Andy Gets His Yellow Belt (by Mike)

After many long hours of practice, painting the fence, and waxing the floor, young Andy has finally been promoted in his karate class. After demonstrating that he knows all of his kicks, strikes, and blocks, there was only one task left for him to accomplish: he had to demonstrate Form One. Form One is a Kata that incorporates all of those elements one after the next.

After successfully demonstrating Form One, Andy was given a certificate suitable for framing and his Yellow Belt. Yeah Andy!

done

Mike

Another Day, Another Dive. (by Mike)

On July 12th, Liz and I went for another dive with an operation called Splash. We were lucky to find two of our friends, Carmen and Erin, going out on the same boat.

The dive was nice, we saw several huge schools of fish, a few sharks and some turtles.

Between our first and second dive, we stopped off at a little island and had lunch.

Except for Erin’s emergency rescue of a Japanese diver who shot to the surface, it was a really relaxing dive. All-in-all, it was a nice way to spend a Saturday.

Check out the video.
done

Mike

Turtles, Sharks, and Jellyfish Lake (by Mike)

Last Saturday we met up with Michica, a Japanese friend of ours, and went for a dive.

Our friend is somewhat of a celebrity in Japan. She’s a singer who has been in a few musicals such as Cats and the Lion King, and she has her own fan club.

Anyway, we had a nice time. We went to a place called Turtle wall first. After that, we stopped by a little island and had lunch.

Then we went on to the Big Drop off, and finally Jellyfish lake.

I should mention that jellyfish lake is a salt water lake that is disconnected from the rest of the Ocean. Because of that, the jellyfish have no natural predators to worry about in the lake. Over the last million years, they have lost their ability to sting. So it’s one of the few places where one can swim with millions of jellyfish without having to worry.

Checkout the video, (if it loads!) done

Mike

Sharks! (by Mike)

Every Saturday morning Liz and I go diving.

Because this is such a big part of what we do here, we would normally post a lot more about it. Unfortunately, the waterproof housing for our camera hasn’t come in the mail yet. So, we have to rely on the photos our friends take.

Palau is well known in the dive community as one of the best places in the world to dive. Every time we’re out we see lots of sharks, turtles, sometimes a manta ray or two, and bunches of big fish.

If you’ve never been diving before, I suggest you give it a try. It’s never too late to learn and it’s lots of fun!

Mike

Water slide! (by Mike)

We have our weekend routine worked out pretty well by now. Part of it includes our Sunday afternoon trip to the water slide. Right after lunch, Andy, Jackson, Liz and I get out of Millie’s hair for 2 to 3 hours and get some good old fashioned water sliding in behind a hotel in Airai state.

One of the things some of you may not know about me is that I, (Mike) am no rank amateur at water slides. Indeed, for two summers back in high school, I worked with my brothers at a water slide near Lake Texoma. Incidentally, that breach of my amateur status is why I’m not allowed to participate in the 2008 Olympic games. But I try to keep up with the sport while I’m here in Palau.

Here’s Elizabeth and Jackson coming down the slide. Because Liz is still new to the sport, she doesn’t know the tricks to generating speed. I, of course, am lightning quick (and I think Jackson enjoys a little speed!).

The Capital (by Mike)

The Capital of Palau is in Melekeiok, but most of the citizens of Palau live 30 miles away in the former capital of Koror. Because it’s so hard to get back and forth, most government departments have two offices, a nice one in Melekeiok, (which doesn’t get used) and an old one in Koror.

The nice one in Melekeiok was built just a few years ago. The location was chosen to placate the local chiefs who were tired of paying rent to the chief of Koror. So before they would agree to the Constitution, they required the Capital to be moved from Koror to Melekeiok.

The capital buildings sit alone on a hill. There are no houses or businesses surrounding it. It’s just three big buildings in a pasture on a hill. The high cost of keeping these buildings cool is a touchy subject around here, as is the look of the building (people either view it as a matter of national pride, or they think it looks like a gaudy version of the U.S. capital – and way more than what a nation of 16,000 people need.) You make the call.

The 11th Year Anniversary (by Michael)

This weekend (June 14-15) was a special occasion for liz and I because we were celebrating our 11th year anniversary on Saturday, and father’s day on Sunday.

We started our celebration Friday night when we went to a place called “The Taj” for some excellent Indian pizza, (huh?? Indian’s make pizza??). Then we went to spend the night at the Palau Pacific Resort, sans the kids.

Our room at the PPR was nice. Our room was on the 2nd floor, and our back balcony view was of the fish pond, behind the resort:

We got up in the morning and had a breakfast buffet:

After that, we went for a dive back at Ulong Channel (we promise to get diving pictures up-still no case for the camera), which was a really good time. All-in-all it was a fun Friday and Saturday, and Liz and I appreciate Millie for watching the kids for us while we lived it up.

The Karate Kid (by Mike)

One of the great things about living in Palau is the super cheap cost of labor, (unless of course you happen to be that labor). Anyway, because of this we are afforded a few luxuries that we wouldn’t ordinarily have. For example, we have a sweet lady who comes around to clean our house, make our beds, and do the dishes etc. Here she is bringing up breakfast for Liz and the gang, (No, she doesn’t bring breakfast every day! It was a special occasion.)

But besides the domestic helper, other services are cheap as well. One of the ones I, (Michael) like the most is that it makes the cost of Karate lessons really cheap! So my good son Andrew has been taking Karate lessons every other day with his own private instructor. At first we had him one-on-one with his instructor, but now we have him in with one or two other students, which is a better setup all the way around because he has someone to practice with. It’s a really good deal for us, and Andy likes it too.

A Trip To Babeldaob

On Sunday of last weekend, Liz, the kids and I took a trip to the island of Babeldaob, (sometimes called Babelthuap).

Babeldaob is the biggest of Palau’s islands, and is connected to the island we live on (Koror) via the Koror-Babeldaob bridge.

While there, we checked out the beach and stumbled upon Palau’s ancient stone monoliths.

After we got home we took a swim in the pool.

Not a bad Sunday.

Michael

A Pilgrimage to Peleliu

On Saturday the whole crew took a really amazing trip to the island of Peleliu. We were lucky to have our Palauan friend McVey offer to give us a ride there in his father’s speed boat. The trip through the rock islands was beautiful, as always, but I think after an hour of bumping up and down we were are ready to get back on dry land.

After getting to Peleliu we paid a gentleman to take us around to all the historic sites. Our friend McVey’s family is from Peleliu, so he was able to assist the guide in describing all the historically significant locations. This trip held special significance to all of us because my (Michael) father was shot there during World War II. We were able to find the beach that my dad was shot on, as well as go into the caves that the Japanese soldiers hid inside.

We all saw some really nice monuments and lots of cool, old, WWII equipment.

After we were done touring the island, we headed back home. Along the way, we stopped at one of the rock islands and had a swim. All-in-all it was a great way to spend a Saturday in Palau.—

Michael