Vacation on a Lost Island

            Yesterday Janae, Neyla and I headed off for a 6-day adventure to a small and isolated island in Micronesia called Kosrae.  The island is not at all like Majuro.  It is not a series of tiny flat islands, but a mountainous island with beautiful dense rainforests.  The island was such that there was no room for an airport, so a small reef island was built off the northeast coast to accommodate an international airport.  Believe it or not, this airport was even smaller than the Majuro airport.  There was a tiny 8x10 room where customs checked you in and then the baggage claim room was about the size of a large hotel room.  When you left these tiny rooms and opened the doors you felt like you were in the show Lost or in the movie Jurassic Park.  There seemed to be little or no modern development and the jagged mountains and cliffs were draped in bright green jungle trees and plants.  I had never seen anything like it. 

            Our hosts who own the pristine and natural Pacific Treelodge Resort greeted us at the airport and drove us on the small canopied road around a few tiny villages and dwellings to the east side of the island to our home for the next 6 days.  The Lodge was built into an amazing mangrove just across the tiny road from a magnificent bay.  Our room was nice and clean and tropical, but the best part of this Micronesian gem of a lodge was the restaurant.  There was a narrow bridge that was built through the mangrove rainforest and on it was a small sign labeled, “restaurant.”  As we walked through the mangrove across this bridge you were transported to a swampy mangrove with beautiful trees and plants and after about 100 yards of the bridge was a beautiful canal whose depth fluctuated by the rising and sinking tides.  The restaurant was built as a sort of massive pier above the mangrove and canal and with an incredible view of two lush mountain peaks.  It was undoubtedly one of the best views I had ever seen. 

            After we had lunch at this beautiful place, we ventured for a walk to Lelu Village.  Lelu village was one of the 5 small villages on Kosrae.  The people there were warm and welcoming and offered to help us find our way.  The green natural beauty of the village was a breath of fresh air from over-crowded Majuro.  Along our walk we saw several local fishermen with nets and spears, Peace Corps volunteers jogging, local women cutting down the tiny native bananas and the “Sleeping Lady of Majuro.”  This “woman” can be seen in the mountains of the island.  The horizon of the mountains of the island appeared as if there was a gigantic woman lying down on her back.  The ancient legend of the island says that originally the gods had put a man there, but that only a woman could birth a nation of people.  So, the gods put a woman to watch over the island. 

            A gracious couple, Mark and Maria, owns our lovely Lodge.  Maria is Italian by origin, but came here 6 years ago as a diving tourist and decided to stay.  She is incredibly kind and warm and invited Neyla to an Easter Egg Hunt last night and then invited our whole family to an Easter Saturday dinner.  It was delicious and a fantastic way to spend our first night in Kosrae.  The Kosraen staff at the lodge are also incredibly kind.  They offered to watch Neyla while Janae and I ate and played with her, read to her and allowed us to have a meal to ourselves.  The Micronesian people love babies and will always offer to watch your baby, and as much as we love Neyla it’s nice to have a 10 minute break during a meal every so often. 

            Today is Easter Sunday here and we are having a nice quiet day.  As it is in the Marshall Islands, Sundays are truly days for rest where nothing is open.  Our first 24 hours in Kosrae has been magnificent and we are excited for the rest of our week.  

Vacation on a Lost Island

            Yesterday Janae, Neyla and I headed off for a 6-day adventure to a small and isolated island in Micronesia called Kosrae.  The island is not at all like Majuro.  It is not a series of tiny flat islands, but a mountainous island with beautiful dense rainforests.  The island was such that there was no room for an airport, so a small reef island was built off the northeast coast to accommodate an international airport.  Believe it or not, this airport was even smaller than the Majuro airport.  There was a tiny 8x10 room where customs checked you in and then the baggage claim room was about the size of a large hotel room.  When you left these tiny rooms and opened the doors you felt like you were in the show Lost or in the movie Jurassic Park.  There seemed to be little or no modern development and the jagged mountains and cliffs were draped in bright green jungle trees and plants.  I had never seen anything like it. 

