Article by: Kate Mulalap ( first published on year 2002 ).

Chuuk is a very beautiful, friendly place, and I know this from past experience. I have a family member who went there to school. Like Yap, Chuuk is a diver’s paradise. It’s pristine and unique waters are a treat to anyone who dives for a profession or for someone who just likes to swim and snorkel and play in the waters. Chuuk has a big lagoon surrounding its many islands and atolls. Even up to today, it is called “Truk Lagoon.” It is within this lagoon that ruins or a hundred or more WWII Japanese vessels and planes can be found.

On Weno, the main island, there used to be a Japanese lighthouse and a Japanese communications center. The Japanese communications center is now known as Xavier High School. A school of high prestige, Xavier High School is one of the schools in Micronesia that many favor. Teenagers come from all over Micronesia just to attend school there, from as far away as the Marshall Islands, to as close as Chuuk’s own inhabitants, which is to be expected. I myself regret that I have not attended that school, for everyone is closely united, and everyone knows almost everything about the other, something that might at times become inconvenient.

Chuuk has many little islands here and there and they are all perfect for boating or swimming. There are even these little islands, just tiny little ones, made up of only sand and are not even a mile across. Most of these the common tourist would find fascinating. Just coming in, the plane will dare a landing, that is, the landing strip is just beside the ocean and gives you the impression that you are going to land in the ocean. But in my opinion, better in the ocean than on land. A weak joke there perhaps. Chuukese people are very friendly, and very curious I might add. Chuuk is definitely one of the homier places I have visited.