Ulithi - the first days

We arrived in Ulithi from Fais in the wind and rain but safely. Not quite the same greeting as in Fais - no flower leis, no men with wheel barrows, no throngs of children. We put our things on a truck and walked across the runway to a path through the jungle - that part is the same. Our destination was the dispensary, where we were to sleep on the floors for a few more nights.

Here are a few pictures of the people, the shore and views. It rained very hard and our plans were constantly in flux. We were planning on a trip to the atolls (Fedrai, Mogmog and Asor) and had to postpone until the storms passed and the seas were calm. We spent most of the time on Falalaup, the atoll with the runway.

At the airport I met a man named John Terry. He played an important role in our stay. I had been on a walk and went to see the Ulithian Lodge. As it turned out, John owns it. Long story short, he offered to let the team stay there. There is only one problem I said - we have no money. No problem was his reply - he let us stay for free. What a treat. A comfortable bed, a real shower and bathroom and a gorgeous sea view. Americans are really very generous. There were four divers/spearmen who also gave us provisions and shared with us their feast one night - fresh fish, steaks, chicken and coconut crabs. A feast. I will always be grateful to  their kindness not  only to me and my team,  but also to the local children who would come to the lodge to sing, dance and eat cookies with me. 

Father Kelly was also on Ulithi and we had a nice talk about how we can help address some of the many problems. I really like him, I also met his Mom. His cousin John Junior is also a very nice and generous  man. [Which reminds me - I need to find his number to settle our food bill.] He is very much interested in helping his people. Had the opportunity to meet Max, the Micronesian "brother" of the American doctor on Yap. He built the dispensary in Fedrai. It was a really nice visit there. We did manage to get to the other atolls on Friday.

Here are a few pictures.

Ulithi. Later Daniel and I would around 3/4 of the island coming back from the dispensary.

Runway, coming in from the West.

 No shoes and a dog under the table. Getting ready for the immunizations to start.

Fresh fish.

 

A men's house.

He was born in York, Pennsylania.

Grace, a health assistant.

Look at those beautiful smiles.

 

 

 Martina was cold, so she wore my blue burka.

The kids are getting ready for their school examinations. This is one of my favorite part of the job.

This little girl is a darling. And quite the dancer.

Junior.

These were my little buddies.

More pictures of Ulithi tomorrow. Had a busy day - another three lectures, one tomorrow, and four on Friday.