The Danger of Jesus

No matter your thoughts or views on religion and spirituality it is difficult to argue with the wisdom of several of the “founders” of various religions throughout history.  Many of these individuals were radical, nuanced, deep and counter-culture and yet they are often used to defend seemingly mainstream unthinking ideas or even politics by uses quotes or sayings whose meanings are still and should be debated to this day.  Today in America Jesus is often quoted by both the right and the left to justify their self-righteous political convictions.   Both sides of the political argument misrepresent the wisdom of Jesus and try to craft him in their image, either liberal or conservative.  This is a futile attempt in that it is almost impossible to know what Jesus would have thought of a modern Republic of 300 million people and how citizens should act within this system.  The Religious Right puts Jesus up as a gun loving, nuke dropping, lover of individuality and the Christian Left seems to think that he is clearly in favor of every social program a modern country can afford and that Jesus was undoubtedly “liberal.”  I would love nothing more than to sit down over a cup of coffee or a bottle of Whiskey with Jesus and get his thoughts on numerous things, but to hear his opinions on these various groups who “know” exactly what he would want today would be enjoyable. 

            I’m a big Jesus fan.  There’s no question to me that he is on the short list of most remarkable and wise individuals in human history.  He understood people and the world in a way that few ever had.  He knew that everyone has deep struggles and needs others to get through this life that can often be a difficult journey.  Jesus’s own life was not absent of struggle, desperation and sadness all the way to his crucifixion where he begs for help and to be released from this fate that awaited him.  He experienced human pain, longing and suffering to a great degree and that’s only from the little that we actually know of his life from Scripture.  Regardless of one’s religious views it would be hard pressed for anyone except a hard-core Machiavelli or Ayn Rand disciple to take issue with the wisdom of the man Jesus. 

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            Last summer I attended a church whose lead pastor had implied that he had this Jesus guy all figured out.  When this pastor talked about what the church believed as a whole and what their theology was he simply said, “It’s easy, we just read what he said.”  I personally found this hilarious.  It’s not easy!  It’s not what he said that is important, but what he or anyone means!  What Jesus meant is much more important than what he said.  When he said that a person’s faith could move mountains or that the Kingdom of God lives within you he didn’t literally mean you could will a mountain to move or that there was an entire country within your body.  He used all sorts of literary and speaking devices to make points and they are not always easily discernable.  If it was easy, then it would be logical to assume that all Christians would agree on everything, but after 2000 years of Christianity there are 100’s of denominations all having different beliefs and the new en vogue thing of rejecting the label “Christian” all together in favor of an attempt to recapture the early Church practices.  

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            As people we always want things to be easy and black and white.  However, when we look at someone like Jesus and his life it should be obvious that life is not that way.  He embraced story telling, nuance and speaking against the various systems of the day.  Too often people have done and do things in Jesus’ name that would be hard to justify with the way the man spoke and lived his life.  I have read so many articles and studies recently about how the “millennial” generation is seemingly leaving the Church in mass numbers, but not leaving their faith behind.  For more and more of this younger generation (that I am just barely part of) Jesus represents aiding the poor and loving your neighbor, not building bigger and bigger Churches that get more and more exclusive and claim to “know the answers” to the most divisive issues for the past 2000 years.  I can’t tell you how many times I have been in Churches where I hear a pastor say something along these lines, “For 1000’s of years people have interpreted this passage this way, but what it really means is…”  This arrogance to think that you have broken some code that has been misinterpreted for centuries really strikes me as strange. 

            Jesus’ message can appear simple, but is really nuanced and complicated.  When asked what the greatest commandment is, Jesus responds to love God and to love your neighbor.  Easy right?  Not quite.  What does that look like?  What one person may think of as loving another may not be to another?  It’s not as simple as we’d like, especially when the Greeks have multiple words for love and we only have one, but we do know that Jesus wants us to love God and each other.  Even if we did know how to love, it is often times difficult to love, especially our enemies who Jesus commands his followers to love.  How do you do that?  How can we show love to people who hate or want to harm us and the ones we love?  I’m not sure, but I do know Jesus wants his followers to do that. 

