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micronesia
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EFL Educator



Joined: 17 Jul 2013
Posts: 988
Location: Cape Town

PostPosted: Wed Nov 11, 2015 4:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Micronesia is comparable to Puerto Rico when it comes to TEFL salaries....minimum wage is the norm! Shocked Shocked
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schwa



Joined: 12 Oct 2003
Posts: 164
Location: yap

PostPosted: Wed Nov 11, 2015 4:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sometimes money isnt the major driving force. Imagine that.
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EFL Educator



Joined: 17 Jul 2013
Posts: 988
Location: Cape Town

PostPosted: Thu Nov 12, 2015 3:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Micro Pay Earnings and Benefits (if any) for EFL teachers are to be found almost everywhere in Micronesia....of course volunteering is to be found everywhere on the these islands too....especially on GUAM which is an extremely boring place! Shocked Shocked Shocked
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EFL Educator



Joined: 17 Jul 2013
Posts: 988
Location: Cape Town

PostPosted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 5:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

schwa
It is still possible to go fishing for dollars under the Pacific sun to increase your EFL minimum wage earnings in MICROnesia.....me thinks you might even be able to even save for retirement by becoming an EFL FISHERMAN....just like what the local fishermen do!!! Shocked
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schwa



Joined: 12 Oct 2003
Posts: 164
Location: yap

PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 7:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

One year on now & landing here still feels serendipitous. Yap reminds me of my childhood 50~60 years ago, simpler times.

The school is fine. The kids are generally biddable, some are actually eager to learn, & the admin is hands-off. Gratifying job & mine as long as I want it, it seems.

Friendly island, everyone greets & smiles, safe. I feel fully accepted as a resident.

The island has drawbacks. Limited outside access (just two flights a week), grocery stores run bare between container ships, widespread poverty (but no beggars & no one goes hungry), & we're currently experiencing a serious drought, to be followed by typhoons. Islanders are resilient.

I wonder how many pockets of innocence like this will exist in 20 years. Yap faces increasing pressure to "develop," ie open itself to Chinese & other investors for big resorts, casinos, & swarms of insensitive tourists. A way of life would be lost.
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D. Amokachi



Joined: 15 Oct 2014
Posts: 60

PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 9:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Glad you're enjoying it out there Schwa. Sounds like a nice life you've carved out for yourself.
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getbehindthemule



Joined: 15 Oct 2015
Posts: 712
Location: Shanghai

PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 1:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

schwa wrote:
One year on now & landing here still feels serendipitous. Yap reminds me of my childhood 50~60 years ago, simpler times.

The school is fine. The kids are generally biddable, some are actually eager to learn, & the admin is hands-off. Gratifying job & mine as long as I want it, it seems.

Friendly island, everyone greets & smiles, safe. I feel fully accepted as a resident.

The island has drawbacks. Limited outside access (just two flights a week), grocery stores run bare between container ships, widespread poverty (but no beggars & no one goes hungry), & we're currently experiencing a serious drought, to be followed by typhoons. Islanders are resilient.

I wonder how many pockets of innocence like this will exist in 20 years. Yap faces increasing pressure to "develop," ie open itself to Chinese & other investors for big resorts, casinos, & swarms of insensitive tourists. A way of life would be lost.


Fair play to you, sounds great! A refreshing alternative to the greed and money obsessed it seems!! And, you are making a big difference to students lives there I am sure. It's probably only a matter of time before the Chinese come in. It is amazing how corrupt money is being used to almost buy developing countries now (Cambodia is a good example).
Anyway, I wish you good luck and good health.
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piglet44



Joined: 26 Aug 2010
Posts: 157

PostPosted: Sat Jun 04, 2016 2:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great post, Schwa and kudos to you. When we retire and slow down, our needs are different from those of 30 year olds,right? Wink
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schwa



Joined: 12 Oct 2003
Posts: 164
Location: yap

PostPosted: Sun Jun 05, 2016 5:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the comments.

Yap Island is a gentle place & in light of some fairly extensive world travel I cant imagine anywhere else I'd rather be. Quiet after dark but we do have an authentic German brewpub on a moored 100-year-old Indonesian schooner.

My workload actually is greater than anything I've done in years (6 classes a day mon~fri but I truly enjoy them). I did the math: exactly US$5 per class, not accounting for curriculum & lesson planning, grading, etc, but my modern free housing is a plus factor.

School's out for summer now, three paid months off. I'll putter at gardening, photography, hiking, birding, beering, & I'm probably an idiot for not having checked out the diving yet. A visit home to Vancouver this summer is likely in the cards too, but Yap > Guam > Narita or Incheon > VCR & back isnt too enticing.

There are teaching jobs here if anyone's interested in the conditions above. PM me.
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schwa



Joined: 12 Oct 2003
Posts: 164
Location: yap

PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2016 9:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Happy new year from Yap.

I'm coming up two years here now & about to sign on for two more. It really feels like an island of sanity in a world rapidly spinning off its axis.

I'll put out my invite again. Yap High School is always seeking good teachers. US$10K per annum isn't that bad in the global scheme of tefl, plus a housing allowance that'll get you a nice living space.

Age not a factor but younger teachers might get bored, life here is simple. You need a BA & clean criminal & medical checks. This isn't meant to sound like an ad but my school doesn't know how to promote itself. I'm thinking of student needs in putting this out there, nice kids I care about.

