Fais - departure and day 1

The trip was so special that I decided not to summarize into a bog or two.  We left on a rainy day in Yap. The hospital had a combination holiday party and farewell party for the director. PH was charged with making leis (nu-nus). I tried my hand at it and took a few videos.


Here is a map of Micronesia to give you an understanding of where these islands are located in relation to Yap.

["Yap". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yap.png#mediaviewer/File:Yap.png]

Many hands (and feet) make light work. Here is the staff making the nu-nus.

Janet. Litia is in the background.

Naty,

And of course my little Shorty. Came to see me before I left for one more treat. Deborah, who works at PH, agreed to give him treats. Daniel's Mom is feeding him while we are gone.

We had a late start to the airport and the level of disorganization is real. So we arrived in Fais in the late afternoon. We are greeted by a man gving us nu-nus, many men and children to help with the luggage. All we have to do is go past Terminal A and follow our guides to the dispensary, our home for a few days.

A truck load of supplies for immunizing hundreds of people, and food and personal supplies of 7 staff.

Thomas preparing sashimi for lunch before departure.

Boarding

My seat - co-pilot.

Fais. A beautiful little island.

Just like Logan - right?

Baggage handlers ready to greet us.

Martina (Immunization program co-ordinator) and Thomas.

An official greeting at the plane. I really llike receiving the nu-nus. Such a special touch.

Alphonso, the medic. A really nice man and it was a pleasure to do consultations with him.

Terminal A.

Everyone here to meet the plane.

The kids are still not used to cameras, so some are still a little shy.

And others not so shy.

My love affair with the puppies begins at the airport.

Melissa, Immunization Program. I love her  hair. She is part Yapese and Palauan.

We follow the path to the dispensary.

Yes, I am the only one who does not wear flipflops.

Fun ride.

There is a knack to  drinking from a coconut without spilling it on your shirt. Have mastered that! This is Daniel.

Kim, Martina's son. We brought bisquits for lunch.

Do you think they had a problem wit diliquent bills?

Kim preparing betel nut. He is a very nice young man, who hopefully one day will complete college.

 

 

 

Preparing coconuts for drinking.

Betel nut break.

The Chief.

Hilary the dentist and the chief. Office of Alphonso the medic.

Mason, our guide, with all of our supplies.

Hilary the dentist at work.

Registering all of the patients then giving them the immunizations. Thomas, Carlos, Daniel.

Her hair is a mix of light and dark. There are a couple of families on Fais with light hair. And look at those curls. All natural.

Carlos.

Martina - green shirt.

Some dogs have very light eyes.

Another little girl with really blond hair on the right.

The pups and dogs were thin.

Eeryone patiently waiting their turn for the vaccines Note the woman with white hair.

Will Storey, a Peace Corps volunteer teachr. The only non-native on the island. I brought him a Trader Joe's dried fruit snack. He eats mostly taro and peanut butter and some fish. However, we ate very well there. We had octopus, freshly caught fish and potatoes.

A little shy.

But all smiles!

We worked until almost 8:30 at night. Because the cold chain cannot be broken to keep the vaccines viable, we continued until we were finished with all of the children and almost all of the flu shots were administered. There is no refrigeration, so we were dependent on the cold packs keeping the vaccines cold. It works, The flu shots we gae the next morning were still cold and the packs frozen.

Thomas holding a flashlight and registering patients.

Daniel reflecting the flashlight off the ceiling.

At the end of the long day, Martina and I went to find the toilets and shower. The shower was a tap at the school and we brought our own buckets. It was a bit cold - maybe because it was so late. En route, we found the kids  preparing a turtle for dinner.

Afterwards, I was asked by Alphonso to accompany him to see a patient that just died. The body was placed on a mat in the main room and covered with a traditional lavalava from the waist down. His arms were crossed over his chest and a white cloth was used to cover his face. The women sat around the body and the men sat outside. Alphonso gave me the honors of examining him and pronouncing him - I was so very careful of not breaking any type of cultural restrictions. I had not attended a death yet so always concerned to not offend anyone. All of the men from our group came down later to pay respect by wearing the traditional thu (blue cloth wrapped around the waist) and sitting with the men. I had another opportunity to return to the house the next day for a medical call to tend to the widow.