Day 11

Day 11

Above is a picture of the international school on the left and the island’s mosque on the right. My apartment is about 2 blocks in the distance on the left. The school I use the Internet at is 2 blocks to the right of the mosque. Yes, it is a small community and everything seems to be within 2-20 minutes (including the ferry) – but at a very slow stroll to avoid overheating.

Last night was hard for me. Being in new places and experiencing the world is great, but sometimes you long for “normalcy”. When you can’t get access to it, it just makes you long for it more. Last night I just wanted to go sit on a couch in my own home and watch a video or go walk the 3^rd Street Promenade area in Santa Monica, or something that used to be a normal Friday night for me. Back then I could read people and the mood of the crowds I felt.

Last night I would see or be walking on the street and I couldn’t catch the mood of what was around me. Someone pushed someone – is it a fight or just horsing around? It was just guys joking with each other and then laughing. People are walking in small groups or pairs and talking excitedly – has something important happened or are they just visiting? I have no idea. I can’t sense if things are serious or not, if people are worried or not.

And I am amazed that there doesn’t seem to be entertainment. Of course they don’t have bars, dance clubs, movie theaters, and as far as I can tell, there aren’t even video stores. I don’t know of a community center where they take pottery classes or watch dance performances or the like. There are a few guys that ride their scooters up and down the street in pairs…just cruising back and forth…How do they stay calm and content? There are some teenage boys it seems on a corner near me that live in a top/4^th floor apartment and in the evenings they play music really loud for the whole block to hear. Last night I knew the song – Eminem! Of all things! And it made me want to dance, but no one dances here I think. I don’t think it is illegal, so I can’t understand why the youth aren’t trying to do hip hop or something. I imagine this is kind of how it was in the early 1900’s in the U.S. cities? People just sat out on the stoops since their homes were hot and they didn’t have money to go out or organized community centers to do things at. Oh, there is a “youth center” under my office. Men of all ages are in there playing on some chess tables and pool tables. In Korea there are men playing board games under the trees on benches like you see in China Town in San Francisco. But, they aren’t doing that here…seems like a good way to spend time as opposed to just sitting and staring at people, but, I haven’t tried either, so who am I to judge!

Oh! There is a tent outside from Yamaha promoting helmets (since no one here wears them) and maybe some other things. Luckily they play like some great music on huge speakers like once an hour! I am loving the party feel! But...no one is partying, but I appreciate the club sound! Yea! Wish this was daily! But, I guess the 105 degrees (41) keeps people from dancing much! Well, it is 90 degrees but with humidity - 105...

I got up this morning and prepared for the Picnic Island trip. Dressed in my swimsuit and prepped my bag and was about to go buy food. Luckily, I ran into my roommate as they were going out to breakfast and I found out the trip had been cancelled! They are spraying the trees on the Picnic Island for worms, so we are not going anytime soon for sure. I have tons of work to do always, so it is fine, but the adventure would have been nice.

I need to go explore Male and I really need to go find some foods l need, but it just feels so troublesome to go over there. It’s too bad it is dark when I return from work in the evenings since I go through Male. And it is perhaps not a good idea to go in the mornings before work since then I would have to carry food in the heat all day. But…I have to go figure out where to shop soon. I can feel that after 2 months of being topsy-turvy in my life since I decided to move from Japan, the imbalance in my diet is starting to hit me. I will not make it here 4 months eating the deep fried foods and oily things they cook here; it feels like it is wearing me down quickly since I wasn’t up to par already. I need avocados and lettuce and such. Although they do have tomatoes and cucumbers, so I will start to buy them. I am eating ginger some too. Hoping it will help with that rocking feeling I get after riding the boats??

Also, I need to apply for some jobs today! Although I think I could get work easily in Korea, I am leaning toward applications in America. (But will still do one application in Korea since it looks like an interesting opportunity) I think small towns there will bore me to death within a year, but I am just craving comforts of big supermarkets and a society I can comprehend. I know I will understand things better here soon though. And, I really do want to keep aiming for the West Coast in America, but let’s see. The pay and benefits are just better abroad. Abroad I don’t need a car so all those expenses are gone and they usually pay my health insurance and sometimes even my housing. In America it is rare to find any situations like that yet the pay is the same!

Thanks to Lisya’s inspiration, I will consider making a presentation at a conference next year too about teaching in Japan and/or here in Maldives. I have to start working on the application in about a month. I think the deadline for my presentation to be considered is June.

I think I will also go sit on the stoop one morning soon. Always there are men sitting out there doing nothing but watching the people strolling by in the heat. They don’t even talk to one another. I look at them sometimes since they are just staring and I give them a nod but they don’t move. I need to go see what it is all about. Maybe it is fun to observe the world like that!? I will let you know!