Four month mark

Can you believe it, it's already been over FOUR months that I've been on Pohnpei?! Some days it feels as if I just got here, and others is feels as if I've been on this island for years... To be honest, this month is the first time that I've finally felt really homesick. Seeing pictures of hunting and snow from back home really makes me miss it. Watching the Packer games on my computer in the 88 degree sun and heat just doesn't seem right somehow haha. I would love to spend even one day back home, bundled up in a blanket and eating some of dad's homemade food. To help from feeling so homesick, I've tried my best to keep myself busy this past month with lots of activities...

Halloween on the island was very fun. I celebrated in my classroom with candy and "Halloween graphing" (in which students plotted points on a Cartesian Coordinate plane and created spooky Halloween shapes). That night, Kolonia was filled with kids all over the place, dressed up in masks and fun costumes, trick-or-treating from house to house. Apparently, Halloween has been a growing holiday on Pohnpei in recent years, and it is celebrated the most right in town where I live. We did have a couple trick-or-treaters come to our apartment for candy, in which I gave them the Chewy bars that mom sent in my last care package (thanks mom!!). We celebrated later that night by going out to some of the bars on Pohnpei (the Rusty Anchor being the most packed) and had fun with the Costume Contest- my favorite being someone dressed as a local yam!!

We've done our fair share of waterfall hikes lately. In the Kitti (pronounced Ki-chi) municipality, there are many beautiful waterfalls to visit, including side-by-side Sawarlap and Sawartik Falls. My roommate and I hitchhiked our way out to Kitti through multiple generous truck rides and visited them a couple weeks ago. They are located on family property, so when we got there we had to pay the family to use their land (only $5 per person). One of the local boys was our guide, and he took us down into the valley. It ended up being around an hour hike, but it was beautiful and not too hard. Once we got to the waterfalls, I was able to look up at the 100-something foot waterfall spilling out of the jungly mountain above me. It was beyond beautiful. My favorite part about sightseeing on Pohnpei is that it is so natural and untouched- we were literally the only ones there, in the middle of the jungle, with no signs or tourists or touches of outside life- just the beautiful scenery around us. Many of the sights I've been able to see here are truly breathtaking.

This weekend was the Aussie Wombat Walkabout Sunset 5k Fun Run (you think they could shorten the name a little bit!) which was sponsored by the Australian Embassy. It was approximately 5k, starting and ending at Mangrove Bay and looping up to the Spanish Wall on the other side of town. Even thought it was later, starting at 5pm, I was still dripping in sweat as I ran (ok-walked/jogged) underneath the blistering island sun. It was totally worth it though- free t-shirts and entry fee! I try my best to stay in shape while on the island (all this salty/processed food is adding a couple extra pounds) so I often swim at the local pool or workout at our apartment. I'm so glad that the Embassy put on the event- it turned out to be a great evening and fun run.

Oh, the most exciting new news... we got a kitten!! On Halloween we were walking home, and on the side of the road we heard some meows- a tiny little black kitten was following us! It followed us all the way to our apartment and even up the stairs and wouldn't leave us alone! Here's my thought- it was so small and tiny and black that if we didn't adopt it, he probably would have gotten hit by a car. So long story short, we adopted the kitten and he is now living at our apartment for the time being. We call him Spooky, aka Spooks, on account of him finding us on Halloween. I'm guessing he is around 1 month old, because he is really tiny and still looks like a newborn. We've been feeding him some dry cat food, but also some scraps from our meals- including fresh yellowfin tuna sashimi and crab meat. He is going to be the most spoiled kitten on Pohnpei!

You can say that the island fever has set in on me a little bit... I often find myself sitting in my apartment, dripping from sweat, bored out of my mind... thinking of what I would be doing if I were not on this island. It's definitely not easy being away from home this long, let alone stuck on a small island, but I am very fortunate to be living in a beautiful area like Pohnpei. My goal is to learn more of the culture and language before I leave this year, and explore every inch of the island. My newest Pohnpeian phrase is "I poakpoakeiuk" (pronounced EE-Poke-Poke-Ay-Yuuk) which means "I love you". The language is far from easy here to say the least!

I hope all is good back in the US, and you guys are enjoying your first snow of the year! Believe me, I truly am missing it. I wish my students could experience snow and the cold- they've never felt anything below 70 degrees in their whole lives!

Peace and Palm Trees,
Kadinmadau