Day 74

March 14, 2010

 

Day 74:

 

            Today was our last full day in Majuro. It’s still surreal to me that I’ll be leaving the country tomorrow. Time just seems so blurred. While sometimes it feels like we’ve been here six months, other times it feels like we got here six days ago.

            I woke up early and cleaned the kitchen. Derek was still asleep as was Ben. Peter had left already when I woke up. The rest of the morning was just filled with filler activities. I was already packed so I did things like play games on the computer, listen to music, try to read. I made it to the library and got to Skype with Gramma which was really nice because since the power was out yesterday I didn’t get to do that. We got all of our transportation information figured out.

            After that I went to the girls’ trailer and helped Anna and Edie come up with a skit for the cast party. They wanted to do Hamlet in 5 minutes and make fun of some of the more memorable lines and scenes in the play. After planning that for 45 minutes, we decided that it wasn’t nearly as effective as we would have liked so they settled on a poem instead.

            The cast party was very nice, pretty emotional but very nice. I feel like everyone there was trying to avoid the fact that we were actually saying goodbye. Many of them did avoid it and are meeting us at the airport tomorrow to see us off. Including the Gospel Choir who will be singing to us as we leave. It’s going to be SO hard to get on that plane tomorrow. Much of the cast party was spent signing programs and exchanging email addresses with the cast. Lots of pictures were taken as well. Anna and Edie presented their poem which was a big hit. It made fun of Garrod, Garrick and mentioned some lines from the play. It was a touching poem but not a tear-jerker.

            After the Gospel Choir sang to us, and then all of the Marshallese people sang a goodbye song about “being happy today and crying tomorrow for we will miss you” we hugged everyone and said ‘adieu’.

            I’ve had to say goodbye to people in my life before: graduation, at the end of camps, when someone goes off to the military. But in every one of those instances there was a small chance that I’d see those people again. Even if I knew I probably wouldn’t the fact that one day we could made saying goodbye a tad bit less serious. It’s not the same here. Today was the first time I had to say goodbye to people that I genuinely care about and that I believe I’ll never see again. I was talking to John tonight about it, and he said that when rebeles leave the island it’s like they’re dying because contact is seldom made and few return. There’s a chance that nine of them will be in America this summer for Derek’s Youth Nitijela event and if that happens I’ll try to make it back up for that. But other than them, chances are, if the emails start, they will wane over time and in a few short years we will be but a faint good memory amidst a lifetime of island life.

            After the cast party, I walked back and tried to go to bed. It was only 9:00 but I had a headache. About ten minutes after entering the trailer I heard some beeps coming from outside. Turns out the World Teach girls rented the golf cart again and went to Laura. I thought the fresh air might make me feel better so I went for a jambo (Marshallese for driving aimlessly with no purpose) with them. It did make me feel better. Once we returned we talked about all the things that happened over the last ten weeks. It was kind of sad to say goodbye to them as well. A few of them had planned to come to the airport as well so we held off goodbyes for some but not for all. Amy mentioned a Majuro reunion in Cedar Point this summer which pumped me up. She’s from the Toledo area and Lee is from a small town in NE Ohio that’s basically in Pennsylvania I think. So there’s a chance I’ll see them again. And then there’s always Facebook which keeps people connected around the world. So saying goodbye to them shouldn’t be as hard.

            After that I laid down to ‘kiki’ for the last time in Majuro. I tried to watch Shooter but my fatigue took over. After about thirty minutes, I had to pack it in. Until next time, from Majuro, bar lo yok.