Viva Port Vila!

Living it up in Port Vila, the capital city of Vanuatu...enjoying the luxuries of tourists.

Sailing the ocean blue...the beautiful boat, Alvei An international crew from Canada, Germany, Italy & US delivers

medical supplies to outer islands and lives on board.

The crew invited volunteers (Peace Corps, Aus, NZ) and locals to join them for a day on board Alvei...diving off the sails, storian, eating, drinking and being merry...Ahoy matey!

Here is Mariko, Daisy and me. Mariko was a PCV several years ago and came back to work for the summer. She left that evening to go back to the States :(

Daisy and Steve (not pictured) have an NGO...specializing in disaster management, specifically volcanoes. They're volcanologists...super cool, right? They're heading to do some work in Fiji in a couple months. I've enjoyed hanging out with them in Vila.

Jani and Lizzie, volunteers based on Efate (Port Vila's island), have given the kids in Pango village a way to earn money for school fees by teaching them fire dancing. Here are some pics from a show they performed at a resort this weekend that I assisted them with lighting and putting out the fires. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.

My Mama in Paama...we survived!

Mom arrived on a sunny afternoon to Port Vila, the capital and was harrassed at airport customs...the reason? Racial profiling, darn it. She had brought over a couple suitcases full of t-shirts and goodies for my village as well as food for me and customs thought we would be selling them here. See, many of the shops here are owned by Chinese families so they assumed we were one of them and wanted to charge a 20,000 vatu (approx $200) import tax. Of course, I let him have it...explaining to him that I was a Peace Corps volunteer, living on the outer islands, giving my life to Vanuatu for 2 years, etc. He sent me back to talk to a "bigman" and I proceeded to spill the same sob story to him. After my persuasive speech, he gave in and let us go without paying. My mom's first taste of Vanuatu was certainly not a pleasant one but we got over it.

A few days in Port Vila indulging...then a 40 min plane ride to Paama. Shocked that we landed on a grass runway, we then trekked past a couple grazing cows and gawking families to the stone beach to await boat transport.



The boat dropped us off at Liro, the commercial center of Paama and we visited the Mama's market to purchase some produce. My mom was a great sport and shook hands with...everyone. We then headed to my house...here she is on the path up to it.

My Mamas


Mom at my front door donned in island dress!

Mom and I attended SDA church on Saturday

Mom was eager to take a canoe ride with my papa and

we even took the canoe to get to the airport...an hour paddle!

In front of the RTC, where I work

It was incredible to have my mom here to see where I am living and working. She comments about how this is the way people lived 100 years ago in China...well, her daughter is living that life now! Both my mom and dad will be paying me a visit here next year. Looking forward to that! I miss you DAD!

In other news...I'M COMING HOME TO VISIT FOR THE HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!! :)

Life in Paama

RTC class

Alex teaching

RTC teachers and student building a bread oven That's my house on the left side on the hill

Alex, Brianna, Rob and I singing at church

The Tahi area futbol (soccer) team

View of Lepevi volcano from Paama. Brianna and I at the mama's market for an RTC fundraiser

Paama sunset

One of my favorite kids, Jamie

Kindie Day in June 26 and Children’s Day July 24
Special national holidays are set aside each year for kindergarten aged children in Vanuatu…the kids march and there are speeches, food and games. Children’s Day, likewise started with a march as the kids chant…SEL-USA (Selusa is the primary school name and means “to work together”) of course I loved the USA part. The kids were greeted with flowers and then swam in powder (see previous blog entry about what that means :-) We had a lunch of rice with foul (chicken), lap lap, fruit and then played games…balloon toss with plastic bags, tug-of-war, rice bag race…to name a few.

Perks of Peace Corps...what shall we do today?

Brianna (PCV in nearby village and A Basket for Change partner), Alex, Rob (GAP volunteers from England) and myself journeyed to Futakai on the south of Paama to visit the tourist bungalows. We journeyed by foot, along the coast, jumping large boulders and stones that circumvent Paama…going barefoot like the Ni-Vanuatu do. The views and serenity of the hike was beautiful. We passed other villages on the way, greeting people who were all impressed that “white man” could make the trek.

