Lamen Airport Pictures

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

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

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

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

LION KING

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

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!