. Please email me at bbgruver@gmail.com to inform me that you donated.

I also want to thank those of you who donated books to my school. This summer my principal and I have been busy finishing building the book cabinets before the school year starts. Other than that I have been working on my garden. I am growing cucumbers and eggplant. I recently made a ceiling out of sticks for the cucumbers they can lay on. I am also planning on doing a map project which involves painting a map in each classroom at the school where I teach. I want to paint maps of Chuuk, FSM and the pacific since those are areas they students learn about.

Early tomorrow morning I am going to the island nation of Palau for a COS (Close of Service) conference which is a graduation of sorts for me and the other PCVs who arrived in Micronesia in 2008. Our group is going back to the States in November. On my way back from Palau I will stop by Yap State in FSM for a couple days. I will return to Chuuk July 16.

I'll sign off for now until I get back from Palau. I hope you all are doing well. Take care.

Birthday diving and project planning

2009-12-30T02:44:00.000-08:00

Today is my birthday. I am now 26 years-old. I can't believe I was 24 when I started my Peace Corps tour. For my birthday, I went diving at Blue Lagoon Resort on Chuuk's capital island. They wouldn't let me dive in the morning because the dive was 150 feet and I'm a beginning diver (I only dove once in St. Thomas since I received my dive certification). I had to wait until 1 p.m. to dive but it was worth it. I went diving with 2 couples who had much more diving experience than I. One of the couples were from Australia and had just arrived in Chuuk from Yap (one of FSM's four states). For those of you who don't know, Chuuk lagoon is known for having the best shipwreck diving in the world because of the many WWII ships that are scattered on the bottom of the sea. My first dive was at the sight of a 500 foot ship. It was quite a site. The surface of the ship was covered with colorful coral and was a home for many ship and other marine life. I mainly followed my dive guide the whole time. I dove in part of the ship but I swam along the outside for the most part. On the side of the ship I saw it's name in English and Japanese which I forgot. Some neat artifacts I saw were some china plates and cups and what appeared to be an old wine or whiskey bottle. My dive guide picked up an object and then put it up to his hear so I knew it was a phone. I dove 80 feet that dive and I blew my nose very hard when I got fairly deep instead of blowing it every 3 feet. Because of that my nose bled a lot. However, that didn't stop me from doing our next dive. Between our first and second dives, we scuba dived above a submarine called Suzuki. Our second dive was only 60 feet at the sight of a sunken plan called Betty Bomber. I was the cockpit and got to swim in and out one of the windows. As I was observing the propeller 20 feet away, the dive guide pointed out 4 dolphins that swam above us. It was amazing. I had seen wild dolphins before but never while I was swimming or diving. It was a first for the other divers and guide as well. That sight will be with me for a long time. I went up a little bit earlier than the others because my guide saw blood in my mask from my nose. I was just glad that I got to see those dolphins. Too bad I didn't have an underwater camera with me. That would have been a great shot.

On to my projects now. I have a plan to write a grant proposal for a water tank next to the Catholic church that is being built in my village. The idea was given to me by the supervisor of the school where I teach. He said not only would it serve the church goers every Sunday, but it could also serve 5 families and visitors to Fefen who don't have access to water buy connecting plastic water pipes from the tank to the dock. I am working with a man who was a former city planner who agreed to sketch the tank design for me. I want to meet with him before I return to school to try to figure out the budget other information needed for the proposal. I hope to get funding through Peace Corps Partnership Program which pairs up American donors with my host country community. My community needs to donate at least 25% of the total project cost but the rest can come from friends, family and individuals and organizations in the private sector. I would like to know how many of you would be willing to donate money to this important project. My if accepted by Peace Corps, it would be published on Peace Corp's website and will allow donors to donate online by submitting online checks. If you think this is a worthy cause and you would like to help me and my community to help make our water tank project a reality, please email me at bbgruver@gmail.com. Please tell anyone you can about this project and the fact that my community is 100% behind it and all donations and tax deductible. Donors can be assured that every cent of their donation will go towards my project. I have to start writing the proposal now so my community can start building the tank at the beginning of the summer.

Well, I think I will do it for me. I appreciate the birthday wishes from some of you and your love and support as I go into my second and final year of service. I know I wouldn't have made it this far if it wasn't for all of your thoughts, prayers, love and encouragement. I have been thankful that I haven't had any serious illnesses or injurious, except for a swollen ankle that I have right now that I got from running. Happy New Year and I hope to see some of you when I come hope for a vacation in August 2010.

