| P-MAN XIII Update #13 - Sunrise, Landscaping, and Casey meets the Red Rooster 17 March Today is St Patrick’s Day and I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the fourth anniversary of the passing of one of BentProp’s members, Bob Holler. It was definitely special to be in Palau this St Patrick’s day, since this is where I met and worked with Bob. He is missed by all of us. Today started with a nice run from Malakal to Arakabesan. It was a warm humid morning but the sun was peeking through the clouds in a couple of spots. Along the way I passed this home that had a couple of interesting yard decorations.
After getting back to the hotel and taking some time to shower and cool down it was off to NECO to use their printer. The printer worked very slowly and made me appreciate what I take for granted at home. I think it took me an hour to print out 10 copies of this year’s proposal for handing out to government officials. While at NECO I also inquired into Rock Island passes which are needed by all of us when we work on any of the Rock Islands. We are planning on spending some time on some of the Rock Islands this trip, but the passes are only good for 10 days so it makes no sense to buy them early. After asking Jenny at NECO to order us some more water, the next stop was downtown to make some administrative changes to our insurance policy and pick up supplies. From there it was off to place a courtesy call to the Bureau of Arts and Culture. They were happy to know that BentProp is back in town and willing to help and support in any way they can. It is amazing how many people know about the work that BentProp has done in Palau and recognize the members of the group when we are here. Palau is a small country where most of the people know each other and word travels fast. I have another connection to Palau through some of the work that I do at the University of San Diego (USD) that has involved people from Palau Community College (PCC). So when I stopped into PCC to see some of people that I know through USD, they told me that they had seen a video of the ceremony at Arlington last year that the President attended and they made the connection. It is truly a small world. Right across the street from PCC is the Palau National Gymnasium and the location to register for the Palau Marathon. So I stopped in to sign up. I signed up for the half-marathon and think it was the cheapest race I’ve ever registered for. That means the other members of the group have no excuse not to run it with me. After a full morning it was back to the room to make some phone calls and do some organizing for the rest of the day and tomorrow. There are not very many countries where you can organize a meeting with the President of the country and the US Ambassador the day prior to meeting up with them. In Palau you can, so tomorrow we will be meeting with both. At the same time I touched base with our friends Dave and Margie (formerly proprietors of "Bandidos" restaurant, by far the best Mexican cuisine in Palau) and the plan is to have lunch with them tomorrow as well. My stomach was crying out for me to try the new Filipino restaurant that was opened next to NECO since last year, before I made a visit to the Civic Action Team (CAT). The new place received a passing grade from me and I’m sure the rest of the group will make another visit or two before the end of the trip. My last duty for the day was picking up Casey Doyle from the airport. Casey made it into Palau on time and there was no rest for the weary. I drug Casey to Krämer’s for a once-in-a-lifetime event: St Patrick’s Day corned beef and cabbage in Palau. Now that is not something you do every year for St Patty’s. Along with the dinner, Casey was introduced to Red Rooster, more of a Palauan staple.
Semper Fi Derek |
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