Food and wish list :)

Food I miss...
My dad's cooking
Chik Fil A nuggets, waffle fries with polynesian sauce and milk shake
Cracker Barrel veggie plate with cornbread, biscuit, apple butter and sweet tea
Biscuitville biscuit
Bojangles
Kings Inn
Thanksgiving turkey, green bean casserole, stuffing, pumpkin pie with cool whip
and so much more...

Some of you have asked what to send...Here's my wish list :)
dried fruit
condiment packets
syrup
hot sauce
sealed candy
small snack packs
contact paper
magazines (time, snowboarding, Nat'l Geo(we get Newsweek)
outdoor thermometer
doritos or sunchips
anything that does not need refridgeration
air freshner (not the spray kind, the ones that you stick or stand)
PICTURES OF Y'ALL
I know there is more but I can't think of them right now! Anything is wonderful to receive over here. THANK YOU for the packages and letters...Heather (Triplett) McNamara, Timeri & Jon, Hagan, April, Annie, Lauran and of course MOM, my cousins Monica and Robert Li.

Lindsay's correct blog address

The Chi-town gal, Lindsay, who I've talked about has a blog with a few pics up. Sorry I haven't been able to post but it takes way too long here. They will get up there eventually.

lindsaypeacecorps.blogspot.com

My last day in Port Vila

There is so much I want to tell y'all but time in the city is limited so it will come later.

Today is my last full day in the city...6 other volunteers have left and it was sad to see them leave. We will all see each other again in March for ESC (Early service conference). Our group has bonded and everyone is so vastly different in personality but the path we have chosen connects us. This can easily be said for my NC friends and Chi-town crew...and I wish so much that y'all could be here...or that I can beam myself to y'all for a hug right now.

I'm excited but terrified about life in Tahi, Paama. Will I fully integrate? Will my Rural Training Center succeed? Will my physical limits be stretched to a breaking point? Will I miss home too much? The language is actually so easy (which is a blessing) but it's hard to express yourself fully. One word can have a multitude of meanings so there are few adjectives to describe things.

I am getting a solar power panel so I will get some power in my house...just one lightbulb and my laptop. I'm hoping to find a fan today. SUMMER is definitely here and it's so odd. Christmas music and summer just don't fit. I heard Chi-town had a downpouring of snow and I can just imagine being all bundled up with hat, scarf, gloves, coat drudging to work in the blistering cold but beautiful snow. I never would have thought I would miss that...but I do so much.

I will post my satellite phone # and email address in the right margin...I can receive texts and calls. And this will save my sanity. I will of course appreciate snail mail so if you would like to write my address is also in the margin.

Amy Chan
Peace Corps Volunteer
Liro, Paama
Republic of Vanuatu
Phone: 00816-4148-7746
email to come

Missing home...

The Prophecy of TAZ

Okay...so Lindsay (gal from Chi) and Mariel have given me the name Taz. How fitting some of you are thinking now. Bouncing off the walls, hyper and happy. As you may know now, I am in Port Vila for the weekend and enjoying "city life". Have gotten to know some other Peace Corps Volunteers. Oh, I still need to upload my entries about our swearing in ceremony and that we are officially Peace Corps Volunteers now and not just trainees. Hip hip hooray!!! (Our trainer actually let that chant) So, life is great right now with showers (hot and cold), toilets, ice cream, A/C, cold drinks and English speakers. Fantastic. Even going to get sushi tonight. 2 more days of luxury...then off to Tahi, Paama.

Took our 21B group to eat chinese food and we had a feast...family style of course with the lazy susan...there were 13 of us and I was soaking up all the chinese I got to talk with the owner and her family...made me miss my family and my dad's food! What I would do for that right now.

Spent the past few days shopping for stuff...house stuff and there's no Target or Walmart to buy everything but there are Chinese shops that have pretty decent stuff. I'm looking forward to getting my house set up...so nesting will do me good when I get to Tahi and the entire country of Vanuatu is on holiday until end of January practically. Truia! (that's an affirmation in Bislama) So, since it is summer here on the southern hemisphere, we have hot, sunny holidays...a far cry from the blistering cold of Chicago. Because of this heat and the holidays...Ni Vans do not do alot of work during Dec and Jan. It's spel (rest) time in Vanuatu...so no matter how bad the mosquitoes and heat are, I know I should appreciate the "vacation" time. Remind me of that when I have my second breakdown :)

I will write more later and appreciate your emails...if I don't write back, try me again just in case I didn't receive it. Use amyhchan@gmail.com until Dec 5 and volunteer@vu.peacecorps.gov (sub: AMY) after Dec 5.