Happy Holidays from Chuuk

2009-12-29T03:33:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and that it's not too cold where you are, especially on the East Coast. I know it's been a while since I've updated this blog so that's why I'm doing it now.

My Christmas here was very special, mainly because I got to spend it with my real mom who decided to spend the holidays with me here in Chuuk. When she arrived on Christmas Eve, we went straight to my island. We went to Catholic mass on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Her favorite part was the children singing Christmas carols in Chuukese. We spent the rest of Christmas day with my host family. My baby sister got real hot during church so my host mom had to go back home early. My mom, being the health professional that she is, was concerned and advised my host mom to take her temperature which was 39.1 C. She massaged the infant's body with coconut oil which cooled her skin. My host mom gave her infant daughter some coconut water to drink and nursed her until she was rehydrated. She was back to normal the next morning.

That wasn't the only thing my mom did to make a difference. She happened to bring many different reading glasses of various strengths. Everyone on my island thought my host grandmother was blind because she's not able to read but she can still see well enough to get around. Anyways, my mom had her try on all the glasses she brought. She tried on one pair (size 2) that she was able to read small print with. The next thing I knew, she was reading the Bible out loud in Chuukese. Wow! All she needed were a pair of reading glasses. What a remarkable discovery. So that solved that problem.

It has been a little over a year since I arrived in Chuuk and a lot has happened. I feel that I have changed for the better. I learned that I have resilience, having bounced back from some tough situations. I have surprised myself by the high level of competency I have in speaking the Chuukese language. I feel that I am fluent and am able to have a decent conversation with just about anyone. I am being able to predict how people will react to certain things I do and say that us Americans easily take for granted. In other words before I didn't know enough of the language and culture in order to predict peoples' reactions to my actions and words. I also learned how well I can adapt to different situations easily and quickly. This journey has not been easy but I am glad that I took it on because I am growing and learning so much about the world around me and about life in general than I ever could in the States. I am so thankful that my mom came here to witness my life here since it will be easier for me to share my experience with her when I return back to the States.

Since I've been here, I've always thought teaching has been one of my biggest challenges. For one, I don't have a required counterpart since my principal from last year went back to school to finish her bachelor's degree. My counterpart from last year is the acting principal this year and has no time to really assist me in the classroom since he is either teaching himself or attending principal workshops/meetings. I find it difficult to stick with the curriculum because I either don't know how to teach the material effectively or because the standards are over the heads of my students. I try to teach them things I think they should know and then move up from there. Discipline is still a struggle and it's hard for me to be consistent, maybe because I sometimes don't follow through on the consequences of my students' behavior. Another thing I need to work on is speaking more English and less Chuukese in my classes. My principal tells me to only speak English but I think it is pretty impossible, especially with my 5th grade. I mix English and Chuukese. I want to find and make more activities that get them excited to speak English in class. If anyone has any suggestions, please email me or comment on the blog.

Well I have to go now because the woman at the front desk of the hotel I'm staying at is leaving. Tomorrow is my birthday and I plan on going diving, I will write another update tomorrow.

Mortlocks Trip

2009-08-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

So yesterday (Friday Aug. 7) I arrived Weno with 3 other PCVs after a 2 week long trip to Chuuk's Mortlock islands. We took a ship there and back, a different one each time. Being on the ship was quite an experience. It took us 27 hours to get back to Weno. The ship we were on was jammed packed with people. We stayed on the deck at the front of the boat. We were covered by a tarp and mostly women and children slept there on hand woven mats everyone sleeps on here (I tried to buy one in the Mortlocks but it was too expensive). We slept on the spit for 3 days because we arrived 2 days before it left (thought it was going to leave sooner than it did). I didn't sleep very well since I had to change positions every few seconds to dodge body parts on the hard wooden floor of the ship's deck. I spent the time on the ship reading Hiroshima and A Wrinkle in Time and played hearts with a deck of cards a fellow PCV made from notebook paper.

