The end is here...

The year is coming to an end for this year’s WorldTeach volunteer cohort. Since my school is the last school to finish, I get the unique opportunity to see the vast majority of the volunteers return to Majuro and depart from the Marshall Islands (possibly forever). I cannot believe that this “year-long” commitment is almost over. For some people, they are ready to return to the life they once knew and left behind. For a few other people, they are not quite ready to leave, even though they know that their time to depart has come. For all, whether or not they ever desire to return to the Marshalls or their “home” atoll, they will miss this unique place that shows up as a speck on a world map, or sometimes doesn’t even show up at all.

People are going to return home changed by the harsh conditions, environment, or situations they have often endured on their own. Sadly it will be nearly impossible for returned volunteers to convey their experiences to their closest family and friends who have never trekked to this part of the world. They will lack a certain understanding that one only receives when they have experienced a small pacific island first hand.

Before I embarked on my journey to the Marshall Islands I thought I was completely prepared. I read every website related to the Marshall Islands (the RMI government site, the US embassy site, university web pages, CIA factbook, Wikipedia,etc. ), I read personal blog and magazine articles, and I looked at on-line picture and watched video clips (thanks to the innovations of flickr, picasaweb and youtube). Additionally, I talked to multiple returned volunteers, who lived on Majuro and on outer islands, through email and on the telephone. (I chose to collect my information in this manner so it would be more relative to my situation and, hopefully, more up to date than a book written in the 1990’s or earlier.) With all of my preparation, the transition to move to a small, developing country with inadequate infrastructure, and few resources (and even fewer local resources) was eased. But certain aspects of life, the nuisances of living on an island, isolated from the rest of the world had to be experienced firsthand to be understood.

However, to truly succeed, or at least appear to be comfortable, people coming to the Marshall Islands (especially to live for an extended period of time) need to have a certain level of patience and flexibility (when I say a certain level, it sometimes has to be very high…this would be a very difficult place for a neurotic person). Unfortunately, not everyone who passes through this region of the world comes with these traits and they often leave cynical, disgusted and with little faith in the long term future of this region. The people who come with these traits, or learn to hone these traits while living in this region, may leave frustrated, but they leave with a better understanding and have given deep thought to the past, current and potential future situations that will ultimately shape this region.

I am still alive..

...and in the Marshall Islands.... more to write later...school ends soon

Kwajalein, Ebeye and Gugeegue Pictures (Well no pics of Kwaj....I think i would get arrested or something)

Here are the pics from my trip to the other side of the country





As always you can look at the photos in the album here:

Marshall Islands part 11

Kwajalein, Ebeye and Gugeegue

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit Kwajalein Atoll, the largest atoll/lagoon in the world and home to the Ronald Regan Missile Range. This place is one of the strange microcosms of the world. There is a clash of cultures, people and money.

The area is split into two main populations: American military and contractor personnel and their families on the Army base (the majority of them white) and the “local” Marshallese community (some who are from this atoll and others from various outer islands).

People who live on the base live like Americans with cheap food, one family per home and a well developed infrastructure. Obviously there is somewhat of a reduction of freedom for security since these people live on a military base, but more or less it appears to be American suburbia transplanted to a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific.

The majority of the Marshallese community lives on the small island of Ebeye (approximately 0.14 square miles in area). I am told that eleven thousands of people crowd on this little island making Ebeye one of the most densely populated places in the world (approximately equivalent to 78,500 people per square mile).

Due to security reasons I was not able to visit Kwajalein. I guess I am a potential security threat. The most interesting thing was passing through the security checkpoints and having people give me funny looks when I told them I was going to Ebeye. First of all, I was the only person who was not Marshallese going to Ebeye from the airplane that day. That means I had to get a special police escort from the airport to the dock and had to answer a series of questions about my visit. The people looked as if they didn’t believe me when I told them I was staying 5 days in Ebeye and Gugeegue.

For as crowded as Ebeye is, the people hide behind the high walls and fences during the day. In some places the streets look deserted. It is weird for there to be almost no one in the street when you know that behind the walls and in the homes people are huddled together (10, 20, 30 or more people) in a small shack with inconsistent electricity and probably no running water. It is sad to see the outhouses and the dump at one end of town completely surrounded by children, adults and homes.

In the end, this was quite the eye opening experience and I am glad I had the opportunity to see and stay in Ebeye. It is much different than Majuro and the outer islands. And in some ways it may be the most difficult place to live in the Marshall Islands.

Learn Marshallese Part III

Here is the third episode of this series(it's a little late..I know)

Learn Marshallese part II

Here is the second video in this series. I hope everyone enjoys it.

Water Photos

Here are some photos from the Majuro lagoon and latest Billfish tournament. The fish is a 77 pound Yellowfin (Ahi) Tuna.