Today has been a great day! A year after our local post office was robbed and shut down it has reopened and I received lots of letters and packages. The oldest being the letter from Dossie dated July 18th 2010. And more recently an awesome birthday package from Justine. I also received a Halloween package and two Christmas packages and a cinco de mayo birthday package. I ate half the Halloween chocolates and a bowl of cheesy tortilla soup. And I feel kind of sick but am loving it.
Nina was just here last month on her way back to the states. I was meaning to visit her on my way back but she beat me to it. It was a nice excuse to travel around the country. We visited the island Pentecost where they have a peculiar ceremony for celebrating the yam harvest every May and June. They build tall towers out of sticks and vines 40 ft high and jump off of them into the dirt with a vine attached to their ankle. It’s sort of like bungee jumping. It was really impressive. After that we were supposed to head off to Yasur volcano, which is the most magnificent approachable active volcano on earth. Unfortunately it was being a little too active and consequently not very approachable. Peace Corps forbid me to go so we decided to hop on a small passenger ship heading to the island just to the south. That ship should have arrived at 6 pm but instead it showed up at 1 am. We got on only to find out that it was not stopping at the next island but going directly to the capital city. 12 hours after our 3 hour tour had started, we finally reached the capital and spent several days lounging pool side at various resorts to make up for the time we’d spent on the boat. It was good fun to catch up with Nina and hear all the Friar news. Nina quote, “So it seems like the theory behind Peace Corps cuisine is ‘it’s better with Peanut butter.’” Yep, so true. Biscuits: better with peanut butter; ramen noodles: better with peanut butter; spoon: better with peanut butter.
Here's a video about Land Diving, the Nangol Ceremony
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Things that make me smile in Vanuatu
I’ve been here for a year and a half and there are so many things that still make me crack up inside. I could be in a serious meeting but then the area council secretary will start digging in his nose while talking to me and I just lose it. At least it never gets boring.
1. Although it is sold in the shops, nobody ever has toilet paper:
In fact, most people don’t have toilets. But those that do are totally confused about them. In the hospital for example, they built the toilet stall to the exact size of the toilet. It’s so small that you can’t close the door unless you are already sitting down. So you have to pull your pants down and then close the door. Another thing that cracks me up is when the toilet is facing the wrong way. It’s like people don’t know where the front of the toilet is. Here are some drawings of actual toilets I’ve experienced here:
Speaking of sanitation practices, did you know it is customary here to wash your hands after every meal? This unfortunately is not the most effective method of preventing the spread of disease.
It is not impolite to pick your nose in public, while having a conversation, while eating, or where ever. In fact some people grow one fingernail longer than the others for the job.
Also one polite way to burp is to say “OHH!” louder than the sound of the burp so it just sounds like you are surprised by something rather than just burping.
2. Names:
Some common Vanuatu names I’ve encountered: Rock, Coozy, Tito, Fanny (that’s my name here), and the very common family name Bong. I eagerly await the day that I will find a way to use the phrase “He’s got more Bongs than a Vanuatu phone book,” in conversation.
There are a couple families in my area that have named all their kids with variations of the same name. My favorite of course is the family that named all their children variations of Stephanie. There is Stephanie, Stephan, Stephana, and Stephano. I have to admit it is a lot easier to learn everybody’s name when they're named like this.
3. My English class dynamics at the Lamap Vocational School:
-Rachel 15, 5th grade education 0 years of English in school
-Ilene 16, 8th grade education 8 years of English
-Calixto 21, 10th grade education 4 years of English, forbidden to speak with Lidiana
-Cindy 20, 10th grade education 4 years of English, teen mother
-Anika 17, 8th grade education, 2 years of English, teen mother
-Lidiana 18, 6th grade education 0 years English, forbidden to speak to Calixto
Calixto and Liliana are forbidden to talk or sit next to each other or work together due to traditional law that you can’t speak with certain cousins of the opposite sex. And all the other girls are just too shy to talk to him haha. So between the different maturity levels, education levels, language levels, social taboos etc. you can see how this class can be rediculous at times.
Other good news:
I just went on a great three day hike to a small village deep in the bush. It was such a great break from Lamap because it's not humid, it was about ten degrees cooler, there were no mosquitos, and lots of fresh water to swim in. Plus so much great food. You can catch prawns in the river. We collected shellfish and even fresh water eel. One day we went wild pig hunting and caught one! Also the village has a big herd of cattle. We ate meat at every meal.
