Ins and outs of Naifaru ... Part 1

 When I first arrived on Naifaru, I was overwhelmed by everything I saw and it was difficult to make any sense of my surroundings. Buildings all looked the same (albeit painted in different colours). Motorbikes were driven on any side of the road. There are only 3 cars and 4-5 trucks on the island. Everyone started at me. There were very few animals to be seen. Shops opened and closed at seemingly random times throughout the day. And rush hour was two boats leaving the harbour at the same time.

Four weeks down the track, I'm starting to feel like I fit in more (even though I still don't look like the locals :)) and I've explored many corners of the tiny island. Although just when I think I've seen everything, I come across a new place hidden away behind a stone wall or around another corner. 

The roads are formed from consolidated coral with a few massive potholes.

View up Main Street

Along the edge of the harbour

The road from our home towards the harbour

Boat shed

Puddles growing during a thunderstorm

The potholes get really deep after a thunderstorm - almost deep enough to lose a small child in! A ring road runs around the island. There's Main Street, two other major streets and then a maze of narrow pathways - some just wide enough to ride a motorbike along - across the island. 

There is no right side of the road to drive on either. The rule seems to be, whoever was in a spot first has right-of-way. So if I'm walking along and get to an intersection first, I keep walking and any bikes, cars or people that come along afterwards go around me. A bit weird to get used to, but it works. 

Some homes open straight onto the roads, while others (like the volunteer house) have a small gated front yard you enter before going inside. Many people leave their doors wide open and I'm continually peering inside people's homes. I haven't figured out if it's rude or not as most people I see inside smile and say hello! Many women sweep the leaves and rubbish off the streets in front of their homes each morning so the roads always look tidy.

My home

Outside my home

Road names are mostly non-existent and houses don't have numbers. Instead, each home has a name. I live at Mariyaadhu. Mail isn't delivered, we front up to the post office when we're expecting a parcel or letter and collect it ourselves.

Juvenile office

There's no Spanish White or Half Tea in sight. Rather homes and buildings are painted bright blue, mint green, pale pink, combi-van yellow, hubba-bubba purple and strawberry red. And inside the colours are even bolder! What is most surprising to me is that somehow it all works. The colours are perfect and don't even remotely come across as garish or overbearing.

I quickly picked up that other volunteers say hello to many people as we walked along. I got into the same habit, even though it felt a little strange at first. How often have you walked along the road and said hello to every person you came across? I never have before yet I have found it really brings a spark to my day getting so many warm hellos and smiles in return! And there's a few people I now regularly stop and chat with, even if it's only a few words of broken Dhevehi.

One of the many side alleys

The mysterious cafe

One of the things I've enjoyed doing the most is wandering down the tiny, narrow side alleys. I've discovered a cafe that was previously a mystery.  I've found more shops selling food and basic goods cheaper than on Main Street. There's brightly painted graffiti, beautiful doorways and building entrances, overgrown gardens full of timeless, forgotten character, mosques and people.

Brightly painted doors

 

Graffiti

More sights down side alleys

I've met so many people (many elderly) just sitting in their deck chairs watching the world go by. One lady saw I was taking photos and offered to be in a pic with her three friends - such character in their aged faces and such sweet ladies.

 I've come across three zoos on the island. Not the traditional zoo you'd expect to see back home. These zoos contain goats!

So cute! The owners seem so proud of their animals and have happily showed me inside the enclosures. One owner even let me hold a 1 day old kid (so wanted to take it home!) The goats are kept for milk and meat and look very well cared for. 

With a 1 day old kid :)

Only from New Zealand!!!

The shops open and close throughout the day to fit in with the five prayer times. I still haven't got the schedule in my head. Instead I go with the principle that if I need something and see a shop is open, I'll buy it rather than wait until later. They're also open from 830pm until about 1130pm which is fantastic as it's much nicer to take a late night stroll around the shops when it's cooler. And there's even signs promoting NZ Anchor milk!

I could write screeds about all the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of living on Naifaru. I've decided instead to save up the stories for another blog post.

It's amused me how much more aware of my surroundings I am and how much more I am taking in. I know its mainly because I'm living on an island and in a community that is so different from my home town. However, I have loved discovering fresh, new sights and places every day and want to be able to look at my 'normal' surroundings through different eyes when I return home and see what I've been missing for so long.

Mural at a private home

More house names

Local high school