Tough days????

There are days when I feel utterly alone and down...thinking of home...family, friends and indulgences. Sweating, wearing PJ pants and socks to keep mosquitos away, inhaling mosquito coil fumes (can I get cancer from that?) And then struggling for acceptance and my place. I am the age of the mamas but do not have kids, nor can I relate to the 18-20 somethings. I have a blast with the kids but sometimes I just need adult conversation. I was never sure if hanging out with the men is okay with the very defined gender separation here. Then the slow pace of life..."island time" or black man time as they refer to it...is difficult for me as you probably know. I love being busy with a to do list, schedule but I am trying to embrace it. I've been sewing up a storm and reading...alot. 14 books so far.

After a struggling first couple months...I have since fallen deeply in love with my community and even think about how sad it will be to leave next year. I have found my place with the Mamas and go to SDA (Seventh Day Adventist) church which is all day on Saturday. I love the singing. We have service and then gather for lunch together on the church lawn surrounded by the lush hills of Paama. It's beautiful and peaceful. We storian (story on), laugh and rest. Then evening service.


I also have my time with the papas, uncles and avus (grand papas) over shells of kava. We story about politics, island life, the economy and custom stories underneath a star filled sky.


The kids...I have been teaching some at the primary school. There's only ONE teacher for 30 kids, grades 1-6, though she only teaches lessons for 2, 4 and 6 so that 1 and 2 are combined, 3 and 4, 5 and 6. I've been teaching English and Math. What tough job! Kudos to all my teacher friends! Sometimes volunteers debate whether we are truly needed here since Ni-Vanuatu are subsistence farmers...live off the land, there are no starving children, no war but after experiencing the educational system, there is definitely a need. Those children that fall behind do not have much of a chance for extra help since teachers are lacking both in number and in teaching skills. (One volunteer told me about a teacher's math prob: 1/2 + 3/5 = 4/7 yikes)

The Rural Training Center has begun classes and we have about 10 students taking carpentry, home care, agriculture and business. I will be teaching some and primarily helping to make sure the foundation of the school is strong...mission statement, constitution, policies/procedures, budgeting, manager and teacher training.