Leaving on a jet plane... again

I must become really boring when I'm in Idaho because I really have had nothing of substance to blog about since I've been here. Regardless, tomorrow I'm returning to the Marshall Islands to become a full-time counselor and part-time techer at Marshall Islands High School. Unfortunately I am not returning under ideal conditions. The necessary paperwork has not yet been processed. Thus, my travel expenses are not being subsidized. However, I decided that the school year was much too close for me to remain idle any longer. Hence, I applied for a credit card with 0% apr for the first 12 months and have charged all my travel expenses on that card. Hopefully I will be paid/reimbursed soon enough to pay that debt before it becomes too ominous. Moreover, i sincerely hope that my contract will be prepared before my savings runs out and I'm left floundering with no money and no income.

All in all it's a bit risky but a risk I'm willing to take. I'm very excited to be going back and looking forward to really being on my own for the first time (i.e. no school, no programs, no parents).

On a more somber note, I received some very sad news from Majuro. One of my students lost her brother recently in a plane crash. He was a pilot in training and was flying with his instructor when their plane went missing last Thursday. No trace of the plane or their bodies has been found. He received a scholarship from the Marshall Islands to attend flight school and was only a few weeks away from graduation. In the mean time, he had worked in various restaurants to support himself and his family.

To make matters worse, this is not the first time my student's family has been struck by tragedy. Two years ago, when my student was a junior, her father passed away, leaving behind two daughters, two sons, and a wife. This past year my student's grandmother became very sick and she (my student) was forced to look after her at the hospital everyday and still take care of her nieces and nephews at home, causing her to be consistently late for class due to her early morning responsibilities for her young relatives. Nevertheless, I talked to her about her tardiness and she was on time to class the very next day. Despite everything, she is an excellent student and person and graduated near the top of her class with a 3.96 GPA and as a student body officer. I even asked her to become a language teacher for WorldTeach, an offer which she gladly accepted. By all accounts she was an excellent instructor and the new WorldTeach volunteers really liked her. For the first time in her life it seemed like life's vicissitudes would finally let her explore her talent and potential.

But now this. Imagine being a part of that family, losing the man of the house and the oldest child within two years. Imagine being that mom. What a shame.