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.