May 2, 2011-4-H Highlights and Marshallese Melodies...

     The highlight of Monday was our end of the year 4-H picnic and recognition ceremony.  We invited our Ebeye friends to join us and met down at the beach for an early evening of fun in the sun and some picnic foods to wrap up our successful year of activities and events.  After eating and presenting the participants and adult volunteers with certificates, ribbons, and prizes, we enjoyed some Marshallese melodies from our Ebeye Citizenship Group.  In the Marshall Islands, the way to say "Komol" (Thank you) is with a song or two.  They almost always sing acapella, in Marshallese, and with lots of range and smiles.  Over the years and my work in the islands, I've been honored to be a part of this tradition several times, and I never tire of it.  It is always a special part of the end of any event, class, celebration, etc...and their melodies will forever remain in my heart, even after my years in the island have come to a close.  The 4-H Ebeye Citizenship club has also become a special part of my last few years here.  I keep saying that next year maybe we'll take a break from it, but I can never give it up.  Our annual picnic to Nene, campus clean-up, reading night, Kwaj island tour, and so many other events over the years which we have so graciously been asked to be a part of on Ebeye have become an essential part of making my quality of life here even better. I can't imagine not having a relationship with the host nation here, and frankly, I feel sorry for those who have never taken the time to learn more about the Marshallese culture or visit Ebeye, Third Island, or an outer island, especially since it is not a hard thing to do.  You simply hop on a boat or ask a Marshallese co-worker to show you around sometime.  They are usually very honored and pleased to allow you into their lives and share their culture with you.  They are so generous, kind, and appreciative.  These are traits that appear to come naturally to them, and there's much we as Americans can learn from their way of life.  It's all about family and taking care of each other, about enjoying life, and finding contentment in the circumstances life has placed you in, and who cannot appreciate that or gain understanding from being a part of that type of culture.  Of course, their way of life is not perfect, and not everyone is so good to each other all the time, but for the most part, I've had nothing but very positive and enlightening interactions from my time with the Marshallese, and my life here would be so much less full, exciting, and plain without the color, wisdom, and insight I have gained from being invited into their hearts and lives, and I can only hope I have provided them with some sort of service as well...I guess that's what the 4-H club is for me, my service to them, my thank you for all they have done for me and my family.  The hightlight of 4-H for me is the Marshallese Melodies that bring me so much joy and remind me of how much reaching out of your comfort zone and giving of your time and energy to serve others freely brings back to you personally, making life rich in ways that money, power, and fame never could.