community happenings

I love that we’ve rounded the corner on year two because now holidays are repeating themselves. Easter was a lot like last year. My family isn’t a church-going bunch; we usually spend our Sundays down at the saltwater instead. But when Easter shows up, so do we. On the way to church, my papa successfully sling shotted a couple of birds that we’d eat for lunch. The longfala service has a bonus baptism attached to it and afterwards we drank tea and ate bread with everyone. 

That afternoon we headed up to Lovusinava for Shamila’s 20th birthday party. Shamila is a temporary teacher at my school and lives with her papa, Mr. Allan, the class 5 teacher. Shamila and I take early morning walks and I sometimes convince her to run back with me. She is family, just like everyone else, and I singaot “sista” to her.

Birthday parties, similar to all other social gatherings, consist of sitting on mats, storying and helping wrap up the food until kava is ready.  The day before they killed a pig and it had been baking in a big earth oven with some taro and bush cabbage for later enjoyment! I’ve become a fan of pig, especially when it’s slow cooked like this. Local meat just tastes better, period. Once the kava is ready, there’s a lot of drinking and spitting while the sun goes down. Eventually it’s time to go. If there is kava left, as there was this time, you fill up a bottle and carry it with you back home. My papa likes drinking a few shells on the hike back and my mama and I usually gladly join him. This makes the walk back a little more wobbly and enjoyable.

The market house that I’ve been helping out with is finally gaining momentum. On June 3rd we had a work party and fundraiser to kick off the market house’s construction. While the men cleared the land that was given to the women by the chief, the women prepared the food. Mamas brought 6 pieces of laplap and we cooked up rice, susut vines, chicken, and fish. My mama suggested that because I figured out the organizational aspect of the day, I should step back and let the council run the show. Sounds good to me! So I grabbed the 3 kilos of onions and 6 heads of garlic and found a shady spot for my chop station. 

I spent the morning storying with Bumbu Nelson, Northeast Ambae’s sweetest and oldest oldfala. He is 83 years old and just lost his ability to walk, but his mind is still sharp and his humor is still on point. I learned the word for storian (laqa laqa) and heard stories about the Ambae of his childhood. He reminisced about his travels to America (he was chosen to attend a teacher’s workshop in New York City back in the 60s!) and we joked about how similar NYC is to village life. He asked sincere questions and listened intently to my answers. He is one of the kindest people I’ve met in Vanuatu and believe me when I say that Vanuatu is overflowing with kindness. I noticed a wood carving and asked him if it was from around here. He told me he received it at his graduation from USP in Suva, Fiji in 1963. And then he gifted it to me, telling me he’d had it long enough already and it should go to someone new. Bumbu Nelson made the chop station significantly better. And man, I love this funky little word carving as if it were my own inner child. It does conveniently look like the pose I make over my pit toilet… 

bumbu nelson

my long-droppelgänger

 Jessie Rae was visiting Ambae that week to give toktoks about her project, Sarem Hart. Jessie was on Ambae at first and then changed sites to Buninga, a little island in the Shepherds above Efate. The Shepherds took a beating from Pam, most of them losing all of their vegetation and most of their houses. Jessie has been stationed in Vila since we got back and has worked with the National Disaster Management Office and shelter cluster to create an interisland program called Sarem Hart. The ni-Vanuatu want to help each other, but it’s hard to figure out just how to help. One thing that ni-Vanuatu have (and have a deep connection with) that outside aid does not is local resources. Aid donors have sent endless tarps, but these tarps are breaking from the heat of the sun and not serving as proper shelters for families. But Vanuatu has natangura, a wonderful tree with fronds that, when woven together, make thatched roofs. Jessie Rae, in all her brilliant resourceful glory, figured out a way to empower the ni-Vanuatu to help their fellow men and women. She helped set up the road (this includes the ship road, too!) to get these materials from the bush of Ambae into the hands of manBuninga. She signed interested people up and gave them tags – one tag equals 500 natangura leaves. Around 30 tags (or 15,000 leaves) make a roof for a home or community center.

