Morning Time on the Small Island Nation….

It’s 7:00 a.m. and already hot. I push back the sheet moist with another night’s sweat. The AC is at maximum strength. Two mesquites pushed their way through the screen during the night and are eyeing me from the ceiling.

Wash the sleep out of eyes, I am careful not to drink any of the water. Through the open window above the shower, I can hear the students joking, yelling or screaming in Mandarin and swearing in English.

C is reading his Bible at the kitchen table. I make my morning tea as D reports he drowned another rat before I got up.

“Wake me; I’ll do it next time.” I tell him. He won’t. He’ll drown the rat before his wife or I wake up.

D and I walk to the office together. Students sweep the dirt in front of us. An endless task, they will never sweep the soil off the ground or break the military officer who punishes them.

V’s boyfriend brought her flowers, and she is showing them off to everyone at the office. They are daisies and smell nice. I smile as she positions them our computer desk.

The papers for J2-A still need to be graded. J2-F still needs a lesson plan.

Twenty-minutes later, nothing has been accomplished. Papers have been moved, but little work was done.

D waves as he leaves for class. I make another cup of tea. V admires the flowers.