Laura Beach

We heard about a beautiful beach at the top of the island called, Laura Beach. Some missionaries brought in beach sand to cover the coral and built picnic pavilions to make this beach really nice. The beach is also on the lagoon side so the water is calmer. We took a one hour taxi ride out there today and had a great picnic and swim time. This was Kyra's second time in the ocean. Kyra is not afraid of the water. She got right in and sat down. Then she started filling her bucket with water and pouring it over her head. She also wanted to swim with nothing on. It is common for children to swim that way here. I made her keep her diaper on. Didn't want start anything crazy since we wear suits in the U.S! We walked to a local shop for a soda. Notice the sun tea? I thought it was tea at first, and was confused why there was funnel. Then I realized it was gas! This is common out towards the tip of the island since there are not many gas stations here.

 

Television in the Marshall Islands

We do have a television here with about 20 channels, yet only about 5 work for us since the rest are in different languages. I do like settling down each evening to National Geographic unless the special is on shark attacks. It makes me nervous since I am surrounded by the ocean. This pic is what the TV says often. It puts the show on pause for about a hour so we don't watch too much TV, which is fine. 

Free Boat Trip?

Our friend, Jeff, at the U.S Embassy gave us an address of a home to go to today at 12:30 pm. He said, they give free boat rides to the nearby island of Arno on Sundays, which is a one hour trip. He said, just show up and bring a bag of chips for the buffet table on the boat. So, I made homemade brownies, bought 2 bags of chips and packed all our swimming gear for a great day at the beach. We showed up at the home, and a small group was there ready to get on the boat. A man asked who we were. We told him and said, Jeff from the Embassy told us about the trip and we were excited to join. He informed us we were not invited and you have to be invited by him. We said, oh okay and quietly left. We were bummed and tried to think of something else to do but everything is closed here on Sunday. So, we did a lot of reading, painting, play dough and playing games. Jeff at the Embassy owes us a pizza!!

Sister Fun!

When we skype with Jinnae, Kyra laughs at everything Jinnae says and does. Today she was blowing kisses to her. These two are going to have so much fun together. Can't wait for them to meet in person. Jinnae we love you so much and hope to be home next Saturday! Now you have a real sister to put in the car seat next to you. 

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Airport Shops Visit

We took a taxi to the airport to check out some shops there. We didn't realize the shops closed a half hour after the few weekly flights come in. We got there at noon at that was too late. So, we decided to have lunch at the airport since we were there. There is one snack shop and one restaurant. Much different than our American airports. Kyra and I had fish. It was so delicious. It tasted very fresh. Not sure what kind of ocean fish it was. The fish was supposed to come with fries but they were out of fries, so we got rice. Rick ordered and enjoyed tuna steak. Then we enjoyed some ice-cream (there was only one flavor in the freezer - chocolate) we took some pics, and headed back to the apartment. That was our exciting outing today! We are taking a boat ride to the outer island of Arno tomorrow.

What Is Lake Michigan?

On our way back from the factory, we had a new taxi driver. He asked where we were from. We told him about the state of Michigan and Lake Michigan. He said,"it must be a small lake". We said, "actually it is 118 miles across, and 300 miles long." (Rick remembered this information :)) He said, "Wow, that is much bigger than this entire island!" We said, "yes it is and we love it!" He said, "what do you like about it, what good is it, do you just swim in it?" We said," we swim, and fish, and drink the fresh water." He said, "how do you drink it?" We explained about water plants and how we drink the water from our faucets. He said, "I would like to visit Michigan someday!" We are enjoying meeting new people and learning so much about the culture here. We plan on bringing Kyra back here to visit when she is older. We are planning a China trip for Jinnae too. It is important to us to keep our daughters heritage/culture with them.

