My New Home

I arrived on my island three weeks ago and I love it here. I am currently sitting on the second floor balcony of my school. There are no hallways so the balcony serves as the hallway. I am overlooking the courtyard where chickens are wandering and people are sitting. The ocean is visible behind the security building. We had a little rain this morning, so it's overcast and breezy. I can hear the breadfruit leaves as they hit the ground. I still have difficulty differentiating between the sound of rain and the sound of the wind in the coconut leaves. When the leaves hit against themselves it sounds just like the pitter-patter of rain.

The view from my home new is beautiful! When sitting on the front porch I can see the ocean 75 feet away. Looking at the ocean is very different here because of being in a lagoon. The waves don't come crashing to the shore like they do in Maine. Instead, they crash on the reef far from the shore and the water inside the reef is calm like a lake. There are a number of "coral bars" between the reef and the shore (it's like a sandbar, but made of coral; I have no idea what that is actually called). We have a stone wall rather than a beach and I enjoy sitting on the wall at sunset. There are many coconut trees along the wall, finishing out the tropical view.

 

view from my porch

In my yard are two local huts made from sticks and pandanus leaves. These huts let the breezes pass through and are great places to take a nap or play cards. The volleyball net is used in the evenings when it is not quite so hot. We have a cook house in the side yard where the majority of the cooking takes place. Any cooking in the cook house is done over a fire. Much of the food prep is done there as well. I have helped to grate taro and have observed someone mash breadfriut. We also have an oven made from an old barrel in which delicious bread is baked.

My house itself is made of concrete. All of the floors are tiled and are swept every day. Houses here typically don't have a lot of furniture and mine is the same. We have one table in the main room. Sitting and laying down on the cool tile floor is how we relax. In my room I have a table and a bed frame with a foam mattress. I feel very spoiled to have a bed. The first week I was here I slept on a woven mat and had adjusted to the hard floor by the time the bed arrived. Most of our time is spent outside or on the porch. People don't need furniture in the house or windows that close when it is never cold!


 

my house

The island itself is quite small. The main road is a loop and I was able to jog the loop in ten minutes. This leads me to think the loop is about a mile around. I say the main road, but it is more like an extra wide path made of crushed coral and sand. Many paths criss-cross the island, going between houses and the taro field in the middle of the island.

Overall the island is very quiet. The first week here I felt like I was living in a campground. There are no cars and the sound of voices echo through the trees. If I hear a rustle in the leaves I look to see a hen with her chicks, a little lizard, or a pig. The pigs are typically tethered to a tree and snort a lot. Hearing the snorts always makes me grin. There are also a number of roosters around. I am thankful that no roosters live in my immediate vicinity, so they have yet to wake me up. It seems like roosters crow any time they are disturbed.

I am enjoying life here very much. It is certainly a different way of life and it is nice not to have the rush and clutter of America. I do have the internet here which such a luxury. I think it is one of three islands in the whole state of Chuuk with internet. I feel so lucky! Life is good!