            The point is that what Jesus said is not easy to do, but it is wise.  IF a group of “Christians” actually think that torture, war and arrogance are “Christian,” then that is not a team that I want to be on.  It’s ok to not have all of the answers and Christians need to be willing to admit that.  There is one church in my life that I absolutely loved attending and being part of.  There was a pastor at that Church that would often start his prayers by admitting, “I don’t know…” and continue to admit that we have some good ideas what God wants and expects from us, but he often pleaded for God to somehow make that clear to us and for us to keep a humble and open mind towards God and the world.  I admire that pastor and I miss that Church.  That Church avoids the major danger in following Jesus, thinking that you have him all figured out.   

 

Humpback Whales and not knowing...

Over New Year's we visited Maui with my parents and my Aunt.  One day we went out on a whale watch on a sturdy catamaran.  The seas were a bit rough and choppy, but the weather was beautiful.  It was roughly 75 degrees with minimal cloud cover.  As we headed out to sea one of the captains was telling us all about Humpback whales and what we might see today.  As he was explaining how they swim all the way down from Alaska one Humpback full breached ahead of the boat.  If you don't know what that means it is when the whale jumps and its entire body emerges out of the water.  Apparently, it is quite rare that they do this sort of breach.  It is an amazing sight to see an animal that large and powerful thrust itself out of the ocean and into the air. 

            Someone on the boat asked a great question at this point, "Why do the whales do that?"  Clearly they need to breathe, but why not just come up for a quick breath?  Why waste all that extra energy?  The answer from the "whale expert" on board was a great one, a simple but profound answer that we do not hear enough.  "We do not know."  He offered many possible reasons that marine-biologists thought might be accurate, but they just were not sure.  They theorizes the full breach may have something to do with marking territory, mating or just simply playing; but in reality those were only reasonable theories.    But animals don't use reason, they use instinct.  So whatever scientists may come up with as a plausible reason for the full whale breach is only reasonable to humans, not whales. They may not even have a reason.  Instinct isn't reasonable, it is a reaction, nothing more. 

            There is a lot of humility in saying, "I don't know."  It is something that all people should be willing to say more often.  But we also need to be careful.  This "whale expert" being unsure about why humpbacks full breach doesn't mean that marine biologists don't know anything about humpback whales, it means that there are certain nuances that they can't explain with any certainty.  We ought not mistake not knowing everything for knowing nothing. 

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            Last week there was a debate between Bill Nye "the science guy" and the founder of a "Creationist Museum" in Kentucky.  Many scientists, Christians and media members thought that the idea of this debate was silly and that the debate itself proved nothing.  I tend to think that the debate was actually pretty inconsequential as well, but for different reasons.  Most editorials that I read about the debate tended focus on how there are more than just two opinions on this "issue" but that only these two were included.  My problem with the debate was that you had one side arguing science and the other arguing religion.  One would be defended with data and logic based upon natural laws and the other would be defended using religious and philosophical theory.

            So many people were impressed that Bill Nye "the science guy" admitted that there were things he did not know about the beginnings of the universe.  I'm not sure why this impressed people so much, no real scientist claims to have solved every mystery of the universe.  However, that doesn't mean that science hasn't made substantial gains in what humans do know about the beginnings of the universe.  Just because science doesn't know "everything" it does not mean science does not illuminate a great many topics.  A vast majority of scientists agree on the age of the universe, the age of the Earth, when humans first emerged on Earth and much much more. 

            The sad part to me is when people are reluctant to say "I don't know."  They are so scared of the unknown that they replace the search for truth with some information that is often misplaced and misleading.  As a Christian I don't understand why so many Christians look at The Bible as a history or science book when it is so clearly neither.  Instead of simply admitting that The Bible is a collection of many different types of literature written by humans over thousands of years, but clearly not written as history or science.  In fact, these two academic disciplines would have been extremely unfamiliar or non-existent to these authors.  To have mentioned DNA, light years of radio-carbon dating in The Bible would have made no sense to the authors or their contempories since none of the above had been found by humans yet.  The Bible was written for moral and spiritual enrichment, not to enlighten humankind on how or when the world came about.  

            At the same time I am thoroughly perplexed by people who put all their faith in logic and reason.  There are many questions that science cannot answer for humanity.  They can’t speak to the spirit, consciousness and love.  These are aspects of the soul, whatever that is…  It is one of those things like the word perfect.  We can’t see it, but we have some idea of what it is.    

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            Just this morning CNN had a story on their website about a Pentecostal preacher named Jaime Coots from Kentucky who had his own reality show called “Snake Salvation.”   He had this show because he believed in a literal interpretation from the New Testament that a snakebite would not harm someone who was “anointed by God.”  He died today of…  (wait for it) a snakebite!  He would not allow doctors to help him because he knew that he would not die. 

