Watch the Walk

Documents to deliver for a stranger Here in the islands we have a somewhat unique issue of transporting goods. Seeing as how most people don’t have a post office box and, besides which, the postal system is rather slow, how do you get something from one island to another? A lot of families are split between different islands, and with the cultural expectation that better-off family members will help out those who are worse off, there’s a fairly steady flow of goods between islands. Additionally, there are often official documents that have to reach government offices on the big island. So, when you know someone going to another island, you often will ask them to deliver something for you. Or maybe you don’t know them, you just go to the airport and look for someone who looks trustworthy (hello, Abby!) You know how in the US, they ask you if you’re carrying anything for anyone else? Well… um… yeah. I’ve ended up carrying a variety of things for others. Most common is an envelope with m...

Sunset from a taxi In my class the other day we were on the topic of describing your hopes and dreams. Each student was supposed to come up with a couple of hopes for how their island would be different 20 years from now. The first student's answer really caught my attention: "My hope is for my island to have a good economic situation in 20 years. By that I mean that everyone will be paid at the end of every month." Yeah, let that sink in for a moment. As Americans, we often think about "the economy", but how often do we wonder whether this is the month we'll get paid? Can you imagine going to work every day for months on end, without getting a paycheck? Yet many islanders do. Some, however, get tired of it. Sunrise from my roof Recently the teachers in a couple of towns told their students that they weren't going to teach that day. If the students wanted to be taught, they needed to go on a parade and demonstrate, demanding their teachers be paid their ...

How often do you think about whether you should be on time, late, or early? Do you think about it, or not really? Here on Clove Island I often have to consider whether the event I'm going to calls for being early, on time, or late. Recently, there was an English certificate ceremony that I was supposed to go to which was planned for Sunday morning. They agreed to start at 11, giving my team time to worship and study together before going to the ceremony. Then the invitations were issued for the ceremony: the time on the first ones was 8:30, the rest of them said 9:30. Students we asked claimed that the ceremony would start anywhere between 9 o'clock and 10:30. They were planning to be there by 8. Well, you can imagine my anxiety-- am I going to be late to the ceremony? That would be embarrassing, since they have teachers sit at the front! I checked again with the administrator and he assured me that they would try to have things ready so that things could start after we arri...