Random Photos

I can't recall if I put up pictures of our most recent trip on the "Six Waterfalls Hike", so here is one of our guide enjoying the last of the waterfalls.

Beth, Meghan, and Myself on Black Coral Island during our mid-service

Tyson Mudong
Matt and Sylvia open up the floor at the Christmas party

Blog Post for all

Things here are rolling along, it seems that many days are the same as the last here, no rush, no hurry, just sort of doing things as they come along. School is going well and it's crazy that we only have a few more months left until this year is up. We have a week of sports coming up, so no class, then more getting ready for the test that all high school seniors take (it can get them into the college here or not, it's in March), so that's a big focus right now. I'm still waiting on a few things to find out about next year, but I've decided to stay for another year. I miss many things from home, but I also know that things will change less than I think (for the most part) and I can wait another year before returning to the mainland, especially after seeing how fast this year is going by.

I uploaded a bunch of photos that I've taken into my facebook account, so if your on there, you can check those out. I'll have more up as soon as I can get back to some free internet. My funds have diminished here, so I'm operating on a tight budget, and just trying to be economical.

We had our WorldTeach mid-service get together a couple weekends ago. We went to a little island right on the barrier reef called "Black Coral". It's impossible to get pictures without a waterproof/underwater camera so sorry, but maybe on the next trip I'll try and snap a few. It is a tiny little place with just a few huts and a local nahs where you can hang out, and some really great snorkeling. Imagine a 40' deep olympic swimming pool that is teeming with coral and fish and sharks and rays on either side of the pool, and maybe that will give you a picture of the snorkeling. It's just a small channel from the lagoon to the open ocean and the setup is really amazing. you have to be careful though, the current there is quite frightening at times, but if you catch it on a slack tide time, you can have an hour or two of easy snorkeling. I was amazed to swim around with four quite friendly sharks, and a rather large (sting?) ray. We also did all the official type stuff for WorldTeach, but that isn't nearly as interesting, so I won't try and share...

Here, for example, is some basic pictures of the 'sakau' process. What is sakau? is something that I'm sure some folks would ask themselves. Sakau is the root of a pepper shrub, piper methysticum. It's presence looms large here on Pohnpei. I've heard a few stories about where sakau came from, including some about rats nibbling on the plant and getting a little stoned drunk and one story that shan't be repeated here, but involved the sakau coming from Kosrae in a special kind of package. Whatever the story is, or stories are as it may be, sakau is very popular here. It has a large role in traditional customs including funerals, birthdays, feasts, and weddings. These days, sakau "markets" or bars have opened up and people come to drink sakau or get takeout in bottles. Basically what happens is someone takes up the sakau plant and cleans them. A special sakau stone is used and the roots are pounded into a sort of pulp. Some stones are quite large, and all make a ringing sound when being used. There is a kind of rhythm to pounding and specific rhythms that I've heard.
Wet hibiscus bast (part of the bark) is made into a kind of mesh and the sakau is squeezed through the hibiscus. It sort of tastes spicy and bit muddy and has a slimy thick viscousness at first. Strong or good sakau will numb your tongue and lips and send a warm cozy feeling through your body. They say that sakau is stronger than alcohol, if you get really drunk on sakau, you end up kind of "playing the piano" as I like to say, that is, you get really shaky and can't walk well at all. Ill effects include not wanting to get up, feeling kinda sluggish in the morning. A lot of people like to kapopo here, which basically means to have one drink of alcohol after you drink sakau. It's like a mixing of local and U.S. custom...

Here are some pictures to illustrate the process:

Cleaning and sorting the roots

Kneading the sakau, on the rockPlacing sakau into hibiscus.
Twist and squeeze

Into the cup, then drink it.

One of my students is yearning to be outside and not in school, just an average day at Madolenihmw High School

Out student body president is pretty awesome. Here she is at the Christmas party at school making some serious style.

It's not uncommon to see hands and maybe feet hanging outside the bus to and from school. The students just pile in, it's little things like this that illustrate big differences I think between the mentality of the U.S. and here. Here is the students standing or hanging out the door as well:

School has been a bit crazy because of the bus situation here in Madolenihmw. Things break, there aren't enough buses, and things run at a different pace than I'm used to here. The school buses (or bus often) is packed with students. I took a ride one day and snapped this photo to attempt and illustrate:

An average day at work