Oh Canada

So here we sit I sit in a hotel room in Thunder Bay Ontario, yes Canada. So time spent in Minneapolis was pretty fun. We got to do quite a bit and eat a lot of food. We saw two great shows, A Prairie Home Companion and another one called Triple Espresso. It's surprising to me in the twin cities how many people don't drive. Well I guess there are just as many cars and people still drive but the number of people using other means of transportation. There are people running, walking, lots of bikes, skateboards, roller blades, wheelchairs, just everything but cars. We toured Guthrie Theater backstage and all three stages. Saw their super cool public library of four floors and fireplaces. Did you know that Minneapolis has 7 miles of sky walks connecting their buildings downtown so people don't have to walk outside in negative temperatures? Did you know that there was a Red Bull sponsored bike race through them? I have to admit that this is some of the prettiest country up here. Today we left the last of the leaves behind us, the snow picked up around noon and snowed all afternoon, but none of it stuck. Driving along the rocky shores of the Great Lake Superior on one side with white birch trees and fur trees along the side of the road. Passing over creeks and waterfalls too. Well we saw a moose on our way, some deer, more bald eagles, a fox, a snowshoe hair, and lots of trees. One other thing is trains. There are lots of trains here. On the Mississippi River there are lots of barges used as well. There was a diagram we saw about transportation. One jumbo barge is equivalent to 15 jumbo hopper train cars which is equivalent to 58 tractor trailer trucks. Now out on the Mississippi where its wide they may have as many as 15 barges all together (we saw one). 15 barges can carry 22,500 TONS. Now would you rather see a tugboat pushing 15 barges down the river of 870 tractor trailer trucks. Hows that for a load?

the twin cities

So here we are in Minneapolis and its cold. Highs are in the high 40's and cold enough at night that things freeze and they are calling for snow. This is the beginning of winter here, some people don't even call this winter. Just wait a month or two and the mid day high wont even break 0. We stayed in a hotel last night in the middle of Illinois. Driving today was very beautiful and especially through Iowa. As we traveled up the Mississippi River we counted around 86 bald eagles. Thats a lot. Well I am not feeling very well and tired too so I don't feel like writing much more. Here are two pictures taken today. One is of the many bald eagles we saw today and the other picture is, well how do you describe it?

another journey

Well if you don't know yet I am safely back in the United States as of a little over a week. My first realization when I stepped out of RDU was "it's cold." My body had gotten used to those island temperatures and wearing zorries every day no more old man winter is here. I feel that I have gotten used to the temperatures once again and am glad to be here as well. I miss fish though. So one of the first things I did once I got back was I went to the grocery store. It was insane, there it was, everything you could ever eat except for weird things like shrimp crackers, and stuff with Asian writing on it. Basically mystery food. Star apples or star fruit they are something like three dollars a piece. In Pohnpei there were two trees that I could walk outside and pick more than I could eat. And fish in Harris Teeter comes from the Philippines, Greenland, Alaska, South America. Only some of the shrimp and the trout are from North Carolina. Tuna is like three or four dollars a pound and out there on those islands its just about a dollar. I am getting tired so I am going to wrap this up. I'm going on another trip, I leave in about 6.5 hours. My dad and I are going to Minnesota, why FOR FUN. So I have a bag full of cameras and lenses and stuff like that. And warm socks, and ski pants, and a coat, and another coat, and two pairs of gloves. I hear its cold up there. Weather online is looking in the 30's and low 40's. Thats for a high. Snow? I hope so. Palm trees? most likely not. So look for an update in a day or two. I am tired, goodnight. Oh, and here is a picture of Joe Dirt aka me on Halloween, enjoy.

Attempt 2

So I pre-wrote my blog entry in word then moved it onto the website and began to put the pictures in and then I closed the window. In the meantime I deleted the original document. Anyways I have safely arrived back in Chuuk about 24 hours ago. I said good bye to Mae on the airplane as she was continuing to Guam then Australia then eventually PNG. As for everyone else I said goodbye to them at the airport while I felt like I was going to cry. I was leaving this huge family who I have done everything with for the past six weeks. I think they even got me sick because I am not feeling the greatest right now. I told them I would return and who knows maybe Ill jump on the flight Sunday and go back. I miss Pohnpei and all the people there very much. Since my past post I have done quite a bunch. I went diving and water skiing again and had a blast with both. I hiked up Sokehs ridge one day with and saw some of the huge guns from WWII and there is the roof of a cell phone tower building you can get on and see the rock from. A great view of part of the island and a nice
short hike as well. The day before I left I went on a bike ride around the small island of Sokehs. It was a good ride except for the dogs that would chase after us and try and bite our feet. As apart of that journey we hiked/climbed up sokehs rock. A very difficult climb where you have to balance on tree roots and use your hands quite a bit. Once you get to the rock there is a pipe which holds old electrical lines for a small tower on top of the mountain. You must use this pipe which is bolted to the rock to assist in climbing the mountain. From the top it is an awesome view of the island and of the ocean with pineapples growing wild too. That evening there was a party to celebrate my last night in Pohnpei. It was a great last day before I had to leave. Now I am here in Chuuk and its so quiet. I have one little cousin here, Morgan but not 9 plus all of their cousins. While I am here in Chuuk I am going to try and get a dive or two in. This is the worlds premier wreck diving location with I believe 40 some wrecks inside the Lagoon. If it is possible I am going to try and dive with the Odyssey which is considered the worlds best live-aboard dive boat. Anyways, so long from Chuuk and Pohnpei I miss you.