           

            This situation seems to have 3 potential conclusions to me…

1.    God did not anoint this man.

2.    God does not really exist.

OR

3.    This man misinterpreted the point of the writing in exchange for a simple, but misguided understanding. 

            To me the third option is the most plausible.  This is a sad story for many reasons.  First and foremost a man died.  But secondly, he didn’t have to and this is the saddest part of the story.  If he would have had a better understanding of the text and that it is perfectly acceptable to use medicine or that God didn’t really expect him, as a pastor, to tame snakes, then he would be alive. 

            This story is an outrageous example of a prevalent problem in America today.  People will all too easily go to one extreme and completely sacrifice the other.  Either someone will disregard the most clear findings of science in exchange for a misinterpretation of an ancient sacred text or they will completely throw that text out in exchange for human a complete reliance on something extremely puzzling to science, human reason and logic. 

            Science and religion are two very different disciplines.  One is a process to reveal the laws of nature and the other offers answers the BIG questions that humankind has been wrestling with for hundreds of thousands of years.  They may not be the same, but they are not mutually exclusive.  We do not have to choose between them.  We can embrace science without destroying our faith.  Too many extremists do not believe that and that is when tragedy and irreconcilable conflict arises.  To continue moving forward we all need to be willing to say “I don’t know,” and collectively be willing to be open to the answers that we discover. 

Next Stop on the Rusin Train...

Janae and I have been thinking about next year ever since the beginning of this school year.  We essentially had 3 options available to us: 1. stay in Majuro.  2. live abroad again in a new exciting location  OR 3. return back to either Colorado or Chicago.  Throughout the past several months we have continually wavered on what we would prefer.  For a while I wanted to stay in Majuro, then we decided to look abroad and then we thought it might be best to go back to the States until Neyla was a bit older.  It was a very difficult decision especially since we had no real options yet for jobs next year.  Our first decision that we had to make was whether to stay here or go.  We decided that this year will be our last in Majuro.  It was a difficult decision, especially for me, but ultimately we decided that it’d be best for our small family.  That left two options on the table for next year. 

            As of now, most schools in Illinois and Colorado have not yet begun the hiring process for next year; therefore, the only schools that I have applied to are international schools.  I applied everywhere I could find with an opening for a Social Studies teacher.  Some jobs were already filled and some were just too far away for us to realistically consider.   But one job came along that I really wanted to explore.  We decided that if we were going to go abroad again that it would really need to be a “great fit” personally for our family and professionally for me.   We found that job in Guatemala.

            Immediately after I interviewed the first time I knew that I wanted this job.  The principal seemed to be a great leader and we hit it off swimmingly.  Now the questions were would he offer me the job and would Janae want to move to Guatemala?  Quickly, he let me know I was a leading candidate for the job, so Janae and I went to work investigating the Colegio Americano de Guatemala and the surrounding area to see if this would be a good fit for us.  After much investigating and emailing with people at the school we knew that we were in if we were offered the gig.  This past Saturday the Principal offered the job and I gladly accepted.

            The Rusins are going to continue the adventure in Guatemala for two more years!  This was not an easy decision, but it’s the right one.  We wanted to be closer and we will be.  Instead of 10,000 miles away and a $2000 flight from Majuro, we are less than a 5-hour plane ride and less than $600 away.  We have a 3-bedroom condo, so we are expecting visitors, and there are golf courses in Guatemala!  We will still dearly miss our family and friends back home and we will surely miss Majuro and our new amazing friends and family we have found here, but we are so excited for our future in Guatemala.  When Janae and I got engaged we knew that we would do this someday.  This was our dream to travel the world, live in different cultures and experience it all together.  We are living our dream; next stop Guatemala City!

Trim the Fat

Spending time living in a tiny, flat coral atoll on the other side of the world has really given me a new perspective and eliminated old assumptions I used to hold about humanity.  It has allowed both Janae and I to take an outsiders glimpse at a unique culture and gain a new paradigm on the lives we lived back in America.  We have come to the realization that whenever we do return to America we need to “trim the fat” on our lives a bit.  It is refreshing to live in a culture where little or no stress exists.  That is not to say life is easy here in the Marshalls, quite the contrary for many of the Marshallese people, but the outward ease at which daily life is led is so refreshing.  We also continually witness a value on being outdoors and enjoying what nature has to offer, there is almost no time when you will not see Marshallese people enjoying the beautiful weather the Pacific has to offer.  And finally, we have come to fully see the distractions of life in America that even the keenest of American observers do not notice in the States. 

