Christy Lejkowski
Volunteer: Christy Lejkowski
Bio:
After graduating from Rowan Univeristy and working for a few years in marketing, Christy decided her life needed a new direction. She and her husband, Rick, decided to try their luck with the Peace Corps and truly feel they hit the jack-pot! Christy served as a Teaching English as a Second Language and Community Development Volunteer in Palau. When she wasn’t busy at school, she worked with the Palau Red Cross Society to design an HIV anti-discrimination puppet show and form a Youth Volunteer Corps. She spent a lot of time running, hiking, kayaking and biking around the islands of Palau and fell in love with the people, atmosphere, culture and environment.
Contributions from Christy Lejkowski
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Palauan Dog Show
The Palau Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) hosts a dog show every year to promote animal adoption and veterinary care. Coco, a local dog, was a very good sport during the costume contest.
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Yap Day
On the tiny Micronesian state of Yap Proper, each year Yap Day, a celebration of culture, is held. Men and women from villages all over the island prepare traditional costumes and dances to share. Even the youngest girls in the village are invited to participate.
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Fruit Bat Soup
During training, on Halloween of all nights, one host family wanted to expose the PCTs to a little bit of local culture. She prepared one of her favorite dishes for us - fresh fruit bat soup. We didn't think it would be too bad until we saw the local presentation of the dish. One whole fruit bat, complete with wings, fur and beady little eyes boiled in coconut and served in a large bowl. Now, it's very rude to turn down food in the Palauan culture, so we were each obliged to take a bite (I t...
