Children here are amazingly creative. I've never seen such young people be so so resourceful. Who needs to buy toys, really?!
1) boogie board/surf on plywood and/or tires.
2) pull each other sliding around on glass.
3) electric tape tied to a soda can/fling it around (homemade skip-it)
4) play with (aka torture) chickens, puppies & animals of all sorts
5) marbles! Draw a square in the dirt, roll your marble in & you get whichever marbles it hits out of the square.
6) belly flopping into the puddles….in Ebeye of all places. Yes, it may be waste water, but it’s better than any water park you could imagine. And it doesn’t smell like rotten chlorine.
7) rock fight. Sure, you could get hurt, but it’s still fun. Not so fun for innocent bystanders (I have yet to be hit), but whatever.
8) wiffle ball. This includes no such thing as actually running around the bases; but chasing each other around the bases? Yes.
9) volleyball. This is definitely a hybrid sport of completely unconventional hits & moves, but it works. They are scrappy & can hit the ball over the net. Whether it’s out of bounds or not is irrelevant: there are no lines.
10) dodgeball. Different than any game of dodgeball I’ve played, but similar enough for even me to find it fun & entertaining.
11) climbing trees. They have climbing abilities like monkeys- legitimately.
12) swimming. Bring a few kids to the lagoon and you'll attract a bunch of other children on island. Forget about a relaxing snorkel....
13) jumping off the dock. Again, this will attract majority of the kids on island...if they're not already there.
14) throwing rocks at dogs. I've only done it once at a mean, barking dog. Marshallese sometimes just do it for fun.
15) jumping around in the 'dump'. One man's trash is another man's treasure: True that.
16) getting photographed. anywhere & everything. by anyone. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, it’s a rare occasion to get a picture where each kid is NOT throwing up a random gang sign.
17) Even better than getting their picture taken is taking their OWN pictures!
18) computer games. This is even entertaining for me--all the giggles & yelling. Hilarious.
