Nighttime Spearfishing and Other Stories (Micronesian Summer, Part 4)

June 29, 2006

One week down and things are going good. Our week of camp ended and the kids absolutely loved it. It is so great to be snorkeling and hear the kids on the beach and in the streets singing songs we sing at camp, and the parents were so happy with it. A couple of us met one family and the children were so proud to introduce us to their parents and the grandma... I said good afternoon to her in Kosraean and she started a steady stream of Kosraean; I guess she thought I spoke the language! When she left she said something to the mom and the mom turned to me, "Stiffany" (they can't say my name for some reason) "Grandma says she will see you tomorrow!" I think I made a new friend :)

Where ever I go, the little ones really like me. Here at the school or in town, the little ones come up to me and tug on my skirt and smile. I am constantly picking up strange children who are following me around. Yesterday I went to the airport to pick up Katie and Eliki and the same thing was happening... little kids coming up to me, smiling and running away, or just touching me. One little girl kept saying "Nna asset, nna asset". Betty heard and she started laughing. "She is calling you 'White Mother'!"

Last night the boys really wanted to go reef fishing, and so a bunch decided to head out for a great fun adventure. But it didn't turn out as we planned. For about an hour and a half we hiked coral reef with shallow water with spear guns and encountered a bunch of fun stuff -- eels and stone fish included. There was no moon out so we had to be really careful because if you step on a stone fish, you die. I guess they have the anecdote at the hospital here MOST of the time, so maybe you wouldn't die, but you don't want to take the chance. Luckily we had Stephen and his machete to cut off the heads of any sea snakes coming our way (one, it only happened to one, but still...)  Besides trying to avoid these great creatures, we were constantly stepping on sea cucumbers. Gross. That's all there is to say about that. 

Finally, after an hour and a half of this, we decided it was time to turn back and we climbed the bank onto the runway at the Kosrae International Airport. Since a plane only comes in once a day, we figured it was safe, although illegal. And of course, while we are talking about our adventure of eels and killer fish amongst the sharp coral, what happens but the heavens open up with a tropical down pour. I never really envisioned myself walking on a international runway in the rain in the middle of the night, but many things that happen out here I never really envisioned happening. You would think that was it, but no... to get back to the truck we had to cross these boulders that are covered with vines which means you can't see where there are holes or not. Well, Eliki went one way and our Kosraean friend said she had an easier way so I thought, Why not take the easy way out? 

Yeah... 

Eliki and his group were on the beach a full 15 minutes before the rest of us, while we were were trudging through these vines and falling all over the place. We wound up with plenty of scrapes and bruises, no broken ankles and one good memory. It was an adventure, that is for sure, and I am glad I went. But some things only need to happen once in life!!!

July 7, 2006

Kosrae is over and we have arrived safely in Pohnpei. Leaving Kosrae was terrible... they had this great feast for us and all these gifts and food and songs, and everyone was crying. The kids, the adults, us. It was great to spend time with these new friends but so hard to say goodbye. It is hard to explain how we were able to become so close in such a short amount of time. I don't know if I can do this every week. That was one thing I didn't think of. When we left the airport and were walking out to the plane on the tarmac, they were waiting on the other side of the fence waving and blowing kisses... Caiti and I had to grab each other's hands and just keep walking. We were only there for two weeks, but it felt like a good, long time. The boys, of course, won't admit they were crying, but I saw tears in at least 3 of their eyes. I think we all fell in love with Kosrae.

Besides leaving and all that great stuff, we spent the week camping with the young adults, going on crazy expeditions, pushing the truck up a mountain, painting our faces like warriors with local berries, and fishing in the middle of the night. This is the stuff life should be made of. And now we have arrived in Pohnpei, which is much different but great in its own way. The lady at the store saw we were from Kosrae (we all had Kosrae skirts the local ladies made us) and said, "you will love Pohnpei much more." I don't think so. I think each island will be different and will have its own beauty and things to love, not one more than the other.