Also they just put up a new cell phone tower across the way and as of next week I will have cellphone service in my house! Happy easter to me :)
Love you all
Miss you much
XOXOXO!!!
1. Although it is sold in the shops, nobody ever has toilet paper:
In fact, most people don’t have toilets. But those that do are totally confused about them. In the hospital for example, they built the toilet stall to the exact size of the toilet. It’s so small that you can’t close the door unless you are already sitting down. So you have to pull your pants down and then close the door. Another thing that cracks me up is when the toilet is facing the wrong way. It’s like people don’t know where the front of the toilet is. Here are some drawings of actual toilets I’ve experienced here:
Speaking of sanitation practices, did you know it is customary here to wash your hands after every meal? This unfortunately is not the most effective method of preventing the spread of disease.
It is not impolite to pick your nose in public, while having a conversation, while eating, or where ever. In fact some people grow one fingernail longer than the others for the job.
Also one polite way to burp is to say “OHH!” louder than the sound of the burp so it just sounds like you are surprised by something rather than just burping.
2. Names:
Some common Vanuatu names I’ve encountered: Rock, Coozy, Tito, Fanny (that’s my name here), and the very common family name Bong. I eagerly await the day that I will find a way to use the phrase “He’s got more Bongs than a Vanuatu phone book,” in conversation.
There are a couple families in my area that have named all their kids with variations of the same name. My favorite of course is the family that named all their children variations of Stephanie. There is Stephanie, Stephan, Stephana, and Stephano. I have to admit it is a lot easier to learn everybody’s name when they're named like this.
3. My English class dynamics at the Lamap Vocational School:
-Rachel 15, 5th grade education 0 years of English in school
-Ilene 16, 8th grade education 8 years of English
-Calixto 21, 10th grade education 4 years of English, forbidden to speak with Lidiana
-Cindy 20, 10th grade education 4 years of English, teen mother
-Anika 17, 8th grade education, 2 years of English, teen mother
-Lidiana 18, 6th grade education 0 years English, forbidden to speak to Calixto
Calixto and Liliana are forbidden to talk or sit next to each other or work together due to traditional law that you can’t speak with certain cousins of the opposite sex. And all the other girls are just too shy to talk to him haha. So between the different maturity levels, education levels, language levels, social taboos etc. you can see how this class can be rediculous at times.
Other good news:
I just went on a great three day hike to a small village deep in the bush. It was such a great break from Lamap because it's not humid, it was about ten degrees cooler, there were no mosquitos, and lots of fresh water to swim in. Plus so much great food. You can catch prawns in the river. We collected shellfish and even fresh water eel. One day we went wild pig hunting and caught one! Also the village has a big herd of cattle. We ate meat at every meal.
Also they just put up a new cell phone tower across the way and as of next week I will have cellphone service in my house! Happy easter to me :)
Love you all
Miss you much
XOXOXO!!!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Viva La Radio & Tsunami Dreams
Did not get the best nights sleep but was eternally grateful early this morning when the people in my village woke me up at 2am to move to higher ground after they'd heard the Tsunami Alert on the radio. Apparently the Vanuatu tsunami alert was for 12am-3am so we were a little late. A text was sent to me to warn me of the tsunami alert earlier in the evening but we don't have cellphone reception in our village! There were strong waves reported in the Solomon Islands but not yet in the northern islands of Vanuatu at the time we headed up hill. It was extremely unlikely that we'd get a tsunami but we live in a very low lying northern facing village just a few feet from shore, in bamboo houses no less, so even strong waves could be dangerous. So I grabbed my pillow and my dog, Marie, and headed out into the pitch black.
Then the whole village crammed into one house on top of a hill and tried to fall asleep while the patriarch of the group insisted on blaring the radio. I tried to fall asleep while listening to the radio reports of people calling in and saying they had moved their village to higher ground between every song of string band music, reggae and random 80s pop. This resulted in me falling asleep and dreaming of witnessing a tsunami attack on our village. The water drew back and we could see all the fishes flopping on dry land and then Marie went out to chase them and then it crashed down on us and i'm running running running until I woke up in the morning. We weren't really in any danger. But I think what happened to similar small villages in American Samoain 2009 really hit home for the people of Vanuatu.
