Easter on Kosrae

It’s Spring Vacation - hurray! Willard and I boarded a plane yesterday and went southwest to the island of Kosrae. This is one of the islands in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), formerly known as the Caroline Islands. We are happy to be staying at a nice hotel called the Nautilus. It’s air conditioned and clean and we are thrilled!

Yesterday we settled in and wandered about a bit. The island is hilly; the center is actually 2000+ feet in altitude and is called Mt. Finkol. The land is lush with beautiful flowers and vegetation. There is no water shortage here because there is no dry season. It also feels cleaner and less populated than Majuro. There are 6,500 people on the island.

Today is Easter and we decided to go to services. Last night the waiter tells us most of the island is Protestant and we are welcome to attend services. In fact, the hotel owner will give us a lift. And he does. He is an Australian who has been on Kosrae on and off for ten years. He tells us the church we are attending is in temporary quarters because they are renovating their actual church. Later he explains that there was nothing wrong with the church they had, but there are five protestant churches on the island and they are constantly working to outdo one another. A couple of years ago another church was rebuilt and 2,000 pigs were butchered for the celebration (remember, there are only 6,500 people on the whole island)! He tells us this church will be rebuilt before Christmas because there is some sort of big celebration every four years and this is the year. The church, he says will be totally bought and paid for - nothing owed, but a lot of parishioners will be severely in debt. In addition, each adult male will be expected to provide a large pig and every teenage male a small pig. Much of it will be waste because there is no refrigeration for all of the leftovers.

When we get to the entrance it is obvious that men sit on the right and the women sit on the left side of the sanctuary. I felt pretty out of place even though I had on a pretty blouse and skirt. Everyone I was sitting near was in a white dress, and the men were all in long sleeved starched white shirts and ties. The dresses were beautiful - they looked like something you could get married in, or at least wear as the mother of the bride. There were folks dressed in other colors too, but not where we were. As the service progressed, I was told that on Easter there is a sort of choir contest where different choirs perform, and if you are in the choir, you wear white. The music was pretty amazing. The pastor spoke (in Kosraen, so we didn’t understand a word) and then the congregation would reply in song - always sung in four part harmony. It was beautiful, but a little screechy, all at the same time. The only parts I caught were the Lord’s Prayer and (I am pretty sure) John 3:16 because of the cadences. There were some alleluias too. I am glad we went; it was really interesting. But I am glad the service only ran one hour!

On the way home the hotel owner tells us that Kosrae is a man’s world. The women are the smart ones who do all of the work (I am not sure that is smart, but….) and the men hold all of the offices and own the land. Before motor boats, the women even did all of the fishing, but when motor  boats came along, the men couldn’t resist the “toys” and so now they fish.

After we came home we had lunch and then went for a long snorkel. We were allowed to snorkel on Sunday but could not dive and nothing is open, except the hotel restaurant. Alcohol is not served on the Sabbath either. But pizza is half price at the restaurant so that was our Easter feast.

We thought about friends and family sitting around ham dinners back at home. We hope you all had a good Easter.

We look forward to a relaxing week. A kayak ride through mangrove trees, a hike to a waterfall, more snorkeling, and a lot of sleeping in is on the agenda!

Take care, write when you can, love, Becky

On a hike with friends, Jen and James. Behind us is a eucalyptus tree.

We kayaked through the mangrove trees

Easter service at the local Protestant church

These mangrove trees thrive in salt water and help with erosion problems

Email Glitch

To all are friends...our email has been hacked. We are not in Spain and don't need money. If you got an email from us asking you to help us, please ignore it. We are currenly locked out of MSN but we do have email at:

majurocoophs@yahoo.com - Becky
rwlathrop@gmail.com - Willard

We hope nobody was too concerned.

Willard and Becky

The Marshall Islands Journal and Other Amusements

The newspaper here never fails to amuse me. I think it is the first newspaper that I have ever read consistently cover to cover. Here is a recent article that gives you an example of why it humors me:

Plastic Bags

Plastic bags are neat, but for some reason many people feel they are very bad and should be banned. The suggestion is that cloth bags should be used instead of plastic, but cloth bags also have inherent difficulties. Cloth bags need occasional washing and fresh water and imported soap to do so.

Plastic bags have a convenient recyclable aspect: after emptying plastic bags are used as trash bags. They serve this function conveniently.

Plastic bags are dangerous because they can smother babies. This is why warnings are printed on plastic bags.

What do we recommend? That everyone wear oversize shirts, like if you are XX, buy a XXX. When you check out at the supermarket grab the front of your shirt at the bottom and draw the shirt up. This makes a pouch in front of your belly like a kangaroo. Stuff purchases in the pouch and go home. When you arrive, release the goods onto the kitchen table or whatever. If you need shopping shirts to go shopping you can buy them at Payless in Delap. Help keep Majuro neat.

