Red-faced no more!

The rash is gone the rash is gone! You have no idea how jubilant I was last week when I realized that the frickin rash had finally subsided. Who knows what caused it and why. All that is left, yes, I did lie a bit but really the freak face is no longer as apparent as before, is dry skin. Moisturizer helps but I'm rather paranoid putting anything on it! Anyway, I feel much better these days.

Language class is going well as well as the rest of training. Today we learned how to gut a fish and de-scale it. Don't worry Dad and Hal, I proved my skills and actually one teacher commented on my fisherman abilities. You would have been proud. I sliced the stomach open and yanked out the guts. This sounds odd, but yanking the guts reminded me of sucking the head of a crawfish. Is it weird that my mouth started salivating? Damn. Just thinking about it makes my stomach growl. My friend Erica was having problems so j took over for her. Dealing with the guts and smell didn't bode well with her.

Speaking of Erica- this past Saturday was her 23rd birthday! So to celebrate, she, Kate, and I went to Nan Madol. We checked out the ruins quickly before making our way into the water. Although the bottom isn't sandy and glorious, the water was amazing. We sat in the water looking out at the nearby island and simply enjoyed the beautiful day. Our friend Morgan, a local, tagged along as our tour guide and when it came time to depart, he decided to take us an around about way home. I was game and although Kate was a bit whinny, we went ahead and followed him. He prefaced the journey by saying 1)this will only take about 10 minutes and 2) you will get to see our town from a high point...2 statements that I will be more cognizant of in the future.

So the journey begin...we hike up this road and up the mountain that is now made up of deep ravines that even a truck can not get up. It's hot and were all wet from swimming. Kate is complaining that her legs are chaffing and Erica is commenting that she's going to sprain her ankle. I am trying to remain optimistic and peppy and tell Morgan that everything is fine.

We are hiking along and it's nearing 5 pm. We come to a house and end up cutting behind it into the jungle- literally the jungle. We are now going down the mountain and are following the water pipe. The shit is scary! I'm sliding all over the place, tripping over roots, and sliding down deep trenches, where I have to shimmy my way down. Kate keeps commenting and muttering under her breath and Erica is now convinced that, yes, she is going to break her ankle. I'm still maintaining and ask Morgan several times "how much longer?". He responds with "3 minutes and we will be at the highest point in this district.". I tell the girls but they aren't buying it. Finally we reach a place where we can see our training site in the distance and before we can marvel in it, Morgan pushes us on. So, now were in the middle of this jungle going down the mountain and have passed our scenic lookout spot. My optimism is fading and I'm starting to feel a bit nervous. We are wet, tired, and hungry and it's getting late. If we have to climb the mountain, we are not getting home until well after dark.

So the expedition continues...I cut my foot, Kates shoes are rubbing blisters(don't forget about the chaffing on her legs) and Erica has grown quiet, also not a good sign. Eventually I can't go on without a break. I tell Morgan that we have to stop and evaluate and he seems confused. I don't care at this point and we stop for a rest. Kates muttering that she doesn't know how she's climbing back up this mountain, blah, blah, blah...and I'm simply tired. We pee and hang for a bit before deciding that were losing daylight- and so we press on. Oh, but what's that 100 feet in the distance? A road?! No shit! It's a road...that forks...and yes, we are now almost home! Morgan hooked it up with a great shortcut through the jungle. You can only imagine how thrilled we were to know where we were. A first of many lessons on communication barriers.

Needless to say, we all made it home safely and indulged in a cocktail and laughed about the entire day. I can't wait to see what we do for my birthday!?

For my exciting news...I started scuba diving class last night and will go out on my first closed water dive on Saturday. I'm super stoked to get certified especially since I will be living close to Kolonia and will have access to many dive sights. The teacher for the class is a peace corps alumnist from the 1960s and never left the island. He looks like Santa and is super jolly! Haha!

The weather has been interesting. According to locals we are entering the rainy season as well as the trade winds. Wind is awesome! Rain is good mainly because it really cools the air. Humidity- well that's a given. But actually my body is adjusting to it. It's much more intense than living in New Orleans but half the time I don't even take notice of it. I'm just excited about having some sort of breeze!

Food is still an interesting aspect of this experience. This morning I ate oatmeal while my sister ate rice and canned Vienna sausages. Muy interesante. I considered taking a bite of the sausage...I love those things! Remember Mer when your parets would buy me a case of them monthly freshman year? So fricking tasty! Yam season is upon us and will be here through March.  They are pretty good, although starchy, but when dipped in ketchup- deeeelicous! I'm over rice. Totally over it. My sister asked me the other day what I ate in the states. She was shocked that I didn't eat pork, rice and was in a state of complete confusion when I said I didn't eat canned food- particularly corned beef and spam. The good part is that I won't have to eat it for the rest of my stay...canned tuna and Vienna sausages though will do just fine. :)

Last week I made black bean burritos! So so so good. The tortillas I found at a wholesale outlet cost me $7 but it was worth it. I made them last for 4 meals. Oh how I miss cheese...I considered buying some but it would have cost me $25 for a considerably large chunk...I couldn't bring myself to pay that much. I'm sure once I get settled I will indulge myself.

I heard through the coconut wire that Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize...how did that go over with the majority of Americans? What other news am I missing out on? I feel out of the loop so please write me! I need details of American life...aham@huskers.unl.edu.

Grandma Modie- thank you for the lovely letter! I love you!

Brian, Misty, and Janet- thank you again for the packages. You don't know how great it is to get a piece of mail. Jenny-I look forward to the letters from the students. I know the kids here are gonna dig corresponding with American students!

Peace out, y'all!