Touring the island some more

The first quarter of the school year is now behind us, and I'm on the fast track toward winter break. It's amazing how quickly time seems to fly by here, as I'm just five weeks away from the holiday. It seems like just yesterday I was getting off the plane to start the school year.

This past weekend was Veteran's Day, and so we had an extra day off. This afforded me the opportunity to join a group of my colleagues on a bit of a tour around the island (they rented a golf cart). So we checked out some of the WWII sites and hit some of the island "attractions" as well. We drove by the golf course first, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a decent size, 9-hole course. It's not in the best of condition, but not bad considering our location. I used to play golf as a kid, so I'm looking forward to giving it another try out here... hopefully when very, very few people are around. It's been awhile. Hah.

We then hit two different glass beaches, where pieces of old glass long ago tossed into the ocean have washed ashore - many of them smooth and eroded down over years and years in the water. Some are really quite neat, with colorful and smooth chunks of glass sitting among the sand. It sounds a bit trashy, and much of it is indeed the result of ocean trash - but it's a fun little scavenger hunt experience.

After the glass excursions, we drove around the island a bit more and hit a few unique locations that I hadn't seen before. The Japanese cemetery that commemorates those Japanese soldiers who lost their lives during the Battle of Kwajalein was a particularly neat sight, as I had no idea such a spot was on the island. Apparently, each year a group of Japanese come to Kwajalein to pay their respects at the cemetery as well.

Our little tour continued for a bit after the cemetery stop as well, but this post is getting rather lengthy, so I'll wrap up here for now. Basically, it was a nice weekend to explore Kwajalein a bit more and break out of my typical work routine that prevented me from really getting out and about as much as I should have. And one of these days, I'm actually going to do the real WWII site tour that wraps around the island. I keep hitting various stops on the tour by accident, but never the whole thing. One day...

Naval Ship visits Kwaj, end of quarter

We had quite the neat opportunity about a week or so ago. A US Naval ship came into the harbor after finishing up a really amazing project. Not far from Kwajalein sits the wreck of a German heavy cruiser, the Prinz Eugen, from World War II. Once the ship capsized, it was basically just left there to rot, but the oil inside the ship remained.

Unfortunately however, that oil had started to leak, and so the Navy decided it was time for a cleanup. A ship came out with a team of Navy divers and pumped out all the oil, but when the ship was done, she came to Kwajalein for fuel and supplies. During that brief stop, the crew was kind enough to let the Jr/Sr high school students on board to tour the boat.

I got to tag along for one of these tours, and while no pictures were permitted inside the ship, I was able to get a few shots from outside.

It's hard to believe, but the first quarter is over and I've been on Kwajalein for about 2.5 months now. It's been quite the whirlwind, from an epic journey, to exploring a new life, and starting a new school year. But things have settled into a pretty normal routine now, with school five days a week and a few days of relaxation on Sunday and Monday (our weekend).  But now that it's coming up on winter back home, it certainly feels nice to walk outside to this...

We're also expecting to finally get out shipment of household goods, so that will be a nice little surprise when they finally arrive. Things will feel a bit more like home here.

Speaking of which, there are only about seven weeks or so before I'll be heading to my actual home for the winter break. It's going to feel strange coming from a tropical island to frigid Chicago (when many people are doing the reverse), but it will be nice to be back amongst friends and family again. And I will be very happy to see my canine buddy again...

Casey - or CaseyRaptor, or the CaseMonster... I have too many names for him. It's a problem. 

I knew it would be tough for leave him while I went on this little adventure, but I honestly wasn't prepared for my own emotional response. I miss the little guy! He's a handful sometimes, but I didn't realize how attached I was to this pooch until I had to leave him behind. Getting him back in December will be a heartwarming moment, but it will kill me again to leave him in January. If I'm not able to find a way to bring him out here, I'm not sure how long I'll be able to stay, because giving him up for good is just not an option.

Thank you to Chase (if you read this) for looking after him, and to the rest of my friends and family who may be helping care for this critter in the coming months. Ya'll rock!

Ebeye

I had a chance this weekend to visit one of the islands that is neighboring Kwajalein. The island is called Ebeye, and it sits around 4 miles from Kwaj. In fact, it's so close that during low tide, it's technically possible to walk between the islands (but not generally a good idea).  Ebeye is not owned by the United States, but is a part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). A ferry runs between Ebeye and Kwajalein about 10 times a day to shuttle workers and visitors back and forth.