 Jessie traveled up and down East Ambae and was overwhelmed with the support and love of manAmbae. She shared her toktok with my North Ambae community and they pledged 40 tags, more than she had gotten from any other area! In the end, they filled an order of 50 tags, 25,000 natangura fronds. And now, for ever and ever, they will have a connection with little Buninga island and the ni-Vanuatu who inhabit it. I’ve been coordinating things on this end and so far, so good.  This is an incredible project and I’m so happy to be helping Jessie out. It’s amazing what can happen when you give people the opportunity to do good.

Once the men had gotten their fill of work, they came over and had lunch. When the afternoon rolled around, we all had kava and enjoyed the end of a successful fundraiser and the start of a beautiful element of community development. Jessie Rae and I walked back to my site with some of the mamas and spent the evening playing catch up. The next morning we took our coffee down to the ocean and perched ourselves up on a cliff while storying the morning away. I walked her halfway back to town at midday and came back home just in time for mama’s yoga.

Mama’s Yoga! What started as a bible study yoga class combo, an attempt to convince people to try out a little relaxing exercise, is now a bona fide yoga class, Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:30 in the kindy room. It was a once a week gig, but the mamas asked for more so I gave it to em! I’ve never taught yoga before, but I think (hope!) I’m doing some justice to the ancient practice. A woman’s daily responsibilities in Vanuatu are demanding on her body, especially the shoulders and lower back – activities such as cooking over a fire, washing clothes, sweeping, weeding the garden, and carrying around little ones. We do a lot of poses that focus on relieving the stress in these areas and stretching out everything else. The effectiveness of this class is primarily thanks to the book Light on Yoga that former volunteer Sara Barr left for me that is full of information on benefits of different poses. And some trial and error and class feedback for working out the kinks. The class has a few regulars, but other than that, the size fluctuates from 4-10, which is totally cool with me. I really enjoy watching their progress and seeing their interest levels increase as they become more flexible and confident in the poses. The class lasts half an hour to an hour, depending on the mood of the room and we always end with a little meditation. 

They seem to really love the class and when Jessie came to the fundraiser, a few women ranted to her about how good they feel after 1 or 2 classes. Not sure how much of this is placebo effect, but that’s okay, too! Feeling good comes from the body and the mind, so if the mind is feeling healthy, then yoga is doing its job! Some mamas told me that they are doing the stretches in the morning when they wake up and before they go to bed at night. One day the class asked me if we could make a traveling yoga club that visits the oldfala women who can’t make it to class and practice at their homes. Not sure if that’s the smartest plan considering I am an uncertified, amateur mama’s yoga instructor not a physical therapist, but I love the idea! And I’m delighted I found this niche with the mamas and get to spend some great afternoons doing things that make me happy.

There was a week in May when classes were canceled due to a whole buncha of wedding ceremonies taking place. These kastom celebrations are full of fun stories and I think I’ll save em for a full post of its own.

At the beginning of June we were told that the Bishop’s ship arrived from the Marshall Islands and the confirmation ceremony and priesting (what do you call it when someone becomes a priest?) would take place that Monday. My sister Petrina was participating, so we got up early and followed a truck to a village in East Ambae. It was a nice, long day. The next weekend there was a big kakae for the man who was priested, my uncle Glen’s papa. There was kastom dancing, good island food, and my grandmother was there so I got to story with her.

Fraser! 

blonde hair babies

priesting? 

lunch line

my sister peti, the newly confirmedling

mami amina and fraser

kastom dancing

the new priest and his lady covered in gifts

my mama's mama bumbu joyce

the happy trio

mami amina, bumbu priest, and uncle glen

back at it

I wrote this entry when I got to Vila at the end of February. We have been super busy in town, all wonderful stuff, but I haven’t had much time for reflection. Gonna try and find some time today to turn my thoughts into words. Until then -

So here I am faced with the endless options of technology, plumbing, and refrigeration that Vila town has to offer! Too soon indeed. I was only at site for 10 days and now I’m back in Port Vila for another 10. The GAD (Gender and Development) Committee is facilitating some activities with the new group of volunteers G27 that arrived in January. A year ago when I was in training, the GAD sessions were my favorite because they were relevant to Vanuatu life. Although it is moving towards a more progressive way of life, Vanuatu still has many defined gender roles, gender based violence, and as a result, unequal participation in development. I liked the sessions so much that I applied and joined the GAD committee and here I am today as the training/programming lead! Yahoo! So I’ve been really looking forward to the training and even though I was just starting to get resettled at site, I’m so happy to be back for it! This year we’ve got two new members, Brittany and Dave from my group G26, and before our May meeting, there will be two new G27 group members joining us as well.