A couple of months ago they hosted  political elections here. One race was extremely close. There were issues and they needed to recount the votes. When they finished they reported it all in the paper, including the names of the two voters who swayed the vote!

Most of the time there is an ad that reads: Please don’t rob banks!

On another subject, we have been blessed this week with rain. This is not a place that grumbles about rain! No, we are thankful - the catchments are about three-quarters full and we can do laundry without worry for a minute. The weather here feels a little cooler because of the trade-winds but it probably gets as low as 78 degrees. So it cracks us up that we see folks walking around with coats and sweatshirts! As for us, we are feeling very comfortable. The only down side to the winds as I see it, is it makes the snorkeling more difficult.

We did get a chance to go last weekend though. We got a call with an invitation to go out with a group of divers to Arno, a close atoll. The weather was perfect and the snorkeling pretty good. Part of the way there the skipper decided we should fish. The Japanese folk who were on board were excited about the prospect of fresh sashimi. So I put out a hand line and a couple minutes later got a big strike! I was SO excited and Willard and one of the Japanese men started pulling in the line (there was no reel). I was pretty disappointed that it got away - but now I think I’ll have to go again - I think I’ve caught the fever! Got another smaller hit again a little while later but it was fleeting as well. I did learn how to look for the flocks of birds having a feeding frenzy on the water. They are feeding on the little fish, and where there is little fish, there is my dinner! Of course there will be pictures when I catch it!

Hope you are all well - I hear spring might visit the Northwest any day! Take care - Love, Becky



My students who earned all As and Bs this quarter - aren't they adorable?



More Fun in the Marshall's

Last Saturday was the February fishing tournament and we went out for a day of fishing but lousy catching. The weather was good and the sea was easy but the fish were not biting. We did catch a couple of nice wahoos but only one was a qualifier, and a couple of small tunas so there was fish for dinner but no big fish. Currently our team is still in first place for the years point total but we better get lucky next month.

The week was slow but I did have to cover a couple of classes at the school while my lovely bride attended to other duties.  I have a regular coffee meeting down the road at a little store where I meet with a Marshallese man named Bob. We have coffee and discuss books we are reading and exchange books that we think the other will like. Bob is a US Army veteran and has lived all over the world before coming to the Marshall Islands to retire. 

This Saturday, Becky and I went out with Hiro and Carey for a day of diving and snorkeling. We left Majuro about 9 AM on Carey’s boat and traveled to Arno (the next atoll to the East). We Arrived at Arno and I went for a SCUBA dive with Hiro and Becky snorkeled.  I had a great dive Becky got to snorkel around the dive site. We had lunch on the boat and then while we moved to the next site we put out the fishing lines. Becky was running a hand line and had a tremendous striking but Hiro and I were unable to keep on the line and pull it in. Becky got a second strike but lost it. That’s the only luck we had. We dropped Becky off to go snorkeling and ran up the island to do a drift dive. I saw my first pair black tip sharks and we had a great dive. We fished all the way home but had not luck.

Life here in Majuro is good and Becky and I are doing well. I continue my job as the head cook and bottle washer and Becky continues to bring home the bacon. Life’s tough when you’re a cabana boy.

Water Hours and Rain Dances

The Dry Season is here. For most of the year there is enough rain to keep everyone happy. The trees and ground cover stay green and the water catchments are full. But from January to May the rain is infrequent, to the point where serious care and planning is necessary. Because most of the teachers live in school-provided housing, they share catchments. To help keep the water shortage at bay, we have had to host meetings to discuss ways to save water. On the way out, one teacher summed up the meeting by remarking, “So it’s water hours and rain dances!” Here are some things we do:

1.       There is a bucket at the bottom of the shower. All of that water is saved. Use it to soak dishes before they are washed.

2.       Never ever leave the water running – ever – for shaving, teeth brushing, etc.

3.       Never leave your hose connected. Make sure there is no handle on the spigot – people steal water here.

4.       For the group housing, they turn the water off during the day and late at night – in other words, they have water hours; again so neighbors don’t have the opportunity to steal the water.

5.       Run the washer when it rains.

6.       Showers are SHORT.

7.       If it’s yellow let it mellow.

There is city water but it is only turned on two days a week. And if the water runs out, it’s simply gone. Yikes! This morning our catchment was a quarter full and we were getting pretty nervous. So even though we were cold and wet on the sailing race today, we rejoiced when the rain came. The catchment is now half full.

I apologize I haven’t written in quite some time. Nate came before Christmas and stayed until February. Willard’s folks came in mid-January and were here for two weeks. Meanwhile work has been very busy. My personal goal is to finish sending out Christmas cards this week!

