Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Lower Marpo valley and water




































Today I continued to explore the lower Marpo valley--the valley that runs between the two hills, Marpo and Caronlina. After walking up 'the hill', and turning east, I walked until the road ended--into a small farm. They were growing several vegetables, including tomatoes.

There was another road leading even farther east--a paved road--that I decided to follow. This road continued to follow a downward slope. Soon there appeared a tall chain-link fence that seemed to surround a very large area. After a while an opening in the fence appeared, and inside the fenced area a small, unmarked building. It dawned on me that this must be the water-treatment plant for the island. I poked around looking for someone (there was a scooter in front of the building), and just as I was about to leave, a Filipino worker came out of the brush, waving to me. His name was Domingo, and was one of four workers that took care of the water treatment plant. He was kind enough to take me on a tour.

The fenced area surrounds a low point on the island, where the water naturally collects. Several pumps are dropped down about 10'-15', although the water level in this area is only 2'-3' deep. In fact, after opening a small door in the floor, one can see the water table!

The water is drawn up from this low area, chlorinated, and then pumped uphill to two water tanks sitting high on the hills above Marpo Heights and Carolinas Heights. Then the water travels from these tanks, using gravity, to the homes on the island.

The area now surrounded by fence was once a Japanese village, prior to the war.

At the end of this same road is another large farm--a betelnut farm. Betelnut is chewed by the natives, much like chewing tobacco. I guess it gives one a mild euphoric feeling. Some people mix betelnut with tobacco, or with lime juice. It was a beautiful farm--one of the best I have seen on the island--and also had many coconut, mango, and other trees. Several men were working to harvest the betelnut, one was chopping open coconuts, and one was working on a small boat. A Mr. Sanchez, I believe, owns the property. I was very impressed by the care that had been taken in upkeep of this bit of paradise. There were also a few fighting roosters.

Christmas on Tinian





Terri and I had a great time over the holiday. Terri was on call, as usual, but did not receive many calls. On Christmas eve we were asked to come to a party at Dr. Toledo's home, with Ernie Hoffshneider, the Hospital director.


Mrs. Toledo had cooked wonderful food--I especially liked the spring rolls--and Dr. Toledo had barbecued some chicken and beef. After everyone 'loosened up' a little bit, they brought out the karaoke machine (everyone in the east and in Asia just loves Karaoke!). It was quite a system: using the microphone as a remote control, you enter the number of the song you want to sing (there are hundreds, including Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, and other languages besides English) and the TV screen displays the words of the song as the music plays.


Wallflowers that we are, it took some coaxing to get us to try it, but to our eventual embarrassment, Terri and I tried our hand at it!


On Christmas day we slept in late, then went to our first cock-fight. Neither Terri nor I were very impressed. A long razor-sharp blade is attached to one leg of the rooster, then, after getting the roosters excited, they set them down to fight. All one can see is a flurry of feathers, and a few seconds later, one lies dead. I was surprised at how quickly the fight was over--there was not enough time to make the excitement and effort worthwhile. I have been to bull fights in Mexico City, and found them to be interesting, and even entertaining (although it is a cultural expression that is going out of style, and may soon be gone, simply because of lack of interest). However, the cock fighting was disappointing, and both Terri and I had had enough after one fight. I found it hard to believe that there was any money in the sport--the time and care that are given to these beautiful birds are lost in, not minutes, but seconds. There were several families, perhaps 20 people, in attendance (including small children). We understand that it is a cultural thing--and have no problem with the people of Tinian continuing to enjoy--but for Terri and I, it seemed to be a waste of time and money. Besides, we enjoy looking at the beautiful birds too much to see them destroyed.



After we lost interest in the cock fights, we went to the beach for a swim. We found much more enjoyment at the beach! That night we had invited our church congregation (all four of us) to dinner--shipped in from Saipan that morning. Then we watched 'Its a Wonderful Life' to end the day.



Monday, December 24, 2007

Lower Marpo Heights
























Today, being tired from the weekend for some reason, I decided to walk in the area below Marpo Heights. Just below 'the hill' leading to the airport is a flat valley that runs between the two hills of Tinian: Marpo Heights and Carolina Heights. There are a few homes scattered here and there in this valley area, as roads criss-cross back and forth.

Occasionally you can find a small farm or garden attached to the homes here, and there are a few businesses hidden in this area.

Today is Christmas Eve for the island. For the past week we have been treated to a nightly fireworks display--well, perhaps a fireworks musical, as the fireworks are of the TNT kind! Every night one can here multiple explosions going off around the village, as locals light firecrackers. By the sound of the explosions, they must be m-80's or cherry bombs (the m-80's we could get in the states were 1/4 stick of dynamite). Terri and I have been convinced she would be going to the hospital to re-attach someones fingers or hand, but so far, everyone is safe.

There is no special dinner being prepared for Christmas at the Dynasty, so we have decided to order dinner from Saipan and eat at home. Just like at Thanksgiving, many on the island order their dinner from Saipan and have it delivered by plane. We decided to join in the tradition!

Terri will be on call on Christmas day (so what is new?), but we will be leaving for Utah to visit our children in a few days, so everything is good.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Thank you to Tinian Elementary!

Christmas Carol 5

Christmas Carol 4

Christmas Carol 3

Hey! I recognize this one! It's "O Tannenbaum."

