My Swimmin Hole

When I first came to my home village here on Fefan, I was slightly disappointed that there wasn't a spacious white sand beach to greet me on the shore. We have a scraggly looking dock and splotches of seashell encrusted beach, but it’s not exactly the perfect swimming sanctuary that I had imagined. Eventually my disappointment gave way to appreciation when I realized that my dock is actually one of the best casual swimming areas in Chuuk.

On Weno, the water is polluted with smelly diapers, Styrofoam cups and raw sewage. Tonoas and most of the high volcanic islands are surrounded by swampy mangrove forests and have rare access to clear water. The outer islands in the Mortlocks are home to the picturesque images of paradise, but the water is laden with poop and is often too shallow to swim.

But my spot on the dock is clean, clear and deep. You can dive off the concrete platform and plunge into a warm pool of salty refreshment. No mud to sludge through, no pollution to barf on, and no sea grass to wade through. We have coral clumps and sloping sand. It is pretty ideal.

While the swimming conditions are heavenly, the locals have a couple of peculiar thoughts about taking a leisurely swim. Surprisingly, a huge number of people do not know how to swim. In a place where swimming is literally a matter of life and death, I don't understand why it is avoided by so many. A lot of the women seem to have a fear of the ocean. I have met more people in my village that don't know how to swim that all the non-swimmers combined in my life up to this point. Kind of weird

The other thing that is odd about their swimming habits, is that they don't want to swim when its hot outside. They don't see the logic in cooling off with a nice dip when its 100 degrees outside. I will be sitting near the dock with a group of kids as we are slopping through our own personal puddles of sweat and I will suggest taking a swim to cool down. Three sets of angry glances will shoot me down and they will quizzically ask, “why I would ever want to go for a swim at a time like this”.

No, the islanders don't like to swim when its hot. They only want to swim when it rains. Against all logical arguments, they only have a desire to refresh themselves in the calm waters of the Pacific if they are already covered in rain. As a result, I have rarely had the wonderful opportunity of swimming under the blazing sun of the tropics. Rather, my experiences in the water almost always take place during a torrential downpour.

And lastly, after you swim, you must immediately shower with fresh water. If you do not promptly shower, your soul will be consumed by the sea ghost and you will be induced with involuntary craziness that will ultimately lead to death. Fun huh? Their stubborn belief in the sea ghost supercedes their fanatical obsession with Jesus and spooks me a little bit because of their fervent reminders and constant warnings. 

So I have come to understand the islanders’ attitude towards swimming as this: avoid swimming if possible, if you must swim make sure that it is cold and rainy outside, after swimming be sure to rid your body of the fatal spirits of the sea gods.