The ferry, right before boarding

The trip by ferry takes about 20 minutes, and is a fairly pleasant journey across a small part of the lagoon. We enjoyed the short journey and as we got closer, Ebeye became visible off the side of the Ferry.

Ebeye has a population of around 16,000 people, but has an exceptionally high rate of poverty and unemployment. It's unfortunately been nicknamed the slum of the Pacific. The population density is enormous and the quality of housing is rather poor. That said, the people were all exceptionally kind and we had a great opportunity to walk around the island and do a little shopping.

Those are just a few shots of the island - I took quite a bit more, but it gives you a general idea of what the place looks like. On some level, it's not a bad place to be really, crime is low, people are friendly, and climate is fabulous. But the overcrowding and dire living conditions are abundantly clear.

Yet these islanders are generally the ones who provide the lower wage labor on Kwaj, from the maintenance staff to the check out clerks, the people of Ebeye are a critical part of the operation at the Kwajalein base. Without the base, many of these folks would have even fewer economic opportunities.

And the United States recognizes this contribution... we allow students from Ebeye to study at the American school system on Kwajalein. About 40 or so kids from Ebeye come over on the ferry every morning to go to class at the American school, There, they gain a stronger education than would be possible on Ebeye, and ideally get a chance at college or career readiness. Better still, due to a compact of free association with the Marshall Islands, anyone on Ebeye can come to the United States without a visa, at anytime.

So ultimately, we stayed on Ebeye for about an hour and a half, explored a bit, and took the next ferry back to Kwajalein. It was quite the contrast going between the two islands...

Quite the difference - a Kwajalein neighborhood

The Beach and Small School Woes

We had a chance to check out a different beach this past weekend. Hamilton Beach is one of the adult beaches on Kwajalein, with unescorted kids being entirely disallowed, and all kids disallowed by late afternoon. When we arrived, there were no more than 10 people at the beach, and it stayed that way for most of the day.

Arriving at the mostly empty beach... what a view! 

It was really a neat experience - the waters were warm and crystal clear, and the lack of people meant that you could really relax and enjoy the water without worrying about being bothered, or bothering others. We hung out for a few hours chatting with a few friends and had a pleasant afternoon.

I got a little roasted again, so I need to do a better job with the sunscreen. I swore I put it on this time, but apparently it wasn't good enough for living this close to the equator. So while it was an enjoyable weekend, I'll be sleeping on sun scorched skin for a few days now... again. Oh well... I'll figure out this sunscreen business eventually. Or my skin will turn into leather. Whichever comes first really.

The water looks like something out of a postcard.

But life isn't all beaches and and relaxation... school has been in session for over a month now. And my school is really quite an amazing place, with polite kids, small classes, and an incredible environment. Yet one of the biggest issues I hear from my students (and see myself) is the lack of curricular opportunities as compared to the states. With just 114 kids in the building, the chance for unique electives is sadly limited.

We do our best of course... the kids get to take art, music, home economics, wood shop, and computers. I think that's pretty darn impressive for a school of our size! But if a kid is perhaps interested in agriculture, auto mechanics, or speaking German, then they're basically out of luck. The same applies if they want to take most of the Advanced Placement courses (we have a few, but most AP's aren't offered). We do an incredible job with what we have, but we just don't have the ability to offer a ton out here.

So one alternative has been to phase in online classes in an attempt to include more electives. This lets the kids take classes in a whole array of subjects that we can't possibly offer. Some of my students will be starting this right now (we just purchased access to an online system), and so I'm interested to see how it compares to our in-house classes, and what the students think of it all. Several of my courses will be using this online content to go along with my teaching, so I'll get to see some results firsthand.

Guest Post: Tim Ryan - Teaching band and chorus on Kwajalein

Never in my life did I think I would be the band and chorus director for a school on an army base in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!  Welcome to Kwajalein-a hidden paradise found in the Marshall Islands.

Kwajalein is a small atoll that once was a battleground site during WWII.  Today, The USA uses Kwajalein as a defense missile base-and there are many unique jobs found on Kwaj.  I so happen to get to be in charge of the central Pacific's most dangerous band!

Currently, I'm teaching 5th grade band, 6th grade band, Jr High band, High School band, stage band, and I will be starting from scratch this year a choir program that has been non-existent for years.





My favorite part about being here is how well music is respected. Kwajalein Jr./Sr. High school has 114 students total and I have 70 of them in my band program. The entire 5th grade class chose to do band this year and nearly all the 6th grade decided to come back to band this school year.  The first day of choir I had 21 students show up. By the second class I had doubled to 42!

