WT Pohnpei 2011-2012

I spent the year teaching in Pohnpei, Micronesia in 2011-2012 and had a great experience! After returning the US, I became a teacher in large part due to my experience in Pohnpei. Plus, my younger brother is about to leave for his year in Kosrae through WorldTeach in a two months!

On island my year, there were ten volunteers (ages 21-60s) spread out among three public high schools and the College of Micronesia, and each of us lived with one other volunteer in a local apartment. You can drive around the island in about two-three hours, so the WT volunteers (along with Peace Corps and Jesuit volunteers) would often meet up on weekends.

I taught at the main, regional high school in Kolonia, the largest town on island. Although I signed up to teach math, I ended up switching to 12th grade English just before the school year (which I was happy to do!). I had Pohnpeian students as well as outer islander students who lived in the dorms during the school year - at one point, my students and I counted that amongst us, we spoke 8 languages! My classes had between 18-36 students and my students were wonderful and well-behaved, if lacking on essay writing skills. I also took over the College Prep club that a previous WT volunteer started at my school the year before. My students always hung out in my room during lunch and even taught me how to play ukulele!

Besides teaching, volunteers spent our free time reading, playing ukulele, hiking, and hanging around in general - island life really teaches you how to sit still for long periods of time :) Kolonia has a tiny movie theater, library, a couple bars, and a small expat scene, but otherwise, Pohnpei's really isolated. It's too expensive to ever leave Pohnpei during the year, but we did go camping on some of the smaller nearby islands (2 hour boat ride) on weekends and holidays which were the absolute most picturesque tropical paradises that you can imagine! Otherwise, take note that Pohnpei has NO beaches and is one of the rainiest places on earth!