tropical misconceptions

Before I got to Pohnpei, I knew there would be many challenges here and many things that I would have to learn to adapt to.  So far, there have indeed been challenges, but it has been nothing insurmountable; the best way to describe it would be to say that it is just different.  I really don’t want to be that person who goes to a third world country and blogs about how hard their life is in an effort to garner simultaneous pity and amazement at their “adventure.” I have running water, a fridge, internet access, access to a post-office, and the other day, I spent $5 of my hard-earned money on eight slices of Colby jack cheese.  I would say my life is at the very least bearable, if not pretty darn good.  Maybe I’m just reacting to some blogs that I’ve recently been exposed to, but I don’t want this to become some kind of pity-party.  Having to sleep under a mosquito net is not the most remarkable thing in the world.  With that said, I am going to continue by running through a quick list of things that - for some reason or another – have surprised me since I’ve been here.  Starting with…

• Mosquito nets: While a necessity, they are far from being the invincible forcefield I assumed them to be.  In fact, Gabrielle and I have each noticed elaborate spider-webs adorning our mesh canopies.  You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Well at least the spiders will eat any bugs that incidentally make their way into the nets, right??” Nope - Inexplicable Nocturnal Bites (INB’s) are a hallmark of our nightly slumbers despite the guardian spiders.  As an aside, mosquito nets offer no protection at all when it comes to bed bugs.  You can ask Gabrielle about that nice little piece of information.

• Mosquitoes: Not that they are an intelligent species, but they are particularly dim-witted on this island.  I see nothing at all of them for the entire day (except in the bathroom), and then each night at precisely 7pm, they just appear all throughout the kitchen.  So, at about 7:05pm, we light a mosquito coil and they disappear for the rest of the night.  As for when I’m in the bathroom (where it is more often moist), there will be six or seven of them swarming around me and not a single one will go in for the kill.  It’s as if the slightest bit of movement or even awareness of them will ward them off.  Gabrielle is not as lucky though and we’ve come up with the theory that body hair is the best natural bug repellant.  Indeed, my only bites are at my ankles where I am the least hairy.  It’s a good thing I grew a hideous beard to protect my face from unsightly mosquito bites.

• Showers: I don’t know what I was expecting, but I continue to be baffled and dismayed by the icy shower water situation.  But Scott, you live next to the equator, you should love having a cold shower every day.  Let me put it this way, some people may describe the feeling as “refreshing,” but to me, a freezing shower is just that – freezing.  It’s not like I want a hot shower after going on a run in 80 degree 100% humidity weather, but a little bit warmer than ice would be okay.  Other volunteers on the island have bragged to me about staying over a nice house and getting hot showers.  The saddest part is that I get jealous.  It is truly incredible what you can become dissatisfied with on a tropical island.

• Quick-Dry Towels: Imagine drying yourself with a piece of rubber and then having it smell like mildew after one use and you’ll know what a Quick-dry towel is like.  It’s just like a normal towel except it’s a millimeter thick, doesn’t get you dry, and is a complete false advertisement.  Quick-dry?  More like Still Pretty Slow-dry.  Maybe I just bought the wrong brand, but regardless, if I wanted to smear water all over my body after a shower, I wouldn’t have packed a towel in the first place. 

• Ants: I just want to say that ants are probably the most amazing creatures I’ve ever seen.  Always at work, they traverse huge distances while carrying other much larger creatures and almost never get lost.  And recently, they even found a way into my peanut butter even though I keep that lid sealed more securely than grandma’s apple pie recipe.  I couldn’t even be mad I was so impressed they found a way in there.  Needless to say, I did not show these remarkable creatures any mercy and along the way I discovered a new peanut butter flavor: Skippy’s Extra Extra Crunchy.

Sorry for the lack of visuals!  The next post will have plenty of pictures.