Vanuatu Voyage

Last Post

2011-10-28T21:49:00.000-07:00

My last week on Tanna was full of tearful goodbyes and many many presents. Seeing all my friends and family in tears as the airplane took off left me crying my eyes out the whole 35 minutes to Vila. It was bittersweet. Although I will miss my people I feel like I have good closure and am at peace about it all. I'm a little terrified about the next year of my life....

Thanks for following me over the past two years and for all of your kind words and prayers. The past two years have been pretty amazing and I'm glad I was able to share a piece of my Peace Corps service with you. Please keep me and my travel buddy in your thoughts and prayers as we visit NZ, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam before heading back to the U.S.

Ale!

Final Photos

2011-10-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

2011-10-23T21:07:00.002-07:00

September 30, 2011
And the week gets worse. Early this morning I heard two of my teachers talking outside my window. When I heard the name of one of our students and the word hospital I decided to get up and join the gossip. Someone in the village behind the school had told my neighbor this morning that Maureen, a 4th grade student was in town at the prayer house. Some students also said that they saw Maureen headed to town with her aunty and she could barely walk. And then my neighbor started telling the story she heard last night. Maureen had been raped by her father and a 16 year old boy in the community. No one had taken her to the hospital but she was taken to the woman who prays over people. I just about lost my mind. As soon as the headmaster arrived I told him I was going to find her and take her to the hospital. The 4th grade teacher and I jumped on a truck and headed to town. We found her at the prayer house lying on a mat with her aunty. As we began talking to her we discovered that this all started last year. When she was in 3rd grade her father started sexually abusing her and threatened to stab her with a knife if she told anyone. Now her body couldn’t take it anymore and her aunty and grandma called the police and filed a report. Unfortunately her father ran away before the police caught him. Maureen is now completely terrified that he will find her. She was taken to the hospital that day. When I saw how helpless she was and how scared she was to talk about it I started crying. A ten year old abused by her own father and his friend…and other family member just letting it happen for over a year……

Eline

2011-10-23T21:07:00.001-07:00

September 29th, 2011
Eline is one of my fifth grade students who comes to read with me every week to work on her reading skills. Today she came to school with her parents, which never happens in this culture. The word quickly spread that she was pregnant. She’s 11 years old. Back in May, she started her first period and then didn’t have another one. Her mom started to get worried and took her to the hospital in town. She is 3 months pregnant and brave enough to still show her face at school. But today was her last day at Lamkail Primary School. This morning the school council had a meeting to decided what to do about the situation. They kicked her out (even though she could have finished the school year off). It’s kastom here that once you start having kids your education is over. Even though the law says that all children are given the right to free education through 6th grade. After discussing what happened with several teachers and clost friends of mine in the community I realized there was nothing I could do. The school council justified their decision by saying that Eline would be a bad influence on the other students and that if she came everyone would want to have babies too….ridiculous. The part about this story that makes me most upset is that Eline and I were just starting to really work together on reading. She was finally putting sounds together in her head. All that’s left to do now is pray that her 11 year old body survives the pregnancy and that this boy is good to her.

Spelling Bee Finally!

2011-10-23T21:06:00.001-07:00

September 29, 2011
After postponing it a few times due to deaths in the village, Lamkail Primary School’s first ever spelling bee finally happened! The students spent all term 2 learning how to spell their lists of words. More importantly though they learned that spelling matters and they learned how to study. The morning of the Spelling Bee I was so proud when I saw groups of kids practicing their words with each other. Parents slowly trickled over to the school as classes made last preparations and the stage was flassed out. A generator, sound system, DJ, and a decorator were all hired for this event. The students showed up in their best clothes which for some meant a clean uniform. And before coming on stage they combed their hair and oiled their faces. One class at a time, they took the stage and took turns spelling their words into a microphone. For most students it was their first time holding a microphone. Each class had a trophy for 1st prize and I made bags of goodies for 2nd prize winners. I was also able to give every student who participated a silly band thanks to my lovely nieces. The best part of the whole day was seeing how proud parents and teachers were. Some of the old men in the community really got into it and were on the edge of their seats the whole time. You would have thought they were watching a football match.

Lamkail School First Ever Spelling Bee Competition

2011-09-27T15:40:00.000-07:00

2011-09-10T23:21:00.000-07:00

Things I don’t want to forget

2011-09-10T22:58:00.000-07:00

•Washing volcano ash off my vegetables (locals call it shitshit blong volcano : )
•The titi pawpaw next door
•Asked my Class 6 girls what time church started and they pointed to the sun and said “When the sun is just over that mango tree church will start”
•The sound of my neighbor walking on the coral back from kava and relieving himself just outside my window
•The roosters at 4 o’clock in the morning
•Nights with a full moon when you don’t need a torch
•The stars and the Milkyway
•My tippy tap to wash hands
•Fresh, organic, homegrown veggies
•Going on a walkabout and not taking snacks because there will be a mango or mandarin tree somewhere
•Besides my fat Uncle Jeffrey, every single Ni Van man, boy, toddler has a 6 pack and huge arm muscles
•The smell of laplap as it comes off the hot stones
•The sound of everyone scratching coconuts as the sun goes down
•Parakeets
•People taking plants and flowers from school, church, or a neighbor’s yard as a “memory” to go and plant in their own yard
•Ni-Vans shower before bed and before going to school/work in the morning
•Male-domination!
•Women, girls, men, and boys picking out each other’s lice constantly kind of like animals grooming each other all day

August 23, 2011

2011-09-10T22:56:00.000-07:00

I woke up in the middle of the night last night because my eyes were on fire. Turns out I forgot to take my contacts out. I woke up and my eyes were basically sealed shut and red as the devil. The next morning I was talking to my neighbor and she told me she had a quick Kastom medicine that would clear my eyes right up. Then she grabbed her boob and said she just needed to squeeze some of her breast milk into my eyes and the red would go away instantly. All I could do was burst out laughing. She said people do it all the time to get rid of pink eye. I didn’t take her up on the offer.

July 27, 2011

2011-09-10T22:54:00.000-07:00

After stuffing myself with yam chips for lunch I decided to start my running back up. Now that the sore on my foot is healed I have no excuse. I set off with Gertrude, my 6 year old neighbor who has been begging me to go “tren” with her (she got some fancy running shoes from some kid who outgrew them). We were quite the spectacle as you can imagine. She made it 2.5 miles with only one small break! When we got to the beach in front of our school, she stopped and started pointing out to the reef. At first all I could make out were the waves crashing on the reef. But as soon as the waves calmed a bit I saw a fin sticking out of the water. A shark was looking for something to eat just off the reef at high tide. We both got so excited we ran home really fast to tell everyone. Personally I was more terrified than excited because the shark was in one of the pools of water that the kids and I frequently swim in. It was pretty awesome though. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a shark that wasn’t in a zoo or aquarium. And if I hadn’t been running with Gertrude I would have never noticed it.
After our exciting news was shared we played a round of kickball with the other teachers’ kids and then washed off in the shallowest (and shark free) part of the ocean. I think I finally understand why the locals swim in the sea even when it’s cold…because after having swam in the ocean the ground water to rinse with is extremely warm. No need to boil water. And just as I was settling down to read my neighbors brought me a plate of taro and chicken. Then my little friend Lina brought me three custard apples. What a great day.

Photos from August!

2011-08-15T16:47:00.001-07:00

Kastom Danis

Men talking in the Nakamal

Taro Garden

Sunset

Mama making simboro

Mama scratching coconut

Another Sunset

Girl Time

Charline, Gertrude, and my Namesake!

Lololima Waterfall

2011-07-18T15:47:00.000-07:00

Dad and I set out on an adventure today to find this waterfall someone had told us about. After the second bus driver turned us down, we decided to catch a ride outside of town and then jump on another bus. After about ten minutes an empty bus pulled up and asked where we were going. The bus driver was a friendly guy who wanted to know where we were from and all the usual stuff. He admitted he had never been to the waterfall and wasn’t quite sure where it was once we’d been riding along about fifteen minutes. We saw some guys on the road and a man in a truck and the bus driver asked nicely if we minded if he asked them for directions…of course we said okay. The local guy said to ask the white man in the truck because he was the owner of the land. He said we were indeed going the right way and then said “yea hope you don’t get lost…” This was a bit discouraging since we had no idea where we were going. The bus driver stopped at the gate and just after I paid him asked if dad and I would come to the window. He then proceeded to pray for us and our journey to the waterfall and asked God to keep us safe. Now at this point dad and I are a little bit worried. Not only was there a cemetery next to the dirt road but the bus driver felt like he needed to pray for us. Dad and I set out a little unsure of ourselves…after about an hour walk though we found the waterfall. We snapped some pics, had a snack and managed to make it back to the dirt road before sun down. A truck driver who was taking some kids home from school dropped us off in town and refused any money. The kids were in French school and seemed impressed when we jumped into their conversation. We got some cold drinks, showered (and the hot water was on!) and shared some vegetable soup before calling it a day.

Third grade field trip to a live volcano

2011-07-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

Field Trip!

The third grade class at my school just started the unit on volcanoes.....so we all decided to take a trip to Mt. Yasur our local active volcano. 23 kids hanging off the back of a truck and two teachers....this would never be okay in the U.S....no consent forms....some of the parents probably didn't even know we were going. It was a blast! Most of the kids had never been to see Yasur and were terrified at the top. It's been extremely active lately and gave us quite a show. Then we ran up and down the ash plains and wrote our names on the side of it. Some ash boarders also showed up and made the day even more exciting!

Class Pics and World Map

2011-07-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

World Map Project complete! A bunch of Peace Corps Volunteers around the world have been doing these world maps in schools the past few years. My school built two new buildings last year thanks to a New Zealand grant and thought it would be great to put a mural on one of the walls. One of my teachers drew the Vanuatu map and the kids loved putting their handprints on the boarder.

I also introduced class pictures...because we all have fond memories of those. We all had a good time taking serious and funny pictures. I can't wait to get prints for all my students in Vila so they have a "memori" of their classmates.

2011-07-03T15:56:00.000-07:00

June 24, 2011
Staff Meetings
Friday we had a two and a half hour staff meeting, probably one of the longest ones so far. Let me paint a picture of what a typical staff meeting looks like around here. The headmaster sits on a stool while the rest of us teachers sit on the floor on mats. A couple of dogs always seem to find their way inside the classroom as well. An opening prayer is said by the headmaster and sometimes a chorus is sung as well. Then we all clap, because in Vanuatu you always clap after a prayer. The headmaster then goes through the agenda as the teachers look totally uninterested . . . one is texting on her phone, another one is popping out her boob to feed her baby, one is coming in and out of the room trying to get the unsupervised students to shut up. The meeting goes on for hours because although no one looks interested, every person in the room will have to comment on everything that is said. When we finally finish up another prayer and closing chorus. Then everyone stands up and we shake hands. Man I love Vanuatu!

2011-07-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

June 1, 2011
The Rat Chronicles
So it seems to be rat season (although they never really left)! I haven’t slept in a solid week and wake up most nights to the sound of a rat chewing though my wall or knocking stuff down off my shelves. I decided enough is enough. . . I mean I know I only have 5 more months left but I have to sleep. So I made a plan.
Step 1-Put my nasty old T-shirts in every rat hole I can find.
Step 2-Put screens (a cut up mosquito net) on all my windows because yes they can get in even with closed windows.
Step 3-Cover all remaining holes in the walls with screens (double thick).
Step 4-Buy a rat trap.
The first night after all of this was uneventful. The rat ate the bait but the trap didn’t budge. The second night I decided to roast some yummy corn for myself and the rat to enjoy. I also put a little rat poison around the trap just for kicks before going to bed. I woke up in the middle of the night to a loud SNAP! I tiptoed around the corner to the trap and what did I see? Well I even took a pic . . . the defeated rat looking half-conscious and stumbling around like a drunk. He wasn’t dead yet but I figured I’d let him die in peace and went back to bed. The next morning I found him barely alive in the corner of the room. The cat from next door got a nice big breakfast.
Unfortunately this isn’t the end of the story. Later on during the day I saw a rat running around the beams in the roof. That night I set the trap again and had to change the bait twice in the night. What did I find the next morning? A hell of a lot of rat poop and no sign of the rat. The next night I set the trap again and emptied the entire box of rat poison on the floor (by now I’m exhausted). I wake up in the night to the sound of plastic bags shuffling. I torch the house up with my light but see nothing so decide I’m hearing things. After the third time I think I’m either completely paranoid and crazy or blind without my contacts. Turns out I wasn’t crazy at all. The blessed rat had chewed its way through my food safe. I have been here almost two years and nothing has ever gotten in to that food safe. The next morning I patched up the hole with some wire and hoped for the best. The next night the rat found its way in there again and had a big meal of ziplock bags and rice. The next day I emptied my entire food safe into a plastic tub with a solid lid.
I thought I could defeat the rats and diminish their population around here. But I guess rats are incredibly smart. Not only did they spoil my food safe but they have managed to chew through all the holes in the walls again and the screens on the windows. Why do I have to be allergic to cats?

