Beginning with my June 2008 post "It's Been Five Years," the following is the continuing story of my travels from the United States into Micronesia ~ Pohnpei, Guam and Saipan ~ and my life since June 2003.
Sunday, August 3, 2003 ~ Pohnpei
Yes, Lynn and I are very relaxed together. I still haven't met her family, other than to maybe give a brother or cousin a ride somewhere. She can get so mad sometimes, but not with me. I know another Pohnpein, about her age that does too. More contradictions.
I'm trying to learn the language. "Kaselehlie" (kah-seh-leh-lee-uh) means hello and goodbye, like Aloha or Shalom. And if you want to be even more respectful when you say it, you say "Kasahlelie mine." And if you're addressing more than one person, you say "Kasahlelie mine ko." And I know please and thank you (same word ~ "kalangen" or "menlau" ~ the former being the more formal). I know the word for white person (mehn why), and dog (kidi, sounds like "kitty"), and cat (ketch). Lots of words that start with "k" here. It's a pretty sounding language, with rolled "r's" and subtlety to its inflection that I'm sure I just mangle. I'm trying to learn, but my memory is crap out here, and I've always been a visual person when it comes to words. I need to see it in writing, which doesn't help out here, as the words aren't spelled phonetically.
The AG and I took a ride and had lunch the other day, to talk about me staying or going. He just wants a commitment that I'll work hard. I told him I'd give him one, so he's starting the moving process of my household goods back in the States back up tomorrow.
People are so pretty out here, especially when they smile, which they do a lot. But don't look at the men too long. It's a challenge. People pass each other and smile in greeting, and the briefest of eye contact ~ an acknowledgment, like tipping your hat, or nodding, which you do to the men when you pass. Smile at the women, nod at the men. And the women walk with a lilt, one hip cocked slightly more foward than the left, with long black (soft) hair, and thin wraparound skirts, rarely pants. And they're clean. I've never been next to someone on this island who smelled bad. Probably the fish and rice diet.
The only thing that's not pretty is the betel nut chewers. (I know I'm repeating myself.) It's a stimulant. They wrap it with something they call "lime" (not the fruit) powder in a leaf and chew it. It turns your teeth reddish-brown. Then they spit it wherever they are, like someone spitting out chewing tobacco. So there are all these red spots on the road or in front of stores, or right where you're about to step out of your car in the parking lot. Kids, teenagers are doing it too. It used to be only an older person thing.
I was reviewing one of the travel guides on Micronesia the other day. It's interesting reading stuff now that has meaning. Places I've seen. Places that are in the book that I've been to. Descriptions of the people and things to do, restaurants I've eaten at.
I actually had a cheeseburger for lunch one day. Right outside my office are two competing stands that have wrapped cooked food, hard boiled eggs, sushi (with SPAM?), ramen noodles, etc. It's OK for something quick when you don't want to drive into Kolonia Town (I work at the capitol, in Palikir) which is about halfway between my house and work. The burger was weird, but edible. And they don't use relish, but cucumber. I also had something weird that was sold as a hot dog at the movies. I was telling Lynn about the Richardson movie theatre on Kwaj when I was a kid, an outdoor movie theatre with wooden benches. When it rained, people just put on their ponchos or unfolded their umbrellas like nothing happened, and kept watching through the rain. Lynn said that sounded like a good idea.
More on Pohnpeian funeral customs: You can tell someone's died because there are all these cars parked alongside the road, more than you'd see otherwise. The first night people bring sakau (the narcotic drink made from the pepper plant) and coffee, sugar, bread and pastries and stay up all night. The next day after the burial (they have to buried within two days because of the rapid decomposition in this environment, and there's no embalming ~ the bodies decompose and swell up pretty quickly in the heat and humidity), they cook a pig and eat a lot of food. The third day the women clean up, everyone makes up heaping plates of food and goes home. We passed a funeral yesterday and Lynn explained it all to me in more detail than I'd heard or read about it before. Death is so much more ... immediate here.
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