Miyoko spends all day teaching at school, making sample phrases, scoring tests, and so on.  The Palauan government has set up a small apartment unit for Miyoko to live.  The apartment was very safe and close to the school; and rented only for Government employees.  Miyoko lived here alone. To be precise, she lives with a black kitten. The kitten is about less than one year old male.  She got him from a Palauan friend when the cat was just a months old.  Miyoko named him Banana. Banana stayed only in the house. At that time, pet food was not sold in Palau, so she made cat meals with fish and vegetables every day.

     Banana loved Miyoko to throw a clothes pin for him. He ran after it and brought it back to Miyoko.  Then she threw the clothes pin again.  Banana never tired of this game and asked Miyoko to constantly play with him.

      In the town of Koror, there are some small general markets and also some bigger ones which can be called supermarkets. At such bigger stores, you can buy canned food, frozen meat, and bread, all imported. There are many items from Japan, such as instant noodles and miso.   At the pier, there is a large freezer that belonged to the fishermen's cooperative.  There, you can buy fresh fish caught by Palauan fishermen. 

     There are very few shops outside of Koror.  People who are living on other islands get their daily food from their fields and the nearby sea.  They need to come to Koror occasionally to buy the necessary miscellaneous goods which they cannot find on their island. The town of Koror is small, but people from other islands are always gathering at the shops or street corners to greet each other and exchange information.

     Miyoko sometimes wants to eat fresh sashimi of squid with soy sauce. On such a day, Miyoko hurriedly goes home after school and drives with a fishing rod, a handmade lure, and a small bucket to the pier. There are several seawalls in Koror Island, but Miyoko's favorite is the west pier, because from there, she can enjoy the beautiful sunset while fishing for squid. Although Koror is surrounded by the sea, most of the seaside is covered with mangrove forests, where fishing is impossible.

     Near the surface of the water at the west pier, squids of about ten inches long are swarming around the seawall. The squid hugs the glittering lure. The lure has sharply bent needles which catch the squid’s legs.   Squid are smart and learn well, and Miyoko is not good at fishing.  Often she can't catch anything. The squid swim near the seawall, changing its body color from transparent to light purple to pink. From time to time, they inflate the body and push out round black eyeballs to stare at Miyoko from the water.

 

     Palauans also come to the same pier to catch squids. People sit on chairs or on the edge of the seawall far separate to each other, and hang fishing lines. Many come with their children, so the children's playful voices are always echoing around them. There are no streetlights; the pier gets pitch dark after sunset. However, because of the local family adults with kids, this area is very safe for Miyoko.

     While Miyoko is trying her technique of squid catching, the sun burns the sea and sky and sets over the islands. This makesMiyoko forget the squid and stares off to the burning sky.

     Miyoko had an American boyfriend named Michael. He is tall, has black eyes, and curly black hair that wraps around the face.  Michael was a volunteer dispatched by the US government and worked to teach shops and companies how to handle money so that economic activities could properly develop.  Michael is boarding in a Palauan host family.  And Michael had a canoe which he and some friends had got from a Palauan elder.  The canoe had been neglected and damaged here and there.  Michael and his friends took time to repair it little by little. The length of the canoe is about 15 feet, and the width is narrow enough for one person to sit.  This alone is too unstable and can easily turn over on the waves.  So there is a crossbar overhanging on one side which serves as a float. It is a style called an “outrigger” that has been used in this area for centuries.  However, Palauans now prefer speedboats.   "There aren't many outrigger canoes left in Palau that can still float on the water" says Michael.

     Miyoko loves to go out to sea with Michael to view the sunset with this canoe. On such a day, Miyoko rushes home from school to make rice balls.  Michael prepares for fishing.  Then, with a bottle of wine, the two row out into the west sea in the bay.  In a quiet place away from the boat lanes, they drop a fishing line, and just stare at the setting sun.  The sea mirrors the red and black burning sky.  A small canoe looks like it's floating in a sea of ​​fire.  Some speedboats pass by.  The people on the boat wave to the canoe.  Miyoko and Michael don't know who they are, but wave their hands back anyway in response.  Palauans have very good eyesight.  They could see who are on the canoe.   Fishermen who go fishing at night pass by.   If the fish is caught, Miyoko makes sashimi on the canoe.  But so often they catch no fish and end up with a supper of wine and rice balls.   But that is fine. The beauty of the breathtaking sunset is the best treat.