Filed at 11:34 pm under Travel and Cultural by glennstu
Day 7 – Christmas Morning
I slept relatively late this morning and had a breakfast of homemade bread and cereal bars. I never did figure out how they made the bread here. I did not see any ovens. I asked once and was simply told they baked them in a Marshallese oven but received no description of said oven. Church would start at 10. I kept most of my clothes at the main house and only took my carry on bag down to my house each night. Belenty told me I couldn’t wear a tank top past the church that was between the two homes. Nor could I wear my bathing suit. It would not have been proper by their standards. So I added a pair of shorts over top and a T-shirt as well. … Read more »
Filed at 11:04 pm under Travel and Cultural by glennstu
Day 5 – A Funeral and a Party
The night before Belenty told me the guys would go fishing at 4 or 5 am to get more fish for the party. This was far too early for me so I did not plan to go. At 7 Asheran came by my house to tell me they were ready to go. I’d left my sun block and swimsuit at Belenty’s house about a quarter mile away so I declined, as I did not want to hold them up. Instead I slept in and took it easy. … Read more »
Filed at 11:49 pm under Travel and Cultural by glennstu
Day 3 – A Sunday of Light and Darkness
Sunday morning in the Marshall’s is a time where everyone puts on their best clothes and goes to church. The little girls look quite pretty in their fluffy dresses. Mom puts on her best muumuu and Dad wears long trousers. I brought some jeans and a nice shirt for the occasion.… Read more »
Filed at 11:35 am under Travel and Cultural by glennstu
Most of this was written sitting in a hammock on beautiful Airok (pronounced eye-rick). I copied it later onto my computer. Prior to leaving Belenty inspected my suitcase and told me I was taking too much water and should replace my water bottles with rice. She explained that they had a large garbage can where they collected water in and I would not need the water bottles. I took out one of the packages of rice and added more water bottles.
Day 1 – The trip here
Air Marshall Islands is the only airline that services Ailinglaplap. When I made the reservations they would not accept a credit card but wanted cash or a personal check. They also had to call down to Majuro to find out if there was room and would let me know the next day if I could go…. Read more »
Filed at 1:17 pm under Cultural by glennstu
A Marshallese Wedding and Stick Dance
Originally published in the Spring of 2004
Last week some of my Marshallese friends dropped by my apartment to talk story and happened to mention that the residents of Roi-Namur had been invited to a wedding on Enniburr (3rd Island,
Santos).
The bride to be was the daughter of my friend Larry who had passed away about a month ago (Larry not the bride). Larry was a friend to everyone he met here.
I had not been to a wedding here yet and wished to honor Larry’s memory so I decided to make the trip over.
… Read more »
Filed at 12:41 pm under Diving and Cultural by glennstu
This article was originally written in February of 2002.
The Circus, Headcount and Holidays
Last weekend was the final days of the Circus of the Pacific’s stay on Ebeye, another island on the atoll located close to Kwajalein. That is where most of the Marshall Islanders live. Just as Portland is known as the City of Roses and St. Louis is known as the Gateway to the West, Ebeye is known as the Ghetto of the Pacific. There are about 10,000 people living on an island smaller than Roi-Namur. The circus was quite enjoyable. What I remember most is the Amazing Miss Ann from the Republic of
Vietnam.
… Read more »
