A much needed update.

Delap beach from the water.

I find it difficult to keep up with this blog. There is so much happening around me. New sights, smells, sensations and people that enchant every cell in my being. I am in love with Majuro... I am contemplating staying another year but it seems like at the present time God has other plans.

Me and my island sister Stefanie! I loooove her!

There is so much life here. The vivid colors, salty wind and the constant touch of children that walk by you brushing your leg or holding your hand. They don't know what kind of day you are having and so many times they have kept me from feeling overwhelmed by the constant struggle of trying to fit knowledge into heads full of koolaid powder and candy. The only reason they get

Rokostella!

away with all of it most of the time is because they are so darn cute! They look at you with those cute little islander eyes and you forget what they did. There are so many chances to influence these kids and with so many of them around constantly you have to make sure your angel like persona holds.

CORAL!!!

Storm over head!

Honestly this island feels like some kind of poor neighborhood near a California beach sometimes. The stores have sand tracked throughout them and flip flops are the traditional footwear. The only thing missing may be the beach blonde hair in abundance but you see some Australian heads of hair every now and again. The only difference from a California beach is the beautiful beautiful coral that covers the floor of the ocean side beaches. There is so much to do in the water and since my parents were gracious enough to send me a GoPro I am able to capture most of it.

Reeds on the beach of Laura.

The days are getting shorter and they are starting to melt together. It scares me but it is also a relief. I feel like I have done my work here and I need to move on. I have little to no time of guitar playing as of late and if you know me at all you would know that is not good.

Anyways, hope all is well wherever you are.
Pray for me!
1 John 5:14-15!!!

A review post for the New Year and my night with the "ladies".

(Disclaimer: I don't really have a certain thing i'm writing about, i'm just throwing in things as they pop in my head)

It's been just over three months since I left home and so much has happened. So many new people have taken a place in my life and I feel as if I am running out of time. I have five more months here but I already get the feeling that it will fly by. I can still remember my Dad's face when he dropped me off at the airport, my Mother's tears as I left home, and the overwhelming humidity upon arrival here in Majuro.

The choir singing at a local supermarket.

All of us Sm's are on break from school right now and sleep has been one of the biggest priorities. Just before break I had the opportunity to plan out the music portion of the Christmas Program as well as conduct my first choir at a local performance. The children did so well and they were so happy to be able to bring cheer to the people of Majuro. In the beginning it was difficult to get them to rehearse. I would sometimes have to physically carry some of the male students, at the astonishment of their classmates, to the choir class. The culture here has the kids so scared to perform in front of anyone. Even the children with real singing ability have trouble because they feel alone when they sing. So when we did rehearse in class I would have to tell them to sing louder and louder because although the notes were right they just wouldn't be heard by many people. At the performance I was so relieved when they pulled it off with just the right volume and the amount of pride I felt through them was immense. I love every single one of these kids even if I have to carry them to class.

Some of the 12th Graders during a chapel.

I teach a 12th grade bible class and it may be the most difficult thing I have done in my life. The "kids" in the class range from dedicated to the definition of lethargic. It was so hard to tell them apart at the beginning of the year because none of them would talk to me. Not a word. During my first attendance call only one person said here and I had to approach each of them to ascertain who they were. Now we get along like family and some of them have even brought me gifts in class but I still worry about them. Some of them aspire to be engineers and doctors so they can help their fellow Marshallese people, the rest are just content with the lives they currently lead. Bible is not supposed to be a hard class and I try to assign projects and material that is more interesting than most but some of them still manage to fail. One student didn't even attend the final. Next quarter my goal is to make sure that no one fails by making most of the work in class. There will be reading outside but I am going to make sure these students at least practice their writing skills (which for the most part need major help). I love all of the students in this class and as their class sponsor I am doing my best to help them achieve.

I decided while being here that I would adopt one of the students as a little brother of sister so that I had someone to help me out with learning the culture and someone to care about more directly. The funny thing is that before I even got to choose one, a little girl named Stefanie Joseph chose me! I had offered to pay for her to go to a movie night and apparently

Stefanie right after a piggyback ride race!

only family does that so I became her official big brother that night. We don't spend a lot of time together but when we do the first thing is a piggyback ride race across the school (which let me tell you is exhausting) and then we talk about random things like how ugly my beard is, what my parents are like, and if I have any siblings. I wish I would have spent more time like this with the sister I have when we were younger, I guess when I get back i'll have to take here out more often. I am so happy to have made this connection with one of the students out here and I hope I can adopt another little sister or little brother soon!

