A visit to Haroro Village
29 May 2012 | Roderick Bay
Kathy
Well this might be one of the most memorable FUN kind of days ashore in these amazing foreign countries we've visited...
There certainly wasn't any fun involved in school today unfortunately, but we rallied when we got to shore at 3pm! The boys went straight back to their mud sliding, and there were 2 carvers who had brought their wares to display for us in the long palapa (woven thatch roof area with long tables) on the beachfront. We admired their handicraft and talked about possible trades for goods and then Allen and I went off on a hike to the Haroro Village. It was a nice little trail, mostly flat and straight, but there were a couple of muddy bogs to cross on palm leaves or bamboo or tree trunks laid across. They were good and slippery too with the mud collecting on your soles, and it was raining good by the time we arrived 20 min. later.
The village is quite huge, being split it seemed with dozens of houses on wooden stilts or logs with siding and roofing that are entirely made of woven palms and pandanus leaves, wound with vines and any other natural products that come in handy for house building...The cooking areas are more like lean-tos out on the side and there might be a couch devoid of cushions or everyone just sitting along the edge of a porch of sorts, or squatting inside. Some of the women were actually topless, and they all wear long skirts, making me feel like I was in National Geographic! WOW, and the kids are often naked or only wearing shorts, or the girls having skirts and tops. Most of the men are in shorts and some wear teeshirts or tank tops. There was a big church with a nice field clearing outside of it where they recreate, and there are 2 schoolbuildings. The primary grades of K-4 are in a long grass hut building with a thatched roof, and there are several desks made for 2 - 3 kids to sit at, like half a small picnic table. There was a chalkboard in each room and several handmade posters of basic things like shapes, letters, words, but the fun part was reading the schedule and it seems Christian instruction is the first thing on the agenda. Then the basics of reading and writing, and we loved the part where Singing and Punishment were available in the afternoon schedule. We look forward to going to school on Friday morning, walking with the dozens of kids at 7am from Roderick Bay to Haroro Village, and spending the day there. We are bringing some crayon packs to give away, and a few books and things. It ought to be interesting!!! I'm sure I"ll have lots to say about it!
Allen and I thought we would try and run home on the trail, which brought a huge smile to my face to be able to jump and leap and slip and slide on that trail back, and since I was probably a bit muddy I figured why not try the slip and slide muddy hill with the kids when we returned! So I did it twice and it was a pretty mucky, slippery, and butt bumping experience! They were happy I tried it. Now Allen is out snorkeling for lobster with some of the local guys and Steve on Uliad. Unfortunately the boat is back to rocking and rolling pretty severely so there must be big rollers coming in across Indispensible strait from the open ocean by Malaita, making their way all the way in to the little bay here. Kathleen on Uliad put it so sweetly yesterday when she told me she just wants her house to stop moving! I know the feeling! Apparently last night some of the young village men were put on security detail, and since we have Dallas and Dulce for our own, they somehow kept boarding Uliad on their "security rounds" via canoes and waking them up accidentally! We'll see how tonight goes! As they are the hosts of us they are dedicated to making sure no trouble befalls us while we are in their care, so it's delicate to say no need to board us to do it though!
Tomorrow Allen is helping the men with the new building materials they are getting from across the bay so they can build all new houses in time for the first ever Roderick Bay Yacht Fesstival. They are quite ambitious here. I hope to help give them some ideas for activities, one of which I suggested today was a "Warrior Dash" through the muddy trail and hill...might be interesting! I'll see what else I can come up with!