After stuffing myself with yam chips for lunch I decided to start my running back up. Now that the sore on my foot is healed I have no excuse. I set off with Gertrude, my 6 year old neighbor who has been begging me to go “tren” with her (she got some fancy running shoes from some kid who outgrew them). We were quite the spectacle as you can imagine. She made it 2.5 miles with only one small break! When we got to the beach in front of our school, she stopped and started pointing out to the reef. At first all I could make out were the waves crashing on the reef. But as soon as the waves calmed a bit I saw a fin sticking out of the water. A shark was looking for something to eat just off the reef at high tide. We both got so excited we ran home really fast to tell everyone. Personally I was more terrified than excited because the shark was in one of the pools of water that the kids and I frequently swim in. It was pretty awesome though. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a shark that wasn’t in a zoo or aquarium. And if I hadn’t been running with Gertrude I would have never noticed it.
After our exciting news was shared we played a round of kickball with the other teachers’ kids and then washed off in the shallowest (and shark free) part of the ocean. I think I finally understand why the locals swim in the sea even when it’s cold…because after having swam in the ocean the ground water to rinse with is extremely warm. No need to boil water. And just as I was settling down to read my neighbors brought me a plate of taro and chicken. Then my little friend Lina brought me three custard apples. What a great day.
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