Living up to your dreams

Written Sunday, 2/21/10
Last summer, when I told people where I was going to be this year, they would invariably picture palm trees, copious coconuts, beautiful beaches, and crystal clear water. Sadly, I only have the first of those three in Jabor, Jaluit. There are too many people in town to get coconuts whenever you want them, the shorelines are exposed (dead) coral, and the water is a bit murky and spotted with trash. Yesterday, however, Morgan and I set off on a mission to fulfill your dreams.

Jaluit, Jaluit, is a small town about 8 or 9 miles away from Jabor, Jaluit. It has no electricity, fewer people, more land (and thus coconut trees), and plenty of real, sandy beaches. It is one more step removed from any connection with the US than Jabor is, and one step closer to a tropical paradise. There is a WorldTeach volunteer named Blake working at the elementary school there who Morgan and I get along with very well. We had visited once earlier in the semester when our principal offered us a ride and since then have been frustrated at our inability to find trucks going there. So we decided to take matters into our own hands: on Saturday, we woke up at the crack of 7:15, had our chocolate chip pancakes, strapped on our flip flops and started walking to Jaluit, hoping that someone would happen to be driving that way and give us a ride before the 9 miles was up. Our wish came true about half way, so we arrived at Blake’s door at about 11am. We delivered him his mail of the last two weeks and proceeded to busy ourselves with reading and drinking coconuts in the shade for the rest of the day. When it cooled off enough to walk around a little, we headed for the end of the island (another mile) to a pristine beach. The highlight of my day was this beach. I don’t know what was different about this sand, but we found a spot where it was almost as fine and smooth as mud. It was under a foot of water and was so soft and light that we would sink in another 5 inches with each step. To add to it, air bubbles were trapped under the sand, so every time we moved, they would rise up around our feet and through our toes, giving us a massage in the 95 degree water. As I walked around in this shallow water with my coconut in hand, the sun fell over the water in front of us, and I realized I had finally had the moment people dream of on a tropical island.

We walked back to Jaluit just in time to catch a truck back to Jabor, where we cooked a quick dinner and crashed at 10:30. If only I didn’t have to go back to school tomorrow…