On Friday we’ll be leading What is GAD and the Leadership Compass sessions. On Saturday we’ll be hosting a mini camp GLOW/BILD in the training village, and on Monday and Tuesday we are trial running the TokTaco activity! In Vanuatu, a toktok is a discussion. Because of my undying love for wordplay, I designed (and got approved!) a training session based on discussing the components of GAD while making delicious tacos! In three stations while we roll out tortillas, whip up salsa and guacamole, and season the fillings, we will have toktoks about camp glow/bild, the gender-based violence prevention workshop, participatory project planning, and how volunteers can encourage gender equality in their communities. Quite a big plate to fill! But all important information to pass along, plus the best part: tacos! How did I swing this? Well the underlying message, which will be grandly presented while everyone enjoys their creations, will be that a taco isn’t a taco without all of its parts. A community cannot function successfully without all its members – women, men and children. The individual fillings have to be held together with the concept of community, the tortilla. And in order to make something delicious, whether it be a project or a Mexican dish, you must work together to reach your goals. Amen! Of course hoping for this all to go down smoothly, but anticipating some bumps in the road. However messy the process gets, at least at the end we’ll be enjoying the good stuff.

Life at site has been so nice. I got to Ambae on Saturday and was welcomed back with too much kava and plenty of storian. We had a month of catching up to do! It was wonderful to see my family, the community, and to see that my puskat Kwen is still a rat-hunting extraordinaire. On that note, the rats didn’t destroy my house, the rain didn’t spoil my thatched roof, and mold didn’t get too cozy while I was gone. The spiders assumed I was gone for good and took advantage of the situation by multiplying. I’ve gotten used to them, too, and only go on occasional shoo-ing and shoe-ing sprees, the latter always being fatal. Only a handful of people in my community told me I was fatfat gud (it’s a compliment here to be “fatfat good.” It simply means that you’re healthy and full… shame on westernized thought for ruining that term for us!) which was far less than I expected. I enjoyed every bite of America and the Vanuatu summer heat has helped me detoxify big wan. I came back to rainy season’s heat of the heat and it’s brutal! It makes me appreciate a breeze and a dip in the ocean a little bit more, though. We’ve had a few days of rain, downpour rain, which has cooled off the land. One night the rain came and my mama and I knowingly looked at each other underneath the verandah’s protection and then went out and hopped around! It felt wonderful- cold rain on a hot day has no comparison.

Due to the elements and my lack of being present, my backyard was an overgrown jungle. Nothing a dozen kids during school work party can’t handle! Those guys are machete masters! And they were kind enough to let me join the efforts, though I was clearly the weak link. After an afternoon of chopping it all away, we all took some sugar cane and chowed down in the shade.

So happy for the days I'm here in country and can't wait to get into year 2 groove!

homeward bound (again!)

But this time I’m heading back to my little slice of the pie, my beautiful home on Ambae. I just got back from the most fantastic whirlwind of a home visit. It was such a special time reconnecting with friends, catching up with family, and trading stories with all of the above. Every day was truly a highlight, but some highlights are brighter than others. 

A cluster of terrific folks surprised me in San Francisco from Lake Tahoe and New York, which will forever be marked as the best layover dayover ever. My Aunt Patti flew down from Oregon to surprise me at my sister’s house in Georgia. I got to spend ample time with both the oldest and youngest members of my family- two of my favorite humans! I spent a week in New Zealand with Cameron and Emma, a couple of wonderful, loving people that I lived with in Oakland before I came to Vanuatu. We went to Off the Radar, a wildly creative and beautiful festival up north. So many memories to hold on to for the next year and beyond! And all of the good meals, cold beers, and hugs in between. I am so grateful for the people in my life. What a beautiful thing to have such a strong web supporting me from the other side of the world!

joy overload

lyla to dami: a 93 year spread of happiness in island dresses!

