By: Garry Fourman

On a dreary Friday afternoon during my second month in Fiji, heavy rain began falling just as I was leaving the university. I was feeling a bit stressed—frustrated by the weather, communication challenges with some students, faculty, and administrators, and lingering remnants of culture shock.

At the bus stop, I found about 50 primary school children already waiting. I considered taking a taxi to avoid the crowded bus and the additional half-hour walk from the bus station to my apartment. But just as I was weighing my options, the bus arrived. I waited for all the children to climb aboard and then followed. The bus was packed, the air thick with a musky, earthy smell, and water dripping everywhere.

Two children got up to offer me their seats. I sat down and motioned for them to squeeze in next to me, which they did eagerly. My clothes were already soaked through, and water was pooling around us. About halfway to the bus station, we stopped in a low-lying area near the ocean, now transformed into a giant pool of water. The rain was still coming down in torrents.

I thought to myself, Surely they won’t drop the children off here. But of course, they did. To my surprise, the children were delighted. Most had already removed their shoes and jumped off the bus, laughing, shouting, splashing, and thoroughly enjoying the rain. Their joy was contagious. They seemed thrilled and there would be no school tomorrow.

As I watched them running off through the rain, water, and mud, my spirits lifted. I marveled at the world these children inhabited—a world where natural, everyday events could bring so much happiness. I wanted to join them, but I had my electronics with me and, admittedly, have grown health-conscious about running barefoot through standing water and mud along a major highway.

The children’s infectious enthusiasm stayed with me for hours, and even now, the memory fills me with happiness. I am grateful I chose the bus over a taxi that day. I also understand much better why so many students on campus look so cheerful when it rains. Many of them, like those children, take off their shoes and revel in this natural, regular event—a celebration of life, rain, and the moment.

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Garry Fourman, a freelance writer, teacher, and trainer, served as an English Language Fellow sponsored by the U.S. Department of State at Fiji National University. He studied linguistics and German literature in Marburg, Germany, and later earned a PhD from the University of Cincinnati. He was the founding chair of the Language Department at Columbus State.