Although it was hard to sleep with the radio on it just goes to show that radio is no where near dead. Yeah it may not be the place to make it or break it in the music world but it has it's place. It's the best news source for all of the smaller pacific countries since they all have big rural populations without tv access or power. I'm sure it's the same in other rural areas in the world. Having a story of another village moving to higher ground in between every song though redundant is a constant guilt trip on those that haven't taken any action yet. Peer pressure you know, if they weren't being reminded constantly on the radio they would just be like nah I'm going back to bed.
Dj: Hallo what is your name?
Caller: I'm a chief in Tisman.
Dj: Hallo chief what's going on where you are?
Caller: Well we've moved everybody up the hill and we're all here together.
Dj: ok well that's good. you stay put.
*stringband song starts*
Then today I got on the internet and found out what all the fuss was about. Holy ichi ni san shi tsunami! Check out the youtube footage below. Biggest Earthquake ever recorded in Japan! Massive tsunami eating up the northern coast! We have it so lucky on the East Coast of the States, the occasional Blizzard is nothing compared to the constant barrage of earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, and hurricanes these islands out in the Pacific are getting.
Tsunami in Japan
More tsunami in Japan
Then the whole village crammed into one house on top of a hill and tried to fall asleep while the patriarch of the group insisted on blaring the radio. I tried to fall asleep while listening to the radio reports of people calling in and saying they had moved their village to higher ground between every song of string band music, reggae and random 80s pop. This resulted in me falling asleep and dreaming of witnessing a tsunami attack on our village. The water drew back and we could see all the fishes flopping on dry land and then Marie went out to chase them and then it crashed down on us and i'm running running running until I woke up in the morning. We weren't really in any danger. But I think what happened to similar small villages in American Samoain 2009 really hit home for the people of Vanuatu.
Although it was hard to sleep with the radio on it just goes to show that radio is no where near dead. Yeah it may not be the place to make it or break it in the music world but it has it's place. It's the best news source for all of the smaller pacific countries since they all have big rural populations without tv access or power. I'm sure it's the same in other rural areas in the world. Having a story of another village moving to higher ground in between every song though redundant is a constant guilt trip on those that haven't taken any action yet. Peer pressure you know, if they weren't being reminded constantly on the radio they would just be like nah I'm going back to bed.
Dj: Hallo what is your name?
Caller: I'm a chief in Tisman.
Dj: Hallo chief what's going on where you are?
Caller: Well we've moved everybody up the hill and we're all here together.
Dj: ok well that's good. you stay put.
*stringband song starts*
Then today I got on the internet and found out what all the fuss was about. Holy ichi ni san shi tsunami! Check out the youtube footage below. Biggest Earthquake ever recorded in Japan! Massive tsunami eating up the northern coast! We have it so lucky on the East Coast of the States, the occasional Blizzard is nothing compared to the constant barrage of earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, and hurricanes these islands out in the Pacific are getting.
Tsunami in Japan
More tsunami in Japan
Sunday, February 20, 2011
A Vanuatu Folk Tale
I heard this folk story on the Vanuatu National Cultural Center's radio show which airs I think on Wednesday nights on Radio Vanuatu. So it must have been the 8th of February. Anyway I thought it was kinda funny and would be good to share. It's abridged and paraphrased and also translated from Bislama. The story teller was a cultural center field worker working on Ambae Island.
And it goes a little something like this:
One day a man was hunting for birds deep in the woods a far walk from his village (Of course he was wearing Nambas the traditional dress of a large leaf wrapped around the penis and tied at the waste with a string). He was shooting down the birds with his sling shot and he caught lots and lots and filled up a big basket with all the birds he had caught and then started heading back to his village. Then a lesipsip (a jungle devil dwarf) came up behind him and said "hey can I have one of your birds to eat?"
img: A Vanuatu Devil, possibly to the lesipsip variety
So the man gave him one and the lesipsip took a minute to devoured it ravenously. The man started to walk off when the Lesipsip came up to him again asking again "hey can I have one of your birds to eat?".
But the man said "No I need to take these birds back to my village to feed my family."
"Well if you don't give me a bird to eat I will eat you, so can I have a bird to eat."
"Ok" the man said but he was scared now because he had made the devil angry so he threw the bird on the ground as he ran away. After the lesipsip had finished ravenously eating the bird he ran after the man. The man kept throwing birds down and running away for quite some time but he was getting tired and he wasn't losing the lesipsip.
img: Some more Vanuatu devils, maybe lesipsips, I don't know I've never seen one.
