WT Kosrae

I had an amazing year in Kosrae, Micronesia. I taught 10th and 11th grade Geometry and Algebra II, which is exactly what I had wanted to teach. I taught the honors students who were college bound and thus proficient in English (they had strong speaking skills but struggled more with English writing). My largest problems as a teacher were attendance and students not doing their homework, but never disrespectful behavior to me or each other.

The first few weeks during orientation, we lived with host families, which turned out to be crucial for me in understanding the culture and where my students were coming from. I then moved into an apartment with three other volunteers. These girls became my "soul friends" as I now call them. We cooked all of our own meals, except for special occasions when we went to one of four restaurants/bars on the island (three run by expats and one local) or to community and church events. There is one road that goes around the circumference of the island - everyone lives off of that road so there are no addresses. We spent our free time riding our bikes around the island, hiking, swimming, snorkeling, getting scuba diving certified, learning ukulele, watching movies, reading, running after school clubs, tutoring, spending time with our host families, etc. It's a small island but with being a first year teacher and all of the adventuring that could be had, I never got bored. It was a very impactful year on my life.