April 7: No real news today. Yesterday was the Arnoan Irooj's (pronounced ear raj; island chief) birthday, and he was not to be disturbed, so we do not know if we can meet him or not yet and he is the one with primary say and info on the new school on his atoll. It rained heavily most of the day today so I only ventured outside for about three hours in the middle of the day. It is raining as I write. Which is really a good thing. I think I mentioned water rationing a couple days ago and that is off for the time being. It is an interesting thing to watch: my room faces east northeast and I can see the clouds coming in. Even though the land here barely gets above sea level more than about 30 feet, the clouds seem to wait until they are over land to dump most of their liquid cargo. And it comes down in torrents. It pours off the sheet metal roofs and creates instant puddles all over the place. It also has kept the temperature down with a high today of 87 degrees, which is much easier to deal with, although I do feel I'm acclimating some. Another amusing thing I have seen is that laundry gets dried on a line outside, but no one bothers to bring in the laundry before another rain shower hits. They will just leave it there until they need it I guess. I borrowed a cell phone from the SDA school and got a new sim card for it, but hopefully I can find out from Verizon tomorrow why my phone wasn't working. This evening I got a pizza at the Flametree (recommended as one of the best pizzas on the island). They prefer the thin crust style here and it was pretty good, but it was huge for one person - $10 for the equivalent to a large Tomatina's pie although not THAT good and now I'm sure I will not need to eat at all tomorrow. In my adventure out during the day I made it to the Marshall island Visitors Authority (MIVA) (everything here is known by its initials, including almost all the stores, the RRE (resort), CFC (restaurant), WAM (boat builders), ELM (car dealer), MIR (resort), NTA (telecomm), KLG (Kentucky Fried Chicken knockoff), etc) and got a map of Majuro and also a more detailed map of 'downtown' Majuro, a seven mile strip that encompasses the towns of Rita and Delap and most of the tourist resorts. Things are fairly sparse from that section until you get to the far end of the atoll and the town of Laura (where the second SDA school is). Laura is about 30 miles away from where I'm staying or an hour by car since the speed limit all over the island is 25 mph. The island we went to on Sunday is called Pikriin according to the map.

On Sabbath I had talked with a couple that had until recently lived in CA. The husband, Craig, said he was a good friend of the manager at the Flametree where I am currently staying. I was talking to the manager, Isaac this evening after eating and he had an interesting story to share. He is a pastor in the Assembly of God faith and originally from Fiji. He said back in Fiji he had studied the Bible enough that he discovered the Sabbath/Saturday doctrine and tried to keep it within the Assembly of God framework. He told me that he had found Amazing Facts and really enjoyed the programs and the teaching style they incorporate. But he always seemed to be too busy to send in for cd's and sermon info that was offered. Then without knowing or being asked, Craig brought him a bunch of Amazing Facts series, including many of the ones Isaac had wanted to get. So we talked some about how God works in such mysterious ways. He wants to talk with me more when I have more time. I also learned that they have a diabetes center at the hospital that is run by Adventists and they serve a breakfast and lunch buffet everyday with vegetarian/vegan options which is rather unusual for the islands. I guess diabetes is a problem because most of the food options are what I would call junk food, I have seen some whole wheat bread, but almost everything is white bread, and rice is for sale in every corner store by the 50 lb sack. While there are some fruit, vegetables seem almost non existent except out of a can.

April 8: As much as has been going on, I've been feeling a little unproductive and needing a goal/some exercise. Using the MIVA map as a guide I walked to the Majuro bridge this morning; it took an hour round trip so I gauge it at about three miles for the loop. I want to walk out to the end of the island closest to me and the map shows that at about 6 miles. That will take a big portion of the rest of my day. So, I did it. I think the map is not to scale because it was certainly not 6 miles. I got to the end of the road in about an hour and twenty minutes. I did not go all the way to the end of the island because that would have meant going through several people's yards or wading along the shore and I only had my hiking shoes with me. My feet are not so tough yet that I can walk that far in flip flops without some serious toe damage, so I did not attempt that. Again, using my map I checked off the landmarks, stepped into the Momotaro store during a rain shower and got some crackers, stopped at the Formosa supermarket, passed the Awa Zero bowling alley and the Happy Hands craft center at the Catholic complex, saw the impressive Willmart, and checked into the Marshall Dive Adventures shop at Robert Reimers resort. Next week I should get in a couple days of scuba and be certified. On the way back I stopped under a thatch gazebo to read while waiting out another downpour. I ran into a couple that were riding the first bicycles I have seen here. They got them from the resort they are staying at, but it seems like bicycles would be a great transportation option here and there just aren't any. I missed the Alele Museum, but I have to leave a few things for the next five weeks or I may get bored. Not likely.

Got word from principal Jim that the Irooj from Arno wants to meet early next week and probably next Wed or Thurs. we will go to Arno to see the school site. One step at a time I guess. Things will work out I'm sure.

Some things I have noticed: almost no cats but myriad canines running free; impossibly tinted/metallic windows on cars (there is no way this would fly in the mainland), also one silver spray painted car right down to the tires, I was amused needless to say; no one wears seatbelts mainly due to the speed limit, but I'm sure that creates problems for any Marshallese coming to the US; the best of American culture showing up here at the islands movie theater (Friday the 13th and Fast and the Furious 4 (Really? There are four of these things?))

Tomorrow breakfast buffet at the Diabetes Center and then probably a trip to Laura. Sounds good to me.

April 9: Well I awoke to pouring rain, so I figured Laura might be better saved for a nice weather day. Turns out it would have been just fine, the sun came out and stayed most of the day, but by then I had already changed plans. I read in the morning, went to the Diabetes Center for lunch and had a wonderful fresh SALAD for the first time over here.

Books I've finished reading so far: Istanbul: Memories of a City by Orhan Pamuk, The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Green, PastWatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card. I am also close to finishing Seeker by Jack McDevitt and Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams. I'm glad I brought quite a few books, but I know I need to lighten my load and that is probably the smartest way since they are 'non-essential' weight. I'll put together some reviews soon.