Yesterday, in the late afternoon, Geoff, Paul, TC and I headed in to Katchii (which I've now learned is spell Katiej) to say goodbye. We emptied out the boat of all the items we'd brought to give as gifts & hadn't yet given away or had been saving for Kateij. We brought paint, magazines, mosquito nets, flashlights, batteries, & a few more clothes, as well as fruit leather strips (thanks Anne!), Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Roll Ups for the kids. Also for the kids, we brought in the Breen's donations - toy cars, plastic sheets with roads on them, a Nerf football, a hacky sack, a yo yo, Kerplunk, & a little soccerball.
I had fun helping the kids figure out how to eat a fruit roll up (one girl was eating the plastic, as well as the sticky fruit), as well as playing with the cars with them (Vroom! Vroom!), throwing the football around, attempting to show them how to use the hacky sack (I'm not very good), how to play Kerplunk, and jumping rope.
We headed over to the school. They seated us inside and then lit a mosquito coil behind us (much appreciated as the mosquitoes on this island are nuts). Then the kids and their parents came in singing and presented us with so may gifts - necklaces, shells, purses, many flowers for my hair, many coconuts in woven baskets, a papaya, & plantain chips.
Then Walden gave a speech saying that what they were giving us was not enough to equal what we gave, but they hoped we would know that they really appreciated all that we had given to them.
TC gave a little speech saying that we had really appreciated their hospitality and being able to jambo all over the island. Paul made sure to remind everyone that all we did was collect and bring stuff to Kateij, but it was the people of Kwajalein who actually donated the items.
Then the kids sang another song for us. They were much more forceful/less shy than the first time they tried to sing for us - when we handed out the clothes. You could tell they had practiced some, so felt they could sing with authority. Plus, they were probably more used to us.
While all this was going on, I was freaking out because I was trying to figure out how best to hand out the mosquito nets. Then I realized that there were 6 ladies and I had 6 nets (albeit one was slightly smaller). Problem solved. Next time, we definitely need to bring more nets, as there is no way the whole family could fit under one.
After speech giving and singing was over, it was refreshment time - coconuts and plantain chips. Between stuffing my mouth, I went around handing out the nets. The ladies didn't know what they were at first, but after pulling them out of the stuff sacks, their faces lit up. It was great to see how excited they were about the nets. While I handed out mosquito nets and some of our last clothes to the ladies, the guys handed out flashlights, paint batteries, & fish hooks to the men.
As we were leaving, Walden's wife walked me to shore and thanked me/us for bringing their things from Medyil Island. She was particularly happy to have received her wok.
Right before we got to our dinghy (where we were attacked my mosquitos - there were actual swarms around us), Kien stopped us to ask if we would give him money for lobsters - if he could catch them. We told him that we would. He said he could use the money to buy rice.
The people of Katiej were so generous and friendly. I can't wait to go back & visit again, and I'll make sure I bring more mosquito nets.
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