Travels Across Micronesia

Aloha,

Departing Honolulu October 26, we are traveling across the western Pacific Ocean as part of the launch of the newly funded NSF grant entitled Project Macimise. We will be visiting (in order) Majuro on the Marshall Islands, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Guam, Palau, Yap, and Saipan. We return to Honolulu the evening of Nov 13. See the not so good map below.

This Blog will focus mainly on educational aspects of the various places we are visiting. Hopefully it will serve to allow many folks, but particularly prospective teachers with whom Sandy works at the University of Hawai‘i, gain an awareness of the islands of the western Pacific north of the equator, a bit about these islands' cultures, languages, physical settings, and the challenges faced by them in today's world. Many children from these islands are coming to Hawai‘i for schooling. Teachers in Hawai‘i struggle to 'connect' with these young persons. Perhaps gaining some awareness regarding the home islands and cultures of these students will provide insights for new and practicing teachers to work with Micronesian children. It is towards that goal that this Blog is dedicated.

And as you can see above, we have a suitcase full of glasses that folks have generously donated to us. The few boxes of chocolate mac nuts are used as gifts. Carrying and distributing reading and other kinds of glasses is something Sandra started six or seven years ago. It has grown to the point that now we need a whole suitcase to hold the glasses. People on the islands that we visit are most grateful to get them as most islands don't have access to glasses and eye doctors. The glasses in the suitcase are wrapped in plastic bags, each labeled as to the strength of the glasses.