Summertime, and the living is easy...

Let me share a few of my favorite Summer things with you...

And, of course, country music...

What would you add?

(A "Wednesday Files" post)

Mint Chip Ice Cream Pie (Sundays with Joy)

I don't know about you, but Summer has gotten a hold of me and taken me hostage.  Not that I am complaining about that... sunshine, beach days, carefree moments spent in between the stuff I must do.  I really would have it no other way.

What that means, however, is I have spent almost no time in my kitchen.  Yup, I have resorted to eating super easy food and lots of leftovers.

Whatever.

Leftovers are the bomb if they came from a good meal, right?

Something good about being a part of a cooking group (Sundays with Joy) is that there is some motivation to get myself in there and make something because, well, I have to.  I committed to this thing, and I want to see it through!  My husband had no complaints about that.  "You are making ice cream pie?" he asked.  "I'm not really sure what that is, but it sounds good!"  And so off to the kitchen I went.

The original recipe had this as a coffee-vanilla ice cream pie but ever since my husband gave up coffee  because I was tired of him being grumpy when it wasn't around (a Brazilian that doesn't drink coffee -- WHAT?! Yes, they are a rare species, but they do exist...) he won't taste anything that has any coffee flavor.  He didn't just give it up, but he rid himself of anything having to do with it.  Which means my Starbucks runs are always alone and he will not eat any mocha flavored ice cream or anything.  Oh well, more for me ;)  But mint chip?  Oh, we LOVE mint chip, so that is the flavor I went with.

To make it even more husband-friendly, I used Brazil nuts in the crust instead of walnuts.  Are Brazil nuts even really from Brazil?  I have no idea.  But the name sounds nice :)

I finished making this around 10pm on Friday night (yes, I was baking on a Friday night instead of going out -- call me a square if you want to, but if I am a square then I am a square with really good food in her kitchen and in her belly!) and then I tossed it in the freezer to finish up completely planning on taking pictures and enjoying it the next day.  Yet Summer took hold of me once again and I had no time for such behaviors.  Thus, when I was asked if we could try the pie last night I said, "Nope, the lighting is poor.  We have to wait until tomorrow so I can take pictures first."  This delicious pie has been there for 24 hours and yet I have not let anyone dig in. 

Poor husband.

You think that is bad enough, but then he woke up with a cold today.  A cold.  In the summer.  He has no desire to eat ice cream pie.  So sad for him...

But that didn't stop me.  I had it for breakfast ;)

Although it was more money than I normally spend on a dessert, this is totally and completely a repeater.  The recipe looked a little difficult but it wasn't at all.  And my favorite part is that everything I used, from the knock-off Nilla Wafers in the crust to the chocolate on top, it was all from Trader Joe's.  Why does that excite me?  Because anything that is TJ's name brand is guaranteed to be preservative and artificial flavor free.  Which is how I like it.  Not to mention cheaper than going than if I got the stuff at my other local grocery stores.  It's a win-win, I tell ya.

This recipe was taken from the Joy the Baker Cookbook, inspired by the Pioneer Woman.  To see Joy's complete idea, go grab the book.  For the recipe that inspired it all (and to see how to make the crust) visit Pioneer Woman's link, here.

COST: $9.32          Cost per Serving (8): $1.17

Muumuu-fabulous (Micronesian Summer, Part 6)

August 15, 2006

It is over.

Last night at the airport as I said goodbye to my friends (who I will see in a few weeks) and Eliki (who I will see sometime in the future, right?!  ) I cried. It wasn't that I was going to miss them (well, I will, but I know I will see them again) and it wasn't that I was glad to see them go. I have just never felt so much emotion hit at one time that was neither happiness or sadness. Everything we worked on for the past year, everything we did for the past 8 weeks, every time it felt like it was taking forever, every time it felt like it was going too fast... gone in a blink of an eye. Honestly, it was a huge mixture of incredible relief and accomplishment (WE DID IT GUYS!!!) combined with a big void. So I sat on the floor at the Koror International Airport Departure Gate in the middle of the night and shed a few tears while Fonzie, Keo, and Peterson played the guitar and sangs goodbye songs to our friends. Plus, I was tired from getting up at 3:45 in the morning... wink wink Keo, Pete, Rob, Quique and Caiti :)

What else is there to say? For starters, I made amazing friends this summer and became better friends with people I already loved. I experienced the two very separate worlds that I live in colliding and was able to share a little bit of both sides with the other. THAT was incredible. (Or muumuu-fabulous??? Hmm...) I grew and learned things that I had no idea were even out there for me to learn. And I saw every person in our team stretch and grow as well.

