Alii! That is how you say hello in Palau:) I’ve been here for 15 days now, but it feels like it’s been longer than that! I wish I could’ve written a blog sooner because so much has happened. We arrived in Palau on August 6th at around 8pm. The flight from Hawaii to Guam was pretty long, but from Guam to Palau wasn’t too bad. Unfortunately, it was nighttime when we flew over Palau so we didn’t get to see it:/ That would’ve been an amazing sight. When we got to the airport in Palau, we were greeted by our Palauan family. My Palauan “mom” and her family greeted me with leis and a basket of food:) She is Palauan and her husband is American. They have two adorable children, a son and a daughter. The daughter is actually one of my students; her name is Wenita<3
The next day we had a delicious breakfast made for us in the cafeteria. We had worship, then we took a tour of the campus; we live in an apartment on the high school campus. It is so beautiful. This was the first time we got to see it because when we arrived it was nighttime. We live in a jungle! I love it! The chapel on campus is on a hill so you can see the ocean from outside<3 After a tour of the high school campus, we went to Koror, which is the main commercial center of Palau, and it’s where the elementary school is. We had a tour of the campus there then went grocery shopping. The drive from the high school campus, which is in Airai, to the elementary school, is 20 minutes, but the whole way is beautiful. Everything is green and we cross a bridge over the ocean. The water is different shades of blue; it’s amazing! I can’t get tired of this.
The next day we went to church for the first time. Everyone was so welcoming and kind. They presented us in front of the church and prayed for us; it was nice. The service is in English, but there is a translator during the sermon. After church, they had a potluck for us and I loved the food! I tried taro for the first time and I actually liked it. I was told not many people like it, which is why I said “actually.” After the potluck we went to a waterfall, which we hiked a short distance to get to. It was so beautiful. We got into the water, which was really cold, but felt refreshing. It is super hot and humid here! I am still not used to it.
The next day we went to the aquarium! My favorite part was the touch tank! There were different kinds of sea cucumbers and sea stars that we could pick up. There were some giant sea cucumbers! I got to meet one of my kindergarten students; her name is Clara and she is so cute! She was with me throughout the whole tour, holding my hand<3 The next day we started cleaning our classrooms. For lunch we went to this little place called Burger House and I got a tofu burger, which I loved! They also have boba there! This place is about a five minute walk from the school, so we go there often. The next day we worked on our classrooms again, and I saw a huge, scary spider in my room! I wanted to cry! I had to call one of the boys to get it out lol I hope I never see one again! On Wednesday night I had dinner at my Palauan family’s house. I was pretty nervous at first, but it went well. Wenita was super shy at first and didn’t want to talk to me, but she slowly started opening up. I read a story to her and by the end she was very comfortable with me, which I was super happy about.
The next days were full of meetings, cleaning/decorating our classrooms and lesson planning. On Friday, our principal took us snorkeling! This was my first time ever! It was so fun and I got to see some awesome stuff! I can’t wait to go snorkeling again! There is so much to see! On Saturday, I finally got to Facetime my family! It was so nice to see them! I miss them so much! The Internet here is not very good, so it would freeze a lot, but I’m so glad we got to talk and see each other. At night, we all went to our principal’s house and had a game night. We all had a great time! Our principal and his wife are awesome! We are blessed.
Sunday was really stressful because it was the last day before classes started. I was excited and super nervous at the same time, but my nervousness went away when I met my students. They are precious! The first day I had 15 students. At the end of my first day I found out that one of my students was supposed to be in 1st grade lol One of my girls wouldn’t stop crying, so her mom had to come back and stay in the classroom. The next day, the mom stayed, but less than half way through the class she walked out with her daughter and didn’t come back the rest of the week. I guess she decided she wasn’t ready for school yet:/ So as of now, I have 13 students. The whole week we mostly went over rules and procedures and did some activities, and on Friday we had a welcome back party! My kids are pretty noisy and I have one boy who doesn’t listen, but it’s their first time at school, so it’s understandable; I know it will get better:) On Friday, four of my students told me they loved me and my heart melted! I love these children already! I’m excited for this year!:D
I’ll try to update my blog as often as I can. I miss you all! I hope you are all doing well!
p.s. Sorry for the really long post.
