Friday, August 5th: Happy St. Dominic’s Day!

Today was my first day celebrating St. Dominic’s feast day with a full Dominican community and I got to experience it in true Solomon Island fashion! The community here at Fanulama pulled out all the stops and came together for a family-style dinner at Bishop Chris’ house. Staff members and their families, priests from all over Maliata, DMI sisters of Auki, and even students from Alegegio helped celebrate this special feast day honoring the Dominican friars and sisters (and the honorary Dominican guest!). Following a special mass in St. Augustine chapel and a wild half-mile race back to Fanulama (here’s where I have to admit that I was beat out by 5-year old Clemente…I’ll blame it on the flip-flops!) we gathered in a small hall for a large feast –staka kaikai. And it wouldn’t be upholding the Dominican tradition of preaching without some speeches! Bishop Chris invited all the community members –even the little pikininis –to say something and I, too, am getting quite good at impromptu speeches. Although far away from home, this community came together tonight and I felt welcomed and blessed to be considered part of the Dominican family.

Tuesday, August 2nd –Thursday, August 4th: “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore…”

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!)

Monday, August 1st: Explicit and Implicit Conclusions

Sorry in advance for the excessive, yet outdated posts...I've just got to the internet since I've been here to post updates of my trip!

I taught my first English class today! I was caught slightly off guard after being thrown into the middle of teaching a form 6 English class (the regular teacher met with me 5 minutes before class started, handed me a book of grammar activities, pointed and said, “Here’s where we ended. That’s where you can start!”). I’ve had some practice teaching before with religious education throughout high school, but never English as a second language. And while I thought that Pijin has been slightly challenging to follow, I can only imagine the difficulty that English grammar presents to these students –for many of them this is their third language!

Opening the workbook up to the unit, it was a lesson on ‘Concepts in Writing’ focusing on drawing conclusions and describing the differences between implicit and explicit conclusions. Ok. I took a deep breath. I got this. While the explanation and activities took up less than a page in the workbook, I spent the entire 50 minutes trying to explain the use of conclusions in writing, making up examples and trying desperately to get the class involved. One thing I noticed, and something that Srs Regina and Loretta also advised, is that students in the Solomon Islands will respond however it makes the teacher happy – whether they understand the material or not. Because of the culture, too, they very rarely make eye contact (especially after I’ve asked a question, so they don’t get called on, but is that really all that different from students in the US?!) and sometimes also respond by raising their eyebrows instead of nodding. While teaching explicit vs. implicit statements, I couldn’t help but be humored at the irony of the implicit messages they were sending!

Yet after my initial surprise, at the end of teaching the second period of teaching the same lesson, I felt much more confident and comfortable engaging with the class. By the time they left they were all smiling and laughing (ok, they were laughing at me because I had never heard of ‘String Band’ before, which is a type of music here in the Solomons) and a few volunteered some Pijin phrases (“Tanggio teachin fo mifala,” which is “thank you for teaching us”).

Embarking on this trip, one of the goals I had written in my proposal was that I wanted to become more flexible and patient. Today’s teaching experience was not just an English exercise for the students, but also a humbling experience and made me improvise, taking into account the individual personalities of the students. While I’ve always tended to be one to spend time agonizing over a paper or presentation outline, today it was all about recognizing when the students needed an explanation repeated or given another example. As I return to Alegegio Secondary School for the next two weeks, I will continue to learn from these students as I teach them English.

I’m off to review some geography notes from one of the social studies teachers, whose class I will be teaching tomorrow. Tomorrow’s lesson: the use of the population demographic transition model…oh boy…

Sunday, July 31st: Fishes and Loaves

This morning the sisters and I walked down the road (after enjoying sleeping in until 6:30!) for mass at St. Augustine Church. It was Bishop Chris’ first mass at the church since he’s returned and he received a very warm welcome from the parish (most people around Auki know him and smile, wave and shout hello as he drives past in his truck). Before beginning, Bishop Chris introduced me as his ‘wontalk,’ someone of the same language, and afterwards many members came up to shake hands, say hello and introduce themselves.

Bishop Chris spoke (in Pijin, so I had to listen carefully to be able to understand) about the parable of fishes and loaves and how regardless of the location, priests celebrating mass all over the world were reading the same gospel, signifying its importance in Christian living. Since I’ve been here I’m already beginning to understand this importance of sharing a meal within a community. Although each of the sisters works on a different project during the day, mifala (everyone) always comes together to share breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not only that, but there is always an extra chair near the table and a plate to share for anyone who may drop by.

