September 7: Day 6

September 7: Day 6

Today I got to meet my family! My host father is Makansi and my mother is Q-leen. I also have a sister named Q-vera who is 14. There are also these 3 little boys who I think are family somehow but I cannot remember how at the moment. The boys are Omar (6), Sean Douglas (8), and Malcom (8) and they are so much fun! All they wanted me to do was take pictures of them as they danced like rappers and threw up gang signs in front of me. I really wish I knew what they were saying because they talk like a mile a minute and they think I understand everything they are saying so I just nod and laugh because I actually have noooo clue! I just imagined what energetic little boys in the states would say and I’m sure its not too far off from that.
The people here are so kind and friendly. They laugh and smile constantly. They are also very laid back and just happy to be. My host father, Makansi, actually knows my brother Mark! Mark and Tracy and Hannah lived here for a year or so about 7 years ago and they lived in this very village! Tracy taught at the school Pohnpei Agriculture and Trade School (PATS) which is right next to our training center here. Mark was doing research and spoke and worked with a lot of the villagers (my host father being one of them), and the woman across the street used to take care of Hannah and her best friend Shauna! It is so wild that they used to live in this same place!! I really want to find Hannah’s best friend while I am here and take a picture to send to Hannah. I think she would really love that!
The place that I am staying at is small house with a main room, 2 bedrooms and a kitchen. During the day the main room is where everyone lies around and watches movies or just talks. At night it is where my family sleeps on grass mats. The kitchen is not what you and I would call a typical kitchen. There are 4 separate gas burners that look like they are ready to blow up at any moment, a sink, a table, and a freezer/fridge thing that looks like a giant cooler. Luckily, Peace Corps requires that we have our own rooms with a door and a lock, so I have my own little room! I have a little mat on the floor with a pillow (that is lumpy and as hard as rocks!) and a nice fan to keep me cool at night! I have shelves to put all my things on and 2 windows that look into the back yard, which is basically just jungle. The other bedroom is only used when their son comes with his wife on the weekends to stay with them.
Now the bathroom facilities are a bit different. There is an out house behind the house with a bucket toilet. Which means I do my business in the toilet looking thing and then pour water down it to flush. Let me tell you, it does not smell the greatest in there. But, I’m sure I will get used to it! For showering I have 2 options. 1. there is a shower shower that is closed in and I am able to get nakie in or 2. a bucket shower where I wear a long skirt or just my undies and pour water on myself from a hose-fed bucket. Both of these are on the porch where everyone hangs out all the time. I’m guessing that I will shower in the regular shower for the most part. J