This is the one-week mark since I arrived in the Solomon Islands and I can honestly say it’s unlike anything I have ever experienced! Being shaken out of my comfort zone and thrown into a wildly different culture and environment, I’ve not only been made aware of personal strengths and weaknesses but also discovered an intriguing culture that, just over a year ago, I didn’t even know existed. It’s also a wonder how a week’s time can make you much more comfortable and familiar with a different environment; upon first arriving, I can definitely say I was overwhelmed and intimidated by the sharp contrast of cultures. However, during the past week I’ve been able to build important connections with many of the people in the community here at Auki and simply get used to the activities of daily life. I’ve learned that it’s perfectly natural to brush your teeth with coconut milk, share a cold-water bucket shower with a few friendly geckos, for boys to walk down the street holding hands and for students to use berries from the “glue tree” to stick pieces of their art projects together! While initially taken aback, I am struck by the friendliness of the people here in the Solomons. Family members, especially the pikininis, or younger kids, living in Fanulama love to wave and yell a greeting to me as I walk by their homes on the way to and from school. After a few days, I feel very welcomed and a part of this small community here (and I’m even able to respond with a greeting in Pijin, which they love!).
On Tuesday I had the joy of accompanying Srs Maria and Regina to the local kindy, or preschool/kindergarten. Although the setup of the classroom is quite different from schools in the states (the building is one main room with hanging curtain dividers to separate the three grade levels), the enthusiasm and energy of the kids was the same as they raced around to get my attention. At this age, the kids here in the Solomons are not embarrassed to stare and many times I turned to find a group of four or five looking wide-eyed at me, wondering what this strange American visitor was doing in their school. Working with the kindies was a bit more challenging than teaching at the secondary school because they had not yet learned English, so I found it easiest to stick with the basics –simple poems and nursery rhymes. I can now proudly say that “Five Little Monkeys” and “Wheels on the Bus” became an overnight sensation here in Auki! (While sitting in the chapel later that night during evening prayer, I could hear a little voice next to me whispering, “Mommy called the doctor and the doctor said, ‘No more monkeys jumping on the bed...’”) I think perhaps next week we’ll try the Hokey Pokey!
My experiences on Wednesday, however, were of a completely different nature. Again I tagged along with the two sisters on their pastoral rounds and Wednesdays they visit Kilu’ufi Hospital. Kilu’ufi is the main hospital on the island of Maliata and consists of a number of small outdoor buildings that house each of the mental/psychiatric, men, women and children’s wards. Walking across the hospital grounds, I was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. The conditions were completely different than those I am used to; instead of private rooms, tiled floors, adjustable beds and doctors and nurses hurrying from patient to patient, my first observations were of cement walls and floors, buzzing flies and crowded one-room facilities with just a few staff and university students attending to the patients. While I had appreciated the many privileges I have after working in the soup kitchen at St Vincent DePaul and Night Patrol back in Sydney, those feelings were nothing compared to how I felt after leaving Kilu’ufi. What touched me the most was entering the children’s ward and seeing the 20 or so beds crammed together with young babies and toddlers hooked up to IVs and lying underneath mosquito netting. It was heart wrenching. Although our visit was brief after we delivered communion to some of the patients, these sights and experiences of the hospital were so incredible, they will remain with me for a long time.
Each day after I am done shadowing Srs Maria and Regina, I walk across the street to join Sr Loretta to teach at Alegegio Secondary School. Although there are still things I’m getting used to, like when students get up to spit their betal nut juice out of the window, the class-stopping noise from helicopters overhead, and the extreme shyness of the students, I think I am getting the hang of it! Yesterday, as I walked out of class with one of the students, he turned to me and said, “Miss, when we don’t respond, it’s not that we don’t understand. It’s just that we’re nervous about speaking English in front of you. If we make mistakes, others will laugh.” He went on to explain that many of the students were intimidated by my English-speaking ability because it was only their third language. Standing all of 5’4”, this surprised me as I can hardly consider myself an intimidating person. All this time I’ve been self-conscious and feeling slightly out of my element, but here I’ve come to realize that these students are in a similar situation when learning English. In fact, I’ve started to realize they are more intimidated of me than I am of them! In response to this feedback, I planned an activity today to role-play the narrative that one of the English classes was working on. I had volunteers come to the front of the room and act out the short story –and it was a success! The students were more responsive when they didn’t have to raise their hand and be singled out in front of the class, but after being joined by others in front of the room, they were soon laughing and joking.
I’ve had the chance to talk with many of the teachers, too, in the staff room during free periods and I often come back to find a small group of them sitting around my borrowed desk, waiting to ask questions. I’ve had some really interesting discussions with them about differences in culture and society of developing and developed countries, government and economy. I accompanied one of the teachers to a social studies class where they were (fittingly) learning about changes in society so I was able to tell a little about changes in American society from the colonial era until now. The students were amused to hear that women wear pants in the U.S., and I was just as surprised to find out that brides in the Solomons traditionally wear blue with their top uncovered and decorated with tribal symbols.
Arriving at school this afternoon, clutching a coconut and banana for lunch, splattered with mud, and drenched from getting caught in a torrential downpour, one of the teachers smiled and said, “You are a true Solomon Island girl now!” This is my biggest compliment yet! I’m trying to soak it all in while I can –and that includes learning Solomon Island style cooking. I’ve helped Agatha make dinner for the large gathering of priests who are staying with Bishop Chris this week. She showed me how to use the ‘local kitchen,’ which is a small leaf hut housing a wood fire to use for barbeque, grilling and boiling potatoes. Dry coconut shells are used as kindling and bamboo tongs or dried coconut leaves are used to remove hot pots from the fire. I’ve learned how to make use of all parts of the coconut too; leaves are woven into baskets, mats, potholders and bags, husks are used for firewood, shells can be carved into custom spoons and the meat and milk are used for cooking. But the sisters are just as curious about Western style of cooking as I am about Solomon Island food and I’ve promised to try some French Toast with them and give chocolate chip cookies a shot (although brown sugar isn’t used here and chocolate chips are hard to come by so I think I’ll improvise with a few Mars bars I was able to pick up at the general store!)
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