November 7

Alright, I am just going to fast forward a little bit. I realize that I am skipping over a whole month but I just want to get to the good stuff. I am now in Yap and have been for 6 weeks! Our swear-in ceremony is on the 6th (Friday) and we will finally be official volunteers! For our ceremony each volunteer has to say a little introduction in the language of their island and do a dance or song with the people that will be on that island with them. The three of us going to Woleai wrote a song and had it translated into Woleaian for us to sing. The song is about 3 little birds that have traveled far from their nests to make new nests here with new families and how grateful they are to the people of Woleai for welcoming them with open arms. It is a very sweet song that was inspired by 3 bird finger puppets that my dad sent to me. It really is the little joys in life here that make a difference.

Depending on the ships schedule, we are supposed to leave around the 11th or 12th to go to Woleai! However, I have found that information about the ships departures and arrivals tends to be quite unreliable (everything here is usually hearsay and what they heard was probably started as a rumor). I guess that is due to the high cost of fuel and the fact that there is only one qualified captain and he likes to take periodic vacations whenever he feels the need. Needless to say, people have serious island time syndrome here. Which I am still adjusting to by the way. With everything I just have to say “hey its ok, I have 2 years right!” I also make sure that I always have a book with me so that I have something to do if I end up waiting for an hour…or two.

Ok, so I wrote that a few days ago. We are leaving today! Pray for calm seas and not rain! That way my things stay dry and I don’t barf! J