The softer side of Micronesia

My blog entries often have a critical edge to them. Micronesia has its share of fraud, waste, and abuse in the government and my workdays are spent in that arena. There is a lot of mistrust between the state governments and the national government. On the individual level, people are mostly apathetic and accepting of the government’s shortfalls.

It’s hard not to be jaded. However, there is a softer side to Micronesia. On the individual level, Micronesians are generally kind and considerate to us ex-pats. There aren’t too many places left in the world where someone would put his 6-year old daughter in a stranger’s car just to help out the stranger.

Last week Boris was trying to find the house of Ancher, a local guy we hire to take us diving on the weekends. After driving to where he thought the boatsman lived, a local resident informed Boris that Ancher lived in another part of town. Wanting to make sure Boris would eventually find Ancher, the gentlemen sent his 6-year old daughter with Boris to show him Ancher’s house.

New Years

For New Years we left the hustle and bustle of Pohnpei and went to Black Corral Atoll. A ten minute boat ride away, Black Corral is small. If you put a football field on Black Corral, there would be no room left for the bleachers and to be honest I’m not even sure you could fit a football field on Black Corral. It is owned by one of the old families on the island and they rent it out for day and overnight use.

A group of 20 of us rented it out and enjoyed a potluck dinner and campout under a very full moon. New Year’s Day we were treated to a pleasant and delicious surprise lunch. Conrad, out fishing, passed by the atoll and offered us a freshly caught wahoo. Paul swam out to the boat and returned with lunch. He cleaned it and cooked it over the hot coals of a fire. The peanut butter sandwiches stayed in the cooler.

Back on Pohnpei, New Years is an excuse to let out a little exuberance. The local tradition is to pile onto a back of a flatbed truck on New Year’s Day and drive around yelling new years greetings, throwing candy to kids, and banging on various metal objects. We returned mid-afternoon New Year’s Day and saw a little of the festivity and heard even more. Using old oil drums and who knows what else, the banging was actually pretty musical. Floating up the mountainside, it sounded more like steel drum music then I expected and was surprisingly enjoyable to listen to.

Newbies

Newbies on the island are a source of amusement for us seasoned ex-pats. Confused, they begin many conversations with “I don’t understand why...” or “How come they don’t just…“ Confusion turns to bewilderment and sentences begin with “Don’t they realize how simple it would be to….,” or “but it would make so more sense for them….” Sometimes the rest of us will break out in laughter when a newbie just starts a sentence with the word why.

Sam is a newbie on the island. He arrived fresh faced and full of academic book learning in the areas of economics and political science. I chuckle at just the thought of Sam trying to apply his education here. Sam is joining his wife who has been here for a two full months. He has a lot to learn. Driving to one of the two restaurants on the island with pizza on the menu, Sam’s wife, who had noticed earlier that the supermarket shelves had been restocked but the refrigeration case was pretty empty, remarked that she hoped the restaurant had cheese. Sam’s response was “why wouldn’t they have cheese?”

One does not assume here that a restaurant will be serving all the items on a menu. I look forward to being amused by Sam for the next month or so. For those of you who are curious –Fifteen minutes after placing their pizza order, the couple learned that his wife was in fact correct and the restaurant did not have cheese. They did not have pizza that night.

A tale of two islands

At the end of World War II the USA was in control over several islands in Micronesia including Pohnpei, Chuuk, Kosrae, Yap, as well as Saipan, Palau, and the Marshal Islands (Majuroa, Kwajelan, etc). In the post war years the US Navy administered the region which was known as the Trust Territory. Eventually, the islands were given the opportunity to choose a direction for their future. The choices included becoming a permanent US territory, operating under a compact of free association, or complete independence.

Opinions differed among the islands as to what route to take and unity disintegrated. Pohnpei, Chuuk, Kosrae, and Yap, though each culturally and linguistically unique and separated by hundreds of miles of ocean from each other, together formed the Federated States of Micronesia and entered into a compact of free association with the US. Palau and the Marshal Islands each separately entered into compact agreements with the US. Saipan, along with two nearby smaller islands, formed the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianna Islands (CNMI) and became a U.S territory.

Wenonoa and I just came back from a 4 night stay in Saipan. What a difference from Pohnpei! Saipan is a true island paradise vacation spot. In fairness to Pohnpei, I must acknowledge that Saipan has certain geological and geographic benefits. Rather than the mangrove swamps that form the perimeter of Pohnpei, Saipan is ringed by beautiful (and public) sand beaches that lead into turquoise water. A walking/running/biking trail parallels the mostly flat beachfront road.

Saipan is also much drier. Pohnpei’s mountain peaks collect clouds and ensure an almost constant flow of rain (the interior of Pohnpei is said to average around 400 inches of rain a year). The humidity on Pohnpei can be stifling. Mold is an enemy that just won’t quit and the almost daily downpours beat up the roads of Pohnpei pretty badly.

Saipan is also closer to Asia. I’m told that it only takes 3 to 4 hours to fly from Japan to Saipan. This last point is important. Saipan has welcomed the tourism industry. Several large resorts are located near the coastline and recreational opportunities abound. Tourists can jet ski, parasail, be taken snorkeling and diving, and even enjoy spa treatments. Pohnpei lacks all of that.

Saipan does have it dark side. Since Saipan is technically part of the U.S., clothing manufacturers were able to set up garment factories, import workers from Asia, and put the ‘made in the USA label’ on the finished product without having to pay US federal minimum wages or be subject to OSHA regulations. The sweatshops have now all been closed down.

Other noticeable differences between the two islands included the general cleanliness of Saipan as compared to Pohnpei, the minimal number of dogs wandering the streets of Saipan, and the presence of a daily newspaper on Saipan.

I left Saipan wondering what Pohnpei would be like if it had become a territory instead of going the compact route. Would a different political structure have influenced the economic direction and outcomes (or lack thereof) that the island has taken? Would the people be better of or worse off?