A truck ride to Laura Beach.

Mr. Penner and Mr. Kennedy
 in action during adopt the block.

The student missionary group down here couldn't be better. We have people with so many different talents that anything you need help with can be covered by someone else. They are so kind and give so much of their time to the children. In my opinion they are being better fathers and mothers to these kids than their parents. Some of these children are so neglected and treated poorly. They need the time that they spend with the sm's to relax and have fun. All of the staff at Delap Sda are troopers, we are involved in so many things both in school and
church that we barely have time for ourselves. It is tough but that is why we came here, to help others. It has been a great experience of selflessness that I know I needed to have coming out here. I can't wait to start school again with these great people.

Some of the ladies throwing candy at my
unsuspecting face.

Last Sunday, 12/29, was maybe the most hilarious event I have ever witnessed. To give a little backstory; I decided not to go on a trip with some of the other Sm's because I had some other things to take care of that weekend and I stayed back at the school. The day they left I was told by some locals that there would be some sort of dance by the woman of the church in the gym. Now I grew up in a conservative home and I can't dance so having an opportunity to witness such an event was intriguing. Now I assumed that this would be a public event, when I arrived I saw food laid out like normal, I saw woman and children sitting everywhere like normal, and I saw some of the Sm's that had stayed behind. So I thought to myself, "I'll just have a seat and wait till it starts." What I neglected to realize was that all the Sm's that had stayed behind were female and I was the only male present. All of a sudden I feel this stare coming from every direction and the "uh oh" light turns on in my brain as I slowly realize my predicament. As my reflexes gain control of my body I begin to head to the nearest exit when low and behold my name is called out over the microphone and Rose, the wife of the pastor, beckons me to come up front. She calls me the "guest of honor" and puts a chair right next to the front stage for me to sit in. Now as my face can't really get red I just sat there in a daze sweating about three pounds off per minute looking around to see if any men come to my rescue. None came. I sat there upfront being stared at by all the, what I saw as cynical, faces of the ladies of the church. To add icing to this gaffe-cake I was asked to go through the potluck line before anyone else and I had to accompany most of the ladies pre-show singing with my guitar which I had conveniently let them borrow that same day. Now at this point I was beginning to feel comfortable being there, content with my musical contribution to their event but then the dancing started. I could never have imagined these ladies, whom seemed consumed with decorum and cynical stares, dancing the way they did. Their faces lit up, hips swayed and hair flew, I didn't know what was happening until I was hit in the face with candy they all of a sudden started chucking at me. Candy flying, muumuus mobile, I was in a world I didn't know existed. Most of their dances had meaning but some of their moves, to me, seemed like opportunities to hit me with candy. It was a crazy night full of mixed emotions on my part but I am glad I was there. I got to learn so much more.

Anywho, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! Here is a picture I took at Enamunit one of the smaller islands of Majuro.

Enamunit, Majuro.

-Peter Flores

Choir and My Daily Schedule.

11/6 

Today we had our first choir meeting, only about 20 people of the 40 I have written down showed up. I guess that is part of the culture here to not show up because many of the parents are the same way.  Another aspect of this culture is that the kids are spectacularly shy when it comes to public performance of any kind. I can hardly call their names out in class without their faces grimacing in terror at being called out as an individual. They act as a single organism when in a group but when singled out they feel either like passing out or conquering the world (island). 

It has been raining the past few days in a row and it gets really annoying because it is harder to go out snorkeling when we have such poor weather. But when the weather is good, the sea is really just part of who I am now. I have gone snorkeling so often that I have become quite accustomed to the routes that we take past the break and it is normal to see a shark or two on each snorkeling adventure. I actually got to touch one on the fin which I now realize was pretty stupid because white tips are some of the most aggressive sharks towards humans but it was small and I was so close. I probably won't do that again. 

So I thought it might be nice to share with you all my daily schedule and how it usually goes most of the time. 

Monday: 7:30 A.M. Staff Worship

             10:15 A.M. 1st Grade music: These kids are so trouble some but they make up for it when they tell you they love you or just randomly come up to you and give you a hug. In class we are learning about the different cleffs (treble, bass) and we are learning to sing a scale. We will also soon start watching the sound of music.

This is my music classroom!