My trip to the Mortlocks was so fun. It probably was the cheapest vacation I've been to. I left Weno for the Mortlocks on Wednesday July 22 with 2 fellow lagoon PCVs and our boss. We arrived there on Thursday July 23. Our main purpose was to visit prospective sites for the incoming PCVs but we also visited our friend who served as a volunteer on Satowan, a Mortlock island. We came just in time because he was preparing to leave that site and transfer to another one on the island of Moch, another Mortlock island. We did three site visits while we were there. We visited prospective host families and counterparts from the schools. One prospective host family made of feast for us, including mangrove crabs and lobster (the food in the Mortlocks was probably the healthiest I've eaten since I've been in the FSM because it's practically all local). We saw all of the current PCVs sites in the Morlocks and stayed with 3 of their families.

Most of the trip we stayed on Satowan with our friend who served there. We slept in his own local house made out of mangrove wood and leaves patched together to form a roof. The people who took care of us were our age and were great. They hung out with us and served us food every meal. The food was great. We eat fish at every meal with plenty of breadfruit, banana, rice and taro. Every morning they made us pancakes from scratch for breakfast. They always had hot water for us so we could make our own instant coffee anytime we wanted. In our free time we played card games such as hearts, monkey and spades. We went swimming and took walks around Satowan. One day we walked to Ta island on the reef from Satowan. It took us 3 hours to get there. We stayed our fellow PCV's house. On our way there, we were invited to attend a post wedding ceremony. The bride was one of Alex's (PCV on Satowan) high school students. We drank coffee and eat a ton of delicious food. We also played duck duck goose with some of the kids there. It was neat playing with them with their parents watching. Everyone enjoyed themselves including me.

I got back to Fefen on Saturday August 8. It was good to see my family and friends in my community again. I checked out my garden and it looks like all of my plants are still alive, especially my green beans. I can't wait to eat them. Tomorrow I have to report back to school. School starts in September and I can't wait. I learned a lot about teaching last school year and I am ready to try some new activities and teaching methods with my students. I found out that my principal went to Pohnpei to finish her degree while I was gone so my counterpart will be the acting principal while she is gone. All of my projects are on hold at the moment. I am working to develop a training program for the drop out students in my community with the help of my uncle who is the vocational education specialist for the Chuuk Department of Education. I would like to start an adult English class soon but first I have to make a sign up sheet for it.

I think that's it for now. Take care all and keep in touch.

Graduation, summer plans, ect.

2009-07-06T22:32:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,
I'm so sorry I haven't updated my blog since January but I'll try to update you as much as I can as to what has happened since my last update. I've been on Weno since July 3 for a meeting I attended yesterday. It was a meeting to discuss issues PCVs have with PC policy amongst other things. One representative in the M74 and M75 groups (my group) from each of FSM's 4 states and Palau came to Weno for the meeting. I represented the Chuuk M75s at the meeting and I brought up every issue me and my fellow M75s in Chuuk wanted me to bring up. I just hope most of our concerns get recognized by the PC Micro staff and they make the changes we requested. I was glad to see the M75s from the other islands in the FSM and Palau.
My school's graduation was on June 26. My PCV friend John came and our PC Program Assistant Imauo came was well. I was very proud of my students, especially the ones who delivered speeches including the one I wrote. I did a little activity called B1 that the students learned from a movie. It involves clapping and chanting. Both the audience and the students loved it.
This summer I will teach a summer school class to the 7th graders starting tomorrow (I haven't made the lesson plans yet). They will be learning math and English only since those are the subjects they struggle the most in. I'll be working with another teacher during the English class and will do fun reading, writing and speaking activities, hopefully outside if I can. The class runs only two weeks and I've missed 2 days so far, since I've been on Weno. I'm leaving soon to go back to Fefan, my island, so I can prepare for tomorrow. Other summer plans I have involve possibly teaching an English class to adluts and drop out students and asssiting my 7th graders with building book cabinets for all the books I've gotten from some of you (thanks so much). I also would like to go scuba diving in the Chuuk Lagoon and make a trip out to the Mortlocks (outer islands) with another lagoon PCV to visit Alex, who serves on the island of Satawan.
I am doing well and staying healthy. I feel like I am integrating more and more into my community with each passing day. I enjoy walking around my community and talking to people. They like to joke around with me but also have serious conversations with me as well. I feel that people in my community are comfortable with me and I am comfortable with them.
Sorry to cut this short but I've got to make my way to the dock to meet my "uncle" so I can go back with him to Fefen. I promise to write another post real soon since I've be comming into Weno more often now that it's summer.