And with all of these good feelings inside me, it’s definitely time to get back to site. Here’s a Roald Dahl quote that sums it up quite nicely-“But I was young and strong and I was on my way home and I felt I could have walked a hundred miles had it been necessary.” Isn’t that the truth! And comforting to know that it wholly applies to my life here in Vanuatu. Being in Port Vila these last few days have made me antsy to get back home to the simple life. I’m ready to hug my mama and papa, chow down on home cooked island food, and drink some gudfala kava. It’s time to tuck in my mosquito net, restock my bush kitchen with firewood, and assume the pit toilet position! A funny little rush overcomes me just thinking about it.

Oddly enough I’ll be back in Vila at the end of the month for our GAD meeting. We’ll be training the new group of volunteers on our roles in the world of gender and development in our communities. Until then, you can find me in my hammock with a book or swimming in the big blue!

lotahimwamwavi, the clearing by the sea

the dirty south

We got down to Aneityum on Saturday and were in awe at the view coming in. Aneityum doesn't have its own air strip, so instead, you land on Mystery Island (a small island off the coast) and boat over to the big land. These pictures do small justice, but Mystery Island is surrounded by a huge living reef which makes for fantastic snorkeling! We were immediately hit with waves of white - white tourists, that is. Cruise ship day! Because of Mystery Island, Aneityum is a popular destination for cruise ships. I won't go into the pros and cons of cruise ship and tourist impact on a small developing country (let alone, a remote island within this country) but it was definitely an experience to observe the flood of white man in this tiny space. The mamas from Aneityum will come over and sell their goodies - beautiful handmade gifts and sadly far too much foreign made souvenirs. Plenty of Australian tots leave Mystery with cornrows and sunburns while the adults throw ridiculous money at all the wrong trinkets but! Mama financial independence is something that cannot be put down as long as its managed well - something that the three Aneityum vols are trying to help out with.

Jen's mama dressed us with kastom leaves and gave us fresh lobster for lunch. We swam and eventually headed back to the main land to settle in at Jen's place. We had a great night and went to bed early to prepare for the hike to Umej!

hello reef!

landing strip

draped in kastom peace leaves

lobsta snacks with jen and laura

white sand, white tourists

jen and mama faena

aneityum, view from mystery

On Sunday we began our trek to Umej, Vanuatu's southernmost village and Brittany's home. The hike takes about 3 hours and winds you around the coast of Aneityum. The sun was extra hot which, we were told, beats the muddy, slippery rain. We walked along rocky, coral, and white sand beaches and climbed hills that provided breathtaking views. We filled up our water bottles at a fresh spring and enjoyed plenty of shady breaks. One funny thing about Aneityum is that it's covered in pine trees, originally planted to protect the sandalwood and coconut tree plantations. The paths are scattered with pine cones and needles and some of the views looked like a good ol American trail, minus the tropical reminders. 

path to umej

tree fort city!

umej village

crossing river ivanjamp

i spy

Before we crossed the river into Umej, we stopped at this tree fort house and its inhabitants invited us in for a bite to eat. They served us a treat Jen, Laura, and I had never tasted before! This is surprising because most local foods in Vanuatu are cooked pretty much the same, so something fresh is always welcomed onto the pallets. The dish in front of us was a pawpaw stuffed with coconut milk, cooked in an earth oven. It was like a jumbo papaya eclair! It was delicious and the papa explained to us how to make it, definitely a treat I'm bringing back to Ambae for the fam. 

After a tasty explosion in our mouths, we headed to the river Ivanjamp, which feeds into the ocean and is the entrance to Umej. We crossed it, swam for a bit, and headed into the village. We were greeted by Brittany's wonderful family and immediately felt at home. We settled in and joined the community in some games of volleyball while the sun set. They held a welcome ceremony for us and we drank some kava. Umej is ples blo kava (place where they drink a lot of kava) so it was fun sharing this tradition with them. Nowadays most places in Vanuatu use a mincer to grind kava, but every island has its traditional preparation methods. On Ambae they grind it with a special stone and on Aneityum they chew it. During training I tried chewing it with my host family and it was just as difficult as it sounds - if you know the taste of kava, it's unlikely that you want it permeating your mouth while you grind it down with your teeth! Of course I'm only speaking for myself and maybe others who haven't grown up with this kastom. Because in Umej they love chewing it. And Brittany has taken on fasen blo Umej because she's right there with them on that one!

