Is it ordinary?

An ordinary day here is extraordinary
On Thursday school was ordinary, and so I figured the day would be ordinary.
After school I decided to go for a walk to the store. On the way I ran into some of my students. They had a few coco plants and a machete with them. All of a sudden one of them opened the coco up. And cut the white piece that has the seeds. I was offered some. I didn’t know exactly what it is. Eat it I was informed. It tasted like something I’ve never had before. It was quite satisfying. They spent some time with me giggling as I tried to spit out the seeds (They are much harder than sunflower seeds, and I struggle with those too!).
After awhile I continued onto the store, and after doing my business there, a few of my year 7 students showed up. They were quick to start a conversation, and I decided to use that time with them to review what they had learned about trees in science. We spent a long time sitting around a tree with me going over the parts in Samoan, and them going over the parts in English. (I really hope they do pass this test now!)
It began to rain, and I joined the others sitting around the store. Many other people came to have small talk with me, which proved to be great conversations. The girls decided to check my hair for lice, as this is a normal occurrence at most places. We then sang a few songs that I had taught them during their English classes. When the rain had slowed down I decided that it had been quite a long time since I left so I should start to head back to my village.
Along the way I had people shout hello to me, and from one house it came from the distance. I decided to go back and see who it was. It was one of the girls from my family’s church. They were making the meal for after church that day. The girl was cracking open the coconuts and shaving them, while her mom was getting the fire ready. I stayed there chatting, and then decided to help. I tried shaving the coconuts and did it for about a minute, until my hand was hurting too badly. (It still hurts from the bike fall).
It started to get close to nightfall, and I needed to head home as I told my family I would go with them to church in another village. Even though there was a bus going to the village, my father took the pickup truck.
When we arrived we heard music filling the air. I saw a gigantic screen (okay, really a white sheet) inside a tent. On the screen were the words to the song the person was singing. They were having karaoke and it was amazing.
After a few songs some people had their guitars and sang songs. It was amazing how different men can change their voice for songs, and make them sound like the typical Pacific Islander. It really reminded me of a time when I was learning about Polynesian culture.
The sermon began, and then they did trivia to give away prizes. The night ended with the pastors singing beautifully.
Even though this day was quite ordinary, thinking about how different it is from my life in America makes me appreciate the day much more.