A Merman in Pohnpei: 55: An Ode to my Coworkers

Sunday, July 5, 2015

55: An Ode to my Coworkers

I think it’s about time I explained how much I love my coworkers. I have yet to figure out some of their titles (shame on me), but here goes:

Kesdy/Sihp: my supervisor, and MPA coordinator. He rolls his “r” like nobody else, always stands up and paces around when he’s thinking, and prefers to let his tummy breathe at any chance he gets (either lifting the Tshirt in the front, or just go shirtless).

Eugene/Director/Soused: head of CSP. I have never caught him without a bettle nut in his mouth. He is the master mumbler and the most laid-back-yet-badass boss I have ever met.

Selino: marine program, he does lots of data collection. He always wears a cap, but takes it on and off when he’s thinking hard. A soft spoken and seemingly introverted guy, but one-on-one he is super chatty. Hence the Selino Says Series.

Kirino: our captain and navigator. Does he have a desk? I don’t know, he’s always moving. Super cheerful, and possibly the oldest member of the gang.

Francisca/Ponno: terrestrial program. Her laughter is the BEST in the office. She is also the one who makes sure I know when there’s common-area food to share.

Relio: plant identification and tour guide. Also always wears a cap (backwards), and carries a curious little pouch wherever he goes (ok, there’s bettle nut in there, but what else?) He has the most beaming eyes and smile I’ve ever seen, and always jumps in and out of the cubicles.

Valerie: Admin. Her English is flawless, as are her baseball skills (she became my mentor).

Bejay: Invasive species. The most muscular Pohnpeian I’ve met so far. To give you an idea how fierce he is at his job: he managed to eradicate pigeons (invasive) everywhere on the island except for U. That’s because pigeons carry diseases and like to s(h)it on roofs, where people collect their drinking water from. He is also (and I quote:) “fluent” in honorific Pohnpeian and an expert in traditional customs, so he leads most of the sakau ceremonies at community meetings, and is the CSP representative to the council of paramount chiefs.

Mary-Linda/Pohpo: Policy. She has a golden tooth and a twinkling smile that can only be described as cheeky. At the all staff meeting, it was clear that she has seen it all, and knows how to whip the people at CSP into shape for our annual board meeting.

Andrew: Education. Also flawless English, looks grumpy at first, but is super friendly. His choice of words is careful and deliberate, as is his swing with the baseball bat. If it’s not worth it to take a swing, he knows it and doesn’t.

Jason: Deputy Director (which means he writes grants). Somewhat loud and culturally clumsy, but very good hearted guy from Seattle, who did most of his work in the Ukraine (and then shit went down there).

Angel: Education. Every since he found out I speak a little Mortlockese, he always greets me in Mortlockese and cracks up. He is also the mascot-coordinator, meaning he explained to people during the July 4 celebration what the interns in the fish and bird costumes were doing and why it is important.

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POHNPEI TIAHK (POHNPEI CULTURE)

