Life in the Lagoon

Hello Eveyone. I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to update this blog until now. My island doesn't have electricity and I haven't had many oppotunities to come to Weno. Thanks to those of you who have written me. I am always happy anytime I hear from family and friends.
I have been on Fefen, my assigned island, for a little over two months now and a lot has happened. I am teaching 5th through 8th grade English at UFO Elementary School. UFO stands for the three villages that make up the community I live in (Ununo, Foggen and Onogoch). I live and work in Ununo. Fefen is the 4th largest island in Chuuk and is located in the Chuuk Lagoon (which is composed of several islands inside a huge reef). Outside of the lagoon are the outer islands. Fefen is a little bit more primitive than Weno, the capital. Fefan doesn't have any cars, restaurants, hotels or anything you would find in a city. I has one road and people walk everywhere they go. Fefen is an agriculture island so most people grow their own food (such as breadfruit, taro (a local root vegetable), pinapple, cucumber, banana, coconut and more. My host father is a fisherman and a farmer. Neither he or my host mother earns money so I buy everything that me and my family needs.
The women here wear local skirts and t-shirts and dresses to work and to church. Men wear shorts and t-shirts at home and pants and a short sleeve colared shirt to work. Their are several customs here. My favorite custom is sharing. People share everything here. Everywhere I walk, people invite me into their homes to eat with them and drink coffee. Usually we don't see that in the States. Everyone in UFO is Catholic and attends the catholic church in UFO every Sunday.
So far, I can say that I've been bitten by a dog (dogs are not pets here), eaten dog, gone spear fishing and line fishing, climbed a coconut tree, danced the cha-cha on New Years Eve and eaten turtle and turkey tail.
I'll try to give you all an idea about what I do on a typical day. At 6 a.m. I wake up and take a bucket shower. I eat breakfast (usually rice) at 7:00 a.m. and go to school between 7:30 and 8 a.m. School starts at 8:15 a.m. with my 5th grade homeroom class. I teach until 12:15 p.m., eat lunch and co-teach a special class to the 8th graders at 1 p.m. After that, I write my lesson plans for the next day and grade papers. After work, I like to take a walk through the village and play with the kids on the road. Around 5 p.m. I like to walk to the dock to watch the sunset. I am involved with the youth here and I attend their meetings every Sunday. I've helped them raise money for their activities and have provided them with advice. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I have Chuukese tutoring at 4 p.m. with a man who teaches English and math at the local high school. He's tutored PCVs before and he's been very helpful.
My house is great. It's concrete and is on a hill overlooking the road and school. I have two rooms (one to sleep in and one to store my stuff in). In my free time, I read, practice my Chuukese, go swimming, fishing, playing with the kids and taking pictures (by the way, I sent my real dad my disks from the digital camera so I hope he will send those to you soon).
Well, I have to go meet my host dad at the market so we can go back to Fefen. I hope this entry has give you more of idea about my life here. Despite the many challenges, I am glad that I am here and serving in the Peace Corps. I know I will learn and grow more than I can imagine during the two years I am here. Take care everyone and let me know how the presidential inaguration went.