This afternoon we drove along the (very bumpy!) dirt road to Buma for Bishop Chris to visit some of the Croatian sisters who arrived just after he left for his holiday in the states. All four are nurses and are planning to work with the local women’s community on maternal health and try to address the problem of maternal and infant mortality rates. They, too, opened their doors to our large crew and set the table with Croatian rolls and some more of the very special Solomon Island pancakes (they’re delicious when served with sprinkled sugar! mmm) and added more chairs and benches as more members of the community stopped in. The sisters are beginning to learn Solomon Island Pijin, and three of them are tackling English as well, which is a huge feat. While Bishop Chris discussed plans for some of their programs, Loretta took me for a walkabout on the black-sanded beach where we watched a game of beach soccer (I got a loud cheer for saving a runaway ball from the waves –I’m starting to master playing in a skirt and flip flops…)

I also met and talked with Cynthia who is 19 and living with and assisting the nuns. Like the other students in Australia, she was very curious to hear all about New York and in return taught me some Pijin phrases and explained some ones I’ve started to hear:
Staka= many
Lukim = see
Tanggio = Thank you (or thank q, as I saw written on the boat ride over)
Tanggio tumas = thank you very much
Gud tumas = very good
Gu for lukim iu = Good to see/meet you
Lukim iu behind = See you later
Wea nao = where
Nem bloi iu? = What is your name?
Iu blow ea? = Where do you come from?
Iu stap lo wea? = Where do you live?
Wea nao iu go? = Where are you going?
Fo kaikai = to eat/to feast
Iu laea! = You’re lying!
Sore! = oops!/Watch it!/Sorry!
Plis, iu save sidaon = Please, take a seat
Iu hao? = How are you?
Iu nice balla tumas= You are very pretty
Iufala look nice = you all look nice
Turu iu gecko = not quite sure what this means translated, but one of the sisters said it’s a big hit with the kids, so I’ll have to give it a shot

After daily evening prayer, the sisters and I joined Agatha, Father Moses, and Brother Malcolm, who is preparing to be ordained deacon next Sunday, at Bishop Chris’ house for weekly Sunday dinner. There was staka kaikai including fried fish and chips, onion and ginger chicken, and fresh cabbage, cucumbers, green peppers, corn and pineapples, all grown in the garden or from the market. Even Corporal, the neighborhood dog, enjoyed the leftovers of the meal, crunching happily on the chicken bones (“We could run energy for the whole compound with his tail right now!” said Bishop Chris.) Sharing this meal together, I learned more about Auki from Bishop Chris, discussed some of the programs I will be working in this week, and enjoyed everyone’s company.

Saturday, July 30th: Christmas in July

While there is something incredibly satisfying about listening to the merry sounds of Christmas carols seated by a roaring fire with mug of hot chocolate and snow falling outside the window, I’ve discovered they are just as much fun to listen to when dressed in a tank top and sandals, drinking coconut juice straight from the shell. Being big fans of music, the sisters have a wide collection, including a Christmas cd and (unlike many strict Americans I know who relegate the Christmas music between Thanksgiving and New Years) have no problem enjoying a few “O Holy Nights” and “The First Noels” in the off-season! As I helped Sr Maria prepare lunch this afternoon – a delicious cabbage, tuna and tomato quiche – we played the Christmas music a few times through.

The young boys of the families here in Fanualama (or “place of peace”), which is the compound for the chapel and houses for Bishop Chris, the sisters, visitors and a couple of families in the community, had their own “Christmas in July” after receiving a few small gifts from Bishop Chris after his arrival late last night. I watched them squeal with laughter as they transitioned from a game of soccer, to running bases, and finally ‘frisbee’ with the now-flattened ball. Bishop Chris pointed out how, unlike children in America, these kids were not run by micromanaged schedules (half the time, he said, their parents may not even know where they are) and they were thrilled to just be running around, shirtless, in the hot mid-day sun.

After a busy schedule in Australia, it was a little difficult to sit still without feeling like I wasn’t able to contribute to anything. So when the chance came, jumped to help Maria make lunch and Loretta weed the front lawn area. However, while my hands felt busy, I wasn’t all that sure if the help I offered was really just getting in the way (even after a trip to the market this morning to see all the fresh fruits and vegetables laid out, I’m still a bit unsure about certain types so Maria ended up doing most of it). While I kneeled among the clover in front of the house, listening to some tropical island songs (at this point we had moved past the Christmas carols) Regina called me inside to help her and Maria with their English course studies. Finally I felt a bit more in my element –nouns, adjectives and adverbs are the same here as they were in Ridgefield High School. Regina and Maria are working on completing a certificate course to help them advance in levels of English and while I am here I will try and answer their questions about understanding the instructions.

Loretta explained to me this morning the school system here in the Solomon Islands. Unlike the America public school system, which mandates that students stay in school to a certain age, students here must pass examinations after grades 7, 10, and 11 in order to stay in school. Because of this there are fewer students at the university level, a number that is made even smaller because of the financial burden on the families. There is also a financial responsibility for families with girls, as the ‘bride price’ is still practiced here in Maliata. As we sat eating dinner last night, we heard loud singing and cheering pass along the street and the sisters explained to me that it was a wedding celebration. However, the cheering only came from the husband’s side of the family –the bride’s family essentially loses a family member as she takes the dowry and goes off to live with her husband.

Thursday, July 28th – Friday, July 29th: Jump!

After plane, train, automobile and boat rides later, “jump!” was the welcoming word that first greeted me in Auki this morning. I arrived at the wharf on the Pelican Express, a small ferryboat over from the island, Honiara, and found that Auki is an extremely busy port! Because of the line of boats, we could not pull directly up and instead I mastered the art of ‘boat-hopping’ across another cargo ship onto the nearby dock. (It takes a bit more concentration with a giant backpackers pack strapped to your back to judge and balance the jump across the 3-foot wide gap –especially after witnessing another passenger’s luggage not quite make it…yikes!) Once safely across, Srs Regina and Maria greeted me with a beautiful flower lei and we pushed through the hot, bustling crowd to find my luggage.

