Thursday, January 10, 2008
10 January 2008
Hello, everyone (or in Bislama: Halo, olgeta),It's been a busy two months since the last time I've been in the capital city... I can't believe it's only been two months! I got back to my island before October was over, and a week and a half later, I was on my way to the island on Tongoa to participate in a village health worker training. I didn't do much besides observe, becoming a teacher once to run a session on sexually transmitted infections, HIV and AIDS (a subject I'm very knowledgeable about... or at least I am now). It was a great experience because five other health volunteers were there doing the same thing I was. We were able to talk to each other, to brainstorm ideas for projects, and the three of us that were newer were able to hear stories about what seemed to work and what did not work for the three others. And, of course, we had a lot of fun hanging out together! We were together for Thanksgiving - a day pretty much like the other days of the training, only we watched a movie on Noelle's laptop, using some of her precious battery power. But besides the other volunteers at this training, the other exciting part about it was that I got to travel by... you guessed it, ship! Being an island country, lots of transportation, communication, and lifestyles revolve around the ships. It's very important to the islands... but it sure is a difficult way to travel. On the way down there, I was barely on the ship for an hour before we experienced engine trouble. Then, all of us passengers were brought to shore, where it turned out we were sleeping the night. Of course, I had nothing helpful with me for an overnight stay (it was all on the ship, which isn't really a ship, but an old fishing boat - see picture 2), but it turns out all I really need is a dry mat and it's a good nights' rest. The next day, the engine was fixed, and we were back onboard, on a journey that became more and more like a floating zoo every stop we made. The ships normally stop at every village around the islands, and this journey just needed to go past every village south of mine on the island, and next island would be where we got off. But between my village and Tongoa Island, three cows, several pigs, and two chickens were loaded on. And that's in addition to the three pigs and one cow that were already on the ship when I got on, and all the other cargo. And if you can't tell by looking at the picture, this is a pretty small "ship". And the return journey was even more fun - got on, and it immediately started raining, got sent to sleep ashore at the very south of Epi, spent another whole day on the ship, during which time the weather got worse and worse. We ended up sleeping ashore that night again, and the bad weather (a tropical depression - sort of a precursor to a cyclone) got so bad we were not able get back on the ship. Luckily we were on the right island - before 5 am, I started walking with the other passengers over the flooded roads back to my village. It only took two hours, but the worst part was that all of my clean clothes were still on the ship! It was raining and the water was not running in my village, but I still had to do laundry since I did not know when my luggage would appear. Everything turned out alright, and I've either taken "work on a ship" completely off my list of "things to do while I'm still alive" or definitely left it on there. Riding on the ship was a lot of fun, but I'm not sure if that was because I knew it wouldn't be a very long journey... Before I knew it, it was December, and then December was over. During the first week of December, the new group of volunteers (they swore in the last week of November) arrived on the island. We got three new teachers, one posted about an hour and a half plus walk away from me, one in the very remote south, and one close to my friend, Kristin. (Kristin went through training with me, and was the closest volunteer to me at a 5 hour walk before these three came.) Then, the week after, Dominique, another friend from my training group arrived to spend Christmas with us. We all spent Christmas in the village of Nuvi, on the north west side of Epi, and then New Years' in my village. Despite all this travelling around, I did manage to do some work in the past few months... I decided that since my village wasn't really asking me to do anything and I wasn't sure where I could help, the first thing I should do was do a survey of perceived health problems. It was very interesting and I learned a lot about the way my village works. Hopefully, I'll be able to take the information I gathered to produce done to produce some quality toktoks, posters, workshops, and everything else. So, that's been my two months... and now to explain the pictures that are quite large and probably have taken forever to load on your computers...Number 1: a group picture from Tongoa of all of us health volunteers. This was supposed to be the funny picture, hence the reason why I am displaying my bicep and my farmers tan. Standing next to me is Kevin, another Epi volunteer, then Amanda, Nancy, Noelle, and Sarah. Number 2: the M.V. Brooklyn. It's a very fun way to travel...Number 3: myself and Vivian, standing on top of the Brooklyn. It's very safe, as I'm sure you can see from all of the railings...Number 4: Evelyn (from Lamen Bay, the closest volunteer to me), ready to walk down to Nuvi for Christmas. Yes, I walked the 5 hours from my village with that backpack that is way too big...Number 5: This is our Epi Christmas card picture. Christmas Eve Eve was spent at the beach, and I insisted we take a group picture using the self timer. And when you have six people, of course you have to make a pyramid... Evelyn, Kristin, and Dominique on the bottom, Ryan and myself in the middle, and Jade on top. This was the fourth take, but finally, we were successful! Number 6: Christmas day in Nuvi. So much fun! Us PCVs ended up leading large group games for the village for two hours in the afternoon. I was definitely homesick that day, but that didn't stop me from having fun! And now, Kristin, Dominique and I are flying out to New Zealand for a little break on Saturday morning. We're going to do all the touristy things: eat ice cream, wear pants, be cold...I miss you all!Steph
18 October 2007
Halo bakegen,Mi bin promisem yufala smol pija, mo afta mi bin lukaot olgeta. Naoiami save sendem long yu, mi hopse yufala laekem! (basically, that sayshere are the pictures I promised, and I hope they make your wildestdreams come true)The first one is of my host brother's girlfriend and their nine-monthold daughter Samantha. Well, she was only six months old when thispicture was taken, but she's nine months old now. Samantha is great,she's a very quiet child who loves to see me. Whenever someonecarries her over to my house or I go to where she is, she likes itwhen I saw "Samantha! Hey!" in a high pitched voice. She laughs andmoves her hands up and down, usually hitting whoever is holding her.She's one of few babies in the village, and the one that is the leastscared of my skin color (it's so weird to them - one girl just looksat me, and if it's anybody besides her mama holding her, she startsbawling).The second picture was taken randomly one day when these pikininisshowed up at my house. The pikininis had come over and had asked tocolor, and had produced many worthy artistic works by the time Ithought to take a picture (look at the second to last picture to seethe results. I've had so many produced, I've run out of room and hadto take all of them down to give a chance to the new pictures).Thirdly, is a picture of my garden. Gardens here are located nowherenear our houses; mine is a 15 minute walk away up in the bush. (A 15minute-ravining-with-Tabbi walk away.) Obviously, it needs a littleweeding. Well, not so much anymore because this picture was takenbefore I got my hands and bush knife all dirty. On the ground arelots of kumala vine mixed in with the weeds and a popo tree is in themiddle (just a small one). You can also see a small banana treebehind the popo, some sticks that used to have my long bean vinegrowing on it, and the broad leaved plants on the left are taro.Fourth (namba 56) is a picture of my host papa, Tony, sitting in theaid post just waiting for somebody to show up and give him some workto do. No, I'm kidding, I made him pose. But pay special attentionto the posters in the background - some are kinda funny.Fifth, is a picture taken yesterday after I walked from one side ofPort Vila to the other. Yes, that is sweat, and in case you aren'tvery imaginative, it's in the shape of a bunny rabbit. I think it'sfunny, anywayOkay, now the pictures are a little out of order because I keptremembering good ones I wanted to add. Namba 6 is a picture I took atElaine's las kakae of our nasara family group. I'm not in the picturebecause I was taking it, but all these people are my new relatives.It didn't turn out very well because it was very dark, but notablepeople include Mama Emma on the bottom right in the brown islanddress. Behind her in the red/pink dress is Auntie Lolot, next to themis Lesou (the wonder 10-year-old), in the orange hat in front isMassi, Lesou's little sister, and on the left in the worn purpleisland dress is Mama Lilly. I could name everybody else, but it'dprobably get a little confusing...I already covered picture number 31 (see above, when I talk about thesecond picture, number 37) so I won't say anymore here. Except try toimagine me explaining what some of these pictures actually are of.Not many kids here know what ice cream or penguins are. That's alwaysvery fun.Okay, and the last one is one of my favorites. When I flew outyesterday, we were in this little tiny baby planlet (seats for tenpeople, including pilot and co-pilot). But the small plane meant thatwe had to take our time getting up in the air, and the wings weren'tin the way of the window view of land. This picture is of Malvasifrom the air, and you can see about half of the roof of my house. Thedescription is a little confusing, but I'll try: the building farthestto the left and closest to the solwota is the kindy. Perpendicular tothat building is another pretty close, which is the covered areabelonging to the kindy. Just a tad above and to the right of thesetwo places is my house. You can see the whole roof to my attachedkitchen, which slants down towards the solwata, and part of the roofof my house, which is attached above the kitchen. Other notablebuildings include the aid post (the cement building a little to theright of my house), the mamas house (the big cement building in themiddle a little closer to the solwota than the partially completedcement building right behind it) and the Presbyterian church (the bluebuilding in the middle of the far right).That's it for the pictures. In other news, my first cyclone is on itsway. Look it up, they're calling it Cyclone Xavier. If I were onEpi, the weather would be getting a little less pleasant right now...I wondered why the sky looked a little dark today.Well, have a good morning (for all of you who wake up to check your email)love,Stephthe disclaimer still applies
18 October 2007
Hello Everybody bakegen,
So in the first 36 hours that I've been off the island, I've managed to break my toe (the right pinky toe) and not be able to function doors properly. But I think I'm figuring out how things in the big city work, although slowly. My island skills are really superb, my bush knife skills, eating in the dark skills, cooking in the dark skills, weeding skills (but unlike Napoleon Dynamite, I'm not working on my bow hunting skills, that's for the next three months).