Of course, every growing experience comes with a couple regrets. My biggest one is not taking the time to write my thoughts, experiences, trials, triumphs, and just down-right-good-times down more often. There are so many stories that I don't want to forget, yet as the weeks roll by they are already starting to lose their flavor. Here is my chance to try to reclaim some of these memories.

Like the story of the Chuukese woman on the plane who, never having flown before, was terrified out of her mind. She couldn't buckle her seat belt, she read the magazine upside down at first, she didn't know how to put the mayo and mustard on her sandwich... My mar-mar was sitting heavy on my head so I passed it off to her. Wow. What a little thing can do. She took my hand in hers and said, "I like you!" And she did not let go. Who would have guessed that someday I would be riding through the air from one tiny island to the next, hand in hand, fingers interlocking, with a 48 year old Chuukese woman who doesn't speak my language?

The Paata ladies. Man, I love those crazy women! We spent hours playing Uno while saying Chuukese colors and numbers. Yes, I learned them. I was forced to so I could avoid them flicking my head when I got the word wrong! When the husband of one of the ladies was brought into the hospital and half the ladies left to stay with him (all relatives of some sort... you know, island style) I wanted to make sure I could go say goodbye to them. When I arrived at the hospital I turned around to see Esther, my 8 year old friend, and her Auntie Teresita, a large woman wearing a blue muumuu, running up the steep hill to hug me. I was almost in tears at the sight.



The Paata Ladies.

Basically, I loved Chuuk. No, scratch that. The rats running through our hair at night, the men being very open about what they wanted to do with us ("I make you Chuukese mother!") and the drunk locals throwing rocks... not the highlight of my life. But the people... I met some great people. I loved my experience in Chuuk. And I have been inspired by the youth of Chuuk, Kosrae, and Palau who have stepped up to the plate to lead in their communities in ways that foreigners cannot. Like Switson in Kosrae, and Emerson and Neet who have left to the outer islands in their home of Chuuk to translate for missionaries and have become missionaries themselves, at the ages of 17 and 19. And Keo and Pete, my good buddies from Palau, who have grown so much in the last couple of years since I last saw them, and are taking their responsibility seriously and determining to be leaders among their peers. That is the biggest thing I learned this summer: the youth of Micronesia are waiting to explode goodness for their world. We just need to learn how to tap into that.

I really liked every island. Each one had its own pluses and minuses, but I had a great experience on each. I have already told all about our friends in Kosrae and the fun times of Pohnpei and the (some of) the crazy stories in Chuuk, but I have good memories of the others too. Like the Liberation Day Parade in Guam. Or shopping with the topless women and men in loin clothes in Yap. And definitely the HUGE generosity of the people Palau and Peleliu specifically. We were given so much fish and bread and coconuts and cookies and warm meals... all from people who cannot really afford to do so, but give sacrificially because they care.

Camp, for the most part, was a huge success. The kids had the greatest time of their summer, and for some, possibly their lives. And we covered issues with them that seem too big for 10-12 year olds, but are things that DO need be addressed out here. Like drugs, suicide, teen pregnancy, and getting an education. In a place where suicide is rampant, girls are getting pregnant at age 12, and has the highest beer per capita in the Pacific, these are topics to be discussed. Big issues and straight up fun... that was what we did every day this summer. What a huge, but incredibly rewarding, responsibility!

Four and half years ago I stepped foot on this tiny little island nation and have been bouncing back and forth between here and home ever since.  Today I have seen how far my friends here have come -- and how they have grown me right along with them.



Yapese Stone Money

Basically, this has been the greatest summer of my life. Thank you to everyone who helped make that possible, whether you were financially supporting or thinking about us back at home or out here with us and took care of us like your long lost family. And, Camp Micronesia staff... thank you. You brought many smiles to my face. I truly had a great time. It was muumuu-fabulous. Ssss.