The Journey

There have been current volunteers in the training village and they have been wonderful... technical training for teacher trainers, IT and RTC (Rural Training Centers, that’s me) There are three girls who have also taught us book making, sewing, cooking and other creative activities…it has been such a release and so refreshing. Therapy. It will help me get through the next two years.

Janey, one of the trainers has been a blessing. She’s in her 30’s, from ATL, yoga instructor and we have similar paths. We’ve been doing yoga and talking about the “spiritual journey” that Peace Corps can be. I’m sorry if this is cheesy for some of you to read but I’ve come to realize that not only am I here to help the Rural Training Center and my new community but I am here for me…to find my inner self, to absorb, think, read, write, meditate, pray and create. What I do each day is my choice instead of being dictated by my Outlook calendar. I must embrace it. This won’t be easy and of course my physical wimpy-ness may be my downfall!

And then there is Dominique who has shown us an amazing side of Vanuatu...the bountiful and enormous Pacific Ocean is her playground. We snorkel and she points out all the sea -life...starfish, huge clams, sea turtle and even sharks. AND kava. She is the co-chair of the kava guild and gave us the official intro to the kava world. Thank you, Dom.

Mark my words, despite breakdowns, I will get through these two years. There, I said it. I have to say that getting emails from you all are so wonderful…my sanity is revived and my mental stability balanced. Thank you.

We are sworn in officially as Peace Corps Volunteers on Thanksgiving, then a few days in Port Vila to buy things for our site, enjoy the city, take showers, use the internet and eat ICE CREAM! I believe I leave for Tahi, Paama on December 2 and the two years will finally begin…ready or not.

So, what am I doing here?

So, more details about what I will be doing work-wise. I will be supporting Edward Harris the Vaum Rural Training Center Manager with teaching, operations, recruitment of students (there are none!), teacher training and other income generating projects. The RTC was started in 2005 by Jamie, a past volunteer and since then there has been another teacher but following him, two trainees who went to wokabaot but ETed (early termination) afterwards for various reasons. So…the RTC has not had students for over a year it needs some maintenance. The walls are cinder block grey and too dark…so I hope to paint them white as my first project.

The RTC is essentially a vocational school for the community and school drop outs to learn skills that can be used to sustain the local economy/village. Classes offered include carpentry, business skills, home care (cooking/nutrition, sewing) and mechanics (although we don’t have a teacher yet). I still need to figure out how mechanics works since there are no cars on the island…just boat engines and a few generators. I also didn’t notice much equipment so resources are limited. There is an association that supports RTCs called VRDTCA (they call it vodka essentially :) with teacher modules and how to obtain funding. Graduated RTC students then get certificates from VRDTCA that can be used to strengthen their resume.

Edward and I will be visiting nearby villages to recruit students and I also want to survey locals on what is needed.

We are learning about income generating projects next week and I already plan to do a sewing workshop. I also want to look into a faol (chicken) project in order to build a hen house for chickens to lay eggs and then sell them at the mama’s market along with the crafts from sewing. There is a nearby fisheries board that has an ice machine so that local fishermen can get money for their fresh catches which are flown to Port Vila for sale. There’s also a need for awareness workshops to encourage kava, sandlewood and vanilla growing but it’s more long term. Kava takes 3-5 years to grow!

Sorry, I rambled but I am pumped about the opportunity at the RTC. More on it once I am at site.

OHBAMA!!!!!

Read Obama’s victory speech at Grant Park…to think it was just blocks away from my office downtown! One part made me cry...Not only did he speak to me as a proud American but he says…“And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores…to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.” The moment that I heard Obama won was in Tahi, Paama…drinking a shell of kava with my host papa and my counterpart walks over with a static-y radio tuned to Air Vanuatu. It was night, there were no lights, just the stars and crescent moon above looking down at my story. It was surreal.

I have loved the emails I’ve received about your elections experiences. Both Timeri and Rob out there bringing in the votes! So proud of you for your commitment! I drink a shell to you!