Things die in Manu’a, especially if they’re little and cute.
That isn’t a condemnation, it’s just a fact of life. And, sure, things die
everywhere (even cute and little ones), but we’ve been warned that in Manu’a,
it happens a lot. If five puppies are born in a litter, one might survive. Or
not. And if it does, it might get shot a few years later. Honestly, that’s
probably a good thing- if every puppy and kitten born on this island survived
to reproduce and live a long life, we’d all be in trouble. As Americans,
though, we’re not used to the Law of the Jungle, so we get warned about it a
lot. That’s why when we don’t see our favorite little brown puppy (called
Puppy, because naming things is probably bad luck) for a few days, I don’t get
too heartbroken when I assume she’s dead*. It’s why, a few weeks ago when I
went out stargazing and looking for the kitten Jackie brought me and found it
sitting on the path, only to be dragged away by a bigger cat a second later, I
just shrugged and kept walking**. I’m not heartless. I just get it: big things
need to eat, too, and just because they’re not as cute doesn’t mean I can play
God. It’s the natural order of things.
So that’s why, when I woke up a week ago at 5:15am (my first
alarm of the morning, followed by 3 more… anyone who has ever roomed with me
knows how that goes) and heard the sound of something dying a very painful and
violent death outside my window, I just pulled my pillow over my head and went
back to sleep. The adjustment curve here has been pretty steep. The next
morning, when the thing was dying again, still at 5:15, I was annoyed. Why
outside my window?? Why so early?? Then it happened the next morning. And the
next. So now I’m pretty sure that, actually, it’s just a bird with the worst
bird song EVER. I was so, so happy to learn that the Car Alarm Bird of Tutuila
never migrated over to Manu’a… however, the Death Cry Bird of Manu’a may just
be it’s even more terrible cousin. But hey, at least now I’m pretty sure
kittens aren’t being murdered outside my window every morning like clockwork…
so that’s something.
*Puppy has now, apparently, been renamed Princess, and is
living the life with our principal and her family, who, recently being left
short a few dogs, were kind enough to adopt this one. Lucky dog!
**Actually, what happened is the cat dragged the kitten onto
the beach. Apparently, the kitten dove into the ocean, and, once the other cat
left, crawled out, soaking and covered in sand but otherwise unharmed, making
it basically the coolest kitten ever. Except that it’s probably not a kitten,
but a full-grown cat, since they stay pretty small here. It was still alive and
well the next morning, when our neighbor boy attempted to bring it to school
with him. It’s been about a week
now, though, so who knows…
*** This is following my Horrible Spider story, so I feel
like this blog can be viewed as having taken a negative turn. I swear, spiders
and dying things are not my life here! It’s just that I assume that you don’t
all really want to know that on Labor Day I had a lovely breakfast of eggs,
toast and coffee, and was greeted by a huge hug and a “HAPPY LABOR DAY COME TO
OUR FEAST” by my favorite 8-year-old neighbor, or that later that afternoon we
hiked over some treacherous rocks and got to the most beautiful beach I have
ever seen (without any of my electronics being destroyed in the process, even
though they all got soaking wet in the tide). Or that last weekend I went
snorkeling and didn’t see a single shark (I’m still not sure if that’s a good
thing or a bad thing). Or that all my classes are going well, I’m getting more
and more used to teaching, and I got a SMARTboard last week and almost know how
to use it! Or maybe you do want to hear about it, but it’s no fun to write, so
I’m sorry. But I haven’t given up and come home yet, so you can assume I am
having a great time, despite the spiders and the Death Bird!
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