2011-07-03T14:45:00.000-07:00

Random Highlights
1. There is a boy in class 5 who is extremely shy and soft-spoken and who never really shows much excitement or enjoyment while reading. He is one of the lowest readers and therefore shy about reading out loud. After we read together the book he took home last week and another easy reader I tell him thank you and to go get the next student. He doesn’t get up immediately but instead opens his empty reading folder and looks up at me with sad questioning eyes. I explained to him that because of the 2 weeks break I am not letting kids take books home (because that’s how we lost so many last year). He finally stands up, clearly disappointed and says “thank you very much” and then leaves. I had no idea this kid even liked reading these books. It’s moments like these that remind me why I’m here.
2. Lina left a custard apple on my window sill one morning.
3. Jeff, another quiet and shy student in class 4 read Sweet Dreams Maisy to me during reading groups. There’s a part in the book where Maisy says twinkle, twinkle little star and Jeff started singing the song. It was adorable.
4. Watching a 3 year old girl breatfeed…there is something seriously wrong with that.
5. I went to see the Canadian doctor up at the hospital to check the status of my ear (I’ve been half deaf for awhile). When I finally reached the top of the hill, drenched in sweat, I was relieved and looking forward to the easy walk down hill. I saw the doctor and was feeling great about my ear healing up and almost back to normal again. I started walking down, watching my step as the dusty road can be slick. I was almost to the bottom when my phone rang which I decided I could handle walking down and talking at the same time. About 2 seconds later, I literally bit the dust with the phone flying in the air. Never thought I would leave the hospital looking worse than when I went in. I was quite a sight walking through town with blood dripping down my leg and foot.
6. Making sangria with some sweet and fresh pineapple!
7. I was walking back from the store and passed a big group of yungfala boys on the sandbeach. They of course yelled the usual obscenities to try and look cool in front of their friends. I couldn’t help but burst out laughing though when I heard what they were jamming out to on their radio…My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion!
8. I was storying with a mama in the next village over when she saw the bandaids on my foot and asked what had happened. I told her the story and removed the bandaid to show her. Her response: “I have never seen a white woman with a sore like that. That is a black man sore.”

Women…..they got the power!

2011-05-31T16:46:00.000-07:00

Well the two week school break finally arrived in mid-May. The other two lady PCVs and I decided it was time do some women empowerment stuff! We set off Monday with our first two day camp GLOW (Girls as Leaders in Our World). At our first location we recruited 27 girls from 7th to 12th grade and 24 at our second. We talked about gender roles, women’s rights, the body, healthy relationships, reproductive health, and AIDS. And to lighten the mood we played games, tie-dyed shirts and bags, made cheers, shared meals, and watched some movies. The three of us made an unstoppable team! We truly had a fabulous time and the girls were so grateful and showered us with gifts on the last day. At both camps the girls told us that no one ever talks about these things in their culture and explained how thankful they were for our presence and willingness to open up to these “tabu” topics.

Easter celebration

2011-05-03T18:11:00.000-07:00

Fire Dancing

We decided to celebrate our Easter with a ten mile pilgrimage to a resort here on Tanna. We splurged on some cheese and ham omelets and cold drinks for lunch. We walked back and shared some Easter chocolate sent from home and smol spel and swim before going to pray with a neighboring community. This community has formed its own church because of some unsettled disputes with the other churches around the area. The leaders of this church are all related and include many of the outcast families from around (many single mothers and broken families).

We arrived before the campfire had begun so we busted out some classics on the guitar and entertained the kids for a bit. We ate some delicious roasted corn and yam as the sun set and more people showed up. A woman elder in the church blessed the campfire and welcomed everyone. The community’s chief lit the fire and danced with a fire stick to get the kids excited. The guitars chimed in and we all started dancing, jumping, singing, clapping, and running around the fire. The kids especially loved running around the big bonfire! A few people stood up and sang or shared their testimonies as the kids rested on the mats. And before you had time to really cool down another song was starting and the kids were jumping to their feet. This went on for three hours before we decided it was time to retire and sleep. I don’t ever remember celebrating Jesus in my church back home the way these people did on Easter!

Earth Day celebration

2011-05-03T18:00:00.000-07:00

Earth Day and Bake-Off

Lamkail Primary School held their first ever Earth Day celebration last week! Each class presented a song about the earth and a short drama or lesson during our assembly. The students really got into their role playing and talked about the importance of picking up rubbish and not burning plastics and things. It was an extremely educational and fun filled morning. And if that wasn’t enough we then all jumped into an afternoon of baking sweets! The menu consisted of sweet rolls, peanut butter cake, popcorn, gateau (which is like a doughnut), wacky cake, brownies, fresh coconut cake, and chocolate cake. I jumped around from class to class helping with the recipes and teaching the kids about how it is necessary to lick the mixing bowl clean before washing it. Around 2PM the students had created a beautiful spread of backed goods and delicious treats. Each student was given a small sample of every single dessert! This was not only the first time the students had made cakes but also the first time most of them had even tasted such delightful treats! And thank the lord I couldn’t eat any of the flour filled goodies or I would have had a stomach ache. I did go home and make some gluten free scones for dinner which made up for it!

Additional pics

2011-04-04T02:53:00.001-07:00

April 1, 2011

2011-04-02T01:21:00.000-07:00

Lamkail’s Little Readers

Happy April Fool’s Day Everyone! My April fool’s joke was that I fell down my longdrop….it really is one of my biggest fears. I’m sure you guys have seen that part in Slumdog Millionaire where the kid is stuck in the longdrop and can’t get out….that just haunts me.

Anyway I just wanted to update everyone on my library progress. I have successfully received 23 boxes of primary level books from my church back home!!! They only took about a month to arrive and the fact that they all made it is a miracle. The best part however is that I managed to get a couple of free rides to my school and didn’t end up paying much on transportation at this end.

March 30th, 2011

2011-04-02T01:18:00.000-07:00

Digicel I No Tuf Tumas

Digicel is one of two cell phone companies in this beautiful Country of Vanuatu. I learned yesterday that it is actually an Irish Company based somewhere in the Caribbean (I think) and is overtaking the South Pacific at a speed that no other cell phone service provider has been able to match. My phone service has been quite limited at my house this past year as Lamkail School is far from any Digicel tower here on Tanna. But this shall be no longer….I spent a weekend away from site and came back to find that about 26 paces from my front door and about 5 from the school gate was the beginning of a Digicel tower. Now I am no environmentalist nor do I know much about these towers and their effects on their surroundings but I do know that I have never seen a tower built so close to a village (let alone a school). I mean this thing is literally in someone’s backyard (if there was such a thing as backyards here).

As weeks passed more and more men started showing up to work on this ugly looking thing. Every time I walked to my host family’s house or to town I had the luxury of walking by about 30 young men who were not ashamed to tell me how they felt about me walking by…awo Man Tanna. On the bright side, this tower project became quite the entertainment for my neighbors. Instead of coming home and turning on the television, we finished school and set mats outside to watch how “island construction” is done. I don’t think I had ever seen a man shimmy up a tower like it is a coconut tree. I had also never seen this intricate system of ropes and trucks and part of a crane to get the parts to the top. Talk about prime time television here! I’ll try to post a few pictures next time so you can see folks enjoying watching this whole affair.

Here are the pics:

Soap making workshop

2011-03-24T18:27:00.001-07:00

March stories

2011-03-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

March 1, 2011
A Father and a Healer

I’ve gotten pretty used to my host dad’s lectures, usually about marrying a ManTanna and staying here forever or about how the US is good and Vanuatu is bad. On Sunday afternoon, I was feeling bad about skipping church so decided to pay him a visit. He was lying on a mat in his front yard wearing only a piece of calico around his waist (the usual). He asked me what kind of sick I had last year that made me go all the way to Australia. I explained what kidney stones were and how Peace Corps has rules about certain illnesses. He then went on a 20 minute lecture about how he is the best doctor on Tanna. Not the kind of doctor that puts poison and bad chemicals in your body and uses machines like in the US. He is a doctor sent straight from God and heals by using natural things that God sent to us. And this kind of doctor is the only good kind of doctor. He ended by demanding that next time I’m sick, I must only come to him.

March 12, 2011
Tsunami Scare

Yesterday, after shopping a bit in town, a PCV and I went to charge our electronics and sleep at another PCV’s house. She is currently in New Zealand but left me the key for charging purposes since she is the only one out of the three of us with power. After watching some Modern Family and scoring some meat at the market across the street my friend’s phone rang. I found my phone and saw I had missed a voicemail. When I heard my sister’s voice I immediately got worried as the family only calls when there is an emergency. In the voicemail, my sister said that an 8.9 earthquake had just devastated Japan followed by a tsunami and the entire South Pacific was on red alert. My friend and I immediately called our Safety and Security officer in the capital who confirmed this information. She told us to get to higher ground before midnight as that was the projected time of the tsunami. I walked across the street to the store to start spreading the news of the tsunami to the locals. Luckily I ran into a truck driver who was headed to a boxing match on the beach but decided he could take us up the hill. The other men headed to the beach spread the word quickly on their walk. My friend and I grabbed our belongings and jumped in the truck. We stopped on the way to inform another PCV and pick her up. On our way we passed the meteo truck that was driving along the coast yelling the news over his megaphone. On our way up the hill, the truck driver’s phone ran constantly as other folks were needing a taxi to higher ground. If we hadn’t gotten that ten minute head start thanks to my sister’s call I don’t think we would have found an available taxi driver. Just being on that hill away from the solwota I felt relieved and safe. I said some pretty intense prayers before going to sleep. Thankfully we were spared this time but I am afraid since nothing happened that folks will take it less seriously next time.

March 20th, 2011

What a crazy week! I’m completely exhausted and tomorrow is Monday…A PCV whom I visited in January came to Tanna to visit for a week. I met her at the airport on Monday morning and we got a truck to my school. We took a short walkabout the school and the neighboring village and I showed her the hotspots (like the water pump). We had dinner and storied with my neighbor for a bit before turning in. Students presenting their papers

On Tuesday, we went to each classroom and did a toktok on diarrhea, how it spreads, and how to prevent it. Then each class did drawings of ways to prevent diarrhea and the best drawings got an award. The students really enjoyed this as it involved lots of hilarious pictures (like of men relieving themselves in the gardens). A neighboring PCV came over in the afternoon and we made manioc tortillas with rice, beans, and avocado for lunch (tortillas over a fire take forever).

On Wednesday morning we ventured over to Black Man Town, as they call it here, for some shopping and lunch. We met the two male PCV’s for lunch and planned to reunite at my school in the evening. The guys agreed to help with a health talk we were planning for Thursday. We made our way back to school and started preparing a big meal for the guys. Just as we were finishing up, my phone rang and the guys said they were at a Nakamal taking kava for a bit. Instead of getting annoyed, my friend and I realized that this is probably how every local female feels each night her man goes to the Nakamal. Our wait was worth it however as the boys arrived with sausages and fish…..like a Christmas meal! After strorying and a delicious meal which we flattened, the boys slept next door in an empty house (in order to remain culturally appropriate).

The next morning we did 2 reproductive health/ knowing your body toktoks with classes 5 and 6. The two guys took the boys down to the solwota and my friend and I brought the girls up to my house. We taught them about sikmoon (their period) and how reproduction works. At the end of the talk we passed our papers and pens for the girls to write down questions they were scared to ask out loud. I was amazed at how these girls didn’t know about their own body and about how much they did know when it comes to sex. This kind of health is not in any curriculum books in this country and teachers are scared to discuss it in class. It is also taboo to talk about these things at home so most of the students were hearing it for the first and last time.

In honor of Saint Patrick’s Day we made avocado manioc pancakes…and then had stomach aches. My PCV friend painted a sign on the library door and helped make another one to go inside the library. Then we hauled some coral to put around my house and swam. We of course made the mandatory trip to the volcano.
Truck to volcano

At Mt. Yasur

February stories

2011-02-25T10:16:00.000-08:00

February 11, 2011

Pregnancy in Vanuatu isn’t like pregnancy in the USA. You don’t call your friends and family and announce the big news. Instead you wear your biggest island dresses and cover it up as long as possible. And even when you start showing, no one will talk about it in public or say anything on the subject. My neighbor and favorite teacher had a huge belly when I got back from holiday. She failed to mention her pregnancy all the times we chatted on the phone…style blong olgeta. Yesterday after sitting through our school teacher meeting, she took her bamboo stick and fished out on the reef for a few hours. Shortly after, a truck nonchalantly showed up and drove her to the hospital where she gave birth instantly to a little girl. Women here don’t spend hours in labor. They don’t spend days lying around and ordering their husbands around the house. The Canadian doctor at the hospital confirmed that most Ni-Vanuatu women pop out their babies without signs of pain in 10 to 15 minutes. Can you imagine?

