[island101]

About: Lisa, 23 years old from Dallas. She is visiting her brother Gary who is a Peace Corps volunteer in Micronesia (Yap).

Story:
I’m on an amazing 10-day trip to visit my brother who is a Peace Corps volunteer in Micronesia. He lives on an island called Yap and works as a teacher on the island. Yap is an interesting place. When I arrived on the island via plane there was a woman handing out leis. Unlike most airport greeters you see elsewhere, she was topless. In the old days, men and women on the island didn’t wear shirts or anything on top. Today you’ll still find toplessness on the island, especially among the older citizens, and on special occasions.

The trip has been amazing so far, I did a lot of snorkeling and diving. I’ve been living with my brother and his host family. I also got a chance to meet some of the other Peace Corps volunteers living on the island.

A few days into the trip my brother asked me if I’d like to visit one of the outer islands. The people of the island adhere to the old customs, and it’s almost mandatory for citizens of the island to be topless. It’s even expected that visitors who stay on the island for longer than a few days should also be topless.

I was a bit apprehensive about the toplessness, but this sounded like a terrific opportunity to experience a society much different from the US, so I agreed to visit the island. There’s a boat that takes people from island to island and one morning we got on the boat for the adventure. My brother has been there many times before and he has a few friends on the island.

As the boat was approaching the shore I noticed the other people on the boat started removing their tops. My brother also took off his shirt. Then he turned to me and told me I should take off my shirt and bra now before we go ashore. I immediately felt butterflies in my stomach.

I looked around and nobody was paying too much attention to me, so I stripped off my t-shirt and was now down to my white bra. Then I reached back and unclasped my bra and let it fall off my chest, exposing my boobs to the sun, my brother and everyone on the boat. I was pretty embarrassed because it was the first time my brother saw me topless, at least since I was very young. I could feel my face turn red. My brother said I shouldn’t be embarrassed because it’s normal here and everyone else is topless. He said I’d get used to it.

As we got off the boat we were greeted by one of my brother’s friend who lives on the island. He brought us to his house where he lives with his parents and siblings. We stayed there for the two days we were on the island.

It was a little awkward as I was introduced to the members of the family we stayed with. They were very friendly, and I got bare chested hugs from all of them including the dad. It’s not every day you find yourself with your bare breasts pressed against the bare chest of an older man you don’t know.

I offered to help make dinner that night. We did some of the prep sitting outside with the family, getting to know each other. To prepare one of the items I had to pound the ingredient with a large, heavy tool. As I was doing this I could feel my breasts bouncing around uncontrollably in front of everyone. I could have really used a bra in that instance as bras do provide some functional use.

The next day, the family we were staying with wanted to take us on a tour around their village. The mother thought it would be cool if I dressed up as a local. The locals basically wear colorful skirts called “lava lavas” which are made of banana fiber and hibiscus bark. I put on one of hers and have to admit they look pretty cool. It was a little difficult to tie the skirt and it unfortunately fell off my hips a few times, exposing half of my thonged-ass to those behind me. Other than the mooning, the village was awesome, and we met many locals including some politicians. It was a great to experience a different culture, the only downside was my sunburned nipples.