Take care,
Ben

Life in the Lagoon

2009-01-16T20:12:00.000-08:00

Hello Eveyone. I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to update this blog until now. My island doesn't have electricity and I haven't had many oppotunities to come to Weno. Thanks to those of you who have written me. I am always happy anytime I hear from family and friends.
I have been on Fefen, my assigned island, for a little over two months now and a lot has happened. I am teaching 5th through 8th grade English at UFO Elementary School. UFO stands for the three villages that make up the community I live in (Ununo, Foggen and Onogoch). I live and work in Ununo. Fefen is the 4th largest island in Chuuk and is located in the Chuuk Lagoon (which is composed of several islands inside a huge reef). Outside of the lagoon are the outer islands. Fefen is a little bit more primitive than Weno, the capital. Fefan doesn't have any cars, restaurants, hotels or anything you would find in a city. I has one road and people walk everywhere they go. Fefen is an agriculture island so most people grow their own food (such as breadfruit, taro (a local root vegetable), pinapple, cucumber, banana, coconut and more. My host father is a fisherman and a farmer. Neither he or my host mother earns money so I buy everything that me and my family needs.
The women here wear local skirts and t-shirts and dresses to work and to church. Men wear shorts and t-shirts at home and pants and a short sleeve colared shirt to work. Their are several customs here. My favorite custom is sharing. People share everything here. Everywhere I walk, people invite me into their homes to eat with them and drink coffee. Usually we don't see that in the States. Everyone in UFO is Catholic and attends the catholic church in UFO every Sunday.
So far, I can say that I've been bitten by a dog (dogs are not pets here), eaten dog, gone spear fishing and line fishing, climbed a coconut tree, danced the cha-cha on New Years Eve and eaten turtle and turkey tail.
I'll try to give you all an idea about what I do on a typical day. At 6 a.m. I wake up and take a bucket shower. I eat breakfast (usually rice) at 7:00 a.m. and go to school between 7:30 and 8 a.m. School starts at 8:15 a.m. with my 5th grade homeroom class. I teach until 12:15 p.m., eat lunch and co-teach a special class to the 8th graders at 1 p.m. After that, I write my lesson plans for the next day and grade papers. After work, I like to take a walk through the village and play with the kids on the road. Around 5 p.m. I like to walk to the dock to watch the sunset. I am involved with the youth here and I attend their meetings every Sunday. I've helped them raise money for their activities and have provided them with advice. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I have Chuukese tutoring at 4 p.m. with a man who teaches English and math at the local high school. He's tutored PCVs before and he's been very helpful.
My house is great. It's concrete and is on a hill overlooking the road and school. I have two rooms (one to sleep in and one to store my stuff in). In my free time, I read, practice my Chuukese, go swimming, fishing, playing with the kids and taking pictures (by the way, I sent my real dad my disks from the digital camera so I hope he will send those to you soon).
Well, I have to go meet my host dad at the market so we can go back to Fefen. I hope this entry has give you more of idea about my life here. Despite the many challenges, I am glad that I am here and serving in the Peace Corps. I know I will learn and grow more than I can imagine during the two years I am here. Take care everyone and let me know how the presidential inaguration went.

Officially a PCV

2008-11-13T17:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was worn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer along with my fellow trainees. The Governor of Chuuk was supposed to come, but he sent someone from his administration instead. I gave a speech in Chuukese, but I was originally supposed to give it in English. Despite the many mispronunciations, I pulled it off. The PC training officer sworn us in (all gov't. workers are required to say an oath). I got to meet my new principal and host father. They both seem like friendly people. I decided to stay in Weno for one for day so I could buy some things and pack. Last night my and the other newly appointed PCVs and old PCVs celebrated in the presidential suite of the hotel which served as our training site. It was a lot of fun. The principal is coming to Weno today to take me to Fefan. I am very excited and nervous about going. I'm hoping I know enough Chuukese to communicate with my host family and community members. The next couple years will be quite an experience. I won't have Internet access on my island but since I'm close to Weno I can come in for a day to use the computer at the PC office. I am required to be at my site for the first 3 months so don't bother checking this blog for awhile. Please write me letters at my Weno address:
Ben Gruver, PCT
PO Box 39
Weno, Chuuk FM
96942
That's it for now. I hope everyone is well.

