PCV KIT PORTER REMEMBERS
I am in the process of listening to, transcribing & selecting content from 113 audio tapes I sent to family while serving as a PCV on Rota, NMI in the 1960s. Some audio is being combined with photos for short YouTubes. I’ll put snippets and memories here as I work.
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Going to the movie theater on Rota
3/10/2021
When I close my eyes and remember movie night, I feel the surrounding warm air; smell the mixture of meat frying in oil, cooking fires, and sweet flowers; hear children playing, dogs barking, and neighbor’s chatting--but most of all remember looking up and seeing the stars surrounding all.
February 1, 1969
We went to the movie and saw The Return of the Vikings or something and they showed the first reel and then the last reel and then the middle reel--they showed them in the wrong order and it was wild; it wasn't a very good movie to begin with and having it not shown in the right order didn't make it any better. Don't think it bothered anybody. So we just enjoyed going. They've got another movie. They get one or two movies in and they show it every night. They got two movies that they alternate. So the other movie I think should be a little better. It's The Tiger Walks, which is a Walt Disney movie so we might go see that if they bring it up on Monday, Anyway, we'll see what happens with that. So we have had a busy time.
Kpvcollection Audio kit023-- start 13:55
March 16, 1969
There's a movie tonight and we are going. It's probably the best movie that's been here since we arrived on Rota, probably the only one we've ever heard of before. It’s From Russia with Love. So we thought we'd try to go down and see it. So we'll be doing that at 7:30. The movie theater has sort of got like a tin fence around it and half of it is open and half of it has a kind of tin roof and then there's the screen and little benches to sit on. There's cockfighting there on Sunday and they have a little cock pit in the area between where the benches are and the screen. It's kind of pretty because you can see the stars and the palm trees and everything. And so the movie starts when it gets dark. So we're looking forward to going down to see that.
Kpvcollection Audio P-6 03-- start 0:07
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Drinking tuba for the first time
3/8/2021
What I remember is that the men would get together to drink beer (or whisky if available), play cards, sing and talk. The women did not usually join them, but might be together nearby. Occasionally, usually at a party, I would be offered by other women ``Kahlua milk”--a sweet drink at room temperature in a small glass that contained Kahlua and canned milk. But Kahlua was not usually available so the special drink would be beer with canned milk. However, here is what I said in March 1969.
March 14, 1969
Last night we went walking and I had some tuba for the first time. It's made out of coconut. They sort of tap the coconut juice--tap sort of around the heart of the tree and then it ferments. Each batch can be different. It goes bad very quickly and it changes flavors very quickly. I guess you have to drink it at just the right time. It tastes a little bit like beer to me. It kind of has that fuzzy little taste, like champagne or fermented whatever. It’s not very alcoholic, but people get pretty drunk on it or a little bit high. anyway, they drink it a lot more I think on islands where other sources of liquor are not available.
People drink a lot of beer here on Rota, but I've never had tuba before. It isn't something the women sit around and drink as a rule. The women do drink--sometimes they'll take beer and they put in milk and sugar; kind of a strange kind of thing and some of them drink that, but it really isn't part of the culture for women to drink.
Kpvcollection Audio kit024--start 07:30
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First and Second Parents’ Day at Rota School--almost 100% attend
March 12, 2021
Rota parents were very supportive of their children doing well in school and of teachers. I talk a lot about education on the tapes and there will be much more.
January 28, 1969
This has been kind of a hectic week but an interesting week. Monday was a work day. So there was a lot of work up at school making out grades and various things, but there were no classes and then Tuesday was Parents’ Day and it was really something. It's the first Parents Day they've had and I think every parent on the island came. Many classes had 100% of the parents coming and I think overall, for the whole school, about 90% of the parents came up to the school to get their children's report cards and talk to the teachers about how their children were doing. So the school was open morning and afternoon for the parents to come and it was very very successful. Certainly a better turnout, I think, than most schools in the states have on a Parents’ Day.
I had kind of a hectic time because I teach in three different classrooms. I tried to talk with all the parents and there were a few I was more interested in talking with than others. I was pleased that I was able to communicate with most of them okay. Although my Chamorro isn’t super, I was able to get across what I wanted to say and understand what they were saying. So that worked out okay. I hope that they do it some more now that it's been such a success and I think the parents learned something by coming up. Then on Wednesday we had classes again, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Kpvcollection Audio kit023--start 05:57
April 16, 1969
...There were just parent-teacher conferences and I stayed up in my three rooms and talked to the different parents, which I really enjoyed-- mostly women. I think 93% of the parents came. There were just a few that didn't come, and a couple more were off the island. It was a really high percentage and very impressive. And I really enjoyed talking and I've learned a lot of new words like “a’guaguat” which means “naughty” and “saolak” which means “spank” and my vocabulary is increased but I really enjoyed talking with the parents.