When I first got out to Epi, Elaine, the volunteer before me was still there. It was great to have her there to teach me as much as she could and I was able to ask any questions that I thought of. The first week, Elaine was running her last workshop in the village, on how to make a compost toilet, so within days I was an expert on mixing cement and making cinder blocks, then putting the whole thing together. The second week, Elaine's last, we were very busy saying goodbye, having ceremonies, and moving her out while moving me in. On the day Elaine flew out, most of our family (I suddenly have a lot more mamas and papas, aunties and uncles) jumped on the truck to take Elaine to the airport. And then there was one...
The first few weeks were after Elaine left were a little uncomfortable. When I first got out to Epi, Elaine was there to speak English to me to make sure I understood what was going on, translating if necessary. She also knew who everybody was, and I was learning slowly. But after she left I was really on my own. Or so I thought. My Mama Emma is great, and she made sure I was eating and doing things everyday. I arranged with the chiefs to eat with a different family everyday, so for breakfast, lunch and supper I ate with the same family, and then moved to the next house the day after. The mornings were a little awkward, because we were just meeting each other, lunches were a little better, and then by supper, I had amazing conversations, explaining to people in my village why it can be dark in Malvasi and day anywhere in America. It usually involved using my fists to show how the earth revolved around the sun while rotating. I'm not sure how many people actually understood what I was trying to explain, but I think after the sixth time of explaining, I got pretty good. I also had amazing conversations about camels and how one rides them, dinosaurs, Lake Michigan being like the ocean, and snow.
I didn't think I'd have the chance so early to see other parts of my island, but I've already visited the east side, staying with Kristin, another volunteer from my group, and even went down to the southern tip to do some site development (we met with a village and had a village meeting) with one of my trainers. But other than that, I've pretty much stayed in Malvasi, learning as much as I could about the people. After eating with so many families, the children are certainly more comfortable with me. At first they were a little scared because I was strange to them, but now children love to come by and visit my house. Thankfully, my mom sent so coloring books and pencils & crayons, so when I didn't know how to keep entertaining the children, we would go outside and color. I think all the kids in the village have come to see me at some point, and it's gotten to the point where the pictures these kids produce and don't want to bring home with them have filled up the walls in my kitchen. At the most, I've had about 20 people (kids and adults) hanging out at my house (yes, the adults were coloring, too, but they also looked at my old NewsWeeks), but usually it's more around 10.
Besides being a pikinini magnet, I spend a little time working in my garden. I have a lot of lettuce that's growing as well as tomatoes and some root crops. I'm very thankful for the lettuce, because during the kakae program when I ate with families, I ate a lot of yams, manioc, and kumala. It was all very good, but I was very happy to add vegetables. I also spend a lot of time "living", washing clothes, cooking, cleaning my house. It's definitely more work than I thought it would be!
Well, I think I've rambled on enough. It's so nice to do it in English! Unfortunately, I can't send pictures right now because of the slow internet here and because I also forgot my memory stick at the place where I'm staying, but expect another email soon!
And of course, the shameless plea for mail (I really do answer them!)
Stephanie Oegema/Volentia blong Pis Kops
Malvasi Vilej
c/o Rovo Bay Post
Epi Aelan
Vanuatu, Southwest Pacific Ocean
Ale, mi lavem yufala tumas,
Steph
Disclaimer: (Peace Corps likes us to add this part, just in case, you know?)
Anything said or interpreted from this communication and others are based on the experiences of myself and nobody else. All Peace Corps' experiences are different because all Peace Corps Volunteers are different and work in different areas. Please understand that whatever I write is coming from me, not Peace Corps, Peace Corps Vanuatu, the Republic of Vanuatu, or any other organization, group, or individual.
So in the first 36 hours that I've been off the island, I've managed to break my toe (the right pinky toe) and not be able to function doors properly. But I think I'm figuring out how things in the big city work, although slowly. My island skills are really superb, my bush knife skills, eating in the dark skills, cooking in the dark skills, weeding skills (but unlike Napoleon Dynamite, I'm not working on my bow hunting skills, that's for the next three months).
When I first got out to Epi, Elaine, the volunteer before me was still there. It was great to have her there to teach me as much as she could and I was able to ask any questions that I thought of. The first week, Elaine was running her last workshop in the village, on how to make a compost toilet, so within days I was an expert on mixing cement and making cinder blocks, then putting the whole thing together. The second week, Elaine's last, we were very busy saying goodbye, having ceremonies, and moving her out while moving me in. On the day Elaine flew out, most of our family (I suddenly have a lot more mamas and papas, aunties and uncles) jumped on the truck to take Elaine to the airport. And then there was one...
The first few weeks were after Elaine left were a little uncomfortable. When I first got out to Epi, Elaine was there to speak English to me to make sure I understood what was going on, translating if necessary. She also knew who everybody was, and I was learning slowly. But after she left I was really on my own. Or so I thought. My Mama Emma is great, and she made sure I was eating and doing things everyday. I arranged with the chiefs to eat with a different family everyday, so for breakfast, lunch and supper I ate with the same family, and then moved to the next house the day after. The mornings were a little awkward, because we were just meeting each other, lunches were a little better, and then by supper, I had amazing conversations, explaining to people in my village why it can be dark in Malvasi and day anywhere in America. It usually involved using my fists to show how the earth revolved around the sun while rotating. I'm not sure how many people actually understood what I was trying to explain, but I think after the sixth time of explaining, I got pretty good. I also had amazing conversations about camels and how one rides them, dinosaurs, Lake Michigan being like the ocean, and snow.
I didn't think I'd have the chance so early to see other parts of my island, but I've already visited the east side, staying with Kristin, another volunteer from my group, and even went down to the southern tip to do some site development (we met with a village and had a village meeting) with one of my trainers. But other than that, I've pretty much stayed in Malvasi, learning as much as I could about the people. After eating with so many families, the children are certainly more comfortable with me. At first they were a little scared because I was strange to them, but now children love to come by and visit my house. Thankfully, my mom sent so coloring books and pencils & crayons, so when I didn't know how to keep entertaining the children, we would go outside and color. I think all the kids in the village have come to see me at some point, and it's gotten to the point where the pictures these kids produce and don't want to bring home with them have filled up the walls in my kitchen. At the most, I've had about 20 people (kids and adults) hanging out at my house (yes, the adults were coloring, too, but they also looked at my old NewsWeeks), but usually it's more around 10.
Besides being a pikinini magnet, I spend a little time working in my garden. I have a lot of lettuce that's growing as well as tomatoes and some root crops. I'm very thankful for the lettuce, because during the kakae program when I ate with families, I ate a lot of yams, manioc, and kumala. It was all very good, but I was very happy to add vegetables. I also spend a lot of time "living", washing clothes, cooking, cleaning my house. It's definitely more work than I thought it would be!
