port vila ventures

These last few weeks in Port Vila have been great. It’s always a pleasure seeing friends, trading stories, and celebrating with good food and cold drinks. And I love getting to catch up with family at home! I came into town for two workshops, PDM (Project Design Management) and DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction) and both were really rewarding. The PDM training got me excited about the mama’s road market project I’m working on. My counterpart that joined me was Leah Tari, the secretary for the Gamalibulu Women’s Council on Ambae. We started drawing up our plans and writing grant requests, so hopefully things will come together next year. 

One night Laura and I made soft tacos for our counterparts and they were delicious! Introducing easy-to-make tortillas to all the Vanuatu mamas! And during the DRR, we all did a counterpart dinner with burgers, fries, and fruit salad. Everyone got to try out the Dale’s Sauce that a wonderful family friend Estelle sent me from home! I think it tastes even more delicious in Vanuatu than it does at home, which is pretty damn delicious.

 The DRR workshop provided us with plenty of information on how vulnerable we are here. It’s pretty wild actually! Vanuatu is one of the most dangerous places in the world because of its location on the ring of fire. It’s home to earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanos, droughts, floods, cyclones, you name it! So there’s a big push for mitigation, prevention, and response for the inevitables. The National Disaster Management Office ran the workshop and we learned a lot about how we can set up local committees to prepare for disasters on the outer islands. We also learned about how climate change is affecting Vanuatu and how to respond to this with adaptations. My papa and I are going to start a tilapia pond at the school! We got to check one out while in Vila and it was pretty cool. In order to do this, we’re going to do local fundraising. An old Returned Peace Corps Volunteer owns a solar store in Vila and gives us wholesale price on buying bulk solar lights. I followed Laura’s lead and bought a box of 24 to sell in the villages and will use the profits towards our tilapia ponds! Because we get them at such a discount, I’m able to sell them to the community for much lower than they’d be able to buy them from other stores on the island. Win/win!

Two observations I made during these workshops are: ni-Vanuatus don’t respond to chocolate incentives like we do. For review sessions, we got candy if we answered questions right. All of us gobbled up our chocolate treats immediately while the counterparts just let them sit unattended on the tables. Another is this – at the end of each Peace Corps workshop, we’re given certificates. People here love certificates! They are very proud of them and it’s one of my favorite parts of each training. 

Leah and Alison, officially official

my papa and me!

We’ve spent most of the non-workshop days enjoying the sunshine. Vila has a bunch of resorts and we’re allowed to go to them for free. Being at resorts is a very strange thing, but it’s a nice relaxing way to spend the afternoon. Most of the people rolling through these places are typical tourists, but at least when we go, we can storian with the staff in Bislama. I feel like I’ve always been a conscious traveler, but after spending time in the capital and seeing the way some tourists act, I know my future traveling self will be even more culturally aware and respectful. Just another lesson in  cross-cultural exchange!  Being in a bathing suit is the oddest part considering my thighs and bel haven’t seen the sun in several months. We all look a little scrub-ish next to the super clean tourists, but it gives the place a little character, right?

view from the grand! and laura

katie and our dirty backpacks

laura adding color to her thigh region

The Holiday Inn is unlike what I envision when I think “Holiday Inn.” It’s the nicest place I’ve probably ever been to. They have a kickass brunch buffet with everything under the sun, so we indulged in that. We spent the rest of the day swimming, reading, kayaking, snorkeling, and playing jumbo sized chess. All the good things!

For Thanksgiving we all went to this place in town called Warhorse Saloon. Apparently last year they had a big traditional spread, but this year we just enjoyed the bar food instead. They’ve got delicious burgers and they brew their own beer, so it’s safe to say our bellies were full of the good stuff. The best part of Thanksgiving is being with people you love, so that was covered. It was a great night of drinking, dancing, singing, eating, and just enjoying a good ol’ American holiday! But here’s a curveball – recently just found out that the too-friendly owner is a former US baseball player who fled America after jail time and dodging child support and failed resort debt and other things you've just gotta do to be a decent human. Lovely! Looks like that was my last time supporting his little business, but at least we went out with a bang! See ya never, Troy Neel!

One night we had a cookout at Natalie and Tim’s house, two extendee volunteers who live in Port Vila. They’ve got a great house overlooking the harbor, pretty unreal! We played some frisbee, cooked on the grill, and ate cake. I’ve mentioned before that ni-Vans love ceremonially cutting cake, so we followed suit.

cutting the cake

Also! Laura's mama sent us some pictures from my pen pals' classroom. So glad the pictures arrived and now some kids on Martha's Vineyard know where the hell Vanuatu is! Yahoo!

This is a Vanuatu Christmas Tree. These trees are everywhere and provide the greatest shade. When December rolls around, the burst into color! When flying over the islands, you see red blooms all over! This is about as commercial as Christmas is here, which is so refreshing. I am looking forward to Christmas in the village and Family Day, December 26. Laura and her visiting boyfriend lover Pete are coming to Ambae on the 27th, climbing Manaro and hanging out at my site, and then we are all heading to Vila for new years!

boom

Laura and I are doing some south Vanuatu traveling to Aneityum and Tanna for a couple weeks and then I’ll be home in the states for a few weeks to see the newest member of the family, Lyla, and the oldest of course, the Dams! On the way back here, I’m stopping in New Zealand for 5 days to visit friends and then back to Vanuatu for year 2 of my service. It’s been a wild ride so far, can’t wait to see what’s ahead! 

But for now, I’m ready to go back home! I miss drinking fresh rain water, cooking over my fire, and bathing with a bucket. I even miss my pit toilet! Plumbing, electricity, tile floor, internet, and fans are all nice treats, but I’d trade all of it for my hammock and a good book right about now. Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home…