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August 31, 2005 – Ahoy!

The US Navy paid the Marshall Islands a rather extended visit. The USS Boxer, a quasi-aircraft carrier with a 1500+ crew, came to Majuro and stayed for slightly less than a week. The sailors’ mission was two fold; one, to service the Marshall Islands because many of them are trained physicians, mechanics, electricians, etc., and two, to enjoy their “liberty leave.” Yes, liberty leave, quite possibly one of the top five all-time greatest euphemisms. Basically, the crewmen – not all of them at once of course but a fair amount at one time – are allowed 24 hours of absolute free time. They stay in hotel rooms, eat where they want, and do what they want. I’ll leave it up to your imaginations to envisage what 1500 sailors whoa re subjected to a male/female ratio of roughly 8 to 1 for years at a time, who normally receive two beers every 45 days, and who spend all of their time on a boat do when they are given “liberty leave” on a tropical island. Actually, I’ll give you a hint. For 72 hours, the entire atoll of Majuro literally ran out of alcohol. Every drop of it had been purchased from every establishment that sells it.

As for me, all the Majuro volunteers (most of the outer island volunteers are on the outer islands now, with the exception of two whose travel plans have been altered) were offered free CPR training aboard the USS Boxer. I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to CPR training, but it was pretty difficult to reject the opportunity to be on a boat big enough for planes to land on. The Boxer did not disappoint. I saw hovercrafts, ATVs, and the world’s fastest machine gun – a mounted six-barreled weapon that fired two-feet long rounds at a rate of 4000 per second. My only regret was that I didn’t bring a frisbee because then I could have played frisbee on the deck of an aircraft carrier. That would rock.

School is going well. The shyness of the students can be frustrating sometimes (the worst question to ask is, “What do you think?”). Trying to base a lesson upon discussion is simply a lost cause at this point. It merely constitutes 90 minutes of my life which I will never have again. Instead, class is a delicate balance between lecture and group work. Once in awhile a question I ask will be answered very quietly. But when I ask that person to repeat it, he or she rarely does. This is discouraging because my teaching philosophy, and probably the teaching philosophy of many educators from the United States, is to promote discussion. This is how I was taught in high school (Mr. Francis for those of you from Idaho) and in college (everyone else who reads this). Hopefully my students will gradually become more comfortable in class and start speaking up, or else I’ll be forced to scrap a lot of my lessons. But there are always those rare moments of “Booya! Way to be!” Here’s one from my senior government class.

Me: Here’s the most important thing you will learn for the next three months, and maybe for the rest of your lives. Government provides; it provides protection and services. But government also takes. In order for a government to operate, it needs some of your freedom. Is anyone uncomfortable with this?

(Pause)

Student: …You are.

September 9, 2005 – Konichiwa?

If I only had a nickel for every time someone greeted me with “konichiwa.” No matter where I am, physical appearances always seem to matter more than anything else.

But anyways, school is going pretty well. My classes seem to hit every single morsel of the ease of teaching spectrum. Some of my students, particularly the older ones, are more engaged in class and not only answer the questions I ask them, but also ask some of their own. Other students are more shy and reserved and are characterized by passive learning. They are very obedient and studious but rarely if ever at all raise their hand to ask a question or simply request clarification.

Consequently, it is very difficult for me to “get a feel” for many of my students. Whatever I say is often greeted by… well, nothing. I’m not sure if they understand, don’t understand, or simply can’t understand what I am saying. I also cannot interpret if they are bored, confused, or clueless. It’s a big game, but one which I am determined to win, because it is one I cannot afford to lose.

There have been many moments of frustration. Students often misunderstand an assignment or in-class task and are too shy to ask for clarification. Hence, their work is often irrelevant for developing their skills and for assessment. Lesson planning can be arduous simply because I am so used to being educated by discussion that I am usually at a loss for what to do when my students’ behavior renders discussion based classes impossible. And in the Marshall Islands, probably even more so than the United States, the variation in student backgrounds is even more polarized because, in addition to some students being more advanced in subject material due to myriad reasons, some students are also more capable in the language of instruction, often because one of their parents may be a native speaker or they have had more exposure to native speakers. Imagine if you will that American public schools are taught in French. In that case, as it is here, you no longer have two “types” of students – those who already know more and those who already know less. You now have four “types” – those who know more and can communicate better, those who know more but communicate worse, those who know less but can communicate better, and those who knows less and communicate less. Juggling these four “types” of students can be exhausting as well as overwhelmingly difficult.

Nevertheless, their have been moments of victory that justify all the hardship. In my government class, there is a student who is not necessarily the most advanced in his class, but he has a very positive attitude and works hard. His homework lacks extremely polished English skills but exhibits great effort. In class his classmates speak and participate more but he is always very attentive and observant. On more than one occasion he has stayed after class to ask me questions or discuss ideas and topics which were introduced in class. Last week, as he was leaving, he turned to me and said, “Mr. Li, I really like this class.” And he left.

My life outside of school is good. I just watched the NFL season opener re-broadcasted at a local bar (because live telecast is at an unreasonable hour). If I close my eyes it almost feels like home. I also have a host family now. I’m not living with them and they are under no obligations to physically support me, but I am welcome to visit them and talk with them in order to become more acclimated to the Marshallese culture and more adept at the Marshallese language. I haven’t actually met them and don’t even know their name, but they’re there… somewhere.

No picture updates this post, haven’t had enough time to go on any exciting excursions. Next time I’ll try to post more “real” pictures of my life here, including pictures of my room and the local life and activities. Hope everyone is doing well.