Weather Wonders

   So we have had an interesting few days. Yesterday, (Sunday for us)  we were under a tsunami warning because of the earthquake off of Chile.  This is the first time staff seemed to think that we should take action.  (Ponhpei isn't usually hit by anything severe like that because of its barrier reef).  We had another volunteer at our house with us at the time.  We informed our host families so that they could take precautions, but all opted not to.  We put on sunblock and hats and took water and binoculars and climbed all the steps to the top of the hill near our house.  Absolutely nothing happened.  We watched people going about their daily business, some of it in boats on the water.  Finally we called to check in and the warning was off.  It was really funny to people around here that we were even taking precautions.  Oh well, it provided a new twist to our same old, same old routine.

  As I think we mentioned in another post, Pohnpei is experiencing a drought.  We have been lucky and have had water even though the water pressure has dropped sometimes.  Our luck has run out, or should I say evaporated. (ha, ha bad joke, I know.)  I forgot my keys and was sitting outside waiting for Nate.  He missed a ride today and had to make the hour walk.  He got home and was drenched.  I walked to the sink, soaped up my hands and no water.  We had a trickle in the bathroom that we used to wash some dishes and collect more drinking water with and then that too stopped.  All over it is "sohte pil" (no water.)  There is confusion over whether or not the well has been shut off.  We have our doubts about that, I mean why wouldn't they have been rationing for the past month.  There isn't a whole lot of knowledge about water conservation here, but surely someone would have considered that if it was possible.  Our doubts our increasing because it is nearly time for people to start dinner and as rice and soup are popular dinner dishes it is going to be challenging to cook them without any pil. 

  We have informed our PC staff of our water issues.  I imagine something will be done and we may have interesting things to report.  (It will probably be interesting to us because it will change the routine, but may not in fact be that interesting to you.)

  So the next time you go for a glass of water, to flush the toilet, wash your hands, etc. think of us.  It's amazing how many times you reach for the tap even when you know it doesn't work. (It's kind of like how we always try to turn on the lights during our power outages.)  I really wish I could wash the road off my feet today.  Wish us luck!

Leaping Lizards and Bulging Eyeballs!

I decided since we have been here for six months or so that it is time for my first post.  I guess I need to start pulling my weight.  I just don’t like having to censor my thoughts.

Last week my fifth graders helped clean out the ‘library.’  The room also serves as the storage shed for lawn care equipment and other odds and ends.  A previous volunteer got a shipment of books for the school and all of them were still in boxes or piles on the floor.  I was excited it was a group project so that I could use my status as teacher to observe and direct once we started uncovering the giant spiders – I knew there would be some in there.  I still have not overcome my fear.  Fortunately, some of the students were afraid of them too and so some of the boys decided that the best thing to do was to kill them with a rolled up poster.  I also managed to not get jumped on by a lizard.  Unfortunately, that has happened to me at school before when I was looking in a box.  It’s hard to appear like you are in charge when you are trying not to yell and to slingshot a big lizard (not the standard yellow gecko) off of your skirt.

I added to my duties this semester.  I am teaching a legal research and writing class at the College of Micronesia.  It has been a lot of work, but has been really interesting*.  It’s a nice change to spend some time working with adults and talking about something other than grammar.  Nate and I hope to get some more secondary projects started soon.

Ironically, Ponhpei is experiencing a drought right now.  Who would have guessed it was possible since people claim this is the second wettest place on earth.  Some of the other volunteers have run out of water at their sites already. We are on a well that people in the area normally come to for fresh water.  Our water pressure has dropped, but so far we are doing good.  If we would run out, there would be options for drinking water, but sadly showering would become an issue. 

In other local news: the tourist site near us, Nan Madol, is going through some changes.  You now have to go to the king’s house and get permission (and pay) before you go to the site.  He is apparently still granting access as we saw 3 school bus loads of Asian tourists as well as several cabs full of people leaving the site today. (This is not at all a regular occurrence. We’ve maybe seen two cars full of people the entire time we’ve been here.)  My school is near it and the only road out there passes by our house.

Nate and I have become pros at cooking on a hot plate.  No more fancy meals for us. (Also, no drinks as we are in a dry municipality.) Our new specialty is taco rice, and we have mastered cooking pumpkin.  Oatmeal is getting old as a staple breakfast item, but it beats Black Label (look it up) and rice or ramen. Sometimes we feel like we are in a nursing home since our favorite treat is jello with fruit cocktail or pudding.  We also eat a disgusting amount of hot dogs (about our only source of meat) and have been sad that the local stores have been out of them for two weeks.  We haven’t made it into to town like we usually do since my COM class was on holiday.  We even have a can of chili on reserve that we are saving for a special romantic evening; we just need the hot dogs.  Chili really is a splurge here.    

* If you want to know what I mean by interesting you will have to e-mail me.