Last weekend we went to a picnic island and spent two nights there. I'm sure it is the kind of place where everyone pictures me living when they think of me in the Pacific. It was very small, with white sand and coconut trees. Hammocks made of fishing net were strung between trees, encouraging people to relax and enjoy themselves.
The trip was organized by the current Chuuk Peace Corps volunteers and I am so thankful they wanted to do this for us (the new trainees). We arrived Friday afternoon and stayed until Sunday, giving us plenty of time to talk, swim, eat, play games, get advice, and explore the reef. I say plenty of time, but I could have stayed there for a week.
Never before have I seen water that was so many shades of blue and green. Looking out over the water I first saw a light sea-foam green with the white sand below, further out a is was blue, then changed to bright turquoise. As the ocean met the sky it was a navy blue. For the first time in my life all those paint colors made sense: aquamarine, sea-foam green, pacific blue. I was seeing them all in their true form.
Little hermit crabs were everywhere. When I stood still I watched the crabs make their way across the sand. As I walked the shells would drop down to the ground, in an attempt to convince me that they weren't crabs at all, just shells in the sand. If you picked one up, it would hide inside it's shell. To encourage it to some out, and much to my amusement, Ben demonstrated that you could stick your tongue out and say, "bladle bladle blodle." Sure enough the crab would crawl out of its shell and reach out into the air. It reminded me of humming to snails on the coast of Maine.
The first night we were there the moon was full. It shown down on the water, creating a rippling moonbeam trail reaching to the horizon. It was so beautiful and bright! I was turning in circles in delight and pure satisfaction when I noticed a moonbow over the island. The moon was shining to brightly through the sprinkling rain that a full moonbow was arching over the entire island. The sight was magical. We were shouting, laughing, hugging, and dancing in excitement over the moonbow.
Being on the island allowed us to relax and connect with everyone. The current volunteers have been so helpful and honest with us. Their stories have made me laugh and cry, filled me with anticipation and excitement as well as apprehension and nervousness, and have given me true insight into what lies ahead. Each of them has shared their stories, hoping to make our experience just a little better, giving us a heads up and tips for things we may encounter. It will be so sad to see them leave and head back to the US.
Next week all of the current trainees will become Peace Corps Volunteers and then will head off to our own islands for service. After creating all these wonderful friendships it will be so hard to say goodbye. I have become so close with everyone that being the alone on my island is a bit intimidating. I know I'll make connections, but initially I'm sure I'll feel lonely and crave the closeness of other Peace Corps Volunteers. Spending an weekend together on our little island was a gift. Thank you M77's, you are so wonderful!
Saturday, August 11, 2012
No Place for Trash
In the US we take for granted that we have huge landfills and we don't really think about where our trash goes. I put it on the side of the road on trash day and somehow think that it disappears. Here there is no place to put the trash. It's on the side of the road, in yards, and in the ocean. Seeing trash around me makes me realize how much waste people create. It's really bad! In the US you see junk yards with cars, and somehow this makes you feel better because it's all in one place, like the cars belong there and it's okay. Here, cars sit in yards and on the side of the road. They are used for parts as they sit, so eventually all that is left is the skeleton, slowly taken over by nature. Vines grow in, on, and through them, but the car still exists, with no place to go.
Picture all the trash and recycling you neatly bag up in a month, put into your trash cans and recycle bins, and have taken away each week, never thinking of it again. Now picture it sitting in your from yard; maybe some of it is in bags and some is loose, some has blown away to your neighbors yard, and some is stuck in the mud. Then imagine everyone else on your street doing the same thing. Maybe some people centralize their trash in one area, maybe others spread it out so that it isn't all in one pile. Now, instead of just picturing a months worth of waste, picture it accumulating for a year or two (this includes everything you might get rid of). It's overwhelming!
Thankfully people here do not create as much trash as Americans. People don't waste things or buy frivolous things. Yes, there are plastic take out containers, but there isn't as much waste as from take out food here a from restaurants in America. Bottles are used for other things before being thrown out, as are plastic bags. Clothes are worn until they can't be anymore and then are used as rags. If Americans lived here and created all the trash they did in the US it would be totally disgusting.
