Tokyo – very many people and very low temperatures

My first day in Tokyo and what a shock for my body: It has had 3 inches of snow tonight. It's freezing cold and every part of me is trying hard to adjust.

To cope with cold climate I can put on another pullover and some gloves. But to adjust is indeed a hard task – it's a different world:

Don't steal bicycles and never be late!!

When I arrived at the language school the first thing I was given was a booklet with behavioral rules as a language school student in Japan: don't work as a Janitor in the red-light district and don't take a bicycle which is not yours, etc… together with it came a 20 Paragraph handout about the school's rules: don't leave school without permission, don't ask other students questions in class, and NEVER come late! But the best ever was the pie-chart-scheme how being late has direct influence on your attendance rate.

After signing the acceptance of these rules I was given the schedule: every day from 1:00- 4:50pm is class. After each 50 minutes, a break of 10 minutes is granted. This plan is not even altered by a second as you can imagine. Teachers are Japanese girls in my age and the students consist of an international mix of Europeans, Koreans and even a guy from Ghana, all around 20-25 years old.

We have tests every week to check if everybody is still in sync with the class performance. The learning speed is fascinating: The group I joined was almost on the level I had been after three months class at Uni – the only difference is that these guys did not speak a single piece of Japanese 2 weeks ago. Extreme brain-wash-method!

My host family:

I live together with the Abuku family in a tiny 2-room-flat 20minutes by train from the city centre. I have a 5m² room, which is a real luxury situation. Because the rest of the family shares an open living/dining room space of 20m² for all activities of their life at home. 10-year-old daughter Moegi has her books, desk and toys right next to Daddy Masao's magazines and mother Fumiko's Laptop.

Eating, wii-playing, homework and - yes – sleeping all happens in this area. At night three futon-bed-sets are taken out of the cupboard and the entire family sleeps there. It's not a big deal, because Masao-san is out of home working from 7AM to 10PM. This is no exaggeration – he really doesn't come home before 10PM! By that time Moegi usually sleeps already. "Japanese simply love their job", was the answer, when I was asking very astonished if these are normal working hours. Masao-san even says he doesn't work hard, others would work more – is this physically possible?!

I guess I should never ever complain with a Japanese about overtime working. I don't know how he survives this schedule…

this is my room. of course I also put up my futon-set every night! It had a bit of a Harry-Potter-Cupboard-Feeling in the beginning...

Fumiko-san prepares yummy Japanese food every night. Fish (raw or cooked) is a daily component, as well as seaweed, soy-beans and rice in different forms. I got my own chopsticks and Moegi would fall off the chair laughing at my unskilled trials to eat with them, if we would not all sit on the floor around a flat table.

At night each family member takes a bath after cleansing thoroughly under the shower. The bath is for relaxation and inner purification – not to get clean.

My host family (actually it's only Fumiko-san I primarily see) is very open and experiences with "gaijins" (foreigners), so I may also just take a shower without having to sit in the bathtub afterwards. And it is tolerated that I go for a run after getting up at 8AM, instead of studying the entire morning from 6AM onwards…

Trains and People Part I:

Taking trains in Tokyo is not as bad as I thought. When I am travelling to the school around noon I always get a seat and even when going home between 5-7pm it's not too crowded at all. And it's great for people watching, especially changing at the famous Shibuya-station…

Last days in Pohnpei – leaving the Pacific region

Karneval presentation for 7th grade kids in Kolonia

I had been asked by Josephine if I would like to talk in front of her class about a random topic from my culture. She teaches in grade 7 of the Pohnpei Catholic school and has primarily young Pohnpeians in her class.

After some consideration I decided to talk about "Fastnacht" – Carneval. This comes close to the rituals they know and is so typical for my region and my family – and – a former Carneval's Princess is definitely entitled to speak about that custom.

I got some pictures and facts together and indeed – the kids were completely fascinated, each from different aspects: some liked the scary witches and devils, others liked the beautiful uniform of the Mainzer Prinzengarde. It was very cute to see the glowing faces and the hot discussions about costume options in the break after the presentations. I was told, the rest of the day teaching was hardly possible. I then received some thank-you letters with even costume drawings. How cool is this?

Surfer's paradise

As surfing on a reef with highly toxic corals is not the best idea for beginners like me I just enjoyed a day out on the boat with the Pohnpei surfclub without getting to close to a board. The waves were not high at all this day, but the real Pro's are an event to look at on its own right. That day, Chrissy, a 16-year-old supertalent from the US was ruling the reef. Top surfers are on island almost every week.

