Weekend on Kosrae

Saturday afternoon I went out hiking with two of the local Peace Corps volunteers. We went up the "mountain" on Lelu Island and explored the caves that the Japanese dug in preparation for Allied attack during World War Two.

When we got back down, we were going to explore the Lelu Ruins (similar to Nan Madol), but it was raining too hard, so we went to the Tree Lodge and ate fish burgers instead.

Sunday I went to church in Tafunsak. That is the nearest church to my house, and I wasn't sure if bicycle riding is allowed on Sunday, so I walked there. Forty-five minutes.

Tafunsak church was where I spend Christmas 16 or 17 years ago. Those painful pews were a reminder of the 8 hours I spent in there listening to choir after choir.

Yesterday they had a guest choir from Utwe. I got a kick out of them. It is as if the sopranos want to show off by singing as high as they can. Before the song begins, they hum the first phrase at a stratispheric pitch. Then they stop and do it even higher! Then the song begins and there is no way they can maintain such a high key, so the key descends until by the second verse they are singing at a comfortable level.

But it is beautiful music, no denying that. Always such a powerful sound.