Well, I think I've rambled on enough. It's so nice to do it in English! Unfortunately, I can't send pictures right now because of the slow internet here and because I also forgot my memory stick at the place where I'm staying, but expect another email soon!
And of course, the shameless plea for mail (I really do answer them!)
Stephanie Oegema/Volentia blong Pis Kops
Malvasi Vilej
c/o Rovo Bay Post
Epi Aelan
Vanuatu, Southwest Pacific Ocean
Ale, mi lavem yufala tumas,
Steph
Disclaimer: (Peace Corps likes us to add this part, just in case, you know?)
Anything said or interpreted from this communication and others are based on the experiences of myself and nobody else. All Peace Corps' experiences are different because all Peace Corps Volunteers are different and work in different areas. Please understand that whatever I write is coming from me, not Peace Corps, Peace Corps Vanuatu, the Republic of Vanuatu, or any other organization, group, or individual.
17 October 2007
Hi Everyone,
I'm in to Vila for a little bit to do some research/attend some meetings, and guess what? They have electricity and internet here! While I was out on the island, I was thinking I didn't have a ton of stuff to do here, but now that I'm here, there's so much that I need to do. I haven't had enough time to write a proper email detailing all the exciting happenings of the last three and a half months, but I'm working on it. I also have a few pictures to share, and I'm working on that, too. I just wanted to send a short note to let all of you know that yes, in fact, I do still exist, and that I'd be more than glad to get email from you. It's so much faster than snail mail.
I'll write more later, there's so much to tell all of you, especially those I haven't sent letters to. I think about you a lot, and wonder how you're doing, but as soon as I can find an hour, I'll be able to tell you how I'm doing.
Anyway, more news later, this is just a warm-up
love,
Steph
I'm in to Vila for a little bit to do some research/attend some meetings, and guess what? They have electricity and internet here! While I was out on the island, I was thinking I didn't have a ton of stuff to do here, but now that I'm here, there's so much that I need to do. I haven't had enough time to write a proper email detailing all the exciting happenings of the last three and a half months, but I'm working on it. I also have a few pictures to share, and I'm working on that, too. I just wanted to send a short note to let all of you know that yes, in fact, I do still exist, and that I'd be more than glad to get email from you. It's so much faster than snail mail.
I'll write more later, there's so much to tell all of you, especially those I haven't sent letters to. I think about you a lot, and wonder how you're doing, but as soon as I can find an hour, I'll be able to tell you how I'm doing.
Anyway, more news later, this is just a warm-up
love,
Steph
29 June 2007
Good morning, everyone!
This is my last day with internet access for awhile, so I thought I'd mark the occasion with an email containing pictures. The first one is of Sarah and Krissy, two health volunteers and I, at Iririki resort, a nice expensive place for tourists that likes Peace Corps volunteers so much, they let us come and spend the day at their pool for free. The second picture is all of us after our swearing-in ceremony. I didn't have a good one on my camera because the setting was off a little, but I found this one on the harddrive of a computer yesterday. Yes, we are all wearing matching dresses and island shirts, but if you enjoy "Where's Waldo", here's some things to look for: 1) the two people that don't match, but match each other, 2) the 3 dresses that are not the same color as everyone else's but are the same, 3) the 3 shirts that go the wrong direction, 4) me with my mouth wide open because I'm trying to tell the guy with my camera he has it upside down.
back row from left: Matthew, the driver, Adam, Tim, Nathan, Richard (another trainer), Javi (in the white shirt), Dom, Seth, Kristin, Juliana, Noah, Matt (with the red eyes), Sarah (in the different pattern); middle row: David (the oldest volunteer here at 65), Julie, Amanda (bending down), Krissy (in the white dress), me (with my mouth open for some reason), Jennifer (with the weird spot on her forhead); front row: Christina (on of our trainers), Amanda (I've already said her, but I'm not sure which row she fits in), Chris, Solo (in the white pants, also one of our trainers), Judy hiding behind a little (again, a trainer), Jarrod, Sandra, and Erin.
The last picture needs a little explanation: Sarah and I went grocery shopping together. We were shopping for three months and no refrigeration, which is a little difficult. I got lots of dried beans and peas, dried soup mixes, and powdered milk. Not a lot, but I did spend 20,000 vatu (close to $200, when I was in the bank yesterday, the exchange rate was 106 vatu to $1). So, the next problem is how to get it back to our hotel. It's a short distance, but trying to catch a bus with all our boxes did not sound appealing. Nor did walking with them or carrying some and coming back for more. So, we asked the man (well, Sarah did) if we could take the carts with us and bring them back empty. He looked confused, but said we could. Apparently, no one has ever tried to do this before. I checked to make sure he wouldn't get in trouble if he let us walk off. He said he wouldn't. So we took off, crossed the road, lifted our carts on the opposite sidewalk, and started pushing them back to the hotel. And then a security guard started yelling at us from the parking lot. I yelled back, "mifala stap lo hotel Formule, bae mifala karem everi samting, mo kam bak quiktaem! Bae mifala kam bak!" He was satisfied, but then another security guard got the idea to follow us. So, there's Sarah and I, pushing our carts down the road (quite a busy road, actually), and we were honked at by busses, expats looked at us out their car windows, other pedestrians looked at us like we were crazy and laughed openly at us, and we eventually made it to the hotel where the security guard caught up with us. I asked him if he was cross with us, and it seems he was just coming to make sure we returned the carts. Sarah and I wanted to bring them back ourselves, but he helped us empty them on the front steps of the hotel, and then pushed them back for us. I forgot to buy a three-month supply of toilet paper so I have to go back in the store today - maybe I should think about wearing a disguise.
Tomorrow I fly out to Epi, and if everything works out, I will get the stuff I shipped in the middle of the night on Wednesday when the ship comes to Malvasi's harbor. Starting Tuesday, Elaine, who is still working at my site, is running a compost toilet workshop. I will get to Epi in time to see her run a workshop and to be trained on how to make a compost toilet. I'm ready to leave this city and get to my village, but I think I'm going to miss having things around to eat like cheese in a little while.
Again, here's my addresses:
Stephanie Oegema/Volentia blong Pis Kops
Malvasi Village
c/o Rovo Bay Post Office
Epi Island
Vanuatu/SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN
or the office address; mail sent here will be packaged up with my weekly Newsweek and newspaper and sent out to me:
Stephanie Oegema/Peace Corps Volunteer
PMB 9097
Port Vila
Vanuatu/SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN
the other option is to keep sending emails to volunteer@vu.peacecorps.gov, which after printing will be sent out with my Newsweek and newspaper. I have had emails go missing, so make sure you put my name in the subject line and hope for the best! I'm also getting a communication device that can receive incoming text messages, emails, and phone calls, but I don't know the number for it yet. Bambae yufala save.
I'll be able to check email one last time before I go, so if anybody has anything they want to tell me that can't wait four weeks, you still have a chance! If these pictures aren't enough for you, you can also look at www.flickr.com/photos/peacecorps20a for more pictures, some I put up, and some from others. If you have any questions about the culture or what you see in the pictures, please ask, because there are so many things going on in these pictures it's hard to understand everything just by looking at them.
Hope all your wildest dreams come true!
Love,
Steph
This is my last day with internet access for awhile, so I thought I'd mark the occasion with an email containing pictures. The first one is of Sarah and Krissy, two health volunteers and I, at Iririki resort, a nice expensive place for tourists that likes Peace Corps volunteers so much, they let us come and spend the day at their pool for free. The second picture is all of us after our swearing-in ceremony. I didn't have a good one on my camera because the setting was off a little, but I found this one on the harddrive of a computer yesterday. Yes, we are all wearing matching dresses and island shirts, but if you enjoy "Where's Waldo", here's some things to look for: 1) the two people that don't match, but match each other, 2) the 3 dresses that are not the same color as everyone else's but are the same, 3) the 3 shirts that go the wrong direction, 4) me with my mouth wide open because I'm trying to tell the guy with my camera he has it upside down.
back row from left: Matthew, the driver, Adam, Tim, Nathan, Richard (another trainer), Javi (in the white shirt), Dom, Seth, Kristin, Juliana, Noah, Matt (with the red eyes), Sarah (in the different pattern); middle row: David (the oldest volunteer here at 65), Julie, Amanda (bending down), Krissy (in the white dress), me (with my mouth open for some reason), Jennifer (with the weird spot on her forhead); front row: Christina (on of our trainers), Amanda (I've already said her, but I'm not sure which row she fits in), Chris, Solo (in the white pants, also one of our trainers), Judy hiding behind a little (again, a trainer), Jarrod, Sandra, and Erin.
