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?

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!

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

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

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

April 1, 2011

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.