Our campers

With some of our local friends

Goodbye Party

My food blog has been bit by a travel bug.  Follow along as I let my words from the past answer the question, "What place(s) have you visit that made the most impact on you?"  I am too busy enjoying summer to be whipping up anything good in the kitchen anyway... ;)

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Happiness and Heartache in Paradise (Micronesian Summer, Part 3)

June 27, 2006

Right now I am sitting here in the room with the rainy jungle out the windows behind me. It is really hot and muggy and my legs are sticky so I am making sure they aren't touching, but it is good. I can hear the basketball being dribbled as the bigger kids are playing and a little girl is giggling really loud. Oh, and now Caiti is giving her world class laugh along with her. It is a good sound. I have had not had that much time to stop and write in a journal and this afternoon I scheduled it in only to find that my journal disappeared out of a broken zipper-compartment on my suitcase. So, I guess my blog will be my journal. Which may mean these will be the longest blogs ever, but since it is mostly for my benefit, that is ok :)

I have been storing up so much in my head that I wanted to put down on paper (now Caiti's laptop to be transferred to the computer with SLOW internet access) but time has kept marching, slowly as it does in the islands, but filled with more things I think I want to write. The other night we went to the jail with cookies and lemonade to just hang out with the inmates and let them know someone is thinking of them... these guys are intense. And not in the way you would think. They aren't dangerous really (most were drunk when they committed the crimes) and they aren't crazy. Just regular guys. Well, regular guys who have killed or raped or stolen something. But they don't seem much different from the people you meet on the streets. I say these guys are intense because I have never seen people so interested in life. We had a movie to watch with them and they were so helpful, carrying the projector and other equipment back to the van, shaking our hands, and thanking us for coming. I know some of our group were a little nervous to be around the prisoners, and although everyone was kind, you could tell there was some hesitancy from our side. But the respect they showed to us was so much more... giving up their seats so we would have a place to sit, putting the fan in our direction and enduring the heat themselves. These men who have killed and raped and stolen things showed us what kindness and love look like.

It only took a couple days of living in Paradise to remember this place, like all others, is not perfect. For all the happy smiles and giggling little girls, heartache is so prevalent. In one day I heard stories of two people that made my heart hurt. One girl, who I have been sitting with and talking to a lot, has a beautiful 3 year old daughter (who, I must add, loves me and follows me around everywhere). This lady got pregnant when she was 15, was married soon afterward, and then after giving birth to her daughter, gave up her husband to jail because he committed a hit and run while he was drunk. He is now in jail for 20 years. Another family's son got high and raped a little 5 year old girl when he was 16 years old. Since there is only a jail and no juvenile hall, he is under house arrest except for school or work, and then on his 18th birthday he will be taken into custody to serve out his sentence.

The difference for me with these stories than with most is I have seen how it impacts both sides, the victim and the person who has committed the crime. I see the son everyday as he comes to visit [our host family] Manny and Betty since they are neighbors.  Every morning I see him come and join their family worship. I met the husband of my friend and heard how he aches to see his daughter, who I play with everyday. And I feel for the family of the woman who was hit in the car accident and cannot imagine what trauma the 5 year old will have to suffer because of someone else's action. There is definitely pain and suffering everywhere, but there is almost no family on this island who is not hurting from the suffering of their loved ones, whether that person was a victim or they lost someone to jail and have shame when they face their neighbors.

barefoot basketball

learning to weave baskets

But the islands are still wonderful. To hear the voices of children singing and laughing, to see the beauty that is surrounding us, to just soak up the life here... it is amazing. Most of the children who are coming to camp this week dont speak English, so it has posed a challenge for us, but we have great young people helping us with the activities and translating. I ate my lunch today (tuna sandwich, rice, and white squash) out on a log under a coconut tree with Nellyn, Leoni, Shra, and 2 of our girls, and we learned that the same things that make you laugh in America make you laugh in Kosrae. Grocery shopping is quite an experience here because there are so many little stores, but no one big store that carries everything. So you have to drive around from store to store to get everything... it takes forever! And since the island has run out of many things (onions, rice and fish included) it takes more effort to put together a meal. And gas... the island has run out of gas (which is why there is no fish since the boats cant go out). Yesterday there was this long line of cars (about 40) waiting in line for this one gas station so we thought the gas had come.  Yet it had not.  We found out the reason this particular gas station had gas because the people don't like the gas pumps. They would rather put gas in their gar the Kosraean way with a milk jug filled with gasoline and a funnel! So when all the gas was gone, it was the new-fangled fancy gas stations that still have it left over :) 

