I got a new tattoo. Last Saturday night, I came across a design, a sort of tribal set of swirls and dots, that looked awesome, so I got it on my right forearm. It didn't take too long to get done, and it was in a pretty clean environment so I should be okay. Also recently, I had a hot shower at the base, the first so far. I would put that it one of the best moments I've had here. It was wonderful.
Since the last installment, things have been interesting. To begin with, I have come to the realization that I am from the northeast US and that will not change. Let me explain the significance of this. Temperatures here rarely dip below 85 degrees during the day, and the number of 85 degree days I have experienced since last August I can probably count on my fingers and toes. It's also winter here. I think I just may be a cool weather person. The concept of not having a northeast autumn, experiencing all the colors, smells, and added layers of it, is not one I would like to get used to. My energey level also is not as high as usual.
On Tuesday I got a tour of a jail cell. Well, I saw it from outside the cell itself, but in the hallway. This impromptu, odd tour took place immediately after I finished a computer training session at the police station. The officer, or constable, asked me, "Mister Craig" and my kids if we wanted a tour of the police station. Sure, why not, right? She led us around to the back of the station, took us inside in two small groups to see the jail cell in the basement. There was a man in there, standing at the bars. She spoke of him as though he could not understand what she was saying, telling us why he was behind the bars and how long he was going to be there for. I felt like I was in a zoo. Upon leaving, I clearly recall saying "I can't believe that just happened."
After the zoo tour, we munched on some stolen pizza. This is another interesting story. We walked into Mama's Pizza at noon. I made my way to the woman at the register to order. However, she informed me that my male, australian leader had already placed an order for me for noon. It seemed out of the ordinary for my male, australian supervisor (who I was to meet there) to do this, but I thought 'That was nice of him.' After digging into the three pizzas, a group of australians came in. We ate their pizza. And, as it turns out, their australian leader used to work for my company but left and created his own travel company that goes to all the same locations. I didn't feel too bad.
There are two little girls, aged three and four, who currently live at our base house with their mother. The three year old cries a lot. She also gets into things and occasionally does stuff that I view as inappropriate. For example, a coworker told me this story when it occurred a few days ago: "I was reading in the hammock when I noticed Kimberly on the pool deck, squatting. She had dropped trou' and shit on the deck." True story. This does not seem to be a singular occurrence among Fijian children, either. Two weeks ago I was in a village working on a construction project, a handful of local kids playing close by. I turned around to look at them just in time to see a little boy, standing at the edge of the group, whip it out and drain himself in the wide open. Ah, kids. They do the darndest things.
I take a group to teach at Mulomulo Primary School nearly every Wednesday. Last Wednesday I did the same, but the kids were a little more excited by our presence than usual. Teaching was great-my kids did awesome-and afterwards, at lunch, they were rockstars. A few of my teens wandered outside of the teacher's room and were swarmed by kids. They were pulled, crowded around, and cheered at. One of my girls took video of it before she was swarmed herself. It strongly resembles video of a riot.
It has been a week since the tattoo was put on my forearm and the henna has faded. It was nice while it lasted.
No comments:
Post a Comment