Hospitalization and Pohnpeian TV

My 2014 did not exactly get off to a great start. In January I spent almost a week in the hospital for a bacterial infection that was resistant to almost every available antibiotic. Fun times.

But every cloud has its silver lining, and Peace Corps forked over the big bucks to put me in the private hospital in a private room with TV. (I hadn’t watched TV since last June, when all the volunteers were put up in a hotel for our mid-service training.) There’s no cable in the villages, so TV is a purely Kolonia-based diversion on Pohnpei.

Pohnpeian TV is an eclectic mix of channels from various countries. There’s an Australian news channel, a Japanese channel (that showed sumo wrestling every time I flipped through), Lifetime, ESPN, Spike, CNN, The Food Network, etc. There is also a San Francisco news channel with important information like “Rain in the Bay Area… and what that means for your morning commute!” I learned all about the weather across Asia, Australia, San Fran… basically everywhere except Pohnpei. (Not that a weather report would be that helpful here… “And, just like every other day, we’re going to be seeing some unbearable heat!”) There is, however, one Pohnpeian channel that broadcasts exclusively (as far as I can gather) low-budget PSAs about voting, betel nut, vaccines, etc.

Another fun thing about Pohnpeian TV is that the American channels air a week or so after they originally aired in the United States. So I got to watch a Seahawks game on ESPN that I afterwards found out was a month old (but they still won!).

I’ve come to the conclusion that it is impossible to avoid “The Big Bang Theory.” It was on almost all of the available channels! At all hours of the day! Also, does Lifetime offer any programs other than “Dance Moms?” It was on all the time! (Although on my last day they did air an all-day “Project Runway” marathon that I thoroughly enjoyed…)

I gotta say, even horrible TV is mesmerizing after such a long absence. I never watched much TV before Peace Corps, but I might turn into a couch potato when I return… Or at least for a few days.