Yes, we’re still alive!

I can hardly believe that it’s been 6 months since we’ve posted anything…what a bunch of losers we are! Well, here’s an abbreviated version of what’s happened since our last post:
1. I got a job.
2. I quit a job.
3. Millie had a hospital stay.
4. My parents came for a visit.
5. Michael’s birthday.
6. Christmas (warmest and strangest one ever, I’d say).
7. Andy’s birthday.
8. My parents left.
9. We moved from Koror State to Airai State.
10. Michael got promoted to special prosecutor.
Yeah, well, I guess we’ve been a little busy…More pictures/videos to come!

My First Day of School…

Yes, we apologize for the posting delays and although we are ordering another camera, we must continue to rely on our wonderful friends/neighbors. Adding to the mayhem, I have now started a new job at Palau High School teaching English….imagine me teaching a bunch of crazy teenagers-we’ll see what happens. Here’s a shot of my fine freshman students working hard, or is it hardly working? Judge for yourself…oh wait, I guess that’s my job now!

First Day of School for Andy!

Andy had his first day at Maris Stella, the only private Catholic school here in Palau. There are no public kindergarden programs with the exception of HeadStart, and we felt that Andy was ready for more academics (organic chemistry, Latin, calculus, etc.). Here he is looking a little too giddy with an unhappy Jackson before the sendoff…

Here he is with Miss Cami….

Hmmm, I wonder which one he is here?

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jackson!

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We had a little soiree for Jackson’s birthday on August 5th, at none other than Captain Finn’s Restaurant at Waterfront Villa. Although it has a bar, we did not allow Jackson to belly up to it, at least not until he’s 4. Here are a few pics of friends from Waterfront that came down for the party, thanks to Jamie and Arnold, the owners of WV…

Neighbors (and newlyweds) Greg and Jamie joined the festivities…

Intense concentration on the b-day cake…

Neighbors Joe and Sue on the right.

Getting ready to sing and blow out the candles!

We just couldn’t drag Millie away from the bar…

Present time!

Jackson with a gift from “Auntie” Susan!

Jackson and Alex playing with presents from Jamie and Arnold.

They just had to get a closer look at some of the goods.

Downtown Koror (by Eliz.)

Since Koror and surrounding states/hamlets are basically connected by one main road which branches off at times, the main stores, restaurants, schools, etc are found on that road. Unfortunately, when school starts again, the traffic is crazy since everyone essentially has to be somewhere at the same time. So the 25 mph speed limit changes to 2 mph, then my road/traffic rage kicks in…Here’s a map of Koror, compliments of Lonely Planet (just in case you didn’t know, the white lines are roads):

Here are some various pics around town…

Palau post office (which doesn’t exist according to some individuals at the U.S. post office)

Moving west on the main street in downtown Koror

Yano’s-our favorite local market

Maris Stella Catholic school-Andy’s new school this fall (a little blurry)

Western Caroline Trading Company-locally owned grocery store

Mike’s home away from home…

Aquarium Field Trip (by Eliz.)

We took another field trip to the local aquarium, Palau International Coral Reef Center, this time with the Pfalzer family who live upstairs from us. This is another facility that performs research, increases community awareness about marine life, and kept the kids busy for an afternoon!

Front view of the PICRC.

I’m suspicious of this alligator since it’s always in the same spot each time we come here.

Andy and Alex checking out the cool fish.

Andy blatantly ignoring the “do not touch the glass” sign.

Helen, Alex, and Andy looking at jellyfish.

Click this picture to read the Palauan message.

Waterproof? I don’t think so… (by Eliz.)

We had a tragic mishap with our camera during our last dive at Blue Corner..our “waterproof” case did not live up to it’s name (or maybe we just didn’t read the directions right, you know anything’s possible). So long, dear digital camera…Please keep visiting as we continue to post pics from our current collection to keep the blog going while we get another camera (according to the shipping schedule will be sometime next year…kidding I hope).

Ngerbodel Hamlet (by Eliz.)

Palau is made up of a group islands (Babeldoab, Malakal, etc.) connected by causeways and bridges. Within the islands are states (16) and within each state are hamlets. We live in Koror state, Ngerbodel hamlet. That’s about the only way you can describe where you live. Then it becomes, “we live next to the hospital by the pillars, but not the first set of pillars, the second set–then down the street across from the gym–but not the green house, it’s the white house with the coconut trees in front” since there are no street signs.

All homes here are either concrete, or combinations of wood/tin. A Palauan told us that the better the neighborhood, the greater the percentage of concrete homes. Each home generally has an open outdoor area where they welcome visitors, but the inside is for family only. Here is a video of parts of Ngerbodel hamlet near our apartment…Please let us know if you’re having trouble loading this, we’re not so sure it uploaded very well…

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Happy Fourth of July! (by Eliz.)

Of course Palauans could care less about our Independence Day, or so I thought until I saw this nice little sign today while driving downtown…

I wanted to shoot off some fireworks, but since they’re illegal here it would have been somewhat embarrassing to have your husband prosecute you…Have a great holiday!

Are you sure it’s not a golf cart?! (by Eliz.)

This is just a quick entry about the cars in Palau. Apparently, they have some deal with Japan in that when Japanese vehicles are 5 years old, they sell them to Palau very inexpensively. Because of this, you can get a decent vehicle from $2000-$4000. Some people here just buy directly from Japan and have it shipped over instead of shipping any cars from the U.S. because it’s so expensive (about $5000+). Anyhoo, here’s a pic of our family truckster, and some other cars our friends drive…

Our car, the Mazda Demio.

Inside our car.

This is the Nissan March, very popular around Palau.

Another view of Elise’s car.

This is the Honda Logo.

Another view of Gabe’s car.

Notice all these cars have the driver on the right side only because they come from Japan. In Palau, you drive on the right side of the road like the U.S. We’ve been here 5 months now, and I still get in the car on the left and put the blinker on when I want to use the windshield wipers (slow learner, I know). More posting to come on cars in Palau, there are some really unique ones here…