Week 5

Hi Everybody!Well, tomorrow I leave for the wonderful island of Epi. I'm excitedto see where I'll be living for the next two years and to talk toElaine again (the volunteer I'm replacing). I must also admit thatI'm a little excited to shower with hot water and in a room with light– it'll be a nice change to be able to see what may be in the showerwith me! Hopefully, several pictures will attach to this email thatwill show you not only that I am healthy and happy, but also some ofthe more memorable moments of the past few weeks and some of thepeople I have been spending it with. I also know that you all arereally wondering what a mother hubbard dress actually looks like, soI've tried to get pictures that will help you better understand thegarment.The first picture is of my little sister Bianca and our neighborJoanna. Notice that both are wearing matching mother hubbards –together, the terrible two are very cute. Joanna, age 3, is much moreoutgoing than Bianca. Whenever she sees me, Joanna singaots"stepany!", and often accompanies it with a little song and dance.Bianca is friends with Joanna, and the two are very good at makingtrouble. Bianca is starting to warm up to me, and stares at mewithout running away now. Maybe, by the time I leave Emua for Epi,she'll let me hug her. Just maybe.The second picture shows one of our trainers, Richard, also wearing amother hubbard. He's performing a skit with the other trainers tohelp explain to us dating in the village. Not everything is boringclass stuff all the time – that day we learned and laughed at the sametime! Dating here is different than in the US; it's nonexistant.Richard was demonstrating to us how a male will ask his female cousinto talk to a girl he's interested in to tell her of his interest.
\u003cbr /\>In the third picture, you will see Salome, one of my neighbors on the\u003cbr /\>left side, and Liline, my 11 year old sister on the right side. The\u003cbr /\>picture doesn\'t show it too well, but the two of them had just done my\u003cbr /\>hair. I have a very untraditional hair style of three pigtails. And\u003cbr /\>while we\'re talking about my hair, I had a very interesting lesson in\u003cbr /\>vocabulary. "Benem" is the Bislama word for fold, bend and braid.\u003cbr /\>"Bonem" is very similar, but normally it means to bear, carry; most\u003cbr /\>often used to mean being pregnant or to be born. I was trying to\u003cbr /\>explain to people in Bislama why I had three pigtails, and everybody\u003cbr /\>seemed really confused. And then I looked up some words in my\u003cbr /\>dictionary and realized that I was telling people Liline and Salome\u003cbr /\>gave birth to my hair. But in the end, people laughed and I learned\u003cbr /\>for sure the meaning of two words.\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>The fourth picture shows me with our neighbor, Joanna. Notice we\'re\u003cbr /\>both wearing mother hubbards. And the look on my face is telling\u003cbr /\>Leisei, who is taking the picture, that she\'s holding the camera\u003cbr /\>upside down. Next in the line of photos is a very good one of Edmund,\u003cbr /\>my 8 year old host brother. Edmund, I\'ve decided, is the cutest kid\u003cbr /\>in the village. He\'s very well behaved, is quiet, and is always\u003cbr /\>willing to play card games with me. These pictures are all taken in\u003cbr /\>the living area of the house (normally, I would consider it a kitchen,\u003cbr /\>but since all the cooking is done in another house, this room isn\'t\u003cbr /\>really a kitchen).\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>I better stop there – it has already taken me an hour to upload these\u003cbr /\>five pictures, and they\'re not even finished yet. I have a few more\u003cbr /\>pictures I want to share, but I\'ll save those for another time. But\u003cbr /\>if you would like to see pictures from people in my group, we\'ve\u003cbr /\>",1]
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Richard is pretending to be the female cousin.In the third picture, you will see Salome, one of my neighbors on theleft side, and Liline, my 11 year old sister on the right side. Thepicture doesn't show it too well, but the two of them had just done myhair. I have a very untraditional hair style of three pigtails. Andwhile we're talking about my hair, I had a very interesting lesson invocabulary. "Benem" is the Bislama word for fold, bend and braid."Bonem" is very similar, but normally it means to bear, carry; mostoften used to mean being pregnant or to be born. I was trying toexplain to people in Bislama why I had three pigtails, and everybodyseemed really confused. And then I looked up some words in mydictionary and realized that I was telling people Liline and Salomegave birth to my hair. But in the end, people laughed and I learnedfor sure the meaning of two words.The fourth picture shows me with our neighbor, Joanna. Notice we'reboth wearing mother hubbards. And the look on my face is tellingLeisei, who is taking the picture, that she's holding the cameraupside down. Next in the line of photos is a very good one of Edmund,my 8 year old host brother. Edmund, I've decided, is the cutest kidin the village. He's very well behaved, is quiet, and is alwayswilling to play card games with me. These pictures are all taken inthe living area of the house (normally, I would consider it a kitchen,but since all the cooking is done in another house, this room isn'treally a kitchen).I better stop there – it has already taken me an hour to upload thesefive pictures, and they're not even finished yet. I have a few morepictures I want to share, but I'll save those for another time. Butif you would like to see pictures from people in my group, we've
