On the Road to Amouli

My first day of work...

I drove the two women who work for the foundation, Nia and Henna to Amouli, a small village on the other end of the island, an aprox. 26 mile trip that took us an hour each way.

They laughed at all the questions I had for them on the way, and I am quite sure went home to their families at the end of the day to tell them about the crazy palongie woman they spent the morning with.

Nia is 39, and has lived on the island since she was 2 months old. She has never even been off island, and was fascinated by my interest in the ocean. Finally she said, "I have seen the cruise ship people taking pictures of the ocean. Why would someone want a picture of the ocean?" So I told her that for many people this might even be the first time they had been to or seen the ocean, and that it was so beautiful here. She said "Some people do not live by the ocean on the mainland?" I told her that for many it could be 2-3 days drive to the ocean from their homes. She was amazed by this idea, and seemed to have a hard time comprehending how big the United States actually is, and how few people live on the coast. Here the mountains are so steep that the people only live along the coastline. Inland here consists of not more than 2 miles from the ocean, so driving for days to get to the beach was inconceivable.

As we were driving by these gorgeous beaches I noticed that no one was swimming, so I asked she and Henna why. They explained that the people here only swim on holidays. When I asked why only on holidays, they said "that is what we do." So, I asked "Why not swim when it is a beautiful sunny day, why not enjoy the beach, why not snorkel and see what is under the waves?" They both giggled and said, "because this is what we do, and we think the ocean is hot." Again, culturally tradition is valued so highly, and never questioned. Obviously I was not born into this culture, so I asked again; "But why?" Nia finally smiled at me as if I was a silly child and said "you should ask in your ward to find someone to swim with you. Also there are palongie men who swim on Saturdays." I laughed and said, "so I should find a palongie silly enough to swim?" She grinned and said "Yes, I think so." I told her that she takes the sea for granted, and that she does not even hear the waves anymore. She smiled and said "You are right."

Oh Nia...

I am so sorry that the sea

Does not sing to you, as she does to me

I regret that you do not hear

The soft cadence of waves in your ear

I lament that you don't know

The beauty of creatures down below

For few things feel so carefree

As the alluring song of the sea