The view on my last morning in Palau. Ma uriul (see you in the road), Palau!
I've been saying goodbye to people and places for about a week now. I've noticed that the Palauans don't say "goodbye." Instead, they say, "ma uriul," which means, "see you in the road." It's kind of a nice sentiment, because I do hope to see many of my friends from this year again!
I think about what my friend Lindsey calls the "Palau Pearls" of wisdom that I learned this year. Some are easy to share, like "accept people for who they are instead of trying to make them into someone they are not" and "be kind to one another." And some are deeply personal and profound.
In a few hours, I have to say my final goodbye to a place that has meant so much to me (and to you, my faithful readers), this past year. It's 5:01 on a Tuesday, and nearly everyone at the Judiciary is gone for the day. I am sitting in my air-conditioned office, wearing flip-flops and a knee-length skirt, with my hair in a ponytail. I'm watching the traffic outside my window. I'm expecting another nice sunset. I'll be eating fish for dinner. It will be just like any other day, except I'm leaving, and I'll be crying a few tears over my time in Palau. I wanted to share a few thoughts in my waning hours in Micronesia.
Everything Happens for a Reason
I think back to how I felt a year ago. While I was packing this weekend I found some of my early journal entries from the one week that I kept a journal this year. My excitement was palpable. I was in Australia, getting ready to go to Taipei for a few days and then start my year in Palau. "Several times on this trip, I've had this feeling that, 'This is exactly where I need to be right now.'" I wrote about how excited I was for a new adventure. I wrote about being excited to connect to people and to try new things. "It's funny to think about this year is going to affect me," I wrote. I am more relaxed and patient here. I appreciate simpler things, and I know it's important to slow down, connect with people, and not get wrapped up in things that don't matter.
I think back to how I felt a year ago. While I was packing this weekend I found some of my early journal entries from the one week that I kept a journal this year. My excitement was palpable. I was in Australia, getting ready to go to Taipei for a few days and then start my year in Palau. "Several times on this trip, I've had this feeling that, 'This is exactly where I need to be right now.'" I wrote about how excited I was for a new adventure. I wrote about being excited to connect to people and to try new things. "It's funny to think about this year is going to affect me," I wrote. I am more relaxed and patient here. I appreciate simpler things, and I know it's important to slow down, connect with people, and not get wrapped up in things that don't matter.
I do believe that Palau was part of my destiny. I like looking back on all the circumstances that led me to Micronesia: the fact that I applied for the Peace Corps when I was a senior in college (and was nominated to the Marshall Islands, but ultimately decided I wasn't ready to live on an island at age 22); the fact that I applied to clerkships in Hawaii and received some interviews when I was finishing law school; the fact that I lived overseas a few times and was jonesing for more; and the fact that I love adventure. Palau really is where I was supposed to spend my 31st year.
I think about what my friend Lindsey calls the "Palau Pearls" of wisdom that I learned this year. Some are easy to share, like "accept people for who they are instead of trying to make them into someone they are not" and "be kind to one another." And some are deeply personal and profound.
I look back on all of those great lessons, which I learned with and through the Palauans: I'll miss the sing-song way that Palauans talk, the spitting and the red betelnut smiles, the long black braids and skirts of so many of the women here, the heat, the water, the laughter. I'll miss the newspapers, which have headlines like, "Team Palau Braces for Opening of 2012 Olympics" and "President Bares Goals." I'll miss watermelon available almost year-round and seeing palm trees and being able to swim in the ocean after work. I will even miss taro.
Saying Yes
My parents always tease me that the first word I learned to write was "no," which I scribbled on the walls of our house with a crayon when I was two years old. It's true that I can be pretty cautious and conservative in my actions--I think being cautious makes me a good lawyer! But I knew that Palau would help me loosen up, and I remembered a card my parents sent recently.
My mother reminded me that a year ago, in the week before I left, I went on a hike to a fantastic Oktoberfest celebration in Marin (north of San Francisco). My friend Juliana and I met someone who had been living in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and so of course I asked him lots of questions about island life. "Remember when that man from Oktoberfest told you to 'say yes to everything'? You took that message to heart," my mother wrote. "You have really said 'yes' to every opportunity." I think back on all the times this year that I said "yes." I said yes to trying new foods, to learning a few Palauan words, to meeting people I would have never met in the U.S., to trying new sports, to just being more relaxed. My life feels so much richer because I felt open to opportunities this year.
Palau is an easy place in which to say "yes." There's only one option for evening entertainment, so you say yes. You want to get on the water, so you say yes when someone offers you a ride on their boat. You want to try local foods, so you say yes when they are offered. Palau taught me how very simple and wonderful this concept can be.
My mother reminded me that a year ago, in the week before I left, I went on a hike to a fantastic Oktoberfest celebration in Marin (north of San Francisco). My friend Juliana and I met someone who had been living in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and so of course I asked him lots of questions about island life. "Remember when that man from Oktoberfest told you to 'say yes to everything'? You took that message to heart," my mother wrote. "You have really said 'yes' to every opportunity." I think back on all the times this year that I said "yes." I said yes to trying new foods, to learning a few Palauan words, to meeting people I would have never met in the U.S., to trying new sports, to just being more relaxed. My life feels so much richer because I felt open to opportunities this year.
Palau is an easy place in which to say "yes." There's only one option for evening entertainment, so you say yes. You want to get on the water, so you say yes when someone offers you a ride on their boat. You want to try local foods, so you say yes when they are offered. Palau taught me how very simple and wonderful this concept can be.
Moving Forward*
Tonight marks the end of an amazing year in Palau and the beginning of two months of travel in Asia. Tonight I head to Manila, then Kuala Lumpur, then India, then Nepal. I'll be home after Thanksgiving. Pen Palau will stay up until September of 2013, but I won't be posting too often. Instead, I want to preserve my blog as-is: a reflection of one young woman's experiences in Micronesia, which also turned out to be one of the best years of her life.
As one of the Justices said today as she said goodbye to me, "It's good to leave with happy memories." And so I want to preserve Pen Palau, with my memories and reflections of Palau. Thank you for reading and commenting. I have enjoyed sharing this experience.
Sulang and ma uriul!
*Yes, that is a presidential slogan here.
