Love and Loath Paama

Things I love and will miss about Paama

Dinner with my family, no T.V. just storian
The Mamas’ laughs
The amazing tropical jungle and the hiking
The carefree naked kids playing with bush knives and fire
Canoe rides with my Papa Isaiah
Cooking over fire
The smiling faces
The peace and quiet
Not wearing a watch
Star gazing while I brush my teeth every night
The cool breeze when it’s scorching hot
Going to the gardens and then eating what you’ve grown
In bed by 9p
Being awoken not by an alarm but by the roosters crowing and birds singing
Naps
Sunsets

Snorkeling in the crystal clear ocean
KAVA!
Storian
Community gatherings, kakaes

My weekly hike to Liro to go to the bank, post office and to watch soccer
The Mamas’ market
Church and singing
Picnic lunch with the SDA church under the mango tree every Sabbath
Fresh, organic foods…pomplemousse, pineapple, mangoes, avocado, namambei nut
Making laplap with my mama Eva

Eating laplap and simboro, especially manioc
Fresh caught fish
Drinking coconuts
Using a bush knife (machete)
Leaf arnis tea
Hearing custom stories and black magic
Storian with the old fala

Yoga and runs on the beach in the morning
Time to read, write and sew
The crickets that lull me to sleep every night
Hearing the approaching wind and rain through the Paama hills
The rain falling on the natagora leaf roof of my hut
The sound of the waves crashing nearby
Seeing dolphins, dougongs and turtles swimming
Evenings in my hut by candlelight
Rock hopping the coast of Paama
Writing and receiving snail mail
Being so low maintenance, having little care for my appearance and not looking in a mirror for days
The hens pecking around with their chicks
My Paama family

Things I won’t miss much

Missing my family and friends
Incessant mosquitos
Ants
Rats
bucket showers although I got used to it
hauling water up to my house when the water is cut off
The HEAT and humidity
Washing clothes by hand although I didn’t mind it that much
The sometimes slow pace
The solitude, loneliness and boredom
The staring and gawking
Feeling left out when they speak Paama language