Hello again! Here are a couple more pictures, before Pete and I head out to our house in Madolenihmw. Classes start on Monday, so we'll let you all know how things are going once we settle in.

This is Sokeh's Rock, as viewed from along the road while driving up to our homestay. There is just a small opening in the trees, and this is the beautiful sight awaiting us. The sunset is particularly gorgeous over the rock.

This is our ever-loving host mother, Sehd Pein, and her granddaughter, Lenisha Mae. Lenise has proved to be our best language teacher, as she adores us but speaks nothing but pohnpeian to us. I got to feel like I was finally an integral part of the family the other day when I actually got to babysit Lenise for a while, which included bathing her and our new host sister, Denise, and playing endless games with them.
We're definitely going to seriously miss our host family when we leave, Sehd Pein (or S-Pain, as we like to call her, thanks to Pete giving her a "traditional" American title to go with our traditional pohnpeian titles: Madau and Kedin Madau- He who traveled over a great ocean, and Lady of he who traveled over a great ocean) and Sehden have been so kind and including of us ever since we got here.

So, one of the local games is a hand/rock game. You have to throw the rocks up into the air and catch all 12 on your hand. The ones that fall onto the table can then be collected through a series of complicated (and always changing) rules. Pete and I spent the afternoon yesterday playing the game with some of the neighborhood children, as well as doing some serious relaxing, pohnpeian style.

This is a picture of our homestay. Traditional pohnpei style houses have thatched roofs and a "nahs," another area in which the family spends time along with anyone else who happens by and is invited to come eat and drink sakau.

This last picture is of Denise, our new host sister. She was recently adopted from Sehd Pein's brother (I think?) in the U.S. Adoption is very different here, and very fluid. Anytime a family member is having difficulty taking care of their children, other family members step in and adopt the children to take care of them, whether it's indefinitely or just until the parents can get back on their feet, I'm not sure.