Shortly after completing the first draft of my Peace Corps Memoir, I was contacted by my friend, Abe, who had also served on Kosrae as a Peace Corps Volunteer. We talked over my previous title, "Island of Devils", which he felt was going too far. I took a few weeks to think it over and, after being contacted by my good Kosraean friend, Heinson, I decided that Abe was right. So I've now retitled my memoir "A Valiant Effort: How God Enabled A Peace Corps Volunteer To Give His All In The Caucasus And The Pacific." The title is a lot better and also captures the spirit I want my memoir to have.
Besides, despite my negative experience there, I did make some Kosraean friends. Heinson and Shrew are the best ones, but my vice principal also was amazing. I still remember the time when my children were getting rowdy in computer class and one of my students started blaring music from the speakers. It was right when my vice principal walked in, and I thought I was going to get my butt kicked. However, he turned and screamed at all my kids in rapid Kosraean and then turned to me, saying, in a very soft and reserved voice, that he just told them that they had to listen to me or they would lose their computer privileges, before turning around and walking out. My students were far better behaved than their American counterparts, due to the fact that Kosraean parents are actually allowed to discipline their kids without getting arrested or having them taken away by Social Services. That being said, I still had to go through some mild hazing as the new foreign teacher, but it was awesome to know that my vice principal was in my corner. In particular, I made the mistake of admitting that I had a crush on a local girl and every chance my students got, they teased me for it. It was all in good fun, though.
I finished typing up the first few chapters of "Air Wars" and hopefully will get to work on it a little bit each day. That being said, I don't have a lot of free time since I am getting used to being in a sales job again. I'm not worried because it's ADT Security; what I'm doing is the equivalent of a sales rep in the computer industry trying to sell Microsoft products. It's inevitable that someone is going to buy a system!
Anyways, "Daughter of the Seven Seas" is coming out on October 17, 2010. I'll post the link as soon as it comes out. You all will love it: it's awesome!
