Water (Konik)

Right now it's hot, and all I can think about is the cold shower that awaits me before bed. And thankfully, I know that I'll have enough water for that cold shower.

Right now we're in the midst of the dry season (which, admittedly, is not nearly as dry as many other places around the world). This doesn't affect my roommates and I terribly, since we pump our water from a deep well, but for the majority of people in Chuuk who rely on rainwater, days or weeks without rain can start to wreak havoc on daily life.

Prior to coming to Chuuk, I didn't have to think much about water. Turn on the faucet and out it poured - drinkable and cold or hot with a mere flick of my wrist. Here, we filter our water. We keep a bucket in the shower to collect run-off water to use to flush our toilet. If our tank runs out of water, we have to plug in a pump to fill it back up - and we don't always have the power to do that at a moments notice (there have been more than a few times in which a lack of water has coincided with a lack of power, leaving us to haul water up to our apartment in buckets from the spigot below and let the mellow yellow, if you get my drift). Hot water? Definitely not (not that I often crave a hot shower here).

And, can I conclude this post without mentioning the fact that I'm surrounded by water? Like, REALLY surrounded? I think not. The lagoon and open ocean waters of Chuuk and the FSM provide food and livelihood for many. The views make for some of the most spectacular sights available in nature - anywhere. The unarguable power of the open water in bad weather, or the uber-tranquility of the glassy lagoon waters in good weather testify to the awesomeness of a higher power.

In short, water creates and tempers the rhythm of life here in Chuuk. It is a blessing to be constantly thankful for and a necessity never to be taken for granted.