Right now I'm working on getting a trailer mounted to my bike (everyone travels on bikes here).  I will keep updating as I continue my journey here on Kwaj!

School & some history

It's now been two weeks since the start of classes, and school has been going well. The difference in student behavior and attitudes is really rather remarkable compared to what I was accustomed to stateside. I haven't had any serious behavior problems at all yet.. not even a tardy student. Perhaps it's just the honeymoon period with a new teacher that they don't know yet, but I can certainly get used to this.

Unfortunately however, for a school that sits on one of the most technologically advanced military facilities in the world, the technology in the school is rather... lacking. The computers in my lab are roughly eight years old, with some that are probably older.

They're labeled with Windows Vista stickers still, but thankfully have at least been upgraded to Windows 7. That said, the new contractor who recently took over the school was just as surprised as I was, and has indicated new machines will be in the pipeline.

Oh yes, that's a Parallel port and a Serial port on there. When did those ports die? Late 90's, Early 2000's?  

But all in all, that's a pretty minor complaint. The computers do work... and my classes are great. I do feel a bit like a new teacher again because I'm constantly making PowerPoints and assignments, but I don't really mind because the new content is fun for me to delve into.

When I'm not working though, I've been trying to explore the island a little. For a history nerd like myself, I came across quite the treasure trove of discoveries. Kwajalein was a WWII battle site where the US fought the Japanese, and the remains of that battle are littered across the island. I went for a bike ride this weekend and came across this...

ON THIS SPOT THE 7TH INFANTRY DIVISION
MAJOR-GENERAL C.H. CORLETT, U.S. ARMY
COMMANDING
 MADE THE FIRST LANDING INCIDENT TO
THE CAPTURE OF KWAJALEIN ISLAND
BY THE AMERICAN ARMED FORCES.
FEBRUARY 1ST, 1944.
THIS TABLET IS DEDICATED TO THE BRAVE
MEN WHO FOUGHT AND DIED HERE.  

Yep, that's a blown out Japanese bunker.

So now I'm on a mission to check out the rest of the WWII sites on the island, and eventually catch a free flight to another island north of here (Roi-Namur) where there are a few more WWII sites to see. But that's a blog post for another day...

School starts

So after about a week and a half of getting settled into island life and getting my classroom and curriculum ready, the school year has finally started here at Kwajalein Jr/Sr high school. Students started on Wednesday of this week, and so I just finished my first week of classes leading into the labor day weekend. Here's a few shots of the school and my computer lab...

I'm teaching quite a mix of courses this year. I've got Introduction to Business, Business Law, Computer Programming, Computer Service & Support, as well as a section of 7th grade computer class and a section of 8th grade computer class. So it's going to be a busy year, as a lot of those courses are new to the school and so I'll be working on putting together curriculum as the year progresses.

I'll also be helping with technology integration in the district (surprise, right?), as we're going 1:1 on Chromebooks for the first time this year. I've got the Chromebooks inventoried and mostly ready to go, but just working out a plan on how best to distribute them to students. The staff will also need some additional trainings and ideas on Chromebook use and Google Apps, so I'll be leading a PLC on Google Apps for Education this year as well.

So what about the actual teaching? This first week has been good. My classes are small here (largest group is 13 kids), and the students have been great. Most every kid has been polite, well behaved, and fairly active in doing their first assignments. I know a lot of that has to do with class size and the local culture, but it just proves to me (in my head at least) that class size absolutely makes a massive difference in how a classroom functions.

I know that seems obvious, but there are many in the educational policy world that argue class size isn't a big deal... I challenge them to make that claim after teaching a class to 34 students, and then teaching that same class to 12 students. If every educational policymaker did that for a year or two, then perhaps everyone can revisit the class size conversation.

Anyhow, it looks like it will be a busy but exciting school year. But for now, it's time to enjoy labor day weekend. It doesn't hurt that this is a short walk from my place...

Free time on Kwaj

I've now had two weekends on Kwaj, and so had a chance to experience some of the recreation options. On my first weekend here we got invited out on a boat to see the lagoon and some of the other surrounding islands. It was a cool experience for me because I'd never been on a small boat before... ever.

So once I got over the feeling that I was going to puke, it was an absolutely beautiful trip.  Seeing the smaller islands around the atoll was really cool, as most of them are undeveloped and so look like something out a national geographic magazine.