The sights, sounds and smells that have met me both here in Auki and yesterday in Honiara are more different than anything I have yet experienced. First, there are the drivers –Rhode Island drivers have nothing on the ones here! As soon as we pulled out of the airport yesterday going down the road (which was one-way only, I might add) we were met with oncoming traffic with drivers laughing and waving at our surprised expressions as we had to quickly turn off onto the grass. Just driving seems like a constant game of chicken! As we’ve passed open pickup trucks on the road, I’ve seen the open beds packed with people, both sitting up on the sides and at the back, with legs hanging off (seems a bit tricky with the bumpy dirt roads, so I give them a lot of credit!), where they sit for hours driving from the north shore to other places on the island. There’s also a very popular trend among the men of chewing on betal nuts, which are very sour, red fruit (that dyes your mouth) and which you chew and spit. There are stands, or even just simple tarps on the ground, all along the roads with people selling them. And the sweet, sweet smell of coconut is everywhere!

As for the food, there are lots and lots of fruits and vegetables grown in backyard gardens as well as fresh fish from the docks. Between yesterday and today, I’ve gotten a range of Solomon Island taste –fish and chips, chicken wings seasoned with ginger, rice with curry, ‘pancakes’ (which is a lot like fried dough cakes) potatoes, potatoes, potatoes, and plenty of banana, pineapples, watermelon, cucumber, spinach, and green pepper. (I’ve also been promised by Sr Regina that she will make her famous pudding made from cassava and coconut!) The sisters will teach me to cook some of their common Solomon Island meals and have asked what recipes I know so I can teach them as well. I’m still trying to figure out all the ingredients available here –lots and lots of fresh fruit and vegetables – so any suggestions for some simple recipes would be much appreciated! (Perhaps we’ll try chocolate chip cookies –chocolate biscuits –as they call them here.)

           

That initial greeting “jump!” seems to be fitting, as that will continue to be my mantra while I am here in the Solomons. Already I’ve begun to fall into some of the patterns here –including after-dinner dance parties! Sr Loretta who also lives with Srs Regina and Maria put on some classic dance tunes this evening, everything from the hokey pokey (known here as ‘okey cokey’ ha!) to ‘the twist.’ Yes, see if you can picture me teaching these three Solomon Island sisters the moves to the chicken dance! (If possible, I think it was even funnier for them…) I’ve been promised to learn the “Paupa New Guinea” dance tomorrow night in return!

There’s much more to tell but after a long day of travel and a promise of early morning prayer and meeting with Bishop Chris (who arrives late tonight!) I’m calling it a night.  In my bug canopy-covered bed, I’m serenaded to sleep by distant singing and howling (though I’m trying to keep one eye open on this lizard scaling the wall across the room…)

Always have a rain date!

As previously warned months ago by Sr Rose Mary about the unreliability of flights to the Solomon Islands, I arrived at the airport Tuesday morning to find that my flight to Honiara had been cancelled due to ‘cyclones’ (which is a little questionable, being that it is currently dry season…) However, this trip has not only reminded me of the numerous Dominican values that I’ve experienced in the variety of social justice programs, but also flexibility and patience. My mindset at this point: there’s a reason for everything!

I was able to take advantage of a few free days and do a little more sightseeing in the city, jetting over to Manly beach on a ferry to visit some family friends and enjoy the wonderfully warm, sunny weather. 

I’ve also spent some time brushing up on my Pijin-speaking skills (which brought more than a few laughs at the dinner table!) and some further research on the Solomon Islands. I came across a fun article on traditional shark worship in my travel book (this is for all those Jaws fans out there!): 

"The former animists on Laulasi traditionally worshipped sharks as their totem. In dramatic ceremonies, held until the 1970s, sharks were actually fed by hand after villagers had summoned them by rhythmically beating together stones underwater.

During the ceremony, the village priest calls out the name of a particular shark. In response, the shark swims to a boy standing on a rock in the water, who feeds it a piece of pork. The younger, smaller sharks are fed first, until finally the oldest and largest shark receives the biggest piece from the boy, who then climbs on its back. The shark swims around the lagoon, carrying the boy, before returning to the submerged rock for him to disembark.

The Laulasi people explain this ritual by saying a shark ancestor in the past had promised not to attack the islanders as long as they fed it and its descendants pork. In return, people would be left unharmed and the sharks would ensure that a plentiful supply of tuna would be left in the area.

Because of these traditions, predominantly red or black clothing is absolutely taboo on Laulasi (black being the color of local pigs, while red could be confused with blood, and thereby arousing the shark ancestors). Even today, visitors are not allowed to wear these colors while visiting."

(I'm beginning to regret all my red and black clothing choices for the Solomons...Shark Bait Hoo Ha Ha!)

Fingers crossed that Honiara will have some cyclone-free weather for tomorrow's flight!