An introduction

I live on the Micronesian island of Pohnpei in the Pacific Ocean. Pohnpei is a lush tropical island with rugged mountains and surrounded by coral reef. It is what an island paradise is supposed to look like. I moved here from Baltimore a year ago to teach at the College of Micronesia.

Not only did I want to see what it's like to live in another country, and particularly on a small island, it also seemed like a good time to get out of the USA. It felt as if the country was being divided by its leadership and it was heartbreaking to witness. Although I don't normally advocate running away from problems, I needed a break to energize myself again.

Okay, so what have I done since I've been here? The normal stuff, of course: hiking, snorkeling, kareoke, biking, running, etc. But I also wrote a little musical about my experienced here called "Welcome to Micronesia!" I wrote the music and lyrics and a friend/colleague of mine wrote the spoken text. We did a staged reading of it a few weeks ago and hope to further develop it in the coming months. We are in the process of recording a CD of it, too! Hopefully it will be done by next summer, because we hope to mount it in Baltimore. We'll see where this journey takes us!