Since M-77 Palau was in Koror for training, many of the other Palau PCVs decided to come in and hang out for the weekend. This gives me a perfect opportunity to introduce you to their quirky and unique personalities.
The cast of characters expands to include …
Katlin (Kebik) aka Party Girl – She’s an M-75 from Delaware that extended her service to remain on the beautiful island of Peleliu. Of all the volunteers, she is probably the most integrated into her community. She’s the only one of us who wears a REAL Palauan money bead. She gained her nickname from a face she likes to make when she’s confused or surprised. We call it her party girl face. She’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met and she’ll be ending her service soon to go home and try her hand at comedy. The world needs more laughter and we wish her the best.
Christa (Bosch) aka Creepsta – Outer-island social interaction or lack thereof makes her hungry for human interaction. When she arrives, we’re all ready for her signature move “the creepsta cuddle.” Her Palauan name is one vowel away from the Palauan word for pubes, so we refrain from even trying to say it. Her island, Kaneyngel is the smallest and widely considered the most beautiful. She has 10 kids at her school. And she loves it there. She will leave Peace Corps with impressive skills in pandanus weaving. When she finishes her service this year she’ll be heading home to Connecticut to marry the man of her dreams.
Rob (Ngelechel) aka Robeldoab – He’s an outer-island volunteer in Angaur. He describes to us how tough this is by mentioning that sometimes the store on his island runs out of peanut M&M's. He coached Palau’s elementary school spelling bee winner to victory and accompanied him to Guam to compete in the U.S. National Spelling Bee. He’s done a lot of work to update and maintain his school library. He’s very generous and thoughtful and kind and we all return the favor by telling him he dresses poorly. When he returns home he’ll be headed to business school, where we can only assume he will impress upon his fellow students the importance of keeping peanut M&M's in stock.
Matt (Yars) aka Sunshine – Matt is the handsome devil who lives in Meyuns, just outside of Koror. He’s done a lot of health and fitness projects during his time in Palau. He can often be found on the track, working with his rowing team, and competing in sports events on the weekend. When he’s not gracing the local papers with photos of his athletic successes, he’s creating his own line of hand-made clothing. He really enjoys being an educator (and the academic calendar that goes along with it) and will further pursue his education in Arizona.
Lauren (Surech) aka Ping-Ping Wah-Yeng – The only other M-76 volunteer who lives in Babeldoab with us. We stayed in her community during training. Laruen is known for her excellent persuasive skills. Ping-ping is the sound her long, luscious eyelashes make when she puts men in trances so they will not refuse her requests. Wah-Yeng is what her nieces call her. We combined these attributes to create “Ping-Ping Wah-Yeng.” Lauren created an impressive world map mural in her school cafeteria that made it on our commemorative Peace Corps postage stamp. She’s completed a lot of school improvement projects and has a really special bond with the kids at her school. She’ll be off to graduate school when she leaves Honeymoon Beach.
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