Yes, I did work!!!

I realized that I did not post any pictures so far of the Micronesian Seminar, the library, our weekly Monday morning staff meetings and the colourful lunch sessions…

The MicSem team consist of three Chuukese, four Philipinos, two Americans and Father Fran. Although actually American the Jesuit Priest is in Micronesia since 50 years and although now in his 70s ruling the MicSem as a Director with admirable dedication and toughness since over three decades. He is not only one of the most acknowledged scholars for Micronesian History but also a fascinating person. He plays Basketball every day with the young guys and/or goes for a run on the causeway; at functions he is the most wanted conversation partner and I personally learned a lot in every single conversation I had with him.

But also with the other team members I really had enjoyed working together. Eugenia, the Chuukese spent quite some lunch breaks with me together telling me about her life back in Chuuk. Sepio and Raymond, the two younger Chuukese guys went with us to the dance club (sorry no pics from these evenings) and the Philipino ladies are the most cheerful bunch I ever met.

Farewell with flowers in the hair

When I left the island I got a traditional mamar, which is given to people when they arrive or leave the society. With respect to re-use options for Carneval I did not get the one with fresh flowers, but a re-usable one, which will have its revival to do together with my Hibiscus grass skirt and the shell-necklaces next year for the 5^th season…

I was leaving the island in a mixed mood. On the one hand I am looking forward to what lies ahead of me, but on the other hand I know that this spot of the world is a bit hard to reach again…

Weekend Standard Program: Beach and Hiking

Nihco Beach Resort

It sounds like a posh, fancy place, but actually Nihco Beach is more a Barbecue and Picnic Spot for Expats and Locals. On a shallow lagoon beach some bigger spots have been created with Coral sand material and huts of several sizes are set up. It is reachable by a 10 minutes drive by taxi (2USD) and costs 1,50 USD entry fee. If you want to rent a hut it could be more. We went there for the Saturday afternoon with a small group of Philippinos. It is nice to see the children playing on the beach, but I was surprised how unsure some children were in the water, 8-year-olds even wore life vests. The sea temperature is about 28 degrees, so no refreshing effect whatsoever when you jump in. None of the kids is actually having beachwear in the water. It is not appropriate to show that much of your body. So mostly over the bikini one wears board-shorts and a T-shirt. Whereby it was sort of okay to have only shorts and a bikini top in Papua New Guinea, here the shorts have to be at least knee-length and a shirt is obligatory.

Sunday hike:

If you see the photos you might start to ask yourself: is she actually doing much else than running around in the jungle?!?! Well, I think I got by now quite proficient in climbing jungle zones and it is a good workout for a Sunday afternoon.

It is an activity organized by a number of peace corps people, happening on a regular base. And frankly, there is not that much else you could do here… At least if you want to be active. So we climbed a hill about 30mins out of Kolonia. It was a bit longer than I was expecting, in total it took us 4 hours straight hiking to get to the top and come down again. But it's awesome to have the jungle right at your doorstep.

At the summit we had the ubiquitous Japanese war remains, but no view as clouds had covered the top. Still, the nature is stunning and I just can't get enough of those "Frauke in the Jungle"-photos…

Everyday life part I: Taxi driving, Sakau and Sashimi

A Taxi drive experience in Pohnpei

Taxis are the only public transport in Pohnpei. The fare is standard 1 USD within Kolonia and 2 USD for the closer area (ca 10miles). Price is per person and the taxis collect several passengers for their journeys.

Price question: would you think it is enough time to call a taxi 45 minutes in advance of your appointment which is in Palikir, 6 miles from Kolonia?

I thought so, too. I called the Taxi service at 8:45 and asked to be picked up at MicSem going to College of Micronesia, National Campus, in Palikir. Ok.

After waiting for over 10 minutes I called the taxi company again at 8:58 AM:

Frauke: "Hi there, I called a while ago and I want to go to Palikir from MicSem. Are you guys coming at all?"

Taxi-woman: "ahm, the road to MicSem is very bumpy and not easy to drive."

Frauke: "right – what does that mean? You can't come to pick me up then?"

Taxi-woman: "First I want to ask if ok to pay three dollars then"

Frauke: "sure." (and without me calling you would not have been able to ask the question, hence I would've been waiting forever...?!)