back of a rusty truck -- our transportation of choice

it rained so hard you could literally take a shower in the rain

My food blog has been bit by a travel bug.  Follow along as I let my words from the past answer the question, "What place(s) have you visit that made the most impact on you?"  I am too busy enjoying summer to be whipping up anything good in the kitchen anyway... ;)

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On an Island Surrounded by Water (Micronesian Summer, Part 2)

 June 24, 2006

Kosrae is amazing. It isn't any different really than the villages of Palau (although it is of course different than the bustling city of Koror!) but it is still amazing. We have only been here 3 nights now (or as Andy counts, 8 meals), but we feel completely at home. It seems like we have been here for a long time... but a good long time. Our group is great, too. We were supposed to meet up with [our local leader] Eliki in Majuro so I got off the plane to meet him and went up to many a strange man asking if they were Eliki, but he was nowhere to be found. So I got back on the plane and headed on to Kosrae not knowing where he could be to find out that he is stuck in Ebeye by himself this week. But he will be coming out this Thursday.

Arriving in Kosrae, Erica receiving her mar-mar

Our first meal

Yesterday was the best day so far. We spent almost the entire day with the local people and got to know some of them. I went to the principal's house (a woman named Nellie) to say hi and her little son brought me inside where there were all these men were sleeping and I thought that I had the wrong house, but he dragged me to her room and there inside her little room were about 12 women and all their little children on the bed and the floor laughing and having a great time. They were so excited I came to visit so I sat with them and they showed me pictures of her trip to America and kept asking if I have been to those places (um, which bowling alley in which town, exactly???). The grandma didn't speak any English but she sat there rubbing my leg. Last night my little 3-year old friend Janeel (who Eric and I agree is the CUTEST child we have EVER seen!) came running up to me and I picked her up and was holding her with the other women and their little children, wearing my Micronesian skirt and my kosraean comb in my hair... Eric looked at me and laughed and told me I looked so Kosraean. Too bad I have my white skin and yellow hair ;) The rest of the evening was spent playing games with the kids and talking to the women. It was wonderful.

Do they come any more beautiful than this?!

Songs and games... you can speak any language and still get the same vibe

They spend their entire life right next to the ocean, but never had the chance to see what was underneath...

About a month ago I was talking to Jon about my fear of it not clicking with me. When I was [living in] Palau as a teacher, I just totally clicked with everything.  No question about it, I loved it. But I was so afraid it wasn't going to be the same this time. When I went back [to Palau] to visit for Christmas break later, I liked it a lot and I felt comfortable and at home, but I knew I was ready to be in America again, and I was afraid that I would spend my entire summer feeling that way, and since I am used to the cockroaches and the sweat and the big ugly spiders I would be, I don't know exactly... bored with it?  But I am not. I am just as happy here now as I was before. (I know I have never been HERE before, but Micronesia is Micronesia, trust me.) I do realize I am not as excited about some things as others, like Eric's fascination with the big frogs (he doesn't believe me that it easy to step on them at night, but he will find out soon enough) or Ryan's discovery that, yes, the island is surrounded by water. But I am still having the time of my life and I am where I am supposed to be. Playing with the kids, sitting around and getting to know the locals, taking walks and exploring, eating my fish and rice... I am definitely content.

Me (in the blue skirt) with Caiti and our new friends

My food blog has been bit by a travel bug.  Follow along as I let my words from the past answer the question, "What place(s) have you visit that made the most impact on you?"  I am too busy enjoying summer to be whipping up anything good in the kitchen anyway... ;)

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