Manit Day

Manit Day

On Monday we celebrated Manit Day (or Culture Day) as a school.  Waking up and thinking the day would begin promptly at 8:30AM (the time when the first bus usually arrives) was a ridiculous assumption.  The fun began after 1PM.  There were 4 different teams: orange, green, blue, and white.  I picked green (It’s my favorite color & I was wearing a green dress- convenient).  There was a juggling game:  each contender juggled 2 rocks or small breadfruit in one hand while running the length of the yard.  The second activity was musical chairs.  This is definitely not a traditional Marshallese game and I’m unsure as to how it was incorporated into Manit Day, but it was.  Next was a basket weaving race.  The girls ran the length of the yard, then picked up their palm frond & got to work!  Sivoki kicked everyone’s butt.  One of my students was in second place. J  The last event was coconut husking.  Again, the boys ran the length of the yard & get to work on their coconuts.  Rocky, a man who doubles as the school security guard & a bus driver, dominated.  You have a spear-like stick, put it in between your legs, then wrap your back leg around it making it stable.  Then you shove the coconut onto the pointed tip, which gets under the skin & closer to the part you actually eat.  It was awesome seeing this.  I’ve got tons of videos, but unfortunately the internet is too slow for me to upload them.  Pictures will have to do for now.  Manit Day was a success; it was nice seeing my students participating in traditional Marshallese games & practices.  They all really enjoyed themselves & that’s what mattered!  The day ended with us female teachers serving food to the students.  Each student brought a dish of traditional foods—there were loads of fish, snails, coconut, tons of different ways breadfruit is served, and lots of pumpkin dishes.  The food looked amazing, but unfortunately after serving ~200 students there was little to be had by the teachers.  After scrounging for leftovers using a piece of tinfoil as a plate, I went home to celebrate American culture with a cheese quesadilla.

 Grace's 10th Birthday Party!