Raising the Cecilia

Visitors on Yap would note the abundance of junkyard cars in Colonia. It's eyesore, but not a huge problem. In Micronesia, the wrecks tourist normally come to see are ship wrecks. This past weekend a U.S. Navy ship arrived in Yap to work on the salvage operation of the stranded MV Cecilia. The Cecilia was hit in a typhoon and has been wrecked along Yap's shores. The ship was not accessible to divers, but is an interesting site to those on island.



According to the Yap State website, "The USNS Safeguard brought 17 divers to work on the salvage operation with about 20 crewmen. The current plan of action is basically to refloat the Cecilia by plugging any holes in its hull, empty her of any fuel, and move it to the area designated by Public Works, namely Nungoch. Once beached, the Cecilia’s fate will be determined. The two options available are either to sink the ship for it to become a diving attraction, or to cut up the metal pieces for recycling purposes."

It would be great if the Cecilia could become another great attraction on Yap, but I've heard the ship will be moved closer to shore to be scrapped. Perhaps, the channel is not deep enough for wreck diving, or perhaps another typhoon might smash the wreck into the reef.

This weekend, the expats were invited to take a tour of the Navy ship and what a lovely surprise there was an American-style BBQ!

Weekend Surprise and Getaway

My PCV friend once wrote, "I need a vacation." Her friend promptly replied, "You are on vacation, you live on a tropical island."

I decided to take a break and stay in the bungalows in Maap at Village View. However, before I left my pup (she is under a year old) had her own litter of pups. Tabbie, the troublesome dog that is constantly sick and mangy, had a brood of 4 puppies: 3 girls and 1 boy. All four came out healthy and plump.

After making a little den on the porch area for the new family, I headed out to the village, Village View that is. The hotel is located on the north-east end of the island and offers little duplex bungalows for rent.

I spent Friday relaxing and enjoying the trade winds. I built a coconut husk fire on the beach and cooked up some tasty fish. Saturday, a friend joined me and we went snorkeling in the clear waters. My friend, who I might add is from Yap, caught not one, but three fish using only his bare hands. It was quite impressive and I now know the answer to the the dinner table question, "If you were stranded on an island and could only bring one person, who would you bring?"

I headed back to Tomil and was greeted by a beautiful sunset painted across Colonia's sky. The island seemed to sigh and say, "well, wasn't that nice..."

Day 4: Go Local

My day at the office begins with a cup of authentic Japanese green tea. My colleague, is a Senior JICA (similar to PCV). He teaches a Japanese course at our office twice a week, which I try to attend. I'm so behind in the class, but I do my best to understand. Usually, once a week I attend yoga. My friend Victoria and Matt live in town and a handful of expats and I bring our yoga mats and our shortest shorts for some good old Bryan Kest. Bryan doesn't actually teach the class (ha!), but we have his Power Yoga DVD that we are faithful to. The DVD is full of ridiculous phrases like, "feel your way through this pose," and "It's not what you do, it how you do what you do..." Despite the annoying dialogue, the DVD is a great work out and it's a nice way to treat your body after sitting in an office all day.

After that, I go home to help bbq some freshly caught fish. My favorite is the rabbit fish, because they don't taste as... well, fishy. I season them with some homemade blacken spices my mom shipped from NE. Pair it with some fresh coconut meat and it makes a tasty dinner. I also bought local produce to go along: sweet potatoes. So sweet you can just pop one in your mouth like candy and the color is a vibrant purple. I guess that's what happens when you let nature do her work. I haven't had the best of luck with that lady nature: my garden wilted, withered and died. However, my spinach and chives are still growing strong. Still adding a little green to my local dishes.

Another era in Yap's history?

Latest Development (courtesy of Yap State's website):

Members of the State Leadership were on hand to witness and help officiate the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Yap Council of Pilung and ETG during a ceremony held at the Dining Room of the Yap Pacific Dive Resort at 5:00 pm on Thursday, January 12, 2012. The signing of the MOU by the Honorable Bruno Tharngan, Chairman of the Traditional Council of Pilung and Mr. Deng Hong, Chairman of the Exhibition & Travel Group based at Chengdu city in Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China, signifies the beginning of an investment offer by the ETG.



