Stay Longer?

Every day I am tempted with new reasons for why I should stay longer. The most exciting reason would be for yet another trip. Another trip with Mae for three weeks to Papua New Guinea. As tempting as it sounds I am not so sure that I want to say longer but no one wants me to leave. I have been told that if I leave they will never speak to me again, so I guess I am stuck forever. There are so many places that I have not yet been to here in Pohnpei but there are a few that I am about to tell you about. Nan Madol is the ancient and very impressive ruins of Pohnpei. It is not quite on the scale of the Egyptian Pyramids but it is a massive and amazing structure. Nan Madol was constructed right on the water and is built out of huge pieces of stone carved in the shape of a log. These rocks are only found up on the mountains and no one knows how exactly these rocks got so far. In many of the islands out here there are stories of magic and witchcraft. In the story of Nan Madol there were wizards who rode on these huge stones and flew them down off the mountain and put them in place. Their is much more than the main stone structure for there is a series of canals which wind all through the area. I am not sure how old it is supposed to be but it is one amazing structure. With the ancient history there are stories on where people have come from. One of the stories is that people came from eels and the eel is a sacred creature here. If you are to kill and eel it is very bad. There is a family who handle the eels and we stopped by
to see the eels. Some of them are huge. They are not scared of these eels which are about as long as I am tall but I could not go around picking them up. As for new foods there have been a few. Its nice to just walk outside and pick any fruit you want off a tree. Well not
quite, in our yard there are guavas, star apples, coconuts, papayas, and bananas. The bananas are not like the bananas in the states, they are about half the size and also have a slightly different taste. There are also local oranges, but they are not a very orange. They are green. Although they don't look much like a Florida orange they are still very good. There are more fruits like 'German mangoes' and limes. I have also realized that the grocery stores are for the wealthy people. Many of the local people still fish for a living and eat dogs, chickens and pigs. Fruit bats are also eaten along with sea cucumbers, crabs, just about everything. Taro and breadfruit are two other foods which are eaten quite a bit. They are both starches and very bland but are apart of many meals. I just about forgot. The other night I was able to go to the meet and great party for the new US ambassador. I feel special because I have been here in Pohnpei longer than she has. I believe she used to work with the UN with something. While I was there I also meet the Vice President for the FSM. Thats it for me today. Enjoy the cool weather for me.