If you know me for any amount of time, you know that I love good deals and freebies! Some call me cheap, but I prefer the term frugal. :) Over the past week I've had a lot of fun doing things for "free".
First event was a Cancer Fun Walk Saturday morning - no registration fee. It was just to recognize World Cancer Day and raise awareness for the growing cases of cancer in Pohnpei. We showed up nice and early on that beautiful morning at the local high school track. A nice group of fellow community members gathered ready for the walk, but there was no sign of the event coordinators. As start time approached, we were all looking around and wondering what was going on. Then suddenly, promptly at 7am, a man who had been there most of the time pulled out a whistle and informed us we were going to stretch and then get started. Apparently he was in charge of getting us to the Spanish Wall where everyone else would be waiting. This is Pohnpei!
 |
| Where are the people in charge?!?! |
 |
*Whistle blow* "Let's get started!"
Oh, I guess he's in charge |
 |
| We even had a police escort |
As our leader yelled and whistled at us to stay together as one mob, we made our way down Kaselehlie Street to the Spanish Wall. It's really fun to meet new people and feel like part of the community with my fellow walkers.
The event coordinators were indeed waiting for our arrival at the Spanish Wall. They were actually still setting it all up, but it gave us time to do our cool down stretches, hear a couple of cancer awareness speeches, and watch a Pohnpeian drama by the teenagers.
 |
| I guess we walked a little faster than they were expecting |
 |
"Get in rows! Get in rows! We need to stretch!" yells the
enthusiastic man with a whistle. |
 |
Very informative speech about the most prevalent cancers
in Pohnpei and what we can do to help |
After all the entertainment came the free t-shirts, bags, and snacks! They get big thumbs up for this part because they had good sizes of shirts, nice bags with zippers, and delicious fruits for snacks - bananas, apples and oranges.
 |
We're not sure about the ride and run part, but it's still a
great t-shirt |
 |
So happy to be enjoying our beautiful morning together
with tasty fruits to snack on! |
That afternoon, I last minute decided to join some fellow volunteers on a swimming trip. I really had no clue what we were going to, but I was offered a free ride and the chance to swim. Count me in! My free ride turned out to be a clown car, which was quite hilarious. There were 8 of us crammed in a small car, but we made it. We were at the Doldrums on Sokehs, and this is what I found...
 |
| The Doldrums |
 |
| Great for climbing, |
 |
| admiring the ocean blue water, |
 |
| exploring, |
 |
| rope climbing, |
 |
| and jumping! |
 |
| The water was refreshing, clear, and beautiful |
 |
| Next time I need to bring my snorkel! |
 |
Being out there also gave us a new perspective of
Sokehs Island the The Rock |
I was so glad a joined the impromptu swimming trip. It was a nice break to just get away for a little bit of the afternoon.
This weekend was also the arrival of the new president of the College of Micronesia. Everyone seems to be quite excited about his arrival and hopeful that he will get the college turned around and on the right track. COM held an investiture ceremony on Monday afternoon and the we were all invited to a reception that night. The invitation said free food, so I was in! Of course I wanted to also meet the president and welcome, but free food is definitely a bonus.
 |
| Getting ready to be led in for the official welcome |
 |
| Traditional dress leading the procession |
 |
The different skirts are from the different islands that
make up the FSM |
 |
My co-workers from Pohnpei and National Campus
Yes, we were part of the procession! |
 |
| Pohnpei sure loves its signs |
 |
| It was a very nice ceremony; the first of its kind for COM |
 |
| Dr. Daisy giving his investiture speech |
 |
| WorldTeach with the new president |
 |
| There was poetry reading |
 |
| and singing for our entertainment. |
I also captured some of the best parts of the day on video:
So far I have been really impressed by President Daisy. He has a very warm personality. He has made it clear that taking this position is like a dream come true. He seems to really care about the college and the people here. I'm eager to see what he has planned for the college. COM is up for review by the accreditation team in March. Please pray that it goes well since much of the FSM depends on it as the only institution of higher education in the country.
To top it all of , our neighbor came over Tuesday night to drop off a deliciously sweet, juicy soursop that he had picked off the tree just for us! I love my community of neighbors!
 |
Bently with on of my new favorite fruits
in the world - soursop! |
