Going Postal

One of the vestiges of Micronesia’s status as a former U.S. Territory is its possession of a prized United States zip code (Yap’s is 96943). Still considered to be a U.S. possession according to the USPS, it’s amazingly inexpensive to mail letters and packages to and from here. A standard letter makes the long trip from Yap, to Guam, to Hawaii, and on to the U.S. mainland for the price of one stamp. As the crow flies (and that would be one tired crow), Yap is about 7,200 miles from Denver. For a standard letter, that’s only .006 cents per mile – a bargain at any speed!

The emphasis, however, is on the bargain, not the speed. Parcel post – which apparently translates to steerage class in the world of the mail service – is cheap, about a dollar a pound from Denver to Yap. They tell you when you drop your package in the mail that it will wing its way across the Pacific – perhaps stopping off to sun itself in Waikiki or do a little bit of surfing on the North Shore – in about 11 days. Don’t fall for it! We did, and as a result sent care packages to ourselves on February 1, foolishly assuming that they would arrive about when we did, on the 13^th. We’re still waiting, and as a result made several demoralizing trips to the post office this week,

before finally experiencing a bit of a breakthrough on Friday. (Note the handicapped parking sign in front of KC in this photo. We’re pretty sure that this is the only one on the island, and must have been installed by the ADA compliance sticklers at the USPS. Nevermind the fact that you may have trouble getting your wheelchair up the stairs – you’ll have great parking!)

On Friday, we finally got some packages from the mainland – none that we had mailed, mind you, but instead some that had been sent priority mail from Matt’s family. The rumor on the island is that Continental Micronesia, which must have a contract with the USPS for mail delivery, was unable to deliver packages from Guam for about a week due to a fuel shortage (some conspiracy theorists claim that Continental imposed a unilateral embargo on Yap for a week, perhaps the result of a related dispute over fuel contracts). Priority mail has, well, priority, and so our poor care packages, sent by lowly parcel post, will presumably languish in Guam until someone feels sorry for them (or the food inside them runs out) and puts them on the flight to Yap.

This week wasn’t all bad. We’re getting settled into our jobs, and on Wednesday bought a car, a Suzuki Alto:

It is, needless to say, not fancy, lacking even a dome light. But it does speak to you in Japanese when you start it, an unexpected bonus. Unfortunately, the owner’s manual is also in Japanese, and so we are unable either to understand the car’s admonitions or plan preventive maintenance until we’re able to find a suitable translation. The car did compare favorably to many of the other options on the island. Nearly every one that we test-drove made ominous noises in the region of the CV joint or felt dangerously unstable at speeds approaching 12 miles per hour. Fortunately the Suzuki, with its 996 cc engine, has trouble besting 14 mph (more on downhills!) and so instability is not a major concern.

In other tropical news, KC, who has previously lived only in the desert, is slowly coming to grips with the profusion and resourcefulness of Yapese insect life. We have a wonderful set of Tupperware and Snap-Tite containers on the way (likely being put to magnificent use in Guam at the moment), but in the meantime we have taken to keeping in the refrigerator every food item even remotely accessible to ants. If the ants figure out how to access and utilize our major appliances, look out!

While we’re waiting for running shoes to arrive we’ve made an effort to do some hiking and exploring around Colonia and the rest of the island. It’s hilly here, and we recently found a route to a panoramic view above town. The port, marina, and government offices of Colonia are located largely on the peninsula in the upper left of the photo, with the remainder of the town stretching back around the bay peeking out on the far right. The coral reef surrounding Yap is just barely visible, marked by the surf break in the upper right.

Here are a couple more pictures from the high point. It really is a beautiful island!

We hope everyone has a great week!