02.27.15 work as usual

Not much new happening. Still teaching the course on statistics and survey writing and about half the class has quit. The ship left for the outer islands along with some class members, too. We had a site visit from the immunization assessment branch of the CDC - a nice visit with some very nice people. Have realized that I need to do my taxes but with the internet access worse than ususal for me, I am finding that a challenge. Andrew, the Yap Catholic volunteer teacher, and I continue to wrok on the surgical outcome survey and I still put in long hours.

Sunday and Monday are "Yap Day", a big celebration of  the Yap culture. I was given a beautiful grass skirt - and no - I will not be going topless! Hope to have some nice pictures and stories.

Here are a few from this week:

My greass skirt (made from hibiscus fibers) and a purse.

Snuggled right in to my office. Keeps me company at  night and on the weekends when I am working late. He also has his own cup of  water.

Buddy, a very big dog with big teeth. May be Shorty's dad. Sometimes it looks like Shorty is afraid ofhim, other times they play together. Buddy likes the treats, too. Not shown - Blondie is wearing a new purple collar. Asked her owners to take off her other collar as it was really tight. They did and so I gave her a pretty one. She still waits for me in the morning and afternoon for her treats.

A nice dip in the ocean after playing catch. This morning he  went to the sea on his own.

Cute kids.

 

02.22.15 Visitor in the Office

Yes, it has  been a while since I posted. Returned to Yap exhausted - couldhave used one more day to recover in Guam, if anything for some really good food and the beautiful beaches. And a recovery from the travel delays wold have been nice. Arrived at 12:30 AM - so another long day with no  recovery. Back at work - seems like forever since I have been here. Classes resumed and there is no internet at my apartment. So I am now at the office trying to "read the newspapers" and then continue on the lesson for  tomorrow.

On Sunday mornings, I like to take my little buddy Shorty for some exercise. Since he does eat really well, he needs to stay trim. We go  to the park behind the hospital and throw a stick, he catches it but never seems to want to give it back to me. He gnaws on it (I stopped letting him gnaw on my rings, hands and bracelets) but I think all of his adult teeth are in place. He also was up to his neck in the water, he watched me throw some coral and he went after them. Later I threw a stick in the water for him, but the current took it too fast. He jumped around for a little while then rolled in the grass as well as that obligatory shake. So we both got a little exercise and it was time for his nap and my work.

Here's my little buddy in my office - wearing his flea collar and a red collar. No mistaking that he "belongs to someone".

A little exploration. Sometimes I think about bringing Shorty home having him play with Fionnegan and Gunnarr. But I really think Shorty is an island dog. He likes the "world as his oyster" and roaming. He is also a little chicken at heart. He walked me home one late afternoon and was watching the sea with me. One loud explosion and Shorty took off running and never looked back. He is still afraid of sudden movements and hair brushing.

Yes, he has his own cup. If you look closely  on his left side facing the camera, the mark is hair loss as a result of one of our neighbors here throwing scalding water on him when  he was a puppy. He also has one crooked paw - left front.  It really makes me sad and upset to see people abusing animals and children. I think Shorty is almost a year now. We are going to celebrate his birthday in Spring!

Coast line of Southwestern Guam.

Dry snorkeling again!

Bear rock.

Chamorro village.

The man was telling us how baskets are made.

Newly weds. And a "selfie".

Southeast coast of Guam.

Almost sunset.

The beauthiful sea.

More cows on parade.

This is the beach where the US rescued Guam from the Japanese in WWII.

Old fort.

Portal in fort.

More colorful fish.

 

02.16.15 Travel is always an adventure

We were waiting for our flight in Pohnpei and the arrival time kept changing by an hour or so every hour. Finally they cancelled the flight to Chuuck/Guam as the plane had mechanical problems and was still in the Marshall Islands. So back to the hotel amidst rumors that the flight was leaving at 2 or 3:30 AM. Fortunately, the next time estimate called to the hotels was 10:30, which then became 12:30 as the customs personnel were two hours late and thus delaying the flight. Long story short, that delay ended up stranding us in Chuuk as the shift was over for the pilot and crew. So we all sat at the airport in Chuuk until 4 AM when we finally left for Guam. That meant I also missed my connection to Yap. We had to wait for 5 hours in Guam before they could arrange for a hotel to take us going to Yap. So it has really been quite the adventure flying in a region served by one airline - a monopoly with no competition whatsoever. High prices and low services. Then the Outrigger hotel refused to allow us an early check in so we had five more hours before we could get a shower and freshen up. I spent most of the time walking along the streets taking pictures until I was about ready to fall over from exhaustion.


Pohnpei cat at the Coco Marina restaurant. There were several that were fed, as well as one dog.
Outdoor restuarants do attract the animals.

White hibiscus.

A friend of mine - Rodney, is going to get this little cat some attention when he gets back to Pohnpei. Someone put a collar on the cat - perhaps when it was a kitten - and it is so tight it is compresing the trachea. The cat is too skittish for me to hold him and cut it so Rodney will take it to the vet or get some friends to  help him.

Sunset on the tarmac.

Airport security. And generally nice guy.

Ok, so we had fun while we waited for the pilots and flight attendants to get the required rest so we could head to Guam. Loren is a lawyer, Bill is with the coast guard on a new assignment in Guam. And yes, we took the wheelchairs up to the tarmac where we watched the sunset, ate out sandwiches for dinner and generally entertained the security guys. We had a very good time. What else was there to do?

Holding up the plane in Chuuk.

Two Army guys taking on a new assignment in Guam. This is at the Chuuk airport.

Nighttime shot of our plane.

Private plane stopped for refueling in Pohnpei..

Cows at the Guam airport.

Beautiful day for a walk along the beach. Took off my shoes and socks and rolled up my pants and had a lovely walk. Just got a little wet so went to buy a pair of "long" shorts (appropriate for Yap) and had a really nice sunset walk along the beach.

The old wooden Indian. Yes, there is one in Guam!

Pretty flowering trees.

The beginning of a mermaid!

 

View from my hotel room. Not bad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Paddle boarder at sunset.

Racing outriggers. These men and women are really excellent athletes. The races cover a long distance in a very short amount of time.

Sunset in Guam.

 

A Chapel along the shore in Guam.