The best part of the story however is what happened when the baby and mother arrived home. Most women take several weeks to name their new born child. It is kastom for others to come give names to the baby and the family then decides which is best. Following kastom, I offered up the name Eloisa after my newest niece born last September. A few weeks went by and I hadn’t heard a name yet so I went to ask. My neighbor told me that the baby not only was given the name Hali but also Eloisa. They combined the two to make Heloisa. Another one of their family members had a baby the next day on Santo and also named her little girl Heloisa. I now am proud to say that I have a “Namesake”!

February 7th, 2011
Under the Sea

Tonight I decided to take a break from Ratsville and get a full nights rest at my fellow PCV’s house. Sunday morning she went on her usual run down the beach but instead of her usual cat calls she got stopped on the road. A yangfala sang out her name and handed her a huge flying fish that he had caught that morning. While to most this fish might just look like lunch meat, it was probably more of an engagement offer. I showed my friend how to scale and gut the fish (that’s right…because I am now an expert) and we had ourselves a little fish fry. Let’s just hope that this young man doesn’t show up later expecting her hand in return.

As dinner time crept up on us we realized our food supply was a bit limited. So I went on a little walkabout around the village. Families are always generous with their root crops and laplap. Not expecting much on a Sunday afternoon, I went to visit one of my teachers from last year. We storied for a while and then she asked what dinner looked like. I told her honestly that I wasn’t sure yet. She jumped to her feet and grabbed some dishes and calico. We walked down to a few mamas who were having a fundraiser for school fees for their kids. One of the mamas piled a plate high with root crops and fish soup. The next mama whips out a huge lobster from her saucepan and throws it on top of the pile. Talk about ask and you shall receive. I proudly walked back with my incredible find and we devoured the lobster in record time. A day of sincere generosity!

February 4th, 2011
I came back to Tanna with a particularly bad case of the runs. Now I used to think they called it the “runs” because it ran out of your body . . . but now I think it’s because once you hear that grumble in your stomach, you better run. Unfortunately cyclone Vania did quite a number on my back yard area and a large coconut tree is now blocking my smol haos. Needless to say my “runs” to the smol haos have been pretty comic. To make matters a bit worse, at night I not only fell on the way to the smol haos, I also chased three rats. This was seriously straight out of some British slap stick comedy show. Please take a moment to picture this scene: me chasing 3 rats with a wimpy broom in and out of my room…all of the sudden my stomach grumbles…drop the broom, forget the rats, and run to the smol haos…trip and fall, run back to the house, grab the broom and start chasing again…and so on until 4:30 AM when I surrendered. And the worst part is that I didn’t even have any food in my house so the rats were clearly just after me. Welkam bak Hali!

Stories I Never Posted

2011-01-25T20:19:00.000-08:00

Lina’s Birthday!

Lina is a fifth grade student at my school. Her mother has been teaching kindergarten for over 15 years now. They live in one of the smallest kastom houses I have ever seen. They don’t have a kitchen but cook right outside their one room hut. Lina’s father is a fisherman and used to bring some money by selling his catch of the day. Last year, he was sent to prison for raping three young girls…his daughter was one of them. Lina doesn’t spend much time with the other kids at school because she is always doing house work. She is a wonderful student and really cares about her studies. On several occasions she has come to ask me for help with her homework.

One day I was teaching Lina’s mother some kindergarten songs and she started talking about Lina. She told me her birthday was coming up soon but that she didn’t have any flour to bake a cake. I told her that on Saturday evening I would prepare a cake if she made a meal. I invited my neighbors on both sides to Lina’s party but neither family showed up. I made her a banana cake and a bracelet. Then she opened her toothbrush and toothpaste that I had wrapped in newspaper. I wasn’t sure what her reaction was going to be…I mean what kid wants that for their birthday. A few days earlier, after noticing her rotting teeth, I had asked her if she ever brushed her teeth. She told me she had never done it before. When she opened it, she seemed pretty excited but I couldn’t tell if she was just being polite.

The next morning I woke up to Lina knocking on my door around 5ish. She had her toothpaste and toothbrush in hand and wanted me to show her how to do it. So we brushed our teeth together. I guess she really did like her gifts.

Lamen Airport Pictures

2011-01-22T18:05:00.000-08:00

Oh traveling adventures just keep getting better and better. We canoed from Lamen to Epi...my arms are still sore. I thought I had already been on the smallest plane possible but then I saw this one land. A four passenger plane with only one pilot. Wow. The pilot actually had to rev up the propellors before taking off. The winds were so strong that we landed completely off the runway. I was so terrified at one point that I grabbed the hand of the lady behind me. She was just as scared as I was so we squeezed each others hand until we hit the ground. I don't think I will ever get over my flying anxiety...especially not as long as I live here.

Lamen Island Highlights

2011-01-22T15:55:00.000-08:00

We were extremely productive during my week on Lamen. Besides hanging out with the locals and eating a ton of island food we did a few little experiments as well. We made soap with some mamas by mixing lye, water, coconut oil, and bit of lavender. We made 6 bars in coconut shell molds. The only hard part about this process is that you have to wait 6 weeks before using the soap on your skin (lye is a pretty potent chemical). I'm going to take the materials back to Tanna with me and hopefully do a soap making workshop with the mamas in my village. While ManTanna swims (showers) everyday and sometimes even twice a day, soap isn't often used. So this project is really great for the island mamas.

My friend and I also made chocolate! Some kids helped suck the cacao seed off the fruit....and probably all got sick afterwards. The cacao seeds then dried on the roof of the swim haos for 8 days. We made a kranki contraption with a milk tin and a piece of iron to roast the cacao over the fire. Once it cooled we took the skin off each seed and then crushed them up into powder. Finally we mixed in a little powdered milk and sugar and drank some delicious chocolate milk. We were wired that night. I also hope to do this with some of my students on Tanna.

Lamen Island Adventures

2011-01-22T14:49:00.000-08:00

After waiting a week for cyclone Vania to pass, my PCV friend and I were finally given the okay to go to her site by plane (original plan was to take a little passenger boat). We boarded another small plane which landed on Ambryn firstaem and then proceeded to Epi. The landing on Ambryn was pretty rough....let's just say we swayed back and forth through trees before hitting the grass runway. We landed on Epi and scouted out a boat to take to Lamen Island.

The solwota was still really rough when we arrived and we got drenched on the ride over. It was pretty amusing however since we were on a boat with some chiefs...we all laughed at how wet we were getting.

Lamen Island is a small island of about 1 km in diameter and a population of 500. It is surrounded by bigger islands which protects it from tsunamis and cyclones. The people on Lamen take canoes to Epi to tend to their gardens. They spend most of their days making mats, laplap, and keeping the island clean and polished.

The island was so well groomed I felt like I was walking into a movie set. Apparently everyone rakes the road and around their house on Saturday...which explains why it was so clean. Everyone pretty much lives on top of each other as you can imagine with a population of 500 in such a small area.

Quick Sydney Trip

2011-01-08T17:37:00.000-08:00

Headed to a small island off of Epi with a PCV on Monday. Pics and stories to come! Happy New Year to everyone!

Pixie Sticks

2010-12-27T14:15:00.001-08:00

LION KING

2010-11-29T07:38:00.000-08:00

My fellow Peace Corps Volunteer on Tanna put on the Lion King at her primary school this week. I mostly assisted with costumes and music and the small back stage stuff during the performance. It was the first musical/play ever performed on Tanna!

We took some photos before the performance and installed all of the microphone and sound equipment. Just as the performers were lining up behind stage to begin, it started to pour like it hasn't poured all year. We couldn't believe it! God really does have a sense of humor. The man holding the microphone got electrocuted a bit and then it took a good half hour to dry all the sound stuff before putting it in the hands of the narrator. The audience was patient however and once we started the rain held off until the dance finale(which added a lovely dramatical effect). It was a huge success and we are hoping to put on another one next year!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-29T07:20:00.000-08:00

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!

November 1, 2010

2010-10-31T18:24:00.000-07:00

I'm finally off to Tanna...the doc has perscribed rest and no lifting or carrying...so this should be fun! I will be back on for an update on Thanksgiving hopefully. Thanks again for continuing to send prayers and thoughts my way.
Lukim yufala!

Airport Greeting!

2010-10-22T22:05:00.000-07:00

My Peace Corps fan club greeted me at the airport and sang this rap song!
I went to Brisbane with a pain in my side
They thought it was my kidney that wasn't alright
They cut me up and found some funky stuff
And man were my next seven days rough
They took out twisted fat, a real strange fala mix
But, yo doc, where's my appendix?
All I wanted to do was hold a koala
But man, all I could think was they smell like olfala
Mi bin stap mi wan, mi bin stap all alone
Be Sara i bin kam blong help changem tone
We went on some dates and storied smol
But all I could thing was where's the closest Nakamal
Now I've come back and my friends have gone craycray
Now it's time for us to all go pleiplei

Back to Vanuatu...

2010-10-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

Where to begin.....
I won't bore anyone with the medical specifics....but I had a whole bunch of stuff taken out and poked around in my gut. I'm back and walking slow slow still with a little pain. It turnes out that I passed my tiny kidney stones before even leaving Vanuatu....but I'm glad that I got other things taken care of. Hopefully I will return to Tanna in a few pain free!

I also found out last night that my dog, Oli passed. The story is that someone fed her fish that had cigatera....but I'm pretty sure that means that someone killed her. She was very territorial and would attack men if they came near my house so she made quite a few enemies. I'm pretty upset considering she was my little companion that went to town with me and shared my meals...anyway I will just leave it at that.

Thanks for your prayers and thoughts.

Australian Wildlife

2010-10-18T01:39:00.000-07:00

Released from hospital

2010-10-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

Hali is out of the hospital but still in Brisbane until Monday at least. She does have easier access to the internet so will hopefully be able to access email, etc. through the weekend.

"Mother of Hali"

Wednesday and still in Brisbane

2010-10-13T01:54:00.000-07:00

Just a quick word to say that Hali is still in the hospital in Brisbane. She had laparoscopic surgery yesterday and they removed and untwisted some things and also took out her appendix. The latter the doctor said was just because she lives in Vanuatu. The doctor hopes something he did will relieve her pain and take care of her infection. She should be up and about today and perhaps out of the hospital on Friday. Her return date to Vanuatu will depend on recovery and follow-up stuff.

I've had the chance to speak with her daily, which has been good for both of us.

Will keep you posted.

"Mother of Hali"

Still here

2010-10-10T22:03:00.000-07:00

Since it has been determined that I don't have kidney stones the search is now on for what I do have. Showed up at the hospital on Friday for laparoscopy only to be admitted after a 9 hour wait. Spent the weekend in the hospital. Now looks like it may happen tomorrow. Will keep you posted....

Update

2010-10-07T00:46:00.000-07:00

Highlights

-Enjoyed flirting with this attractive dude that did my xrays...until we started talking about kidney stones. He mentioned he'd heard it's like giving birth and then said "But you've already been through that." Still not sure how to interpret that one...

-Waited for the doctor for two hours yesterday evening before giving up and going back to my hotel. After showering and getting into bed the phone rang...9PM so wasn't expecting a call. The doctor was outside my hotel....creepy...he told me I didn't have kidney stones but that the pain must be due to something else...like maybe the rods in my back! He basically said I should take pain killers until I can see my orthopedic surgeon. And then he started asking me about Vanuatu...that's when I started to get uncomfortable and said I should go....it was odd.

-Saw some wildlife today: kangaroos, platapus, koalas, huge lizards and so much more. I will post pictures later.

