A friend wrote me recently in one of her monthly letters, "Sometimes as I sit in front of my computer on Saturday or Sunday mornings and write to you, I try to envision exactly what you might be doing at the same time on the other side of the world. And, then I try to compare that to my day ahead. For example, Today I'm off to a co-ed soccer game, followed by work, and then a play." And I've got to say that I am a bit jealous sometimes, especially of the ability to go to plays and other cultural events, but my Saturdays can be just as awesome - or - if I may brag - even better.
Take today for example. It's not even six and I'm exhausted and I'm not finished doing things, either. I woke up at four and walked with my friend Varansese for an hour to Nabalebale where we waited for a lorry to Savusavu in time for the 8am start of the 5k fun run. Vara didn't run, but it was fun to include her in my enthusiasm for running. Of the four competitors in the run, I was one of two who ran the whole way, and if I had paid attention to them starting instead of talking with Vara, I could have won. But the other lady got a head start. Darn! It was a nice run, but not marked and I kind of missed the end and ran around an extra five minutes trying to find it. But I still came in second and garnered a prize to be announced later.
After a shower, tea, and a bit of shopping we caught up with Vara's son who had come in on the bus with his grandpa. Together we headed to the Crime Prevention Mini Carnival. Here they had a crazy scary ferris wheel (which I didn't go on because Vara's son was too scared), cotton candy, popcorn, and a stage show of local children presenting on the topic of crime prevention. It was also here that I was supposed to go to claim my prize for the 5k, so I jumped on stage, showed off my limited English skills, and was presented with my prize - a pearl necklace from J. Hunter Pearls! I was awestruck - I hadn't even been charged an entry fee for the run! What a great reason to show up for the next fun run in October!
After the award, I had to catch the lorry back to the village. I had just set my bags down in my house when another friend, Makalesi, came to ask if I wanted to go to the seven's tournament in the next village down. This friendly, local tournament had been set up by boys in our village and was sure to be fun, so I went along. The games had started in the morning and by the time we got there at one it was nearing the end. We watched and cheered as the boys slipped in the mud, fumbled the ball, tackled, fell, ran and (occasionally) scored. The semi-final matches were postponed because of the muddy field, though, so I don't know yet if my village's team will win. I joked with the girls that they were just there to find boyfriends, and maybe some of them were looking, but there was no denying it was really fun to watch.
Back at home now, I've got a little bit of down time before Movie Night. It's just one of the fun, community building activities I've implemented in the village. Tonight is Top Gun and I'm hoping more than just the kids show up. But really, I'm hoping I make it through it without falling asleep! I've had so much fun today I'm not sure I can handle any more!
