The Height Advantage

Interestingly, Christian's friends tend not to be his fellow high school classmates but rather the college students at PIBC. These friendships have been forged primarily through his inclusion in PIBC's inter-mural basketball. I guess the fact that Christian is a half inch away from being six feet five inches made him a highly sought after commodity for the teams. An additional benefit to having Christian on your team is he has been known to be the half-time entertainment. The Micronesian students think it is wonderfully entertaining to watch 16-year-old Christian attempt to "slam dunk." His lanky leaps and valiant vaults are met with loud cheers and boisterous bellows. Because of the basketball season, Christian has made some wonderful friends. One of these friends is Keiny, the president of the PIBC student counsel. Soft-spoken and always smiling, Keiny is one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet.

So, during Easter break, with the goal of unwinding in mind, Christian packed the car with snorkeling fins, boots, masks, and snorkels, and after picking Keiny up at the college, headed for Ypau ("e-pow") Beach. Arriving at Ypau, Christian began to remove the snorkeling equipment for Keiny and himself, to which Keiny shook his head. Although Christian and Keiny shared similar views about how one should play basketball, when it came to relaxing, their ideas were quite different. Keiny, as it seems is true for Micronesians in general, preferred to sit in a chair and relax as opposed to swim or snorkel in the gorgeous 83 degree water. And so, Christian contentedly observed the kaleidoscope of bright iridescent fish passing under his snorkeling mask as Keiny lounged in a beach chair contentedly regarding the Philippine Sea.