This weekend at Xavier was Cultural Day. The students spent the day performing traditional dances from their native islands and we watched and ate local foods. The dances were amazing. Among my favorites were the Pohnpeian warrior dance, the Palauan warrior dance, and all the Yapese dances which were so colorful and exciting. The students have an amazing ability to transform themselves from the kids we teach everyday to these incredibly powerful and fierce dancers. We also watched the Pohnpeians prepare a traditional feast out of a pig they killed the night before, and then pound sakao which is made by mashing the root of the plant, mixing it with water, and twisting it into a liquid using the hibiscus plant. It’s a really long and exhausting process, but the students didn’t falter. I was so impressed by their skill and endurance. I don’t think that I could have ever done that in high school, and I don’t really know many people that could have either. The students explained to us the meanings behind a lot of what they did, and the experience of passing down and receiving sacred and traditional knowledge from their families or clans. The demonstrations were fantastic, but it was also kind of sad to realize that a lot of these dances and traditions don’t really occur anymore on most of these islands. I felt like I was back in Guam visiting the Chamorran museum villages – really incredible to see, but sad in that these cultures are disappearing. Such change is inevitable, but most of the students are so immensely proud of what they can do and of what their culture means that it’s somewhat upsetting to know how quickly it’s fading.

There were some people from the Chuukese community who came to watch and the students performed everything outside on a small platform stage set up on the basketball court. After mass and the Pohnpeians’ feast demonstration, we watched about 4 hours of dancing and listened to the stories behind what we saw. At night after the girls left to go home, the Pohnpeian students pounded more sakao for the faculty to have. It was a really peaceful experience to sit in their hut in the dark and relative silence, sharing sakao and I wish that I had more opportunities to take part in things like that. Cultural Day only happens once every two years, so I counted myself very lucky to be able to see it.

Otherwise, it’s been quiet here. The weeks keep viciously moving forward, and I’m getting more and more anxious about leaving. I know this is all going to seem like a wickedly unreal dream in just a few short months.