Midwesterner's Guide to Palau Living

I've been here for about a month now, so I can say with no confidence whatsoever that I'm the authority on all things Palau. But I've survived so far, so for you Midwesterners out there, here are a few tips on adjusting to life in the middle of the Pacific on the equator.

1. Perspiration.

Living in Chicago, one of the biggest challenges is adjusting to the changing weather. We have to dress for the crazy wind, snow, sleet, rain, and occasionally heat. So I've learned how to handle the July/August weather without too much difficulty. Wear flip flops on the train, carry a water bottle, wear lighter clothes and sunglasses, chew on ice while blow drying my hair, run with sunglasses or a hat and take water breaks. The basic survival techniques.

Here, all of those tricks have gone out the window. My flip flops feel like they're melting all the time, my water bottle doesn't stay cold, my clothes aren't light enough to avoid the heat, I can't even fathom standing under the stream of hot air from a blow dryer, and running past 8:30 a.m. in the sun is, in my opinion, asking to faint on the side of the road. Not that I'm complaining. I'm absolutely loving this heat. But it's taken a bit of time for me to adjust. Here are a few things I've changed:

-No more makeup. It's way too heavy and uncomfortable. When I have worn it, it's all ended up on my chin within about five minutes of application.

-No blow drying or hair product ever.

-Combining running and swimming. If on a weekend morning I haven't made it out of my apartment before 8:30 a.m., I have learned to make a pit stop at the nearby pool. So I run for about a half hour, jump in the pool and swim some laps, and run/walk home. By the time I'm home, I'm completely dry and sweating profusely again. It's not perfect, but I definitely prefer it to heatstroke!

2. Getting Around

No one walks around here! Having lived in Madison and Chicago, I've come to appreciate walking long distances on a pretty regular basis. Because Koror, the state that I live in here in Palau, is so small, I expected that I'd get to know the area by walking around. I quickly learned that driving is the much preferred means of transportation because of the heat and constantly strong sun.

(I took this during a ten minute walk at lunch, before which one of my co-clerks told me that if I got tired she'd pick me up)

The cars here range from pick-up trucks that look like Tonka trucks to fancy beamers. And for the most part, looks certainly don't play a big role. At least that's the case for my car. Homer, my Honda Odyssey (yes, that's a minivan, and no, I do not have any kids), may not be the sharpest car on the road, but he gets me around!

In addition to the difference in the looks/style department, cars operate on the road here differently. Homer, like most cars here, has a steering wheel on the right side of the car, which is strange because we still drive on the right here. This quirk has definitely thrown me off. Adding even more confusion, most cars operate under kilometers per hour while the speed limit signs are all in miles per hour. Luckily my longest car trip around town is about 2 miles, and so far the guestimate approach to checking my speed has worked out.

The one adjustment to driving that I LOVE is the parking situation here. Basically there is no rhyme or reason to parking. If your car can fit and you're not in the middle of the road, consider it a spot for as long as you want. My car broke down on the side of the road and I left it pulled off to the side for well over a day. If this was Chicago, my car would have been ticketed about 3 times, booted, towed, and they would have put a lien on my firstborn child. In Palau? It's no biggie at all.

3. Food.

To be honest, this adjustment hasn't been nearly as difficult as I'd anticipated. I was told before coming here that things like alcohol and dairy products would be quite difficult to come by. To most Wisconsinites ("sconnies"), this would be a complete dealbreaker. Not for me! I'm a bit unique in that I don't crave milk. So that hasn't been a problem. But, like most Sconnies, I do enjoy a good beer. Not a problem either. There's a Palau brew, plenty of Asahi, and yup, Miller products a plenty here! Sadly, wine and liquor will be a special occasion this year, but with a lunch like this...

I can't complain!

The only aspect of food shopping here that's been different is that there are three different grocery stores along the main road that I frequent for different reasons. Surangel's is usually my first stop. This place always has almond milk and fantastic produce, but not my tea or granola bars. The WCTC is across the street, and it has both of these items, but then if I need any sort of bread or bakery products, I have to hop in my car and drive down to the Payless Market (nope, they don't sell shoes). In addition to the baked goods, Payless has great spices, but definitely DO NOT buy produce there. It's just not as fresh. So learning the matrix of food shopping takes a little time. In contrast, I've learned very quickly that the food here is expensive! I'm somewhat accustomed to Chicago prices, but I consider $20 for a large bag of dried mangos to be a bit excessive. They tell me they're the "World's Best Tasting Mangos," and I love them, but I'm still kicking myself for buy them [twice].

As for restaurants, I've got two words for you. Poke Shashimi. I'm not going to elaborate. Just visit me and start eating. Amazing. It's like butter. I still have many Palauan dishes to sample, so I'll fill everyone in on the local fair as I try them out. I'm especially excited for coconut crab!

4. Daylight

Every fall for as long as I can remember, I dread the shrinking sunlight. Every morning, I get a little bit sadder as my run becomes darker and chillier. Here, besides the constant warmth, the length of daylight stays the same year round. So that means that I'm up with the sun at about 5:30,

and watch the sun set every night at about 5:45 or 6.

Although I'm sure I'll start to miss the change of seasons and reason to bundle up, right now I'm loving the fact that my day will always start with the sunrise.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving! Believe it or not, this is my first Thanksgiving spent away from home. I'm not sure how I'll cope without my Mom's stuffing, but I won't mind not getting roughed up by my younger sisters during the family football game!

Take care!