Micronesia is both a country (The Federated States of Micronesia, to be precise) and a region. The broader region of the South Pacific is a laid-back place, but can be difficult to hop around due to limited flight schedules. Until now, I’ve only been to Hawaii, New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Easter Island, Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa.

This leaves many unvisited islands, and the following islands that are also countries: Kirabati, Tuvalu, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau, Nauru, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and… wait for it… Australia.

I call New York City home, but there is not much appreciating or wonderfulness here in August. I was quickly reminded of this as I lugged my bag down the steps of the Jamaica subway station in Queens on the way back from John F. Kennedy International Airport and was greeted with a surge of heat, humidity and stench. Had any place in the Mediterranean been so hot? Maybe Cyprus. So humid? The steam room in the Turkish baths of Istanbul. So smelly? Maybe a highway gas station restroom. All three together? Not even close.