25 Things About Living in Micronesia

1. You know when you feel an itch on your arm or leg, and you look first because you swear it feels like a bug crawling on you, but it never is? Well here, it ALWAYS is.

2. The Dishtowel has many uses, including, but not limited to: a hat, a headband, a hair tie, a scarf, a whip for when your kids misbehave, a sweat wiper, a rain catcher, a wiper-offer, a hat (just folded nicely on top of the head).

3. If you are wearing glasses and walk outside from an air conditioned room the glasses will fog up.

4. Even if you can't see the mold, if you smell it, it is there.

5. There are 'Plenty' words in the English vocabulary of Micronesians, but Plenty and Maybe seem to be two favorites.

6. It does not get cold here. Ever.

7. You must shake the salt before you buy it to make sure it's not rock solid. Then keep it in the freezer so it doesn't turn rock solid once you open it.

8. If you don't want your gum to melt, keep it in the fridge.

9. Geckos don't just drop their poop from the ceiling, they pee also. Be careful where you sit and make sure to look up periodically.

10. "You would think they would..." about a lot of things. But they don't. The thing is to not let it drive you crazy!

11. The speed limit is 20 mph. Around the whole island. That is very slow.

12. Everything is SLOW here - think of living in one of those Corona commercials: hammock, drink, ocean view - no one is in any hurry.

13. The Micronesian children are absolutely gorgeous but would never know it.

14. The rate of Diabetes is really high here, partly because Micronesians eat a lot of white rice, ramen and kool-aid, and even though they walk a lot, they usually walk so slow that it doesn't really count as exercise!

15. I want to improve the lives of everyone here, but the people don't really see any reason to think they need improving. They are happy.

16. Dogs. Lots of dogs. Not many of the females get spayed so they end up having so many litters that their nipples hang down to the ground. It is really sad to see.

17. The rat tail hairstyle is very popular here with the boys.

18. When you rent a movie here you never know what to expect. There might actually be heads in the way of your view or someone eating popcorn in the row in front of you.

19. Four-year-old boys know how to use a machete.

20. No one is taught to look both ways before crossing the street - it's up to the driver to watch for them. And there are no sidewalks so people are always walking in the street.

21. When the locals drink Sakau they drive about 5 mph. It has the calming effects of kava and looks like mud in a bottle.

22. The power goes out several times a week but usually only for about a half hour. The longest it's been out since we've been here was 2 1/2 hours which is the night we ate ice cream for dinner - we didn't want it to melt and go to waste!

23. Deli meat - we miss you. We saw a small package of ham deli meat recently for $26. We didn't get it. And cheese has a hefty price as well.

24. Minimum wage is $1.35 an hour. I currently make much more than this but still less than the min wage in CA. Matt and several other ex-pat attorneys make more than the president of the FSM.

25. The ocean is warm, the starfish are electric blue, and the coral is amazing. The sunsets are unbeatable and the rain storms are loud and welcomed. Nothing beats the cool breeze right before and during the rain. We love it here on our jungle island!