Equatorial Pacific Sensory Adventures

There is a reason cosmetic companies repeatedly use island terminology to describe their scents. The evening air on my tiny island really is something to be bottled. While the daytime air might not always be so fresh (especially post rainfall) - and is rather pusracsr (stinky) - peaking at sunset, inhalations are delicious. Hibiscus plants dot the island, as do lovely bright yellow banana flowers, stark white papaya flowers, and various small wildflowers. I have 2 plumeria plants on my lawn, which were planted by the owner as they are not native to the island. When I spotted them, I knew this was meant to be my home, as they are by far my favourite flower. The scent of the plumeria is the freshest floral scent I have ever smelled. It smells as though pure rain has infiltrated each petal and swirled itself into the subtle fragrance of the flower. Night Jasmine is plentiful on island, which literally opens and sends a delicate scent through the air - sweeter than Jasmine, but just as potent, it lingers and seems to clean your nasal passages. It is the sort of scent that one instinctively closes their eyes upon catching a drift of. The humidity here is potent and constant, and while the air is salt laden near the ocean, the flowers seem to lace the air during the evening and night.

I’ve just finished sitting and watching the sun set from my front lawn, and the experience of watching the sky illuminate with soft blues, hot pinks, warm oranges, and even shades of violet and indigo, all the while breathing in the smell of fresh leaves, ocean salt, and night jasmine is something I couldn’t begin to put into words. If there was a way to bottle the experience and take it home, I’m convinced I’d be a rich woman. It is humanly impossible to sit and enrich your senses so completely and not feel elated.

Last night, after dinner at a fellow Aussit/ coworker’s home, several of ‘us teachers’ rode home in the back of a pick-up truck. The night sky was so clear that it seemed as though the intense depth of star layers were discernable from each other. They appeared multi-dimensional, with the North Star outshining the rest, and the Milky Way casting a dreamlike sheen on the sky. There is no light pollution here, so on a clear night, it is as though someone has put a black cloth punctured with thousands of tiny holes over your eyes, and cast a white light beyond it.

Riding in the back of a pick-up truck, head tilted towards the sky, salty floral air creating a tornado of sun-bleached hair above my head, I am truly blissful. The breeze is more refreshing than a splash in the ocean itself. The silhouettes of palm and banana leaves jutting upward create an intricate frame for the beauty that is the sky.

This is freedom.

This is living.

( photo: Sunset over Tafunsak, as seen from my front lawn )