            For many Marshallese life is not "easy."  It is estimated that the unemployment rate is somewhere just north of 50% and the poverty rate is probably higher.  These are estimates since it is quite difficult to gain accurate statistics in such an isolated country and one with a dramatically different culture in which modern western economic statistics often do not apply.  The real tragedy is that of the positives that modern culture has brought to the Marshalls among them is not the eradication of a subsistence lifestyle.  Since the introduction of a cash economy many people, mostly of the lower ri-jerbal class, have been dislocated from society and in a poor country have sadly been left to languish and introduce new problems of suicide, alcoholism and domestic violence into this beautiful nation.  Despite these economic and social catastrophes that have occurred value for the small moments in life and the here and now has not been lost upon the Marshallese.  True, there are monumental problems facing a new generation of Marshallese, but solutions to the aforementioned issues in a "modernizing" Marshall Islands will need to be found amongst the people of the Marshall Islands and not from the outside agencies (IMF, Asian Development Band and the American government) who claim to have the economic solutions for this tiny country.  The true issue here is the disconnection of a people from their land and a new value upon the almighty dollar.  Although this new Marshallese society is based upon the dollar, people are so eager not to lose their Marshallese identity and zest for the little things in life. 

            This zest transforms well into the children of the Marshall Islands.  As I am writing this it is 7:00 am in the morning and there are children beginning to come out to the field and basketball court here at school and begin their task for the day, which is playing.  It is refreshing to see kids out playing so much here in the Marshalls.  I remember back in the States always seeing so many unused or underused playgrounds and fields having been exchanged for the comforts of modern society.  In either a heated or cooled indoor space kids would be utilizing facebook, video games or television, is where too many children of the modern world spend their days.  In the Marshalls older brothers and sisters are to look after the younger ones and all day long the kids PLAY!  While there is a noticeable lack of adult supervision at almost all times which does lead some kids down dangerous roads, the opposite of helicopter worry warts that are prevalent in modern America is also just as damaging.  Kids have to grow up all too early in the Marshalls, but it may beat the generation of Americans who were so sheltered and spoiled that they never grew up. 

            In America it is so easy to just get rid of something that is broken or to waste things.  Water is free and clean, goods are cheap and productive, but that is not the case here in Majuro.  I never really knew how wasteful I was until I came to a place that simply can't afford to waste.  First off, things are really expensive here, so you can't just "go buy a new one." (On average a box of Cherrios costs over $8.00.)  Secondly, there is one tiny garbage dump on an island of just over 3 square miles with more than 20,000 people.  The dump is continually overflowing into the ocean, but there's really no room or to build another one.  The influx of modern goods with all its cans and wrappers and plastics have really done in the beauty of this once pristine corner of the world.  Our two amazing "fix it" men at Coop School, Walton and Manuel, will fix anything.  When we first got here we had a badly broken futon in our apartment and were hoping they could help us dump it.  Instead, they fixed it.  Then it broke again this year and this time they made a major fix that now has it better than new. 

            A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to fly back to Chicago for my best friends wedding and despite the difficulties that jet lag posed flying both ways, it was a fantastic weekend to see so many friends, family and celebrate a magnificent event.  Living in the Marshall Islands and then taking a 3-day break in Chicago really helped me notice the stark contrast in life and culture here in the Marshalls and in modern America.    For the few days that I was home I felt bombarded by advertisements and businesses, two things I am relatively immune to in Majuro.  At home some company was always trying to convince me that I needed their stuff, and I never really noticed how prevalent it was until I was removed from that situation.  Just the way that news reports, sports highlights and mundane commercials were delivered irked me.  I hadn't been inundated with it lately that I was able to see it as an outsider for what it is, polished well-delivered drivel.  It didn't seem like anyone believed or bought what they were selling, but wanted to sell it for some unknown reason.  From the local news having two well made up minorities delivering "sad" news of murder on the south side that they clearly couldn't care less about to Al Michaels's promo for the "War of 1812" that was taking place between Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck in Indianapolis.  All the glitz and glamour surrounding everything seemed so meaningless and empty it would have been comical if it weren’t so sad. 

