Host Families, Breadfruit, Nan Madol (Oh, and Bingo too)

This weekend we finally moved out of the dorms at PATS and in with the host families we will be living with for the rest of training. My host family is incredibly warm and welcoming and I’m confident that I will be well taking care of for the next few months. My host dad, Petrick, is the Chief Magistrate of our municipality, Madolenihmw, one of the Ministers at our local Protestant church, a member of the Port Authority Board and several other things, I have trouble keeping track of everything. My host mom, Maria, is a wonderfully warm person and a fantastic cook. She makes sure that she eats with me every night because there is no set dinner time, everyone just eats when they want to, but she told me that she would always eat with me. She’s been telling me stories about our family, her time cooking for the military as well as stories about Nan Madol. My host sister, Jaypo, is a very precocious six year old who is teaching me Pohnpeian. I have two host brothers as well but I rarely see them. My host mom and dad both speak English very well but I’m trying to learn as much Pohnpeian as can and using my limited vocabulary as much as possible.

On Saturday, after meeting my host family at PATS and dropping my stuff off at our house, my family took me to a mahi (pronounced my) or breadfruit ceremony in the community. My host father explained that Pohnpeians were not allowed to eat breadfruit until the ceremony had been completed. The breadfruit as placed in the fire whole and cooked. Then the charred skin was removed from the outside and the breadfruit was mashed, almost like mashed potatoes. The now smashed breadfruit was spread onto a palm leaf and resembled a loaf of bread. Coconut milk was then squeezed on top and the palm leaf was placed back in the fire for a little bit. The final product was a little chewy and somewhat sweet. It’s very much unlike anything I have ever eaten before so I’m not sure how to describe it but it was delicious. It was also a fascinating glimpse into Pohnpeian culture.

            Our house is about a 45 minute walk from PATS, down a somewhat secluded dirt road but it’s nice because it’s really calm and quite. Stephen and Aly, two of my cohort, live right down the street so we’ll be able to see each other quite often and walk to and from training together. Our house is right next to the road that leads to Nan Madol, so it takes me about 10 minutes to walk to the water from my house, which means I can hear some of the really loud waves at night. I actually got to go to Nan Madol on Sunday after church, my host mom says that volunteers always spend Sunday at Nan Madol. Matt, who lives near PATS, and his host family came to pick up Aly but picked me up as well, which was a nice surprise. Nan Madol, called the Venice of the Pacific, is a thousand year old complex that is spread over nearly 100 man-made islets. The buildings are constructed with basalt blocks that weigh hundreds of tons apiece. I’ll let the pictures do the talking here because I’m not sure words will do.

            In addition to Matt and Aly, Olivia, Evan, Stephen and Rebecca all ended up at Nan Madol and it was great to see everyone. We weren’t really allowed to swim because we haven’t had our Water Safety Training, which is this coming Saturday, but we’ve already said that we will be coming back later to swim and jump off the rocks.

            One of the things my host mother loves to do is play bingo. Friends, neighbors and relatives come over every night and they’ll play bingo on our front porch for hours. I played with them last night for a few hours and ended up winning some money. I still don’t fully understand the rules and the different versions of the game but it was a lot of fun and a good way to learn Pohnpeian numbers.

            I had my site placement interview this morning and will find out on Thursday where I’ll be spending the next two years, which is crazy! I have some definite preferences about my placement but I’m not sure I conveyed that well in the interview so we’ll see. I’m keeping an open mind and I know that my service will be incredibly meaningful and life changing wherever I end up but there are certainly some placements I want more than others. I’ll keep you all updated when I find out.