The next day we lazily woke up and Jen headed back to anaculut to get her life back in order after being away so long. Laura, Brittany, and I jumped into the Ivanjamp and spent most the day swimming and relaxing. When afternoon rolled around we joined her auntie for our own kava-chewing experience. 

I haven't mentioned yet that Brittany totally thrives in Umej. She's their first peace corps volunteer and they adore her. She's a perfect fit for this remote village because she's such a laid back chick. And more importantly, she's a tank blo kava. That girl can drink! And she loves chewing it, too. A perfect match for the Umej community. 

So we went down to the river and began chewing the kava. Your mouth floods with saliva but they insist that you not swallow, unless you want an unhappy bel. So Laura and I attempt to be useful, but it was short lived! We spit out our small contributions and ate some wash em out fried fish while our numb mouths thanked us for aborting the mission. 

Eventually they squeezed out the chewed kava and we all took a shell. This specific kava, locally called glisan, is extremely strong. Kava is usually pretty thin, but drinking this was like chugging whole milk. I immediately yacked after shell 1, which has never happened before! Too thick! I tried a shell 2 and 3 later on, but was 3 for 3 on throwing up. An impressive record indeed. I think I took one gulp of the third shell before it returned to the ground where it came from. Laura was in the same boat! While Brittany was chewing and drinking all night...

We danced for a while and went back to her aunties house to cook some fish (Jen left us with her Old Bay, so we spiced it up a bit!) and danced summor. These people were machines! Totally kava drunk and shaking their booties all night! Laura and I paid our Umej dues by dancing past exhaustion, but at one point my eyes were closed and I was just swaying back and forth, trying not to pass out. Apparently this is a common occurrence, another reason why Brittany the night owl is absolutely at home in this vibrant village. 

We finally went to sleep and woke up late. I went on a beach walk and we eventually began the journey back to anaculhat. Quite a long hike back! We arrived just in time to beat the rain and were greeted with more shells of kava. Good grief! So we drank in Jen's kitchen with her mama neighbors and passed out early. 

The rest of the trip was great! I spent one whole day sneezing and sick, but really unsure of the cause. We spent some time at Charlotte's site and she took us on a hike through the pine forest. There's a big pine tree preservation project on Aneityum and the whole place is covered in them! It was definitely a funny change of scenery from the overgrown jungle oasis sweet home Ambae. Other than that, we hung out, sewed up some dresses with Jen's mama and taught her how to make hemp bracelets to sell at her stall. At our last kakae with the family, her mama gave us an Aneityum style basket and matching skirts, so those were a mustwear for the flight to Tanna! We ate a delicious meal of local food and fresh blue fish. Laura and I were lucky to have Jen's mama and papa look out for us and make our trip down to Aneityum extra special. On Saturday we returned to Mystery Island and hopped on a flight to Tanna!

jen's digs

 

charlotte's mama's shell polishing station

charlotte's home

couscous, the best island pup ever

adios aneityum! the matching chicks are off to tanna land

Tanna was a great adventure. We stayed with our best buddy Dave in Lokotai. Lots of laughs and delicious meals in his little rat home. We painted a map of Tanna on his school and had plans of holding a Camp GLOW/BILD with his community at the end of the week. The rain tried to spoil our time, but it only half worked. The Peace Corps had us down on standfast  (stay where you're at!) because of the tropical depression sliding past our neck of the woods, but luckily that didn't stop us from getting back to Vila in time for my flight home! It almost did though... canceled flights, worsening storms, flooded roads, etc. While we got drenched in the back of a truck on the way to the airport, all Laura and I could do was laugh at the ways of the universe. The bumps in the road were already there, but now add all the other elements and you've got some flavor in your day! Air Vanuatu put us up in a fancy shmancy resort for the night and we got food vouchers, so really no complaints from this end. A wonderfully bizarre trip I'll never forget! Happy to have started this new year with good company and bumpy, flooded roads! Here are the only shots I got of Dave's place:

the entrance to dave's

davey!