            I love the city of Chicago and I have many cherished friends and family there, but what I always notice when I am there is how busy everyone is.  It is difficult to find a simple hour to spend time with some of my closest friends.  That is never the case here in Majuro.  Everyday me and my closest friends make time to check in with each other and see how our days were.  We play basketball, go for runs, play cards, share a meal or a beer and truly spend quality time together in meaningful conversation.  Nothing is rushed and nobody ever says, "I don't have time."  There's always time, nobody is ever in a rush or late.  It is impossible to be late in Majuro.  As much as I am a person who is always on time, I appreciate the laid back and stress free atmosphere that I now live in.  It seems that all too often in modern America people just don't have time for anything... 

            I love the country of my birth and I love the country I currently reside in.  When we go back to America in the future we will take these lessons we have learned.  Living in a 400 sq ft. apartment with no TV and a lousy Internet connection has forced us to spend more time together, to read more book and to be better people.  When we return home we'll have to “trim the fat” of things that just get in the way in America.  The things we now live without aren't a struggle, but in turn make us lead more significant lives.  We know how to get on without cable TV, a car or clean water.  We appreciate more and more the beauty of the world around us and we will spend as much time as possible living in that nature and not in temperature controlled rooms.               

Women in 2013

Women in 2013

by Janae Rusin

Sometimes I think about how other women in the future will perceive the American woman now. This is what I think an sociologist 200 years from now will say about American women in the year 2013.

"I have looked at these women and I find them quite the conundrum. There seemed to be as a whole, a lack of self esteem that was perpetuated by the media and especially advertising which was controlled primarily by men. But the irony is that the women bought the products that these ridiculous companies made which perpetuated the cycle. If they would've halted consumption, they would have greatly damaged these propaganda machines.

For example, there was this company called L' Oreal that sold makeup. Makeup seems to be a type of face painting the women did at the time but the idea was to make it not look like you were painting your face. This was a very confusing time for the women. L'Oreal had a slogan, "Because you're worth it." The only assumption, then, is that if you don't buy this makeup then you are not worth anything. Instead of rejecting this silly notion that the dyes one puts on her face makes her substantial in life; there was actually so much demand that there were hundreds of these makeup companies and thousands of makeup products. This competition, both among women and the companies, worked well with the economic system of the time - capitalism. Women primarily controlled the finances of the household but held almost no positions in heads of companies. It's this type of counterintuitive thinking that baffles me of this time. Thus changing this propaganda (perpetrated primarily by males but sometimes by her fellow females - females in power tended to act the way males did) was to be at a later date when females had more responsibility thus more of a say in companies.

In addition to the face painting, the women wore these stilt-like shoes called "high heels." These really fascinate me because there is no utilitarian function for them whatsoever. They are a perfect relic of the time because they portray the need for women to fit in and look beautiful even at the cost of physical harm to their feet. These stilt-like shoes were flat at the toes  and raised in the back causing foot problems to be rampant for women. Although some women rejected them as footwear, the general consensus was that high heels were representative of a strong, fashion forward female which was highly coveted at the time.

Though the majority called for equal rights for women, there was a known problem called the wage-gap. For the same job, woman made about 30% less than men. Although this was fairly widely know, especially in the more intellectual and powerful circles, I can see very little was done. There were two possible options for change: from the ground up or from the top down. The most rapid fix would've been for the government to mandate companies to have at least 40% women on their boards and transition power to females instead of mostly males thus making a top down change. Other countries at this time had done that. But since the economic system in America was capitalism that was an extremely unpopular notion because the prevailing thought was to let the markets decide everything without government intervention even if it was unfair to a certain people group.

Before you get too appalled you must remember at this time, American had not even had a female President! There was still an undercurrent of thinking that women should not and do not deserve to be in power - a leftover relic from archaic Christian thinking which pushed women to be second class citizens in the church. Church attendance was quite high in America at the time, and most churches held the belief that women were not to lead the church based on a verse in the Bible over half the people who believed this could not even name.

Although most thought women to be just as intelligent as men, women were considered flighty, gossips and too emotional. And I found it did become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I recently came across a relic called a magazine targeted for women that had no substance in current affairs. They mostly contained these paid messages called advertisements. These were part of the propaganda machine that promoted these makeup companies and fashion clothes and high heeled shoes. And guess what was the non-paid content of this magazine? Articles and pictures of "beautiful" women in makeup, expensive clothes and high heeled shoes! Women were consuming these products at an alarming rate indeed because they of course were seeing from every possible media source. But I very much want to take these women by the shoulders, shake them, and tell them to wake up from their cycle of meaninglessness. Yet I must remember how perspectives change with time.

