As per Ajeeb's request, we (the volunteers who weren't burnt to a crisp and the teachers) set out to collect grass from Kaadhedhoo (the airport island) to lay at the school.
We were on the ferry over to Kaadhedhoo by 7:30am and once we had unloaded the equipment we set out to eat a Maldivian style breakfast: baked beans and tuna, flat bread and green mango juice. Delicious.
We then walked to a field where we were to collect the grass from. The field itself was just set back from the runway. Nice. The grass... Yes, the grass gets a specific mention. I have never seen grass quite like it before - It was all up in mounds, but the mounds weren't solid. You kind of fell through them as you walked. We worked in the field for quite some time; the men would cut the grass, the teachers and us volunteers would then pull the roots up, roll the grass, stuff it into bags, carry the bags to the road and then repeat the process. It didn't take too long before we were covered in dirt and sweat.
While all of this was happening we noticed that four of the volunteers were missing. Concerned, we notified Ajeeb who said he would spread the word around the island. I mean, how hard could it be to spot four white Australians on an island of very few Maldivians? Eventually they found us: They had apparently taken a few wrong turns, tried to find us, found a beach and went snorkelling instead. When they decided they should have another look for us they stumbled across Ajeeb who was having a smoke underneath a palm tree while people fetched him coconuts to drink. Needless to say, at the time, those of us pulling up the grass were a little annoyed; it's only now that I can see the funny side.
After moving to a couple of different areas we went to collect the grass to take it back to the wharf. By this stage most of the teachers had disappeared. Sitting ontop of bagged grass, on the back of a truck driving around Kaadhedhoo was probably the best part of the day.
After lunch we had a quick play on the playground and made our way back to Thinadhoo to lay the grass at the school. To say that the afternoon progressed smoothly and without any confusion would be a total lie. What appeared to be an arguement bounced around between the teachers before a system for laying the grass was worked out. The system involved the men digging shallow holes in the ground, others dumping bags of turf next to the holes, the women removing the turf from the bags and laying it in the holes and someone else watering the laid turf. We slotted ourselves into the system where ever we could. By the end, only Katy, Nicole, Caitlin and I were left. The quad looked ok, but Ajeeb seemed happy enough, which is all that mattered, I guess. He did shake our hands and give us fist bumps.
After a (fully clothed) swim with the teachers and a dinner of chicken and chips we sat on the wharf with a well deserved ice-cream, watching the safari boats in the distance, planning how we could sneak on board to have a hot shower.
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