Hospitalness

2010-10-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

October 4, 2010
Still no doctor’s visit today as he was booked. Tomorrow wan taem. I walked around a bit today and treated myself to a hair cut. Shampoo and moisture treatment. The lady wasn’t too impressed with the way I cut my own hair a few months ago. I explained to her that I didn’t have a mirror so it was a bit difficult to cut the back…she was appalled. I met up with one of my brother-in-laws family members and we did a bit of running around and then settled at her house for the afternoon. I had a good time hanging out with her two young girls and enjoyed sitting on a couch and eating a home cooked meal. I also got to Skype with mom, dad, Whitni, Elie, and Anthony. The connection was so clear it was like we were all in the same room…no ten second delay or anything.
October 5, 2010
I took the City Cat (see pic) to South Bank Brisbane today to check out some art galleries this morning. Unfortunately the Valentino exhibit was 20 bucks which is over half of my per diem for the day…so didn’t do that. I walked around though and found some delicious gluten free pastries. I went inside the Library but immediately walked out because I was so freaked out by all of the T.V screens and flat screen computers and coffee shops…I mean what the heck happened to good old libraries where you can’t bring food or drinks and there are books everywhere….not screens. I walked back on the bike road beside the river (see pic). It’s only my second day here and I’m ready for some nature and some quiet. I can’t wait to get back to my little house on the beach.
After tests…
So I just ate sushi in a hospital…that’s right they do it gourmet style in Brisbane hospitals. As for the bad part of the day…I showed up after fasting for two hours which doesn’t sound like that much but apparently my body needs food more often than every 3 hours. I waited 30 minutes in the lab place then had to chug a pitcher of what tasted like water with a bad after taste. Then I waited 45 minutes. I finally made my way to the scan room to get some dye injecting into me. It took two nurses and a doctor to find my “small deep veins”. Three pokes later we were in business and I was told that the dye would make my mouth taste weird and I would feel like I wet myself…wow. Half the stuff was injected and then I had to go sit in a cubicle for a bit where I almost passed out and had to wait some more for the doctor to come in and make sure my body could handle some more dye. After that I had to go get some more pokes and my blood drawn and then pee in a cup. Basically it was just a grand ol’ time at the hospital. I’m sitting here in the café with my sushi waiting to see the doctor.
After doctor’s visit…
I finally saw the doctor at 6PM and the tests showed nothing so I have to do it all again tomorrow…

I Won the Lottery

2010-10-05T16:47:00.000-07:00

October 3, 2010

So as we say around here, I won the lottery and have an illness that Vanuatu is ill-equipped and unable to fix. Who knew that kidney stones (or should I say renal colic) would require a trip to Australia. Nonetheless here I am in Brisbane. I am staying at what other PCV’s have deemed the “nursing home” and hope to at least see a koala or something if time permits. On my flight over I sat next to the only two Ni-Vanuatu men, one Man Aneityum and a Man Efate. Talk about some in-flight entertainment. Neither fellas had ever flown internationally. One lad spent a solid 30 minutes going through the Safety Instruction card and every now and then would look around for the exits and check under his seat for his emergency floating device. When the meal came around, the flight attendant automatically gave them the meal with meat and a coca cola. Without thinking about it, I devoured my meat with my hands like the two men. We spent the rest of the flight joking about how we’ve been in the bush way too long. And after instructions on how to use the radio and headset, they blared string band music the rest of the flight.
I was a bit overwhelmed when I entered the huge airport full of white folks. I grabbed my bag and found my way to the taxi line. Within minutes I was in a taxi with a young man driving speeding down the highway. The young man seemed a bit nervous and was biting his nails a lot. I noticed his gas light was flashing so just figured he was nervous about running out maybe. After a couple of minutes he called someone on his phone and though he was whispering I heard the word “American”. By this point I’m completely freaked out. I almost started crying thinking about how this man could be driving me anywhere since I don’t know Brisbane at all. I seriously thought I was going to be taken somewhere and sold into prostitution like on the movie Taken. Paranoid much? I made it fine to the “nursing home” and walked a little bit to a nearby petrol station where they sold rice cakes and milk….
Frogs, huge birds, cars, people on their phones, people with headphones, not saying good morning, butt shorts, rain, the smell of pine trees, cars and more cars…these are just a few of the things that I’ve noticed so far.

Brisbane

2010-10-03T21:12:00.000-07:00

Made it. No news yet on the kidney stones. Seeing doctor tomorrow. Blog entry to follow on details of the culture shock and adventures. For those of you who aren't too good at geography, Brisbane is in Australia : )

A Yummy Meal and My Toothbrush Rap Girls

2010-09-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

Some more

2010-09-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

Kastom Ceremony Pics

2010-09-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

Kastom Ceremony

2010-09-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

The months of August and September here on Tanna are busy months for those families involved in kastom ceremonies. My host family was one of those families this year. My nephew, Ishmael's 5 years old and attends a French Catholic Mission school but has been absent for 2 months now. Two months ago he said goodbye to his mother and other women in the family and was led to the nakamal by the men of the family. Several things happened during these 2 months, including circumcision, some healing,and a new bond between all the boys at the nakamal. They will be like brothers from now on. Every afternoon around 4 o'clock the conch shell is blown by one of my brothers and the boys and men go swim (bathe) in the ocean together. The conch shell is to inform the women that their swim time is finished and they must stay clear of the path leading to the solwota (I found this out the hard way, no explanation needed). The boys spend 2 months naked eating, bathing, and sleeping at the nakamal with the men of the family. This time is followed by a large celebration known as the Coming-Out Ceremony.

On the first day the women peel the skins off the root crops and get ready for the big kakae (food). the next day is dedicated to laplap making...which I will someday show detailed pics of that process. That night the women danced in one place and then men danced at the nakamal while burning a certain type of wood. The third day is the big day! The families get all dressed up in grass skirts, face paint, tinsel, calico and so on. The baskets, mats (which have been made by the women over the past two months), pigs, kava, laplap, calico, and so on are put into piles according to families in the nakamal. The ceremony involves killing pigs and cows with huge wooden bats, the boys coming out and walking around the piles of gifts a few times, some kastom dancing and some tears from the mamas.

I realize my description isn't very detailed but I hope these pictures will help.

Highlights

2010-09-30T16:15:00.000-07:00

August 16, 2010

1. I thought I’d experienced it all when it came to smol haoses: missing the hole, rats crawling on the walls, huge hairy spiders, almost losing a flip flop, falling on my ass when my legs gave out (terrible case of the runs)…well today topped all of those by a million. As I assumed the squatting position and began relieving my bladder, something suddenly flew up from the long drop. I jumped back, pulled up my pants, opened the door for some light…and sure enough a poor little chick had somehow fallen in my long drop. I’m not entirely sure what attracted it to such a horrid and fowl smelling place to start with…but with no means of a rescue, the poor little chick stopped squawking within minutes. It probably died of intoxication, poor thing. I never thought my excrement would cause the death of a chick…Rest In Peace.
2. Cooking grits on a fire is quite a challenge. I do not recommend trying this at home (or anywhere for that matter). “Simmer on low heat,” let me just turn my fire down to low heat. I enjoyed eating them, thanks mom and Andi.
3. A few days ago, I was sitting with my neighbors just chatting about this and that. We started talking about having children and I asked them if they wanted anymore (they are in their early 30s with 3 kids). The conversation then turned to me having children and I said I had fulap time. They then asked me if I could have a baby when I got back to the US and send it to them. I agreed jokingly but they were convinced. They said I should just “friend” a Man Tanna here and give them that baby. Still not convinced, the husband offered to go find someone and I could just make a baby today! Wow. I politely declined the offer.
4. I had a sleepover with two of my year 5 girls Friday night. They came carrying island kabij and peanuts. We watched High School Musical, ate some lollis, made pancakes and hot chocolate, made bracelets, and did some weeding. Can imagine 12 year old girls in the U.S at a sleepover begging to weed your yard? We had a blast.
5. Buying a huge cartoon of milk and sharing it with the other PCV as our calcium for the month. We had to chug it before leaving the store or else it would go bad.

Medical Encumbrance

2010-09-28T23:50:00.000-07:00

To make a long story short I have 3 to 4 small kidney stones in both kidneys. I have been chugging water and taking pain meds (wow thanks peace corps for the ibuprofen...it really helps). I went to the hospital today to get an ultrasound and xray to see the number and size of these things. Now I have had my share of xrays and know what a typical xray is like in the United States. I walked in fully clothed and was immediately told to stand against the board. He took the picture and then said I was done. He never asked me to empty my coins from my pockets, or mentioned my buttons on my pants or anything like that. On the way out the Peace Corps Doc and I picked up the xray and took a look. The picture cut off my kidneys and only showed my spine....go Vila Hospital!

A Murderer and a Seat Buddy

2010-09-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

(If you are a child or under the age of 13 maturity wise please do not read this story as it might make you hurl)

A few days ago an interesting event happened on the beautiful island of Tanna. Maybe I should preface this story by saying that land disputes are quite common in Vanuatu. Most disputes in fact are related to land ownership. This story started out just like any other story...2 men fighting over who owned the land. But this wasn't just any land. This land has quite a few bee hives on it and brings in a bit of money through marketing the honey. These two men argued for several days over who owned the honey and who should win the money. It just became too much for one of the men so he decided to pick up his bush knife and go at it the hard way. He started by carving on the man's face and then moved to his hands. He cut both of his hands off. Just because that wasn't enough punishment he decided to strike one last time...and chopped the man's head off...and tossed it. The last part about the tossing is extremely important here according to most Ni-Vans (I don't know why..I guess chopping the nasty bloody head off and watching it fall to the ground isn't good enough so he had to get his hands even dirtier and pick it up and throw it...

I had to come to Vila for a medical encumbrance (thank you thesaurus.com)
yesterday. Just before boarding the plane I noticed a man in zip twisty hand cuffs (Vanuatu can't afford the real deal) being led to the plane with a police officer. I asked the ladies next to me who that was...they asked if I had heard the story of the murderer because that was him. I realize that on a large airplane these things wouldn't matter much but on a 15 passenger flight...well let's just say that you get to know each other's smells quite quickly. And our little murderer friend was sitting in the seat in front of me. I never thought I would be seat buddies with someone who decapitated a man. Only in Vanuatu.

So I (Hali’s sister Andi) got to visit Hali in Vanuatu for 3 weeks in July. It was AMAZING! Here are some highlights and a few photos of my trip.

2010-09-20T15:15:00.001-07:00

Food
Food in Vanuatu is amazing. There is beautiful produce and it is so cheap! It was citrus season so we ate a lot of grapefruit and mandarins. We also ate a lot of greens, passion fruit, avocados, cucumbers, carrots, and bananas. Hali is a skilled cook and created some tasty treats for us to enjoy! We ate a lot of yam: regular yam, purple yam, boiled yam, fried yam, mashed yam, yam soaked in coconut milk, yam and green onions… Hali also made a delicious banana cake with manioc flour and cooked it over a fire.

Volcano
We took a truck across the island to see an active volcano. We got there before the was high in the sky. Hali and I sat right on the edge of the crater and watched as lava and ash burst out. It was loud and shook the earth like an earthquake. Incredible!

Animals
There are animals everywhere on Tanna! Fat pigs running around, dogs scavenging for food, chickens and chicks wandering into the house, flying foxes who shriek and swoop around at night, cows and goats tethered to trees, rats… There are also 3 giant spiders that live in Hali’s outhouse. They are huge and hairy and scary, especially at 2am.

Rats
Sometimes rats come into Hali’s house at night. She thought she had pretty much gotten rid of the problem when she got a cat and a dog. But alas, the rats returned and ate my tums and some avocado. We had several sleepless nights listening for rats and trying to kill them.

Seeing Hali’s school
It was great meeting the teachers and students at Hali’s school. I painted one of the classrooms and helped Hali label books for the library she’s getting started.

World Cup
We woke up at 4:30 in the morning to walk to a neighboring village with electricity. A teacher from Hali’s school had built a special shelter and gotten a satellite dish just for the World Cup. So we got to watch the final between Spain and the Netherlands on a tiny TV screen with pretty much an entire village!

Getting water
Having to pump your own water really makes you appreciate this precious resource. Since Hali spent hours doing all the cooking, I helped out by walking down to the school and pumping the water for us. We used water for cooking, drinking, washing dishes, washing clothes, and swimming—which is what Nivans call a shower. When swim time came, around 4:00 pm every day, I would pump water into a bucket and walk it up to the house. Hali would boil some of it to warm it up. Then we would take turns going into her swimhos—4 bamboo poles with plastic wrapped around 3 sides, with no roof and no door—and use a bowl to rinse off.

Sunsets
Hali and I sat on the beach and watched the sunset almost every night. It was absolutely beautiful and looked different every night.

I LOVE HALI! I’m so thankful I got to visit Hales and see how she lives!

I'd rather dance with you than talk with you!

2010-07-31T16:46:00.000-07:00

Back to Tanna tomorrow to finish up Term 2 and then a two week school break the first of September. I'm seriously involved in our school fundraiser Talent Night at the end of August. I'm hoping to teach my year 6 girls the Thriller dance and sing some High School Musical with year 5....and who knows what else. With dancing and teaching these few weeks are going to fly by!
Until next time!
ps: hope to have some more dance videos for you!

The long awaited JaiHo Dance on youtube....

