Monday, March 30, 2009

After a Week of Teaching

The kids are eager to learn, but our cultures are very different. From my point of view they seem very quiet and shy, but I believe that they are taught that they are not allowed to interrupt someone by speaking first. It seems to pertain even when I ask "Are there any questions about that?"
Trinda has been sick again. It started with sinuses and now into the chest. I am hoping she will be better by the weekend. We are supposed to crew with Hawkeye in the monthly Majuro race.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

What?? a JOB!!

I seem to have accepted a job today! I start Monday. I'll be teaching beginner "Intro to the Internet" at the local collage here in Majuro. I'll have 3 sections with 15 to 18 students each. They will all have passed a typing class at more than 25 words a minute, (not that I can touch type) but I'll get them an email account and use a browser and chat stuff. It may be fun and have side benefits of time in the office with an internet connection!

I guess Trinda will have to go to the elementary school by her self now. I won't be able to help her there now. She is supposed to help the 9th grade girls make ear rings Tuesday. Also the Arts teacher wants us to come to her house for dinner soon. She is Korean, so should be interesting.

The dinghy did not make it in the container for delivery Mar 26 as I hoped, but is now to arrive April 9th. I sure hope it gets here then. I am sick of pumping the old one up. When the glue holding the transom to the side tubes pulled loose, it tore the side seams in the tubes so they boith leak. The leak is inside the area of the transom board, so I can't fix it! Arg!!!

It is raining here every afternoon for the last week or so. Today was the first day I actually got caught out in it. Look like a drowned rat. Thank goodness I had the computer in a water proof bag. The West Marine dry bags are really good.

Trinda spent the afternoon with Susan Sunday and planned to do it again sometime. She is a teacher at a different school than the one we have been going to. She is making a Kiribati blouse.

We plan to go anchor out 6 miles away for the week-end, at Enemonit.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Majuro Update

Remember I said we were getting a new dinghy? The old one has all the glue holding it together coming loose. Yesterday I just got the letter from my dinghy sales man. It had a check to pay the freight on the NEW replacement dingy they are giving me on warranty. I still can't hardly believe they are replacing it again.

It turns out that the first Extreme Cat dinghy was a 2006 model. They had a problem with the glue. It comes loose when it get hot. The previous owner of the company replaced it wait another 2006 model! The current owner of "AMI Boats" noticed this and said he would make sure the new one is a 2008 with no known problems. He even offered to pay the freight charges all the way to the Marshals!

We went to an after school project at the local co-oprate elementatry school. A lady, Sally makes hand made glass beads for doing beadwork crafts. she brought some to give to the teachers and mothers that were interested. Trinda took here bead and necklace supplies too. I took some wire and made a few names. They really wanted beads on them, so I finally did a few for them. I hate beads! It makes the wire hard to get into the pliers. Oh well, they all loved them and we had fun.

Today Trinda is teaching a local gal (Susan) how to sewe smocking for the blouses she made in Kiribati. They met in the laundry mat last week. We were going over there yesterday, but Susan's mother came in on the plane from one of the outer islands and she spent all day at the airport waiting for her.


I snuck out to play with the internet. It is really slow, this being Sunday here I guess everyone is home playing internet games???

The other day spike on a catamaran decided to repain his bottom anti fouling and asked for help. I volunteered for beer and pizza! Ha, I actually had to help with the paint too! During the full moon, the tide here goes in and out about 6 feet, so he simply found a sandy beach and went aground as high as he could during high tide (4:00 in the morning). We showed up about 9:30 and put the paint on. Then around 6PM he was able to float off with new paint. I wish it was that cheep and easy to paint the bottom of the Katie Lee!