Reset

     i shuffled across the carpet (a very important accessory often taken for granted) towards the kitchen. Laid out on the table before me were four types of cereal, more varieties of fruit than i'd seen in six months, a bowl, and silverware. Was this the "culture shock" i'd heard so much about? Or maybe it was my still half delusional mind playing tricks on me. Then, the night before came pouring back, "Do you like cereal? What about fruit? What's your favorite? i wake up early, i'll get you what you want before you wake up. Are we coddling you? We like taking care of our kids.". This was all spewed forth in the matter of 4-5 seconds, and before i could reply, the breakfast feast appeared. Ah, parents.

     When i had arrived that Tuesday night, i was rushed to the SDA clinic, pumped full of IV fluid and antibiotics, poked a few times (some for good luck), and sent home with Steve and Carmen Kasperbauer (their son, Lawrence, is on Kosrae working on the school remodel-aka our roommate). i spent the next three days routinely plodding into the clinic, checking in, peeing in a cup, getting blood drawn, and sitting with an IV drip; classic. After a minor liver mishap (liver enzymes quadrupled in 4 days) and a few more bio hazardous samples, i was healthy enough to go back to my island home, still unsure of what disease(s) i'd contracted.

     Side story: Due to unknown reasons (conspiracy theory: it was a bomb) me and Sam Robinson (will post story on him later) were stranded on the Guam tarmac for 3 hours and then forced to stay on Majuro (no time to stop at Kosrae) for two days. While there we met a man looking to give free solar and wind power to a lucky party via US grants. Naturally, Sam took care of him, and set him up with the SDA school there.


     Weeks later, i think the super bug is as follows: Zika Virus mixed with a minor bacterial infection and parasite which resulted in hepatitis.


      Though i'd trade the trip to Guam if i could've stayed healthy, being away was a good "reset". While i was "resetting", i was surrounded by people who were more in tune with God than i knew was possible. It was an opportunity to take an outside look into the way God works, take a break from school, and get my head on straight for the rest of the year. Sometimes we get so focused on where we are at the moment, that we forget to see the big picture. God has a bigger plan than your day tomorrow, but stick with him, focus on that day to day, and He'll put the pieces together.



Updates: its been awhile, a lot has happened, not much has changed. We have a new apartment (next year's principle will be living large, his apartment is great).  Only 6 weeks left until we leave, 20 more days of class. Shun me if you want, but if i hear one more John Mayer song, i think i'll pop. After not knowing the alphabet phonics at the beginning of the year, my first graders have started to read (a true miracle from God). Blogging is hard after awhile in the same place, so i'll try my best to write a better one next time. We surfed a lot (after the construction finishes at 4pm) the past few weeks, that is, until our truck blew a head gasket due to a coolant hose leak. The electrician turned off the old apartment's power over the weekend....we had frozen fish in both freezers, my nose buds are fried, and so are the rest of the people's on Kosrae. Clarissa visited for her spring break. The GMM president and Uncle Steve Kasperbauer also visited. i'm officially leaving on May 27th (bittersweet, will blog on it later). Time to sign up for next year's classes....are you ready? Operation real life is almost a go.


Fung wo (goodnight),

Tyler