Earlier in the semester we had to read a book entitled, His Majesty O’Keefe.  His Majesty O’Keefe is a novel about an Irishman named David Dean O’Keefe.  O’Keefe set departed Savannah on the Belvidere; he was the captain of the Belvidere.  After setting sail he became shipwrecked and washed up on the Micronesian Island of Yap.  While he was on Yap he befriended a German man named Alfred Tetens whom had been on Yap trying to get the Yapese motivated in order for the island to join the trade market.  He just could not figure out what the Yapese people wanted; they would not work for money or any other common Western goods.  O’Keefe was the man who finally figured it out.  He discovered that the Yapese cherished the stone that could be found in the mountains of Palau because of the story that came with it about the travelling it took and the difficulty of obtaining the stone.  He laid the grounds for a Copra market on Yap by figuring out what the Yapese people will work for; they harvested Copra for him, and in return he took them on monthly voyages to Palau so they could get their precious stone.  While he was on Yap, O’Keefe opened a small store and bar for local residents called O’Keefe’s Kanteen.  Today there O’Keefe’s Kanteen is still there along with a hotel called O’Keefe’s Waterfront Inn.  The Inn reflects the style and hospitality of O’Keefe and his time on Yap.  Guests can actually purchase a copy of His Majesty O’Keefe at the front desk.

  I found it very interesting to learn that there is a hotel on the island based on a book we spent a good amount of the class reading and discussing.  It would be awesome if we got to see the hotel and store/bar while we are over there.