Aramasei (my people)

The people that I interact with on a regular basis:



Arno hanging out at Turek



Arno: Arno is my host dad. He’s about 35, short and a bit pudgy with an everpresent beaming smile on his face. He loves to joke around and mess with people in a fun way. He is a delight to be around and is one of the most genuinely kind people I have ever met.

  

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Arno at Field Day



 





Merlin: Merlin is Arno’s wife and my host mom. She is the woman of the house and has a hilarious wry and sarcastic sense of humor. Things around Turek (that’s the name of my compound) would come to a standstill without her.

Arno, me, and Merlin

Morphy: Morphy is Merlin’s brother which technically makes him a host uncle to me, but I consider him my host brother. He is fairly reserved with a has a boyish face, but he does all of the hard work around Turek. He picks and pounds breadfruit, feeds the pigs, chops wood, fixes things, and pretty much does whatever needs to be done. Mortphy and I spend a lot of time together playing chess, playing guitar, and just hanging out.

Morphy

 

  

Carlos and his friends





Carlos: Carlos is a neighbor and probably my best friend on the island. We have made a fish trap together, go fishing periodically, and go for walks together. I go over to Carlos’ house pretty regularly and just sit and drink a coconut with him and chat for hours at a time.
  

Alcher (the village chief) and Carlos

 



Bob: Bob is the principal of Satowan Elementary School and my boss. He has big glasses and the most incredible white mutton chops I have ever seen. He is a hard worker who truly wants to improve the school and has been very easy to work with.

Bob and his chops

There are definitely other people who I spend a lot of time with, but these are probably the people who have had the biggest impact on my experience on Satowan.