With the MOU in place, ETG will open an office in Yap where people who owns land could make deal for their land parcels that could be used by ETG for the investment project. The ETG Chairman delivered a remark after he and Chairman Bruno Tharngan signed the MOU last night. During his remark, Chairman Deng told the State Leadership that the signing of the MOU is both special and historical because this will move the proposed investment project forward. He pointed out that this project will bring more benefits and improve the living standards of the people of the State. He said people would benefit from the money they receive under their land lease, employment that company will create and business opportunities for locals.



Chairman Deng also mentioned historical and cultural plans in which the company will build new villages where the local people could conduct business with visitors interested in the culture. The villages will serve as centers for local activities such as local dance performance, carvings, weaving, etc. The ETG plans to build several villages which will be given free to the communities so they could be used for daily activities by the local people. The ETG has a plan to assist the State Government with its education and health development plan. He said the company could donate medical equipments and build facilities for the education system.



Before he concluded his remark, Chairman Deng told the State Leadership that the success of the project will depend on the development and improvement of the infrastructure in Yap especially the International Airport so it could open up for direct flights between Yap the Asian countries including Japan and Korea. In conclusion, the ETG chairman expressed his feeling towards the number of people in Yap infected by the Dengue Fever outbreak and wished for their speedy recovery. He presented a Check in the amount of US$20, 000 to Governor Anefal as donation for medications for the people of the State.


Governor Sebastian Anefal delivered a remark on behalf of Chairman Bruno Tharngan first thanked Chairman Hong, CEO Liu and the rest of the ETG group for taking the time off from their busy schedule to visit and deliberate more with the people in Yap on the project.The Governor also thanked members of the State Leadership who were able to make it to the ceremony and the Honorable Carl Apis, Charge ‘de Affairs of the FSM Embassy in Beijing, People’s Republic of China for his active role for the initiation of the project. Governor began his remark by saying, “I join Chairman Deng in giving full recognition to the very special guests this evening. This moment is one at the same time historic in that the signing as we have witness of the MOU between ETG and the Council of Pilung signifies that we have taken one of the many steps going forward in as far as the ETG project is concerned.” The Governor mentioned that although ETG and Yap State haven’t gone through the process of many papers to be reviewed, signed or approved, the signing of the MOU has given both Yap State and the ETG more anticipation on the project moving forward.


He said the project involves many things that we are not really clear on but as Chairman Deng has described, it is a dream and a dream must start somewhere. Governor Anefal added that we cannot do much on the project without the support and understanding of the FSM national government, which has a very important role to play. He emphasized on the need for the people in the State Government as well as the people of the State to support and fully understand the benefits and other unforeseen impacts that the investment project will bring to the State so we could have control of both. Before concluding his remark, Governor has mentioned that Yap and the FSM still have so many things to undertake before this project could be implemented.


The ETG will deal directly with the Council of Pilung on any issues concerning the implementation of the investment project with Yap State Government as facilitator and network safety. The MOU signing ceremony at the Pacific Divers Resort ended following a dinner reception hosted by the ETG.

If you would like to read more information about the ETG developments in Yap, please visit the following articles:

http://www.samoaobserver.ws/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36735:chinas-hotel-in&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

(article with Samoa government stating what resorts will be built in Yap)

http://bild-art.de/kpress/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1490&Itemid=2

(article from FSM national publication)

http://www.mvguam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=20164:china-eyes-huge-tourism-development-for-yap-&catid=59:frontpagenews

(article from Guam publication)

http://www.yapstategov.org/news.htm

(Yap State Website with news briefs like the one above)

Going for a cruise: Day 3

Want to "talk story" or "go for a cruise?" Two of my favorite past times on Yap are simply just hanging out with friends. In the past, going for cruises has been challenging with a sedan and a muddy, unpaved road. However, I feel fortunate to have a new vehicle (selling the old one). Dun-da-dun: Toyota Land Cruiser. I feel like the anti-Peace Corps woman, driving a diesel-fueled SUV. Ironically, the Land Cruiser is the former Peace Corps car. Imagine that!

