Emua

Village life is good. I'm on the northern coast of Efate in a vilage called Emua. I live about 30 seconds from the ocean with a nice view of a few surrounding islands, and the shepperd islands jutting out from the ocean in the distance. My mama and papa are very nice. I think my mama thinks that I'm too skinny because she makes a ton of food. My papa is a fisherman and a gardner. I have the 3 cutest kids on the islands as sisters. Beverley is 5, Carolyn is 7, and Susan is 9. They are quite the handful. They mainly just look at me and giggle but also like to poke me and play with my strange hair. The picture above is of my sister, Beverley. She likes to run around with knives and she thinks that broken glass is a toy. But thats ok, kids are tough here. Everyone is very friendly but also curious. Little tasks like washing clothes and dishes, or cutting open coconuts tends to attract the attention and judgement of 20 people atleast. I don't mind though. I am slowly learning one of their languages, Bislama. They correct me when I mess up and tell me how to say certain things. It is a slow learning process but going well. I don't really have time to talk about much else, but I will update whenever I can.

Port Vila

Not a whole lot has been happening over here in Vanuatu. I'm staying at the capital right now, Port Vila, in a hotel with all of the other volunteers from my group. The city is very modern compared with the rest of the country, so I am still enjoying the luxuries of having electricity and being able to take a shower. Vanuatu itself is a beautiful place. The picture above is one I took of the bay that is less than a minute walk from our hotel.
The people here are very friendy and everyone says hello to eachother. The natives are especially curious about us. No matter where I go, I tend to get a lot of stares, especially down at the local market where I might be the only person who is not a Ni-Vanuatu out of a couple of hundred of people. Besides walking around and just checking the town out, I've had the chance to snorkel in some of the local coral reefs. I saw countless bright colored fish, but no sharks yet. I don't know if you want to call that good or bad. People in our group have also been going to Nakamals. Nakamals are a local meeting place typically reserved for cheifs when they meet, but they are also a place where people get together to drink kava. It is the social thing that everyone does around here, and it is gross. You drink a bowl full of something that looks like muddy water, but taste much worse. It taste like dirty water with a cucumber and pepper flavor. It gives everyone something to do at night where they can meet up and just sit around and talk though.
The weather here has been pretty nice, a little warmer and humid that I would like it to be. It's about 85 everyday and might cool down to 78 or so by night. The first night we were here all of the locals were complaining about how cold they were because it dropped down to the low/mid 70s. The humidity should let up over the next few months though as Vanuatu is entering it's dry season.
I'm sure I could share a lot more but I just don't have the time. Starting Sunday, we will be moving out to a rural village to live with our host families. Once we get out there I think the culture shock will really hit and hopefully I will have something more exciting to tell you all, but this will have to do for now. For all of those you I haven't had a chance to email or write to yet I'm sorry. During the next few months of training I will be very busy everyday, but after that is over I will do my best to contact as many of you as possible.

Packing/Panicking

Packing is one of those things that I always put off until the very last minute, typically cramming that last thing into my bag right before I head off. In this case though, I decided that might not be the best of ideas. You know that feeling you have when you think you forgot to pack something and that you are going to be doomed without it? Well, try packing for over two years and then imagine that feeling of forgetting something. That is why in this case, I decided not to pack at the very last moment. Instead, I am taking the extra cautious route of packing a whole day before I even leave. My mom should be proud. Atleast packing for an island in the Pacific isn't quite as bad as it would be for packing for other places. Pants, longsleeves, coats....don't really need them. All you really need are some shorts, t-shirts, a camera, and some snorkel gear. Well maybe a little more than that, or a lot. How am I going to fit all of this into a couple of backpacks?!

Vanuatu

So this is it, a map of where I will be spending the next few years of my life. As you can see, the country is composed of some 83 specks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.