The last picture needs a little explanation: Sarah and I went grocery shopping together. We were shopping for three months and no refrigeration, which is a little difficult. I got lots of dried beans and peas, dried soup mixes, and powdered milk. Not a lot, but I did spend 20,000 vatu (close to $200, when I was in the bank yesterday, the exchange rate was 106 vatu to $1). So, the next problem is how to get it back to our hotel. It's a short distance, but trying to catch a bus with all our boxes did not sound appealing. Nor did walking with them or carrying some and coming back for more. So, we asked the man (well, Sarah did) if we could take the carts with us and bring them back empty. He looked confused, but said we could. Apparently, no one has ever tried to do this before. I checked to make sure he wouldn't get in trouble if he let us walk off. He said he wouldn't. So we took off, crossed the road, lifted our carts on the opposite sidewalk, and started pushing them back to the hotel. And then a security guard started yelling at us from the parking lot. I yelled back, "mifala stap lo hotel Formule, bae mifala karem everi samting, mo kam bak quiktaem! Bae mifala kam bak!" He was satisfied, but then another security guard got the idea to follow us. So, there's Sarah and I, pushing our carts down the road (quite a busy road, actually), and we were honked at by busses, expats looked at us out their car windows, other pedestrians looked at us like we were crazy and laughed openly at us, and we eventually made it to the hotel where the security guard caught up with us. I asked him if he was cross with us, and it seems he was just coming to make sure we returned the carts. Sarah and I wanted to bring them back ourselves, but he helped us empty them on the front steps of the hotel, and then pushed them back for us. I forgot to buy a three-month supply of toilet paper so I have to go back in the store today - maybe I should think about wearing a disguise.
Tomorrow I fly out to Epi, and if everything works out, I will get the stuff I shipped in the middle of the night on Wednesday when the ship comes to Malvasi's harbor. Starting Tuesday, Elaine, who is still working at my site, is running a compost toilet workshop. I will get to Epi in time to see her run a workshop and to be trained on how to make a compost toilet. I'm ready to leave this city and get to my village, but I think I'm going to miss having things around to eat like cheese in a little while.
Again, here's my addresses:
Stephanie Oegema/Volentia blong Pis Kops
Malvasi Village
c/o Rovo Bay Post Office
Epi Island
Vanuatu/SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN
or the office address; mail sent here will be packaged up with my weekly Newsweek and newspaper and sent out to me:
Stephanie Oegema/Peace Corps Volunteer
PMB 9097
Port Vila
Vanuatu/SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN
the other option is to keep sending emails to volunteer@vu.peacecorps.gov, which after printing will be sent out with my Newsweek and newspaper. I have had emails go missing, so make sure you put my name in the subject line and hope for the best! I'm also getting a communication device that can receive incoming text messages, emails, and phone calls, but I don't know the number for it yet. Bambae yufala save.
I'll be able to check email one last time before I go, so if anybody has anything they want to tell me that can't wait four weeks, you still have a chance! If these pictures aren't enough for you, you can also look at www.flickr.com/photos/peacecorps20a for more pictures, some I put up, and some from others. If you have any questions about the culture or what you see in the pictures, please ask, because there are so many things going on in these pictures it's hard to understand everything just by looking at them.
Hope all your wildest dreams come true!
Love,
Steph
from 24 June
Hi everybody!
I hope everyone is well, I certainly am. On Thursday (most of your Wednesday), I swore in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer. I'm no longer a trainee! For the rest of this week, I'll be in Port Vila, before I fly out to Epi for about three months before I decide I'd like to see a city again. The first picture shows all but two of us girls (well, actually three, but it's a long story about the third girl) in our matching aelan dresses, and the second picture is of me receiving my certificate from the US consolate stationed in Papua New Guinea (the man with the khaki colored pants) after it was passed to him from Kevin George, my country director (the man in the blue print shirt). It's official! There's evidence!
This week has been crazy busy. On Monday and Tuesday, all of us trainees organized a Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) and Camp BILD (Boys In Leadership Development - I think it's obvious why it wasn't named Boys Leading Our World), a Peace Corps worldwide activity/workshop to not only give us some form of hands-on experience, but also to do something for the village. We invited school leavers to the camp (those yangfala that either could not afford to continue school or did not pass the test at the end of year 8), and had about 15 guys and 20 girls. We even made it a sleep over camp and all of us girls slept in the Kindy (the kindergarden building). The whole experience was really great - I got to know a few girls in the village that I did not know before, got to play some of the camp games I have been missing, and got to practice tons and tons of Bislama. On Tuesday, we did a ceremony to celebrate the end of camp, but then the mamas and the papas took over the ceremony, and made it into our las kakae (farewell feast) and presentation of gifts. My family got me my own personalized pandanus leaf bag with "Stephanie" woven in one side, and "Leivau" my kastom nem, on the other side. I also got a really large mat, a coffee mug, a plate, a fork, and a lava lava that is a map of Vanuatu. I gave my family a framed picture of all of us wrapped in calico, and then when I started packing on Wednesday, I gave my family an etch-a-sketch, a frisbee, more playing cards, colored pencils, and a big box of tea bags and a bunch of matches. I also bought all the stuff for no-bake cookies and taught my mama how to make them over a fire on Saturday, as well as teaching her how to make pizza over the fire (which was learning experience for me, too... I had to make all the pizzas in a frying pan!) After the las kakae, we had what I would call a presentation, and some of the mamas showed us a few kastom danis (custom dances). Then on Wednesday, we had our last few sessions, and Thursday, the whole day was devoted to swearing in. The village built a stage over the solwota so that when the tide was in, the stage was a like a huge dock and the audience sat on chairs on the beach (it was gorgeous)... but during the ceremony, the tide went out. There were several speeches, then we swore in, presented a song to the village (a string band song Chris, one of my group members, had re-written to thank the village for letting us stay there and to tell them that we love them). We even convinced the village's string band to accompany us, and it was great. Then people from the village made speeches and the mamas sang two songs to us. After, there was a kava ceremony and really large feast, and then after that, everybody went crazy. The sun had gone down by then, and we had a really large dance party and Sarah's (a health volunteer) abu man (her host grandfather) danced (he's the village MC for all events, and is really, really funny. I wish I had a video camera to record him dancing, but I had already taken my camera back to my house so it wouldn't get lost). I turned in pretty early, and got up at 5am on Friday to finish packing. My family helped me carry my luggage to the truck, and then they followed me to the village club house, where everyone got in a large line and we all went through and shook everyone's hand before getting on buses and leaving.
I'll be in Vila until Saturday when I fly out to Epi, so I'll have internet access for the rest of the week. Send me emails! Or snail mails!
Stephanie Oegema/Volentia blong Pis Kops
Malvasi Village
c/o Rovo Bay Post Office
Epi Aelan (Island)
Vanuatu/South Pacific Ocean
(by the way, if you put packages of Arby's Sauce or Ketchup, Mustard, any packet of sauce, really, I will really, really appreciate your letter and my root crop dinner will be so much more interesting that day)
I'd love to hear from you!
Love,
Steph
I hope everyone is well, I certainly am. On Thursday (most of your Wednesday), I swore in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer. I'm no longer a trainee! For the rest of this week, I'll be in Port Vila, before I fly out to Epi for about three months before I decide I'd like to see a city again. The first picture shows all but two of us girls (well, actually three, but it's a long story about the third girl) in our matching aelan dresses, and the second picture is of me receiving my certificate from the US consolate stationed in Papua New Guinea (the man with the khaki colored pants) after it was passed to him from Kevin George, my country director (the man in the blue print shirt). It's official! There's evidence!