Kpvcollection Audio P6-03--start 14:30
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Going to the movie theater on Rota
3/10/2021
When I close my eyes and remember movie night, I feel the surrounding warm air; smell the mixture of meat frying in oil, cooking fires, and sweet flowers; hear children playing, dogs barking, and neighbor’s chatting--but most of all remember looking up and seeing the stars surrounding all.
February 1, 1969
We went to the movie and saw The Return of the Vikings or something and they showed the first reel and then the last reel and then the middle reel--they showed them in the wrong order and it was wild; it wasn't a very good movie to begin with and having it not shown in the right order didn't make it any better. Don't think it bothered anybody. So we just enjoyed going. They've got another movie. They get one or two movies in and they show it every night. They got two movies that they alternate. So the other movie I think should be a little better. It's The Tiger Walks, which is a Walt Disney movie so we might go see that if they bring it up on Monday, Anyway, we'll see what happens with that. So we have had a busy time.
Kpvcollection Audio kit023-- start 13:55
March 16, 1969
There's a movie tonight and we are going. It's probably the best movie that's been here since we arrived on Rota, probably the only one we've ever heard of before. It’s From Russia with Love. So we thought we'd try to go down and see it. So we'll be doing that at 7:30. The movie theater has sort of got like a tin fence around it and half of it is open and half of it has a kind of tin roof and then there's the screen and little benches to sit on. There's cockfighting there on Sunday and they have a little cock pit in the area between where the benches are and the screen. It's kind of pretty because you can see the stars and the palm trees and everything. And so the movie starts when it gets dark. So we're looking forward to going down to see that.
Kpvcollection Audio P-6 03-- start 0:07
____________________________________________
Drinking tuba for the first time
3/8/2021
What I remember is that the men would get together to drink beer (or whisky if available), play cards, sing and talk. The women did not usually join them, but might be together nearby. Occasionally, usually at a party, I would be offered by other women ``Kahlua milk”--a sweet drink at room temperature in a small glass that contained Kahlua and canned milk. But Kahlua was not usually available so the special drink would be beer with canned milk. However, here is what I said in March 1969.
March 14, 1969
Last night we went walking and I had some tuba for the first time. It's made out of coconut. They sort of tap the coconut juice--tap sort of around the heart of the tree and then it ferments. Each batch can be different. It goes bad very quickly and it changes flavors very quickly. I guess you have to drink it at just the right time. It tastes a little bit like beer to me. It kind of has that fuzzy little taste, like champagne or fermented whatever. It’s not very alcoholic, but people get pretty drunk on it or a little bit high. anyway, they drink it a lot more I think on islands where other sources of liquor are not available.
People drink a lot of beer here on Rota, but I've never had tuba before. It isn't something the women sit around and drink as a rule. The women do drink--sometimes they'll take beer and they put in milk and sugar; kind of a strange kind of thing and some of them drink that, but it really isn't part of the culture for women to drink.
Kpvcollection Audio kit024--start 07:30
__________________________________________________
First and Second Parents’ Day at Rota School--almost 100% attend
March 12, 2021
Rota parents were very supportive of their children doing well in school and of teachers. I talk a lot about education on the tapes and there will be much more.
January 28, 1969
This has been kind of a hectic week but an interesting week. Monday was a work day. So there was a lot of work up at school making out grades and various things, but there were no classes and then Tuesday was Parents’ Day and it was really something. It's the first Parents Day they've had and I think every parent on the island came. Many classes had 100% of the parents coming and I think overall, for the whole school, about 90% of the parents came up to the school to get their children's report cards and talk to the teachers about how their children were doing. So the school was open morning and afternoon for the parents to come and it was very very successful. Certainly a better turnout, I think, than most schools in the states have on a Parents’ Day.
I had kind of a hectic time because I teach in three different classrooms. I tried to talk with all the parents and there were a few I was more interested in talking with than others. I was pleased that I was able to communicate with most of them okay. Although my Chamorro isn’t super, I was able to get across what I wanted to say and understand what they were saying. So that worked out okay. I hope that they do it some more now that it's been such a success and I think the parents learned something by coming up. Then on Wednesday we had classes again, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Kpvcollection Audio kit023--start 05:57
April 16, 1969
...There were just parent-teacher conferences and I stayed up in my three rooms and talked to the different parents, which I really enjoyed-- mostly women. I think 93% of the parents came. There were just a few that didn't come, and a couple more were off the island. It was a really high percentage and very impressive. And I really enjoyed talking and I've learned a lot of new words like “a’guaguat” which means “naughty” and “saolak” which means “spank” and my vocabulary is increased but I really enjoyed talking with the parents.
Kpvcollection Audio P6-03--start 14:30
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