Children of the Corn...Island

A couple of my days on the island were spent just relaxing on the beach or reading in the hammock. The Internet service was very intermittent, partly due to someone stealing the telephone & cable lines. The electric went out a lot too, I was constantly reminded that I was on an island in a 3rd world country.
One of the last days I snorkeled for a bit in front of the resort, then was just lazing at the water's edge, when suddenly I was surrounded by a bunch of the local children. They wanted to get to know me & we played for hours in the water. They enjoyed taking turns trying out my snorkel & mask, as I tried to teach them about sharing nicely. They showed me a rocky area with lots of crabs & conchs. They also taught me how they brush their teeth with the white sand; I was a good sport & gave it a try, but it really made me want to just go & buy them all a toothbrush & paste. Several of the little girls stayed around for hours, the youngest attached herself to my hip & wanted me to carry her around & follow the others further out into the water or up the beach. One of them had a naked younger brother that stuck with us but wouldn't come past the edge of the water nor keep any clothes on.

One of the girls asked if I had any shampoo & said she'd like to wash her hair; I found out that several of them had no shampoo & figured it was an easy thing I could give them. They started going through my bag & saw I had some food & after asking permission, quickly gobbled up the crackers as if they were famished. So when I went to get all the extra shampoo I had brought, I also brought out some lip gloss & mini candy bars I had brought from the US & been hoarding in my bag. I'm sure it would've been better if I'd had toothbrushes for them, but I was happy to see them enjoying the sweets. They asked if I had a camera & wanted me to take pictures of them & then show them. Notice that not one of them had a swimsuit, but they just swim in whatever clothes they have. What a day of simple pleasures & making me realize yet again how much we take for granted.

















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