Hello Everyone!
So I have officially been on Pohnpei for two weeks now and I
thought I could share a more detailed description of Kolonia, the big city on
Pohnpei!
So just to fill you in, the JV’s live in an apartment
attached to Our Lady of Mercy High School (where Kristin and Brian work) on the
Catholic Mission grounds. We can see Pohnpei Catholic School (where Meredith
and I work) from our window and the Jesuit Residence is about a two-minute walk
away. We live on the edge of Kolonia right near the causeway to the airport.
(Feel free to google Earth us!!!)
Now more about Kolonia! It has two major streets, all with
views of luscious greenery and beautiful mountains, and is pretty much totally walk
able. I bought food for dinner
tonight (Eggplant Parm!) and went to a bunch of stores to find the best deals (I
spent $6.05!).
Here’s a list of some stores:
Ace Hardware, Ace Commercial Center, and Ace Office Supplies
– these three stores basically make up a mini-America, fitting since they are
very close to the American Embassy. They are somewhat air-conditioned and have
basically anything you could want. Ace Office Supplies is kind of a mix between
Staples, Walmart, and BJ’s.
Wall Mart – Speaking of Walmart, we have one on island! Now
don’t worry you anti-corporation readers this is not the Walmart you’ve come to
know. This is a store in Kolonia named Wall Mart simply because of its
proximity to the old Spanish Wall. It’s very clever. It is probably the store
that is closet to us. But they often have scarce pickings.
INS, Blue Nile, Palm Terrace – These are other great options
for grocery shopping. They each have their pros and cons. INS is close and
pretty cheap but not always the most choice, although we did get the fabric for
our community uniforms (matching muumuus and shirts) there. Blue Nile has great
pasta options and this delicious dessert called ice pahr (frozen coconut
goodness) but it is quite the hike. Finally there is Palm Terrace, possibly my
favorite, tons of options and not that expensive. Plus they have every kind of
cake imaginable, a must for community mate’s birthdays!
Local Markets - There are also tons of little shops selling
fresh fish, bananas, drinking coconuts and more! I got a bunch of bananas (ten
in total) for 35 cents today and drinking coconuts (uhpw) are only 50 cents!
And these are a great place for me to practice some Pohnpeian: Ia kak ale karat
siluh? (Can I take 3 karat?) (karat (ka-ra-tch) are these AMAZINGLY delicious
bananas that are fat and super yellow when ripe! They are very nutritious but
just be warned “when you leak after eating them it may be extra yellow”) In
addition to selling food many little shops sell the beautiful Pohnpeian skirts
that have become Meredith, Kristin, and I’s daily uniforms. They are really
beautiful and have a very distinct style.
Yoshie Enterprises – This place is jam-packed! It has food,
clothes, electronics, toys, and more! I learned it is the only place to buy
sauces or peanut butter at a decent price. Also, I found out today they have
Starbucks frappuccinos in a bottle, good to know for those really rough days.
Movie Land - This is the place to go for pirated DVD’s for
$2. They have a varied selection but not really organized in any discernable
manner (I hope your ethics are okay with this…).
A-One Souvenir Shop – This place is air-conditioned and has
a wicked cool selection of Pohnpeian crafts. Honestly, it’s the only Souvenir
shop I’ve been inside so far but I think it’s a good one! (also, made a joke
today about A-One selling A1 sauce…Brian said lots of people make that joke…well
really just him…and no one laughs…I guess I found my kindred spirit!!!)
Some other cool to know places in Kolonia: the movie theater
(yes, that’s right we have a movie theater and it’s air-conditioned and a
ticket costs $2.50 on Tuesday nights! I have yet to go there), the pool (to get
ready for the Micronesian games, Pohnpei built a pool last February and they
are trying to make it one of the greenest pools in the world using salt instead
of chlorine or bromine and they might make ME a lifeguard! Watch out!), random
rusted tanks left over from WWII (a big one is right next to the post office), Flamingo
club (one of the only dance clubs in all of Micronesia, haven’t been there
either), Rusty Anchor (the JV’s favorite bar on island, also kind of the only
bar…), Cupid’s (a nice restaurant with an INCREDIBLE view and karaoke!).
So that’s Kolonia in a nutshell. There are more stores and restaurants
but I’ve only been here two weeks. It’s such an incredible place and I’ve already seen my host
family driving through twice! It reminds me of how I loved BC for its size; it
was big enough that there was always someone to meet but you always see a
familiar face as well. Pohnpei is definitely bigger but I have a feeling after
two years, it will definitely feel like that!
Kaselehlie!!!
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