Lost at Pohnpei

Learning a foreign language requires familiarity and repetition of words. That brings me one step closer in speaking Ponapean. But, I am far from holding a conversation in the local tongue, unless asking a few simple questions that are pertinent in the medical field, could be called a conversation.

I am very thankful that my patients recognize my efforts as I slowly combine words and they even teach me the enunciation of each syllable.

Here are some of the daily words I use:

Ia Irehmw? – How are you?

Yawasa eh medek ye? – Where does it hurt?

Ke Mwaliel? – Are you dizzy?

Eng – Yes

So – No

With the help of my friends, I have started forming sentences in Ponapean. Breaking apart sentences and learning the origin of the words helped.

I remember that when I was in school, I learned English from singing songs and this was what I thought doing; learn a Ponopean song.

This is one of the songs that Kit introduced to Jordan and I a few weeks back.

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The first time I had my day off at the island, I grabbed the opportunity to not to stay in my room and sleep the whole day. After all, this would be the time I could explore during the day.

First stop was the Black Sand, an Ukay-ukay store. Shirts were sold for $1.50 and pants were at $4.00. The clothes came from mainland U.S. and were sorted out during the day.

All you needed to do was to be patient in rummaging through the piles of clothes on the floor. It was a similar experience from buying Ukay-ukay in the Philippines, except for the payment in dollars.

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Just about twenty-two miles to the east of Kolonia is Madolenihmw, this is where the Kepirohi falls is located. It is said Kepirohi is the most photographed water falls on the island.

It was a good thing that some of the tourists left by the time we reached there, we had the waterfalls all to ourselves. For a $2.00 entrance fee, we set out to the garden trail for a short hike to the source of the running water. A narrow trail led to the falls, similar to the trail we trekked to reach Nan Madol. There was some noticeable landscaping on the path at our feet.

The sight was amazing, the seventy-feet waterfalls would invite anyone to take a dip in the cold pool at its base and climb the rocks quenched by the cool water, but one should be careful from the slippery rocks. A lot of accidents have been reported from climbing the Kepirohi’s face.

The profuse green background carpeted the rest of the jungle with a window of white and black of the water and rocks. There were spots of red and orange from the native flowers in some of the flowering trees and bushes. Then as the water ran down forming a vein that opened up to the lower lands, this was also a source of fresh water in that area.

It was difficult to climb the high stone face of the Kepirohi falls. The rough stony edge might let you get a good grip and a foothold, but the force of the powerful cold water would push you away. But it was sure worth the climb. The water felt like someone massaged my body with its soothing cool flow.

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Man and nature work best hand in hand and not against each other.

The catholic mass was usually celebrated at Our Lady of Mercy Church every Saturday at five in the afternoon, except on the first Sunday of the month. It was the first time that Jane, Jordan, and myself attended mass together.

After a quick lunch, we left for our trip to Nan Madol. It took us about forty-five minutes on the road from Nett to the eastern island of Temwen, where the Nan Madol ruins were found. Continue reading

This almost three year old MacBook started to make noise since December of 2009. I had it checked up at the PowerMac at Trinoma and it was serviced. However, the noise didn’t go away.

Thankfully, Jhong of Qlick Café, knew what to do. He operated on my mac and found out that it was the fan that caused the problem. The operation was a success. My Mac was silent for a while, BUT, it was only temporary. I learned how to open my Mac and clean the fan myself from an online “how to” site.

My MacBook is still making a lot of noise;

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What are the options that I have while I am here at Pohnpei?

1. Take apart my Mac just like what I did back home. But I would need to find the website and have it available online while I operate on my Mac.
2. Buy a new Mac. Uhm… not the most practical choice, but that would definitely take care of the problem.

We’ll see.

For the meantime, I would just do my best to ignore the humming and buzzing.

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