Micronesia...I'm here!

Micronesia…I’m here!

Well we’re here in Pohnpei, one of the four island states of the Federated States of Micronesia. The city is Kolonia, which is the capital. The plane trip was intense. We left Hawaii at 6:55am (Hawaii time) and flew to Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands – trip time 4h 45m, crossing the International Dateline. Half the plane “deplaned” so Marshall Islands police could do a security sweep of the plane; we waited in the outdoor airport lobby for 20 minutes or so. Then we took off for Kwajelein, a US military installation in the Marshall Islands network, flight time 45min. Some people’s trip ended here. We took back off and landed in Kosrae, the easternmost island state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Deplaned for 20 minutes, got back on, and an hour later we landed in Pohnpei.

I usually don’t take window seats on planes because of my irrational fear of getting sucked out the window in the event of an explosion. But the scenery upon landing has made me consider revamping my live-saving strategy. Coral reefs and very small atolls (in addition to our ears popping) signaled that our landing was imminent. The first sight of the island was pure green – exotic trees covering everything, with the occasional house nestled in. This island, I’m told, was formed by volcanic activity, which would explain the huge rock formations which give the appearance of a mountain range. The blue-green lagoons dotting the coast are a huge temptation to just go swimming – the color looks computer generated. It’s breath taking and unreal.

We landed, boarded a bus, and are at the hotel right now. We were greeted by a ton of Peace Corps staff people – so many smiles and hugs and hand-shakes. In the hotel’s “conference room” we found a smorgasbord of local foods for snacking (the conference room is air conditioned, but it’s a separate building from the hotel). Three groups were separated for different aspects of training – we rotate trainings until we leave Monday morning. Tonight was host family training…look for another post on that topic later.

FYI: From my training manual a warning about my future communication starting Monday here (Sunday night for you in the EST):
Trainees should assume that they will not have email access during PreService training, and limited phone access – some host families have phones and some do not. From any phone, you will need to use a calling card to call internationally. Please make sure that your family and friends are aware that your ability to communicate with them during PST will be extremely limited, and you will likely not be able to communicate to call them at a specific time.

Thank you for the prayers and thoughts. I’m ecstatic to be here, and I’m getting really excited as I keep thinking about what the next weeks and months are going to bring!

Love,
Alex