             12:45 P.M. 3rd Grade music: These kids are more attentive than the first graders but also are quite rambunctious. They love to sing and we are learning the words to "Do Re Mi" from the Sound of Music. 

             1:30 P.M. 12 Grade Bible: I love teaching this class. All the people in this class are awesome. They may be unruly but they all have unique and wonderful characteristics. We have gotten to the point of joking and poking fun and it is at times hard to remember that I am not supposed to be their friend (while in class). I am supposed to be their teacher and since they are close to my age or older than me it is difficult at times to not want to joke around with them. I want to make sure they learn and not just have a good time in class. Right now we are learning about family values and are doing a project about our ideal families. They don't really like doing any projects but since I have been showing them their grades more often, they feel motivated to do better so most of them have an A in the class.

             2:30 P.M. 2nd Grade music: This may be the hardest test of my patience thus far in life. They are loud, they hit each other, they cry more than the first graders, and they run around class. The only way I can stop them is if I get my guitar out and start singing to them. I do my best to put them in a sleep like trance and sneak knowledge into their small developing minds. I am attempting to get them to draw a treble or bass cleff but so far efforts to keep them occupied have been thwarted by their desire to destroy my mind utterly with blood curdling screams. So pray for me on Mondays. 

Tuesday: 7:30 A.M. Staff Worship

             10:15 A.M. 4th Grade Music: These children like to talk a lot but for the most part are attentive and learning based on the results of their quizzes and  tests. I showed them a song that River Davis let me record with him called "I Felt Free" and since then they have taken to coming up to me and saying, "Mr. Peter! You're famous!" and then running of giggling. Which I don't really mind but gets annoying with 20+ kids yelling it at you. 

            11:00 A.M. 5th Grade Music: These children can sing. I have allowed three of them; Ira, Adrian and Alerie to all join the older choir because of their vocal talents. This class is really loud but they are selectively loud, that is to say that if one kid is yelling they all yell, but if some kids start paying attention they all pay attention. I am teaching them some of the sound of music songs as well and they are having an easy time of it. It's really on and off with them so some days I go back to the teachers lounge exhausted but most of the time it is just residual exhaustion from Monday.

            12:45 P.M. 6th Grade Music: These kids are great, some really great singers and some really studious pupils. I have grouped their ciriculum with the older grades and most of them do really well in class with assignments and tests. I made one of the most organized students on this grade the librarian for the choir and she has done a good job so far. Her name is Jeita Peter. Also some of the girls in this class are taller than I am, so that's that I guess.

     

7th Graders Billy and Randon discussing
how intersting my music class is.

     1:30 P.M. 12th Grade Bible

           3:45 P.M. Teachers Training: Essentially giving us basic skills to use in class that will make it an effective learning environment.

            7:00 -7:30(ish) Mid Week Worship: Some of the student missionaries are in charge of the worship service at this time and we usually sing and have a short devotional talk. 

Wednesday: 7:30 A.M. Staff Worship

                  8:25 A.M. 10th Grade Music: There are some really smart kids in this class but at the same time there are some kids who seem to not try or care at all about school. One person in the class names Sunbeam, gets perfect on every test and paper and always seems bored. Another student names Ebilla Joe never seems to understand anything I say but can speak english perfectly with her classmates. She doesn't test well and will have to my best to work with her on that. It is my responsibility to make sure these kids succeed in my class.

                   10:15 A.M. Recess Watch: At this time at school I usually put gym shorts on and play some basketball or volleyball in the gym with the kids. The girls are incredible volleyball players. It takes my full effort to be able to beat them when playing. The boys are pretty average at basketball but they are even better than the girls at volleyball. It really is incredible to watch them spike with such consistency and precision. 

Some 7th graders playing with their technology and recommending
what apps I get on my phone.

More 7th graders.

                   11:30 A.M. 7th Grade Music: I call this my american class. All of the girls seem to know every soap opera on T.V. and the boys all speak english without the local accent. They test very well when they study but challenge my control of the class a lot. It is difficult to get along with them at times but sometimes I just have to show off some guitar skill to them in order to get them to know how serious I am about teaching them basic music theory. They have come to get to know me a little better and I am feeling better about teaching them now that I have about a month and a half teaching at Delap SDA.

                 1:30 P.M. 12th Grade Bible

Thursday: 7:30 A.M. Staff Worship

               9:15 A.M. 11th Grade Music: This is one of the smaller classes so it is easier to talk to them and have them learn more about what music really means to me and how it can help them in life. Sometimes I will let them play around with my garage bad app in the sampler mode. You can record a sound and play it back in many different frequencies. It's fun and educational at times. In this class everyone does pretty well in tests but when they forget to study they try and trick me into giving them the answers in class. They have yet to succeed.

