Some pics of our first days in Vanuatu

The descent to Auckland, New Zealand

My training group 21B (Lindsay, who I met in Chi is in the front)

Drinking kava

Hideaway Island where we spent a relaxing day. There's an underwater mail box!

The Peace Corps Office

Our hotel...luxurious compared to where we will be living for the next 2 years.

April and Dee's Girls are Born!

Meet Caroline Mae Carter

and Cora Elizabeth Carter
Born on September 20th, both at 17.75 inches long and weighing 4 pounds, 10 ounces.

April and girls are doing well. I can't wait to meet them.

KAVA

As many of you know, I’ve been so excited about kava. Two of the current volunteers…the president and vice president of the Peace Corps Kava Guild gave us a run down…here are a few details and rules about drinking kava.

• Made of a root that is ground up…sometimes through a meat grinder but best when chewed up (ewh but better and potency can depend on this) then strained.
• Served in bowls called shells.
• Tastes and looks pretty terrible…like green, muddy water.
• You should drink an entire shell in one gulp and should drink with someone.
• You should drink to something or someone.
• The first sensation is numbness of your mouth.
• Spitting is accepted and expected.
• You become sensitive to sound and light so conversations are quiet, no flash photography or light.
• Kava bars are called nakamals consists of outside benches, chairs with little to no lighting and soft voices.

We took a few shells of kava, enjoyed each others company and especially drilled the current PCVs with questions. Overall, we’ve been told again and again that Vanuatu is one of the most amazing locations to serve though not without its challenges.

Pics to come...

The beginning days

DAY 1
There were issues with getting four onto the flight to Port Vila since they were waitlisted so after several hours on the phone and bribing the counter attendant, they got on. I took the reigns on this and have since been called the “Mom” of the group. I know you are not surprised.

Once we arrived at Port Vila we entered through the “Vanuatu citizens and residents” line which really made it real for us. Again, I checked names off as all 21 of us received our 2 year Vanuatu resident visas. As each of us exited the airport, we were greeted by the country director, Eddie, Peace Corps staff and several volunteers. We were lei’ed with beautiful flowers, wrapped with a sarong and given a coconut to drink.

Piled into a couple buses (more like small vans but called buses) we were given a quick tour of Port Vila and headed to the hotel which we are to stay for the next week. We met some more staff, mostly who are native Ni Vanuatus and prepped with safety and security information. Still not showered or rested after the 20+ hour travel day, we were given the “kava talk” and headed to our first nakamal (kava bar). More on that later...

Day 2
There are 3 other PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees) who live in Chicago and we found a current PCV who took us at 8am to see the Cubs v. Cardinals game. We were ecstatic to get a little piece of the Wrigleyville energy clear across the Pacific.

Some of us spent the rest of the day at Hideaway Island and snorkeled. It’s a coral beach so it was rough on the feet but beautiful. There’s also an underwater postal box!

The country director, Eddie, invited us over for tea at his home that afternoon and his wife made a spread of cookies, breads and local fruits…so delicious.

You can only guess what some of us did that evening…kava, kava, kava!

Day 3
Training begins...culture, language, disaster, survival and so on...
Got 4 shots and start malaria pills later this week…a swell time.

Let's go to New Zealand!

Just got off a 12 hour flight from LAX to Auckland, New Zealand and the descent down was breathtaking...the sun rise, mountains silhouetted in the horizon surrounded by a deep blue Pacific ocean. Who's gonna come to New Zealand with me?

So, my training class consists of 21, mostly female...2 couples and 2 who are in their 60's with grown children. Makes me think that 2 years in the grand scheme of life is not that long. There's one fella who is starting his 3rd mission!

We now have a 3 hour flight to Port Vila where we will be greeted by the host country family and other Peace Corps Volunteers currently serving. Training for the next 3 months will be intense and once we successfuly train, we graduate to become officially Peace Corps Volunteers in December. We are all anxious and excited.

Full steam ahead...

Mail and contact

Some of you have asked about sending mail/care packages (THANK YOU!) and here are some details and tips...

Address until training in December:
Peace Corps/Vanuatu
PMB 9097
Port Vila
Republic of Vanuatu

Shipping rates:
There is an international flat rate box that my mom has mentioned and you can obtain them from the USPS.

Some tips for mailing:
*Mail can take 4-6 weeks, packages possibly longer
*Postcards should be sent in envelopes--otherwise they may be found on the wall of the local post office.
*Do not mark anything as over $100. Customs will hold on to the package for several months if so.
*When the post office asks what you are mailing- state "Educational Materials."
*Padded envelopes mail much faster than boxes, Customs tends to leave them unopened.
*Obviously better not to mail anything valuable.

*If there is an emergency, contact my mom Catherine at 336.623.8695 and she can reach PC.

And so it begins...

I am off to orientation in LA tomorrow before I leave for Vanuatu on Thursday! Ready to get this show on the road and once in Vanuatu I'll be living with a host family for a few months and then sent to my very own village in December. If you didn't know already, there is only one Peace Corps volunteer per village so we can fully integrate into the community...I hope they like me! :) And thankfully I know someone who will be joining me on the journey...Lindsay, who I got to meet in Chicago...glad to have a buddy starting off!

I've had a blast visiting everyone before I depart and miss y'all already!

I am unsure of how often I will be able to check email or update this blog. You can still email amyhchan@gmail.com but excuse a delay in reply. I will also post travel details for those who plan to visit...come on down! While I am far away with limited internet...please keep me posted on your happenings!

Thanks for all the well wishes and as I've said before...you've helped me get here.