            Our hosts who own the pristine and natural Pacific Treelodge Resort greeted us at the airport and drove us on the small canopied road around a few tiny villages and dwellings to the east side of the island to our home for the next 6 days.  The Lodge was built into an amazing mangrove just across the tiny road from a magnificent bay.  Our room was nice and clean and tropical, but the best part of this Micronesian gem of a lodge was the restaurant.  There was a narrow bridge that was built through the mangrove rainforest and on it was a small sign labeled, “restaurant.”  As we walked through the mangrove across this bridge you were transported to a swampy mangrove with beautiful trees and plants and after about 100 yards of the bridge was a beautiful canal whose depth fluctuated by the rising and sinking tides.  The restaurant was built as a sort of massive pier above the mangrove and canal and with an incredible view of two lush mountain peaks.  It was undoubtedly one of the best views I had ever seen. 

            After we had lunch at this beautiful place, we ventured for a walk to Lelu Village.  Lelu village was one of the 5 small villages on Kosrae.  The people there were warm and welcoming and offered to help us find our way.  The green natural beauty of the village was a breath of fresh air from over-crowded Majuro.  Along our walk we saw several local fishermen with nets and spears, Peace Corps volunteers jogging, local women cutting down the tiny native bananas and the “Sleeping Lady of Majuro.”  This “woman” can be seen in the mountains of the island.  The horizon of the mountains of the island appeared as if there was a gigantic woman lying down on her back.  The ancient legend of the island says that originally the gods had put a man there, but that only a woman could birth a nation of people.  So, the gods put a woman to watch over the island. 

            A gracious couple, Mark and Maria, owns our lovely Lodge.  Maria is Italian by origin, but came here 6 years ago as a diving tourist and decided to stay.  She is incredibly kind and warm and invited Neyla to an Easter Egg Hunt last night and then invited our whole family to an Easter Saturday dinner.  It was delicious and a fantastic way to spend our first night in Kosrae.  The Kosraen staff at the lodge are also incredibly kind.  They offered to watch Neyla while Janae and I ate and played with her, read to her and allowed us to have a meal to ourselves.  The Micronesian people love babies and will always offer to watch your baby, and as much as we love Neyla it’s nice to have a 10 minute break during a meal every so often. 

            Today is Easter Sunday here and we are having a nice quiet day.  As it is in the Marshall Islands, Sundays are truly days for rest where nothing is open.  Our first 24 hours in Kosrae has been magnificent and we are excited for the rest of our week.  

Basketball Marshallese Style

             Marshall Islanders and I have one very important thing in common: a love of basketball. A few weeks after Bryan, Neyla and I arrived, I got a knock on my door and two women, Neiar and Marie, invited me to play on their basketball team for the Town of Uliga. I agreed with ample warnings that I’m hideously out of shape and haven’t played basketball for quite some time. I showed up to the first game a week later slightly confused, since I’m the oldest player by 10+ years. Was this not an adult league? Neiar (I find out is our coach) tells me that in the Marshall Islands, basketball has historically been a “man’s” sport and volleyball a woman’s sport. Although that is changing and both sexes play more of both sports, the only women (read: girls) who play basketball are the younger generation. So it’s an all ages league, but that mostly includes teenagers… and me.

Janae's in the way back.  The Champion, Uliga Team.  

            I felt slightly weird about beating up on little kids, but that soon faded away as the old competitive Janae came out. We ended up winning all our games for the regular season, and then played Rita for the championship. The league is the Majuro Day League, and the government sponsors it. Each town (island) has a team… although Majuro has one 27-mile road going through it; it’s actually made up of a bunch of islands (now connected by manmade land & the road). Although I live on Delap, Uliga is the team that asked me to play so I represented that island. We ended up beating Rita in two games (it was a two loss system and out) and won the championship. I played as the center since I was the tallest person on our team. The next league for women is the Constitution Day League (called May Day here), which starts in April and goes into… you guessed it… May. The difference for that league is that each Atoll in the Marshall Islands has a team. For instance, Majuro will have one team for the whole atoll. I’ve already been claimed to play for Marie’s home atoll of Ebon.  I hope I make them proud.

            Now, I’d like to highlight the differences in basketball between the Marshall Islands and US. Let’s make a list:

1.     Shoes are optional. Not just basketball shoes, any shoes.

2.     It’s all outdoors.

a.     Wind. I figured out during the first game that all the locals shoot with almost zero arc. It took me until the next game (and 3 air balls) to figure out it’s because of the wind. The zero arc thing makes rebounding a three pointer way more interesting. It’s more about skill in geometry (anticipating the ricochet) and angles than fundamental boxing out.

b.     Rain delays. This isn’t something I had ever experienced with basketball before. Not only can a game get canceled, you can stop in the middle, and then restart the ½ later. Patience is key.

