The pictures are: my kitchen at this point (I’ve been using the the window sill as a table to prepare food), my office, the view out the window from the office, and my room now (check out the sawdust coverings and cool bag on the wall my mama had made for me)
By the way, you can view all the pictures in full size by clicking on the image.
(written July 16th)
Well I’m just going to start out by saying I’m glad I brought my laptop here. Just so happened I lucked out and scored a site where I have access to solar power. I arrived at site about a week ago and was able to get all my supplies and myself there in one trip. On the way from Vila I stopped and visited my host family and had a good afternoon with them and my training village. My mama asked me why I hadn’t bought a stove and I explained that they were out. She produced an old stove of hers from the kitchen and we were both surprised it worked. Happiness points went way up with that one. Let the cooking begin!
Dom was along for the ride as well as she too was headed to site on Nguna. She was to crash in my village for a couple of days as there was a wedding in her village which pretty much means everyone’s enjoying the festivities too much to give her and her gear a ride to the top of the hill. So she chilled while I set up some stuff in my new home. First thing that was brought to my attention of the new home is that is infested with termites, common here with houses covered in bamboo, but this house particularly puts out a nice layer of sawdust from termites. I’ve had to cover some things with mats and such to keep the sawdust off. Eventually, I hope to wrap the walls with cheap cloth or calico as they call it here.
Its pretty fun to kind of look at your house and decide what improvements you want to make. The community and I are going to build some shelves and tables in the next few weeks for the kitchen. I can eat with my family whenever or cook whenever. It’s a very cool situation and I have promised my family I will cook for them on occasion as I have already done once so far.
The first night we arrived my host family at site brought Dom and me a pumpkin and it just so happened that there was a pumpkin curry recipe in one of the things the Peace Corps gave us. So we batched it up, using coconut milk we cut, scraped, and squeezed from well, coconuts, and it was delicious. We gave some to my host family, they loved it, and my mama insisted that I make it for some VSOs (a worldwide volunteer agency that I think is centered in the UK) that were going to come in a day or two.
On Wednesday we were all waiting around as Dom was waiting to go to site and the village and I were waiting for another batch of tourists to come visit and also waiting for the VSOs. About the time Dom was set to leave one of the mamas came screaming from the beach that a boat had capsized in the bay. And so the panic began. Apparently, the tourist boat loaded with about 12 people had flipped over in the middle of the bay. One of the boat drivers scrambled and I ran to get a couple life jackets from the house as I did not know if the boat had them or not. I threw the jackets on board and the first boat took off with a couple villagers. Dom was a firefighter at one point back in the States so she jumped in the next boat, which wouldn’t start for some time. I watched the scene from shore with the village with my binoculars. Both boats finally got there and everyone ended up being alright although some cell phones and cameras were destroyed. Apparently one of the plugs on the boat was fouled up and the boat took on too much water. The driver, recognizing the situation, got everyone off the boat and into life jackets, before the thing capsized.
Then the tourists, wet and in surprisingly good spirits, arrived on the island and tried to make the best of the situation. Meanwhile, people in the village were trying to communicate with the tourism operators in Vila about what to do next. A true mess and I couldn’t stop thinking about what this accident might mean for future tourism here.
A couple of hours later they managed to tow the upside down boat to shore and the hull was intact. The expensive 40hp engine probably is going to need some heavy work if it is to be revived at all after its salt water dunking. It was hard to believe a boat went down in that bay; its one of the calmest bays I’ve ever seen.
So Dom got out to site, supposedly the tourism shall commence once again in the next few days, and business as usual back in the village. The next day I awoke and soon after my counterpart told me that a man’s mother from the neighboring village had died last night. We were to go pay respect in a few hours, my first attendance of a funeral in Vanuatu. So our village collected and walked down the beach to the next village where we aggregated once again before entering the funeral place. We walked in, heads hung, and as soon as we got close everyone started weeping as if on cue. It was amazing. Just a minute before people were storying and even joking, but as soon as the collection of people already at the funeral were nearly reached by us there was a mass exodus of tears and emotion. From what I understand Ni-Vans don’t mourn like most in the rest of the world. There is a set period to mourn and then you supposedly go at life as normal. In this village it is five days where no work takes place and a day for surrounding villages. I’ve heard that some places in Vanuatu can be up to a month. Any prior meetings or obligations are canceled until after the mourning period.
But, back to the funeral…There is no casket or bag. The dead is simply covered with calico (I’m not sure how they bury people here, have to ask about that one) and people sit down and cry and wail continuously. This lasts I don’t know how long during the day because I got the cue that some of us were to leave after about a half hour, they were weeping when we got there, and when we left. It seems so physically and emotionally draining, and truly remarkable.
The VSOs arrived the next day and we spent the next few days hanging out some. They had to come to experience some village life, and it was a little unfortunate for them that most of the village was gone most of the days due to obligations with the village containing the recently deceased. There was a very nice couple from the UK, John and Hannah, as well as Frank, a doctor from Uganda. My host papa and mama were also hosting John and Hannah so we ate meals together and I helped translate, at times some Bislama, as they had only been in country for a couple of weeks. I did cook the curry for them and the family as mama had asked and it was a hit.
It was really nice to have some more people to story with as things are a little slow in the beginning of Peace Corps work. Turns out John is a cricket purist in many the ways I think of baseball, and we talked along parallel lines as to the degradation of our sports in our new, impatient society. I told John there are baseball games aired about three times a week in Vila and he seemed pretty excited to watch some baseball. Probably catch a baseball game in a bar the next time I’m in Vila, his and Hannah’s site for the next two years. By the way I’m going to try to plan my re-stock trips in Vila around good games that will be aired. The Phils and Cubs are set to play at Wrigley on the 31st, hope I can get to Vila for it. I guess another benefit of the close proximity to Vila is some interchange with people that hail from all over the world. Frank even looked at a nasty reef cut I have on my foot and gave some good suggestions.
Today I am just waiting for a guy from a neighboring village who said he needed help in writing an official letter. Its getting late in the day now and I think he’s going to be a no show. I olsem nomo (That’s how it goes). I’ll probably be meeting with some chiefs and MPA staff in the next few days just to do some more introduction formalities and talk a little about the state of things around here. Other than that I’ve been reading up on marine biology stuff and future workshops I hope to make here as well as storying a lot with the villagers. Before Dom left we were talking about how weird it is that we have this “Now what?” feeling. We’ve been anxious to get out to site, but now we’re here and its not like starting a new job for the first day where its kind of hectic. Just the opposite. The Peace Corps encourages you to take it really slow, for good reason, the first few months, and just figure out what’s going on in the community, how it functions, and who are the key players. So I’m just chilling and trying to figure out what I can…
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