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Coconut Plant

We had fun touring the Tobolar Copra Factory today. They process the meat (copra) from coconuts into soaps, body oil and feed for animals. It was interesting to learn about. When we told our taxi driver to take us to the coconut plant everyone in the taxi laughed. They said, "what is coconut?" We said, "coconuts are those fruits that grow on the trees." Then they really laughed and said, "it is called "nie" (pronounced knee)." The locals have fun making fun of us. We don't mind. 

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Say Cheese!

Rick and I have had pink eye for the last five days and have been using Kyra's medicine since she is better now. We decided we better go to the clinic today and get checked out and a new prescription. The appointment took three hours and costs $40.00 with the meds so hopefully we heal quickly.
I taught Kyra to say cheese for pictures and they were not turning out well. Rick said tell her to say whiskey. Now the smile is much better!

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Taxi Ride

To rent a car here is $79.00 a day so we get around by walking or by taxi. The taxi only costs one dollar a person and Kyra is free if she is on my lap. There are no seatbelts, car seats, etc. You just get in and go. Some children even ride standing up like the boy in the picture. One time we were in a minivan taxi with twelve people crammed in. You get used to be squeezed next to others. 

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Food and Rain Water

It is hard to find fresh fruit here. We did manage to find some bananas though. We thought ice-cream might be a nice treat until we saw the price. Prices are high here on groceries since mostly everything is shipped in.
Notice the big tank on top of our apartment building? That collects rain water and the water warms up in the sun. That water then is used in my sink and shower. No need for hot water heaters. I think that is neat.
Kyra enjoys brushing her teeth which is good! 

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Rick in the Pacific Ocean

Rick: I am going swimming in the ocean.
Vicki: Okay, but don't go in those nine foot waves, I noticed the locals don't, so it must be dangerous.
The picture is Rick going in the nine foot waves.
He came in all scrapped up and bleeding.
Vicki: What happened?!
Rick: The waves are fun but they pound you on the coral bottom which cuts you up. I don't recommend body surfing here.
The pic of Kyra is her thinking - you should have listened to mom!

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Leaves

Raking leaves is one of my least favorite things to do. I am glad the leaves are not this big in Michigan!

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Dreary Day!

It was a dreary, rainy day here today. The waves were crashing in pretty hard. I was a little nervous since we are only two feet above sea level! Kyra and I spent a lot of time looking out the window at what was happening. I was glad to know from the local Marshallese that typhoons are rare here. When the storm ended this evening there was a beautiful sunset. 

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What Is It Like in the Marshall Islands?

Many have asked me, what is it like in the Marshall Islands? The Marshallese people are very friendly. The men wear long shorts or pants and t-shirts. The women wear long dresses with sleeves. Women do not wear shorts or tank tops here. It is very hot! It feels like 102 degrees each day with the humidity. It cools down in the evening to about 85 degrees. I am getting used to the heat. Most public buildings and homes are not air conditioned. We are fortunate to have air at our lawyer's home. There is no fast food like McDonalds, Burger King, Arby's, etc. All the restaurants are sit down except for a roadside barbeque stand. We did order some food from the grocery store deli and they had a few booths so we sat down to eat. Kyra loves eating "bouw" which is chicken. She was excited the deli had chicken nuggets. I enjoyed a soy bean cheeseburger. Rick had pizza. There is no Meijers, Wal-mart, etc. You go to separate stores for what you need. Some stores don't have signs. You just walk in and see what they are selling. The pictures are examples of some of the restaurants and store fronts.

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Who Did That?!

I often say, "Who did that?" and put my hands out especially when there are toys all over or food on the floor. Today when I was doing Kyra's hair she threw the pony tail holder and barrette on the floor. Then she looked at Rick and put her hands out and said in Marhallese "Who did that?!"

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More First Experiences

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   Kyra is two years old yet has not had many of the experiences and opportunities that American children have. Here are her first times playing with play dough, doing Bubble Pop on the tablet and what could be more fun than going around singing in a paper towel tube. She continues to get more comfortable with us each day and brings us so much joy! (4 photos)

   

   

   

   

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