09.07.14 My Sunday is ending

It was a really nice, if not hot and humid day. The skies were blue, which was a welcome change over the gray skies these past few days. But with the sun came the heat. Went to Mass - it was in English and Yapese. Church was full, nice to see. After that I  went for a long walk up to the towers. The raod was a bit muddy but had no problems. The roads are made from a mix of stone, coral, and shells. The view from the top was well worth the heat. There was also a nice breeze and great views of a few frigate birds and terns.

Visitor's Center.

Legal assistance:

Catholic Church:

Local animals: Most of the dogs have collars. Saw very few that would be considered stray. Cats are not so common.

Cute little boy at the back of Church.

 

View from atop the hill:

White orchids:

 

Red ginger:

Inside of the MNUW restaurant. Had a very nice Sunday dinner.

Know the feeling. Must paddle until the engine starts.

And they are off!

And good luck to the New England Patriots on opening day. It will be Monday morning here when they play and I  will go to work after the game if they show it at the Marina Sports bar and grill.

 

Yap Cultural Dance

Here are a few pictures of the local people involved in the festivities:

More precious than stone money. And she is hiding a machete behind her back! She is six years old and will start first grade this year.

 

Cutting the top off the coconut for us to drink the liquid inside.

 

Young girls applying oil and turmeric to the skin in preparation for the dance.

Stone money, a very large and valuable one.

 

Colorful skirts made of pandanus leaves.

 

Grandmother weaving a basket while her granddaughters weave a smaller item. The grandmother is from Chuuk and  married a man from Yap. She has lived in Pohnpei and Guam, then Yap. She makes the necessary adornments for the girls' dance.

Starting out young with his basket and helping Mom.

Yes, that is a diaper under that loin cloth!

 

Beautiful local girl.

Elder of the village.

These feet probably walked a million miles.

Grandmother made the arm and head bands for the girls.

Dancer preparing for the show.

09.06.14 Nice rainy day to play tourist

In the late afternoon I took a cultural tour to Kadai Village. We were met by an elder of the village and a few women in the local dress. Remember from earlier posts, women are topless. The women prepared a few snacks and coconut drinks and prepared in front of house for the dance.

Here is a clip of the dance:

09.05.2014. YAP

I see the news that Seattle beat the PAckers. It is so odd to have such a time difference for games. The office already knows I will not be in on Monday mornings so I can go to the sports bar and watch the Patriots.

We had a very busy day today and I finished the first database for them. Have also decided to  take poictures of all of the office staff so I remember the names.

Here are a few pictures from today:

Just in case I get lost, I just go to the corner nad can find my way to work.

A friendly wave from a passenger on the motorboat. We are all onour way to work.

 

This four year old was pretty happy until the needle came out. Lots of tears before it was all done.

 

 

 

 

Continuing Medical Education seminar given my Dr. Peter and Judith Palmer, PhD (another Peace Corps Response volunteer). Lecture was on ebola and the hospital personnel have a rather good handle on isolation policies. Later, I had Judith over to my apartment for dinner and music by Bruce Springsteen. Am not much of a cook, but pretty hard ot  mess up spaghetti and sauce.

 





 

While we have coffee or tea to keep us going during the day and at conferences, they are big fans of beetlenut. Here are pictures of preparing beetlenut during the conference. The essential ingredients appear to  be beetlenut, tobacco and lime. No one used vodka during the lecture. Most important, you must have a container to spit out the stuff when you are done.

 

 

 

 

 The essential ingredients: beetlenut, tobacco, lime (white container) and spit can.

Men and women, they all use it. Here is another version of the spit can, but you can see the container with lime in the bag with the beetlenut.

 

 

Tomorrow, data! I promised them at the weekly meeting that I will bring in the hard evidence on why this is not such a good idea. Internet, don't fail me now!

09.04.14.Yap

Seem to have settled in to the routine. Have visited almost all of the shops to see what is available and now have my computer and email all set at the office. Completed the dataset they asked me to analyze, so now they are adding an additional year of information. In the end, it shouldbe a nice updated report on teen pregnancy that I hope tofinish this weekend.

Here are a few pictures of my walk to work and of the public health staff at work:

     Local shop with stone money.

 

     It floats. and if balanced carefully, plenty of storage space!

 

 

      While the weather has been stormy and raining, the skies are beautiful. This is the inlet on my walk to work.

     Maternal Child Health staff counseling a woman and her child.

     Room has multiple uses, including immunizations. Picture taken through my office door. I can keep an eye out on all activities there!