eight bananas a day keeps the doctor away

I can’t believe that I’m already halfway through my fifth week as a high school teacher.  It’s almost too weird to even type that.  Not too long ago, my only obligations involved studying for classes (gossiping with friends in the library), working night-shifts at the hospital (oftentimes getting paid to do the studying I ignored in the library), and waking up before 1 pm on Saturdays.  This is what many people have told me were the “good ol’ days.”  I can see why they would say that – the work I have been doing recently has been tireless, full of responsibility, and if you have an “off” day, you get eaten alive.  With that said, I think there is plenty of the good ol’ days present in my day-to-day lifestyle in Pohnpei; as the wise philosopher Drake once said, “I’m looking forward to the memories of right now.”  When we haven’t been in class, Gabrielle and I have been able to do some pretty incredible things and it’s just getting better and better (not that class hasn’t, but days off are a treasured thing). 

Shaving coconuts in our front yard.  We tried making coconut milk but needless to say, we still have a bit to learn.

Me with some bananas that I got from the backyard.  I learned that banana trees only reproduce once, so when you want to get the fruit, you just cut the whole tree down.  This particular kind of banana is originally from Chuuk and is not very sweet.  They are better for frying.

 On Monday of last week, the Federated States of Micronesia celebrated Liberation Day.  Nobody is quite sure who they were liberated from, but hell, it’s a day off so let’s fire up the barbecues and get liberated!  On top of that, we didn’t have school on Tuesday because it was a PTO meeting day.  So, this was the perfect four day weekend to really get involved and have a blast in Kitti – we didn’t even come into Kolonia to resupply and go out with the other WorldTeachers.  Ironically, this was our most low key weekend we’ve had so far.  I was able to read two entire books in these four days; there was just nothing going on!  Granted, we went out with some local friends to a sakau market on Friday night and to the Lan Pai Pohn waterfall on Sunday, but for the whole rest of the time, I feel like we didn’t see any other human beings.  We had the chance to go to a potentially awesome all-day church festival on Sunday, but because we had made prior plans to hike to the waterfall, we weren’t able to attend.  The waterfall hike ended up taking around two hours and is right by our house (so we can go there anytime), and we were left shaking our heads at our bad planning.  Now that I’ve seen how Pohnpeians celebrate, I don’t think I’ll ever double-book a Sunday or feast day ever again.  

The waterfall by our house that we visited on Sunday.  There didn't seem to be a good way to get back up to the top, so we didn't jump off.

 So far, our most profound experiences have taken place on the weekdays (when we have the least amount of free time to afford it).  Yesterday, Monday afternoon, we were invited to a funeral for a coworker’s cousin.   When we arrived, I was expecting to walk into a somber, melancholy atmosphere and instead, I was greeted by maybe a hundred people eating, smoking, laughing, and drinking around the Nahs or the outdoor patio area.  I am slowly getting used to the feeling of “walking the gauntlet” when we arrive at a new place – heads turn, people stare, and every once in a while you hear the Pohnpeian word for “white person” thrown into a conversation (there are about three of us total in Kipar, Kitti).  Although this is unnerving at first, Pohnpeians are quick to make you feel welcome.  Seating in the Nahs is by invitation only, and almost as soon as we got there, the high-titled man presiding over the ceremony made sure that we had a seat inside.  We had arrived on the third day of this four day funeral and apparently it was “fish day.”  Indeed, I noticed that every new person to show up would deposit his catch of the day in a growing pile of sea-life.  For four hours, Gabrielle was on my left, a dead turtle on my right, and I watched hundreds of fish of various shapes, sizes, and colors get heaped into a pile that became almost eye-level.  There were four separate stones where men were pounding sakau, and we were continually offered this kava in addition to all the food we could eat.  I would have felt like a true Pohnpeian if I were able to understand any of the speeches that were occasionally belted out over the uproar.  

The fish that were given to us at the funeral.  The next day, we cooked the one on the left.  It's an interesting process to gut a fish when you have no idea what you are doing...I learned quite a bit of anatomy.

After some time, it was finally time to leave and Gabrielle reluctantly left our seats to return home to our life of lesson planning and grading.  Before we could go, we were given three woven baskets filled with various foods, a coconut, a pineapple, and four freshly caught reef fish.  I could not believe that we were included in the distribution of food at a funeral for a woman we did not know especially after showing up unannounced and unexpectedly.  I have never felt so welcomed in my life - even when I look and act so different from the people around me.  Next time, I am definitely bringing a donation of food with me so that I can be a better guest to such generous hosts.  With luck, I will be able to learn how to spearfish and I will be able to provide a suitable and worthwhile contribution.  Until then, I’ll have to keep pestering my local friends to take me out on the boat and teach me their ways!  Who knows what the next long weekend has in store for me…

A mwaramwar made of sour cherries is on the left; they are given to guests and attendees of festivals and are worn on the head.  (The nice thing about this mwaramwar is that it's edible!  It tastes decent when dipped in salt).  One of our three food baskets from the funeral is on the right.

Uht soukasouk piaia (ooch sook-a-sook pee-ay-a) - I'm not certain that's the correct spelling, but it's the name of my favorite thing to eat here.  It's pounded banana that they warm up and cover with freshly made coconut milk.  Not infrequently, our neighbors will stop by with a plate.  Between this kind of dessert and the bananas we have in our entrance-way, I have about 8 uht, or bananas, every day.