My food blog has been bit by a travel bug.  Follow along as I let my words from the past answer the question, "What place(s) have you visit that made the most impact on you?"  I am too busy enjoying summer to be whipping up anything good in the kitchen anyway... ;)

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Happy Hello (Micronesian Summer, Part 5)

July 7, 2006

Happy Kasalehlie!

Yes, I just wished you a Happy Hello. Every time we drive down the street on the back of the fire truck Andy yells out, "Kasalehlie!!!" But now it has morphed into, "Happy Kasalehlie!" I am sure the locals think we are crazy.

That's ok, we are.

We have spent the last 6 nights here in Pohnpei and it has been good. Although each island is distinctly Micronesian and share very similar cultures, both Kosrae and Pohnpei have their own uniqueness and beauty. Kosrae was filled with amazingly wonderful people and a family feel, and Pohnpei is filled with things to do and beauty. Of course, the people are still nice here, yet there are much more of them and we are in an actual town, so that does make a difference. Camp this week was different. Not bad, but different. The children here are lot more un-shy than Kosraean kids, so instead of us struggling to communicate and get them to talk, we are trying to channel their energy in positive ways. We had our last day of camp today and tomorrow we are on to Chuuk. I am sure that Chuuk will come with its own challenges and triumphs as well.

Besides camp, we spent our time fishing, snorkeling, laughing, listening to Andy sing, eating soursop, and traveling around the island. Yesterday we went to Ant and saw some great snorkeling... definitely made me excited about heading out to Palau. But I don't want Palau to come too fast... I worked too hard for this trip to be over in a blink of an eye and I want to enjoy and savor every moment of it. And I think I am. I have been sitting around or doing nothing a lot, but I have yet to be bored. Last night while I was on the boat as the full moon was out I was thinking it is too bad I have student teaching this quarter because otherwise I would be out here somewhere. I used to think that something was wrong with me... why do I keep coming back to Micronesia? But I have met so many people here who were teachers here at one point and have come back to share their talents... I have discovered that there is nothing wrong with that. And I also kept thinking that this time, that time, every time, would be my last time. But it hit me on the back of a truck driving through the jungle... Micronesia will be a big part of my life for a long time. I don't know how, I don't know when, but I do believe that I have a passion for this place and these people for a reason, and I am always so happy out here. I am happy at home, very happy, but I am happy in a completely different way when I am here. When we left Kosrae, I said goodbye to so many people not knowing if I would ever see them again. But several people told me, "Tiffany, you will be back. This is not goodbye. This is see you later." I think it might be true.**

**UPDATE FROM TODAY -- I did wind up back in Micronesia a few months later after I received a letter saying I had been accepted for a 5th grade teaching position -- which I NEVER EVEN APPLIED FOR.  Another great experience in my little unknown part of the world.





Erica debating whether or not to plunge off the waterfall.  She decided yes.

Trekking across old ruins in the jungle

 My food blog has been bit by a travel bug.  Follow along as I let my words from the past answer the question, "What place(s) have you visit that made the most impact on you?"  I am too busy enjoying summer to be whipping up anything good in the kitchen anyway... ;)

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Nighttime Spearfishing and Other Stories (Micronesian Summer, Part 4)

June 29, 2006

One week down and things are going good. Our week of camp ended and the kids absolutely loved it. It is so great to be snorkeling and hear the kids on the beach and in the streets singing songs we sing at camp, and the parents were so happy with it. A couple of us met one family and the children were so proud to introduce us to their parents and the grandma... I said good afternoon to her in Kosraean and she started a steady stream of Kosraean; I guess she thought I spoke the language! When she left she said something to the mom and the mom turned to me, "Stiffany" (they can't say my name for some reason) "Grandma says she will see you tomorrow!" I think I made a new friend :)

Where ever I go, the little ones really like me. Here at the school or in town, the little ones come up to me and tug on my skirt and smile. I am constantly picking up strange children who are following me around. Yesterday I went to the airport to pick up Katie and Eliki and the same thing was happening... little kids coming up to me, smiling and running away, or just touching me. One little girl kept saying "Nna asset, nna asset". Betty heard and she started laughing. "She is calling you 'White Mother'!"