PM me if you're interested.
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D. Amokachi



Joined: 15 Oct 2014
Posts: 60

PostPosted: Thu Dec 29, 2016 1:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Schwa. Glad to hear you're still enjoying it. I've contemplated moving out that way in the past and sometimes see the College of Micronesia and the College of The Marshall Islands advertising positions. Have you heard anything about what it's like working for either of them?
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schwa



Joined: 12 Oct 2003
Posts: 164
Location: yap

PostPosted: Fri Dec 30, 2016 3:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

COM has campuses in each of the four Micronesian states & it's worth noting that each of these states has its own distinct culture. They're essentially different nations.

I can only speak first-hand about Yap COM which sits across the road from my high school. It's a junior college offering a range of vocational associate degrees. I'd describe it as "sleepy." Job conditions, from COM's website, look decent.

One person in Japan I PMed with this year is set to start at Pohnpei COM next month. Pohnpei is the capital of FSM & the most "developed" state, relatively speaking. Kosrae & Chuuk might be less desirable in terms of amenities & safety.

My best suggestion to anyone contemplating settling here for a while is to visit first. Treat yourself to an exotic winter vacation & see if it fits you. Hirers appreciate that initiative too.

The Marshalls have lingering issues with nuclear contamination from Cold War testing but I don't know how widespread that is, you'd have to do your own research. Yap, to my delight, is environmentally pristine.

D. Amokachi wrote:
I've contemplated moving out that way in the past and sometimes see the College of Micronesia and the College of The Marshall Islands advertising positions. Have you heard anything about what it's like working for either of them?
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D. Amokachi



Joined: 15 Oct 2014
Posts: 60

PostPosted: Fri Dec 30, 2016 2:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

schwa wrote:
COM has campuses in each of the four Micronesian states & it's worth noting that each of these states has its own distinct culture. They're essentially different nations.

I can only speak first-hand about Yap COM which sits across the road from my high school. It's a junior college offering a range of vocational associate degrees. I'd describe it as "sleepy." Job conditions, from COM's website, look decent.

One person in Japan I PMed with this year is set to start at Pohnpei COM next month. Pohnpei is the capital of FSM & the most "developed" state, relatively speaking. Kosrae & Chuuk might be less desirable in terms of amenities & safety.

My best suggestion to anyone contemplating settling here for a while is to visit first. Treat yourself to an exotic winter vacation & see if it fits you. Hirers appreciate that initiative too.

The Marshalls have lingering issues with nuclear contamination from Cold War testing but I don't know how widespread that is, you'd have to do your own research. Yap, to my delight, is environmentally pristine.


Thanks for the info. It's a part of the world that definitely appeals, but I think it might be a few more years before I head over that way. Seems like the sort of place where I could wind down my teaching career.
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namdak



Joined: 22 Mar 2005
Posts: 620

PostPosted: Mon Jan 09, 2017 1:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Schwa....sounds nice....

but do you worry about these?

http://www.yapstategov.org/uploads/2/9/6/5/29657975/fsm_yap_jsap.pdf

1.5 RISK AND RESILIENCE CONTEXT
1.5.1 Natural vulnerability
As the westernmost state of FSM, Yap is exposed to a range of threats that create significant vulnerabilities for the
state. Yap is located in ‘Typhoon Alley’, likely to be disturbed by earthquakes and tsunamis, and suffers droughts due to
the impact of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). ENSO is also the cause of both excessive and below average rainfall.
Yap State is regularly hit by typhoons (especially in June – December), with between three and five typhoons hitting the
state each year.
Yap is drier than the other states of FSM, and is highly susceptible to drought. While Yap Proper possess adequate
groundwater sources, during prolonged droughts such as the 1997/1998 El Niño, these water sources have been known
to dry up. The lack of adequate water storage capacity on the outlying islands increases the habitant’s vulnerability to
the impacts of drought.
Yap State, being located near the Yap Trench and the Mariana Trench, is vulnerable to earthquakes, with four significant
earthquakes recorded in recent times. Yap also has a high probabilistic tsunami hazard; however no recorded instances
of significant tsunami damage have occurred. In the event of a tsunami, Yap State would likely suffer a great deal of
damage due to it being largely low-lying.
The distances between islands makes it difficult to get much-needed food, water and medical supplies to residents
after a disaster, meaning Yap is more vulnerable to health and other secondary impacts of disasters than the other FSM
states.
Yap is very vulnerable to flooding during typhoons and storm surges. The state does not regularly receive large amounts
of rain and thus the damage from extreme surge and rainfall events is usually much more intense.
The main island of Yap has also experienced wildfires in years with dry periods such as that of 1997/1998.
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schwa



Joined: 12 Oct 2003
Posts: 164
Location: yap

PostPosted: Mon Jan 09, 2017 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not my nature to worry about earthquakes or tsunamis. It could just as likely be Vancouver or LA next.

Two years ago we had super typhoon Maysak but no one was killed or injured. No major storms in 2016. We had a nasty drought last year due to a strong El Nino effect that almost but didn't quite drain the reservoir, but that's not an annual thing. There were contingency plans.

Much of the direness the report you cite refers to Yap State, not Yap Island where I live. Yap State contains a bunch of thinly populated low atolls that are very vulnerable but Yap Island is higher & more immune.

I live in a sturdy concrete house well up on a hillside. The US weather agency (NOAA Guam) keeps islanders informed of storms well ahead of time & my school in fact serves as an emergency shelter for seaside dwellers.

Push come to shove, I think I wouldn't mind departing this earth in an act of the gods.
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