Joyce McClure

2 weeks ago | guam.stripes.com | Joyce McClure

Photos by Joyce McClure: Bamboo Dance performed by young Yapese men and women () Yap? Where’s that? In Micronesia. Oh, you’re moving to Indonesia. No, Micro….Micronesia…in the far western Pacific Ocean just above the equator. Blank stare. This was the typical exchange with friends and strangers alike when I announced in 2016 that I had applied to be a Peace Corps Response Volunteer in one of the most remote and smallest islands in the Pacific Ocean.

2 weeks ago | guam.stripes.com | Joyce McClure

Photos by Joyce McClure () When I first arrived at Yap International Airport after midnight on one of only two weekly flights from Guam, the air was hot and humid. My glasses fogged over as I stepped out of the airplane’s air conditioned interior.

4 weeks ago | guam.stripes.com | Joyce McClure

Photos by Joyce McClure () THE ISLAND OF YAP Society on the small, remote island of Yap is interconnected at all levels and each person has his or her own role to play, like the frames of the traditional buildings that are common throughout this Micronesian culture. It is said that, when tied together properly, a traditional Yapese building represents the spirit of families, villages and communities.

1 month ago | pacificislandtimes.com | Joyce McClure

Photo courtesy of Island Solider LLC/Hawaii Public RadioThe per capita enlistment rate in the U.S. military for citizens of the freely associated states (Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia) is higher than that of most U.S. states. More than 1,000 FAS citizens currently serve in the armed forces, while approximately 240 veterans reside in their home countries.

2 months ago | guam.stripes.com | Joyce McClure

In the far western reaches of the Pacific Ocean, the small, remote island of Yap sits amid a rich coral habitat that is home to some of the largest sea creatures in the world. Divers come to Yap from all over to swim with the resident population of manta rays that have a wingspan of up to 13 feet and weigh upwards of 1,500 pounds.