Lest you think that our arrival in town was all town-loving and village-hating, let me share the 5, kinda big, things that we really loved about the village life:
- Relationship Building
It was so so easy to get to know people in the village. Town is much like home in that respect. You come to know only the people at the places you go. Instead of pulling into a garage at the end of the day, we pull into our gated compound laced with barbed wire. Everyone's house is like this (though some people do walk). But coming to know your neighbors is hard.
In the village, there is no barbed wire, because it's way harder to be a criminal when everyone knows everything. In the village, everybody walks. Everybody stops by and visits. There are some people you spend more quality time with than others, but you don't need to seek an opportunity to build relationships, you just need to sit on your porch. - The Simple Pace
Even when work was to be done in the village, it was a simple pace. Work 15 minutes tilling the earth and then take a break, drink a kulau (green coconut; or perhaps coconut water would be a more explanatory translation), eat some roasting taro kongkong (type of potato), then work another 15 minutes.
There was no office to be at. No clock to worry about. They told time by sun (though, gauging by my watch, they were most often wrong…)
The beginning of things was marked by hitting a garamut (a hollowed hunk of tree, that sounded like a deep rich drum resounding through the jungle). That was the signal to come and, when the most important participants arrived, that's when they would begin. - The Community
If someone had a large task before them, like sewing morota for an entire house, their whole family (which is often the entire village) would come to help make the work light.
James was cared for by the entire village. Everyone loved the white baby who would eat anything. It was pretty much free babysitting all the time. - Spending Time Outside
James loves loves loves to be outside. And, in the village, outside is where you spend your day, unlike town which has us in the house or in the office. (We live on the second floor and there's no baby rail on the stairs.)
The scenery was gorgeous, the wind was lovely, and there were a plethora of animal to enthrall James. - Price of Living
Sure, we brought a pretty penny's worth of food to the village but there was no rent, electric bills, or water bills! (except for what you give to the nationals who haul your water for you as a thank you…) The people who live in the village have it even better with gardens which significantly reduces their grocery budget, cooking over a fire eliminating gas bills. And there's pretty much no reason for insurance for the nationals.
We are so very
excited to move out to our village allocation and add the work of translation
and literacy to the best things list!
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