A Letter from Palau (Part 1)

I did not leave the house today. Beth and I did some gardening work; or I should say, she did some gardening work and I helped her while I was not chasing butterflies and bumblebees, trying to photograph them.

I chased this butterfly for five minutes and took about ten photos until I got this one. Not too impressive.

I did a better job with the bumblebees in the lavender and poppies.






I worried that I would have nothing to write about. Then, I came across some old letters we wrote home from Palau in 1992. 







We spent a year there, while I worked as a Legislative Counsel for Palau. My late friend Ross Meltzer got me the job, which he touted as "25 years worth of two week vacations."

Here goes:

BARRY P. GORELICK
SENATE LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL
P.O. BOX 8
KOROR, PALAU PW 96940

May 13, 1992

Dear Gail and Gamiel:

Let me bring you up to date. We arrived in Palau January 5th after three days in Honolulu. The first ten days we stayed in an awful cavelike motel. Then, we moved into our current two bedroom apartment which is quite nice. We live on the outskirts of Koror, about a half mile off the main road on a dirt road, in the middle of the jungle, next to mangrove swamp (no joke!). We have a little white Toyota with the steering wheel on the wrong side. I still walk up to the wrong side four months later. I have my mountain bike and ride to work (about 2 miles) occasionally.

It is very hot and humid here. It also rains a lot. The temperature averages about 81 degrees. For about the first three weeks, we were in culture shock. We didn't even feel the heat. We just walked around with our eyes wide and our jaws hanging because of the beauty and contrast to California. For the next month or so, we got adjusted to things and began a sort of honeymoon period. I became convinced that Palau was definitely tropical paradise. I imagined that I could stay here forever.

Palau is very beautiful. The water, reefs, beaches, islands and vegetation are as picturesque as anything I have ever seen or probably ever will. Everywhere we went was more beautiful than the last place. I went on boat rides, fishing trips, played poker and generally had a blast. We got a "domestic helper" [Virgie] who babysits, cleans and does the laundry, whenever we want, for $170 per month. There are inexpensive restaurants with good food. This felt like the yearlong vacation you could only dream about.

After several more months, the wheels came off. We really began to miss home, friends and family. Beth was ready to fly home immediately or sooner. Fortunately, we made some friends who helped us through tough times. They had already been through it and could understand. Lately, our moods have varied.

TO BE CONTINUED...

the bear


Comments

  1. Thomas LuehrsenJuly 2, 2020 at 3:52 PM

    I have a few letters (from you) from the last 4 decades...Let me know if you need more material for the blog!

    ReplyDelete

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