Busy as usual.
Last Sunday, Megan and I went to visit our host family at the Korean Research Center, which used to be a hotel. Unlike most of the volunteers’ host families, ours is not completely Chuukese (only the mom is Chuukese, the father is Korean) and we spend most of the time at the center/resort rather than at their home. It’s not necessarily a very cultural experience, it’s more like a mini-vacation especially considering that Megan has her air conditioned own room with a hot-water shower and a mini-fridge. Four of us including Tom and Matt were picked up by one of the researchers and taken to the research center. We filled up two motor boats and shipped out to a small island only big enough for one or two palm trees. We went snorkeling and with the aid of a professional instructor, scuba diving. We weren’t necessarily too far out in the lagoon, but we could see massive amounts of coral, some crazy colored fish, and a couple decent-sized sharks. I was a little anxious about diving, but snorkeling is still the most amazing feeling, especially farther away from the shore. We wore special gloves so we could pick up some corals and some pretty cool looking clams. We had some sandwiches on the boat and then a larger, spicier Korean lunch when we got back to shore. It was my first time at the Research Center, so Megan showed Tom, Matt, and me the huge tanks they keep of radical tropical fish. I feel a little like I’m cheating the Chuukese experience by having such a host family, but I also get to experience a lot of what the island and the lagoon have to offer by virtue of the access my host family has.

This past week we also had ten visiting Australian high school students from a private Jesuit school. They were here for “cultural immersion” but since they spent the majority of their time here at a high class hotel snorkeling and eating more than decent food, they weren’t immersed in much more than the continuously looming Western presence. I never had much of a chance to speak with them, but the students enjoyed taking them hiking and showing them how Xavier students typically live, which is also very different from Chuukese life as a whole.

Today I went for my first run down in Sapuk and Penia. It’s hard to run in the road since it switches between piles of rocks and gravel and deep ditches and potholes full of dirty rainwater, but it’s the most beautiful and peaceful run I’ve ever been on. There were not many people around today, maybe because of the heat, and so I just tried to absorb the silence of the still water to my right, and the jungle surrounding me on my left. I went too early to see sunset (mostly because I wanted to get back before dark), but it was still a gorgeous route to go down. Of course, like always, the natural beauty of the island is sharply interspersed with what looks like a vast wasteland of trash dotting almost every corner of the ground. Even though most people are, or at least seem, content, an overwhelming sense of poverty saturates the villages. I met a lot of cute Chuukese children who always want to know my name, where I’m coming from, and where I’m going. They get excited when I mention that I’m from the states, especially from New York which is a place that many of them know. They immediately guess I’m from Xavier, since there are only a literal handful of white people on the island, and ask when I’ll be back to see them. I also ran into Stephanie’s host brother who remembered me and asked when the next time I’m coming to visit them at Wichi would be. Hopefully it will be this weekend. I want to maintain the already fleeting relationships I have with the Chuukese people I’ve met so far, but I also want to try new things and go to different places both on the island and outside of it.