The most sad aspect that I researched was the rate of eating disorders among women. In the media advertisements of women, models were used instead of real women who used the products. In a movement I have a hard time understanding, the type of woman used in advertisements was always skinny and usually in an unhealthy manner. For the most part, healthy body types were not represented, the emphasis was almost always on how thin one was. Since these women were bombarded with this "perfect" body type, they wanted to be thin too. So, instead of healthy eating, they dieted to the extreme. This was yet another topic the magazine would write about - how to diet effectively - another example of both creating the misinformation then reinforcing it. For the most part, women created and wrote the magazines and other information but don't forget the companies behind this all - the paid advertisers - were mostly all run by men.

Thus although women contributed to their own plight in 2013, they could've effectively ended it by stopping or curbing consumption of products, especially superfluous products. Since capitalism was the economic powerhouse of the time, reducing or ending demand would have drastic effects on the supply. The companies and advertisers needed to be stopped but they only would when they had a reason to stop: when their demand dried up.

Looking back we now know how it all ended. When Janae Rusin toppled the whole machine in 2014 when her daughter was two and she didn't want her to live in such a depressing place for women. Now we all have her to thank."

"Just a Mom"

In defense of being "just a mom"

by Janae Rusin

            I am officially banning the use of this phrase from my presence: just a mom. For those that knew me pretty much anytime before Neyla, you probably knew one of my worst fears was being just a mom. But now, I am taking care of Neyla as my full time job. What happened to me?

            I'm still getting used to my new occupation. When I met someone the other day, and they asked me what I did, I immediately replied, "Nothing." I felt like Hugh Grant in About a Boy. But in my case, that actually is not the right answer. I hang out with Neyla all day, and I make sure my little toddler doesn't kill herself. There's more to it, but that part is my biggest job, I would say. 

            I hate the lingo we use to describe full-time moms. We need to get a better PR team because they are all crap. Stay at home mom: what, I just sit at home all day? No that is not right. Full time mom: So if you work at a job with a paycheck, you are only a mom part time? That's not right either. People describe moms with a paycheck as work outside the home moms. Again, I work outside the home all the time. We also use working mom. I work, I promise you that!

            Recently our neighbor had a couch surfer come through and stay on our compound. He was in his mid-20s and was stopping through Majuro on his traveling world tour. When he was sitting next to me, my neighbor and fellow "no paycheck mom" (copyright Janae Rusin, 2013), he said, "It must be so amazing to just sit here, chill out all day, and do nothing!" I think that was the closest I've come to inciting physical violence in my life. For many, that is the perception. And please note, I include the younger, less wise version of myself.

            If you have never had to make the agonizing decision of staying at home with your children or getting a job, then you are not allowed to comment on being "just a mom." The funny part is, mostly women use this phrase on other women. C'mon ladies: aren't we truly liberated when we can make this decision for ourselves and for our family without criticizing one another? And it doesn't matter how smart you are. Really smart moms and educated moms are allowed to stay at home with their kids and should not feel like they are wasting their intelligence. This is why the phrase "just a mom" is so offensive to me. When people say it, they are implying that you are not fulfilling some duty to... God knows what...work at a corporation? We don't look down on teachers for teaching our children, why should we look down on moms for doing the same thing?

            It's not hard to see why being a full time mom is looked down upon. The pay sucks. The benefits are nonexistent. There's no such thing as a sick day and no days off. You pretty much deal with pee and poop for a good chunk of your day. It's not glamourous. Our capitalistic culture values money and prestige. None of which exists raising a kid. That's why I contend you cannot comment on this lifestyle choice until you've had kids.

            Hold your newborn in your arms the first day of their life, and then tell me it's easy to go back to work. Many women or men do not have the luxury of having a choice whether to go back to work or not. Many have to go to work for a paycheck to put food on the table. I know now what my younger self never realized: that I have the privilege of raising Neyla full time. I get more fulfillment and find more meaning out of one day of being "just a mom" than I ever did at my corporate job.

            I don't wish to make it sound like it's been any easy decision for me to stay with Neyla full time. It's been incredibly challenging and one I question almost on a daily basis. There's a good chance when I go back to the States I will get a paycheck job, mostly because I miss intellectual stimulation that Dora just can't give me. But if that happens, I will not regret one day of my time being a stay at home mom. And I will never again use the phrase to describe a no paycheck mom as "just a mom."