Taxi-woman: "then we will send a car."

Frauke: "Kahlangen (thanks in Pohnpeian). But would it be quicker when I wait at the catholic church?"

Taxi-woman: "Yes, and only 2 dollars."

Frauke: "ok, will wait there"

I stood at the church for another 10 minutes and then called again, 09:10 AM:

Frauke: "hi – sorry to bother you again, I am here waiting at the catholic church. Is any driver going to come?"

Taxi-woman: "yes, he is now at the hospital" (3mins away)

Frauke: "okay, thanks I'll wait here"

At 09:20 AM I already had to control my temper with all my forces:

Frauke: "hey – it's me – the menwai girl at the catholic church. Are you sure that somebody will come to pick me up still?"

Taxi-woman: "Yes, the driver is now at COM, Kolonia Campus" (2,5 minutes away – what on earth did he do the last 10 minutes?!)

Frauke: "you're sure?"

Taxi-woman: "yes."

At 09:30 AM, I was already having my mobile ready to call again, eventually the taxi arrived.

The driver was a smiling young guy with nice Micronesian Island beats roaring from his radio and two other women as passengers who welcomed me with a "kaselehlie". I decided that I will forget my bad mood, get over the fact that the lecture will not happen today and tried to enjoy the scenery. And that was a very wise move, because our next stop was at another place in Kolonia, where we picked up a man with firewood. But not in an organized bundle, he had 100 single sticks. The trunk of the taxi then was loaded with all time of the world, and finally the man joined us two girls sitting at the back. So we drove peacefully out of Kolonia, fully (over-)loaded but with good music and at every junction stop the doors (except mine) opened so that the passengers can spit out their beetlenut-chew. Of course we also stopped at the petrol station to fuel up for 3 USD and were finally on the island road. On half way towards Palikir the firewood-man was dropped off, and with all care (and time) the firewood was unloaded. Arriving in Palikir we first drove to the National Government Complex to drop of one of the passenger, stopped then at a kiosk to get some cigarettes and eventually arrived at COM Campus around 10:10 AM – only 40 minutes too late!

When I arrived at the classroom surprisingly more than half of the students were still present, so that we could hold the lecture. But really , I think this is a proof of my adaption to Pacific ways of life – in Germany I would have SIMPLY GONE MAD!!!

Barbecue with Sacau, Sashimi and Reef-fish

I was invited to join a Barbecue from Jhun and Rea's colleagues; a colourful mixture of Philippinos and Locals, Pohnpeians and Chuukese. I was present for the Europeans. There was a huge food pile prepared from local food, such as bread fruit, yams pounded with coconut, cooking banana, tapioca, pandanut fruit and some "normal" things like rice, potato salad and Phillippino-style-Pancit. Outside Barbecue was prepared with different meat and –yummy- fresh reef fish. Tuna Sashimi (raw tuna slices that you eat pure with soy sauce and wasabi) are present at every dinner here in Pohnpei and I really like it.

The traditional drink in Pohnpei (and across Micronesia) is sakau – a non alcoholic psychoactive drink. Its biological name is piper methysticum and the more commonly known variant is the Fiji Kava. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kava)

It is prepared from meshed roots of the sakau plant. The roots are pressed out with fresh water, which creates a kakao-milk coloured, slimey liquid. It is sold on the street for 2 usd per bottle, or you go to sakau markets, where you pay 5 usd entry fee and can drink then as much as you like.

At the barbecue I also tried my first sakau. It tastes bitter, like grass mixed with a good chew of leaves, not my favourite taste. But the effect is interesting: it makes the mouth numb, like swallowing a dolo-dobendan or strepsils when you got a sore throat. After a couple of glasses the feeling is similar to alcohol, but according to the locals it makes you peacefully happy and sleepy. Not like Alkohol, and it's not recommended to mix sakau and alcohol. Really interesting stuff – would not drink it more than once every couple of weeks though. My stomach didn't like it too much, hard to imagine that some locals drink it every night.

On top of the island: climbing Nanah Laud

The highest "mountain" on Pohnpei is Nanah Laud with 778metres above sea level. This fact does not sound too exciting or challenging. Yet it lies right in the middle of the island and is only accessible through thick rainforest in a 2-day hike.