It was odd the other day when I had a bottle from water and my choice was to bring it into my house, only to have someone else add it to the trash pile outside, or consciously throw it into the trash pile myself. It felt so odd to be purposely throwing a bottle on the ground. I am such a recycler in the US, it's hard to abandoned those habits completely. Maybe while I am here I can encourage people to make take out food containers out of leaves. Sometimes this is done now for breadfruit and taro, and I think it is what people did before the containers were available.
Seeing all the trash here makes me wonder about all the land fills in the US. People should not waste so much, nor should there be so much packaging!
Picture all the trash and recycling you neatly bag up in a month, put into your trash cans and recycle bins, and have taken away each week, never thinking of it again. Now picture it sitting in your from yard; maybe some of it is in bags and some is loose, some has blown away to your neighbors yard, and some is stuck in the mud. Then imagine everyone else on your street doing the same thing. Maybe some people centralize their trash in one area, maybe others spread it out so that it isn't all in one pile. Now, instead of just picturing a months worth of waste, picture it accumulating for a year or two (this includes everything you might get rid of). It's overwhelming!
Thankfully people here do not create as much trash as Americans. People don't waste things or buy frivolous things. Yes, there are plastic take out containers, but there isn't as much waste as from take out food here a from restaurants in America. Bottles are used for other things before being thrown out, as are plastic bags. Clothes are worn until they can't be anymore and then are used as rags. If Americans lived here and created all the trash they did in the US it would be totally disgusting.
It was odd the other day when I had a bottle from water and my choice was to bring it into my house, only to have someone else add it to the trash pile outside, or consciously throw it into the trash pile myself. It felt so odd to be purposely throwing a bottle on the ground. I am such a recycler in the US, it's hard to abandoned those habits completely. Maybe while I am here I can encourage people to make take out food containers out of leaves. Sometimes this is done now for breadfruit and taro, and I think it is what people did before the containers were available.
Seeing all the trash here makes me wonder about all the land fills in the US. People should not waste so much, nor should there be so much packaging!
Road Construction
For the past month I've been living and training on the main island of Chuuk in Weno. Chuuk is so different from Pohnpei. There has been a ton of construction happening on the roads. Roads that are in the process of being rebuilt are super muddy. Sometimes the mud is solid to walk on and other times you sink down, losing your flip flop in the muck. A word of advice, when walking in mud using flip flops, plant your heel first. This prevents massive amounts of suction and reduces the risk of breaking your flop or losing it in the mud. But don't worry, there are plenty of puddles available to wash the mud off your feet. Even really muddy water will do the trick.
Roads that are still waiting to be built have potholes ranging from the size of turkey platter to a crater, taking up the width of the road. These fill with water because the main road is very close to sea level. Car rides are super bumpy and progress is slow.
The road project that is being undertaken in huge. Roads are being paved and a drainage system is being installed. There are so many pumps running because as soon as holes are dug, they fill with water. When the project is finished the roads will be wonderful. I hope I get to see all the roads completed!
I didn't intend to write so much about the roads, but they are a huge part of my life and traveling. Walking anywhere is such an adventure, navigating through the mud.
Roads that are still waiting to be built have potholes ranging from the size of turkey platter to a crater, taking up the width of the road. These fill with water because the main road is very close to sea level. Car rides are super bumpy and progress is slow.
The road project that is being undertaken in huge. Roads are being paved and a drainage system is being installed. There are so many pumps running because as soon as holes are dug, they fill with water. When the project is finished the roads will be wonderful. I hope I get to see all the roads completed!