laura with her thrilled face on

poo brain wall art

other fancy wall decor 

really showcasing his decoration abilities

typical vanuatu carry on

homeward bound

So here it is, the big 2015. Can't believe a new year has begun! Another year of saying yes to adventure, digging deeper into myself, and just enjoying this gudfala place. My 2015 has kicked off with some great travels so far! Laura and I went from Vila town down to Aneityum and then to Tanna, two southern Vanuatu islands. The best part about in-country travel is seeing how vastly different each place is. Every island has a different feel to it, both with the culture and the environment. The people are always the same with their friendly smiles, but each island definitely has its own fashion. Different skin tones, languages, styles of cooking island food, community layouts. The earth is different, too. Ambae is a jungle island- very bush with black sand beaches and rocky cliffs. Aneityum has much more coral and a forest full of pine trees! It's been a fun game of observations, learning about how the ni-Vanuatu communities have adapted to their dealt hands throughout this island nation.

And of course traveling with good friends has made it that much better. Laura and I have been great travelin buddies. Over these past two weeks, we've checked out Jen, Charlotte, Brittany, Dave, and Kirk's lives, with all the good local trails and sites along the way. A tall glass of laughs, delicious local food, kava, and going with whatever way the wind blows- the usual means of motion these days. Man I love island life.

I remember when preparing to come to Vanuatu, the current volunteers kept telling us "hemi depen" or it depends about just about everything because of the range of island living. It's slowly made more since to me over the past year- each person's individual experience relies on where you're placed and how you work yourself into the community. It's fun seeing your friends' digs and meeting their host families and whatnot. It's natural to get some site envy, too. For example, Brittany swims in Ivanjamp river every day for her bath! Dave does yoga in an inch of sea on an old coral reef! But traveling has also reminded me of how incredibly good home is. I love my little Ambae life and can't wait to get back in my own groove.

Speaking of home, I'm about to embark on some travels to the US! Talk about home! Looking forward to sharing some happy times with great people, filling my belly with good eats and a few extra cold beers, and treating myself to some forgotten luxuries. It's been almost a year (January 26!) since I've slept on a real mattress, taken a proper shower, or worn pants. Should be an interesting 3 weeks of readjustment! And I get to hang out with my new niece Lyla. That's about as cool as it gets. On the way back to Vanuatu, I pass through New Zealand for 5 days with the lovely Emma and Cameron, two friends I lived with in Oakland before I came here. Man!

I found this excerpt from a poem by Elizabeth Bishop called Questions of Travel in one of the New York Times magazines that my Aunt Gerry sent me. Thanks Gerry!

"Think of the long trip home. Should we have stayed at home and thought of here? . . . But surely it would have been a pity not to have seen the trees along this road."

I think that's beautiful. When I'm home in the states, I'm gonna try my best to describe the trees and wild flowers and ups and downs and goods and bads along my current road, but not sure if they'll ever be articulated or justified to satisfaction. And you know what I think? It's better that way. What a kick ass world we've got!

Until next time

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…

eyebrows, bush knives, and worms

The ni-Vanuatu are the masters of non-verbals. We learned a little bit about this during cultural training, but it really hit me once I got to site and saw it in action. First off, there is no need to say “yes” in this country. When you raise your eyebrows, you are letting everyone around you know that that’s what you mean. It’s like a head nod with your brows! People even do it when it’s dark outside – the pause signifies that the brows were raised, you just couldn’t visually confirm their uplift. This took me a while to get used to. I was confused why no one was responding to me until I realized that I just wasn’t looking! It’s been a good lesson in eye contact and giving my full attention to whomever I’m communicating with. I practice the brow-raising move whenever I remember to do so, and I’m hoping it will become natural soon enough! Another thing they’ve got down is the hand signals. I’ve watched 2+ minute long conversations happen with just the strategic flutterings of the hand. Explaining where you’re going with the point, swirling the finger around to say you’re coming back, and other movements to show what you’ll be doing, how long you’ll be gone, and even who you’ll be with! It’s wild! I try this method of communication out with my papa and brother O’Brien, but it usually ends in laughter and verbal explanations. An eyebrow raise for effort!