So the man tried climbing a white tree (certain type of tree found on the island that has lots of gooey sap under its bark). He climbed up high in the tree and the Lesipsip laughed and said "you think I can't climb up there and eat you?"
"Wait! if you just peel all the bark off the bottom of this tree I'll give you a bird to eat."
So the lesipsip tore all the bark off the tree and then said "hey can I have one of your birds to eat?"
The man gave him a bird to eat then he said "hey can I have one of your birds to eat?"
"No I just gave you one"
"Ok well I'm coming up there to eat you then"
But when the lesipsip tried to climb the tree his hands just slipped on all the sap from the tree. You'd think this would be the end of the story but no... The lesipsip went and sung out and called 9 friends to join him and they all piled one on top of the other until they could reach the man. At this point the lesipsips were angry and so they say "give me all your birds to eat or I will eat you!"
So the man had no choice but to give them the all the birds. He emptied his basket and the lesipsips ate ravenously.
When they were done they said "give us another bird to eat or we will eat you."
"But I've already given you all the birds, I don't have any more."
"Don't lie to us. We can see that you are hiding one. It's wrapped in a leaf we can see it"
When the man realized what they were talking about he stood up in the tree took off his nambas and peed all over the lesipsips. This caught the Lesipsips totally off guard and they all lost their balance and fell down dead. Releaved, the man got down out of the tree and quickly ran home.
img: This is the kind of outfit the man would have been wearing.
And it goes a little something like this:
One day a man was hunting for birds deep in the woods a far walk from his village (Of course he was wearing Nambas the traditional dress of a large leaf wrapped around the penis and tied at the waste with a string). He was shooting down the birds with his sling shot and he caught lots and lots and filled up a big basket with all the birds he had caught and then started heading back to his village. Then a lesipsip (a jungle devil dwarf) came up behind him and said "hey can I have one of your birds to eat?"
img: A Vanuatu Devil, possibly to the lesipsip variety
So the man gave him one and the lesipsip took a minute to devoured it ravenously. The man started to walk off when the Lesipsip came up to him again asking again "hey can I have one of your birds to eat?".
But the man said "No I need to take these birds back to my village to feed my family."
"Well if you don't give me a bird to eat I will eat you, so can I have a bird to eat."
"Ok" the man said but he was scared now because he had made the devil angry so he threw the bird on the ground as he ran away. After the lesipsip had finished ravenously eating the bird he ran after the man. The man kept throwing birds down and running away for quite some time but he was getting tired and he wasn't losing the lesipsip.
img: Some more Vanuatu devils, maybe lesipsips, I don't know I've never seen one.
So the man tried climbing a white tree (certain type of tree found on the island that has lots of gooey sap under its bark). He climbed up high in the tree and the Lesipsip laughed and said "you think I can't climb up there and eat you?"
"Wait! if you just peel all the bark off the bottom of this tree I'll give you a bird to eat."
So the lesipsip tore all the bark off the tree and then said "hey can I have one of your birds to eat?"
The man gave him a bird to eat then he said "hey can I have one of your birds to eat?"
"No I just gave you one"
"Ok well I'm coming up there to eat you then"
But when the lesipsip tried to climb the tree his hands just slipped on all the sap from the tree. You'd think this would be the end of the story but no... The lesipsip went and sung out and called 9 friends to join him and they all piled one on top of the other until they could reach the man. At this point the lesipsips were angry and so they say "give me all your birds to eat or I will eat you!"
So the man had no choice but to give them the all the birds. He emptied his basket and the lesipsips ate ravenously.
When they were done they said "give us another bird to eat or we will eat you."
"But I've already given you all the birds, I don't have any more."
"Don't lie to us. We can see that you are hiding one. It's wrapped in a leaf we can see it"
When the man realized what they were talking about he stood up in the tree took off his nambas and peed all over the lesipsips. This caught the Lesipsips totally off guard and they all lost their balance and fell down dead. Releaved, the man got down out of the tree and quickly ran home.
img: This is the kind of outfit the man would have been wearing.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Big Thanks All To Those Who Donated!
I can't believe, in less than three weeks my amazing friends and family have helped me to collect over $1,600 to buy computers and sewing machines for the vocational school I work at. Perfect timing too because here I am in the capital, Port Vila, ready to purchase the supplies in time for the start of the school year. My local conterparts, the manager and teachers, are so surprised and excited. They didn't think it would be possible to collect such a sum in such a short time. They will surely be glowing when I hop off the boat next week with 2 computes and 3 sewing machines so we can start the two new courses, home economics and computer science this february.