Once we got out on the water, I had a chance to try snorkeling for the first time. I'd actually never once swam in deep water before, so I chickened out a bit and wore a life vest this first time out. But once I got over my deep water nerves a bit, it was a really cool experience. The coral and various schools of fish were amazing to see, and we even spotted a shark about 50 yards from us.  All in all, it was a really neat experience. I want to try snorkeling some more, but will probably practice a bit off the beach to get more comfortable with it first.

The following weekend we decided to take in a movie instead of venturing out much because we got seriously roasted on the boat trip. I thought I put enough sun screen on, but I was wrong. Very, very wrong. So a movie seemed like a good bet and the theater is neat because it's an open air building.

It was a cool experience sitting in the theater, but the picture and sound quality left a lot to be desired. Maybe it was just the movie itself, so I'll give it another try - but it was hard to enjoy with the low resolution picture and tricky to understand sound.

But the time for fun and relaxation will be ending soon, as the school year starts in just a few days. We have one more teacher work day, and then the kids start on Wednesday, so summer is basically over. Once I start going to work every day, this will probably feel a lot less like a tropical vacation... oh well.

Exploring Kwaj

I've been on Kwajalein for a little less than a week now, and so have had a chance to explore a bit more and learn my way around. First and foremost, the island is certainly bigger than it looks from the air. It's still not BIG - but everything is not within the quick walking distance I thought it would be.

My school is around a 20 minute walk from where I live... not bad. I made the walk a few times and it's an absolutely gorgeous walk in a beautiful neighborhood. I felt like I was strolling through a vacation resort.

But when I wanted to go out to a beach that I was told would be devoid of students (important for a teacher) on another part of the island, I wanted to check it out. But Google maps showed it to be about a 50 minute walk, one way (around 3 miles or so). So that was out... especially because the island is prone to absolutely random rain showers.

So it was time to get ahold of the ultimate Kwajalein transportation tool - the bicycle. Civilians are not allowed to own motorized vehicles on the island, so everybody just rides a bike. I didn't have one, so I picked up an aluminum frame bike (to prevent rust) at the Bike Shop a few days ago. Here she is...

I also had the chance to go out on a boat with some colleagues and attempt (poorly) snorkeling for the first time. I'll save that for another blog post, but for now I'll leave you with a picture of the sun setting off Emon beach. It's an absolutely spectacular view...

Arrival

After 2 grueling days of flying through Los Angeles, Hawaii, and Majuro, we finally arrived on Kwajalein yesterday. Coming from the mainland United States, there's no two ways about it - it's a LONG journey. There are no direct flights to the Marshall Islands, and so your only option is to fly to Hawaii. From there, you get on board what's called the Island Hopper -- a United Airlines flight that stops at Kwajalein, amongst an array of other Pacific Islands as it ultimately across the Pacific. So yeah... lot's of airplane time.

We arrived on a Saturday afternoon and it immediately began raining. Thankfully, by the time we processed through security, the rain had stopped. My principals met all of us new teachers with vans and so we were able to get our luggage to our new rooms and tour the island a bit. 

I'm assigned to what is essentially a studio apartment called a Bachelor's Quarters, which all personnel who are not married with kids, basically receive. Mine is in a building called Surf. The room's really aren't too bad, and were slightly bigger than I actually expected...

After putting my things down and getting a tour of the island, I essentially spent the day unpacking and exploring a bit. And this exploration took some time because moving quickly is hard when it's hot... oppressively hot. The temperature may say just 81 degrees, which sounds delightful - but with the massive humidity, it feels closer to 91 degrees. That said, once the sun started to set and an ocean breeze came in, it got much nicer, and the evening was downright pleasant. 

That's all for now - I just got here, so more information simply isn't in my brain yet. But I'll leave you with some pictures of my new island home (not the boring room). 

Getting ready to depart

I'm just a few days away from departing for my new adventure, teaching computers and business on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. So the first question is probably... huh? Where the heck is that?

Well, it's here... on that tiny little dot that you can't actually see. It's there though, I swear. Just look at the red marker. Or just search it out on Google Maps, and zoom in - a lot.

Basically, the island is home to the Reagan Test Site, where the US Army does a variety of missile defense tests, and has a wide array of fancy radars and such. The site is also used for some rocket launches and a variety of other research. Thus it happens to hold over 1,000 civilian personnel and their families. And those families have kids... hence a school system, and my new job.

Here...

And here's a better look at the island....

So - I leave on Sunday, August 12th, for my new company's deployment center in Texas, where I will go through some medical screening and do a variety of trainings. Then I'll fly out to Kwajalein sometime during that week. I'll post more about the trip itself and my time on the island once I get here.