If They Can Put a Man on the Moon...

Yesterday evening I was sitting with Rohaizad on the patio of our house. The full moon spread a bright path across Sokehs Bay and sifted through the palm leaves onto our front yard. The steady breeze across the water and our puppy, Wanda, resting on my lap made the evening as perfect as a human could imagine.

Nevertheless we were lamenting and discussing the frustrations of working and teaching here. It is such a beautiful corner of the world and filled with such wonderful people, but nothing ever gets done! The government can't fill a pothole, tourists are neglected, culture is dying away, etc. Sometimes it seems like only expats make an effort to make a change.

And yet, the Pohnpeians at one point in time worked together to build the amazing city of Nan Madol! Granted, this was more than five hundred years ago and the island was ruled by Saudeleurs, but it got done. What changed between then and now? Did the end of the Saudeleur's reign spell the end of such feats? Did the foreign ships distract people from such long-term projects?

Perhaps the problem is with me; that I am colored by my western attitude. Maybe poluting the land, water and air isn't so bad. Perhaps hypocritical Christianity is an improvement over thousands of years of culture. Maybe beer and cigarettes will earn respect and impart happiness to Micronesians.

I don't have any answers. But it did make me think that, as much as I love this place for it's people and natural beauty, I don't want to invest my life into it if the locals aren't even willing to make the tough sacrifices for the long-term good.

They can build Nan Madol, but they can't outlaw plastic bags. Sigh.