Christmas Carol 2

Christmas Carol 1

Here is the first of a series of carols. I was very happy to hear them sing in Chamorro.

4th, 5th, and 6th graders from Tinian Elementary

The 4th, 5th, and 6th graders of Tinian Elementary School came to sing Christmas Carols to the patients and staff of the Tinian Health Center. The kids told me there were about 80 of them. Please enjoy their carols in the next several posts. I did recognize just one of the carols!

A trip to Saipan



Terri and I had to travel to Saipan for a couple of days, as Terri was receiving medical instruction at the Saipan hospital. We flew to Saipan on Weds. and she attended classes Thurs. and Friday. We flew home on Friday afternoon.

It was very windy on both our flights, making it funner than usual to travel in the small planes! There is just something exciting about taking off and suddenly moving 6' sideways as a wind gust catches the plane... Our pilot was very good, and warned us it would be a bumpy flight. I told him we loved carnival rides, so it would be no problem!

While Terri was in class I did some shopping and also returned to the war memorial to go through the exhibits again, and see the movie again. Saipan and Tinian were actually quite an important location in winning the war against Japan. By taking these islands, the US had a base of operations close enough to mainland Japan to attack it by plane. Once Japan lost these islands (and even though there was still a lot of fighting left to do), the war was essentially lost for Japan. Perhaps that is why they fought so hard, and lost so many people in an attempt to keep these islands.

For anyone who studies the war in the Pacific, it becomes very clear why the decision was made to drop the atom bomb on Japan. Whenever I talk to people who condemn the US for this action, I usually discover that they know nothing about the circumstances surrounding the decision. They know nothing about the thousands of deaths, on both sides, that were being lost on each and every little island, as the US neared Japan. They know little or nothing of the atrocities committed by the Japanese against both civilians and prisoners of war. If they did, they would not condemn the decision to drop the atom bomb!

If one knows about the Rape of Nanking, about the Bataan Death March, the loss of life at Guadalcanal, Saipan, Tarawa, Iwo Jima and the other small islands south of Japan, and the lengths to which the Japanese were going to win-- never surrendering but always fighting to the death-- then it becomes common sense that when a way was opened up to end the war early (as devastating as that way was), most rational people would have made the same decision. And the results of dropping the atom bomb on Japan was exactly what it was designed to do: they surrendered and made a quick end to the war. I personally believe that this action ended up saving thousands of lives--many more than were taken by the dropping of the bombs.

To this day I shudder to think what would have happened if Hitler had obtained the bomb first! England would have been destroyed for certain, and probably Russia next. It is just hard to imagine what the consequences would have been for the world!

Anyway, it was a fun trip, as usual. Just another week and Terri and I are off to Utah to see our family!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

A trip to the secret latte stones



































I mentioned a while ago that Terri and I went on a Saturday walk with 'Hike Tinian' guide Howard Cole, a local expert on Tinian island. He took us to some ancient latte stones hidden in the jungle on the south end of the island. On that day, I had forgotten my camera, so today I decided to see if I could find this site myself, and take some pictures.

It should be noted that there is no way to accurately describe how to get to this site--it is easy to get to, but if you haven't been guided there previously, you are bound to get lost. I have discovered that once you enter the jungle, everything looks the same. There are few landmarks that can be used (even though there are high hills around the island, the trees and jungle prevent you from seeing these landmarks). Once in the jungle, if you get disoriented, your are sunk. You could walk for a long time in the wrong direction and not know it. However, the island is small, so you couldn't get lost for long, but I wouldn't go exploring near the end of the day!

You start by heading down to Tachogna beach. I found people already playing volleyball. Then you can either continue down the beach to the SE, or there is a small road that you can follow part way. In either case, you eventually end up walking on the beach, heading SE, until the beach ends.

Once you can go no further on the sandy beach, you look to your left and there is a small opening under and overhanging tree, and you head into the jungle. Of course, here is the problem. All the trees look the same, the 'opening' into the jungle doesn't look like much, and the trail you follow isn't really a trail, it is just 'less jungle' than everything else around you!

Now that you are heading into the jungle (remembering your spider stick!), you need to keep your eyes open for an unusual site: a fox hole built by the Japanese before the US invasion of the island. Concrete sacks (now long turned to actual concrete) were used as protection around the sides of the fox hole. At first, they just look like rocks. But if you look closely, you can tell that they were once sacks, as they are smooth, and the right shape.

Just past this fox hole, there is a small clearing where the jungle seems to recede just a little and the light from above lights us the area much better (up until now it was almost dark in the shadows of the trees). The first thing you see is a slightly rounded stone with a large dimple in it, where women would have ground flour.

To the left of this stone is a group of small latte stones, about 2' high. To the right of this stone is a group of large latte stones, about 6' high. It is difficult to see the pattern of the large latte stones in the jungle, with the trees that have grown around (and actually over) the stones, but there is a pattern there.

Once you have finished inspecting the latte stones and site, it is time to find your way out of the jungle. After re-finding the round stone at the head of the trail into the site, you head back out to the beach. Since you cannot see the beach until you are almost on top of it, it is just hoping you are on the right trail back.

On my way back I noticed that the work on a new project along Broadway was coming along quite well. Rumor has it that it will be like a farmers market, where the locals can bring their goods to sell, as well as a picnic area.

I also found a new flower.

The walk to the site only takes about a half an hour. It is worth the trip.