Rain & Sun

Laplee tombey. Rain falls with no warning, drifting with the angles of the sea torn wind. I open my umbrella, knowing in less than 2 minutes the clouds will have disappeared, the sun emerged, and there will be no signs of rainfall at all. Rain comes and it goes with such a force in this January month, a sure shower in the morning and a few reminders in the afternoon. I smile with the rain, knowing my tomatoes are growing and my porch washing clean. But with too much rain, I find myself in the house and waiting, urging to get out, wishing for the cheerfulness and business that sunlight brings to village life. The weather alone shaping and shifting life and experiences.

4 year old Monique says she wants to become white like me as she brushes the golden smooth hair of her white baby doll. I touch her plated hair & tell her how beautiful she is, just the way she is. Her smile is so full its contagious. She's bright and her hands are in everything, so eager to learn. She tells us she wants to be a princess when she grows up. Her uncle, my boyfriend, explains to her that this is "old time stuff." And now she can be anything she wants, a doctor, a builder, the Prime Minister. Her eyes wander with the thought of it, but she is easily distracted and runs outside to catch one of the new chicks that hatched last week. 3 are stuck in the gutter and we can't seem to catch the quick little things. She's anbete, troublesome, a generalized term used to describe any small child' curiousness and antics.

Next month brings the vibrancy of carnival and the lappo kabwit band practices on the roadside on weekend nights, a whole set of men and (some) women dancing, singing, beating the drum, and basically...making noise. A few men march with flowers in their hands, raising them like flags, while others with their glass of rum. Calypso lyrics pour out of bus speakers, talking about politics and island issues, with many shout outs to Barack Obama.

Bellies fill up with the warm dishes made by volunteer mothers for our school feeding program and lil' Kate asks me every day if she can return her library book and get a new one. A duanting half finished mural glares at me from our school library and the frustrations of having no electricity for the entire school year eats at our plans of a computer lab. The Atkinson School has become a little home away from home for me. The warm smiles of the children and teachers make things easier on a hard day. I feel welcome there...I feel "apart" in a way I sometimes don't in other situations here.

I still love walking down the road to my home, turning down friendly offers for a ride. A nice old gentleman still talks Patwa to me every afternoon and I grin in annoyance at myself for still not speaking the language with a sliver of confidence. My new years resolution has something to do with this and I WILL take it on.

I can't seem to find enough time for all I want to do here. A wide array of projects and social scenes pull me in different directions, not to mention the temptation to close my door for the afternoon to rest and relax with a good book. I'm not very good at the whole time management thing, but I'm getting there. Time is ticking as September seems just around the corner. It seems like a whole lifetime since I left NM & yet I can't believe a year and a half has passed me by.