A Pohnpeian Christmas

How to describe Christmas in the tropics?  First I would say that the Christmas spirit is definitely here.   The usual trappings, Christmas lights and tinsel decorations, are here too, but my favorite things are missing…no snow, fresh Christmas trees with that balsam smell, and kids with rosy cheeks from playing in the cold.

That being said, we are making the most of what Pohnpei does have to offer…very generous and friendly people who are kind enough to include us in some of the holiday festivities.  Just this afternoon I passed a high school girl on my way to the post office.  I said hello and she returned the greeting with Merry Christmas.  Nice.

We have attended some gathering this week at several Kolonia Town Schools.  On Tuesday we went to the Christmas Program for one of the elementary schools.  Imagine a gymnasium filled with excited kids from pre-school to 8^th grade!  It started off fairly quietly with Christmas songs from each grade level…some in English and some in Pohnpeian.  We wonder about their understanding of Jingle Bells…what is snow and a one-horse open sleigh?  The older students danced, which was quite a treat.  Then things got pretty wild when the 8^th graders threw candy to the crowd…it was pretty much over at that point.  But what fun everyone had, and we were glad to have been a part of it.

Kolonia Elementary School held its program at the neighboring College of Micronesia gymnasium.

The littlest participants

The coolest participants

On Thursday the staff at PICS High School had their Christmas luncheon.  We were “special” guests and asked to sit at the front table.  The food was plentiful (as it always is) and we were served large plates of Pohnpeian delicacies like tapioca, breadfruit, sashimi, and yams.  It was amazing how quickly the food disappeared.  Most of it was packed away by the teachers to take home to their families.

The dancing social studies department

Somehow, all that food disappeared!

Peace Corps folks are always considered guests of honor, whether we want the distinction or not.  As such, we were served with a full plate.

Friday morning was PICS student Christmas parties.  We were invited to a 9^th grade party.  Tosh, one of our favorite teachers (he often stops by our office to chat and to cool off with our air conditioning), was in charge.  The kids were just like any 9^th graders…into their friends and eating chips and cookies.  Tosh’s 4 year-old daughter was there too, and she had a great time playing and eating.  (By the way, Roger and I visited one of Tosh’s classes a couple of weeks ago to watch a lesson.  He introduced haiku poetry writing.  We were very happy to see the students’ poems posted on the wall in the classroom today.  Some of them were very good).

Teacher "Tosh" and his daughter

Last night, Christmas Eve, we were invited to a family gathering, hosted by Chief Panuelo’s wife’s family.  Chief Panuelo is our Peace Corps liaison at the Pohnpei Department of Education.  As we have mentioned before, planning is not big here.  Chief mentioned this party several weeks ago, then we did not hear any more until last night at 6:15 p.m. when he called to say he would pick us up at 7.  Despite the short notice, we are glad we attended.  There was ceremony (paying respect to tribal “royalty”), tons of food (including four whole roasted pigs), gifts for everyone (the tradition was that you had to dance up to the gift-giver to accept your gift), and lots of friendship and Christmas cheer.

The host family--Mom, Dad, six sons and two daughters

There were four of these guys!

Four or five guys took off their shirts and grabbed the machetes to carve up the pork.

This little guy couldn't wait.

Dancing for your gift

All in all, being away from family and friends at Christmas is a bummer, but the people of Pohnpei, with their kindness and friendship, have certainly made it easier.