            

Only in Majuro...

Only in Majuro

            I was thinking the other day about how amazing life can be here in Majuro.  I started a list of things that I have done in the past month that I never would have been able to do if we still lived in Chicago or Colorado.  The list is actually surprisingly long.  Over the past month I saw a Whale Shark while fishing (the largest fish in the world), swam in a mile deep blue ocean, caroused in 5 foot waves in my “backyard,” worked out daily on the ocean shore, kayaked on the Pacific over beautiful coral, played in a significant regional basketball event and witnessed the Pacific Nations Forum.  It has been quite a month.

Whale Shark

This is "the" Whale Shark.  This picture was taken by one of the brave souls who jumped in.  

This was truly one of the most unique experiences of my life.  Anyone who knows me knows that I have never been fishing or eaten an orange.  I know, I know.  Anyways, I was able to check one of those off the list a few weeks ago.  I went fishing!  Seven teachers at Coop organized a daylong trip to go out on the open ocean and see what we could find.  As soon as we left the lagoon and entered the ocean the birds were going crazy, which is a great sign for fisherman.  We saw three whales immediately and towards the end of the day saw a few dolphins.  As the day was winding down we saw a swarm of birds out on the distant horizon and decided to go around for one more pass to see if we could find some Tuna.  As we approached the birds it quickly became clear that something “big” was happening out here.  It was a whale shark, the largest fish in the world.  He was swimming at the surface and had an uncountable number of fish swimming around him.  It was truly amazing to see a fish that was much bigger than the boat we were on and see him swim up to and right under the boat.  Several people on the boat decided this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to swim with a whale shark and jumped in.  I recorded them on video and was getting ready to jump in when my friend and colleague Alvin warned that there were also some oceanic white-tip sharks as well, which are one of the most dangerous sharks in the world, so I called an audible and stayed on the boat.  While I certainly wish I would have gotten in with the massive fish, just seeing it was a phenomenal experience.  

Swimming in Blue Ocean

During the middle of the fishing trip we anchored in mile deep water so our spear fishermen could see what they could find.  They didn’t catch any fish, but those of us on the boat did get out and swim around for nearly a half an hour in mile deep water.  We didn’t see any strange creature, but there were hundreds of tiny fish every color of the rainbow.  If you’ve never been swimming out in the ocean with no land or ocean floor around it is quite a surreal experience!

“Backyard” Swimming

A few weeks ago Janae and I went swimming with our close friends Dan and Rachelle in our “backyard.”  The tide was high and the water was about 5 foot deep with 4 to 5 foot waves.  It was quite amusing and so different to swim on a reef and not a beach.  It’s a great way to cool off after a workout or a hard fought basketball game in the Majuro sun. 

Daily Workouts on the Ocean

This one is sort of self explanatory, but it is the best gym in the world.  To watch the sunrise and get a workout in simultaneously is good for your body and soul.

Kayaking

Yesterday Janae and I were fortunate enough to be able to borrow our friends’ kayaks.  Robin and Bruce have some solid ocean kayaks and were kind enough to watch Neyla while we explored.  While we narrowly beat a torrential rainstorm, we were able to paddle the shore of Majuro and see beautiful coral and fish below.  It’s great exercise too.

Ralik-Ratak Basketball Invitational

The Lae team after our 1st game victory.  

My favorite thing about Majuro is the love of sport.  No matter what sport you’re playing or where, you’ll always draw a crowd.  But I am now playing in one of the biggest basketball events in the region.  I’m so happy to have been invited to play with the Lae team and we have a really solid squad.  I like our chances to take the title.  Here are a few pictures from our first game and win over Nauru.

Pacific Nations Forum

Each year the nations of the Pacific have a regional conference and this year it was held right here in Majuro.  It was really interesting and educational to be here for that and hear the discussions over climate change from a group of countries that this issue most dearly affects.  Scientists estimate that virtually the entire country of The Marshall Islands will be under water in less than 100 years unless something is reversed in the carbon emissions of the world.  The Forum’s theme for this year was, “Marshalling a response climate change.”  I thought that was rather clever.

Majuro, if nothing else, is definitely a place where Janae, Neyla and I have had some once in a lifetime experiences.  We’re looking forward to more!