3.     Speaking of patience, Marshallese culture isn’t exactly know for their promptness. Marie warned me that a 6pm game really means 7pm “Marshallese time.” The best was when we had a 6pm game, which was 7pm. But then there was an argument about the roster, so we started at 7:45pm. Then there was a rain delay. I think I got home at 10:30pm that night. On top of that, the guy’s team had a game after ours. Patience. I thought I was pretty low key about time, but coming here made me realize I’m practically a New Yorker compared to these people.

4.     There’s an 8 second call which unlike in a rodeo, is actually a bad thing. It means you’ve taken 8+ seconds to get the ball past half court and results in a turnover (like a 10 second call in the States). Essentially it makes fast breaking mandatory, not optional.

5.     Cherry picking is encouraged.

6.     Giggling during a game is frequent.

7.     Stopping of play because of rain (already mentioned), stray dogs, kids running onto court… all happened.

8.     I got paid cash for winning, and not only was it legal; the government gave me the money.

9.     Free throws are an art here, due to the wind. I tried to calculate the wind speed, direction and then place myself on the appropriate place on the free throw line so I could keep my stroke exactly the same. Let’s just say, it did not work. I think my free throw average was 50%.

10.  My extremely multi-dimensional play was subdued to layups only and a couple of close jump shots. I really can’t be that unpredictable when, as a defender, you should definitely give me the 3 pointer every time. I was maybe 0 of 4 from the 3-point line.

11.  My team did not understand that you should give the other team the 3 pointer every time.

12.  Lots of people come out to watch the games. Given that this country doesn’t have a pro or even college league, the Majuro Day League and the May Day League are the big events here.

So that’s about it for basketball. It was fun, but I’m coping with the time expectations and being more flexible about cancellations. I’m striving to adapt to island time lifestyle since I’m island living. 

Atoll Livin'...

            It really is quite amazing living on this tiny Atoll in the middle of such a vast ocean such as the Pacific.  When I look up at the stars at night and I see them glowing and twinkling I start to realize just where I am after the business of the day has made me forget.  I think about where we are on a map of the world and it makes me chuckle and shake my head sometimes.  Every Atoll has an ocean and lagoon side, and there are few parts on the island where you can’t see both sides.  I live right on the ocean on the thickest part of Majuro and it is less than a 5 minute walk to get to the lagoon.  There are days where I barely leave a space of less than one square block.  I wake up, exercise, watch the sunrise, walk 30 steps to breakfast, 15 back to my class, teach, go home, walk 20 steps to play basketball, go home, cook dinner and do some work.  This does not require me to go very far from home at all and yet I don’t have island fever or feel claustrophobic at all. 

            I have actually come to really like “Atoll living.”  It is nice living in a small community where the weather is amazing and you have a job that really gives you a sense of meaning and belonging in and to that community.  Of course there are things I miss about America and my beloved Chicago and Colorado. 

            On top of this list of course is family and friends.  We really enjoy our new friends here in Majuro, but dearly miss our loved ones back home.  With the time change it is difficult to Skype and keep in good communication, but we try our best.  We miss attending our family gatherings and seeing Neyla playing with her cousins.  We wish we could combine these two worlds, but alas it can’t be done. 

            I also miss Illini basketball, golf, Stephen Colbert, a good glass of Bourbon and a proper pint of beer.  It seems to be virtually impossible to get Big Ten Network in the Pacific and there are no golf courses here in Majuro.  The nearest golf course (and only one in the Marshall Islands) is on Kwajalein at a US military base, but from what I understand I wouldn’t be allowed to play..?  Stephen Colbert too is very difficult to find here, especially if you don’t have a TV.  Maybe I can convince him in a letter to come and do a show here in Majuro.  Alcohol is terribly expensive here and the selection is not great.  Buying it at the store is at least 3 times as expensive, but is actually a bit cheaper at restaurants.  The beer selection seems to be Heineken, Bud Light and few Aussie beers that I’m not a big fan of.  I can’t find any good Porters or Stouts, but then again, it’s not quite dark beer weather here. 

            There are however things that we don’t miss.  We don’t miss strip malls, television, American politics, mass media, “News,” or mass consumerism.  Not having a lot of those “distractions” has made it easier for us both to focus on our jobs, Neyla, each other, reading and just becoming better people.  Without all of the nonsense that modern technology seems to bring we are able to fill the time in our day more productively and with less empty fillers. 