Hanging out with friends and cooking are what most nights consist of. I am on a no-meat diet (accept for eggs & milk) so I'm pretty limited on what I can cook. However that doesn't stop my family from cooking yummy local meals. I contribute side dishes; stir-fried sweet potatoes with fresh basil, pumpkin pie and veggie soup. I'm really big on deserts, always have been. This holiday season I have baked a total of: 6 pumpkin pies, four trays of brownies and four batches of cookies. I refuse to cook turkey, so I suppose this makes up for it.





(above: local pork & local ngoor or pineapple)

When we sit to eat dinner, the animals usually gather around. Orkie, the dog is the polite one and sits, wagging her tail. Tabbie, the dog, is disruptive and bullies the older, bigger dogs out of any scraps you throw. Max the cat and his brother, Stuken, bat at your hands with their claws, trying to grab the food you are about to put in your mouth.

Day 2

Tuesday: The sun had been getting up later recently. I don't use an alarm clock, so the rays of morning light that usually wake me up are no longer present. I wake up at least 15 minutes late every day. The topic of time is something Americans must adjust to when living in Micronesia. If someone says 4:00, they really mean that you start thinking about leaving your house around 4:00. If you have to make a few stops on your way, no worries-island time!

My day begins with a fresh coconut cut the night before. I sip the electrolyte infused water and make my way to work. Today I'm working on a grant for a trail project. The trail, on the west end of the island, is an ancient stone path that locals use to access their gardens and taro patches. Visitors and us 'wech' folks like to use the trail for recreations and site-seeing. The Tamilyog trail has been awarded a grant from the generous government of Australia. However, the grant stipulates there must be local funding as well. I have nearly completed the grant and spend the entire day trying to track head of departments to sign off on the grant. No one is to be found.

After work, I go with a friend to visit a shaman. The shaman, Jon, is from the outer islands, Woleai to be exact. He was taught by his uncle the way of massage. His technique is used to reset bones, reduce swelling, diagnosis and cure injuries. Using coconut oil, he massages a fractured wrist. He can tell the person massaging before him, wasn't pressing hard enough. He recommends daily massage sessions. He speaks English freely and talks about his day. He is an uncle, a father and a grandfather. He won't accept money; that would be against the cultural laws. His abilities cannot be used for personal gain. I walk back to the car, with a few extra mosquito bites, but a deeper understanding of Yap's complex and profound culture.

Singapore Luxury Yacht Visits Yap

In December, a luxury yacht from Singapore sailed to Yap. Activities included: diving in Yap's manta ray waters, hiking, local dances and a local feast. Most events took place at the Living History Museum, as it doubles for a cruise ship Welcome Center.

A week in my life on Yap: Day 1

Monday: I scurry out of bed and after washing my face and brushing my teeth, sans makeup, I drive the 40 minute trek to work. The reason it takes 40 minutes to drive to Colonia is because the condition of the road. Affectionately referred to as the "holey road," you must drive at a snails pace to prevent your car from bottoming out in the treacherous pot holes. To save my car's suspension I must swerve around the potholes and when I can't do that I must drive a snail's pace to save my suspension. I work at YVB which stands for Yap Visitors Bureau. I spend much of my time answering e-mails and planning events for the cruise ships and tourism activities. The other side of my job, which involves the museum, is writing grants and creating museum activities as well as policy. Many days the internet is down. The office will go for weeks with no problem, but then all of a sudden-the connection has been lost.

I take my frustration out after work at the Sports Complex, located on the north side of the island. When it's raining I lift weights and jump rope in the weight room. If it's sunny, I run around the track. After working out, I head home and cook up a tasty veggie meal.