First and last post for a while in Kiribati

After a stop in L.A. and Fiji for a few days, I am finally in Kiribati. First impression: damn hot; the equator ain't messin' around. I've been in South Tarawa, the capital and most "industrialized" place, for the past week and a half. When I say industrialized, I mean it has electricity powered by generator here and there. We've been staying at a bed and breakfast type place, and between the 14 other trainees and myself, we pretty much take up the whole place. We don't really leave there much, since we train in language, culture, and safety all day. Even after a week, my I-Kiribati is getting half-way decent. We study language around 4 hours daily, so you start to soak it in pretty fast. We are also learning about their culture which is so utterly different from our own in almost every way conceivable. For those worrying about my safety, don't fret; their hospitality is top-notch. It is a great honor for the I-Kiribati to have an I-Matang [Westerner] living in their village. In fact, they have to be chosen in a lottery-type system to have us in the homes and villages. We have also learned about the diseases and such we have to watch out for; but surprisingly, there aren't as many as you'd expect. They don't have Malaria, which is nice. A big thing here is that even the tiniest of cuts will undoubtedly get infected due to the heat, if not cleaned thoroughly and bandaged. Another thing is that time-to-time I will get some type of gastro-intestinal issue that can be resolved usually by antibiotic. Today we learned about all types of Diarrhea for an hour.

Very soon we leave for a much more rural, remote village. There all 15 of us will be split up to live with our own host families for roughly 2 months. They have been told not to speak to us in English, so my I-Kiribati will improve a lot. During this time, our normal day-to-night training routine will continue; this is not a vacation by any means. I will be living in a kia-kia: a raised platform outside of the house that is made with local materials. The foundation is made of logs and the roof is made of pandanus leaf. I found out who my family is today in a session titled "who yo daddy?" My kia kia is in a real nice spot: it is so close to the lagoon that during high tide the lagoon will be rushing under my little house.

The geography hear is unfathomable: the island is essentially shaped like an absurdly skinny donut. In other words, the land is a thin circle, ranging from roughly 300 yards at its widest to only 25 feet at times. On one side of the land is the massive lagoon and on the other side is the ocean. Lotta water.

I feel very safe in Kiribati and I know I will feel even safer when I get to my outer island. Like I said, the people really want us to be here, so they are very protective of you. It is important; however, to become part of that community. The way to do it is by gaining the people's respect. If you do something improper, everyone knows about it because everyone talks about everyone. It's the small-town mentality at it's finest. Therefore, it is an understatement to say that one's reputation is important here.

We have also been learning a lot about the schools. I am going to be teaching at a JSS, a junior high. Even at this age, they do not speak much English. That will be a huge challenge. The other thing is that the teachers are trained very much by the book. School is very mechanized and it's ingrained in both the teachers' and students' minds that school is a very stagnant experience. My job in the schools is going to be to show everyone that learning is a dynamic experience that takes critical thinking and can be fun. I can't wait to play some music in the classroom and possibly even get the students to build their own instruments!

IMPORTANT INFO:
The school schedule is a bit different than I expected. The big "summer break" is from early December to early February, so that would most likely be the time I would travel and be able to meet people in nearby countries. There are also small 3 week breaks, I think in May and November.

Also, you can email me at PCVkiribati@gmail.com and the peace corps will print it out and give it to me weekly for the next 2 months. Make sure you put my full name as the subject though.

Now, I am in Bairiki, a shopping district. There is this little internet cafe and a few shops with some chotchkees. My time is running out so I'm going to do a little shopping. Love you all!