Sorcha in Micronesia

Since I’ve been a bit behind on my blogging game recently I decided to join Blogging Abroad’s 10 week challenge. The prompt for the first week is “Your Why”. When I was a little girl I struggled a lot in school. Around the age of 7 I was diagnosed with dyslexia. I was one of the fortunate students. I had access to a great system of special education teachers and resources. From the age of 7 until 18 I had at least two sessions a week with a special education teacher to help me work around my learning disability. I was also very fortunate to attend typing lessons that were designed to help children with dyslexia and/or dyspraxia thrive in this modern world. However, not many students are as lucky as I was. All too often students with disabilities are never informed of their rights to accommodations required for schooling and standardized tests. A Kids As Self Advocates survey found that only 20% of [American] students with disabilities were informed that they had access to accommodation...

Me and my fellow PCV Devon getting ready to attend church   It took me a while to get used to Sundays on Kosrae as there is a whole list of things that one can and cannot do. As far as I know there are only two things that are illegal to do on Sundays the first is drinking alcohol or being drunk, and the second is fishing or harvesting marine life. Both of these laws are taken very seriously to the extent that during communion (which I’ve been told only happens four times a year for the Kosraen Congregational Church) they drink Kool-Aid instead of wine. People caught by the police drinking on Sundays will find themselves spending a few hours in jail. There are also things that are heavily frowned upon such as: exercise, playing games, swimming in the ocean, cooking outside during daylight, crafting, loud noises, and working.   You are, however, allowed to swim in rivers and in my host family that is used as a special treat for birthdays that fall on Sundays.  Most ...

Tuwo (Good Morning) and welcome to my blog, Snorkeling around the Blue Hole I have spent the past 4 months serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia. One of my two New Year’s resolutions this year is to keep an updated blog on my experiences as an English Co-teacher/Co-planner and Peace Corps Volunteer in Kosrae.   My other resolution is to read at least 1 book each week. I’m going to first provide some background information about Kosrae and then I’ll tell you a bit about my time on Kosrae. Kosrae (pronounced KOSH-RYE) is a small, 42 square mile island, in Micronesia. There are about 6,000 people living on the island. The main language that is spoken here is Kosraen although due to English being taught at 3 rd grade up most adults can speak English. The main religion on Kosrae is Kosrae Congregational. Kosrae is split up into four districts Tafunsak, Lelu, Malem, and Utwe. Walung is a remote area of the island that is more or less o...