Last night the boys really wanted to go reef fishing, and so a bunch decided to head out for a great fun adventure. But it didn't turn out as we planned. For about an hour and a half we hiked coral reef with shallow water with spear guns and encountered a bunch of fun stuff -- eels and stone fish included. There was no moon out so we had to be really careful because if you step on a stone fish, you die. I guess they have the anecdote at the hospital here MOST of the time, so maybe you wouldn't die, but you don't want to take the chance. Luckily we had Stephen and his machete to cut off the heads of any sea snakes coming our way (one, it only happened to one, but still...)  Besides trying to avoid these great creatures, we were constantly stepping on sea cucumbers. Gross. That's all there is to say about that. 

Finally, after an hour and a half of this, we decided it was time to turn back and we climbed the bank onto the runway at the Kosrae International Airport. Since a plane only comes in once a day, we figured it was safe, although illegal. And of course, while we are talking about our adventure of eels and killer fish amongst the sharp coral, what happens but the heavens open up with a tropical down pour. I never really envisioned myself walking on a international runway in the rain in the middle of the night, but many things that happen out here I never really envisioned happening. You would think that was it, but no... to get back to the truck we had to cross these boulders that are covered with vines which means you can't see where there are holes or not. Well, Eliki went one way and our Kosraean friend said she had an easier way so I thought, Why not take the easy way out? 

Yeah... 

Eliki and his group were on the beach a full 15 minutes before the rest of us, while we were were trudging through these vines and falling all over the place. We wound up with plenty of scrapes and bruises, no broken ankles and one good memory. It was an adventure, that is for sure, and I am glad I went. But some things only need to happen once in life!!!

July 7, 2006

Kosrae is over and we have arrived safely in Pohnpei. Leaving Kosrae was terrible... they had this great feast for us and all these gifts and food and songs, and everyone was crying. The kids, the adults, us. It was great to spend time with these new friends but so hard to say goodbye. It is hard to explain how we were able to become so close in such a short amount of time. I don't know if I can do this every week. That was one thing I didn't think of. When we left the airport and were walking out to the plane on the tarmac, they were waiting on the other side of the fence waving and blowing kisses... Caiti and I had to grab each other's hands and just keep walking. We were only there for two weeks, but it felt like a good, long time. The boys, of course, won't admit they were crying, but I saw tears in at least 3 of their eyes. I think we all fell in love with Kosrae.

Besides leaving and all that great stuff, we spent the week camping with the young adults, going on crazy expeditions, pushing the truck up a mountain, painting our faces like warriors with local berries, and fishing in the middle of the night. This is the stuff life should be made of. And now we have arrived in Pohnpei, which is much different but great in its own way. The lady at the store saw we were from Kosrae (we all had Kosrae skirts the local ladies made us) and said, "you will love Pohnpei much more." I don't think so. I think each island will be different and will have its own beauty and things to love, not one more than the other.

Our campers

With some of our local friends

Goodbye Party

My food blog has been bit by a travel bug.  Follow along as I let my words from the past answer the question, "What place(s) have you visit that made the most impact on you?"  I am too busy enjoying summer to be whipping up anything good in the kitchen anyway... ;)

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Happiness and Heartache in Paradise (Micronesian Summer, Part 3)

June 27, 2006

Right now I am sitting here in the room with the rainy jungle out the windows behind me. It is really hot and muggy and my legs are sticky so I am making sure they aren't touching, but it is good. I can hear the basketball being dribbled as the bigger kids are playing and a little girl is giggling really loud. Oh, and now Caiti is giving her world class laugh along with her. It is a good sound. I have had not had that much time to stop and write in a journal and this afternoon I scheduled it in only to find that my journal disappeared out of a broken zipper-compartment on my suitcase. So, I guess my blog will be my journal. Which may mean these will be the longest blogs ever, but since it is mostly for my benefit, that is ok :)

I have been storing up so much in my head that I wanted to put down on paper (now Caiti's laptop to be transferred to the computer with SLOW internet access) but time has kept marching, slowly as it does in the islands, but filled with more things I think I want to write. The other night we went to the jail with cookies and lemonade to just hang out with the inmates and let them know someone is thinking of them... these guys are intense. And not in the way you would think. They aren't dangerous really (most were drunk when they committed the crimes) and they aren't crazy. Just regular guys. Well, regular guys who have killed or raped or stolen something. But they don't seem much different from the people you meet on the streets. I say these guys are intense because I have never seen people so interested in life. We had a movie to watch with them and they were so helpful, carrying the projector and other equipment back to the van, shaking our hands, and thanking us for coming. I know some of our group were a little nervous to be around the prisoners, and although everyone was kind, you could tell there was some hesitancy from our side. But the respect they showed to us was so much more... giving up their seats so we would have a place to sit, putting the fan in our direction and enduring the heat themselves. These men who have killed and raped and stolen things showed us what kindness and love look like.

