Site Placement!

            Today was the most highly anticipated day of PST so far, the day we find out, if we pass PST and are sworn in as volunteers, where we’ll be spending the next two years. FSM is unique in that we learn our site placement at the beginning of PST and not at the end, like most other Peace Corps posts. We find out our sites at the beginning because, as a cohort, we learn five different languages, not just one. We had placement interviews on Tuesday and Wednesday and then this afternoon was the site placement ceremony. And…..drum roll please…….I will be serving at Walung Elementary in Walung, Kosrae.

             Walung is in the southwest of Kosrae and is very unique village for Kosrae. Unlike the rest of the FSM, Kosrae lost a large part of it’s culture due to the arrival off the whalers in 1800s who brought diseases, like smallpox, that killed all but 300 Kosraens. This meant that there were not enough people to full the traditional leadership positions in Kosrae and the traditional government system fell. Today, Kosrae has a very religious reputation, mainly because the community revolves around the church, since Kosrae lost much of it’s traditional community structure, structure which persists in Pohnpei, Chuuk and Yap. Walung is considered a more traditional village in Kosrae because it’s largely separated from the rest of Kosrae as the road does not continue past Utwe to Walung. In order to get to Walung, you take a boat from Utwe up the Walung Channel to Walung Village, a 10 or 15-minute ride, or you can walk or bike the unpaved road and small bridge, but I'm not sure how long that takes.

            I’m excited to finally know where I’ll be serving once I’m sworn in and can’t wait to start learning Kosraen. Living in Walung, I’ll have the best of both worlds, a living situation similar to the outer islands but with easy access to other volunteers and amenities like stores. I’ll hopefully be able to get my scuba certification sometime in the next two years and maybe I’ll learn how to surf as well. But most importantly, I’m looking forward to meeting my counterpart and other teachers and discovering what I can contribute to make sure our school and community are the best they can be.

 Dawn in Walung (http://www.buckettripper.com/drinking-kava-the-real-way/)