I haven’t come across anything as therapeutic as doing yard work with bush knife. When it’s time to trim down the pathway of nalalas behind my house or tame the hibiscus bush tree out front, I just grab my machete and get to hacking. If I want the extra kick, I’ll sharpen my knife and really feel its overwhelming power over the ever-growing greenery! I think it goes without saying that this can lead to an enjoyable game of Going Overboard, which happens more times than not. But guess what! When you’ve got the A+ combination of rich volcanic soil, South Pacific sun, and fresh rain water, it all grows back faster than you could believe. Which only means another chance to whip out the big boy and manicure that lawn, so a big thank you to the elements on this one! Because after a good session with my bush knife, I’m feeling refreshed, revived, and ready for whatever curve balls this place is always throwing atcha.

Not sure if I’ve spent any time talking about the bush knife presence here in Vanuatu, but it’s at least 2:1 to people. Maybe more like 3 or 4:1 now that I think about it! I probably use my bush knife every day – either to crack open a coconut, shave off the pineapple armor, yard work, or cutting shit down to make things. And of course when you go up to the gardens, you’d be silly not to carry it. Sometimes on hikes I’ll have it with me, too, just in casies. Every student at my school has his or her own bush knife. They come to school with them for work parties and are all experts with tools such as this one. Basically every person you pass on the big road is holding a bush knife, heading to their garden or town or any place they please. It’s just part of life here, not taboo or illegal or scary, just practical. And everyone knows his or her own knife. When there are many lying around together, I’ll watch someone pick one up, check the grooves and nicks in the blade, go to the next one, and eventually come upon his familiar friend.

The other day I was swimming and realized how easily it is to take for granted that the Pacific Ocean is a 3 minute walk from the back door. Too many days have passed that I haven’t gone down to take a dip! Now don’t get me wrong, I do my fair share of swimming in the cold parts and soaking in the hot springs, but I know that in the future, I may just look back and slap myself for not milking the shit out of it! So October and November I’m been participating in a one man ocean challenge. Just get your toes in the water every day you’re at site, Alison! But you can’t really just put your toes in cuz once you’re down there, it’s immediate bliss mode. I just recently found out that there is a beautiful reef past the tide pools, so I’ve been snorkeling about over there. Rolin, a woman living in a neighboring village, has a beautiful rocky shore where you can fish, snorkel, and see turtles before sunset! So I’ve been spending time there. This place is nothing short of magical, but I’ve found that sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of that when it becomes your normal routine, your home, your life! So the ocean challenge has helped me break out of that and remember to return to a place of fascination instead of normalcy. How vast and immense the Pacific Ocean is, how its waters come and go in sync with the bigfala moon above, and no matter how big some problems feel, we are still just tiny specks of sparkle drifting along its shores.

Speaking of remarkable oceanic things, October marked a strange thing – the palolo worms. On the nights before the October full moon every year, millions of small noodle-lookin’ worms (I guess they all look like noodles now that I think about it) show up along the shores in Vanuatu. You go down to the waters with your family and collect the squirming spaghetti with nets and buckets, bring them on top, and boil them. They all form together like a black bean burger. Then you eat them. I tasted them, but couldn’t get past the mental block of the blue/red veiny worms mushed together in my mouth. But an experience indeed! My mami grin thamb told me the Ambae kastom behind it. In October, the ocean “like a cow” fills up with the worms in its belly and they venture out to shore to explore. But when the full moon comes, the light shines on the worms and they have to return home to the belly until next year. Or something along those lines! So salty worm patties aren’t my cup of meat, but every ni-Van I’ve encountered thinks they are fantastic! Even if I didn’t enjoy the idea of them going into my belly, I had the chance to watch dozens of people happily devour them for a week straight. Which is all I needed to get my fill!