-Jessica
The next day we had a delicious breakfast made for us in the cafeteria. We had worship, then we took a tour of the campus; we live in an apartment on the high school campus. It is so beautiful. This was the first time we got to see it because when we arrived it was nighttime. We live in a jungle! I love it! The chapel on campus is on a hill so you can see the ocean from outside<3 After a tour of the high school campus, we went to Koror, which is the main commercial center of Palau, and it’s where the elementary school is. We had a tour of the campus there then went grocery shopping. The drive from the high school campus, which is in Airai, to the elementary school, is 20 minutes, but the whole way is beautiful. Everything is green and we cross a bridge over the ocean. The water is different shades of blue; it’s amazing! I can’t get tired of this.
The next day we went to church for the first time. Everyone was so welcoming and kind. They presented us in front of the church and prayed for us; it was nice. The service is in English, but there is a translator during the sermon. After church, they had a potluck for us and I loved the food! I tried taro for the first time and I actually liked it. I was told not many people like it, which is why I said “actually.” After the potluck we went to a waterfall, which we hiked a short distance to get to. It was so beautiful. We got into the water, which was really cold, but felt refreshing. It is super hot and humid here! I am still not used to it.
The next day we went to the aquarium! My favorite part was the touch tank! There were different kinds of sea cucumbers and sea stars that we could pick up. There were some giant sea cucumbers! I got to meet one of my kindergarten students; her name is Clara and she is so cute! She was with me throughout the whole tour, holding my hand<3 The next day we started cleaning our classrooms. For lunch we went to this little place called Burger House and I got a tofu burger, which I loved! They also have boba there! This place is about a five minute walk from the school, so we go there often. The next day we worked on our classrooms again, and I saw a huge, scary spider in my room! I wanted to cry! I had to call one of the boys to get it out lol I hope I never see one again! On Wednesday night I had dinner at my Palauan family’s house. I was pretty nervous at first, but it went well. Wenita was super shy at first and didn’t want to talk to me, but she slowly started opening up. I read a story to her and by the end she was very comfortable with me, which I was super happy about.
The next days were full of meetings, cleaning/decorating our classrooms and lesson planning. On Friday, our principal took us snorkeling! This was my first time ever! It was so fun and I got to see some awesome stuff! I can’t wait to go snorkeling again! There is so much to see! On Saturday, I finally got to Facetime my family! It was so nice to see them! I miss them so much! The Internet here is not very good, so it would freeze a lot, but I’m so glad we got to talk and see each other. At night, we all went to our principal’s house and had a game night. We all had a great time! Our principal and his wife are awesome! We are blessed.
Sunday was really stressful because it was the last day before classes started. I was excited and super nervous at the same time, but my nervousness went away when I met my students. They are precious! The first day I had 15 students. At the end of my first day I found out that one of my students was supposed to be in 1st grade lol One of my girls wouldn’t stop crying, so her mom had to come back and stay in the classroom. The next day, the mom stayed, but less than half way through the class she walked out with her daughter and didn’t come back the rest of the week. I guess she decided she wasn’t ready for school yet:/ So as of now, I have 13 students. The whole week we mostly went over rules and procedures and did some activities, and on Friday we had a welcome back party! My kids are pretty noisy and I have one boy who doesn’t listen, but it’s their first time at school, so it’s understandable; I know it will get better:) On Friday, four of my students told me they loved me and my heart melted! I love these children already! I’m excited for this year!:D
I’ll try to update my blog as often as I can. I miss you all! I hope you are all doing well!
p.s. Sorry for the really long post.
-Jessica