From the Beginning...

I have been on the island of Pohnpei for nearly eight months now and finally decided to start a blog so I could share this experience with friends, family, and anyone else who may one day find themselves on this little piece of paradise. I realized the beauty, wonder, and humor of this island is too good not to share.

The first thing you need to know about Pohnpei is its pure beauty. It's an expanding jungle of lush green everywhere you turn. The jungle is the mountains in the far distance, our frontyard, backyard, and our walks to school. If you've ever been sucked into the Lost series then you have an idea of what it looks like. Beautiful waterfalls hide in the jungle, many of which locals have never, themselves, even been too. That's what humors local Pohnpeians the most: that Americans are always walking up mountains or hiking through jungle for no good reason. We do, though, have a very good reason: Pohnpei is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

The second thing you need to know about Pohnpei is the Pohnpeians. Outsiders are instantly treated like family and with such humbling hospitality. It's hard to feel like a foreigner in a place that welcomes you like home. It's also incredible to witness how families operate on this island. Individualism is nearly nonexistent in the sense that people are not looking out for number one, they are looking out for each other. The first time I stayed with my host family out in the jungle it was hard to tell which children belonged to which parents, and who actually lived at the house and who was just being treated as if they lived at the house. Looking after someone's children (even all 10 of them) is not a burden; it's just what you do. There's no sense of obligation, just genuine love...for everyone.

Pohnpeian's number one concern is that you do NOT go hungry. The coconuts, rice, spam, fish, bananas, and breadfruit come faster than you can take it. Do not be deceived, though, and think that everyone's food comes strictly from the land. Nearly any Western food item you wanted to find you can. Walking into the grocery stores makes me feel like I'm back in the states. Pringles, Frosted Flakes, DiGiorno frozen pizzas...they've got it all. The classic Pohnpeian food is Ramen noodles (cooked or uncooked) mixed with packets of unsweetened Kool-Aid. If you see a Pohnpeian with red-tipped fingers then you know what they had for lunch, or maybe even for breakfast. Another breakfast food I witnessed at my host family's house was a giant bowl of Frosted Flakes with sweetened condensed milk poured on top. Needless to say, there is a dangerously high rate of Diabetes on Pohnpei.

The third thing you need to know about Pohnpei is the sakau (suh-cow). If you've ever heard of Figian kava, it's nearly the same thing. Sakau looks like muddy water, has the consistency of fluid meets thick mucus, and tastes like how a lawn being mowed smells. Sounds delicious, right?! Even Pohnpeians will tell you that no one really enjoys the taste. The effect is that it slows down the mind and body and has a very mellowing effect.

It's fascinating to watch the process of making sakau from start to finish: The roots are pulled from the ground and a group of men sit around a giant rock and pound the roots with smaller rocks. Water is added to the pounded sakau and is then squeezed out through long sheets of hibiscus bark into a half coconut shell. The more mucusy (if that’s a word) the better. Sakau used to be strictly a ceremonial drink and only for adults, but consumption has become more frequent and commercialized. If you see a group of people with a cooler on the side of a road you know they are selling plastic bottles of sakau.

This is just a basic overview of Pohnpei. Obviously, there is so much more to say. I feel blessed to be able to spend two years on this island; anything less wouldn't be enough. Getting to know a culture and its people takes time. Time allows for experiences and it is only with those experiences that we break down barriers and squash pre-conceived notions. I never would have pictured myself living in the middle of the Pacific, drinking mud water, and watching children scale coconut trees. Now, I couldn't picture myself doing anything else. This life, half dream, half reality, is more than I could have ever asked for.