                10:15 A.M. Recess Watch

                10:30 A.M. 12th Grade Music: Most of the 12th grade class is really smart when they apply themselves but for some reason they don't want to get involved with singing or anything musical.  It is hard to get their participation but I WILL PREVAIL…eventually. 

                1:30 P.M. 12th Grade Bible

Friday: 7:30 A.M. Staff Worship

           8:25 A.M. 9th Grade Music: This is a huge class but most of the sweeter kids are in it. Gideon, Zinnia, Amber, Mathlina…..they are all excellent students and are all part of the pathfinders of Delap SDA, the local church. There are such a wide range of characters in this class. Some pay attention while others chat away in Marshallese. It is difficult to keep silence in the classroom but since most of them can sing well I give them the opportunity to do so in class. Also in this class is the most charismatic person I have met. His name is Steven Charles Ramos but he goes by Charles. He is such a great person and since he is in pathfinders I get to see him more often so I try to give him as much advice as I can about whatever he asks me. I love so many kids here in Majuro already. It will be hard to leave.

            10:30 A.M. 8th Grade Music: This class is small but usually very quiet. They do well on tests and listen but it is hard to tell how much sticks since I only have them once a week. I wish I had more time with all the classes for music. I could accomplish quite a bit if I did. There is a kid in this class named Wiselee and he is one of my favorites. He is the class comedian so I have to quiet him at times but he always listens when I ask him. 

            11:30 A.M. Chapel:  They usually ask me to play guitar for this but I have escaped a few. It is nice to have a quick little devotional and try to have all the kids listen and sing as a group.

That's my schedule as of now. I'll keep you updated! 

Fin 11/7/13

Lightning the survivor, the mysterious bite and the sweet tooth of Majuro.

Lightning the survivor, the mysterious bite and the sweet tooth of Majuro. 

We found about four of them at first. Alone on top of a rock, their mother had left them or the kids had scared the mother away. The children came running to us carrying them while their weak little heads bobbed with every clumsy step. Four of the tinniest kittens we had ever seen. Two weeks passed where we almost nonstop took care of the little ones we named vishnu, sailor, siren and lightning. We did our best. Staying up nights sometimes to make sure they were all getting fed. Three ended up dying. We were left with one we had not particularly grown to attached to but one that we now love. His name is lightning and he is a survivor.


Mr. Kennedy is in charge of P.E. for the school and everyday he teaches 4 or 5 classes to the children, so we depend on him to zap their seemingly bottomless energy away. As it turns out he ends up getting a weird bite on his foot that while at first seems harmless, ends up taking away his ability to walk on that foot. So one afternoon I go with him to the hospital and even they don't know what it was.

We started to get a little nervous so all the Student Missionaries decided to take a trip down to the hospital with Ryan and use our love power to heal him. We kinda turned the ordeal into a photo shoot but nonetheless he is much better now and up and zapping the energy away from everyone he teaches. Also while we were at the hospital we met a girl that was surfing on a rolling IV. That was a pretty rare sight.

 All the children here someway or another get their hands on copious amounts of sugar every day. Whether it be koolaid powder, gummy worms, doughnuts, or just plain old sugar. They always, at breaks, find something sugary to eat before they start class again. As sweet as these children really are they can be a rambunctious group of hooligans. The phrase, "Djep ge rro rro" which means, please be quiet, hardly works anymore. They aren't laughing at my terrible pronunciation but more focused on making each other laugh or cry. I'm not going to sugarcoat this, teaching grades 1-3 is the greatest challenge that my small patience span has ever had to deal with, but when I am at the verge of breaking down it's almost like they know that you need them to be quieter. They look at you with their big energetic eyes as if to say, "We understand you, but we just had two pounds of sugar each at break time." It's hard not to fall in love with their beautiful little faces. 

Fin 10/28/13

Teaching, the Ocean and the Flu.

Teaching, the Ocean and the Flu.

"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us."-1 John 5:14

I have spent the last week teaching both music class for all grades and then bible class for 12th grade. I really didn't expect to be teaching bible. It caught me off guard. Honestly I can't really say that I know the Bible all that well but that didn't stop me from trying it out anyways. One of the first verses I lay my eyes on is one that I already knew because of a song. 1 John 5:14. It is such a beautiful verse and I repeat it everyday as part of my personal devotional. 

