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.”

Lisepsep…Paama’s phantom troll people

During my time here in Vanuatu, I’ve storied with the Ni-Vanuatu about custom medicine…using leaves and herbal remedies to cure ailments (my host papa is often called upon for this), black magic…curses can be put on people using spells cast on that victim’s hair (for example) and recently I’ve been hearing about Lisepsep…Paama’s phantom troll people.

The story goes that there is a colony of people who live in the bush of Paama. They’re described as small, troll-like people with long hair, are naked except for leaves covering their tabu areas. There are families of Lisepsep people…papas, mamas, kids, babies who live in caves or underground (I picture a naked Barney Rubble with long hair holding a spear and mama Rubble with baby strapped to her back.) My papa claims, I mean , says that he often sees their footprints around the house and are known to sneak in the kitchen to take food out of the pots while leaving a trail of crumbs (not that the kids here don’t mostly go barefoot and drop their food all about).

You can laugh or think this outrageous but recall we have tales of bigfoot, UFOs, the lochness monster…so believe it or not…

Think I’ll journey on a Lisepsep hunt into the bush one of these days…

New Zealand...the South Island Part 2

Flew to Wellington where I stayed the evening at a backpackers (hostel)...my backpack didn't make it and I just wandered the city and hiked the botanical gardens solo and got my pack just before my flight to Christchurch.

The South Island of New Zealand was breathtaking...roadtripping with my travel buddy, Alex from WI. Him and his twin, Adam bought a car for $900 (a Lancer, conveniently named Lance) to drive around and find work. They picked fruit in the North Island for a few weeks and met people along the way (Faustine and Tebo from France pictured). Adam continued to find work and hitchhike (lots of people do it here, guys and gals and we even picked up a fella from Belgium for a short ride) while Alex and I ventured south.

We drove (me too...on the left side AND stick shift!) from Christchurch west and then south, cruising by Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers...amazing. Camping in the car and stopping off for photo ops and lookouts. Much of the scenery...the rolling hills and tree lines could be comparable to Montana/Yellowstone and the northwest US then add the snow capped alps in the distance. The trees and mountains were so beautiful and I got to have my fall and winter that I missed out on in the states.

One evening we stopped off to check out the ocean and the waves were furious...I've never seen them this rough, loud and powerful...you could just feel the energy. Alex wanted to get closer and...you can probably guess, we were drenched by an unsuspected wave. Exhilarating but frigid.

The wildlife there consisted of mostly sheep...lots of them. Four sheep to one Kiwi (New Zealander). Milk cows, horses, deer/elk mix were also seen grazing. There is a possum problem so roadkill was abundant and all survived that crossed our path.

We clocked alot of miles (km here)...driving and stopping throughout the day then sleeping in the car a couple days and waking up to a beautiful backdrop of lakes and mountains. Campfire in Te Anau, SNOW, rain and fog in Milford Sound on the west coast. Headed to Dunedin on the east coast then to the southern tip Invercargill and north to our final destination Queenstown.

Queenstown is known as an adventure sports town. Quaint but busy with shops, restaurants, backpackers and trendy locals. We decided to bungy jump off the bridge which is where bungy originated in 1987. The fall was about 150 feet. As I begin to get harnessed in...music is playing and "No Diggity" comes on! (This was a freshman year UNC theme song) It was a message from home and gave me the guts to jump. It was intense, exhilarating but short...I wanted to do it again.

We later took a gondola up to a hill lookout where we rode the luge...it was like go-cart racing but with no motor...nonetheless you FLEW. I was schooling Alex at the beginning but he came through and passed me near the end. I thought I had him! Funny thing, even though bungying was intense...luging came pretty close.

What a phenomenal two weeks in NZ...hanging with my mom (thank you mom and dad for my amazing life) then roadtripping with Alex (thanks for the laughs, tangents and Lance). Now a few days in Port Vila to indulge and back to site in a couple days. It will be tough to unwind and get back into the swing of "island time" but Paama is the place to do it...I do miss my host family and village and look forward to seeing them again.

Thank y'all for all the encouragement and support...y'all give me the strength to embrace the difficult times here as well as to enjoy the solitude and slow pace of life that I will surely miss one day.