Kaselehlia

Although my trip is coming to a close my experiences by far are not. This past weekend I had a great time doing many different things. It started out with a dive at a place called Palikir Rendezvous which had the clearest water I have ever swam in. You could easily see the bottom at 35 feet. The spot was just on the outer side of the reef right before where the waves were. Being so close to the waves was neat because the movement of the waves would rock us back an forth just slightly. I was surprised that there was still that movement 20-30 feet below surface. After that we made our way to the island of Nalap. Nalap is a small resort like island where people go for the day and there are a few little huts where people may spend the weekend. We ate lunch then went out on the boat to have a try a water skiing. First i took a fall on my face, then on my back and then I balanced out my falls and stood up. I was surprised I got up so quickly but it was amazing. I think the ability to snow ski helped me out in this situation. I was able to stand up and stay up every other time I tried as well. Yesterday I had fun trying to to take some pictures driving around the small island of Sokehs trying to get some pictures of Sokehs rock. I have not yet hiked up it but that is on my list of things to do before I leave. It was nice driving around and exploring new places and even having to throw the truck in 4 wheel drive. There are so many nice things about this tropical rain forest but I miss home and I have decided not to extend my trip again. I know I will miss it a lot and the people as well. Thats okay because I can still come back some other time.

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.

I have been making a mental list of the things that I miss and bother me and whatnot and I thought this is a good place to write them down. The radio is a great source of background noise while driving. In the states it is very annoying listening to the radio because you must listen to twice as many commercials to music. Out here on Pohnpei there are not commercials but the music selection truly is a mix. One minute you are listening to some recently released rap song then the next minute its some old country song from the 50's followed by some reggae. It truly is a mixture. Also coffee out here is not the greatest. Sometimes you can get some good coffee but its ruined because there is no cream only coffee mate. I really miss riding my bike as well. What else? Cold weather. What seems strange is tourist season is just beginning out here where in most places it is ending. When it gets cold everywhere else its still hot here. Year round the temperatures stay in the 80's and for me that's not always a good thing. I love the cold weather and when the coldest temperature out here is maybe 75 all I can do is dream of snow. Caroline and Richie left this afternoon to go to Ace Hardware convention things in Chicago and Denver and I told them to bring back some snow. I just had this thought, so if a toilet flushes counter clockwise north of the equator and counterclockwise to the south will a toilet flush if it is placed directly on the equator? I had to buy a watch while I was in Guam. Why? Well back home I just flip open my phone to check the time but I have no phone here. The thing is I don't miss my phone either. The grocery stores are quite different, half of the labels I cant read because they are written in some Asian language. One of the few things from the US are cigarettes and for once I have something in common with a pack of smokes. We are both from NC. Their are maybe 3-4 brands sold out here but I don't see people smoking. Tobacco is one of the things people put in their betelnut and that's why they buy it. Betelnut is much grosser than anyone who dips or chews tobacco. You take a betelnut bite the end off and bite it in half. Then you rip a section of pepper leaf off and pack it inside the nut with crushed up coral or lime. Those are the basic ingredients but then most people also pack some tobacco inside the nut then they pop in in their mouth and chew. Somehow the combination of a green nut, green leaf and white coral makes red. So people spit this red juice and its gross. You can tell people who chew because their teeth are all red and sometimes missing. Its funny on the signs that say no eating no drinking they also say no betelnut. Just one of those cultural things people do here. As for other happenings in Pohnpei mommy cat never came back and I have been milking babies multiple times a day. There are only two which are still alive and I would like at least one of them to survive. Noah had his birthday party along with his first ever sleepover and he had a blast. Lots of people went out to an island yesterday. We maybe had 35 people and returning we went outside the barrier reef and the swells were huge. Surf season is starting up out here and the waves can be 10-15 feet on a normal day this time of year. Again I must think of more things to talk about. See ya later.