So on Saturday early morning our international crew consisting of Daniela from Austria, Jo from the US, Jhun from the Philippines and myself off towards a small village in the southern part of Pohnpei. On our way we picked up Wawah and Drivingzen, two young Pohnpeians, who wanted to climb with us together. In Sapalwuk we left our car and went to the house of the family who will guide us for the weekend. They are well acquainted with Daniela, who works as a missionary in the Pre-School in Kolonia. At about 9:30 AM we took off with a group of local boys, the rest was said to come later.

The weather was alright and in the beginning I did not quite understand why people said the hike was so hard. The trail led through a marvelous jungle-scenery, we crossed small creeks and stood on top of various waterfalls. But after an hour the ground was merely an endless row of irregular rocks, covered with moss or overgrown by plants. It is impossible to tell which of the rocks will give your feet good grip and which ones are slippery. So it started to be more of a stumble then a hike. The creeks also got deeper and everybody had fully soaked boots. Well, at least us, the menwai. All the locals were jumping along the path in flip-flops with an incredible security on where to put their feet without ever slipping. When we were exhausted asking for a longer break after 3 hours our guides and the kids gave us a look between pity and annoyance. I started to feel my respect for the nature on this island and also for its local population, who, despite all western influences still cultivate skills and practices where we city kids just completely fail. Our younger guides, some of them not older than 14 years found the trail like a duck takes to water, meanwhile I already got off into the jungle when I lost sight of the group for two minutes.

The last part of Saturday's hike went then up into higher mountain terrain – all on these rocks, tree-roots and swampy creeks. This means you have to concentrate on every step you take, always ready to compensate and re-balance. This is what makes the hike challenging, not the distance. On steeper parts we had to climb on hands and it got even more slippery when rain started. I was already starting to feel very tired – easy recognizable by my grumbling mood and comments, getting frustrated that my body did not quite want to do anymore what I required – when we suddenly reached our destination for the night: a gorgeous cliff-hang-over, which forms a big open cave and provides excellent shelter from wind and rain. Wh at a location, nature is a great architect!

The guys were cutting big palm leaves and laid them on the floor as some sort of natural insulation mattress and started to light a fire. The dinner of the day was a rice with two small chicken, of which Jay picked off the feathers. The meal is served on banana-leaves and Pohnpeians eat with their fingers. Water we got from a close by creek and we did not have any stomach issues. The evening was nice and quiet, we all spread out across the available space, Pohnpeians, Menwai – all mixed – and we even started to sing some songs together. Around 8 pm heavy rain started and continued throughout the entire night.

In the morning at 7 the first ones got up again and lit a fire to cook some rice and palm hearts-makerel curry for breakfast. We e ven got some hot water for a coffee.

In the beginning we were not thinking of going up to the top – I was simply frightened of the slippery surface after all that rain. And it was still very cloudy, not promising a good view. But our young companions were eager to reach the top and we let us being motivated by the youth. When we set off for the summit I was not really convinced it was a good idea. The climb was on rocks, sometimes risky and rain was powering on my face. While almost blindly following Jay's flip-flops in front of my eyes, which seemed to fly up those rocks, I was mumbling to myself that I really was not sure if I was enjoying this moment. But when we reached the top all of this vanished. Just reaching the point which marks the middle of the island is already nice, but then the clouds cleared up eventually and permitted us a breathtaking view all across the island. We saw Kolonia, Nan Madol and the outer reef with its small islands lined up along. What a view!!! So nice!!! And of course we did a massive photo session there!

Strengthened by these impressions we began with the hike down. This time we took a different path, less rocky, but much muddier and also slippery. But as soon as I accepted the fact that my clothes will never reach the status "clean" again and I will arrive much dirtier at home than in my most glorious times in the mud-corner of the local playground during elementary school, I found it really enjoyable. And one develops a real skill in sliding down muddy patches… The style of the jungle changed over time, we saw stunning tree formations and were all in a good mood.

However, we were a bit slower than the locals had estimated and so we walked the last part in darkness, my legs only mechanically executing a movement rather than controlling the steps. But at 7 pm we reached Sapalwuk all safely, proud and happy. I think also the guys have enjoyed the time with us and greeted us warmly for farewell.

Once at home I resumed my last powers to wash off the mud from my body and realized that my legs and arms were full of scratches. I had hardly noticed this earlier. Although my mind was in a high-fly-trip I fell asleep as soon as I hit the mattress…