An old Kosraen proverb once said that roosters never sleep in.
A new River proverb says that roosters never actually go to bed in the first place.
It was 3:30 AM. The sun still had over two hours before it would grace Kosrae with its blazing, humid heat. The dark jungle sat ominous and mysterious in the misty night outside my window. I lay in my bed sound asleep, dreaming of coconuts and jellyfish. All of a sudden, I became conscious. I opened my eyes, feeling like something had silently awoken me. The night air had a heavy feeling as I lay in my bed, wondering why I was awake at such an hour. I listened close for a sound outside my window as I lay under my sheets, waiting for a clue as to what woke me up. Then it came.
COCKA-DOODLE-DOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
I levitated a good 4 inches off of my mattress. Upon touchdown back to earth, I quickly assessed my situation.
1. It was 3:30 in the morning
2. I am supposed to be sleeping peacefully right now
3. I am not sleeping peacefully right now
4. The rooster is winning
Then, with my sharp and intellectual mind operating at such a hour, I deduced options as to which I could effectively handle this situation.
I could:
1. Pretend the rooster is only in my head and ignore it.
2. Dump my nalgene out the screen window in hopes the rooster gets wet.
3. Scream mild yet hurtful profanities at the rooster until it stops crowing.
4. Let Ryan or Tyler wake up and deal with it.
I thought about my options for about three seconds, and decided on number 4. Sure enough, I hear Tyler clump out of his bed. Here is an audible description of what happened in the next few moments:
CLUMP. clop clop clop clop clop.
Squeeeeeek SLAM.
thump thump thump thump thump thump thump (stairs).
(silence)
rustle rustle rustle (bushes moving).
"COCKA-DOODLE-DOO!!!!!!! COCKA-DOODLE-DOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"
*Whizzzzzzz*
"COCKA-DOODLE-*POOF* cluckcluckcluckcluck.....(diminishing clucks).
As a few remaining feathers floated to the ground, I peacefully closed my eyes again to enjoy the slumber of the night. He will be back, no doubt, because roosters here have this proud ego thing, but it felt good to find my sleep again while I knew Richard the Rooster was scurrying back to his nest to brood over his embarrassing defeat.
As you might be able to tell, things are starting to get back to normal around here. Christmas break was a wild time as we dove into the island life (no pun intended) and explored the ocean with SCUBA, climbed both of the tallest peaks on Kosrae, touched a jellyfish tentacle thinking it was a piece of floating string, practiced our machete-throwing, spent the night in a hammock hanging up in a hibiscus tree growing over the ocean, eating an insane amount of candy, enduring an unbelievably long christmas program, Kayaking up a mangrove swamp in the dark, and banging pots and pans together on New Years Eve to "ring in" the new year.
Now school has started, lesson plans are being written, and Holter is once again dust mopping the floor of my classroom with his body. As fun as christmas break was, I missed my kids. Its great to read Roald Dahl's The BFG out loud and be essentially tackled by kids when I turn to show the picture. Its awesome to see their drawings appearing again on assignments. Its wonderful to watch them go berserk over the word of the week once again.
Its even fun to experience all the Playground Drama again! I truly believe that the Kosrae SDA Elementary school could produce an award-winning reality TV show with just the drama that unfolds during playground hours. Here is an example of what I often come back to after lunch.
"Teecha, Vilana is crying!" A concerned student informs me.
"Why is she crying? Is she hurt?" I ask.
"No, its because...well....I....I think Webster made her cry!"
I go over to Webster. "Hey Webster, did you make Vilana cry?"
"No teecha, I was like 'hey lets play kickball' and she was like 'ok but I am on the other team' and I said 'no you are on my team' and then Nelly came over and said she was on her team but i said 'hurry recess is almost over' and she said 'no one is on your team' and then Holter changed teams so Vilana didn't want to and then she said that Murson said she had too," Webster said in one breath.
Oh no he di-int! (Sassy tone)
I go over to Vilana, who's shirt is now soaked in tears. "Vilana, is this a big problem?"
"Sniff....no....I...sniff.....yes....Webster said that Holter was on my team...sniff....and I didn't want him too but then...sniff...the girls said that he was first and that I was only their friend and not their best friend...sniff...and then thats it."
The drama was so deep and complex that even I couldn't understand it.
"Everyone, apologize to who you need to!"
Apologies were shared like handshakes on a sabbath morning, and everyone had forgotten about it by English. Although, like Richard the Rooster, it would be a reoccurring event, The problem was defeated for the moment and we could all happily learn about proper nouns.
January brings a new energy to Kosrae. I'm not going to lie, the holidays weren't the easiest being away from family and the snowy Northwest. But with the new year comes new adventures, a new quarter, and the downhill slide towards May 30. Time is starting to move right along, and there is no time to lose. I pray God gives us the wisdom, drive, and knowledge to do whatever is necessary to make the most out of our remaining months here on Kosrae. I also may ask if He could put Richard the Rooster into a deep sleep, where he won't feel the need to wake up until late afternoon.
Peace from the tropics,
River
