1. Do not buy more than one or two rolls of toilet paper at a time. Soggy toilet paper is gross, and there is no way to keep it dry.
2. Horizon-to-horizon black clouds do not mean that you can spend more than ten minutes outside with no sunscreen.
3. Organic coconut oil sold in old Corona bottles at the gas station is not fit for human consumption. (This is obvious in retrospect, however, we make $300 a month and that oil only costs like $1.50. But it tastes like an allergic reaction, which is not tasty.)
4. Do not remove your glasses, if you are blind, before thoroughly checking the bath tub, bathroom walls, bathroom sink, and toilet for giant, evil, flying cockroaches. If you are not completely assured that your bathroom is giant, evil, flying cockroach-free, you will never be able to relax with your blindness. And I am setting a goal for Lasik by 2012, so that I never have to worry about this stuff again. (My sense of dignity is the only thing that keeps me from begging Jonathan to sit in the bathroom while I take my blind showers--that way he could warn me if a big terrible roach comes out of the pits of hell where they live.)
5. If you don't take at LEAST two showers a day, you will end up hating yourself. Take three showers if you leave the air-conditioned comfort of the college for more than an hour.
Also, I finally got around to cleaning out our spare bedroom, and I found a dessicated lizard and two full lizard skeletons (minus the skulls). I feel like there's a lesson in there somewhere.
Oh, and 6! We have discovered two areas of Kolonia that require a handful of rocks for peace of mind. If you fill your hand with rocks BEFORE reaching these areas, you have the luxury of scaring the horrible dogs while they're still far away. Scrambling around for rocks while one or three dogs are running at you with their teeth bared is not. cool. Relatedly, 7. It's always a good idea to make sure one hand is free for rock-throwing. Jonathan's hands were once full of grocery bags, and it was rough.
Other than learning our lessons (but not making any progress at Pohnpeian), we're doing fine. We spent part of the weekend at Nahlap and tonight we're going to our host family's for dinner. I promise we'll have photos up soon!
Love,
Trieste
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hmm, wondering if the coconut oil lesson was part of the problem, recently?
ReplyDeleteJust a thought from your momes....
Also, quick, baby, learn the art of dog whispering!
Love, love, LOVE to both of you,
(and anyone else who treats the two of you well!)
mommo.
It sounds like you're getting adjusted well! A few tips I've learned in Guam so far--Gallon size ziploc bags keep TP dry for storage and you can reuse them over and over. Monster Roaches are horrible, and scary in the dark, and the only thing that will keep them out is borax on the window sills and good fitting screens. Tea tree oil keeps the no-see-ums away, and baking soda paste helps ease the itch and welts from the bites.
ReplyDeleteSurgeon fish aren't as tasty as some of the other reef fish, and watch out for the little blade on the tail, they don't call em surgeons for nuthin. Snapper, Grouper, Jacks, and Rabbitfish are some of the better tasting fish. Scaling is done easiest with a spoon, start at the tail and move in sweeping motions torward the head all over each side. I hope some of this hels, and I don't sound like a nagging know it all. :) Ooh, one more thing, Peppermint oil dropped in a lotion or in bathwater will help you feel cool when it's miserable and keeps the sweating somewhat at bay. :)
Yeah, peppermint oil and tea tree oil! I tried SO HARD to remember to bring those things, and I forgot. Good fitting screens would be WONDERFUL, but the best we can do is patch up our old, aluminum, $2 screens with duct tape, which is exactly what we did. Our screens are now attached to our walls with miles of tape. It would possibly help if we didn't lock ourselves out of our aparmtent on a regular basis--then we could stop demolishing the screens in our attempts to gain entry.
ReplyDeleteBorax, you say? What the hell is that?
Borax would be in the laundry soap section, if you have access to such a place.
ReplyDeleteBesides formoing barriers, you can mix the borax with sugar as a poison. (remember Terro? The syrupy ant killer? THat's what it is)
Whatever mint grows on the island would probably also act as a bug repellent.
Mix sugar and baking soda and leave in little dishes. They eat the sugar and blow up from the soda.
Have fun!