Wenonoa's writes about her first days

Arrival in Pohnpei
June 26, 2009
Guest blog by Wenonoa
As we flew over the expansive Pacific Ocean, I was struck by how many shades of beautiful blue existed in this amazing marine environment. Many of the outer islands that make up the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) are actually atolls which are coral rings that form the top of dead, underwater volcanoes. These rings are surrounded by incredible turquoise, green and blue water and are beautiful from the air.

When we left Honolulu, we stopped in two of the Marshall Islands and in Kosrae (FSM) before landing on Pohnpei. As the plane touched down, I was very excited to arrive in our new home. It reminded me of when I first landed in Honduras so many years ago. As you deplane, the tropical humidity and heat hit you. You walk across the tarmac into a small building with wooden booths where you present your passport and answer questions about why you are there. Then you head out into baggage claim. Baggage claim on Pohnpei is a metal shelf facing the open air. A baggage attendant loads a Nissan or Toyota pickup with baggage, drives across the tarmac and deposits the baggage onto the metal shelf where you retrieve it and then go through customs. The pick-up usually makes a few trips.

When we emerged from customs, two of Eric’s co-workers were there to pick us up and give us a ride home. They were bearing a welcome fruit basket with local watermelon, mangoes, pineapples, and papaya. I can’t imagine a tastier welcome.

Right-sided driving
June 29, 2009
Guest blog by Wenonoa
Eric purchased a vehicle through Japanesevehicles.com. You go to the website, choose a vehicle from a database, wire some money to Japan, and wait for your car to arrive by ship. This takes about 4 weeks. As the cars come from Japan, they are mostly right-sided driving vehicles. Pohnpeians drive on the right side of the road just like we do in America; although, with many potholes and other obstructions, you mostly end up in the middle. America should really adopt right-sided driving as it puts the driver on the outside of the road and would reduce head-on collision fatalities (I am postulating here but it seems to make sense). I took to the right-handed driving right away. We have an automatic transmission so it is a lot less complicated than a standard transmission would be.

Driving on Pohnpei reminds me of the Atari game Pitfall. You start out slowly – about 25 km/hr and as you round each corner you brake to navigate around numerous potholes, dogs lying in the road, and slowly ambling pedestrians who expect you to wait until they decide to move to the side of the road. Then, as you pick up speed, a chicken bursts out from the foliage on the side of the road and you have to slow again or you come to a road trench – as I fondly refer to them. These reverse speed bumps are common on the main road and its arterials. On my first day of driving, I dropped Eric off at his workplace and continued onto the College of Micronesia where I will begin teaching in August. A colleague of mine, Mary, who has been here almost a year, accompanied me to show me the lay of the land.

Bureaucracy
July 1, 2009
Guest blog by Wenonoa
Today I decided to get a driver’s license. I needed one and, as it turned out, I had nothing else going on that day. The process would begin with obtaining a social security number. While not as challenging as going to an actual social security office in the states, it provided some unique challenges. I was given general directions - the social security office is directly in front of the Bank of Guam and there is a thatched roof hut in the area in front of the social security office.

There aren’t really addresses here. Fine, I thought, and set out. After several unsuccessful passes through the 1-mile downtown stretch, I still couldn’t locate the bank. Changing tactics, I began looking for the thatched roof hut. That bit of advice proved to be worth its weight in gold as I quickly spotted it and turned into a hilly driveway leading to a 2-story building. I parked in front of a small Bank of Guam sign that was only visible if parked directly in front of it. Luckily that is where I parked so knew immediately that I was in the right place.

I walked back down the hill toward the main road and the thatched hut. A non-descript cement building with 2 brown doors faced the hut. Upon closer inspection (standing directly in front of the door closest to me) I noticed a sign the size of an address label that said simply, “social security.” I went in. After filling out a postcard-sized, one-sided form, and paying $3.00, I was given a social security card. If only the bureaucracy in the states could be so easy… Now on to the police station.

On one of my lost loops through town, I had inadvertently passed where I knew the police station was based on a prior tour so I was certain where to go next. I parked in the lot and tried to decide behind which of the doors facing me might lie the police station. It was difficult to determine based on the ruin-like appearance of the entire complex. I picked the one directly in front of me and it opened into a small waiting area with a couple of “protect and serve” posters on the wall. I surmised I was in the correct place. This was confirmed as a gentleman in a “Charlie’s Pizza” shirt behind the counter sent for someone when I explained that I was there for a driver’s license. After logging my name and information in what can only be described as a century’s old journal on the counter, he asked for my current driver’s license and filled out a short form.

He handed the form back to me and explained that their driver’s license machine was broken but that parts had been ordered. They would issue me a paper license. First, though, I had to take the application form across town to the state finance department, pay the $6.50 fee and either go to Nicho’s, the local printing company, or the library for a photo. I left with the form to find the finance department. Luckily I knew it was in the vicinity of the Peace Corps office which I had already visited.

Upon arrival near the Peace Corps office, I saw two people standing in a line at a window and walked over to join them. There was a paper taped to the side of the window with a list of fees they accepted – I was actually surprised that I had found the right place. When it was my turn, I handed the lady my form and payment and left with a receipt. I then headed out to find the library which I was told charged less for a photo than Nicho’s and was right across the street from it. Without that knowledge, I would have missed the library altogether. I pulled up in front of a building that has seen much, much better days. I got out and went into the abandoned-looking building through a paint bare door. I waited for awhile as someone was dispatched to find the one woman who could operate the digital camera. After posing for the shot, I was given a passport-sized photo and asked to pay $1.00. Then it was back to the police department.

I was getting parched by this time so I stopped at what they call a drive through convenience store (really a pull in, park, get out, and walk up to) for a coke. When I arrived back at the police station some 40 minutes later, the policeman was surprised to see that I had finished all of my errands. I thanked him for his great directions. I then waited while the secretary typed in my information on an archaic word processor, spit out my new paper license, and taped on my photo. She did this all while carrying on what sounded like a very animated phone conversation as the police office looked over her shoulder the entire time. Multi-tasking has arrived in Pohnpei.

After handing me my license, the nice policeman suggested that I get it laminated or it would quickly deteriorate. Back to Nicho’s I went to pay another $1.50 for the lamination. After a full day of finding government offices, I was then pretty tired so I returned home to take a nap and catch up on some reading.