2010-07-26T18:18:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7oWJJGkks8

Underwater Date, Sushi, and a Dance Party

2010-07-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

My PCV sista and I are finally in Vila together for the first time since February so we were able to continue our dive certification course. We arrived at the place yesterday and went into this closet to change (even though it had a huge window and our instructor was standing right outside) and had a laughing attack as we struggled to get our wetsuits on. We walked out crying from laughing so hard and these Ni-Van guys were wondering what the heck went on in there. They also thought we were drunk because we couldn't stop laughing. Our instructor was a bit too confident in our skills (I don't think he could understand how long ago February was). We had a rough time equalizing our ears but once we made it through the first ten minutes it was smooth sailing. Our Ni-Van instructor grabbed my hand at the beginning to inflate my jacket a bit and get everything straight....well he never let go of my hand. I felt like I was on an underwater date. He showed me all these fish and cool things...meanwhile my PCV sista was behind us and he never even checked to see if she was okay....it was pretty hilarious. He held my hand the entire 45 minutes we were down there and then invited us to kava Thursday night. So my friends joke that he's my underwater boyfriend....

I finally learned how to make sushi last night with the girls at one of the PCV's villages not far from Vila. We got some really tasty raw fish and everything else here in town. Then we headed down the street a little ways to crash a dance competition for the students. We danced on the school field for several hours with a bunch of kids. I showed some little girls my best interpretive dance moves and my ManTanna island dance. All in all a great day in Vanuatu!

Vanuatu is celebrating their 30 year independence on Friday! What what! And my middle ear is bleeding so I will be staying in town until Monday when I can fly again. Looking foward to celebrating in the capital with the rest of the country...although i hear things get a bit rowdy. Most of the relay runners are still in town however so we will hang out somewhere as a large group (don't worry dad).
A bientot!

Round Island Relay Pics

2010-07-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

Round Island Relay...we kicked it!

2010-07-24T17:33:00.001-07:00

Round Island Relay Description: 10 legs around the island of Efate on the niufala road!

Highlights:
- JICA volunteer joined our team after we had some drop out. Every village on Efate seemed to know him! He was great entertainment with his Bislama and his never ending enthusiasm. He hopped out of the truck and ran to give me water everytime I looked dehydrated and cheered us all on. He also yelled "Go team Peace Corps!" louder than any of us and joined in on the national anthem....it was great. He ran his leg like a champ passing both the Spanish and French folks..and he did it in cheap flipflops.
- The French team unfortunately fit the stereotype of being snobs during the race. We wished them luck at the beginning and they said in French under their breath "We don't need luck". Oh les francais. At the awards they strutted up to receive their first place trophy with popped collars and said they'd win next year too.
- One of the legs of the race passed our villages from training last year...they won the most spirited award! One of the PCV's host dads followed her the entire 7 miles on his motorcycles and her host mom threw a salusalu on her as she ran by.
- As one of our runners was getting close to complete dehydration and needing some medical attention a team drove by and tried to get her to chug some gin.........
- I kicked some ass!
- Pee stops in the bush....did about ten of those before it was even my turn to run so I was emptied of all liquids and had to chug so much water while running...I learned to speed walk and chug water though...quite a skill.
- Made it through my 14.8 km in 1:35 so just five minutes off my goal....not bad...and I had some energy left in me at the end to sprint like a mad woman with my Tanna partner who ran the last few miles with me...
-Apart from the New Caledonia team all of the categories first two winners were Tanna teams!
We actually weren't that far from third place so next year wantaem!

10 months and a visit from Andi ( :

2010-07-06T16:29:00.000-07:00

The Cave of Spirits, Malekula Island

2010-07-01T14:58:00.001-07:00

I shall not disclose the location or true name of this cave for fear that someone might someday come across this blog and be…what’s the word…intrigued…enticed by my stories….and then go for a visit and realize that my stories were either fictitious or seriously embellished to maintain the attention of my audience (yes that is a run-on sentence…sorry to all of my English professors).

This cave can only be visited by groups of even numbers; a sort of buddy system. If one enters without a “buddy” his soul is left at the hands of the spirits (no pun intended and you will get the humor in a bit). Before anyone may be admitted entrance into the cave, a man must stand at the opening and blow his conch shell to ensure that all the spirits have left the cave. This cave is the residing place of spirits before they move on to the afterlife. The cave walls are covered in handprints of ancestors leaving their mark before flying up the cave opening into their afterlife. In this large opening, a beautiful tree, the tree of life grows. Locals may also come to the cave in search of savats (the slippers) of their recently dead village members to discover if they have indeed passed on to the other side.

While walking around the cave I stumble upon a few animal skulls and bones. These animals tried to enter the cave and pass on with the spirits of their masters but were not successful. Some spirits not only left handprints but left drawings and carvings in the stone walls. You may notice that these drawings resemble stick people…well…I’m not too sure what to make of that… (more pictures to follow-taking way too long to upload)

Women who are pregnant also frequent this cave to reveal the sex of their baby. They throw a stone on one of the cave’s ledges; if the stone falls down it’s a boy, if the stone stays it’s a girl.

There is a smaller cave on the other side but after hearing the noises of what seemed like hundreds of bats…I decided not to go in.

Kava Bar opens in downtown Asheville

2010-06-29T18:06:00.000-07:00

From a recent press release:

Vanuatu Kava Bar, the first nakamal – or traditional kava bar — in North Carolina, has opened for business in Downtown Asheville behind the Orange Peel just south of Hillard. Although a grand opening is planned for July 9th, doors are already open Tuesday through Saturday from 4 p.m. until 1 a.m. Offerings will gradually expand to include numerous specialty drinks and light island fare.

Of course, already on the menu is fresh-squeezed kava-kava juice, made from the milled root of Piper methysticum, or the “intoxicating pepper.” The elixir has been used as both a relaxing social beverage and ceremonial libation by tribes throughout the South Pacific for centuries, and is said to have relaxing, euphoric qualities.

The kava at Vanuatu Kava Bar comes from Vanuatu — thought to have the strongest varieties in the world. The nation’s laws mandate organic growing of all kava as well as a minimum-per-kilo rate that is paid to growers, to ensure fair-trade. Pictures of those who harvest and clean the kava for VKB adorn the walls, involved in various stages of the process, scribbled with “best wishes” and words in Bislama.
Vanuatu Kava Bar strives to be a true nakamal, the Vanuatu word for a place to drink kava, which translates as “place of peace.” Thus, there is no alcohol served, but with the selection of drinks and herbs, there is really no need for it. The space also functions as a gallery for handcrafted tikis and cypress furniture that is available for purchase.

The planned grand opening will happen on July 9th, with “Stereo Afro,” featuring members of Discordian Society, at 8 p.m. A kilo of kava root will be squeezed into several gallons of the elixer, and the relaxing potion will be served free until it is gone. The giveaway is a way to introduce people to something they might not otherwise try. Doors will open at 4pm, and there will be 2-for-1 drinks until the free batch is brought out and events start.

The Vanuatu Kava Bar is located at 151 S. Lexington in downtown Asheville. For more information, call 505-8118.

Disappointed

2010-06-08T09:13:00.000-07:00

Hali, her sister and I have tried to make the www.bookdepository.com thing work for her getting some books. The final word is that they will not mail to Vanuatu. So if you are interested in helping her perhaps you can use that list for suggested titles to purchase and then just mail the books in the flat rate priority mail boxes.

Thanks for your continued interest in helping the primary school with a library.

Maman Kathie

Mt. Yasur

2010-05-29T20:28:00.001-07:00

9 Facts about Mount Yasur

Mount Yasur is ranked 12th out of 12 Amazing Volcanoes. Below is a list of some of the most interesting facts about Mount Yasur.

1. Mount Yasur is an active volcano on Tanna Island, Vanuatu with a height of 361 meters (1,184 feet) above sea level.

2. Mount Yasur is one of the most easily accessible live volcano in the world. Anyone can walk right up and peer down into its fiery belly. Standing close to the edge of the crater can be a frightening experience however. Huge explosions from deep inside the crater frequently shake the ground and are followed by debris that shoots high into the air.

3. Observers are warned in advance with a system that rates the likely danger from 0 to 4. If it is rated 2 or higher, there is the likelihood that the volcanic rocks can fly as far as the edge of the crater and beyond presenting a deadly threat. Not surprisingly, visits to Mount Yasur are banned on those days.

4. Despite the warning system, approaching the crater at Mount Yasur is dangerous at any time. Visitors are at risk from projectiles, toxic gas and avalanches.

5. Three people have been killed over the years because they wandered to lower, unsafe areas. In one incident, both a guide and tourist were killed because the tourist had insisted on going to a dangerous area and the guide accompanied her. Both were hit by erupting pieces of lava and died instantly.

6. Mount Yasur is most active between late February and April during the wet season. A lot of rain means a higher groundwater level, possibly allowing water to come into contact with hot rocks around the magma chamber.

7. The glow of the volcano was apparently what attracted Captain James Cook on the first European journey to the island in 1774.

8. Mount Yasur has been called ‘‘the lighthouse of the Pacific’’ because the more-or-less continuous Strombolian and volcanic activity since Cook’s first sighting.

9. Today the mountain is a sacred area for the John Frum cargo cult. The cult reveres John Frum, a deified messenger who foretold the bringing of wealth to the island by American forces, and believe he resides in Mount Yasur with his countrymen.

provided by google....not me : )

Reading Project

2010-05-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

So....for those of you wanting to help me with my library project, here is your chance! I have created a wishlist at the following site http://www.bookdepository.com/wishlist/502414/Hali-Thomas
I have e-mailed the site to remind them of their promise to ship free to Vanuatu even though it is not on the list. Please direct any further question to my amazing mother at kathie.cbfok@gmail.com. Thank you in advance for your help and thinking of my students at Lamkail.

Here is my mailing address again:
Hali Thomas
Peace Corps Volunteer
Lamkail Primary Skul
c/-Lenakel Primary Skul
Tanna, Vanuatu
South Pacific

I am also working on recording some books on tape but have yet to find any tape players in this country.....if you have some blank tapes (I know this is old school but you never know) or small tape players please let me know.

I am also going to focus on working with my Girl's Club so let me know if you have any suggestions. We are going to hopefully get started on our World Map Project this term.

I will be back in town at the end of June for a meeting. Until next time!

Here I am bakagan.

2010-05-28T06:32:00.000-07:00

We only felt a small earthquake this morning and it only mildly effected Santo as most of it was underwater. We were informed today that Mount Yasur (the volcano on Tanna) is on Alert 3.....I think Alert 4 is evacuation. I'm in neither the red zone nor the yellow zone so I'm in the safest place possible at my site. As you know there are many volcanoes in the world right now going crazy. If the Alert does go to Level 4 Peace Corps will issue an emergency evacuation. There are laval bombs flying everywhere and the ash in the air is apparently intoxicating....can't wait to go back!

There is also a dengue outbreak right now in Vanuatu....I say this as a mosquito just bit the heck out of my leg. And my infection on the back of my leg is getting better but is going to leave a scar.

Headed back this weekend.

A few pics

2010-05-22T18:17:00.000-07:00

April 5, 2010

2010-05-22T18:16:00.001-07:00

Today it was impossible to tell the difference between the Pacific and the sky, both a pale bluish gray covered in a morning fog. It was almost as if the men fishing in their canoes were suspended in the air and after the low gliding birds teasing the water by getting so close and then gliding upward again. Life on the solwota is centered around the tides instead of a man-made ticking contraption. Every morning, just after the sun has risen above the bush, canoes spot the ocean as if short black lines were painted just above the waves. Kastom prevents women from even grazing the sides of a canoe accidently. But the women find other means. When the solwota is dry, women line the reef with their bamboo poles and glass bottles. Others sit in the shallow waters with a saucepan at their side pulling pal (shell fish) off the plants on the ocean floor. Others still, sit in the fresh water pools that somehow magically appear when the tide is out, and wash themselves, clothes, mattresses, and lay them all out to dry on the coral before disappearing into the bush again. But no matter the hour, the tide, or the harshness of the waves, children are always snorkeling, slashing around, or washing off the day’s filth.