It feels strange to have left almost all of my (de)vices back at home. It's like what I imagine a very mild rehab clinic would be like. I don't spend as much time on the internet, watching movies, or even listening to music as I normally do. There are children and people here who rely on my to do my job and walk the talk. Most of my life has just been talk. I plan to do this or that but when the time comes to deliver I just flop and pretend like I never said anything. Or at least that is how I feel like most of the time. 

The other student missionaries that are here with me really make all the difference. If I was here by myself I don't think the experience would be close to the same. I recently had my birthday this past week and the people here some of which I only have known for a week went ahead and made it something special. Well special being a relative term, they soaked me with water balloons. They later made up for it with some delicious fettuccine alfredo. Which I don't have a picture of because I don't want my computer getting wet with my dribble. 

In Majuro the sea is the owner. Everything from clothes to coral is subject to the weathering that comes from the sodium rich air and water. The trade off is that you can admire its beauty and live off of it. 

The snorkeling around here is "choice" and I have already broken the 30 ft mark of free diving. I can't really explain it but I feel like this is always something that I was supposed to be a part of. In the ocean you are just a speck that can be tossed and turned whichever way. But when you dive. It's like  nothing I have ever really felt before. I am at peace. You can really appreciate the beauty of God when you are in its presence. Both in and out of the water you are surrounded by beauty. 

The animals around here are also a big part of the landscape. There are many dogs around which make me nervous sometimes because at night they can't recognize you that well and start to chase you which is a little invigorating. Then you find the cockroaches (not pictured...thank the Lord), geckos, moths and the trillions of ants all over the place. We managed to catch a smaller gecko and gave it a small photo shoot. We hope he makes it big in the world like his green skinned cousin already has (Geico).

 Everyday waking up in this place is getting to be normal now. I am beginning to realize that I am going to be here for quite a while. I could get used to this. It isn't paradise but it is really close. 

Anyways, I have the flu right now. I had to skip classes today but the kids made me Get Well Soon cards. So I should be getting better by tomorrow. 

Fin 10/8/2013

Days One and Two

Majuro Day #1 Sep 26th

Arrived at 10:30 AM at the Majuro Airport.

As soon as I got of it was like stepping into a sauna. 

The sun burns.

The stores are much nicer than expected.

Many commodities I though were going to be absent are actually here. (Such as Nutella and Martinelli's adventist champagne) 

The apartment I am staying in is really roomy. We have a kitchen, shower and bathroom, stove and basic cooking supplies. The only problem is the bugs. There were at least 8 or 9 huge cockroaches (deceased) all on the floor and many dead and live ants everywhere. So we cleaned up and it looks pretty homely now. We don't have a working refrigerator yet and the constant temperature in the apartment is around maybe 85 degrees F. 

The children all seem excited that there is going to be a music teacher here now. Which makes me more nervous because I guess that expect a great program out of me and I hope I am the man for the job.

We went snorkeling after school around 5 PM Majuro time.

We saw two sharks, a turtle and sting ray. 

Almost everything gets wet around here. The humidity is so high it makes it a little tough to climatize. I expect to get used to sweating bullets soon.

I wasn't able to sleep easily, but luckily I was exhausted and fell asleep around 10 PM.

I had a minuscule fan at the head of my bed in an attempt to feel a breeze but it was rather useless. 

All in all i am excited to come up with some ciriculum and perhaps even a choir. The children love to sing so it should not be a motivation issue.

Majuro Day #2 Sep 27th

Woke up around 5 AM.

Went outside the room to get some water.

Roommate is also up making coffee.

Oh and my roommates' name is Chase Olson, a really cool and extremely handy guy. He makes his own utensils out of wood. So basically MacGyver.

So he tells me he is going to set up his hammock outside for sunrise so I pull out my camera and follow and get some sweet cloud and sun pictures.

It is now 7 AM and time to make breakfast. Toast and honey. Oh yeah, we have a toaster.

8:00 AM: Scratch that. Toaster 

doesn't work. 

Went to the store. Got some Arizona Ice tea. Had to 

hop a fence because all of them are locked due to a Holiday.

Essentially am having a 4 day weekend.

We ended the day by snorkeling. Which was eventful. We saw 3 sharks, a turtle, and many schools of fish.

I can't wait till I start teaching.