School for Alden and Willow

Thursday was the first day of school for the girls when their uniforms were required (or so we thought). It turns out that it was a “sports day”, which meant that most boys wore shorts and the girls wore skirts. Everyone wore t shirts. Our girls wore their uniforms, not knowing about the sports day dress code.

Despite the disappointment they must have felt showing up at school to see all their friends wearing different clothes, their friends greeted Alden and Willow with enthusiasm, taking them by the arm and bringing them over to introduce them to other classmates. Alison and I expected to stay at the playground for a bit to make sure the kids felt comfortable, but it was immediately clear that they didn’t need us to stay.

We took a few pictures of the school yard scene and then left.

Our plan was to do a hike in the north of the island, between two towns that were connected only by an old footpath. In between the towns, there is an abandoned farming village, complete with overgrown corrugated tin shacks and their abandoned fruit trees. It’s a beautiful hidden oasis an hour at a brisk pace from the closest neighboring village.

We headed off, a bit nervous that we had no cell coverage in case the school needed to reach us. Ironically we go to the abandoned village, and the phone rang – an anachronism in the abandoned village in the rainforest. As it turned out, today was a half day at school. The kids were being let out in an hour. Meanwhile, we were 2 hours from the school! How much sense did this make? The kids only had two days of school this week and now one of them was only a half day? We instructed the kids to take the bus back to Mero with their friends, which they happily did – since this is the way their friends all come and go from school they felt more like their friends when riding the bus. Apparently no parents or students were aware of this shortened day – a great reminder of the go with the flow / “island time” way of life here.

We cut our hike short, originally intending to go the full distance to the other town and return, but as we are constantly reminded here, flexibility is critical to survival here.