The Joy of Island Cabbage!

So the Mama's Market had island cabbage today. It's been a month since any food was sold there due to the storm. I am not a fan of island cabbage BUT I felt like a queen walking down the main road back to the office with two bundles in tow, almost like a bouquet of flowers. I got stopped several times and got asked where I got them.  With beaming joy I replied, "The mama's market". The next big smile came as I walked into the office with them and told the staff to take some home. The look of joy on their faces to have some, but also to know the market is slowly returning, was AMAZING!!!

Vanuatu is a strong, cultural country and I dare say island cabbage is a deep part of that culture.  I'm so grateful that it is returning!!

Until Next time

JumpInTheJungle

Tea By The Sea

So one of the beauties of living in Vanuatu is I get to slow down and enjoy all it offers.  Unlike "most" tourists who rush from site to site, I get to slow down and enjoy little moments. 

One of those moments was having tea by the sea with a tourist I met.  I got to share some of the things I had learned about Vanuatu. I hadn't realized until then just how much I have learned in such a short time. I had so much fun sharing simple stories of my life here and learning about their life in other parts of the world. Tea by the sea also made me realize that maybe some of you are interested in crazy things like fruits I find on the island or how I cook.  So I'm going to try and make a few videos in the next few months and upload them when I come back into Vila.

Until next time

JumpInTheJungle

City Versus Village

One question I've gotten from a few people is "How does the city differ from other areas you've been to?"

Well the answer is A LOT! The city is a largely populated area that runs commerce and industrial items for tourism and a group referred to as Xpat (ex-patriots, people who've moved to Vanuatu from other countries like Australia, New Zealand,  China, America, etc.). Cities tend to be dirtier and louder due to the consumption of packaged goods like soda cans and chips, and also the amount of vehicles used daily. The villages are also full of noises but it's mainly the 3C's: chickens,  cows,  & children. But man, those things can be  just as loud as a truck at 3 am.

Also the who's who is different in city versus village. In my village, I know who's around; in the city I get lost in the crowd.  Also this city has more non-natives walking around than the villages, which is always so weird for me. When I see a light skinned person I'm like, "what are you doing here?" or "did you come via the boat or plane?  Do you need help finding something?" Then I'm like...wait I'm sure that's how the locals look at me!

Another big difference is the cost of things.  The further you are from the cities the more processed items cost. This includes soap, toilet paper, and foods. However, in the villages you rarely buy local foods because almost everyone has a garden they work in. I'm looking forward to that part of village life. 

Until next time

JumpInTheJungle

What Did I See? (Post Cyclonic View)

I've had a few people ask me, now that I'm back, "what does it look like?"  Well Santo looks the same as it did before. Vila and Efate not so much. There are a LOT of houses that have parts or ALL of their roof missing. Some that crumbled to the ground. Roads that were already bad?  Well, they are almost impossible to pass. I know I wouldn't try them, but the locals do and they make it with a few scary moments.  However the people of Vanuatu,  I dare say the HEART of this country, that has not changed. They laugh just as often. They help each other. They are amazing, but they are struggling.  It has rained every day since our return to Vila and yesterday locals were at relief offices begging for tarps because there just hasn't been enough time to get all the houses done yet; and the rain is making things worse and yet better at the same time. Better because the brown is a little less brown and hopefully the gardens will grow soon and revitalization of island food will take place. This will help bring money to the outer villages.  

I apologize I don't write much on this but it's hard to see and harder to share and keep a written documentation of. I'll try and do  better on this.

Until next time

JumpInTheJungle

A RPCV from Vanuatu serving in Womul

I figured by now you really wanted some core emotion and information about how a person does during this time. So I have attached Jasmine's blog. She is the one who I spoke about the day I left the US.

  https://whatsnewinvanuatu.wordpress.com

Well guys, things are moving along quickly!

I hope your doing well! Peeps should be available now so have a bunny for me :-)

Until next time
JumpInTheJungle

Perspective

Wow.  So after 12 weeks, I received a bag I had in storage. I had U.S. money in it from LA. The very first thing that stuck out to me was how small and light it felt in my hands. After that, I held my dollar bills and they felt so thin, they looked too plain, and almost fake!

It just makes me wonder what else will feel so weird when I get back. I mean, we are talking about 12 weeks out of 2 years.

Until next time

JumpInTheJungle

A Night Like No Other

Well, celebrate we sure did. We went to a local spot called War Horse after swear in. Man, oh man, what fun! There was a local band singing which, by the end of the night, turned into karaoke. Afta (after) dinner most of us we went to voodoo, a local night club (it was a Thursday so basically NO ONE was there but us).  We had a blast! At around 10:40 we made our way to Electric (I think that was the name).  It's another night club and again it was mainly us :-) which was perfect.  As others started coming in, we started wearing out. I was so dang tired and done with the club by midnight. It made me feel pretty old pretty fast, but meh, I outlasted some of the younger ones.

The dancing, singing, or food, wasn't the thing that made that night fun. It was the endless laughter among a group of people who were strangers less than 3 months ago, going through one of the highlights of their lives together. Despite how different we are as a group we are honestly a functioning dysfunctional family :-) that soon will be separated for months on end.  I'm sure when we do meet up in Vila again there will be many, many stories and laughs to share.  The same will be true when I get back to the States and get to see/talk to you!

Until next time

JumpInTheJungle