A mail order bride arrives

Thur 2/26/09:

When the pilot announced we would be landing soon, I was as nervous as a mail order bride landing in a new country to begin a new life with a man she has never met. The reason was simple, I was landing in a new country to begin a new life. Not as a bride, but as an employee. I had two advantages over a mail order bride – I had met my new boss, though only once, and my commitment was only for two years, not life.

My first impression of Kolonia, the main population center, was that it came and went quickly, as we drove from the airport to the office in Paliker.

Dogs that looked semi-domesticated at best roamed freely through the streets. In fairness though, I should add they looked amicable enough and some even sported collars.

Pedestrians were everywhere. Not like one sees in pictures of India or China but there was always a few in sight. They ambled along with a proprietary sense of ownership of the narrow road. Cars were given nary a glance and the expectation was that they would manuver around. After all, why have a steering wheel if not to steer. The international law of tonnage did not apply here.

We drove up a winding, narrow road to Paliker, site of the national government offices. "This will most likely be the road I’ll travel daily for the next 2 years," the thought formed in my head and then fluttered downward to my stomach and settled there with the heaviness of a rock.

The flight from Honolulu lasted ten hours and included two stops in the Marshal Islands and a stop on the FSM island of Kosrea. I had traveled too far to turn back and, besides, I didn’t have a return ticket.