I didn't intend to write so much about the roads, but they are a huge part of my life and traveling. Walking anywhere is such an adventure, navigating through the mud.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Life on Weno
My family here has been wonderful. My room is very simple and I am enjoying having nothing in my room other than a woven mat to sleep on and my luggage (I wish I had less luggage, though I need it all). I am thankful I brought a camping mat, it's just enough padding and comfort. There are no TV's in my house and any movies that are watched are viewed by many people on a portable DVD player. It creates such a sense of community when everyone in the family has to sit close together to watch something. I have seen videos of three major events that happened in Chuuk. Two were large celebrations with lots of singing and one was footage of a sporting competition. The person who created the sports video played the beginning of "Who Let the Dogs Out" each time a race started,which I found to be quite amusing! The slow motion replay soundtrack was an old time bluegrass song.
Weno has mountains in the center of the island, so I am trying to absorb their height as much as I can before I go off to my island. The tallest thing on my island will likely be the coconut trees. I'm curious to find out if I feel overwhelmed by seeing a mainly flat horizon without anything that is tall. I remember in Georgia feeling slightly claustrophobic when I was in a valley surrounded by mountains, perhaps here I will feel like there is too much space around me.
Interactions between men and women here are very different from the US. Women typically associate only with other women, and men with men, unless you are family. Women are friendly and are curious about why I'm here. Men tend to whistle, hiss, or say things like, "I love you," if I or any Peace Corps girl walk by. I tend to ingore them because by responding you risk showing interest. Children almost always say hello and will wave out from car windows if they see me walking by.
During training I often by "take out" for lunch. The food is sold in shops on the side of the road, is homemade, and includes both local and American food. My personal favorites have been boiled bananas with coconut milk, breadfruit with coconut milk, and the spaghetti (there are veggies in the sauce!). Also available is fried chicken, fish, rice, hot dogs, banana soup (also really good), and more. I'm glad this fresh food is available, but it's hard to get little plastic containers everyday, knowing there is no good way to dispose of them.
My life on Weno entry wouldn't be complete without mentioning the current Peace Corps Volunteers. They have become such an integral part of my life here. They have led almost all of our sessions during phase two and did a fantastic job. They have been a tremendous resource for us and I love them! The current PCV's have been been so open and honest with us, giving advice and telling us stories of their experiences in Chuuk. I can hardly believe that they will be departing so soon (one is leaving tomorrow, and the last is leaving in January). The volunteers have become my family and we are so close, it will be hard to say goodbye tomorrow when I head off to my little island of service.
Weno has mountains in the center of the island, so I am trying to absorb their height as much as I can before I go off to my island. The tallest thing on my island will likely be the coconut trees. I'm curious to find out if I feel overwhelmed by seeing a mainly flat horizon without anything that is tall. I remember in Georgia feeling slightly claustrophobic when I was in a valley surrounded by mountains, perhaps here I will feel like there is too much space around me.
Interactions between men and women here are very different from the US. Women typically associate only with other women, and men with men, unless you are family. Women are friendly and are curious about why I'm here. Men tend to whistle, hiss, or say things like, "I love you," if I or any Peace Corps girl walk by. I tend to ingore them because by responding you risk showing interest. Children almost always say hello and will wave out from car windows if they see me walking by.
During training I often by "take out" for lunch. The food is sold in shops on the side of the road, is homemade, and includes both local and American food. My personal favorites have been boiled bananas with coconut milk, breadfruit with coconut milk, and the spaghetti (there are veggies in the sauce!). Also available is fried chicken, fish, rice, hot dogs, banana soup (also really good), and more. I'm glad this fresh food is available, but it's hard to get little plastic containers everyday, knowing there is no good way to dispose of them.
My life on Weno entry wouldn't be complete without mentioning the current Peace Corps Volunteers. They have become such an integral part of my life here. They have led almost all of our sessions during phase two and did a fantastic job. They have been a tremendous resource for us and I love them! The current PCV's have been been so open and honest with us, giving advice and telling us stories of their experiences in Chuuk. I can hardly believe that they will be departing so soon (one is leaving tomorrow, and the last is leaving in January). The volunteers have become my family and we are so close, it will be hard to say goodbye tomorrow when I head off to my little island of service.
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