Vanuatu

I pass by this sign all the time.  It indicates there is an 'island' in the middle of the road where pedestrians may cross more safely and easily. I took this photo two years ago, when Covid was in full-swing nearly everywhere else in the world, save Vanuatu and a few other places.  It made me think that we on Vanuatu are on a Refuge Island, protected from Covid-19. That ended about a month ago, as we all knew it inevitably would.  Up until the last month, my experience with Covid-19, like that of most of the people here, has been from reading about it on the Internet, or talking to people in other countries.  We've experienced it like we experience watching a movie.  There's no right or wrong to it, we've just experienced Covid-19 through communication, until now. And yesterday (08-Apr-2022), the government announced that the borders are opening back up for tourists on July 1.  Refuge no more. Masks are mandatory now, whenever you go outside.  I don't...

Covid-19 arrives in Vanuatu, almost exactly 2 years after it first appeared in the rest of the world   On March 4, the first case of Covid-19 was found in Vanuatu.  Yes, there were cases found here in quarantine before, so no big deal.  But this meant Covid-19 was now here, out in the wild, and inevitably, would spread.  The government quickly established a curfew from 6pm to 6am, where nobody was to be out. A curfew has an immediate chilling and dampening effect.  Although people were free to go out between 6am and 6pm, Port Vila was a ghost town. Even though we knew it would happen one day, the reality of Covid-19 still scared people.  And how it escaped here at all is a controversial topic.  Supposedly, eyewitnesses at a quarantine facility told of a high-ranking government official who used his position to sneak out to go visit his friends and maybe girlfriend too.  The Opposition Leader filed a complaint.  Seems that everyone lost their ...

The North Efate Principal's Association (NEPA) is a group of about 16 principles of schools on and around North Efate.  We hosted this year's year-end meeting.  Here is my report. December 6 I wake up at about 5:00, as usual.  My hours have shifted since I came here.  I don't have any specific responsibilities for today that I know of.  I know Paul, my school principal, will be up early today to get things prepared, so after 6:00 I head over to his house to see how I can help. I helped write up the program for today's meeting, so I know we're supposed to start at 8:00.  This means we might start by 11:00.  That isn't an editorial or snarky, that's just how time works here. He asks me to take the generator and the projector to the nakamal (a large general purpose meeting hall).  His wheelbarrow is nowhere to be found, so off I go to find a wheelbarrow.  After borrowing one, I head back to his house.  His daughter, Leisau, w...

Four of us are in the boat.  The driver is taking us from Moso island, across the channel to Efate, But first we make a stop elsewhere on Moso to pickup someone else. A woman who I do not know is in the boat, but she is not from Moso.  A small boy is with us. The two are related somehow, like people here are.  By that I mean that there are no "distant relatives" here like there are in the U.S.  Family is family here. The driver ties off the boat, and goes to get the other passenger.  The woman, the boy and I are waiting in the boat.  The boy has infinite energy, and can't stop climbing over everything. I am next to the woman, who is trying very hard not to be sitting next to me.  She won't look my way, instead keeping her head turned to the right, peering under the dock.  She is leaning toward it too, as though she is about to step out underneath it.  There isn't anything under the dock, only large dry rocks. I try making conv...

The purpose of this post is to help out other volunteers who have a bad day.  Not a terrible day, just a bad one.  It is good to accent the positives, and important not to dwell on things, but sometimes things suck.  It is nice to read how something sucks for someone else, and their thoughts on it. So here you go. A couple weeks ago the school headmaster (Paul) tells me about a fundraising walkathon for the North Efate Principals Association (NEPA).  I say I'm happy to participate--I like walks.  He has me make copies of the fundraising signup sheets. Then Sunday night at about 8:00pm, I learn through my host father that the walkathon is the next day.  He's going because Paul told him about, and it sounded like good exercise.  Not knowing I plan on going, he asks me if I want to go too.  Our conversation goes something like this. Me: What?!  It's tomorrow? Terry: Yes, didn't Paul tell you? Me: Yes but not the date.  What...

Here are my photos and notes from my medevac trip to Bangkok.  I've given up posting photos to Blogger.  It just sucks. Keep reading this post for more details about my medevac experience.  But all photos are at the link above. __________________________________________________________ I didn't leave Bangkok because I had to go to the hospital every day for one reason or another  But I did get out and see a fair amount of Bangkok.  Easily the big highlight for me was the food.  The highlight was a bicycle tour of the city. Here's what medevac looks like. Once the PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Officer, or doctor) orders one, the PC office makes flight arrangements, a hotel reservation, and handles everything.  The volunteer just needs to collect any paperwork, listen to the rules, sign some stuff, collect a per diem, and show up for the plane. I had only come to Port Vila with the clothes I was wearing (shorts, underwear, polo shirt, flip...

Photos that didn't fit anywhere else Morning assembly at Tassiriki Primary School.  Even in the morning, the sun is strong and everyone stays in the shade. A man fixing a fishing net Andrew's cat keeps a watchful eye on his store every night.  Lights -> Insects -> Chameleons -> Cat. An eight year old holding a wasps nest.  There are live wasps crawling around on it.  He said they don't sting.  Also notice his Ray-Ban knock-offs.  I have the same ones, which can be had for 400vt ($4) in Vila.  Most of us take the sticker off the lens, but you do you, brother. Panadol (ibufrofen), a flashlight ("torch") and toilet paper.  And that spider.  They're common, fast and harmless.  Anyway, this is what it looked like when I got up to go to the toilet and reached for my flashlight. When you buy local food (island kakae), like the papaya and taro shown here, it is served on a banana leaf.  I bought this a...