Thanksgiving 2010

Happy Late Thanksgiving!
We shared a lovely meal on Tanna as well as Vila....I got two Thanksgivings! Our new Tanna volunteer arrived a few weeks before Thanksgiving so we decided to celebrate early with him and the other Tanna volunteers. To continue the Tanna tradition we shared a meal at a village near town with a host family that hosted a volunteer many years ago. There was cobbler, pumpkin pie, stuffing, some kind of meat, fried green tomatoes...and all sorts of delicious treats.

I have been teaching French classes to Class 6 for the past week and have really enjoyed it. Just to give you a bit of culture....Ni-Vanuatu folks are extremely non-confrontational...my headmaster came to my house a few weeks ago with a French curriculum book. He explained that he had taught two French lessons to his class but had taught all he knew already(he does not speak any French). Instead of straight out asking me to teach his class, he showed me his notes and waited for me to comment. I stood there a few minutes and asked if this was all he knew. He said yes with a smile and waited for me to offer my help. This was my headmaster's first attempt at asking me for help. All year I have helped my teachers who are all women...but as a man it has been a bit difficult for him to admit that he needs help. I was happy to teach his class beginning French. We had a great time playing vocabulary games and singing old church songs I remember from growing up in France.

Most teachers have already gone on holiday in their minds. I was the only teacher actually teaching anything this past week. Last Tuesday, two teachers and about half the girls at the school spent the afternoon making bracelets. All in all the school year is ending well!