Guess Who's Back......back again.......Hali's back...tell a friend

2010-05-19T18:46:00.000-07:00

In Vila town for some more training....until next Sunday probably. To reply to those of you interested in helping me build a library. What I need most are really easy children's books, picture books, and easy chapter books. There is a place that ships for free to Vanuatu if you tell them you are sending to a Peace Corps Volunteer (might have to send them an email.)
http://www.bookdepository.com/
I will work on a wish list while I'm in V-Town. Thanks in advance for helping me out! Nothing harder than teaching reading without books. I'm also trying to figure out how to get some tape players and a tape recorder for the students to listen to books on tape.
I will post more later. A little stressed with all my emails and catching up and such...not to mention the booming city..
nos vemos

Highlights

2010-04-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

So I’ve come again to the lodge because my PCV friend was heading this way as well. Here is the brief update of what’s going on with me.
1. Three nights ago, I was awakened by a rat that jumped in my bed. I haven’t slept at night since then. It’s pretty pathetic in fact. I lie in my hammock at night and read while burning a candle. As soon as the sun comes up I take a quick nap before going to school. Needless to say I am exhausted. Some family in the next village over is giving me a cat tomorrow. So you should know that I’m desperate considering I am really allergic to them. I have Benadryl though and already take it every morning because of the dust here. I hope this solves the problem as my body can’t take it much longer.
2. I spent last night throwing up the food I ate at the market yesterday afternoon. That will teach me a lesson….no more eating foods that you can’t peel or wash….I guess they aren’t joking when they say that.
3. We are teaching our Girl’s Club the Jai Ho dance from Slumdog Millionaire and performing it at a school fundraiser in a few weeks. Video will be provided don’t worry. I guess my dancing career is flourishing.
4. My PCV friend and I were ridiculed at a workshop this week in front of 50 education folks. We attended this workshop led by some Vila folks on their plan to try and help the literacy rate in Vanuatu. Their answer is to make all schools bi-lingual because they want students to be multi-lingual. This sounds great doesn’t it? It would probably work too if they actually taught students to read and write here….so we stood up and said that maybe it would be a good idea to teach one language first before introducing a second one. That way students would be literate in at least one language instead of illiterate in two languages. We explained that most educational systems in the world are this way. We were not only laughed at but they didn’t let us finish talking even though we sat and listened to everyone else. Maybe it’s because we are women. They said that Vanuatu is a unique and special country and isn’t the rest of the world. But the great thing about this was that the last day of the workshop everyone treated us like it never happened…because that’s just the way it is here…yesterday’s news is forgotten. All in all the educational system here is doomed.
5. My knees are hurting from walking/running. This stinks because I can’t stop walking and if I stop running I will get fat and not feel energized. I’m sorry these highlights are depressing but it’s been a long week.
6. I also attended a workshop on inclusion in the educational system here. This is great news! Most disabled students here are simply left at home and forgotten but they are working on training teachers and including them in schools.
7. I will be having a visitor in two weeks, another PCV from a different island. I can’t wait!
8. The volcano is almost on alert 3 and they are no longer taking tourists up. The ash is so thick that it is hard to breathe on really windy days.
9. I have three weeks until a two week break from school!!!!!
10. I desperately need books for my students. If you know anyone or anyway to help please let me know!

Quick Update

2010-04-09T19:21:00.000-07:00

Did the trek again this weekend just to see the family and do a little research. I've been busy teaching and teaching some more. Had an amazing moment this week with the fifth graders. I taught them The Lion Sleeps Tonight and we all sang with my guitar....ha makes it sound like the guitar played itself. It was hilarious. We will be performing it for the school at the end of the month. Just got over a bad flu/cold so hope to go back to my snorkeling and running routine.

We made a World map with our Girls Club this week. It's pretty amazing that in 30 minutes with 30 girls you create an entire world map. We each had a small square to enlarge and draw on a bigger sheet of paper. It looks amazing.

The weather is still playing tricks on us. We had a cool and breezy Easter weekend but now we are back to the humid heat. I can't believe there are only 5 more weeks of school until a two week break, some visitors, and a trip to Vila! Sorry I don't have anything more exciting to share. Until next time!

Pictures from new site

2010-03-26T19:49:00.001-07:00

March 23, 2010

2010-03-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

I have been at my new site for two weeks now. I just did a little exercising and ran to the other PCV’s village nearby where the people there told me how happy I looked. They said when I used to come I always looked sick…which to them means sad. But now I am like a new person. I guess that summarizes my emotions well. I am extremely happy at my new site. I work with teachers who want to improve their methods of teaching in order to better reach their students. I couldn’t have asked for a better team. I am starting a library from scratch basically….my church has already committed a hundred books and I hope to receive some more as we progress. I have started teaching phonics in the morning to classes 1, 2, and 3. I also teach some small groups and am working on helping a moderately disabled young lady and a deaf one as well. Unfortunately I don’t know sign language so we are moving along slow slow.

My house is great (minus the nightly rat visits that keep me awake often)- I have lots of windows and I leave both of my doors open all day. My swim haos is made up of a tarp and a few bamboo sticks. Basically I do the bucket thing out in the open now under the stars. I pump my water from the school and carry my bucket to the swim haos every night. And I have embraced the long drop toilet. Both of my neighbors are fabulous. To my right I have the Zone Curriculum Advisor, his wife who teaches class 1 and 2, and their son. And on the other side a young teacher and her family. Both families keep me well fed and taken care of. Last night we all had a long talk about the rats and we decided they are coming from the tree next to my bedroom…so this morning my neighbors cut it down. Talk about some quick response. I eat most of my dinners with the Zone Curriculum Advisor and his family, and attend their family devotion time every night as well.

I am about twenty steps from the ocean. Every other day after school I go snorkeling with the kids next door. Some days we go “train” as they say here and run before jumping in. I spent last weekend in the next village over at a teacher’s house. We made simboro and laplap and enjoyed just stories with the family and playing with the kids.

I haven’t been quite as homesick these past few weeks as my days are filled with work. I still can’t believe I have been here for six months now. I’ve still found time to read quite a bit and am practicing the guitar.

The PCV in the village over and I have started a Club for Girls every Thursday after school. We are planning some pretty amazing projects which I will share as we go along.

That’s it for now. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. I can tell the Big Man had a hand in this one. Until next time.

Brief news

2010-03-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

We got a text message last night from Hali. Said "hope to charge phone over the weekend. all is well. love new site."

Probably last post before leaving Vila

2010-02-27T20:05:00.000-08:00

(from last week....so before a new site was in question)
Human Touch (and a shooting star)

After a long week of work...or rather, lack there of...and struggling to not tick my principal off by saying no to his orders of doing his office work for him I walked the hour and a half to visit my PCV friend down near the solwota. We spent the evening with her host family playing guitar and making dinner. Her brother came back from kava and made himself comfy in the wheelbarrow and played some tunes. After dinner I was so full I laid down on the mat next to Big Mama as I call her. She put my head on her lap and started playing with my hair while we sang ridiculous songs and talked about the stars...cheesy I know. At that moment though I felt so grateful and realized how happy I was to be here. I also realized how good it felt to have some human contact.

I think I understand now why people of the same sex hold hands when they walk around here. They don't get that kind of affection from their significant other. I have never seen a woman and a man holding hands on Tanna for example. And as I've mentioned before hugging is not part of the culture. Not that this has anything to do with the above statement but I'm just coming to realize the importance of human touch in a person's life and health. I'm glad that I can go hang out in that village and be so comfortable around a family here. They are also quite close to my new site!

New Places, New Faces

I'm moving. I'm moving to a Primary skul about an hour and a half walk from my current location. I will be living in a bamboo house with concrete floor, long drop toilet, swim haos, and hand water pump. I am extremely fortunate to have developed the site with the assistance of another PCV close by and this process has gone smoothly. I'm still in Vila and will move as soon as I return next week. I presented my case to the big man and he said I am doing the right thing by going somewhere that needs me and will utilize me fully. I have met with several teachers there and will be doing phonics training and reading assessments and maybe a little intro French class. This skul is about ten steps from the ocean...I guess my name is going to go to the top of that contact list for tsunami warnings. I am excited beyond words however! I've been praying a lot about my French skul and gave it some time but...nothing happened...and then this skul just came out of nowhere with impeccable timing so I knew it was supposed to happen.

So keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I go back next week and bear the bad news to my community and host family.

P.S. All is fine here Tsunami wise...no hits this time.

The ever present volcano

2010-02-25T06:48:00.000-08:00

Running with the Bulls in Spain

2010-02-23T20:54:00.001-08:00

February 20, 2010

Okay so I didn’t actually run with the bulls in Spain but yesterday morning I attempted some exercise and these three bullock (cows) started running next to me for about half a mile….I wonder if that’s what it feels like to run with the bulls in Spain. I mean I was laughing on the inside but terrified that they were going to start chasing me and trample me. It was pretty funny actually, some locals got a kick out of it. Just image me jogging with three cows running right next to me….
I figured out why I’m not getting excited about my work here yet. Well first of all school is started on Tuesday (Monday is a holiday) and I’m leaving for Vila on Wednesday for meeting. I’ve also been in a funk lately. I wake up unexcited about the day and unsure or whether or not I should even bother going to my school where the teachers are just peddling about and the students have been doing yard work for a week. The problem is they don’t need me here. I haven’t seen the type of need I saw at the primary schools that first week I was on Tanna when I did inspections with the Provincial Education Officer.
I decided that on Tuesday I am going to go down to the primary school around the corner and talk about reading assessments and maybe discuss with the head master how I can help. One of my many cousins goes to that school and still can’t read (he’s in the 5th grade). There is also a French primary school which I plan to visit as well although most of my material is in English which complicates things a bit.
All of this to say, that I really need some prayer or nice thoughts or black magic or whatever your thing is thrown my way. It’s almost March and I need to get a grip on things and start moving… I can’t believe I’ve been here almost 6 months…….that’s half a year….jeez.
Also you guys should all read Mountains Beyond Mountains. It is the most inspirational book I’ve read since I’ve been here (and I’ve read quite a few…it’s along the lines of 3 Cups of Tea).
PS: Just to give you a little laugh. There is this kid who walks by my house every morning and yells “Gud morning Hali!” even though he can’t see me and doesn’t know if I’m even here or not. He also walked by the other night and yelled, “My name is Peter, I love you Hali”. It’s quite entertaining.

February 19, 2010

2010-02-23T20:53:00.000-08:00

School has not started. The students are here but we are still down two teachers. Quite a bit has happened in the past month actually. Two GAP volunteers moved to my school from England and will be here for six months. And the elderly woman who lives near the volcano is also moving to my community because she isn’t happy where she is. Talk about a lot of white people. Two 18 year old boys and a 60 plus woman….man this place is about to blow up.
I have come up with a few workshop ideas for the teachers here although all of my material is in English so I will be spending a bit of time translating. I’ve helped out with a few Unicef workshops as well, nutrition and grant writing (which is funny because I’ve never even written a grant before….but I actual helped out quite a bit).
Last week I told my principal that my grass was starting to look like a jungle and that I didn’t have a rake or anything to clean my yard. He told me to take my bush knife and fix up the yard…as in use my bush knife to cut the grass. Needless to say someone came with a machine (not exactly a mower) today and cut the grass.

February 18, 2010

2010-02-23T20:51:00.000-08:00

Man it’s been awhile. I don’t even remember when my last entry was. Let’s start with my two weeks in Vila in January. That first week happened to be the hottest week Vila had seen in while and the humidity was almost unbearable. It was great seeing the other teacher trainers and hearing everyone’s stories…well most of them were good to hear…some stories I wish I hadn’t heard and will never share with friends or family because I don’t want to scare the shiz out of you. Our days were packed with sessions on how to fill out reports and how to do this and that. We also had some current volunteers do some sessions on leading workshops. But mostly the days consisted of sitting outside sweating profusely while listening to the sound of people jumping in the pool right next us…it was torture. In the evenings we ate our fill of cheese and apples and yogurt and all the yummy things we can’t find on our islands. We played cards, shared stories over wine and went out for some dancing a couple of times. I mostly enjoyed just having people to chill with and wearing pants. I bought these amazing green gym type shorts that I pretty much wore everyday…it was great.
Coming back to Tanna was hard after two weeks of being surrounded by white people. I was pleased to come back to cooler weather though and my lovely hammock missed me greatly. It was nice having my alone time back and I felt re-energized a bit. I had a great birthday. The night before my birthday some other Peace Corps volunteers on Tanna came over and we made homemade gluten free pizza and gluten free banana cake. We also had sangria and borrowed a sound system from some neighbors. Many households have ridiculous sound systems and blear their music at all hours just to show off. Who would have thought that playing Celine Dion My Heart Will Go On would ever be considered showing off? Anyway since I was involved there had to be a dance party. And I can proudly say that I danced into my 23rd year of life on this earth. The next day (my actual birthday) I went to Tanna Lodge and skyped mom and dad who sang to me twice with hearts on the screen…aren’t they cute. I also had some hilarious cards to open. All in all I had a fantabulous birthday celebration.

The Girl under the Mango Tree

2010-02-02T08:44:00.000-08:00

On my way into town today I saw a girl sitting under a mango tree by the side of the road. Mango trees are popular places for napping, socializing, and so on. But this girl was sitting alone against the stump of the mango tree hugging her knees. She looked content. I decided to politely say hello and this is how our conversation went:
Me “How are you?”
Girl “I’m gud.”
Me “Whatcha doin?”
Girl “I’m waiting for a mango to fall off the tree.”