\u003ca onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\" href\u003d\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/peacecorps20a\" target\u003d_blank\>www.flickr.com/photos/peacecor\u003cwbr /\>ps20a\u003c/a\> I\'ve put a few up, and there\'s a\u003cbr /\>few there already from people in my group. I wish I could describe\u003cbr /\>what\'s happening in every one to all of you, but you\'d probably get\u003cbr /\>bored after the first 15.\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>Now, moving on to what has happened to me recently. Last week, there\u003cbr /\>was a bigfala wedding in a satellite village of Emua. It was very\u003cbr /\>interesting to watch everything, from the payment of the bride price\u003cbr /\>to the feasting of several animals by pretty much everybody in the\u003cbr /\>village to the actual events of the ceremony. I was excited to get\u003cbr /\>some real meat that did not come out of a can, and there was\u003cbr /\>definitely a lot of it since so many people had to eat. The concept\u003cbr /\>of family in Vanuatu is not as nuclear as it is in the US, and\u003cbr /\>everyone in the village was somehow related to the people getting\u003cbr /\>married. Luckily for us PC people, we were allowed to come since\u003cbr /\>everybody else in our village was already there. If you go to the\u003cbr /\>flickr website, several of the pictures there were taken during the\u003cbr /\>wedding. (Other pictures up were from a party some of our male\u003cbr /\>volunteers had after a futbol tournament (those are the pictures with\u003cbr /\>boys covered in frosting). More should be put up soon – I think I\'m\u003cbr /\>only in one so far (you can only see my back and I\'m wearing my mother\u003cbr /\>hubbard).\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>The following Sunday was Mother\'s Day (by the way, happy Mother\'s Day\u003cbr /\>everybody!) Part of the festivities of the day included a really long\u003cbr /\>Mother\'s Day ceremony in our village\'s clubhouse. The trainees\u003cbr /\>decided to put on a little skit, and the girls dressed as guys and the\u003cbr /\>guys wore mother hubbards. Unfortunately, I was in my room writing a\u003cbr /\>",1]
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started a flickr website. It's really easy to find:www.flickr.com/photos/peacecorps20a I've put a few up, and there's afew there already from people in my group. I wish I could describewhat's happening in every one to all of you, but you'd probably getbored after the first 15.Now, moving on to what has happened to me recently. Last week, therewas a bigfala wedding in a satellite village of Emua. It was veryinteresting to watch everything, from the payment of the bride priceto the feasting of several animals by pretty much everybody in thevillage to the actual events of the ceremony. I was excited to getsome real meat that did not come out of a can, and there wasdefinitely a lot of it since so many people had to eat. The conceptof family in Vanuatu is not as nuclear as it is in the US, andeveryone in the village was somehow related to the people gettingmarried. Luckily for us PC people, we were allowed to come sinceeverybody else in our village was already there. If you go to theflickr website, several of the pictures there were taken during thewedding. (Other pictures up were from a party some of our malevolunteers had after a futbol tournament (those are the pictures withboys covered in frosting). More should be put up soon – I think I'monly in one so far (you can only see my back and I'm wearing my motherhubbard).The following Sunday was Mother's Day (by the way, happy Mother's Dayeverybody!) Part of the festivities of the day included a really longMother's Day ceremony in our village's clubhouse. The traineesdecided to put on a little skit, and the girls dressed as guys and theguys wore mother hubbards. Unfortunately, I was in my room writing a
participating. It was very funny, and all the mamas laughed really\u003cbr /\>loudly seeing our male volunteers wearing mother hubbard dresses. I\u003cbr /\>know some pictures are on the flickr website, they are worth checking\u003cbr /\>out if you are even more curious about mother hubbards \u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>Back to what I was saying (I\'m sorry, I\'m a little obsessed about\u003cbr /\>getting these pictures uploaded, it\'s now taken me about two hours),\u003cbr /\>everything is going well. I\'m ready to go on wokabaot after over 5\u003cbr /\>weeks in country, but also a little nervous. I feel as if I really\u003cbr /\>lucked out because my site is easier to get to; I only have one plane\u003cbr /\>ride and one truck ride, whereas some people in my group have boat\u003cbr /\>rides and longer truck rides in addition to a plane ride. Maybe it\'s\u003cbr /\>not really that easy; I\'ll let you know when I get back!\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>Steph\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>Emails are great! \u003ca onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\" href\u003d\"mailto:volunteer@vu.peacecorps.gov\"\>volunteer@vu.peacecorps.gov\u003c/a\> (send your home address\u003cbr /\>– I\'m a doofus and don\'t have my address book with me, so if you want\u003cbr /\>a response, I need your address!)\u003cbr /\>\u003cbr /\>Or snail mail:\u003cbr /\>\u003c/div\>",1]
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letter when this was planned, so I took pictures instead ofparticipating. It was very funny, and all the mamas laughed reallyloudly seeing our male volunteers wearing mother hubbard dresses. Iknow some pictures are on the flickr website, they are worth checkingout if you are even more curious about mother hubbards Back to what I was saying (I'm sorry, I'm a little obsessed aboutgetting these pictures uploaded, it's now taken me about two hours),everything is going well. I'm ready to go on wokabaot after over 5weeks in country, but also a little nervous. I feel as if I reallylucked out because my site is easier to get to; I only have one planeride and one truck ride, whereas some people in my group have boatrides and longer truck rides in addition to a plane ride. Maybe it'snot really that easy; I'll let you know when I get back!StephEmails are great! volunteer@vu.peacecorps.gov (send your home address– I'm a doofus and don't have my address book with me, so if you wanta response, I need your address!)Or snail mail:
\u003cspan class\u003dsg\>Stephanie Oegema\u003cbr /\>Peace Corps/Vanuatu\u003cbr /\>PMB 9097\u003cbr /\>Port Vila\u003cbr /\>Vanuatu\u003cbr /\>SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN\u003cbr /\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/div\>",0]
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Stephanie OegemaPeace Corps/VanuatuPMB 9097Port VilaVanuatu