30 Rice: The rice shortage on the island right now (bad weather = no cargo ship) has led to many rice-conversations. Apparently rice is more important for Pohnpeians than bread is for Germans, perhaps even more important than meat. No, that has not historically been the case, and no, it does not grow here.
29 Driving: Pohnpeians drive so well! Appropriately slow (read: pot holes), always use their turn signals, yield to pedestrians, etc.
28 Rain: I have never experienced rain like this. The rain (and subsequent waterfall-like stream that formed next to our hose) was so loud last night and today, I could not hear my alarm in the morning, nor the sizzling of the pan that signals Julius-get-your-ass-out-of-bed-it’s-breakfast time. And our roof isn’t tin, it’s concrete. Still. Raindrops on banana leaves, people, it’s SO soothing.
27 Buddhism: Somehow with my host dad’s accent, this word sounds exactly like “pollution.” That was a tiny bit confusing, in addition to the fact that it turns out he actually meant Muslims, not Buddhists, but that’s another story.
26 Suicide Rate: I just learned yesterday from Tony that FSM, and Chuuk state in particular has had an astronomically high suicide rate since the 70s. To put it in perspective, Japan’s suicide rate is 20-30 per 100,000 (depending on what statistic). The country FSM is 27, Chuuk state (neighboring Pohnpei state) is 40, and Chuuk males 15-25 years old is 250 per 100,000 (and there are only about 50,000 people living in Chuuk).
25 Mortlockese Vowels: Lots of them actually sound like the German ö, ä, ü – score!
24 Pohnpeian Alphabet: Has 16 letters and four digraphs in the following order: a, e, i, o, u, oa, k, l, m, mw, n, ng, p, pw, r, s, t, d, w. H is only used to make vowels long, g is only used in combination (ng), and t is actually pronounced like the english “ch”
23 Sounds that do not exist in Pohnpeian: F, J (as in German), H, V, B, T.
22 Voice Level: almost everyone usually talks with low voices. However, exceptions include: when my host family talks to Jayheart, my host sister Tarla most of the time, and telecommunication. That means yelling to your neighbors, either straight from your porch of out of your car as you pass by. That doesn’t always work flawlessly, so often Pahpa responds with a loud “AAAAAA?” which cracks me up.
21 Mold: don’t use something for about a week, and mold will start to grow on it (bags, clothes, books). Lesson learned.
20 Arwen: Pronunciation Fun Part II – So for the longest time I thought his name was Arwen (pronounced elvish like Elrond says it), but now I’m pretty sure it’s Marwin. I proceeded to have a dream about Arwen killing the Mouth of Sauron in a never-seen-before extended scene. I wish. Eowyn was also in my dream. *sigh*
19 Moisturizer: Why did I bring it? Perhaps the most unnecessary thing in my suitcase followed by my old flip phone that only takes AT&T sim cards (I forgot about that).
18 Power Outage: happens a lot, probably ever 4-5 days or so. Our CSP wifi router has a backup battery though. Score.
17 Donuts: Pohnpeian pronunciation: donas. Often without any sugar/glazing, so it’s just a little sweet, but freshly made very delicious.
16 Sashimi: pronounced more like sesame here. I’m gathering they call everything raw sashimi. When I asked a lady at the market if these were cooking bananas or good for eating just like that, she said “yeah, you can eat these sashimi.” I love it.
15 Spam: (@ my German friends: it’s a type of processed canned meat). I saw Spam pretending to be a piece of nigiri sushi at the market yesterday. Take a rectangular chunk of rice, put Spam on it, wrap a seaweed leaf around it. Voila.
14 hairdos: especially for men, they’re extremely creative! Lots of interesting patterns shaved/buzzed on the backs of peoples heads, or long but thin braided strands of hair (pretty much exactly like a jedi padawan), also dying it blonde…
13 Taro: if seasoned well, absolutely delicious! Cleaning it off your hands however, is about as difficult as removing rye sourdough when I make bread.
12 Spitting and driving: people open their car doors mid-drive to spit bettle nut.
11 Gender: Kesdy says men rule and women make the decisions. I talked to two very influential Pohnpeian women at a workshop today and had built up enough of a relationship to gently ask some gender questions, and as expected, gender politics are much more nuanced than just patriarchy. That being said, I am clearly benefiting from male privilege here.
10 Spitting: Everyone does it, all the time. Spiting out bettle nut juice, or after taking a sip of sakau, or just because. And they’re really good/precise at it. I am not, so I’m not going to try.
09 Mosquitoes: There are a lot fewer of them then I’d expect. That being said, a Mosquito SWAT team somehow found its way into my room last night. Through the closed window? Sneaky little hobbitses, but I’ll get you my pretties, and your little dogs, too.
08 Island Time: Nobody is punctual, but everyone still manages to be on time. Example: Kesdy said he’d pick me up between 11 and 12. He picked me up at 4. Willy said we’d come at just the right time.
07 U: The municipality with the shortest name in the world. Apparently Willy’s father shortened it from Uh so it would get into the Guinness Book of World Records. Success.
06 Mirrors: Pahpa does not like mirrors, so there are no mirrors in the house (also not the office). Trimming my beard? Postponed indefinitely.
05 Driving on the Right Side: Almost all of the cars are Japanese/for the Japanese market, so the steering wheel is on the right hand side. But they drive on the right side of the road. That should be weird, but considering everything that’s different here, I barely notice it.
04 Seat Belts: Kesdy says it’s not appropriate to wear seat belts on the island.
03 Nahs: The name for the community gathering house (though more of a roof with very open walls). Mother’s Day celebration, sakau ceremony, community meetings, everything takes place in a nahs. Lots of houses have them on their property, or they’re next to stores, attached to sakau bars etc.
02 Meninrahn: the only poisonous animal on Pohnpei. Yay! It’s a very large centipede with a very nasty stinging bite O.O not lethal though, according to my co-worker Kesdy.
01 Bettlenut: Most of my coworkers chew it with lime powder (lime as in limestone) – think chewing tobacco, except it looks like an acorn and grows on a palm tree. Selimo says his dentist hates him.