Living situation update - February

We’ve moved.

It’s kind of a long story and I don’t want to make anyone sound like a liar so I’ll just refrain from telling it.

Let me sum it up with a simple mathematical equation:

negativity from culture shock + negative living situation = negative attitude

The end result is that we moved to faculty housing on the Bethania campus and our new host-mother is one of my co-teachers. She has been our host-mother since the first day we arrived, so basically this just makes it official. She greeted us with mar-mars, leis and new clothes at our swearing-in ceremony. She took pictures of our first meeting and had them printed and gave me copies. When we got to campus and she gave us a tour, she told me right away that she will give me a Palauan hot bath if I want one – even if I’m in the United States and I want to come back for it. (How sweet!)

Anyway, it’s a big relief to be on campus. We’re much closer to school (both of us). We don’t have to get a van ride every morning, we can leave for school when we’re ready. It’s much easier to work here, since we have desks and tables and bookshelves (for books, not clothes). We don’t have to use a mosquito net here because there are screens on the windows, which effectively makes our usable living space expand from 10’ x 5’ to 40’ x 40’. And the locks on our doors are much sturdier than the ones in our old room. Also, we are in charge of our own water sanitation, which is much more reliable, and our own food, which makes our meals much more regular.

Overall, this is an excellent move for us.