(I added this just as a reminder that life on Tanna moves slowly I guess - Maman)

Pictures just arrived

2010-02-02T08:20:00.001-08:00

2010-01-14T13:08:00.001-08:00

January 7, 2010
Where am I?
This morning I woke up confused. I rose from bed feeling well-rested and chilled. I put on my fleece and made some tea before settling into my hammock and grabbing Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson. I noticed the birds chirping pleasantly and a slight breeze coming through the windows. For about an hour I thought I was somewhere else. I can’t say exactly where. I don’t know if it’s the fever I’m running and the fact that I have a terrible head cold which automatically reminds me of France this past summer or the fact that I was completely immersed in my book and thriving on every description Bryson so appealingly presents to his readers. It wasn’t until the urge to pee hit me that I realized I had to go to my small house, toilet paper in hand, to relieve myself and then pour a bucket of water down the bowl with the hopes of everything being flushed away. Then I returned to my house realizing I was in some kind of crazy fever dream and found some medicine and my nasty mouchoir that had taken a serious beating last night. I poured myself a second cup of tea and returned to my hammock in hopes of returning to my book world…..but at that precise moment my neighbors decided it was time to turn their string band music up as loud as the volume dial would go. Thanks. And that’s when the bird chirping turned loud and obnoxious , the smell of my neighbor’s fire reached my nostrils, and somewhere not too far off some man decided to repair his roof, or maybe just a window, or maybe he was just hammering to hammer.
It’s funny that the weirdest things like having a cold can send you back in time to some terrible cold you had somewhere else. This past summer, the family went to my sister’s wedding in London and then continued the celebration with a short 4 day trip to the Coast of France. I immediately got sick and spent the first days inside the house blowing my nose, reading, and hanging out with mom who so graciously took care of me. I’m not sure why I’m saying all of this but I just feel like talking about something besides Tanna today. I feel like avoiding the frustrations I’m dealing with right now. I don’t want to talk about how the first day of school has been postponed until the middle of February instead of January...or how my host family has been MIA for over three weeks now…or how I have to walk an hour to the market where I can only purchase as much food as I can carry up the hill back to my house (the most I’ve made it with is a pineapple, a sac of tomatoes, a small watermelon, a bag of carrots, and huge jar of peanut butter. And I won’t even start on the fact that my counterpart has moved to Vila and the new headmaster is a man who treats women like scum and likes to use his authority just to prove he has any.
I realize that all of this is just part of the experience. I realize that three extra weeks of no school gives me an opportunity to try and do some workshops. I realize that my host family is living the way they always have and I shouldn’t take anything personally. I realize that I’m going to have to start embracing string band music and the annoying birds outside my house. And yes I will get used to pouring buckets of water down the toilet and wearing a raincoat when I have to pee and it’s pouring. And yes my back will toughen up and get used to the load and my calves will turn into huge muscles.
I’m not asking anyone to feel sorry for me because I have been given a wonderful opportunity and I am exactly where I want to be right now. Just wanted to share with you as much of my story as possible.

2010-01-14T13:06:00.000-08:00

January 1, 2010
Slacker……
Sorry folks that I have been slacking off so much lately but ya know….the holidays and everything….
Holiday Highlights
1. Yesterday with some JICA volunteers and other Peace Corps, we went to the Blue Hole in North Tanna. We left in the AM by truck with rice, bread, popo, pineapples and enough mangos to feed an army. We took a boat out in perfectly blue skies and a cool breeze to keep us from sweating to death. The water was so incredibly blue….you could see everything straight down to the bottom of the ocean…it was amazing. We dropped off the food and mats with the boat driver’s wife and then went a little further to reach our destination. There were a dozen kids cliff jumping and just hanging out in the water. We jumped out of the boat swam a little ways, then underwater to resurface in the Blue Hole. The Blue Hole is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a huge cave with a large hole at the top where the sun shines in and the water is extremely blue….as blue as blue gets. It reminded me of the Goonies, when they find the pirate ship with all the treasure in that cave. This is a must-see for anyone who might someday find themselves in Tanna.
2. I spend the holidays with another PCV a few hours from me. Let’s call her “L”. Christmas morning I woke up to a delicious Gluten Free carrot cake baked the night before. I opened a gift from mom and then made some hot cocoa. “L” and I then spent a few hours in church before joining the family we shared Thanksgiving dinner with. We had rice, carrots, cow, pineapple, and watermelon. Then we went to church where the town was gathered outside to perform skits and dances. A skit in Vanuatu doesn’t mean the same as it does in the States. A Vanuatu skit consists of a religious song, a bunch of people, and motions. “L” and I were in a couple of those….one in which I had to do some box formations with three kaha (language for grandmother)….apparently this was the highlight of the afternoon. Just picture me, three women over 70, and moving in a box formation while doing hand motions and staying on beat….yea. Then four of us did a dance to a boyband song from middle school….equally entertaining. Unfortunately I passed my camera off without adequate instruction and none of this is on film….my apologies…and then the men all got drunk and we went home.
3. New Years Eve was also spent in church. The tradition here is to go around the houses at midnight and sing Bonne Annee songs but the men and the string band members started drinking a bit too early. We sang hymns in church instead and took turns in pairs singing songs. “L” and I sang two and were covered in baby powder before midnight struck. Baby powder is another tradition here during any celebration or ceremony (some spray perfume too). At midnight we were all jumping around singing some praise song with intense motions. Then we went home and tried to sleep while all the men stayed out in the street drinking until around 4:30AM when it turned into yelling and fighting. There’s a reason why kava is a kastom here and not drinking alcohol…it turns the men into scary creatures.
4. Eating mangos. Mango season has finally arrived and mangos are everywhere. Sometimes you get lucky and you hear one fall down and race over to eat it. And sometimes it takes fifteen throws to knock one off the tree. Mangos are delicious and taste like the sweetest candy.
5. I received the most amazing boxes for Christmas. Thanks to all my people out there! I had a stocking, candy canes, Christmas cards, Christmas shirt, a Christmas tree, new skirts, new shirts, new guitar book…..and by far the most amazing of them all…thanks to Becca…two Yoohoooooooooooossssssss! That’s right folks. Becca sent two little boxes of chocolate milk halfway across the world….man I can’t put into words how delighted I was.
6. My day at the solwota with “L” and her community. Since I’d been away from my house for over two weeks, washing was a need. We all took our buckets, and calico wrapped bundles of dirty clothes to the solwota. We got some water from the well close to the water and washed our clothes on large rocks. Then we laid them out on the coral to dry in the sun (and rain). After the scrubbing of clothes, I scrubbed my nasty feet and basically took off an entire layer of dead skin…too much information I know. My feet are now my normal skin color though and not black. Then I sat down with mamas in the water and dug for shells to boil and eat for lunch. When the tide came in, the mamas just screamed with laughter as the water rose up to their chests. A teacher from a school in a different village shared her shells, faol, and rice with us. Then we picked up our semi-dry clothes and buckets and headed home just before the big down pour. This was the first day of my life I’ve ever enjoyed washing my clothes.

December pictures

2010-01-03T15:09:00.000-08:00

A Creep Away From Marriage

2009-12-18T15:32:00.001-08:00

Dec 7, 2009
I will not even try to explain the family ties and arranged marriages in this country as I have yet to fully understand it myself. I will however attempt to describe the courtship process which plays a large role in the culture of Vanuatu. Sexuality, sex, and anything relating to it is tabu in this country. You will never see couples displaying any affection toward each other…in fact you may never see them interact in public at all. Unless you know them or someone has told you, it is practically impossible to know who is married to whom and who has whose children.
The whole process begins with the friend of a friend who said that so and so is interested. Couples hardly get together because of any direct contact or toktok. All communication relies solely on friends and passing of messages. Hanging out always involved a large group and never wanwan taem. After the boy/man has confirmation that the girl is somewhat interested he starts the creeping process.
Creeping means exactly what you think it means…..the boy wait until the village is asleep before he ventures to the girls house. He either throws rocks at her window or starts singingaot her name. It usually goes something like this:
“Hali!”
(no answer)
“Hali!!”
(no answer)
“Hali!!!!!!”
Huia?
Peter. Mi wanted luk yu. Yu save kam aotsaed?
No.
Mi wantem storian witem yu nomo. Mi save kam insaed?
No.
Mi jas wanted toktok nomo. Yu save kam klosap lo windo?
No.
Not that I’m using a personal example or anything. Basically it involves either the girl going outside or the boy going inside to “toktok nomo”. So they either go at it in the haos in in the bush. The creeping then goes on until some kids have been made and maybe…eventually a wedding is set up. All of this may remain secret for a short while or not depending on the person. Toktok travels fast through the coconut wireless and before you have even had a second creeping your wedding is normally in the plans.
As far as us foreign folks it is even worse. Sipose you have started to talk to a guy your age just as friends well you have opened the gates of hell. You will be expected to either move here permanently of pay his way back to the United States. No I am not exaggerating or making this up. There have been several foreigners in the village where I live and they have left behind tragic wounds and terrible stories.
I have had numerous men come up to me on the street and the first thing they ask is “Yu gat wan man?” If I say no then they are suddenly interested in what I am doing here and where I live. If I say yes they have already dismissed me. Although some still persist in asking if he lives in the States and then they realize a whole new door has opened. Infidelity is quite rampant here too. For my safety I guess I will have to make up some dude so men don’t start showing up at my house at night. I had this whole thing down about how I am here to work only and that in two years I will go back and marry someone in the US….guess that wasn’t convincing enough.

The Tale of the Rat and the Centipede

2009-12-18T15:30:00.000-08:00

Dec. 8, 2009
As most of you know Vanuatu is a strange country with little wildlife but fulap insects and rodents. The centipede, or milpat (in Bislama) can be as big around as a fat man’s thumb or as little as little girl’s pinky finger. It moves as fast as a snake and its bite is poisonous and painful. The centipede has killed several small children in Vanuatu and caused innumerable rushes to the clinic/hospital. These poisonous creatures are found on many islands in Vanuatu and recently have found their way to Tanna (on ships most likely). They have found a home in a small area of the island…which happens to be where I live.
Last night, my neighbor came to inform me that some men were coming to spray my house in the morning and I needed to take everything out. She was telling me that the product will kill mosquitoes, roaches, and centipedes too. This of course sparked the question of whether or not we had centipedes around here (I had been told previously that there were none in these parts). She told me the story above and said that my host mami had been bitten by one last year.
This morning I got up and took all my things outside and swept the house down in preparation for the spray. As I was lifting the mattress in the guest bedroom off the floor, I found a rather frightening creature. A medium sized centipede had been living under the bed. Fortunately he was dead and crunchy meaning he’d probably been dead for a while. I swept him outside and told my neighbor how weird It was that we had just been talking about them.
This afternoon as I was putting my bed back against the wall I saw something scurrying about the floor from the corner of my eye. Oh yes, a rat. He’d probably come from the hole in my roof and smelled the delicious tomatoes in my small cupboard. I decided I would attack the rodent with the broom I had in hand (a bunch of strong wiry type branches tied together). At first I felt bad for the scrawny creature and hesitated. After chasing it around the room and realizing that if I didn’t kill this animal it was going to put a serious dent in my food supply…….I hit it about ten times with the broom….then a man walking past my house heard the raucous and came to see what was up. He gladly scooped it up and tossed it out for me saying that I should get used to it.
A rat and a centipede all in one day….I think my exposure to the way of life here is happening kwiktaem.