This week has been crazy busy. On Monday and Tuesday, all of us trainees organized a Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) and Camp BILD (Boys In Leadership Development - I think it's obvious why it wasn't named Boys Leading Our World), a Peace Corps worldwide activity/workshop to not only give us some form of hands-on experience, but also to do something for the village. We invited school leavers to the camp (those yangfala that either could not afford to continue school or did not pass the test at the end of year 8), and had about 15 guys and 20 girls. We even made it a sleep over camp and all of us girls slept in the Kindy (the kindergarden building). The whole experience was really great - I got to know a few girls in the village that I did not know before, got to play some of the camp games I have been missing, and got to practice tons and tons of Bislama. On Tuesday, we did a ceremony to celebrate the end of camp, but then the mamas and the papas took over the ceremony, and made it into our las kakae (farewell feast) and presentation of gifts. My family got me my own personalized pandanus leaf bag with "Stephanie" woven in one side, and "Leivau" my kastom nem, on the other side. I also got a really large mat, a coffee mug, a plate, a fork, and a lava lava that is a map of Vanuatu. I gave my family a framed picture of all of us wrapped in calico, and then when I started packing on Wednesday, I gave my family an etch-a-sketch, a frisbee, more playing cards, colored pencils, and a big box of tea bags and a bunch of matches. I also bought all the stuff for no-bake cookies and taught my mama how to make them over a fire on Saturday, as well as teaching her how to make pizza over the fire (which was learning experience for me, too... I had to make all the pizzas in a frying pan!) After the las kakae, we had what I would call a presentation, and some of the mamas showed us a few kastom danis (custom dances). Then on Wednesday, we had our last few sessions, and Thursday, the whole day was devoted to swearing in. The village built a stage over the solwota so that when the tide was in, the stage was a like a huge dock and the audience sat on chairs on the beach (it was gorgeous)... but during the ceremony, the tide went out. There were several speeches, then we swore in, presented a song to the village (a string band song Chris, one of my group members, had re-written to thank the village for letting us stay there and to tell them that we love them). We even convinced the village's string band to accompany us, and it was great. Then people from the village made speeches and the mamas sang two songs to us. After, there was a kava ceremony and really large feast, and then after that, everybody went crazy. The sun had gone down by then, and we had a really large dance party and Sarah's (a health volunteer) abu man (her host grandfather) danced (he's the village MC for all events, and is really, really funny. I wish I had a video camera to record him dancing, but I had already taken my camera back to my house so it wouldn't get lost). I turned in pretty early, and got up at 5am on Friday to finish packing. My family helped me carry my luggage to the truck, and then they followed me to the village club house, where everyone got in a large line and we all went through and shook everyone's hand before getting on buses and leaving.
I'll be in Vila until Saturday when I fly out to Epi, so I'll have internet access for the rest of the week. Send me emails! Or snail mails!
Stephanie Oegema/Volentia blong Pis Kops
Malvasi Village
c/o Rovo Bay Post Office
Epi Aelan (Island)
Vanuatu/South Pacific Ocean
(by the way, if you put packages of Arby's Sauce or Ketchup, Mustard, any packet of sauce, really, I will really, really appreciate your letter and my root crop dinner will be so much more interesting that day)
I'd love to hear from you!
Love,
Steph
from 15 June 2007
Hello, Everybody!Well, technical training is over, and there is one week left of official training. We're in Vila today to do a session on Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluating (as fun as it sounds)... and also to sneak away from our families to buy thank you gifts for them. I'm going to print both of these pictures that I'm attaching, but put the one that I'm not in in a frame, wrap it in calico, and present it to my family as a thank you gift. I'm sure some of you could put names to the faces of my family, but I'll tell you who they are, anyway. In the first picture, from left to right, is Leisei, Armstrong, my papa (Kenneth), in front of him is Liline, next is my mama (Anita) in the back, who has Edmon in front of her and Bianca in front of him, next is my abu woman (Bislama for Grandma; I just realized I don't actually know her first name), and our neighbor Joanna, who happened to be in the kitchen and everyone made sure she was in the photo. They look like a serious bunch - I made sure to say "smile!" before I took the picture, yet no one is actually, really smiling. I love all of them very much, and will miss them when I move away in a week.Everything that I've learned (which, I'm surprised to realize, is actually a lot) is finally going to be useful very soon when I find myself on a plane by myself to live in Epi for two years. It sounds scary when I put it like that, but I'm trying not to let that intimidate me. Elaine (my predecessor) will be there with me for the first two weeks or so to help me settle in (and luckily, since she's leaving, she pretty much already has everything I need so I don't need to rush around buying things and shipping tons of stuff like everybody else, I can buy most of it from her when I get out there), so I think the hardest part might be after Elaine leaves and I'm suddenly the only American in a three hour walk radius. I'm sure I'll get through it, though.Thursday, the 21 of June, is the day that we all swear in. It's a pretty official ceremony and we all say the Peace Corps oath. Right now, the community is working on building a pretty intense stage for us to do the ceremony on that goes out on the solwota. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm told it's quite amazing. I'll be sure to get a few pictures next week so you can see how ingenious the Emua community is, and also how proud they are of all of us. I'm sure they wouldn't bother to build something so intense (just like camping! in tents, get it?) if they didn't like us. Our community really is pretty awesome. And then, we leave them and move out the 22. The week after that until Saturday the 30 something ish or around there I'll be in Vila (where there's stores and internet) to get ready to move. So much to do...Okay, now here comes the shameless plug for mail: I really like it! We all were assigned mail boxes, and it was really humourous today when I got a letter from Tabbi (btw, Tabbi, I read through the first half thinking that your first letter was lost in the mail) and a random letter from a man who goes to my family's church who works with my dad (Don Westhof, because I know you're wondering, Mom). For the rest of my service, you can send emails to this address or send them to volunteer@vu.peacecorps.gov if you know I won't be coming near the internet soon, and they will be mailed out from the Peace Corps Office with any mail that was sent there. That address isStephanie Oegema/Peace Corps VolunteerPMB 9097Port VilaVanuatuSOUTH PACIFIC OCEANbut a more direct address that might be quicker and won't have to have extra postage paid by myself (things sent to the office have to be mailed, and I help with that postage) is my address on EpiStephanie Oegema/Peace Corps Volunteer (or Volunteer blong Pis Kops, if you want to write it in Bislama)Malvasi Villagec/o Rovo Bay Post OfficeEpi IslandVanuatuSOUTH PACIFIC OCEANwell, my time is out on the computer, I hope everyone is well!Steph
Week 6: Wokabaot
Hi everybody!I just got back from Epi, a 40 minute plane ride over other islandsand the Pacific Ocean from Efate. I got to spend the week with thewonderful Elaine (she's sitting behind me as I write this...)following her around, getting introduced to other villagers inMalvasi, where I'll be living, and the surrounding areas. It was goodto see where I'll be living after Elaine leaves (just because I knowyou're wondering, it's a woven bamboo house with a thatched roof, aseparate swim haos and a separate smol haos, and the floor is made ofcrushed coral covered in mats) and to get a better visual idea of thesort of things I'll be doing. Which I'm not really sure of yet, butit's good to know more than I did before.This week was really good because Elaine was with me. Elaine is thecurrent volunteer in Malvasi, my future site, and has been there foralmost two years. She knows just about everybody, so she introducedme to everybody we met and told me something about them. Because wewere together, we could walk to other villages to see people there andexplain to them that after Elaine goes back to the US, I'll be livingin Malvasi, trying to do the same thing she did. We also went toElaine's garden and did a little weeding so it'll be a little moreready when I want to use it (I know nothing about gardening - tips arewelcome!), and talked tons about what village life is like, the sortof toktoks Elaine has done, and just overall good things to know.Later on today, I go back to Emua Village to finish training. Thenext two weeks are technical training in which I will learn about theMinistry of Health here in Vanuatu (from what I've learned so far, atleast they have a name to start with...) and health issues that we asvolunteers can address. After technical training, there's a week wherewe learn simple things that aren't so simple, like banking, mailingthings, and communication, and then I swear in! By the end of June,beginning of July, I'll be heading out to Epi for good.Check out the Flickr website (www.flickr.com/photos/peacecorps20a) forsome pictures of me scratching a coconut (img_1229, 1330, and 1331)and wearing my Mother Hubbard (img_1352, 1363). When I come back toVila and can get faster internet at the internet cafe, I'll sendpictures of my future home.I hope everyone is well!StephStephanie OegemaPeace Corps/VanuatuPMB 9097Port VilaVanuatuSOUTH PACIFIC OCEANor email: volunteer@vu.peacecorps.gov
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
\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
from 1 June 2007
Hi Everybody,
I'm back in Vila for the day because we need to do research for history projects we're presenting in Bislama and so us Health volunteers can meet people at the Ministry of Health. I think most of our groups are in Vila today, but we all came separately since we are all going to different places. I do know that you are curious to see the kastom haos I will be living in, so I've attached so pictures of the outside, the swim haos, a picture of the food safe, the desk, the kitchen, and I even threw in a picture of the airport at the end. Things here have been going well, and technical training is turning out to be very intensive, comprehensive, and exhausting. But I'm having lots of fun learning all these relevant (finally!) issues to what I will actually be doing. No more sessions on environmental law, land tenure, marine ecology that I don't understand and if I do choose to work in, will ask other people for help anyway. Instead, yesterday, we spent a few hours talking about toilets and the different ways to build them and what to look out for. Maybe not as interesting or fascinating as marine ecology, but definitely more relevant. Well, I'll keep this short, but here's one last thing: I have a new address! It's more direct, the old one still works, but if you send mail to my new address, someone in the Peace Corps office won't have to forward it to this address anyway. It all ends up in the same place, it just will take a quicker (maybe) path to get there.
