A view of Pohnpei from Ahnd Atoll
I was introduced to an interesting theory this week regarding the slow pace of life in Pacific island communities. The theory states that there is a lack of urgency that pervades the culture in climates without winter, as people never have to prepare ahead for anything. Pohnpei would certainly fall into the category of being “winterless” as the daily low and high temperature for the day never vary by more than five degrees all year. Never does a Pohnpeian have to worry about being snowed in after a big storm, or plan when they want to plant and harvest their crops – every day is like the last and tomorrow will be the same.
While I had read plenty about “island time” before I arrived in Pohnpei, the slow pace hasn’t really struck me until lately. Perhaps it has just been a bad week, but I have been particularly frustrated by how long everything takes. Take a normal meeting for example. A meeting that should take five to ten minutes often takes 30 minutes to an hour. People drive very slowly as well. The island speed limit is 25mph, but it’s rare to go more than a mile without someone driving between 5-10mph.
Beyond just daily inconveniences there is no sense of urgency to solve any of the pressing issues present on the island. From healthcare to infrastructure, energy to education, every problem can be solved "lakkup" (i.e. tomorrow). Of course this is a generalization, but on the whole this is the culture of Pohnpei, and from what I’ve heard, all Pacific island communities.
Given all of this it’s interesting to think that Pohnpeians, Micronesians, and all Pacific island communities have a lifestyle that is directly impacted by the weather. For those that don’t know, I come from a family that loves snow. No matter what the season, snowmen decorate the house. My brother still recalls the Blizzard of ’96 with childhood wonder and my father can cite snowfall records from the past century by memory. Indeed, he is legitimately a “snow expert” specializing in global snow cover. They were quite confused when I decided to live somewhere for a year where it has never snowed – ever. But I’m sure they would be overjoyed to hear that according to this one theory, which I believe holds some legitimacy, the world’s prosperity and development owes its existence to snow.
As always, we have been very busy with our education program. We have a very exciting plan in store that I look forward to sharing within the next week or so. It has been a challenge to comprehensively address the great number of issues we found in the schools, but I am confident our plan will make a great difference for these students.
This past weekend was a lot of fun camping on Ahnd (pronounced “Ant”). Check out some pictures of the island beauty and fishing heaven.
While I had read plenty about “island time” before I arrived in Pohnpei, the slow pace hasn’t really struck me until lately. Perhaps it has just been a bad week, but I have been particularly frustrated by how long everything takes. Take a normal meeting for example. A meeting that should take five to ten minutes often takes 30 minutes to an hour. People drive very slowly as well. The island speed limit is 25mph, but it’s rare to go more than a mile without someone driving between 5-10mph.
Beyond just daily inconveniences there is no sense of urgency to solve any of the pressing issues present on the island. From healthcare to infrastructure, energy to education, every problem can be solved "lakkup" (i.e. tomorrow). Of course this is a generalization, but on the whole this is the culture of Pohnpei, and from what I’ve heard, all Pacific island communities.
Given all of this it’s interesting to think that Pohnpeians, Micronesians, and all Pacific island communities have a lifestyle that is directly impacted by the weather. For those that don’t know, I come from a family that loves snow. No matter what the season, snowmen decorate the house. My brother still recalls the Blizzard of ’96 with childhood wonder and my father can cite snowfall records from the past century by memory. Indeed, he is legitimately a “snow expert” specializing in global snow cover. They were quite confused when I decided to live somewhere for a year where it has never snowed – ever. But I’m sure they would be overjoyed to hear that according to this one theory, which I believe holds some legitimacy, the world’s prosperity and development owes its existence to snow.
As always, we have been very busy with our education program. We have a very exciting plan in store that I look forward to sharing within the next week or so. It has been a challenge to comprehensively address the great number of issues we found in the schools, but I am confident our plan will make a great difference for these students.
This past weekend was a lot of fun camping on Ahnd (pronounced “Ant”). Check out some pictures of the island beauty and fishing heaven.
My favorite shot from the weekend: a fallen palm tree being lapped by waves at dusk.
