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.
Wednesday, August 27, 2003 ~ Pohnpei
My mother finds it interesting what I'm relaying about the children being communally loved. She wonders if the teenagers get into trouble because they have no future to look forward to, no goals. She asks if I paid to bring Lynn's mother and child over from Guam. She says she worries about Lynn getting pregnant.
I tell her she thinks too much. I tell her she needs to think broader, more globally. As they say here, we're all human. Teens here are no different than anywhere else, especially with the western influences that are here ~ TV, phones, trips to Guam. I remember from a course I took in college course called Differential Psychology that the differences WITHIN groups are greater than the differences BETWEEN groups. There are no job prospects, true. But you can live without an education here. Education is important before the 7th grade, but after that.... And the kids only appear to go to school about half days. Work ethic is prized here, whether you farm your land, or you fish. But, extremes here are so extreme, that it takes it's toll.
I did pay to bring Lynn's mother here so that she could bring Lynn's daughter, Brined "Brin-ette"). I probably ought not to have payed her way, and only Lynn, her mother, and my friend Peter know that I paid. Brined is the 3-4 yr. old. Her paternal grandmother was supposed to return her from a visit to Guam, but just kept delaying things in that passive-aggressive Micronesian way, and Lynn was missing her. Lynn didn't ask me to. I volunteered. Lynn doesn't ask for big, big things like that. It's the little things she piece-meals me with I'm trying to get her to change.
Lynn and I worry about her getting pregnant, too. Neither of us want that. Lynn is many things, but I do believe she's truthful. And not because I wish it so. She is. She's not always good at giving me all the information I require to make informed judgments, but we're working on that.
The papaya tree that grows against the side of my house has fruit. I keep forgetting to check to see if it's ripe. Should be soon. The only fruit I've seen in stores the last couple of days is a dozen papayas, but I thought: Why should I buy papaya when I have it growing at the house? Only one of my many banana trees has fruit, but I'm not sure how I can get to it, unless I learn to climb the trees. The tree is growing off an embankment in my front yard down to the road. Bananas here aren't as tasty as the ones we get in the states from South America. There are different varieties, and the locals get a lot of use out of the plantains, which they serve them with coconut milk which is not especially tasty to this palate. The pineapple I have will take a few months to grow yet.
I wonder what it is in breadfruit that I actually have a bit of a craving for. It's really a bland kind of food, but there's something there my body is saying I should eat. Could be Vitamin C, but I suspect there's something else in there my body's asking for, some other vitamins or minerals.
I remember when I ran through a glass door when I was perhaps 12 years old, severed tendons in my foot and was in a wheel chair for six weeks or more. I literally could not get enough citrus fruit and protein while recovering. I actually visualized grapefruit, oranges, eggs and steak while convalescing. I sense something similar, in terms of mild cravings, not to the same degree as then, but it's all focused on local foods. I don't specifically miss anything food-wise from the states, but when I crave something, it's local. I think I wouldn't mind, would love, some Mexican food. I'd also like a spinach and mushroom pizza. I'd also like more sushi, not just sashimi, but the sushi wrapped in seaweed like the variety you get in a Japanese restaurant. Hmmm..... Could be an iron thing. I wonder if breadfruit is rich in iron.
Right now, I'm craving fish. So, with what I just said, it could suggest a protein deficiency, as well as Vitamin C, as well as iron, which probably explains the loss of weight. I just went to get myself some more juice and saw the peanut butter in the fridge, and a craving signal went off. Definitely, a protein thing. I think I'll go have some Australian steak or a lot of fish for lunch. The hamburger is too over-cooked here. I'll probably grab some boiled eggs on the way into work. They're $0.25 each. We share food at the office, so I'll buy extras for the secretaries and staff.
No comments:
Post a Comment