A Chain of Crazy Events

So after a crazy rounds of "go"'s and "no go"'s I finally head out on the plane to Malakula.  Man was I so happy when that plane took off. The ride was a wave of emotions!!! I was on air (literally). The ride was also bumpy but when the plane touched down in Norsup? We clapped! It was time to make work and settle in as good as we could until our stuff comes in on the boat.  After we unloaded, there was a chain of events that seems like a story out of a movie. The truck we chartered to get to site found out the boat wasn't coming so it cancelled.  A half charter was made with time to get stuff in Lakatoro (the province center area). As we made purchases like rice etc. I kept getting more and more anxious. I just wanted to get to site! As is custom with island time, 1 turned to 3 and finally we were on the road. Well in that extra time we walked up to a store to kill time. As I was walking out I twisted (or as I would later find out I dislocated) my ankle. Me, plus the local around me, heard it pop. I still have no clue how it happened but good-gosh-almighty, it HURT! I could still walk and thats just what I did. I walked to the handy craft market, got a fan, sat down, and tried to decide what to do. My ace wrap was in the box in storage that would come on the boat. Since I was in the city, we were able to find ice. Someone went and got me some as I sat in the shade. As I started rubbing it, one of the mamas asked what was wrong. Laura (the one I stayed with last time I was in town) said she fell and hurt it. The mamas called out to another mamas and said "bring the oil". Right there on the porch of the handy craft market she sat down, took my leg on her lap, said "sorry", and then started massaging my foot. It hurt badly as she moved it around for a solid 10 minutes; massaging and turning it, then it popped and instantly it felt a ton better. It's still sore and bruised but man does it feel a ton better. But once it was reset I was like, "sweet! No worries now." Shortly after it realigned, the truck showed up and it was time to head HOME to Womul.

There we were: Me, Cade going to his site (which is on the way to my site so we chartered together), and Laura (G 26 who was helping Cade make it to his new site as his old one got destroyed in the cyclone).  We were flying down the road because it was a Wednesday and no one was around. (The road is busiest Friday and Monday). We stopped at a few markets on the way and needed to swing by and pick up something from Kelsey (the one who took me to site when I went). The market just from her house had AMAZING bananas and the driver stopped to pick up some. I was kinda hungry so I picked up some peanuts.  Yumminess!! I had eaten a few but then as I popped another one in my mouth and started chewing....well the worst thing happened.  The tooth I had just gone to the dentist to get the crown reset, BROKE! I could feel the crown the second it came up and I instantly knew what that meant. No matter what I couldn't fix this one or wait 7 weeks. The hole in my mouth is huge and ripe for infection and my site is hard to get in and out off. I knew I HAD to go back to Vila. I instantly started crying and poor Laura and Cade had to wait a few seconds for me to calm down enough to explain what happened. The crazy thing is that you learn to adapt to change quickly in the Peace Corps so in a matter of 5 miles we had already worked out where I would stay for the night, where I would leave all of my things, and how I could get them when I got back into town. It didn't make the task any easier but we had a plan.  So I picked out my phone called the PCMO (peace corps medical officer) and the first words out of my mouth were, "we have a problem."  I explained the tooth thing and he agreed with the plan we had come up with, so I became Kelsey's guest for the night as Peace Corps figured out flights and a dentist appointment.  BAM. By 5 a flight was booked, and an appointment was made; all I had to do was make it to the airport at 8am for check-in.  The flight would go out at 10 am, and a dentist appointment scheduled for 2pm. Kelsey had to agree, of course, and she did. Once I sat down in her chair, I cried again. ALL I WANT IS TO GET TO WOMUL! !! I want to work! I want out of Vila! Well Kelsey still had work to do and as I sat at her house, her two cats climbed up in my lap.  Let me tell you, cat therapy is REAL!

I was calm and making the best of things, figuring out all the positives from it like: thank goodness it happened close to her house,I could get things I forgot to buy when I was in Vila, The office made the plans fast and things were happening.  So when Kelsey got home we made a fire and cooked, she made amazing yam pancakes that almost tasted like cornbread and we topped it with lentils. Which I then had to gargle out of the hole in my mouth.  After, it was a bucket shower (which was so refreshing), then off to bed. I slept on a mat on the floor, which was fine except every time my ankle touched the floor it would wake me up with a bit of pain. So sleep came in small spells and my mind wandered back and forth.

Finally 5:30 came and it was time to find a ride into town. We got out by the road around 6:15, after having an orange and tea. We waited until 7:25 when a truck passed that had room for me. Mind you, I was suppose to be at the airport at 8 and Kelsey is an hour ride from the airport.  Also planes leave early and late here. So my stress was building, plus I didn't want to head back into Vila. But while out waiting I got to meet a cousin sister who is from Womul and we got to story about the village and she said she would come visit me next time she came up. Which is part of why I LOVE Vanuatu. 

When I got to the airport I was informed that there was NO flight going to Vila today. I was like, "yes there is!" He checked my confirmation number and it turns out I was booked for a flight FROM VILA TO NORSUP.  Oh man did my blood run hot! I called our office and they called Air Vanuatu and come to find out they booked me on the wrong flight, and there was NO flights to Vila,  BUT they could book me to Santo and then from Santo to Vila and I'd get in at 6:45 pm. My dental appointment was at 2!!!! Ugh! Then as they were trying to get it all sorted, the plane for Santo came and left. At that moment, I cried again. Mind you, I cry when I'm angry.  It's something I've always done. It's my body's way of screaming without actually saying something I don't mean and it normally lasts no more than a minute or two. Thank goodness another Peace Corps Volunteer was there picking up her mattress which didn't make it the day before!  We ended up laughing about it all as she waited a few hours for her truck! Once the tears ran out I just laughed and said to the other Volunteer: "welp I wanted an adventure and I sure have gotten one!"

We were able to get it sorted for a plane leaving an hour later but I would have 6 hours in Santo and my appointment would be 8am the next morning. Not ideal BUT it works. The time in Santo allowed me to have lunch with the Santo G27 crowd before they headed out, and then I got to go to the market and buy island cabbage for the office, as well as some spices at LCM (a market house which can only be purchased in Santo).  Here spices are a GREAT luxury!! At the airport I saw a couple who was staying at the same motel as me last week and we chatted for a few and I ran into most of the group of guys I cooked dinner for in Santo (the ones who bought the ice cream) which was awesome because I didn't think I would see them again.  I was able to give them a basket I had picked up at the market last week.

So moral of this amazingly LONG blog post is that yes, it could be called a series of unfortunate events BUT nope, it's just an amazing adventure.

Until next time

JumpInTheJungle