Stephanie Oegema/Peace Corps Volunteer (*the Peace Corps Volunteer part is important since I'm not sure if the post office worker knows who I am yet*)
Malvasi Village
c/o Rovo Bay Post Office
Epi Island
Vanuatu
SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN
How are all of you? I would love to get some updates so not everything I send out will always be about me!
Steph
I'm back in Vila for the day because we need to do research for history projects we're presenting in Bislama and so us Health volunteers can meet people at the Ministry of Health. I think most of our groups are in Vila today, but we all came separately since we are all going to different places. I do know that you are curious to see the kastom haos I will be living in, so I've attached so pictures of the outside, the swim haos, a picture of the food safe, the desk, the kitchen, and I even threw in a picture of the airport at the end. Things here have been going well, and technical training is turning out to be very intensive, comprehensive, and exhausting. But I'm having lots of fun learning all these relevant (finally!) issues to what I will actually be doing. No more sessions on environmental law, land tenure, marine ecology that I don't understand and if I do choose to work in, will ask other people for help anyway. Instead, yesterday, we spent a few hours talking about toilets and the different ways to build them and what to look out for. Maybe not as interesting or fascinating as marine ecology, but definitely more relevant. Well, I'll keep this short, but here's one last thing: I have a new address! It's more direct, the old one still works, but if you send mail to my new address, someone in the Peace Corps office won't have to forward it to this address anyway. It all ends up in the same place, it just will take a quicker (maybe) path to get there.
Stephanie Oegema/Peace Corps Volunteer (*the Peace Corps Volunteer part is important since I'm not sure if the post office worker knows who I am yet*)
Malvasi Village
c/o Rovo Bay Post Office
Epi Island
Vanuatu
SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN
How are all of you? I would love to get some updates so not everything I send out will always be about me!
Steph
Hi everybody!
It's bright and early here... I got up at 5:30 this morning to come into Vila for the first time in over two weeks for the all-Vol conference. We begged and pleaded for our trainers to let us come earlier so that we could have computer access, and they agreed that it was good for us to have contact with the outside world.
Hmm... it's been a few weeks, so here's a few things that have happened to me:
I met my host family! The Lango family is very large (6 pikininis!) and very active, and take very good care of me. Sometimes I'm not relly sure what to do around them, and they have pretty much stopped speaking slow Bislama to me, so I laugh a lot and am really confused. But the Bislama is coming, although slowly.
I also know where I'm going! I found out on Friday - the PC wanted us to know our sites before we come in for all-Vol so that we can talk to other volunteers on our islands, and in my case, the volunteer we're replacing. I will be working at an Aid post in the village of Malvalsi, located on the island of Epi. I'm excited about it, but since I haven't talked to the volunteer I'm replacing yet, I don't know too much. If you want to look on a map, Malvalsi is a little west of Lamen Bay, which is on the northern tip of the island. I'm very excited to have a name to go with my location; now I can pay attention when we talk about the islands, since I know what information applies to me.
I've had several visits from different creatures. The most memorable is the rat that was investigating my room in the middle of the night (darn thing woke me up), but the first attached picture is of a frog that was taking a nap in some laundry my mama had taken off the line for me. I was attempting to fold my clothes, and I saw two eyes looking back at me! It's really strange - people here are scared of frogs, but not scared of geckos, rats, or cockroaches. The frog seems pretty benign compared to the rats and cockroaches to me!
The second picture was taken while we were still staying in Vila. That's my friend Kristin and I holding our drinking coconuts outside the Vila market. Kristin is also going to Epi, although her village is much farther away from the airport than mine, and in the other direction. But I'm glad that someone I know is going to be relatively close to me - Kristin and I are the geeks of the group together.
The third picture is of me and Sarah. Sarah is another health volunteer from Alaska. Her site is the only one that is still up in the air right now - she'll either go to Tongariki, a very small island, or Epi with me, depending on which site is ready first. The picture was taken during our second snorkeling trip, when we went out on a boat to learn some water safety.
Training recently has not been as much fun and games - we get about 2 hours of language instruction a day, then at least two other sessions on something else that is important for us to know. Lunch is made by the mamas, each mama brings one dish, and our plates and silverware, and we all go to the clubhouse to eat. It's like a giant buffet every school day, but I'm starting to miss American food. I've discovered that my body does not like manioc (cassava) the way it is prepared here, especially in laplap form.
But the fourth picture is taken while we were in class. Yep, the beach is our classroom! (or any other spot that is shady and gets a breeze). The picture shows one of the satellite islands of Efate, the island of Nguna. I don't have many other pictures taken since we got to the training village since I don't want to seem too "flas" (I know mom, I'll work on it, give me three weeks, and you'll get plenty of pictures - Amanda, another health volunteer has a blog that has some pictures on it if you want to check it out: http://amanda-abroad.blogspot.com)
I discovered a few days ago that my solar charger doesn't work. The prospect of going two years without music seems a little depressing, but it is ironic that my technology doesn't work here. I think I did something to the battery of the solar charger when I charged it with electricity - I can hook it up to something, it works for less than a minute, and then it stops. I'm wondering if I replace the battery if it'll work... or I'll just buy a personal cd player and get some cds to listen to.
I should go now, since the rest of my group is waiting to use the computers. I really enjoy getting emails (volunteer@vu.peacecorps.gov), even if it's a short one. Yes, Meg, you can send pictures, but the person printing them out is using her small printer, so if you do send pictures, format them so that they are small and don't use too much ink. I really enjoy getting little notes :) Oh, and I was a doofus and accidentally packed my address book away and left it here in Vila in a storage container (long story), so when you send emails, send your address, too, and I'll send you a response! You'll get it eventually - it'll be a surprise when my answer will get to you!
snail mail is pretty sweet, too. I got some snail mail last week - a package of books from Mom, a note from Grandma, and a card from my parents. Anything else you might have sent is still MIA, although I'm sure it'll appear soon.
Stephanie Oegema
Peace Corps/Vanuatu
PMB 9097
Port Vila
Republic of Vanuatu
SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN
Steph
It's bright and early here... I got up at 5:30 this morning to come into Vila for the first time in over two weeks for the all-Vol conference. We begged and pleaded for our trainers to let us come earlier so that we could have computer access, and they agreed that it was good for us to have contact with the outside world.
Hmm... it's been a few weeks, so here's a few things that have happened to me:
I met my host family! The Lango family is very large (6 pikininis!) and very active, and take very good care of me. Sometimes I'm not relly sure what to do around them, and they have pretty much stopped speaking slow Bislama to me, so I laugh a lot and am really confused. But the Bislama is coming, although slowly.
