A Chuukese Wedding

This last Sunday I had the privilege to attend a Chuukese wedding here at our SDA church. Chuukese weddings are much like weddings in America but there are a few things that are very different.
The teachers were in charge of making enough cupcakes to feed about 200 people! Let's just say that Saturday night was filled with LOTS of cake mix! We also were in charge of decorations, which we also worked on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
After much hard work the church was transformed into wedding worthy looks. The wedding, which was scheduled for 12 PM, started at 1:30. The church was ABSOLUTELY packed. People lined the windows outside just to watch the ceremony. Luckily, some of us SMs were able to get a seat inside.
The wedding started with the entrance of important people, family member, adorable flower girls and Bible bearers, and the usual groomsmen and bridesmaids. One thing they did differently is they had the groomsmen come in first and line up. Then as the bridesmaids walked in they, the groomsmen, met them half way, gave them a flower, and escorted them to their spots.
It was then the brides time to walk in (in which no one stood up, which was really different to me). Her father escorted her half way where the groom came and met her with a flower. As they reached the front of the church the groomsmen pulled out a couch for them to sit on (definitely going down at my wedding) during the message. The message was given in both Chuukese and English. Vows were exchanged, a special Chuukese song was organized (on the spot), and the bride and groom exited the church.
The reception was in a tent outside in the parking lot. Chuukese culture includes a lot of food. Full course meals with LOTS of rice, chicken, bread fruit, and of course cupcakes were given out to everyone. The wedding ended about an hour and a half to two hours later.










Some other cultural differences between here and America is that people are not to show affection around their parents. No kissing, hand holding, or any affection was showed during the wedding. In normal, day to day life this is also true. It is also very rude to ask any one besides the bride or groom information about the wedding, or to just simply talk about it around or with them. Even if it is the mother of the bride, you are not to ask. Overall it was a very beautiful wedding!

Car wash!!

Each year the SDA high school puts on a Bible retreat for the high school students. From the way the students talk about it, they look forward to it every year! The Student Association for this year is trying to raise money so that the Bible retreat is free for all the students (they usually have to pay for food). So, during one of our holidays they organized a car wash!

So, Friday morning the high school advisers and a hand full of students hopped in our flat bed and headed out to town. We started setting up in front of the college on the island, but unfortunately we couldn't get the water hooked up right. So our second choice was to set up down the road. The downfall of this was we had to pay $50.00 just to use the spot. This wouldn't be so bad but we only charged a dollar per car!
The kids had great attitudes, however, and started at it. Many people drove by not interested at all, many cars took us up on our low priced offer, while others simply handed us money as a donation. The Chuukese people can be very giving people!!

Overall, we made about a $50.00 profit and the students had a lot of fun! The students were surprised to see me jump in and help, I think they expected the teachers to just sit there and watch them, but I'm much to ADD for that! I also got a pretty nice tan..err.. burn.

Conquerors

Life without a computer poses its difficulties. I have definitely learned the valuable lesson, more than once, that I can live without my laptop. We aren't sure if it is a bug or a hardware problem but it has attacked me TWICE! However, I am now equipped with a new laptop and have lots of things to update my blog on. Unfortunately another problem has come up, I have no idea where my camera is! Pray that it hasn't been stolen!!
Starting farther back and in the present, basketball has become the new exciting event at our school. We have both a guys and girls basketball team and they compete with the other high schools around the island. Currently The girls team is 2-0, and our guys are 3-4. This is a huge step up from year past they tell me!
I played basketball in high school my Junior and senior year. I loved it, but I was and never a pro at it. However, I was in the truck with Pedro (the guy's coach), on the way to the first guy's basketball game, and I asked him, curiously, who the girls' coach was. He then informed me that I in fact was the girls' coach. good to know!
Excited to have a new challenge, I found out who was on the team and started practices after school. Not all the players can come to practices, however, because they have to take the bus that leaves immediately after school. I soon found out who had played before, who had never played before, and what strengths and weaknesses the team had.
Our first game was against Xavior, which is the most "academic" and "prestigious" high school on the island. They even have an entry test in order to get in. Unfortunately we were told that the game was on Wednesday, when in fact it was on Tuesday. Tough break.
Our next gave was against Mizpah, at Chuuk high school's court. All day the girls were nervous slash excited. We started playing and were behind the whole game until the last quarter in which we shot ahead a good 6 points. Both teams were so excited that in between quarters team members and fans would go out and dance in the court, some even did flips and back hand springs. Some of my girls have basketball shoes, some of them play in socks, while others play bare foot, and some will even play in their skirts. We have professional refs who are suppose to show up, but when they don't e find temporary ones who may or may not REALLY know the rules. It was an amazing victory and my girls deserved it. They may not have a lot of experience but they are hard players. Our second game was against SCA, the catholic high school. We won 9 to 1.
Despite all the inconsistancies, games starting on "island time", and all the other things It is an exciting experience to be a part of both these student's academic and non academic lives. It has definitely helped me to get to know them better and love them more.

We are the lady Conquerors!! :D