Lest you think I am whining, I include a picture of how we spent our Saturday afternoon. Our girls are undefeated – I call them the Scrappy Girls. They don’t have a great shooting percentage but they can sure steal a ball and get it down the court! Some are barefoot and others are running in flip-flops. It is great fun to watch them, especially on a sunny afternoon with a nice breeze! During half-time I watched the coach draw out his plans on his little white board and then erase it with the sole of his flip-flop and then continue to draw and explain the plays. As I’ve said before, life is pretty interesting here!

Thanks for reading, take care! Love to you, Becky

The Scrappy Girls in red win against the Catholic Girls

The Cabana Boy Returns

It’s been about six weeks since I added to my blog so I guess I better get back with the program. Nate came to visit us just before Christmas and stayed until the end of January.  We had a great time with him. Right after Christmas we traveled to a neighboring atoll and spent three days living on a beautiful beach virtually isolated from the rest of the world.

We returned to Majuro just in time for the New Year’s block party. We wandered up and down the street listening to different bands compete with each other for who was the loudest. The closer to midnight it got the drunker the crowd got. We left right after midnight but I guess the real dancing didn’t get going until even later.

The second Tuesday in January Nate and I went out with Ronnie Remer for the monthly fishing tournament.  We had a great day fishing although it was a bit rough. We caught, tagged, and released three marlins (little guys, about 120 pounds) and five mahi mahi, two of which qualified for tournament points.  A long day but fun.

Nate and I also got certified to SCUBA dive in an intensive two- session stint which included four dives. We spent the week prior doing all the book work and taking the tests and on Saturday we were ready to go. Our training sessions took place at a small island on the other side of the lagoon. The first morning was all drills and procedures in shallow water. The afternoon was a iittle deeper with two interesting sights. A Huey helicopter sitting upright in about thirty feet of water and a DC3 cargo plane in about forty feet. Day two saw us back at the island and our morning dive took us to 100 foot passenger ship resting  at 60 feet. That afternoon we motored out to a submerged reef where we dove with schools of Barracudas. Barracudas are mean looking fish but they didn’t bother us although I was a little nervous.

My Mom and Dad arrived on the 19^th and stayed with us until February 1. We rented the house across the street for them because our little one bedroom house was already filled with the addition of Nate. I think Mom and Dad had a good time but the heat was bit much for them.  The average day time temperature is in the low eighties and the humidity is about 80 percent. It does take some getting used to.

Dad, Nate, and I went fishing with Ronnie one day and we caught four nice mahi mahi, one of which was over thirty pounds (that’s a big one). But our day got caught short when another boat lost power and we went to assist them. This boat, XXXX (pronounced “Four X”) was on the way to a container ship that had an ill sailor on board (appendicitis) and planned to evac him to Majuro. The ship was too big for the harbor entrance so a planned rendezvous was to take place about three miles out.  We took XXXX in tow and started back to the lagoon. About half way there a second boat arrived and we watched as the medical team transferred over. It was a pretty calm day with swells about five to seven feet. I was amazed that all medical personnel made the transfer with nobody getting hurt or tossed into the ocean.

After the transfer we continued our tow back into the lagoon and into the dock. It turned out that XXXX had lost their cooling system and fried their diesel.  It will take a new engine before it gets back in the water. We on the other hand had fresh mahi for dinner.

Nate left on January 30^th and, Mom and Dad left on February 1^st. After six weeks of having family around it does seem a little quiet around here. The power has gone out now and I’m finishing this by battery power on the back deck. The tide is way out but I know it will be in at 4 PM  because I’m diving with Todd Newman who is with the Royal Australian Navy and we will be doing some maintenance on their boat (he will, I’m just the dive buddy). Tomorrow is the monthly fishing tournament so I’ll have to get to bed early but with any luck there will be fresh fish for dinner tomorrow night. Life’s tough when you’re a Cabana Boy.

Ribelle Boy Goes Off-Island


 



This is the boat we rode to Arno. It was an hour and fifteen minute ride against the wind. The water was pretty choppy and we were soaked head to toe upon arrival. On the return trip I counted 30 of us on this boat. It cost $13/person to ride each way.



This pig was going on the return ride - ready for market in Majuro.




 

Nate is hugely amused and bemused when he gets to Arno.




  
<> This is Nate's view when he looked down in the truck we drove in to our "Bed and Breakfast" (you get a bed and make your own breakfast). Anyway, this is a big hole in the floorboard plugged with a gallon water jug.<><><> 

Checking out a shell - there were lots to be collected




Of course Nate had to climb a coconut tree!



And do a possum routine...

Father and son in Paradise










These are typical houses that are on the island. There are no bathroom facilities and all of the cooking is done outside. The people were all friendly and greeted us with Yokwe.



This tree looked dead except for the beautiful flowers



We had a lovely time  - the snorkeling was amazing! We will definitely go back to Arno!