I also know where I'm going! I found out on Friday - the PC wanted us to know our sites before we come in for all-Vol so that we can talk to other volunteers on our islands, and in my case, the volunteer we're replacing. I will be working at an Aid post in the village of Malvalsi, located on the island of Epi. I'm excited about it, but since I haven't talked to the volunteer I'm replacing yet, I don't know too much. If you want to look on a map, Malvalsi is a little west of Lamen Bay, which is on the northern tip of the island. I'm very excited to have a name to go with my location; now I can pay attention when we talk about the islands, since I know what information applies to me.
I've had several visits from different creatures. The most memorable is the rat that was investigating my room in the middle of the night (darn thing woke me up), but the first attached picture is of a frog that was taking a nap in some laundry my mama had taken off the line for me. I was attempting to fold my clothes, and I saw two eyes looking back at me! It's really strange - people here are scared of frogs, but not scared of geckos, rats, or cockroaches. The frog seems pretty benign compared to the rats and cockroaches to me!
The second picture was taken while we were still staying in Vila. That's my friend Kristin and I holding our drinking coconuts outside the Vila market. Kristin is also going to Epi, although her village is much farther away from the airport than mine, and in the other direction. But I'm glad that someone I know is going to be relatively close to me - Kristin and I are the geeks of the group together.
The third picture is of me and Sarah. Sarah is another health volunteer from Alaska. Her site is the only one that is still up in the air right now - she'll either go to Tongariki, a very small island, or Epi with me, depending on which site is ready first. The picture was taken during our second snorkeling trip, when we went out on a boat to learn some water safety.
Training recently has not been as much fun and games - we get about 2 hours of language instruction a day, then at least two other sessions on something else that is important for us to know. Lunch is made by the mamas, each mama brings one dish, and our plates and silverware, and we all go to the clubhouse to eat. It's like a giant buffet every school day, but I'm starting to miss American food. I've discovered that my body does not like manioc (cassava) the way it is prepared here, especially in laplap form.
But the fourth picture is taken while we were in class. Yep, the beach is our classroom! (or any other spot that is shady and gets a breeze). The picture shows one of the satellite islands of Efate, the island of Nguna. I don't have many other pictures taken since we got to the training village since I don't want to seem too "flas" (I know mom, I'll work on it, give me three weeks, and you'll get plenty of pictures - Amanda, another health volunteer has a blog that has some pictures on it if you want to check it out: http://amanda-abroad.blogspot.com)
I discovered a few days ago that my solar charger doesn't work. The prospect of going two years without music seems a little depressing, but it is ironic that my technology doesn't work here. I think I did something to the battery of the solar charger when I charged it with electricity - I can hook it up to something, it works for less than a minute, and then it stops. I'm wondering if I replace the battery if it'll work... or I'll just buy a personal cd player and get some cds to listen to.
I should go now, since the rest of my group is waiting to use the computers. I really enjoy getting emails (volunteer@vu.peacecorps.gov), even if it's a short one. Yes, Meg, you can send pictures, but the person printing them out is using her small printer, so if you do send pictures, format them so that they are small and don't use too much ink. I really enjoy getting little notes :) Oh, and I was a doofus and accidentally packed my address book away and left it here in Vila in a storage container (long story), so when you send emails, send your address, too, and I'll send you a response! You'll get it eventually - it'll be a surprise when my answer will get to you!
snail mail is pretty sweet, too. I got some snail mail last week - a package of books from Mom, a note from Grandma, and a card from my parents. Anything else you might have sent is still MIA, although I'm sure it'll appear soon.
Stephanie Oegema
Peace Corps/Vanuatu
PMB 9097
Port Vila
Republic of Vanuatu
SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN
Steph
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
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
Hi everybody!
After about 24 hours on planes, and a few more hours of waiting around airports, and meeting and pretty much becoming really attached to people I only met on Wednesday, we've all made it to Vanuatu! It seems in some ways that it has been a long time since I was in Michigan, but it also seems like yesterday. Plus, I've had the greatest Friday the 13th ever because we all completely skipped it. My group left Los Angeles on Thursday, and crossed the International Date Line right into Saturday. Things seem to be happening pretty fast. It feels as if I've known my group a lot longer than four days, and I've had several new experiences (coconut milk right out of the coconut, exploring Port Vila, my first encounter with kava...) When we landed in Port Vila today, we were met by the country director, most of the PC staff, and several volunteers that were near the area. Attached are three pictures that were taken of us - I'm somewhere in the middle holding my coconut and loving the warm weather here. It doesn't feel real to me yet; I'm not sure when it will sink in that I'm living in a foreign country, but it certainly feels very surreal still. And just in case you are wondering who the other 23 people are that I'm with, here's some names to go with the faces in the picture:On the bottom row, there's Randi from Seattle with the red hair, Krissy, Dominique, Julie, Sandra (with the glasses), next to Sandra is Erin, and in front of Erin is Amanda (who, ironically is as much a Canadian citizen as an American one - she has black hair), then there's Jennifer from Atlanta, myself (I like to form my own rows), another Amanda, and Jarrod. In the back row, there is Sarah from Alaska, Adam, Javier, Noah, Matt, Julie, Seth, Tim, Nathan, Kristina, Chris, and finally, Jessica. The other health volunteers in the group are Krissy and Javier (who are married), the Canadian Amanda, and Jessica, as well as myself. Missing from the second picture is David - the oldest at 65 (he's on the far right in the third picture). I'm the youngest volunteer at 22, and also the only one from Michigan. I didn't think I was the youngest, but after surveying everyone, we figured out that I am. Most of the other people are 23, but several are even in their late 20s and early 30s.
At the airport, our luggage was thrown mercilessly onto a truck (all 50 some bags together - mine were at the bottom), and we were herded into two buses (which are really vans). We toured Port Vila, with narrations of the sights by current volunteers. After the tour, we arrived at our hotel, got a little lecture on safety and security, then moved our stuff into our rooms. Soon after, the current volunteers took us to a nakamo, where kava is served (sort of the equivalent of an American bar). There we sat around and "storied", or talked about things. As trainees, all of us have tons of questions, and this gave us the opportunity to talk to current volunteers about their assignments, what they do for food, how they adjusted to life here. At about 6:30 p.m., the sun set, and the whole area became completely dark. That happens all year round here - and people get very used to walking around ruts and on paths in the dark.Our biggest problem so far happened in New Zealand. Our flight from LA landed shortly at 6a.m., and despite being told that we could check our bags all the way to Vanuatu, that's not what actually happened. We all had to collect them in New Zealand, and since we had gone out of the secure area, we had to go through customs. This was an ordeal, because we weren't expecting to go through customs. So, all of us hurridly filled out the customs forms, and several of us (not me) forgot to declare simple things, like our hiking boots (apparently, NZ is very concerned about non-native seeds being tracked in in the treads). Then, when they X-Rayed the bags, they saw the boots, and we all had to take them out of our bags to be inspected. Seth, who had forgotten to declare his, was fined $200 for having dirt on his boots in his luggage. Finally, after we all cleared customs, we went upstairs to check back in. This flight was different from all the rest because there were very specific weight limits that needed to be followed... and none of us were within the guidelines. So, we had to frantically switch around our luggage while in the check-in line to come in under the weight limits for both our checked and carry-on bags. I ended up carrying an extra carry-on with some of my stuff and that of two other people. But, we all made it here safely, and so did all of our belongings.
Tomorrow, all of us have a free day. There's some people that are going to go exploring in the town, and I heard rumors of a swimming trip in the afternoon. Then on Monday, we start our formal training in country, and a week from Sunday, we move to the village of Emua on the northern part of Efate for our host family stays. I might have email access the rest of this week, so please email me back with any comments or questions! And write real letters:
Stephanie Oegema
Peace Corps/Vanuatu
PMB 9097
Port Vila
Republic of Vanuatu
Love!
PS to Jenna and Meagan - I haven't met anyone named Scott yet!
