Thoughts on Micronesian Ease. . .

 Life in Micronesia is mellow, unstressed, relaxed.  I’ve written and said this often but I have difficulty explaining why.  

 

  

 I am unlikely to build a small shelter of tin and scrape wood, so it’s not the ease of having a home.   

Though I enjoy bananas and coconuts, both of which are plentiful, breadfruit, taro, and yams holds no great enticement, so the readily available foods might leave my table somewhat bare.   

The weather is warm and rain is a frequent companion which make hammocks a bit like flag ceremonies, but raised and lowered with the clouds rather than with the sun.  

 

  

Quiet moments are elusive between the shouts of children, the crowing of roosters, the squeals of pigs, and the off-key choruses of dogs.

 I notice the faces of children, so open and filled with warmth.  But like children everywhere, Micronesian children are happy to be noticed, to win attention, to have pictures taken.  

 

 Surely this does not define a special quality separate from the rest of the world.

 

 

I notice how resourceful the children are. . . a trait practiced by their parents.  The spare-parts auto becomes a ‘taxi’.  

  

A flip flop is also a paddle for a ball game.   

 

A flat ball can still be a soccer substitute. 

 A pile of fresh cut branches can serve as a soft landing for superhero “cliff jumping.”

 Everyone on the island seems to enjoy fun. 


Volley ball can be a street game or a tournament in a neighbor’s yard.  



Young and old can play. 

 
And the young are good at practicing to be ready for the next opportunity to impress the adults with their skills.

I notice the sunrises and the sunsets more frequently here. 

Perhaps the special quality I have been discovering is an innate joy, a welcoming acceptance of life, a quiet appreciation of the present, the “Now.”

October ending

October is done; one third of our commitment is complete.  Hard to believe that 3 ½ months have already flown by and we have only 6 weeks before the 1^st semester is history, too.

 

October ended with a 5K fun run/walk on the 29th.  We “Lauries” ( Laurie, Lori, and myself) arrived at 6:30 a.m. to a crowded parking lot where registration had begun.  Tee shirts were being distributed, arms were stamped, fresh bananas eaten, and even a warm-up exercise was orchestrated before the crowd was directed to the street.  Here more instructions were given and pictures taken, before the starting gun released everyone. 

The loop took us back toward our house, down the market way, onto the causeway to the airport, then back through town and to the parking lot again.  Laurie finished 1^st for women with a time of 22 minutes. We waited as awards and raffle prices were distributed. Besides Laurie's 1st place award, we each received mugs as raffle prizes.  We also received an avocado plantt which we promptly transplanted on our porch.

  Post-festivities clean-up began by 9:30 – the time many people are just getting started on their Saturday morning!

Monday was the official end of the month and, of course, Halloween.  Here, as in many parts of the world, there are minor connections to any religious meaning.  However, the possibility of free candy does seem to have universal draw.  So as the evening of the last day of October drew to a close, cars lined the roadways, honking as they passed, tossing candy, and shouting multiple greetings and well wishes:  “Trick or treat,” “Happy Birthday,”  “Merry Christmas,” “Happy New Year,” “Happy Mother’s Day”!  Lucky for us -- and for the neighborhood kids -- that we had prepared pop corn balls earlier!

It has been a delightful October filled with treats.  The ending is no less welcomed than the beginning –  adding  memories for this exceptional year