Hi everybody!

Firstly, here's an email address that all volunteers can have mail sent to, so if you want to send me something while I'm in the training village of Emua, send it to volunteer@vu.peacecorps.gov , put my name in the subject line, and it will be printed out and sent to me. I personally won't have email access, but that will motivate me to write letters (and about a month from now, you'll get answers to any questions you ask). If you do this (I'd really like you to), keep in mind that these emails will be printed of be a PC employee, and pretty much anybody can read what is written. But this is a much quicker method than sending snail mail on our side.

Sunday, almost all of us went to a tourist/vacation spot called Hideaway Island. The pictures attached are ones that were taken there. As you can see, we all are working very hard, and my underwater camera is being put to good use. After swimming so much in fresh water and pool water, learning how to move around in salt water (solwata in Bislama) was difficult. I kept getting salt up my nose and in my throat, but seeing coral and fish were well worth the burning pain.

This week has been a lot of sitting down and learning. Except when I had my entry interview with the country director and my vaccinations (I had six! - eight was the number required, but some unfortunate people needed 7 or 8, so I couldn't complain much; but I do feel as if I've been punched in both shoulders. Good thing we practiced, Tabbi!) Yesterday, we started learning Bislama, and I can say a few things. Nem blong me Stephanie. Me mekem wok blong Pis Ko. Me kakae frut mo bred evridei. Simple sentences, but hopefully soon I'll be able to hold a conversation!

Everybody here is very nice, but the culture is different. I'm starting to get used to life here in Port Vila, yet I know pretty soon I'll have to readjust to another way of life. Here's a typical day for me:

The sun rises here about 6:00 a.m., and depending on how late I stayed up, I usually get up between 6:00 and 6:30. My roommate, Erin, likes to take showers in the morning (so far, we've all stayed relatively clean!), so I lay in bed for a little bit before I climb down from my bunk and start fussing. After Erin is done with her shower, I go in the bathroom to brush my teeth, go to the bathroom, brush my hair, and change clothes. I then look for breakfast. Most of the time, I already have food that I picked up the night before from the supermarket (Bon Marche is very nice - it is like a small Meijer!). I might study Bislama a little, or talk to other people. Then, several of us will leave for the PC office, which is about a ten minute walk away from our hotel. Usually, we stop at Bon Marche for some snacks, and then get to the office. From 8:00-noonish, we are taught something (everything from safety & security, Bislama, food/water/diarrhea session, about natural disasters, diseases we are likely to come in contact with; mostly things that are scary to think about, but are things we need to know). Then we have lunch for an hour. I usually pack my lunch with things I bought at the Bon Marche the day before, but some people go to the Cybercafe on the corner or go into town to the deli. (The PC office is in the part of town called "Numbatu", meaning "number two". The downtown area is known as "Numbawan", meaning "number one". The area of town farthest away from downtown is called "Numbatri".) After lunch, we all come back to learn some more until 5ish, when we are finally released. Most people are brain dead by this time, and aren't able to learn anymore. I have the benefit of recent schooling, so I'm probably more used to it than some of the older members of my group. Then, we walk back to the hotel, where some people eat food they got from the store, and others decide which restaurant to eat dinner at. I've done both things; last night I even ate pizza! By this time most days, it has started raining, and it sort of breaks up the heat a little, but most of us are covered in jackets and get warm anyway. The sun goes down around 6:30p.m., and it gets dark fast. Slowly, people find their way back to the hotel. Then, I choose to do homework and study Bislama a little, others play card games (no one knows how to play euchre, so I've had to learn a few other games to play), or just sit and talk. We are just starting to acclimate to the early darkness, so by 9:30/10: 00p.m., most everybody has gone to bed.

Everything is so nice here - our hotel has running water, and the maid makes our beds for us. But I can't wait to go out to the training village to learn how to rough it! Yesterday, I tried to do my own laundry using the bathroom sink and elbow grease, and gave up after doing my little things. Maybe my host mama will show me a better way next week.

I'll try to check my email one more time before I leave, so please write back!
or send snail mail:

Stephanie Oegema
Peace Corps/Vanuatu
PMB 9097 (it stands for Personal Mail Bag)
Port Vila
Republic of VANUATU
SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN

or write to volunteer@vu.peacecorps.gov to have emails printed out for me after Sunday.

love!
Steph