            We will be home this summer and are very excited to see our friends and family.  I can’t wait to play golf and enjoy a proper drink afterwards.  While we’re home the Illini will be on summer break, but hopefully they will create some chaos in March Madness and I can watch them here in the middle of the night. 

Bikini... No not that Bikini!

            There was no school today in Majuro.  It is “Nuclear Victims & Survivor’s Day.”  It is a really challenging day to be an American in Majuro.  It makes you think about the actions that your country has taken and how it commands you to think and respond in some way.  As an American and a student of history I realize all too well that the actions of our government in foreign affairs is often quite immoral and wrong.  In the case of the Marshall Islands, the United States has tested 67 nuclear devices in this beautiful atoll nation, which have poisoned no less than 4 atolls making them uninhabitable and unable to produce food, and have led directly to an unprecedented high rate of cancers among the population.  Sadly, the American government denies that its actions have led to this alarmingly high cancer rate, but that’s what our government typically does.   

            The most infamous case of removing a people from their Atoll for testing was the case of the Bikini people.  In 1946 the American military appealed to this group of hunter and gatherer people with little or no knowledge of the modern world to leave their homes for, “The Good of Mankind.”  The US Generals took advantage of the Bikinian ignorance and their Christian faith by telling them that, “God would thank them for their sacrifice… and that someday soon you will be able to return to Bikini.” 

            Fast forward to 2013 and the Bikini people are a Diaspora spread throughout Oceania and the United States and are still not allowed back on Bikini because of the contamination.  In 1954 the United States “Bravo” bomb was tested in the lagoon of the Bikini Atoll.  This bomb was 1000 times more powerful than the bomb dropped over Hiroshima in 1945 that precipitated the end of WW2.  This Bravo test actually incinerated 3 of the islands in the Bikini Atoll.  This tiny, quiet and peaceful Atoll and its people were contaminated with the 2^nd largest weapon ever used in human history, and for what?

A Nuclear Test in the Bikini lagoon from the air

            During the Cold War the United States was willing to do almost anything to “beat” the USSR, and its actions at Bikini demonstrate this.  One US general was quoted as saying, “There’s only 9000 people there, who cares?” in reference to the testing in the Marshalls.  I wonder if this general would’ve been so callous in his comments if he were talking about a small town of 9000 people in rural America?  I think we all know the answer to that one.  Why is it that American lives seem to be worth more to American leaders than people of other nations?  When will we live up to the stated belief that, “All people are created equal.”  There was a fantastic award winning documentary entitled Radio Bikini that was made in the late 1980’s about the testing and the contamination that followed and a equally fantastic book entitled For the Good of Mankind that should be mandatory reading for all Americans.  I highly recommend both!

            These tests have had many after affects other than destroying numerous islands and spreading cancer around the Marshalls.  It has also transformed many Marshallese into refugees from their native atolls and subsequently brought a cash society and modern life to a series of atolls that can barely be seen on a map.  I’m sure if you asked most Marshallese today (especially the wealthy ones), they wouldn’t want to give up basketball, flat bed trucks, hip hop and the internet; but the most successful transformations to a modern society happen organically and over time, they are not forced by an outside nation’s actions. 

A view from Bikini Island of the Bomb

            How ought Americans feel about this?  How should Americans react?  I am afraid that many wouldn’t care.  We have already seen comments from Tea Partiers about “cutting all foreign aid,” but if we did that we would be leaving a people that our actions changed hanging out to dry.  The Bikini people have now been recipients of 10’s of millions of dollars in reparations from the United States government, but one big reward payment that they won in a makeshift International mediation court has not yet been paid.  This money pays for development of the islands the Bikini people were moved to and for Bikini children to go to school.   Many now to move to more modern and developed places like Oregon or California, but some of the older and recently deceased Bikinian leaders worry that this will only result in the elimination of what it used to mean to be a Bikinian.  Is the ease of a modern life worth more than the destruction of a culture and people that have lasted independently for 1000’s of years?

          These questions are difficult if not impossible to answer.  But one thing is for certain; we should never stop the reparations and support we give to the Bikini people and the Marshall Islands.  Colin Powell had a policy that he followed of, “if you break it, you bought it.”  Our actions have broken what was a proud and traditional society and until they get back on their feet and fully figure out what it means to be Marshallese in the modern world, we are morally obligated to assist them.  

           

            (Here is a great poem by a Marshallese poet, please watch!)