First Days in Vanuatu

I'm in Port Vila right now and have a few minutes to let you know what I've been doing over the past few days. In short, I'm doing very well. It's been rather difficult to load the images above, in part because of the slow internet connection. They may be a bit jumbled and out of order, but I don't have the time to slowly fix them. I'm also writing rather fast as I don't have much time to get everything out, so excuse me for rambling.

Friday, September 10, 2010

I spent Thursday evening and most of Friday with Peace Corps, Vanuatu training class 23. 41 of us met in Los Angeles for a day of orientation and getting to know each other. These are some of the best people I've ever met and I look forward to spending the next three months with them during training. It's not surprised that would-be Peace Corps volunteers are a very outgoing and engaging lot. The people I've met have been very open and shared some great stories. I can imagine quickly becoming friends with them.

We left America from LAX on Friday evening, bound for New Zealand, eager and ready.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Our flight across the Pacific took about eleven hours and it was night the entire time. Since we flew over the international dateline, we more of less skipped September 11, 2010. By the time we arrived in Aukland for our transfer, the group had spent a lot of time with each other, sometimes in rather close situations. Spirits were high and we all kept smiling despite a few logistical bumps.

We were greeted in Vanuatu by an enthusiastic line of current volunteers and Peace Corps Staff. I was given my first coconut to drink and a lot of hugs and handshakes. Some of the volunteers greeting us had even come from the other islands.

We loaded onto some mini-buses and were off on a quick tour of Port Vila. I'll say more about the town later, but I'll say now that it is a strange combination of expatriate wealth and the local, developing world.

We are staying at a an old mission campsite in the nearby village of Pongo. The 17 single men are grouped together in what we've come to call “the barn”, a tin roofed long house with wooden bunks. We were issued our Peace Corps bed mats, scratchy sheet and blanket, pillow, plastic bucket, and solar powered lamp, among other things. Since we were all pretty useless due to jet lag, we were given some free time to go run into the ocean at the beach across the road.

Here's a few firsts for me. It was not only my first time in the Pacific Ocean, but first time South of the Equator. I stepped among my first coral and saw my first vivid blue starfish. I picked and we ate a ripe papaya (“popo”). The site is surrounded by tropical vegetation including trees I've never seen except in pictures. That evening, I slept under my first mosquito netting.

Monday, September 13, 2010

After a deep, jet lag induced sleep, we awoke at 5:00am local time to the sound of someone from the settlement next to ours banging on a suspended, empty propane tank. I think they use it instead of a bell. The birds started singing a few minutes after and then the sun was up. Life starts early in Pongo village. We are lucky that the mission site has decent facilities including electricity in the evening until 9:30pm and cold, cold, cold showers in a concrete bathroom building. There are a few other tin long houses where we met the staff and began a series of lessons and lectures. All of the buildings are more or less open to the outside temperature and breezes. Fortunately, the temperature has ranged from a frigid 73 degrees and to a near apocalyptic 80 or so.

Bislama training began and we learned the basics of introducing ourselves and asking for people's names. We've been told, that unlike at other Peace Corps sites, we will learn the local language to an intermediate level rather than beginner level. That's because of the close connection between Bislama and English.

We aren't cooking for ourselves yet and are being fed by a group of local “mamas” as the women are known. For anyone wondering about the food, we are well taken care of, starting the day with good French bread with spreads as well as instant coffee, cocoa, and tea. Lunch included all food groups, but dairy and usually the ubiquitous rice and sweet potatoes. We've even had some delicious meat curries. Of course, there is also the fruit: fresh papaya, coconut, two kinds of grapefruit, finger bananas, and what I think is an actual Michel Gros. I look forward to cooking here.

In the evening, we were taken to the house of Eddie, the Peace Corps Country Director for Vanuatu. There, we were introduced to kava and had our first shell of it. It affected everyone differently, but basically us big guys didn't notice much of anything. Others said they felt mellow. We will probably encounter kava quite a bit in our assigned villages and knowing how to deal with it appropriately will help us go a long way toward integrating ourselves there. Also, it's supposed to be fun. If you're curious, it looks like muddy water or Slim Fast and tastes like grass clippings.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

We were given a lesson in Malaria this morning where we were taught how to avoid it, what our anti-malarial medicine regime is, how to spot symptoms, and how to test ourselves for it. To test ourselves, we were asked to stab a finger with a medical lancet and drop the blood onto an instant test kit and glass slides to send in. I found that either I have very thick skin, or I just don't bleed easily. This was followed by more Bislama training, where we went through some basic dialog.

It rained lightly off and on today, but no one seems to mind. In between classes, three of us asked some staff member to take get a little join us outside to find good coconuts. I can now identify a ripe coconut, knock it down, and hack it open with a machete before drinking the fluids. We were told that green coconut in particular is a great thing to take for dehydration, diarrhea, and pretty much everything where you would need liquids. My next goal is to climb one of the higher coconut trees to get one of the good looking ones just out of reach by the beach. So, how was your Tuesday?

I am currently sitting in the Peace Corps office waiting to meet with the health staff and get additional shots. Then, I'll meet with Eddie, the country director, and discuss what I would like to get out of my time of service.

More will come, when I'm able.

- - Daniel - -