Hello Kosrae!

Hi all!
This is my attempt to keep a blog on my trip to the Federal States of Micronesia! For those of you who don't know, the FSM islands are located between Hawaii and the Phillippines. Actually, if you were to look at the map, we aren't too far from New Guinea. Before we reached our first destination of Kosrae (pernounced Kosh-Rye), we had a lay over in Hawaii. It may sound like paradise, but our flight left Hawaii at 0530 meaning we got up at 0300. Hawaii in itself was awesome but that is for another time. Total flight time: about 13 hours not including ground time at the 3 stops (Hawaii, Marshall Island and some military base that I didn't understand as the flight attendants made their announcements).

Kosrae is amazing. It's very green with thick brush, trees, and vegetation you wouldn't find anywhere else other than the tropics. The weather is exactly what you would expect from a country near the equator, hot and humid. As soon as I stepped off the airplane, I walked right into a wall of warm goodness. Being that I've previously been to Vietnam, I knew what to expect. To be honest, it's not so bad because the winds make it nice.

As soon as we cleared customs/immigration, we were greeted with a pleasant surprise. The locals prepared a welcoming comittee to greet us. We were giving leis, flower headbands and food. Everyone was extremely nice and communication wasn't an issue as everyone in the FSM speaks English fluently in addition to their indiginous langauges (which I understand are many dilects in itself). The flowers were fresh and the aroma was very appeasing. The food presentation took my breath away. There was dried banana, fried plaintains, a banana pudding tempura type dish, tuna on cucumbers, and of course the proverbial fresh fruits of the island including super sweet watermelon, papaya and coconuts.

We were greeted by the director of the hospital, Dr. Livingston (I'm not sure of his last name, Livingston is his first name). He was extremely nice and polite and had our everything arranged prior to our arrival. He confirmed our hotel reservation, car rental, and when we later met with him, gave us a tour of thier hospital (or care center? I am unsure what they do for inpatient care). The section of the hospital I saw included 5 examination rooms with another room for x-rays. As you may presume, the equipment readily available is not quite as up to date as ones we are used to back home.

 I'm told that there is only 1 road throughout the island so its virtually impossible to get lost (just keep going straight and eventually you will get there). Houses are aligned along the roads and are very spaced out. There are no fences or dividers to distinguish "property lines." There are wild dogs that roam the streets as well as children who walk in the middle of the road. There are few other cars on the road as the island is very serene and peaceful. The best part: the ocean side is ALWAYS visible (though the first picture doesnt do any justice to the breathtaking views)

Our hotel is really nice. If I were to look outside my sliding door (only access to the room), I see the white sands and ocean waves. It's really nice. I can't wait to see it in the morning when the sun peaks over the horizon. We are at the Kosrae Nautilus, one of the island's nicest hotels. The commodities are nice: electricity, running water, even television (just finished watching the Giants beat the Rams on ESPN)! Of course, internet is nice (hence my ability to blog). They charge 8 cents per 1 mb. 5 dollars bought me 64 mbs. That being said, please forgive me if (because I wont) I don't spell check due to my need for bandwidth preservation haha.

I will try to blog often but due to instability of internet, I will be at the mercy of my connection. Just compiling this message alone was 10 mbs! The picture to the right is the island's only internet source. Two antennae towers and should there be any glitches or malfunctions, no internet. I am about to go across the street and jump into the ocean water. Do know that I already miss you guys and am thinking of you (hence this blog!) Please let others know about the blog and follow me!