"White man's" trek south

Samon Bay bungalows in Futakai was well maintained with a “restaurant” and two guesthouses, a nice beach, snorkeling and quiet surroundings. Sam, the owner and operator served tea and we storied about the potential to promote tourism in Paama. (I believe we were the first and only tourists) After a couple shells of kava, we had a candlelit dinner of rice, foul (chicken), island cabbage and pomplemousse (comparable to grapefruit) among the coconut trees, fresh breeze, chirping insects and ocean waves lightly crashing nearby. Sleeping well after kava and an organic meal, we awoke to a cool morning…yoga and a stroll on the beach. Then snorkeling, lunch and a two hour trek back to Tahi (my village) and Liro (Bre, Alex and Rob’s village).

In addition to what felt like a short vacation from village life, the following weekend we journeyed by boat to Lepevi volcano. Unfortunately, the rough waters made the ride unsettling for Bre and my stomachs but, the views from Lepevi were breathtaking. Alex and Rob along with some Ni-Vanuatu spent the night camping and feasting on fresh catch…plentiful fish and…a SHARK!

Here’s Alex gutting it…

Lepevi volcano climb

View from Lepevi...Paama in the distance
More fish!

The following weekend, Brianna, Alex and I took a boat out to Malau reef (just south of my village) to snorkel. It was a perfect sunny and breezy day as we anchored and swam with the colorful fish and sea life. On our way back, we were greeted by dolphins swimming alongside the boat, racing us. Then a doudong (sea cow) trudged nearby with small flying fish skimming the water. A first experience for me…

These excursions at Samon bungalows, Lepevi and Malau gave us a preview of what tourists might experience in Paama. Currently a committee is working on developing tourism in Paama and Brianna, as part of her job is working with them to analyze and advise. While Pentecost has land diving, Tanna with Yasur volcano and Port Vila’s resorts…these tourist hotspots are the places to visit when coming to Vanuatu for the first time. As for Paama…I believe its attraction is the quiet, reclusive, peaceful atmosphere where visitors can climb and camp at Lepevi volcano island, go fishing, dolphin watching, see custom dances and experience village life. Paama…Your private island getaway.

Battle of the churches…SDA v. Presbyterian

More drama in Paama…so, my Mama Eva belongs to the SDA church and so do many of the mamas I am close to…they attend Sabbath on Saturday, sing English songs, do not drink kava, eat pig or crab…guess I'm out of the club. However, I enjoy the Saturdays with them and they are always gracious and welcoming. After service, we sit together and eat lunch under a magnificent mango tree with the Paama hills hugging us…it’s quite beautiful and peaceful. We eat, storian and then close Sabbath with the AY (Adventist Youth) program…memory verses, singing and Nature talks. There is a visiting minister who comes to serve for 2 years and then moves to another island.

SDA church and baptisms

Now, Papa Isaiah belongs to the Presbyterian church and there are Presbyterian churches in each village which disperses the congregation number (one SDA church for 5 villages), local elders lead the Presbyterian sermons and attendance tends to be low in Tahi …so needless to say, the strength of the Presbyterian church is lacking and while my Papa does not attend church avidly, he has recently demanded that my Mama no longer attend the SDA church. She has yet to go to the Presbyterian church and instead, observes Sabbath on Saturday at home. There are also rumors or what is known here as “coconut wireless” that people from both churches talk negatively about each other…which I do not doubt given the situation.

Prebyterian church

Obviously, this has caused some tension…although I’ve noticed that the Ni-Vanuatu culture is a quite passive-aggressive one so it has not caused major issues that are apparent to me. However, because of this division, I worry about showing any favortism...so it's a good thing each group attends church on different days because if you are ever wondering what Amy might be doing on Saturday or Sunday, it’s likely that you can assume and picture me donned in island dress singing “Jesus lives in you, Jesus lives in me.”