We've arrived in Pohnpei!

A coconut juice Cheers!

We left Honolulu airport last Monday at 6:55 am, and about 5 hours later, arrived in Majuro on Tuesday morning. It was strange to hear the pilot announce upon arrival in Majuro Attoll (the capital of the Marshall Islands) that it was Tuesday, not Monday! Here is the island from the air - it was very thin and looked kinda like the shape of a big horseshoe.We stepped off the plane in Majuro because our half of the plane had to deboard for a mandatory security inspection. The second you step out of the airplane you feel a warm, humid rush of air hit you.

The airport and gate where we waited in Majuro for our next flight to Kwajalein, Kosrae then Pohnpei is tiny. Inside the gate, there was a sign that prohibited spitting betel nut on the ground or walls. Beetle nut is like tobacco but it's red and makes their teeth look like they're bleeding

Pohnpei from the air

view from the plane of the island - see our little runway there in the middle?
Pohnpei has amazing landscape and colors. We were so excited to land here and get our first real look at this place we'll call home for the next year!

our plane

After about a total of 15 hours in flight (including to Hawaii) we arrived on Pohnpei. We are very excited to be here! It is HOT and humid, and when it rains it feels great!

This is our first hotel room at the Cliff Rainbow Hotel. The A/C was awesome and so cold! We've seen quite a few Americans and Australians - most are either with the Peace Corps or World Teach. And we see people all over town that we recognize from hotels and banks and such - it'd s pretty small community

Matt thought he saw a sign in town about a 5K run that started at 7am, and we didn't get out of the hotel till about 8 but we still went. It was at the highschool and went around town, and we got T-shirts that say Pohnpei 2008. They were also planting cinnamon and citrus trees at the school (as if they don't have enough trees on this island!) It was hosted by World Teach. At the end of the race they had coconuts to drink and bananas to eat. So we shared a coconut juice and then Matt got it open and we ate some of the insides. We learned that it's not milk unless the insides are squeezed out, otherwise it's just juice. Fresh coconut juice out of the coconut here is cheaper than bottled water!

After church we went to dinner at the Sr. missionaries apt. We had spaghetti and ice cream! Matt was VERY happy about the ice cream. Church was almost ALL in Pohnpeian, but we got together with the other americans for sunday school. Most everybody can speak english but they usually speak to each other in Pohnpeian.

This is at the Orchid Resturaunt which is at the Ocean View hotel. We sat at the outside bar facing the ocean and it was beautiful. The pictures do not do it justice!

The view from the Ocean View Hotel where we stayed for 5 days. However, we did not have an Ocean View room because they were all full. This is the view from the top of the stairs to get to our room, on the other side of the hallway. The A/C at this place was not great, but slowly we are getting a little more accustomed to the weather.

The view from our current hotel - The Village. They are famous for their Prime Rib Wednesdays which is where we are going to dinner tomorrow!

Lunch at the village - those were the chairs we sat in in our own private hut! We sat there for breakfast this morning tooour hotel rm at the Village - Beautiful view in the daytime, feels a bit like camping at night - mosquito nets and complimentary bug spray!?! And the roosters wake you up at the crack of dawn! We can't see them but they are near... and no A/C of course! It's an eco-friendly hotel. Gorgeous and the food is good, but Matt needs his A/C!

We found a house that we are going to rent and we move in on Friday, so I'll have more pics coming soon! The house has A/C in the master bedroom so we should be OK!