Kwaj, One Week In

I spent my day by the lagoon. I've grown shades darker since the morning. Tomorrow I have been invited by some island locals on a boat ride to a neighboring island that is completely deserted. No one lives there. It is completely overrun with jungle. It belongs to the RMI outright; but the RMI citizens refuse to live there because it is haunted. I have become fairly good friends with the prince of the RMI and he was telling me all about the legend that surrounds Begeje (BEE-GEE). The tale is really old and I am going to have him tell me again so that I don't screw it up when I retell it. In case you didn't catch that, I will repeat it, I have become friends with the prince of the RMI. His name is Patrick (a name that resonates with Marshallese tradition...) His grandmother is the queen, his mother will take the thrown when grandma dies, and then he will take the thrown. Although the RMI has a president, no one listens to the government. They were a matriarchal society even before they were unified as a sovereign nation. The thrown is passed down through women (not men) but for some reason Patrick gets it. I'm still a little foggy on it all, but I'm learning. Regardless, women have always been (and probably always will be) the ones with the power in this country. Patrick has offered to take me to meet the queen on Ebeye (EE-BUY), which is a neighboring island where they live. It is about one fourth the land mass of Kwaj, but about 14,000 people live there. The living conditions there are third world. The prince is unstoppable at ping pong, and he plays for the RMI Olympic basketball team.

My first week at camp went well. I had about 12 campers (it fluctuated each day). Hope all is well back home.