Freeways to Flip-Flops by Sonia Marsh

Freeways to Flip-Flops: A Family's Year of Gutsy Living on a Tropical Island, Sonia Marsh.  Lake Forest, CA: Gutsy Publications, 2012.  e-book, 292 pps.


The Marsh family were living a ritzy life in Orange County, California.  The monetary demands required to keep in pace with consumerism were having an adverse effect on Sonia's husband Duke.  Their oldest boy of three was beginning to get into trouble.  The middle son was very much into "buy, buy, buy."  The youngest was quiet but well-behaved so far.  Sonia and Duke decided to sell their home and move the family to one of the islands in Belize.  They did.

Island living was difficult to get used to.  There were rashes and insect bites, geckos crawling up the walls, shortages of water, and a problem with the educational system beyond elementary school.  The family settled into a compound with three other families of ex-pats and a caretaker family.  Consequently, they did not entirely "go native."  The oldest son straightened up his behavior but the youngest hated living in Belize.  The savings account balance was going down and there was also a problem with getting adequate income to come in.

sapphoq reviews says:  Among some ex-pat circles, Belize is often suggested as "the perfect place" for those who wish out of the United States.  Perhaps not.  Or perhaps the results are better when people strive for assimilation into the neighborhood and the culture rather than staying within a clique of ex-pats.  At any rate, the book was a bit draggy in parts but I stuck with it.  I would have liked to know exactly what kind of geckos were crawling up the walls of their first Belize home.  Kudos to Sonia and Duke for deciding to move rather than dumping their eldest son at WWASPS or a similar agency with a history of abuse.  Freeways to Flip-Flops was not the best ex-pat read but not the worst either.  Recommended to people with kids who are looking to split the U.S.A.

The Happy Isles of Oceania by Paul Theroux

Paul Theroux, The Happy Isles of Oceania. New York: Mariner Books, 1992. Large Paperback, 528 pps.

I've been curious about the dots of land in the Pacific west of Hawaii ever since I read J. Maarten Troost' The Sex Lives of Cannibals. I was delighted to discover Paul Theroux' account of his trip through Meganesia, Melanesia, Polynesia, and Hawaii. As he paddled his kayak around nooks and harbors, Theroux frequently listened to c.d.s of various artists. He met locals and tourists, slept out under the stars and in slovenly motels, recorded local stories about cannibalism, cargo cults, and missionaries.

Theroux wanted to go to the island Tanna specifically because the Jon Frum cargo cult was flourishing there [N.B. and is to the present day]. The followers of Jon Frum believe that he will return in a future February in order to rescue them from the ministrations of the missionaries. On the day of his return, the rich white people will be forced to leave Tanna. The missionaries wanted to rescue the natives from such evils as cannibalism. The natives yearned for rescue from the missionaries.

The Happy Isles of Oceania was a fascinating in-depth account of many islands and peoples. The mention of related literature left me with a desire to seek some of it out, the cargo cults' description resulted in my own interet-related. the foibles of the misguided missionaries and the remark that humans tasted like pork had me laughing out loud. Folks who relish the dream of a tropical paradise will do well to read this account of traveling throughout the Pacific in a kayak.

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