Family!

The family that I am living with here is absolutely wonderful! I have a father (Mathew), mother (Francisca), brother (Lynwood) who is 17, and sister (Adrienne) who is 14. Now, there are about 7 other people that are staying with us right now for all different reasons. There is a family of three that is staying with us because the mother is pregnant and is here to have her baby sometime this month. They are from Falalop, Woleai (the island that I will be on) so I am looking forward to when they return because I will get to meet their new baby boy! They also have a daughter Khanysha (3) that is absolutely adorable. Sometimes she walks into my room at night saying good morning over and over again, not really having any idea what she is saying. She tries to speak to me all of the time in Woleaian, but I really just have no idea what she is saying. I usually just smile and tickle her or say one to two word sentences to her that she just laughs at. It has kind of become a game that we play. It does not really matter that we do not speak the same language because we can communicate through giggles and smiles. At least that has worked so far. J I am glad that Khanysha lives in Falalop because that means for the next two years I get to play with her and watch her grow up. It is things like this that make me feel connected to the community here. I am going to be a part of their lives for the next 2 years! That thought is very exciting for me.

Family here is such a big part of every ones lives. Probably because every one here is family! I will meet people on the street and they will say “oh you are living with Mathew? He is my wife’s cousin” or “who are you going to live with in Falalop? Simion? Oh he is my second cousin on my mothers side” I swear every one is every ones cousin. Which is probably why the crime rate is so low here…you do not want to kill someone because the chances are they are your cousin!