PST II in Chuuk

2008-10-12T23:31:00.001-07:00

Ron Anim!
I am in Chuuk and have just finished the first day of my second week of Pre-Service Training II. PST II has been good. We've been having intense Chuukese language and cultural training. I'm learning the language with a fellow trainee who's going to be serving in the lagoon with me but on a different island. The other trainee in our group is learning Mortlockeese since he'll be in the Mortlocks on an outer island. My host family here in Weno has been great. My host father is a police chief and my host mother also works for the police department so I fell very protected. I have a 10 year-old brother, a 15 year-old sister and an 18-year-old brother who is attending the College of Micronesia in Paliker, Pohnpei's capital. They've been feeding me very well. My host mother wants to get fat to which I told her is impossible. I got to try turtle this weekend. It was served in a plastic tub and every part was still in tacked. The meat was stringy and very tough, very similar to dog meat from what I hear, but it tasted like steak. I've been eating rice everyday and ramen noodles for breakfast every morning. Also this weekend, I made a map for my village for an assignment. My cousin drove me around our community and pointed out stores and important buildings that I took note of. Yesterday, he helped me draw it on a piece of flipchart paper and labeled all the buildings. On Saturday, I got my first haircut since I've been in the FSM. My brother and I went to a salon that was in a grocery store. I guess it was the Chuukese version of a mall. It took 2 hours for the barber to cut both our hair but it was an opportunity for me to practice patience, since that's an importance skill I'll need during my 2 years of service. My hair is now shorter than I picture it being but it helps keep me cool in the heat. I've met all of the current volunteers in Chuuk except for one. They seem very approachable and knowledgeable about being productive PCVs. One Micro 73 volunteer left Chuuk today to go back to the states. He said goodbye to us today. Elizabeth, our training director, came by our training site and said hi to us and talked to us about the schedule for the rest of training. She said me and the other trainee assigned to the lagoon, will shadow a volunteer for a day and a night during the middle of training. We will be able to shadow him in his classes and learn about the projects he is currently working on. Chuuk is pretty much what I pictured it. The roads are full of pot holes and puddles, the electricity goes off regularly and the people are friendly. The weather is hot but not as humid as it was in Pohnpei. For fun, I go out on the boat, hang out with my brother, sister and cousins and practice my Chuukese. I am enjoying myself here so far. Chuuk is less developed than the other states and it is in desperate need of native English speaking teachers. I got a cell phone that uses calling cards and give me your number is you want me to call you. I hope you all are well and enjoying the coll autumn weather. I won't have internet access in Fefan so the only times I'll be able to update this blog will be during my trips to Weno. I hope to update this blog at least one more time during my training.
Take Care,
Ben

Life in Micronesia So Far

2008-09-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

For the past 2 weeks, I have been staying with a host family in a municipality called Madolenhmw, which is know for Nan Modol ruins and Kepirohi Falls. The family I'm living with is really great. My father speaks pretty good English and my mom speaks a little. My sisters can understand English a little bit and can't speak much. I have my own room in the house where my host father grew up. I've learned to cope with the lizards and the cockroaches that scurry around my room at night.

A normal day for me has been waking up at 6 a.m., taking a bucket shower, eating breakfast, training from 8:30-5, dinner and sleep. I get tired here very easily. It could be the heat and the vast amount of information I absorb each day.

I have one more week in Madolenhmw and then I'll go to my assigned island state of Chuuk for Phase II of training on Saturday. For the next two years, you can send all mail to this address:

Chuuk Field Office
P.O. Box 39
Weno, Chuuk FM 96942

This past weekend I attended a funeral which is not like funerals in the States. Only women were allowed to weep in a room where the body was. The men stayed out. Throughout the morning, men were bringing in live pigs and yams. I got to watch the men kill the pigs by stabbing them several times in the chest. I won't release any more details because it was pretty gruesome. I hung out with other PCTs during the morning and then saw my host brother and went with him to see our family. I met my host mom's oldest brother who is the speaker for the FSM legislature.

That night, we went to my host mom's sister's house where we drank Sakau and made our way to see some the Mercedes dancers. They are a group of nuns from Pohpei who spent the weekend in Madolenhmw to have fun and see their friends. They did a lot of shaking. It was very entertaining.

Last Thursday I found out my assignment. I am going to be serving on the main island of Fefan in the FSM state of Chuuk, which is know for its shipwreck diving sites. I am flying there Saturday and will move in with a new host family during my 6 weeks and language and cultural training. During my service, I will be working at an elementary school teaching 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade English with other teachers. I will be working with a counterpart and will be sharing resources and ideas with him.