After about 24 hours on planes, and a few more hours of waiting around airports, and meeting and pretty much becoming really attached to people I only met on Wednesday, we've all made it to Vanuatu! It seems in some ways that it has been a long time since I was in Michigan, but it also seems like yesterday. Plus, I've had the greatest Friday the 13th ever because we all completely skipped it. My group left Los Angeles on Thursday, and crossed the International Date Line right into Saturday. Things seem to be happening pretty fast. It feels as if I've known my group a lot longer than four days, and I've had several new experiences (coconut milk right out of the coconut, exploring Port Vila, my first encounter with kava...) When we landed in Port Vila today, we were met by the country director, most of the PC staff, and several volunteers that were near the area. Attached are three pictures that were taken of us - I'm somewhere in the middle holding my coconut and loving the warm weather here. It doesn't feel real to me yet; I'm not sure when it will sink in that I'm living in a foreign country, but it certainly feels very surreal still. And just in case you are wondering who the other 23 people are that I'm with, here's some names to go with the faces in the picture:On the bottom row, there's Randi from Seattle with the red hair, Krissy, Dominique, Julie, Sandra (with the glasses), next to Sandra is Erin, and in front of Erin is Amanda (who, ironically is as much a Canadian citizen as an American one - she has black hair), then there's Jennifer from Atlanta, myself (I like to form my own rows), another Amanda, and Jarrod. In the back row, there is Sarah from Alaska, Adam, Javier, Noah, Matt, Julie, Seth, Tim, Nathan, Kristina, Chris, and finally, Jessica. The other health volunteers in the group are Krissy and Javier (who are married), the Canadian Amanda, and Jessica, as well as myself. Missing from the second picture is David - the oldest at 65 (he's on the far right in the third picture). I'm the youngest volunteer at 22, and also the only one from Michigan. I didn't think I was the youngest, but after surveying everyone, we figured out that I am. Most of the other people are 23, but several are even in their late 20s and early 30s.
At the airport, our luggage was thrown mercilessly onto a truck (all 50 some bags together - mine were at the bottom), and we were herded into two buses (which are really vans). We toured Port Vila, with narrations of the sights by current volunteers. After the tour, we arrived at our hotel, got a little lecture on safety and security, then moved our stuff into our rooms. Soon after, the current volunteers took us to a nakamo, where kava is served (sort of the equivalent of an American bar). There we sat around and "storied", or talked about things. As trainees, all of us have tons of questions, and this gave us the opportunity to talk to current volunteers about their assignments, what they do for food, how they adjusted to life here. At about 6:30 p.m., the sun set, and the whole area became completely dark. That happens all year round here - and people get very used to walking around ruts and on paths in the dark.Our biggest problem so far happened in New Zealand. Our flight from LA landed shortly at 6a.m., and despite being told that we could check our bags all the way to Vanuatu, that's not what actually happened. We all had to collect them in New Zealand, and since we had gone out of the secure area, we had to go through customs. This was an ordeal, because we weren't expecting to go through customs. So, all of us hurridly filled out the customs forms, and several of us (not me) forgot to declare simple things, like our hiking boots (apparently, NZ is very concerned about non-native seeds being tracked in in the treads). Then, when they X-Rayed the bags, they saw the boots, and we all had to take them out of our bags to be inspected. Seth, who had forgotten to declare his, was fined $200 for having dirt on his boots in his luggage. Finally, after we all cleared customs, we went upstairs to check back in. This flight was different from all the rest because there were very specific weight limits that needed to be followed... and none of us were within the guidelines. So, we had to frantically switch around our luggage while in the check-in line to come in under the weight limits for both our checked and carry-on bags. I ended up carrying an extra carry-on with some of my stuff and that of two other people. But, we all made it here safely, and so did all of our belongings.
Tomorrow, all of us have a free day. There's some people that are going to go exploring in the town, and I heard rumors of a swimming trip in the afternoon. Then on Monday, we start our formal training in country, and a week from Sunday, we move to the village of Emua on the northern part of Efate for our host family stays. I might have email access the rest of this week, so please email me back with any comments or questions! And write real letters:
Stephanie Oegema
Peace Corps/Vanuatu
PMB 9097
Port Vila
Republic of Vanuatu
Love!
PS to Jenna and Meagan - I haven't met anyone named Scott yet!
The first email: before staging
Hi all,
In the mail today, I received my staging information. "Staging" is the Peace Corps' one-word description for beginning of service, pre-departure from US information session, meeting my group, and preparations for a life-changing event. My group is scheduled to leave Los Angeles Thursday, April 12 at 9:30pm for Auckland, New Zealand. Now that I know this and the date is less than four weeks away, I'm a little overwhelmed with all the things I need to and think I should do. Like, what do I pack? I'm only allowed 80 lbs of luggage, and there are essential things I need (clothes, shoes, a supply of shampoo & soap, a good can opener), but then there are things such as books, pictures, and even a few things from the packing lists that sound ridiculous that I'm debating about bringing (one packing list suggests "a water proof flashlight for spear fishing at night" - not sure if I'm going to pack that one... it sounds a little more scary than something I want to participate in). Since I've received my staging kit, I have contacted the PC about travel plans to LA, and I'm on a flight leaving Grand Rapids at 7:00am on Wednesday, April 11. The flight goes to Chicago, where I have a very short lay-over (55 minutes - I hope I don't miss my next flight!), and then catch another flight to Los Angeles. I can't believe that in shortly over three weeks I'll be on these planes... this whole experience is starting to become very surreal. I have some more research to do, but here's an address for where I'll be in Vanuatu for the first three months. Mail is kind of slow on that side of the world, so if you write letters now, I might get them shortly after I get there! (Actually, it takes 1-2 weeks from the US airmail, or if you choose, 3 months surface mail.) It's only .84! (or $6.00 for a surface letter... but I don't know why anybody would use that for just a letter - it does get cheaper for larger packages, but those usually don't show up until several months later if sent surface mail).
Stephanie Oegema
Peace Corps/Vanuatu
PMB 9097
Port Vila
Republic of Vanuatu
Apparently, I'm moving to the happiest place on earth (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/5172254.stm\" for an article on a study). I was looking up the postage rates for you, Laura, just in case it was different from sending mail Costa Rica to the US, and this popped up instead. Interesting. And did you know that the Peace Corps was started by Sargent Shriver, brother-in-law to John F. Kennedy and father of Maria Shriver, who is married to Arnold Schwarzenegger?
Hope everyone had a good spring break!
Steph
In the mail today, I received my staging information. "Staging" is the Peace Corps' one-word description for beginning of service, pre-departure from US information session, meeting my group, and preparations for a life-changing event. My group is scheduled to leave Los Angeles Thursday, April 12 at 9:30pm for Auckland, New Zealand. Now that I know this and the date is less than four weeks away, I'm a little overwhelmed with all the things I need to and think I should do. Like, what do I pack? I'm only allowed 80 lbs of luggage, and there are essential things I need (clothes, shoes, a supply of shampoo & soap, a good can opener), but then there are things such as books, pictures, and even a few things from the packing lists that sound ridiculous that I'm debating about bringing (one packing list suggests "a water proof flashlight for spear fishing at night" - not sure if I'm going to pack that one... it sounds a little more scary than something I want to participate in). Since I've received my staging kit, I have contacted the PC about travel plans to LA, and I'm on a flight leaving Grand Rapids at 7:00am on Wednesday, April 11. The flight goes to Chicago, where I have a very short lay-over (55 minutes - I hope I don't miss my next flight!), and then catch another flight to Los Angeles. I can't believe that in shortly over three weeks I'll be on these planes... this whole experience is starting to become very surreal. I have some more research to do, but here's an address for where I'll be in Vanuatu for the first three months. Mail is kind of slow on that side of the world, so if you write letters now, I might get them shortly after I get there! (Actually, it takes 1-2 weeks from the US airmail, or if you choose, 3 months surface mail.) It's only .84! (or $6.00 for a surface letter... but I don't know why anybody would use that for just a letter - it does get cheaper for larger packages, but those usually don't show up until several months later if sent surface mail).
Stephanie Oegema
Peace Corps/Vanuatu
PMB 9097
Port Vila
Republic of Vanuatu
Apparently, I'm moving to the happiest place on earth (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/5172254.stm\" for an article on a study). I was looking up the postage rates for you, Laura, just in case it was different from sending mail Costa Rica to the US, and this popped up instead. Interesting. And did you know that the Peace Corps was started by Sargent Shriver, brother-in-law to John F. Kennedy and father of Maria Shriver, who is married to Arnold Schwarzenegger?
Hope everyone had a good spring break!
Steph
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