Archive for May, 2006

Hello everyone!!! I am really way the heck out here. I can’t even tell you. It is amazing and so unlike any place that I have ever been in my life. The most untouched by America country I have been to. It’s great!

First, everyone you can write me letters by sending an e-mail to volunteer@vu.peacecorps.gov and than put my name in the subject.
I am more out of touch than I have been before, so it would be great to just get reports from everyone. It is also very expensive to keep in touch with people but I am learning the system so I will get better.

Okay now that I have that out of the way… I have finally entered the real Vanuatu and it is amazing!!! I am loving it and thriving more than I ever expected. Right now we are living on an island in a community of about 400 people just off the mainland. I live with an island mama and papa in a little tin house. We live outside and just go inside to sleep and sometimes cook in our bush kitchen. Upon arriving at the island our mamas and papas gave us each a kustom name, so for the time being my name is Leisongi (pronounced Laysong).
The typical day is wake up at 6:30. Eat a breakfast of fresh bread with coconut jam and some fruit – usually little sweet bananas and oranges. At 8:00 I put on my big floral print island dress (pictures to come), fill up my woven basket, tuck my big woven mat under my arm and go to class. Everyday we do about 2-3 hours of bislama class and after we do culture sessions or job sessions. At noon our Mamas all come down with lunch and plates. We eat our aelan kakae (island food) — one of my new favorites is egg, ketchup, peanut butter and cucumber sandwich. We are usually done sometime between 3:30 and 4:00, after which I usually go snorkeling at one of the reef spots around the island or just sit on the beach and read. We eat dinner with our families and than sometimes meet on the beach for cards, kava, or just simply storion — chat chat.
So basically what it boils down to now is that life is good and simple. I am learning a lot, loving it, and I have seen more stars than I have ever seen in my life!!!
Well time is running short — please keep in touch and I will try my best to keep in touch with you. I miss you all and you are all in my thoughts!!!