November 20, 2009

2009-11-28T17:31:00.002-08:00

Weekly Highlights
1. My host mami asked my smol sista to drain the can of tin fish so she could pour it into the soup. My smol sista gladly took the opened can, stepped outside the kitchen, and drained the tin fish straight into her mouth. She turned back around, smiled, wiped her mouth with her sleeve and handed it back to her mami.
2. Yesterday around 8AM I received a phone call from a Unicef worker I had met one day prior telling me to come to the office naoia. She said a free ride to the volcano was involved if I could be there in the next five seconds. So I grabbed toilet paper, my camera, my knife, my torch, and my book (since waiting around seems to be a normal way of life here) and flew out the door. I spent the entire day with a group of 4Provincial Education Officials (Vanuatu is divided into provinces…for example I live in Tafea Province which stands for TAnna Futuna Erromango Anaichum…pretty brilliant if you ask me). We went around in teams and visited five different schools to inspect the new Child Friendly School program. It was freakin’ amazing…each school greeted us with songs and salusalus…I came home with a fan and a coquillages necklace. After the inspections we all met up at the volcano, Mt. Yasur. I’ve seen many incredible things in this world……but an active volcano goes way up there on my list…It was extremely windy and smoky and mysterious. Every time the lava shoots up…. I can’t even describe it. After we reached the top to look inside the woman guide said: “Normally we have people wear helmets but that’s alright. All the rocks around you have been shot up by the volcano…” SUPER! Way to tell us after we are in the middle of it. Anyway it truly was amazing. The way it smelled of suphur, the deep grumbling noise, the lava shooting up…you’ll have to come see for yourself!!! Afterwards we ate a feast with a small pig as the center piece, head and everything….and then some string band music and dance! And man can these PEOs and Unicef workers dance the night away. And to top it all off the trip didn’t cost me a penny!
3. Also yesterday during the school visits I was able to do some networking. I met several teachers interested in English workshops on how to teach writing and phonics and such things. I got some phone numbers and got a good feel for what kind of training was needed.
4. All of my shirts are pretty much brown now….
5. Laying in my hammock and reading is always a highlight.
6. My allergies were acting up pretty seriously the other day when I was eating dinner with my host family. One of my aunties was telling me that I should sleep with onions in my socks and on my chest all night and that should heal me kwiktaem. Trying to joke a bit I told her that my feet already smelled bad enough as it is…she laughed and kept reminding me throughout the night to stuff onion in my socks or if I didn’t have socks to tie the onions with plastic bags. To her dismay I just took some allergy pills and slept onionless .
7. GF banana pancakes with peanut butter.
8. Vanuatu is full of lice. Ni-Vans spend time each time picking lice out of each other’s hair and killing them between their teeth. Every evening when I got antap to my family’s house, ol smol sista blong mi oli search for lice in my hair. You’d think it would be a nice head massage but these girls can seriously pull your hair and pinch the heck out of your scalp. But it’s comforting to know that each day I get checked for lice.
9. My headmaster and counterpart came through and gave me a stove top that has two burners. I am looking forward to having a quicker method of boiling water. Unfortunately he did not provide any gas and Tanna is out of it at the moment. So I shall patiently await the next ship.
10. My host family keeps offering me one of their many dogs. They keep telling me that I need some protection from the men. I didn’t want to flat out refuse or even try to explain why I don’t want a dog so I just told them that if a man ever came to my house at night I would simply open the door and scare him away with my bigfala bush knife. They seemed to get a kick out of that story…not sure if they can’t picture it or they think I’m kidding…cause I really do have a bigfala bush knife and it stays next to my bed at night just in case. I mean I remember my dad using that baseball bat a few times throughout the years…

November 18, 2009

2009-11-28T17:31:00.001-08:00

I started my day at 5AM and haven’t stopped sweating since (it’s now 3PM). I have sweated through two shirts and my hair has remained wet since the first beads of sweat started falling this morning. I made banana/corn flour pancakes this morning with my Peace Corps friend who lives about 2 hours away on foot. The fire this morning came much easier than the last one. The water was turned on this morning at 5:30 and shut off at 6:45 so I was able to fill my buckets and water jug for later. I never knew until now how amazing and useful running water is…you don’t have to store up enough for the entire day. And the past few days when I’ve gone in my swim haos to swim at night my bucket is empty. I guess the neighbors have found a better use for it. Needless to say I’m on day three of not showering,
After breakfast my friend and I headed down to town whwew the shops are and the market. It’s a 45 minute walk down hill. About the time we started walking all of the trucks were on the road taking folks to work. The roads are full of dust and every time a truck zooms by we were hit with huge clouds of dust which then ignited some serious allergies. After purchasing a few things here and there and visiting the not-so-friendly post man, we separated and I walked back antap my hill. With a bag of groceries (even without) this hill is pretty huge. By the time my two years are up I will have calves of steel my friends.
Decided to make some popcorn this afternoon which meant another fire…and this one cleared out my sinuses pretty darn good as well as made me stink all over again and sweat even more. Now I’m sitting here at the mercy of my allergies and sweat trying to decide if I should bother swimming before I go to my host family’s house where the dirty kids jump all over me anyway. After seeing the nasty status of my legs (blackness all over) I probably should.

November 16, 2009 A BM in the AM

2009-11-28T17:27:00.000-08:00

Well I’ve tried to keep my gross stories to a minimum and trust me I really have spared some details but just thought I would recount this morning’s events right fast. I woke up about 6:30ish and completely missed the water…..which means no dish washing or showers today or flushing the toilet (and that just involves pouring water down). I made my breakfast over the fire and then drank my tea which quickly brought about my morning BM (for those of you who aren’t as scientific and knowledgeable in this area BM means bowel movement which is a nice way to say poop). So I rush to the small haos and slide the latch over but it doesn’t open. I try a few more times before I realize that the small piece of wood that closes the door once inside somehow dropped and has locked the door from the inside. By now I’ve really got to go. I run into the house and grab my bush knife and try that…..no luck. I run back in the house and grab a coat hanger (that’s right I got some coat hangers to hang my clothes around my room…great decoration). I try the coat hanger…and really just destroy it. By this time I nave to options: make a huge mess in my pants, run for the woods (which is probably someone’s property), or try to force the door in. I chose the latter and after a few aggressive pushes run for the toilet paper and just barely make it back to the toilet. What a way to start your morning.

Paul Bunyan beware

2009-11-19T10:46:00.000-08:00

Proof

2009-11-19T10:43:00.001-08:00

Are you ready for this.

2009-11-19T08:00:00.001-08:00

I do believe this is self explanatory.

Lots of Pictures

2009-11-19T07:44:00.001-08:00

Additional entry from October 9, 2009

2009-11-19T07:31:00.001-08:00

October 9, 2009

...I also want to be sure and recount the tsunami scare yesterday. Around 10AM when our Bislama class was finished, we heard some talk about a tsunami hitting Santo and some earthquakes. It was hard to know what statements were true and which ones were exaggerated rumors. At first I was just blowing it off since we were on alert last week and nothing happened. But soon after we saw families packing their bags and heading for the hills across the road from Emua. My family just laughed at the folks at first but soon after the talking was stronger and everyone started getting frantic. My mom told me to eat my food first and then pack my bag and we would go. One of my sisters in law and I were just stuffing our faces at the table while everyone else was panicking…it was hilarious…we both agreed that eating was important. I quickly stuffed my camera, pictures, Bible, wallet, passport and my computer just because I didn’t know what else to grab along with my raincoat and headed outside. My sisters were packing clothes and food and water. I filled my nalgene up and grabbed my nephew since I knew my sister had two small children. It wasn’t long before I wished I had grabbed the small baby instead of the freaking heavy toddler.
We walked a little ways up the hill where some of the village had already set up camp. Some of us decided to hike to the top and try and find the water source by following the pipe. After a good while it started raining and we needed a break. We sat down on some mats and waited for a call. Some folks started freaking out a little as the birds went silent….we decided to head a little higher but soon got word that the coast was clear….pun intended. We made our way back down informing the villagers that we were safe to go back down. Most of them were eating still and had created a small shelter to keep dry. It’s amazing how quickly they can put up a pretty sturdy shelter. My family and I had a good time watching the villagers coming into the village with all their belongings balanced on their heads and wrapped in mats. After a while we all laughed about it.

Fire, No Fire, Fire....

2009-11-13T16:50:00.001-08:00

Tanna...............I'm sitting at the Tanna Lodge which is a good walk from my house and using their internet. Woke up this morning and did my about half of my wash before the water cut off an hour early...had to use my swim wota to rinse. Then spent a good while making a fire...not as easy as it looks. Made some eggs with tomatoes and gteen onions and some tea. Then ate a banana with peanut butter to top off my delicious breakfast.

I spend yesterday in town (which means where there are a few shops, one restaurant, and a mama's market) buying some pots and the essentials for cooking. Put up screens on all of my windows in my house and set up my hammock for reading and the afternoon naps. I are dinner last night with my host family.

My host dad is a huge dude with calves the size of my head. He fishes, hunts, plays all sorts of instruments and is part of the chief's family which means no one will ever mess with me. After I told him I want him to teach me how to fish, he preceeded to tell me all of his shark stories...I quickly changed my mind. His house is a little ways up the hill from me with the best view of the ocean and sunset. My host family goes to Seven Day Advent Church on Saturdays. I'm not sure yet which pikinini are actually my siblings as they all run around together all day and then eat with my host parents. My host dad doesn't drink kava which is probably why he is so huge and does so much. Kava seriously deteriorates a man's work as well as their lifestyle.

It's hard getting used to no having accessible water at all hours of the day. And even harder to try and guess how much I will need. I guess I should invest in several buckets and things to fill up with water in the morning.

All of the students went home yesterady and school is officially finished for the year. It seems the headmaster has many projects in mind for me including a computer lab, library work, and helping with the museum.

The president of Vanuatu is man blong Tanna so he was here the other day. I witnessed a kastom danis and his speech (where he was wearing kastom clothing). Took some video and pics which I will pass on to mom at the end of the month.

My hair is looking rough and I still feel dirty all the time no matter how many bucket baths I take. I think my feet are stained black...
I will probably spend these next few months getting to know my family and those that stick around as well as try to get in on any workshops and things the other volunteer have going. Write to me if you have a chance...

Arrived in Tanna

2009-11-11T20:45:00.000-08:00

Just a quick word to say I've arrived safely in Tanna. Guess I'm going to have to get used to those plane rides. Thanks to my host dad we got our stuff which came by boat. When we were told our belongings were not on board he proceeded to climb on the boat and brought our bags up one at a time ( : The school director spoke nothing but french to me. House is okay - called mom and dad with no trouble from inside. Everything is very encouraging. Promise more updates soon.

I'm off...

2009-11-10T17:40:00.001-08:00

Well it was great skyping with some folks this morning and I'm sorry for those of you I missed (or those of you I talked to through a phone and a computer at the same time....). My stomach feels a lot better and I hope I will survive the airplane ride.
Lukim yufala taem we mi stap lo Tanna!

Malaria

2009-11-09T22:16:00.001-08:00

So I attended a lengthy workshop about malaria in Vanuatu. It is the goal of the World Health Organization to wipe malaria completely off TAFEA province (this includes Tanna...) From what I understand, at this very moment health workers are going house to house and spraying all of Tanna. Mosquito nets (at the amount of one per person in all of Vanuatu) are arriving at the end of this month and shipped out to the islands by the end of December.

In training we also learned how to test ourselves for malaria (which is another story in itself....let's just say pricking myself was not as easy as I thought). I'm looking foward to doing some malaria education as a secondary project and even possibly teaching the health workers some things.

There are so many things.....I just can't wait to get there and find out where I am needed.

ps: I forgot to mention before I will have a hole in the ground as a toilet and yes a bucket shower will remain my best friend.

Team Tanna on the move

2009-11-09T22:03:00.000-08:00

Man this week has been crazy...a mixture of emotions. This is the first moment I have had to myself and I am exhausted. I have put all of my belongings on a ship leaving for Tanna tomorrow (hopefully) and Team Tanna (meaning the two other ladies going to Tanna) is on the move tomorrow afternoon by airplane...which I am praying is a bit safer/bigger than the last plane I was on.

I found out a few more things about my housing. I have a two bedroom housish place with a custom kitchen (meaning there is a place outside my house that is covered with some kind of leaves so I don't get wet when I make a fire to cook). I have a thick pad waiting for me to sleep on and large windows for which I just bought some screens. My house is cement which translates to HOT as all get out. I will be arriving just as finals are finishing up so I'm not sure if I will be staying at the school immediately or spending some time with my host family. I don't think staying at the school when everyone else is gone is such a safe plan.

Tanna has a reputation for treating women as second class citizens and having strong kastom and strongheaded men. It is also known for Mt. Yasur the large active volcano located on the other side of the island (so don't fret dad). I am about an hour from the water where they have amazing scuba diving and diving.

Traveling from island to island is extremely expensive but hopefully I won't be spending money on anything else. I am also confident that most of the other PCV's in Group 22 will be paying me a visit to Tanna to check out Mt. Yasur.

I am excited, scared, exhausted, anxious, and ready to go! I've heard so much about my community and school and how much they are anticipating my arrival. I've also heard that UNICEF has a strong presence on Tanna and are always good partners.

New mailing address for letters only

2009-11-09T09:18:00.000-08:00

My new address is:

Hali Thomas
Peace Corps Volunteer
Isangel College
c/o Lenakel Post Office
Tanna, Vanuatu
South Pacific

2009-11-08T19:41:00.000-08:00

November 8, 2009
Well it was bound to happen…
Last night we all planned to go down town and maybe go to big music festival…but my body had other plans for me. While the rest of the Peace Corps Volunteers were having a good time eating, drinking, and listening to music, my head was bent over the toilet. After a few vomiting sessions, I called the Peace Corps Medical Officer on duty and sought her advice. A little while after my hotel roommate came into the room with horrible stomach pains and diarrhea. When I wasn’t in there throwing up, she was in there with the runs. Fortunately we needed the toilet at intervals and didn’t have to fight for it. After throwing up everything I had eaten the past few days and then some I spend the rest of the night moaning at my stomach pains. I woke up with an aching body and 101 fever. Everyone is off tomorrow and I had to spend the whole day in bed…thinking about what the heck I’m doing here and why I thought going to an Island in the middle of nowhere was a good plan.
I’ve spent the last two months surrounded by 37 other people just like me and now it is time to part ways. Vanuatu is such a spread out country with the most expensive cost of transportation…I probably won’t see some of these people again for a long time. It’s hard to describe how I’m feeling right now. Basically I am terrified.