2008.11.17: November 17, 2008: Headlines: COS - Micronesia: UNH The New Hampshire: Verina Louise Robiller, will serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a Micronesian school where she will teach seventh and eighth grade English

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Micronesia: Peace Corps Micronesia : Peace Corps Micronesia: Newest Stories: 2008.11.17: November 17, 2008: Headlines: COS - Micronesia: UNH The New Hampshire: Verina Louise Robiller, will serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a Micronesian school where she will teach seventh and eighth grade English

By Admin1 (admin) (151.196.12.195) on Saturday, December 13, 2008 - 11:10 am: Edit Post

Verina Louise Robiller, will serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a Micronesian school where she will teach seventh and eighth grade English

Verina Louise Robiller, will serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a Micronesian school where she will teach seventh and eighth grade English

Robiller will be living with a host family for two years while she completes her service. She's living with a family in a tropical jungle area in a small concrete home, and she said she's lucky to have an indoor toilet and shower. The family doesn't have a refrigerator, washing machine or oven. Coconuts, bananas, taro, yams, passion fruit, papayas and oranges are all growing in areas around their home, and the family cooks all their meals in a local cooking house. On the weekends and in the evenings she spends time with her host family cooking, cleaning and swimming in the ocean. She's learned traditional crafts from them like how to make baskets and grass skirts. "I'm helping to make my own grass skirt for a traditional Yapese bamboo dance and a women's sitting dance that I will be performing in," Robiller said. Robiller said it's also important for her to have alone time. "I read, write letters, and journal," she said. "I've definitely missed my friends and family since I've been here these past two months," said Robiller. "I'll be returning sometime around November 2010, so pictures, letters and fond memories will be the closest thing to home until then."

Verina Louise Robiller, will serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a Micronesian school where she will teach seventh and eighth grade English

Peace Corps takes alumna around the world

Michaela Christensen

Issue date: 11/18/08 Section: News

When Verina Louise Robiller, first arrived in the Micronesian school where she would be teaching seventh and eighth grade English, she was welcomed lavishly.

The principal and teachers placed flower leis on her head and around her neck they'd made specifically for her welcoming. The students brought in fresh fruit and a woven fan for her. The whole community repeated "thank you" again and again as they thanked her for coming to their community to help them.

"That is the best, seeing how much my community would like me here helping them and becoming a part of this community," said Robiller, 24. "As my host mother says, 'You are a Peace Corps, not a tourist. We are family now and this is your home.'"

Robiller, a Dover resident, graduated this past May from UNH with a master's in education and elementary education. She left for Micronesia and Palau, which consists of 900 small islands in the Pacific Ocean, on Sept. 12 to serve as an English teacher and a community development volunteer.

There are a total of 80 Peace Corps volunteers serving in Micronesia and Palau. Robiller is serving in a state called Yap, the western most island state in the Federated States of Micronesia, with six other volunteers.

However, Robiller is the only volunteer in her small village. Among many goals, Robiller hopes that her experience will help her teach all of her students how to become global citizens. Her efforts to teach young people about the importance of being a global citizen are a reminder to all people that we are part large global community.

"I'm so thankful to be welcomed here in Yap and I'm excited to begin my service to this wonderful community," said Robiller.

Today, Robiller is attending a swear-in ceremony, which means she has officially completed her training and is now an official Peace Corps volunteer.

Robiller has been interested in joining the Peace Corps since high school but she said the experiences she's had since then only furthered her desire to participate in volunteer work.

While completing her master's degree at UNH, she worked as an HIV educator and testing intern for AIDS Response Seacoast in Portsmouth and also worked on a UNH study dealing with refugee resettlement in New Hampshire.

"Throughout all of these experiences I've heard many stories and met many people that were an inspiration to me for their courage and strength through difficult times and their passion for giving of themselves despite personal obstacles," said Robiller. "For me, joining the Peace Corps was one way for me to give back to a community some of the kindness, compassion and care that has been shown to me throughout my life."

To complete her training, Robiller took a bus everyday from her host family's home to the main town in Yap to meet the other trainees. Their training included language, cultural and technical training, so they can begin their work as volunteers.

After today, Robiller will be teaching English in a very small school which has only 90 students in grades one through eight. She'll be working with a counterpart teacher to pass along the skills she learned in her formal schooling at UNH.

Robiller will be living with a host family for two years while she completes her service. She's living with a family in a tropical jungle area in a small concrete home, and she said she's lucky to have an indoor toilet and shower. The family doesn't have a refrigerator, washing machine or oven. Coconuts, bananas, taro, yams, passion fruit, papayas and oranges are all growing in areas around their home, and the family cooks all their meals in a local cooking house.

On the weekends and in the evenings she spends time with her host family cooking, cleaning and swimming in the ocean. She's learned traditional crafts from them like how to make baskets and grass skirts.

"I'm helping to make my own grass skirt for a traditional Yapese bamboo dance and a women's sitting dance that I will be performing in," Robiller said.

Robiller said it's also important for her to have alone time.

"I read, write letters, and journal," she said.

"I've definitely missed my friends and family since I've been here these past two months," said Robiller. "I'll be returning sometime around November 2010, so pictures, letters and fond memories will be the closest thing to home until then."

Robiller has a blog where she shares pictures and stories about her life in the Peace Corps at www.micronesiaandreaming.blogspot.com.




Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: November, 2008; Peace Corps Micronesia; Directory of Micronesia RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Micronesia RPCVs





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Story Source: UNH The New Hampshire

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Micronesia

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