It only took a couple days of living in Paradise to remember this place, like all others, is not perfect. For all the happy smiles and giggling little girls, heartache is so prevalent. In one day I heard stories of two people that made my heart hurt. One girl, who I have been sitting with and talking to a lot, has a beautiful 3 year old daughter (who, I must add, loves me and follows me around everywhere). This lady got pregnant when she was 15, was married soon afterward, and then after giving birth to her daughter, gave up her husband to jail because he committed a hit and run while he was drunk. He is now in jail for 20 years. Another family's son got high and raped a little 5 year old girl when he was 16 years old. Since there is only a jail and no juvenile hall, he is under house arrest except for school or work, and then on his 18th birthday he will be taken into custody to serve out his sentence.

The difference for me with these stories than with most is I have seen how it impacts both sides, the victim and the person who has committed the crime. I see the son everyday as he comes to visit [our host family] Manny and Betty since they are neighbors.  Every morning I see him come and join their family worship. I met the husband of my friend and heard how he aches to see his daughter, who I play with everyday. And I feel for the family of the woman who was hit in the car accident and cannot imagine what trauma the 5 year old will have to suffer because of someone else's action. There is definitely pain and suffering everywhere, but there is almost no family on this island who is not hurting from the suffering of their loved ones, whether that person was a victim or they lost someone to jail and have shame when they face their neighbors.

barefoot basketball

learning to weave baskets

But the islands are still wonderful. To hear the voices of children singing and laughing, to see the beauty that is surrounding us, to just soak up the life here... it is amazing. Most of the children who are coming to camp this week dont speak English, so it has posed a challenge for us, but we have great young people helping us with the activities and translating. I ate my lunch today (tuna sandwich, rice, and white squash) out on a log under a coconut tree with Nellyn, Leoni, Shra, and 2 of our girls, and we learned that the same things that make you laugh in America make you laugh in Kosrae. Grocery shopping is quite an experience here because there are so many little stores, but no one big store that carries everything. So you have to drive around from store to store to get everything... it takes forever! And since the island has run out of many things (onions, rice and fish included) it takes more effort to put together a meal. And gas... the island has run out of gas (which is why there is no fish since the boats cant go out). Yesterday there was this long line of cars (about 40) waiting in line for this one gas station so we thought the gas had come.  Yet it had not.  We found out the reason this particular gas station had gas because the people don't like the gas pumps. They would rather put gas in their gar the Kosraean way with a milk jug filled with gasoline and a funnel! So when all the gas was gone, it was the new-fangled fancy gas stations that still have it left over :) 

back of a rusty truck -- our transportation of choice

it rained so hard you could literally take a shower in the rain

My food blog has been bit by a travel bug.  Follow along as I let my words from the past answer the question, "What place(s) have you visit that made the most impact on you?"  I am too busy enjoying summer to be whipping up anything good in the kitchen anyway... ;)

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On an Island Surrounded by Water (Micronesian Summer, Part 2)

 June 24, 2006

Kosrae is amazing. It isn't any different really than the villages of Palau (although it is of course different than the bustling city of Koror!) but it is still amazing. We have only been here 3 nights now (or as Andy counts, 8 meals), but we feel completely at home. It seems like we have been here for a long time... but a good long time. Our group is great, too. We were supposed to meet up with [our local leader] Eliki in Majuro so I got off the plane to meet him and went up to many a strange man asking if they were Eliki, but he was nowhere to be found. So I got back on the plane and headed on to Kosrae not knowing where he could be to find out that he is stuck in Ebeye by himself this week. But he will be coming out this Thursday.

