Mornings are not always beautifully cast, but when they are, you can't help thanking the universe for the varied hues.

February has been busy with daily life, rain, school without power, walk / run events, and more rain.

During the week, we have traffic problems, just like back in the states.  By 5:30 the street outside the school has cars backed up for almost 2 blocks!

 

 Food is always an item of interest!   We have discovered a new variety of breadfruit, this one from the Philippians, in our neighbor's yard.

 

 Although visiting the market is often a weekend endeavor, there are often better selections during the week.  Ask a question and you learn so much!

For those with transport, each weekend is an excellent time to attend to that onerous cleaning chore.  But wait!  You have only to go to a nearby corner and the cry of "Car wash!" will tend to that chore.  .   And for a small one dollar fee!

Weekends are also a chance to enjoy Marianna's grilled fish!


Check out the pigs,









and exploring changes along the causeway. . .

Weekends are also for participating in the 5K walk / runs.  There is one every month and often an extra one is slipped in, making 2 in a month.



The Breast Cancer Fun Walk included a skit by students, appropriately attired in pink.


 
 The Rotary Club 5K, this weekend, was a great opportunity to enjoy the Saturday morning drizzle AND support scholarship funds for the students.
















 It's also a great time to see the students being themselves -- Hams like the rest of us!

Or to capture the new President and Vice President of the college joining the walk / run!








Mostly, though, weekends are times for enjoying neighbors!



 

Santa receives Police Escort

Sunday was busy.

 Up at 5:15 and out the door by 5:45 for the 5K walk/run.  Laurie and I arrived in the parking lot while the organizers were still setting up.  Turns out that “6 a.m. start” means "begin registering."  

One hour later, at 7, the event actually begins.

 This 5K seemed a little longer than the other two but who’s counting steps?  There were water stations at about half-mile intervals which was particularly nice since this time I did not bring my purse which slaps about feeling awkward when jogging. . .  But this also means I did not bring my water bottle. 

The start was uphill so another pleasant aspect of this event was the down hill second half – YES!

 

Laurie won the 1^st place for women.

Right behind her was a little 12 year old darling!

Once again, the entire event was completed by 8 and Laurie even had time to shower and dress for church!

In the afternoon, rumor spread that the Island was hosting a special visit from Santa AND he was scheduled to come right past our little corner of Kolonia!  The kids began gathering with plastic sacks (in case there was lots of candy  -- ‘cause that’s what Santa has!) at the top of the street. 

Time seemed to crawl by as it always seems to while waiting for any big event.  But, as always, kids are inventive so they sang and played a little hand jive.  Laurie learned a few new moves!

Then -- what’s that  -- not the sound of hoofs but the wail of horns and beeps and sirens!
Everyone headed for the top of the road.

    

 Sure enough, a police escort comes into view.  Santa is highly protected behind dark tinted windows and only a glove-clad hand can be glimpsed tossing morsels out the window. 

The children keenly watch that hand and the trajectories of those morsels.

Santa’s helpers ride behind Santa's vehicle, on a special commandeered flat bed.  They are exposed and happy to share Christmas greetings and spread season cheer! 

 

It was a brief moment with the big man, but even here in Kolonia we rate a moment of his time.  Naughty or nice, we are all children at this time of year. . .

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