The Natives Are Restless

Note: We've been unconnected and without power for quite some time, so these posts are not at all in real time. I'll date them so you get a sense of how the events of the past ten days unfolded.

Sunday, June 20: Excitement rose higher and higher as the time grew near for the arrival of our visitors, more than 50 priests and two bishops. All the young folk of Gizo were busy all afternoon preparing for the welcoming ceremonies. The boys spent hours practicing their warrior dance and then squealed with delight as they painted their bodies and festooned themselves in the natural camouflage of the tropics. The girls stripped just about every hibiscus flower from the town as they fashioned floral arches and crowns for every visitor. By dusk everything was decorated, every youth was giddily in place, and all we had to do was wait for the boat to arrive with as much nervous energy as the arrival of Santa Claus gets in the US.

Waiting is one of the national pastimes in the Solomons, which is a good thing because everyone does quite a lot of it. This evening, everyone was in place by 6pm. The boat did not arrive until after 8. Imagine 150 children waiting in line, in costumes, some with spears and others with burning torches for over 2 hours and you have some sense of the excitement.