First Day in Palau

After arriving on Tuesday evening, I got a good night sleep and arose about 7am. Apparently, the most difficult time adjustment coming from the U.S. is waking up around 3-4am and not being able to sleep. I had no clue about what time or day it was, so I slept soundly. I sorted through some of my boxes and then called the court to help me with my paperwork. They sent a clerk and a marshall who came and drove me around. First, we went and got an identification picture taken. Then we went over to Immigration to get my entry work permit and then I applied for a Palau Social Security card. That went smoothly. Next stop was telephone/internet and I signed up for a phone in my apartment and dial-up internet. I also opened a bank account at the Bank of Hawaii.

I next got to visit the court and see where I'll be working. The new Capitol building on the big island opens October 1, but for the time being the court is staying here in Koror. I met the outgoing court counsels and some of the clerks. I went to lunch with LB, one of my fellow new clerks who arrived a few weeks ago. She lives in a house near the court with her husband and two sons. If you think I'm adventurous, try picking up your entire family of four and moving to Palau. We had a nice lunch at her house, which has a stunning view of a lagoon.

After lunch we headed back to Social Security and got my card. I'm now in the system and paying for benefits I'll never see. Then we went to the department of public safety to apply for a driver's license. I presented my valid Virginia Driver's License, but I still needed to pass a 50 question written test. I was never given a copy of Palauan driver rules, so most answers were educated guesses. The test has normal driving test questions, but also some really peculiar questions. They had multiple questions about the tint of windows because most cars have tinted windows. My co-workers did give me a few answers before I got there. I was doing okay with the test, but as I was finishing up, one of the staffers came up to me and helped me out with a few of the questions (with a little nudge, nudge, wink wink). That got me just enough right to pass and I qualified for the license. It is a very nice looking license, better than most U.S. licenses.

I returned to the court to find that four more of my boxes had arrived. They made it here in less than a week, leaving only two that have not arrived. Everything inside of them made it safely. I also received a few pieces of mail, so the mail does work and it will get to me eventually.

After they finished work, one of the leaving counsels took me to the grocery store. There are two big ones here in Koror and they are across the street from one another. We went to Surangels and I was pleasantly surprised to find a good supply of American food items. The layout of the store was American and I was able to find what I needed.

In the evening, I was invited to play Poker with some of the other court counsels and one of the Judges at another American lawyers' apartment. I was still pretty jet lagged, but I wanted to try to adjust to the time difference. I played okay in Poker, but through a combination of fuzzy exhaustion and poor cards I was the first one out. I did get to meet Judge Miller, one of the Supreme Court judges. He's an American from New York who moved here to become a judge. Poker was fun, but I ran out of gas around 9:30 and I went home and got to sleep. A busy first day.