Cutural Heritage

Some of my favorite memories from Micronesia will be the displays of cultural heritage. It makes me a little wistful for my own strong traditions, like doing the hokey pokey. No, I do have stronger and better traditions than that, but not as unified. The intricate dances, stories, chants, songs and weaving that I've seen here on Pohnpei are all truly impressive. These photos are mainly from Culture Day and Yap Day celebrations.

Better Than the Brochure

Ahnd is a string of atoll islands outside of Pohnpei's lagoon. It is a one to three hour boat ride from Kolonia and well worth the effort. We went camping for three days and two nights with a group of friends. It was amazing!

We each took a meal slot, so I only had to prepare and clean-up from one meal and was served the rest of the time. It was pretty much like car camping as we brought coolers and chairs and had ice for our beverages.

 Kumar's boat

setting up camp 

                                                          catch and release coconut crabs

deluxe tree fort

tent with a view

hammock - the best way to sleep in the rainforest.

The interior of the island is floored with moss-covered corals.

beach butt

father daughter swim

the common kitchen

nap time

The snorkeling is unbelievably spectacular and worth the trip to Micronesia in and of itself.

There are many different crabs and one hitched a ride into the tent on my skirt only to be put off by my screaming like a little girl as it tried to pinch me in the dark. I felt the need to write large letters in the sand "You wish you were Here!", so I did.

We will take home great memories and a few seashells too. 

The Artless Dodger

Last week, some scumbag(s) broke into our house and stole my laptop and Jamie's camera. We were home at the time, sleeping. The only windows we had open were in our bedrooms; everything else was locked. They took out the screen in our bedroom, quietly slipped past us while we were sleeping, went into the living room and took what they were after, then went back out through the bedroom window.

The dog that hangs out around our house was in heat and had been attracting a number of male suitors, all of whom had been barking like crazy all week, so they were of little help in alerting us to intruders. Not surprisingly, when we reported the break-in, the police were also of little help, and the best they could offer in terms of consolation was to tell us that this kind of thing happens all the time, especially to Americans. They also said that around Christmas, they tend to see a significant increase in the number of break-ins, so we should watch out.

They did say that every once in a while, the stolen goods are recovered, but it sounded like they were just as surprised as the thieves must have been. In any case, Jamie and I have taken a more proactive approach by putting up flyers all over the place, offering a reward for the safe return of our stuff. Several people have taken the tear-away phone numbers, but we've only gotten a couple of phone calls, none of which have yielded any leads. We've also taken to locking our windows at night, forfeiting a basic liberty that I'm not at all happy about having to give up.

It's a small island, so in theory, our stuff couldn't have gotten too far. However, in talking to other people who have had things stolen (I personally know of at least five other expat instructors at the college whose laptops have also been stolen since they've lived here), there seems to be a correlation between a regular increase in the number of break-ins and the arrival of a ship at the port. In other words, it's likely that these scumbags, who are probably kids or teenagers, steal stuff out of people's houses and then sell them on the ship right before they head back to Japan. It makes sense. In fact, there was a ship that came in the day after we were robbed.

It's sad to say, but it seems that if there's one thing that globalization and capitalism have taught the youth of Micronesia, it's to covet what they cannot afford. According to the police, in this case, it's likely booze, which was probably purchased after they unloaded our stolen goods for a fraction of their actual value, with no consideration whatsoever for their personal value. That's right. Every piece of writing I've done, every song I've written and every picture we've taken in the past several years is probably worth no more to these assholes than a bottle of bottom shelf liquor.

Nahlap Island

I used to have a small Japanese zen garden on a carved wooden tray in my office, the kind with

small stones and a little wooden rake with which to comb the sand. My board of directors gave

it to me and I wondered at the time if their purpose was to appeal to my design aesthetic or in

knowing I was too busy to take a vacation try to provide me with a tranquil environment.

Whatever the reason, the small tray was appreciated if not actually used.

Recently I had an adventure that made me feel as if I had stepped into a little zen garden surrounded by a clear, calm ocean and alive with tropical fauna.

Nahlap is a small island protected from waves by Pohnpei’s outlining atolls.

We journeyed with friends by car for 40 minutes from Kolonia and then by boat for 15 minutes before arriving.

My first impression was that it looked peaceful and I was happy we chose to spend the day there. I took my daughter out of school for the occasion because while academics are important to us, there are some things (making great memories being one) that are more important than school.

The island is speckled with little blue cabins and interlaced with paths lined by coral, shells and volcanic rocks. We walked through tunnels of trees on paths of

freshly combed sand on our way to the beach. The water is shallow for a long distance out and the kids had a blast finding shells, sea cucumbers and bright blue starfish.

We had a fun picnic before walking back across the island to use the ocean slide. The slide is little more than half of a large pvc pipe, but so much more in terms of fun with speeding down and splashing into the ocean then swimming to the ladder to repeat the process.

I jogged back across the island to tell the driver we were

ready and I noticed that the path was again freshly raked. In fact, upon my return to the dock the footprints I had made ten minutes prior were gone, replaced by even rows of mini furrows. It seemed a strange phenomenon, as I had not seen anyone on

the island hurriedly tending the sand. The boat driver told me a woman lives on the island to take care of it and she is the one who comes the sand after people walk on it. I wonder if she likes to erase marks in the sand or if she feels like I do after I sweep and mop and then something is spilled on and tracked over the floor to make my efforts useless unless repeated.

Then I wonder what the invisible caretaker would think of a tabletop zen garden and if it might look like more work to her. If someone is raised in a tropical paradise, do they see the beauty in it as much as an outsider, or more?

To plan a trip to Nahlap from Pohnpei: Contact A&P Construction( 320-6388 ) to reserve a boat to and from the island. The cost is $5 per adult and $2-3 per child with those under two being free. It is recommended to call a few times to reconfirm the boat appointment or they might not follow through. The small blue huts for rent are $10/night. You can have small fires for barbeques and there is a tank of fresh water for showers. Bring drinking water and camping gear. Camping hammocks (like Hammockbliss)with built-in mosquito netting and rain cover are ideal.