I was introduced to chewing betel nut by a driver in Palau and the nut comes from the areca palm tree, which is native to southeast Asia and Micronesia. The nut is cut in half, the pit removed, lime juice is squeezed on it, tobacco is taken from a Marlboro cigarette and broken in the cavity, it is then wrapped in betel leaf, which is a peppery-tasting liner. This nut is famous for its stimulating properties once you put it between cheek and gum (be careful not to chew on it too much for first timers), which far exceeds any chewing tobacco you have tried, as well as for the distinctive dark stain it leaves on the teeth of long-time users, which is a symbol of the good life in Palau. Betel nut chewing can be dated back to the 1st century and creates a stimulant effect and mild euphoria. It also results in strong salivation, which enthusiasts consider a desirable part of the experience. It is used liked coffee among men, and occasional women. Interestingly, while the nut stains the teeth red, long-time betel nut chewers have a significantly lower incidence of dental cavities than non-chewers, though it may increase the risks of cancer, while the jury is still out on this one.
I brought back a turtle shaped storyboard that my uncle and I got from the prison and is handcrafted from local Palauan mahogany wood.
The Story: There once has a boy from Peleliu (an island south of the Rock Islands) and a girl from Arkabesang who fell in love. The two lovers made a promise to see each other on the night of a new moon in Ngemelis, an island between their homes. When they met, the lovers discussed plans for their future late into the night. When the girl awoke in the morning, she discovered her skirt had disappeared.
Aided by her lover, they combed the entire island for the missing skirt, but it was nowhere to be found. Alongside the spot where she had been sleeping, however, they noticed the footprints a turtle had made during the night. Still without her skirt, the maiden was forced to gather leaves from the coconut palms to make a new one. Once she finished, she bade her lover farewell with the promise of meeting him there on the island again during the following full moon.
The full moon had arrived, and the boy from Peleliu sat waiting on the shores of Ngemelis for his lover. She had not forgotten her promise, and came sailing over the lagoon under the light of the full moon. After their first embrace, they sat together on the beach when they spotted a turtle crawling towards them. Upon closer inspection, they were surprised to see one of its fins entangled in a skirt, which it was dragging along behind itself. It was the very skirt the girl had lost during the new moon!
So the short iversion of the story, is that the chief (who is a DU Law grad) his boat breaks, he hires three locals boats shops to fix. Chris happens by, as an electrical engineer, fixes and gets first visa to stay past 90 days in Palau. Long version is chief lets me stay on his personal island, as Chris is also now his Uncle. And offers me several jobs there as a young attorney.
My uncle lived on a sailboat in Palau, when I went to visit him after law school for 30 days, several local Hawaiian looking people said why you here do long, I said Chris
is my Uncle. Several locals said “he’s my uncle too.” I said he must have had a lot of local women then. They said no, when you’re in trouble here you call your uncle here, not you’re mom or dad, so you don’t drag in and embarrass the whole family. They said “he bailed me out of jail or fixed my boat or whatever, but something big, so I adopted him as my uncle.” I liked the idea.
They are quite serious that he was their real uncle for life, as a result. They said you have your family you’re born with but it’s a small island, so you can adopt the family you want to have.
He also caught a fish on a hand line that took 8hours overnight to reel in, the Old Man and the Sea didn’t have much on him. So Uncle Chris sailed to Palau. He was there and someone said the chief wants to see you. Chief went to DU Law. And his boat was broken down, had 6 outboard motors, some would call it a yacht. Said 2 boat shops had it for over a month and “there is an electrical short somewhere and these guys can’t fix it, heard you were an electrical engineer in the US. Could you find time to look at it?” Chris said I’ll come back tomorrow. He fixed it in 2 hours. Chief was amazed, said what did you do, these guys had it for a month in two shops? Chris said it was nothings done he had nothing better to do. Chief said come tomorrow to the best of one of three restaurants and bring your bill please. Chris said I’ll come for lunch but there is no bill. Lunch happened and they talked of US and chief asked for Chris’s Bill st the end of lunch. Chris said there is no bill, I had nothing else to do that day. Chief says come back again for Lunch tomorrow and please bring the bill. Same thing happened next day and chief at end of lunch says did you bring a bill. Chris says no. Chief says why are you in Palau. Chris says I sailed around the world and this is the best place I have ever seen. Chief says what will you do when your 90 visitor visa runs out. Chris says sail for 90 days then come back. Chief says come back tomorrow for lunch and bring a bill, I’m serious or I’ll be upset.
Chris comes back for lunch. Chief says did you bring a proper Amercian bill, I’m sure you get paid over $100/hour as electrical engineer in US. Chris says I had nothing better to to do. Chief says, I was afraid you’d say that so I have a piece of paper to give you instead. First non-resident permanent alien card ever given in Palau.
Chief offers me job as DA, public defender or judge, at lunch, says they all pay the same $30k, with one year visa. I said judges don’t make more, or take more seniority, why is that? He says that way we have no corruption. He goes on to explain jails have no gates, people serve their time because their family would bring them back out of shame of they tried to flee.
Leave A Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.