I desperately miss my wife and daughter . It has been hard to be without my two
favorite people on the planet. However,
I am so thankful for having people around to help avoid the inevitable loneliness
and be as jubilant as I possibly can without Janae and Neyla.
Today is a majestic Saturday morning in Majuro. The sun is shining, the wind is gentle and
the natural music of the waves settle my soul.
I sit alone thinking, dreaming, imagining and I am appreciative for so
many people in my life.
First, my students. My 8th graders this year are an
amazing and fantastic bunch of young Marshallese kids. I am so bullish on the future of this tiny
and beautiful country after having spent one year with this group of brilliant
and passionate students. In many ways
they are typical teenagers, but I have gotten to know them to a point that I
believe epic greatness awaits their future.
I see future political leaders, business leaders, community organizers,
journalists, and other dedicated individuals to changing the Marshall Islands
into an efficient and dynamic Pacific country in the near future. I see this country becoming an authentic
leader with moral standing based on action and not just rhetoric with this
generation leading.
Second, my basketball
team. The average age of my “high school”
basketball team is 14 years old and half of my team are actually middle school
students. We routinely play against
teams who are mostly juniors and seniors.
Essentially we are boys playing against young men. Amazingly, we worked our tails off and achieved
3rd place in the Island High School tournament. How you may ask did we achieve such a
difficult task? The team was dedicated
to learning the proper way to play basketball and to supporting each other
against teams that were taller, faster and stronger. They inspired me. I am so proud of their achievements this year
and so happy that I was part of this season with them. The future is bright for COOP
basketball.
Third, my friends. There are so many people whose friendship I
greatly value in Majuro, too many to mention here. But I will specifically mention three
individuals who have always been amazing friends and colleagues to me. I affectionately refer to these three as Danny
LapLap, K-Cupp and 2ski.
Danny LapLap was my first true friend here in Majuro. When I
arrived in this small and isolated country he helped me figure this place out
and navigate my way through such a different culture from my own. Our shared love of basketball and
conversation continually gave us the opportunity to bond and form a friendship
that will never end.
K-Cupp was one of Janae’s best friends here in Majuro, and I
feel proud to call her a close friend as well as a huge part of our Majuro
family. There is nobody that Neyla will
miss from Majuro more than K-Cupp. Neyla
affectionately called her “Ka.” Ka would
always jambo (walking exploration) with Neyla and would graciously watch Neyla
when Janae and I needed a night out. Ka
was and is a great big sister or aunt-like figure for Neyla in a place where we
were far from family. Ka is one of the
kindest and compassionate people I have ever met and she has greatly helped me
to not be “down in the dumps” without my two girls being here.
2ski is the little brother that I never had. He is one of those people that you meet and
instantly there is a connection and trust that authentic relationships
require. I am proud to call him a
brother and life long friend. When I
leave Majuro I will desperately miss him.
He is one of those people that could make friends with a light post and
I feel fortunate that of all the people he could be a close friend with that he
has chosen to befriend and trust me.
I can’t wait to see Janae and Neyla again in just two short
weeks. But I will greatly miss
Majuro. This is the most bitter-sweet
moment of my entire life. I will miss
the Marshall Islands incredibly. Those
who I have mentioned here have been instrumental in my keeping my sanity over
the past few weeks and I will miss them the most. I love the old cliché, “this is not goodbye,
but see you later.”
