the more things change...

the more they stay the same. actually, in pohnpei, things pretty much just stay the same. i've been watching the facebook pictures of east coast snow come rolling in with great jealousy! its hard to believe its december (mid-december!) already. pohnpei is drowning in the rainy season, but temperatures and appearances are otherwise exactly the same as when i arrived in july.

well, not exactly. its headed into mango season again, and we're thankfully through breadfruit season. breadfruit doesn't fall from the tree until its past-ripe, and so my walk to school had been filled with fallen, rotten breadfruit all-too-popular with the flies. haven't tasted breadfruit? you're not missing much, at least in my opinion. its great if you're going for starchy calories, and a good local food choice, but i'm not dying to mix it in with my fruit salad.

its also christmas, and i think you would be able to tell that here even blind, deaf, or braindead. there are decorations EVERYWHERE, and christmas carols to drive even the biggest xmas fan insane. the partying has already begun, and looks to continue full-tilt until january. oh, my.

rainy season is nothing to sneeze at, either. our tuesday night ultimate frisbee game is almost always played in a total swamp, and i've lost my shoe more than once in the mud. its good fun, though, and we're ignoring the very real possibility of serious injury and enjoying dramatic slips and slides through the muck.

otherwise, the flowers are still blooming, the parrots still flying, the geckos still chirping, and the bananas still growing all over the place. coconuts continue to fall in dramatic fashion, and the sun keeps beating down. zero chance of a white christmas for me!

that said, i hope the holidays are treating you well! i'm hoping for a white christmas for all of you, and thinking of you often. more pictures soon, once finals are over at the end of this week. :)