08.25.14 and 08.26.14 Orientation

Orientation started on Monday. One of the best components is the language lessons. Gloria, who originally is from Yap, is my teacher. Since there is only one person in my class (me), the lessons are given to me an Bernie Suzuki, the PC cashier, now PCR assistant.

After a long day, Danny met me at the hotel and we drove to Sokesh for a bit of bird watching until dark. The view was incredible – included the city (Kolonia), airport, causeway and harbor. Saw a couple of catamarans and small sailboats. Several different types of terns, a special variety of pigeon, starlings, and a few that I will need a bird book to correctly name. Will need to see if I can find one – Danny had a book of birds of Hawaii and the Pacific. While the “rock” blocked our view of a direct sunset, the backlighting on the city was beautiful. On a small island as Pohnpei, everyone knows the flight schedules of all arrivals and departures. An unexpected arrival occurred around 8:00, everyone knew it was errant and presumed it was a cargo plane from Guam. Watched a flat raft with a young boy and older man for a while. They worked with no concern detectable about their vessel!

On Tuesday, most of the day was spent in meetings and language lessons. Then back to the hotel to prepare a presentation.

View from Sokesh (man and boy on raft):

View of Kolonia from Sokesh:

 

Sunset:

Apples (arfath) on a tree in Pohnpei:

 

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Peace Corps Disclaimer:

 

“The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.”

August 24, 2014. Free day to explore Kolonia

Kolonia is the capital of Pohnpei. Had some free time to explore, as well as recover from the trip. Kolonia has a few interesting historic sites - an old Spanish wall and a German Bell Tower and some old homes of the colonial era. Had a couple of nice conversations with the locals who engaged in conversation and a lovely walk along what I call a causeway. Also did a bit of birding, but a local bird book would have been very useful. Looked in a couple of general stores to see what they have, and can find food and personal items with brand names, at a price, but still accessible. I am not certain where I will be living in Yap, so I am scouting out what household items might be available, even if on a different island.

Had eaten in the local restaurant for breakfast (tuna, sashimi, egg, rice, cabbage) and dinner (cheeseburgher, cabbage salad). Had to test out the burger and indeed it was very good, so was the tuna. My waiter wirks part time and goes to college (C of Micronesia) part time. Nice young man.

Also, a few New Zealand Air Force members on a weekend leave, were at the hotel. Apparently, they patrol the surrounding seas for misadventures.

Here are a few pictures from the day:

Monument to honor previous theose Japanese who died while working on Pohnpei.

City street scene.

Pandanus.

Old colonial style home.

Colonial style home, occupied or unoccupied?

Churches:

Local boat:

Old Spanish Wall.

Old German Bell Tower.

Scenes from the causeway.

An assortment of flowers.

 

 

Play ball!  Students playing in the ball field across the street from Our Lady of Mercy High School. Kids were playing in sneakers, flip flops, and bare foot.

No Betel nut allowed. It causes a bit of a high, stains gums, lips and mouth red. And it is a carcinogen.

 

 

And my first purchase in Micronesia, on layover in Kosrae, an angel - to keep an eye on me during my travels!

Arrived via local Pacific island flights

Four hours of sleep never felt so good. Departed early from HML and headed for the Marshall Islands. First stop was Majuro, where we were allowed to deplane for the 30 minute layover. The welcome sign says nices people of the Pacific, and even with just a stop stop, they indeed were very nice..

 

From there we travelled to Kwajalein, an atoll in the Marshall Islands where there is an army base and we were not allowed to deplane. And we were not allowed to take pictures, so none to show what it looked like. They are testing a missle there - should be in the news or in the journal Foreign Policy.


Next stop was Kosrae, truly a beautiful little island.

Some of the pictures were taken from the window of the plane, so hope they are clear.


Then, after over eight hours and three stops, we arrived in Pohnpei. I will be here for one week of orientation. It was my impression that there would be a group of volunteers disembarking with me. Low and behold, I was the only volunteer on the plane. Here are a few pictures of Pohnpei from the air and upon arrival:

Was met at the airport by Bernie, who works for the Peace Corps and will accompany me to Yap Island over the weekend after orientation.

Am staying at Yvonnes Hotel, checked in by a very nice hotel clerk. Later, in the early evening (who needs sleep?) I had dinner with Sunny, a nurse volunteer stationed on Pohnpei. We ate at a very nice place called "Cupid", with a fresh fish dinner that was hard to beat. And yes, I could not resist the homemade banana and chocolate pie, highly recommended by our waitress Becky, a very nice young woman who also is in college. The sunset there was spectacular and since it rains much of the time, a very lucky experience:

Prior to departure I had written to Professor Don, a well known birder of the region. He graciously wrote back with suggestions, and noted that he was from Worcester! In addition, he forwarded my message to Danny, another birder on the island. As it turns out, Danny and his wife Arlene were at Cupid's, (yes, it is a small world!) and we made arrangements for a birding excursion this coming week.

At 10 PM, my head finally hit the pillow. A great start to a year abroad. This morning, I hope to have clear weather and a walk around Kolonia, the capital of Pohnpei.