Thanks once again from the Lamap Rural Training Center.
Warm wishes,
Stephanie
Thanks once again from the Lamap Rural Training Center.
Warm wishes,
Stephanie
Monday, December 20, 2010
All I want for Christmas is computers and sewing machines for my school!
As you know I'm serving in the Peace Corps down in Vanuatu in the South Pacific. One of the projects I'm working on is helping a local grassroots vocational school grow and better serve its small community. The school is hoping to add two new courses in 2011, Home Economics and Computer Science. But they can't get enough funds from the local community to buy the supplies they need to expand.
The community has invested a lot in creating this school over the last three years because they see that the many area youth that only go to middle school don't have the skills to succeed. The community has raised funds to create the school, build a two classrooms, buy a computer, and run the school for 3 years but now we need your help. We're trying to raise $1,600 over the Christmas holiday to buy two more computers and three sewing machines so that the students will have what they need to succeed this year.
Christmas is the time to give and think of others. I know a lot of you like to donate to charities in others' names as Christmas presents. So now you can give a donation gift through this secure online donation website run by Peace Corps, plus you have the added benefit of helping out little old me and the assurance that it really will be going directly to a community in need (50% of it won't get lost in logistics of running a big non-profit). So this Christmas show your love to friends, fam, coworkers, strangers, etc. by donating to the Lamap Rural Training Center.
More info on the project
Donate Here!
Meet the students and teachers at the school in this youtube video.
Please try to forward this info to some friends and co-workers. Trust me they won't be annoyed, I know them. They love this sort of thing. Don't make me use scare tactics (If you don't send it to five people right now you will get a paper cut this afternoon, guaranteed;). No but really I need your help to get all these supplies in time fore school next year, so try and pull me some strings gang.
I love you all lots and lots! Have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Love,
Stephanie
The community has invested a lot in creating this school over the last three years because they see that the many area youth that only go to middle school don't have the skills to succeed. The community has raised funds to create the school, build a two classrooms, buy a computer, and run the school for 3 years but now we need your help. We're trying to raise $1,600 over the Christmas holiday to buy two more computers and three sewing machines so that the students will have what they need to succeed this year.
Christmas is the time to give and think of others. I know a lot of you like to donate to charities in others' names as Christmas presents. So now you can give a donation gift through this secure online donation website run by Peace Corps, plus you have the added benefit of helping out little old me and the assurance that it really will be going directly to a community in need (50% of it won't get lost in logistics of running a big non-profit). So this Christmas show your love to friends, fam, coworkers, strangers, etc. by donating to the Lamap Rural Training Center.
More info on the project
Donate Here!
Meet the students and teachers at the school in this youtube video.
Please try to forward this info to some friends and co-workers. Trust me they won't be annoyed, I know them. They love this sort of thing. Don't make me use scare tactics (If you don't send it to five people right now you will get a paper cut this afternoon, guaranteed;). No but really I need your help to get all these supplies in time fore school next year, so try and pull me some strings gang.
I love you all lots and lots! Have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Love,
Stephanie
Ambrym Volcano hike
Ok I promise I'll write a proper blog post describing every detail but right now I just arrived in Brisbane and I'm beat so I thought I'd put these videos up. If a picture shows a thousand words then a video must be exponentially better.
Here's the gist: Virginia and I hiked up the volcanic island of Ambrym to visit the twin volcanoes, Benbow and Marum, an 8 hour hike, then we were attacked by tornadoes of poison gas flinging ash around. The guide was walking around with a small child on his shoulders right on the edge of the volcano despite strong winds. We saw lava. It is infinitely more amazing in person than in video I assure you. We camped outside the crater of the volcano. In the morning we walked back to shore and soaked our blistered feet in the hot springs on the beach.
Here's the gist: Virginia and I hiked up the volcanic island of Ambrym to visit the twin volcanoes, Benbow and Marum, an 8 hour hike, then we were attacked by tornadoes of poison gas flinging ash around. The guide was walking around with a small child on his shoulders right on the edge of the volcano despite strong winds. We saw lava. It is infinitely more amazing in person than in video I assure you. We camped outside the crater of the volcano. In the morning we walked back to shore and soaked our blistered feet in the hot springs on the beach.
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