By Nazario Rodriguez Jr.
Horizon news staff

Rachael Nash is one of 22 Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV) from the 29 who trained in Pohnpei two years ago and were assigned to different islands in Micronesia, including seven sent to Palau and seven to Yap. Their batch was called Micro 72.
Nash's experience on the island of Fais, an isolated place in the State of Yap, FSM is a fascinating tale of courage. When Rachael was a child, she dreamed about living on an island in the Pacific and she worked hard to make it real.
Another PCV from Micro 72 is Sarah Klain, who has worked with the Palau Marine Turtle Conservation and Monitoring Program (PMTCMP) under the Bureau of Marine Resources (BMR).
Nash and Klain are reunited this week in Palau not just for the sake of being together again since their Peace Corps meeting and training in Yap.
"This is my first time in Palau. I wanted to come because I heard about Sarah's work. In Fais turtle is an important traditional food," the 25-year old Nash said while joining Klain, Darlynne Takawo from Palau Automated Land and Resources Information
System (PALARIS), and a student Nicole Maech when they monitored Rock Island beaches for turtle nesting.
Nash said she wanted to learn more about turtles in Mirconesia and the turtle conservation efforts in Palau.
While in Palau, Nash learned about the commercial value of turtles and that this endangered specie is much exploited and poached.
"In Fais, it's very important when they catch turtles. Nobody has money to buy supplies because most people grow taro and catch their fish for their food," she said.
The people in Fais buy their household supplies in
Yap, which takes two days travel (one-way) because the ship unloads supplies in many different outlying islands.
Nash said she and the people on her island eat shark, a habit for which people from Fais are well known.
Nash, who majored in Biology at Hiram College in Ohio State, teaches a total of 12 eighth grade students in what she called as home away from home.
"My Island is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen," she said.
She loves her island, home to a population of 250, where there is no electricity, no phone, no Internet etc.
"We use kerosene lanterns. It's kind of going back to the ancient world," she said.
Nash has not seen her family for two years and letters from them and her friends take four months to reach her.
But Nash has no regrets. Not once because when she was eight years old, she read the 1970s classic "Call It Courage" by Armstrong Sperry.
The book is about a Polynesian kid who was afraid of the ocean and was often ridiculed by peers but then he conquered his fears with courage as his main weapon.
This Polynesian boy rode on his canoe and brought along his dog named Albatross during his journey into the vast oceans to crate his own destiny and lived a courageous life.
"I was eight years old, and that was also the age when I wanted to join the Peace Corps," recalled Nash, who grew up in a small countryside town in Thompson, Ohio.
"I'm used to farm life but Ohio was so big compared to "My Island" (of Fais), which is two-and-a-half square miles and I just walk around and the people are very kind to me. I love my (host) family, and because the people take care of me and it's so amazing," she said.
Nash can now speak the local language Hasal Madau (language of the ocean) or commonly known as Ulithian because the Island is close to a bigger Island Ulithi.
"People are shy to speak English but I speak English in the class room. For the first time in their life, the students on My Island learn the English Language," Nash said.
Nash said the people in her Island don't wear Western clothing or to put it more appropriately not enough Western clothing.
"Maybe it's like Palau 50 years ago. And I am very lucky to live there," said Nash, who teaches her students basic reading, writing, science and the like.
"I am very proud of my students. They made a lot of improvements from last year and they are willing to learn," Nash said.
Klan said that upon learning about Nash's experiences, she has incredible respect for Nash's courage and perseverance.
"I admire how much she has grown to love her island. She's remarkably adaptable to thrive in such a different world." Klain said.
Not just anybody could enjoy that simple life without modern conveniences.
Nash wishes she could be in her Island for a long time but her two –year term will be finished in November and she could ask for a one-year extension or request being transferred to another area. She is considering continuing her volunteer service in Palau.
(This article was written after Rachael’s first visit to Palau in August but she requested that it be published after an approval from her immediate PCV superiors. However, the article slipped through our Emails and was published in the Marianas Variety on August 15. Nash received numerous letters from those who read the article from as far as England and the United States. Nash has just came back to Palau to work with the PTCMP as a PCV. She will replace outgoing Sarah Klain who is set to finish her service next month).