After Christmas

This whole break has been an amazing experience. I’ve gotten to know the kids here much better. The kids I was close to before the break are even closer and I’ve gotten to know more kids on a more meaningful level. Staying in Ejit for Christmas has cemented me into the community here and I feel more accepted. This is especially apparent when I go to community events. My kids will yell out “Hi Paul” even if there is an important speech going on but then there are the babies. The babies or more accurately the toddlers on Ejit seem to think I am the most fun thing that ever came to Ejit. When I show up they immediately mob me and ask to be carried (jaja) or to get piggy-back rides (kuku). I can usually keep them off for a while but eventually their cuteness breaks through my mental shields and I have them take turns playing king of the (Paul) mountain.

My favorite one and he know’s it is a baby called Popeye. Seriously. I’m pretty sure it’s on his birth certificate. Toddlers are pushy in the Marshall Islands and the greatest cultural differences between American or ribelle babies and Marshallese (rimajel) babies are their tantrums and the ways they show anger.

The Marshallese tantrum is unmistakable. It consists of the child yelling vaguely intelligible insults and demands at adults and then picking up a rock and throwing it at anyone in range. The tantrumite however has this technique down to a science. They take one rock and then threaten to throw it at you multiple times. A baby will pump his or her arm at you about five times, finally throw the rock and then pick up another. Kids reserve this tantrum for their parents but I’ve seen it directed at me once when a kid wanted to get on a boat with his mom and dad but they were going to leave him with relatives.

Marshallese culture (manit majel) does not have strong taboos against bad words and cursing. Just blatantly saying another person’s parent’s name is considered and insult (if I were a kid and someone just said “Peter” or “Ana” loudly we would fight) but they don’t hold distinctions between levels of curses and bad words. They know what the middle finger means, and usually the recipient will raise his or her hand and say “Paul, he f*** me.” With a middle finger held in the air to leave no doubt.

Popeye knows what the middle finger means but he will also say it when showing the finger to someone he is angry at. (Usually a school aged aunt, uncle or cousin). I laugh about it when he’s not there but whenever he does it I make sure he knows I don’t like it.

In the Marshall Islands they celebrate Christmas with at beat or jebta. Everyone on island performs a dance and song for the beat and collections are made for the church. I went to the celebration and on the 26^th another community came and performed the beat at the church. After taking a seat I was immediately surrounded by kids wanting to sit next to/near me and finally Popeye came over and climbed onto my lap. I was watching the beat when Gerrick (9^th grade) next to me started to admonish Popeye for something. Popeye pushed him away and right from my lap gave Gerrick the middle finger and told him what it meant. Gerrick took Popeye away (he’s his uncle and therefore considered Popeye’s father) for punishment. When Popeye came back, I looking him in the eye, in church and told him. “La Popeye. Jaab f*** you. Kwomelele ke?” (Hey, Popeye. No f*** you. Do you understand?) He nodded and then went back to my watching the show. The differences between acceptable behavior during performances, church and gatherings in the Marshall Islands are interesting, and I may post on that in the future.

On the 29^th to the 31^st we’re having our midyear retreat so after that I’ll post something again.