Arriving in Kosrae, Erica receiving her mar-mar

Our first meal

Yesterday was the best day so far. We spent almost the entire day with the local people and got to know some of them. I went to the principal's house (a woman named Nellie) to say hi and her little son brought me inside where there were all these men were sleeping and I thought that I had the wrong house, but he dragged me to her room and there inside her little room were about 12 women and all their little children on the bed and the floor laughing and having a great time. They were so excited I came to visit so I sat with them and they showed me pictures of her trip to America and kept asking if I have been to those places (um, which bowling alley in which town, exactly???). The grandma didn't speak any English but she sat there rubbing my leg. Last night my little 3-year old friend Janeel (who Eric and I agree is the CUTEST child we have EVER seen!) came running up to me and I picked her up and was holding her with the other women and their little children, wearing my Micronesian skirt and my kosraean comb in my hair... Eric looked at me and laughed and told me I looked so Kosraean. Too bad I have my white skin and yellow hair ;) The rest of the evening was spent playing games with the kids and talking to the women. It was wonderful.

Do they come any more beautiful than this?!

Songs and games... you can speak any language and still get the same vibe

They spend their entire life right next to the ocean, but never had the chance to see what was underneath...

About a month ago I was talking to Jon about my fear of it not clicking with me. When I was [living in] Palau as a teacher, I just totally clicked with everything.  No question about it, I loved it. But I was so afraid it wasn't going to be the same this time. When I went back [to Palau] to visit for Christmas break later, I liked it a lot and I felt comfortable and at home, but I knew I was ready to be in America again, and I was afraid that I would spend my entire summer feeling that way, and since I am used to the cockroaches and the sweat and the big ugly spiders I would be, I don't know exactly... bored with it?  But I am not. I am just as happy here now as I was before. (I know I have never been HERE before, but Micronesia is Micronesia, trust me.) I do realize I am not as excited about some things as others, like Eric's fascination with the big frogs (he doesn't believe me that it easy to step on them at night, but he will find out soon enough) or Ryan's discovery that, yes, the island is surrounded by water. But I am still having the time of my life and I am where I am supposed to be. Playing with the kids, sitting around and getting to know the locals, taking walks and exploring, eating my fish and rice... I am definitely content.

Me (in the blue skirt) with Caiti and our new friends

My food blog has been bit by a travel bug.  Follow along as I let my words from the past answer the question, "What place(s) have you visit that made the most impact on you?"  I am too busy enjoying summer to be whipping up anything good in the kitchen anyway... ;)

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All my bags are packed... (Micronesian Summer, Part 1)

No, no... my bags are not packed.  They were, six years ago.  Today I sit on my couch, in my living room, in the home I share with my husband.  But back then I sat in my old room at home, surrounded by boxes of college dorm-room stuff.  (What else do you call a mixture of toasters, curling irons, and textbooks?)

I was reading through Cassandra's blog post this morning about wanting to travel and she asked at the end, "Where was the place you have gone to that has influenced you the most?"  That got me to thinking... they have ALL influenced me, and several are tied for influencing me "the most".  But there is one that I would like to share with you, and I have the first hand account thanks to my sporadic blogging back then.

There is too much to share for one post.  Too, too much.  Yet that works out perfectly because I am going incredibly busy for the next two weeks and will not be able to cook very often, so for a little while I am hijacking this here cooking blog that I have got going on and turning it into a travel blog.  Please take a little bit of your time over the next few days and follow my journey as I, along with 11 other college students, traverse across the pacific to bring a summer camp program to children who probably didn't know what the words "summer camp" mean, and learn a lot about the world and ourselves in the process.

June 19, 2006

It's here. Months of planning and work and sweat and sometimes tears, and when I wake up it will all begin. All my makeup, nice clothes, and non-essentials are packed away for several months, I have a suitcase and a carry on stuffed to the gills sitting in the living room, and I am terrified. Do I have everything? Did I make sure everything is taken care of for the trip? Did I take care of everything for myself? Am I ready to go into a land of little-to-no communication with the outside world? Basically, WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING??? It would be so much easier to just sleep in tomorrow and forget the whole thing.

But it probably wouldn't be as much fun.

So, here I am. No make up, no cute clothes, no computer to play on. Just me, some old skirts and t-shirts, and a bunch of questions. I don't really know what to expect, well, accept that whatever I do expect will turn out much different that I anticipate. I know that it will be great, but now I have just have to actually BELIEVE that.

Oh yeah, and I graduated college today.

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