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.
Thursday, August 28, 2003 ~ Pohnpei
Lynn was quite surprised a few weeks ago that this Mehn Why would eat fish for breakfast. So? What's lox and bagels, and kippurs, and white fish? Nu? My adaptability and willingness to try/eat new things that are local please not just her, but all the locals.
Here's something interesting, speaking of things Jewish compared to here: Lynn started her period yesterday. I don't know how it came up, but she mentioned how the women here don't go to the water, the seas, the rivers, etc. when menstruating. I'm sure showers are OK. But they don't because there's a belief, not, I think, that they'll pollute the waters (or attract sharks), but that the water will force the fluids back into the body. I explained to her how different that is from the Jewish concept of the mikva, to the best I understand it. According to wikipedia.com, this is what a mikva is:
Several biblical regulations specify that full immersion in water is required to regain ritual purity after ritually impure incidents have occurred. Most forms of impurity can be nullified through immersion in any natural collection of water. Some, such as a Zav, however require "living water," such as springs or groundwater wells. Living water has the further advantage of being able to purify even while flowing as opposed to rainwater which must be stationary in order to purify. The mikvah is designed to simplify this requirement, by providing a bathing facility that remains in ritual contact with a natural source of water. Its main uses nowadays are:
- by Jewish women to achieve ritual purity after menstruation or childbirth
- by Jewish men to achieve ritual purity
- as part of a traditional procedure for conversion to Judaism
- for utensils used for food
Comparative social ritual is quite interesting. I was thinking at one time that I'd go back to school and get another degree in cultural anthropology. But why bother? I'm in the best learning environment I can be for that kind of thing. You just have to be open and receptive.
My trip to Fiji may have fallen through, but I'm sure trips to Fiji and elsewhere will come around, especially if my boss Paul gets confirmed, and (hopefully) the chief of litigation who suggested it, Anthony, doesn't get the job in the Cook Islands as head of Banking and Finance. The three of us are really of one mind about how the office should be run, and what the office should be doing for the people here. It'd be a real different ball game without either of them.
That manic guy at work, Matthew, is white, American. Married to a Russian or Armenian woman. Two kids, typical dumpy American looking kids. Their house looks very American in terms of furnishings. Air Con (A/C) running all the time. Unlike what I would have done if he were the new guy on island, he never invited me over in the beginning to eat at his home. He eats too much red meat, doesn't really try and blend in here with the locals. I suppose you can do that when you have a family "support" structure at home that keeps you "white." We suspect he fools around on his wife. He's not really a team player. But he's actually very good at ferreting out white collar crime and the like. I don't think he'd "go postal" if he were fired, and there are no grounds for doing so anyway. He just needs to be brought into line in terms of office philosophy and why we're all here.
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