Right now I am in Kolonia, the city where I spent my first 2 days. I have the morning free today but I will be in a meeting from 1-3 in the PC Office. Tomorrow I will have water safety which will be fun. I'll get to go on a boat and doing a little snorkeling. Half of the trainees are doing it today. I'll get to do more water safety when I get to Chuuk as well.

That's all I can think of to write at the moment. If any of you have specific questions you would like to ask, send me an email and I'll be happy to send you an answer. Hope all is well with you all.

Kasilel,

Ben

Arrival in Pohnpei

2008-09-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

Kasaleliah!

After being on a plane for 15-20 hours, I arrived in Kolonia, Pohnpei, Micronesia with the rest of the PCTs yesterday at 2:30 Pacific time. We were greeted by the language coordinator and the programming and training officer. When I stepped off the plane, it wasn't as hot as I thought it was going to be but it was still very warm. Children and adults stared at us and were only a few yards from the plane. We put our stuff in a PC truck and went to the hotel on a bus. Current Peace Corps Volunteers and PC stuff greeted us at the hotel. We were warmed greeted with local food and coconut milk in the coconut shell. Between our arrival and dinner, we had interviews. Yesterday I had an interview with the training officer which has pretty laidback. She asked me about myself, and whether I would mind being stationed on an outer island. I said I would be us to going to an outer island instead of a main island because I thing it'll be more rewarding. Today is Sunday here and I am writing in a building next to the hotel. Early this morning I had a medical interview where I got three shots and gave the medical officer my medical questionaire. Afterwards I went to a Wal Mart knockoff named "Wall (with 2 Ls) Mart" where I got some envelopes and some snacks. This afternoon I have a host family session with the training coordinator. I start training tomorrow and will be moved in with a host family. I'm a little nervous but I positive that it will go well. I will be staying with them in a rural community in Pohnpei for three weeks before I will be moved to another host family on the main island state for six weeks. During part 2 of training, I will be moved to the main island of my assigned island state. I will be staying for another host family there and will have language and cultural training. After training, I will be most likely be placed on an outer island in my assignment state, whether it be Kosrae, Yap, Pohnpei or Chuuck. The food is great here. Last night we had sashimi, chicken, coleslaw, tarro, rice, spagehtti and other good stuff. It is very beautiful here. There are many palm and banna trees and the water is bluish gree. Mountains surround the ocean and the buildings and coated with beautiful bright colors. I'm enjoying my time here so far. Well, that's it for now. This will be my last post for a while. Please mail my your addresses so I can write you letters.
-Ben

Last Week Home

2008-09-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

This week will be my last week home before I board a plane and leave for a 2 day orientation in LA and Micronesia afterwards. On Sunday I said goodbye to family and friends at my going away party. Thanks to those of you who came out and helped to send me off right. I will miss you all.

What am I doing now until I leave? Well, my mom and I are supposed to take a short trip to Ocean City where we'll stay at our neighbor's condo. I'll probably do a little kayaking and reading up on some important Peace Corps materials. I still have to pack all my stuff which I hope will be a simple ordeal now that I know what I'm bringing.

I'm leaving BWI Monday evening. Anyone who wants to send me off one last time is welcome to so just let me know if you're interested. That's it for me, at least until I get to Micronesia. Take care.

Getting Started

2008-08-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

After many months of procrastination, I am finally starting this blog so all of you can read about my experiences in the Peace Corps. For those of you who don't know, I am leaving Maryland in 9 days to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Federated States of Micronesia ( I'll post a map of it later). There I'll be teaching English as a second language and doing community development work. I've spent months, even years, preparing for this journey and now that it's about to happen, I'm am extremely excited and relieved. I'm happy to say I'm pretty prepared and ready to go. I've bought everything I need and started to pack today with some help from a friend of my mom's who happened to serve 4 years as a PCV in the Ivory Coast of Africa. She helped me decide what to pack and what to leave behind (my goal is to limit my luggage to a backpacker's backpack and a daypack). A few days ago I ordered my plan ticket to my staging (orientation) event in LA. I just have to review my PC manual and some info I'm required to read before training. Starting September 13, my address for the first 2 months is this:

Ben Gruver, PCT
Peace Corps/Micronesia
PO Box 9
Kolonia, Pohnpei
FSM 96941

I am not sure what my internet situation will be like, so plan on writing me letters for now. I will update you when I find out more information. Bye for now.