Despite appearances, we did more than just drink adult beverages on our vacation. But it seems I had the most photos of our pretty, smiling faces on days where we actually did strange things like showering, putting on faces, and styling our hair. Set to one of the house music songs we heard several times while in OZ.
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It all started in Vanuatu. There was this Kiwi named Blair who was traveling in Vanuatu and soon to start a job in Sydney. Being excited by this interesting hotel stranger, Melissa, heather and I took it upon ourselves to share our wealth of Kava and Vila knowledge with this poor guy. We drug him along to a local [...]
I celebrated my birthday on New Year’s Day, which is my brother Manuel’s birthday as well. he is a big 3 years old now. My papa found us a coconut crab to eat. My sister Clenda powdered our head. I was stuffed, smelling of a baby booty and feeling good. Only a few days later I had to [...]
I’m on a train. I was looking forward to spending Cristmas and New Years AND my birthday in my village. It’s a good thing it is time for ‘spel’ or holiday because the heat and humidity have been atrocious. I can barely stand walking the 10 feet from my sleep house to my kitchen house. [...]
Updated Reading List. **Denotes recommended reads November continued: She’s Come Undone- Wally Lamb** December: The Sweet Potato Queens’ Book of Love- Jill Conner Browne Conan the Barbarian- Michael Stackpole The Tenth Circle- Jodi Picoult Paradise- Toni Morrison** Ender’s Shadow- Orson Scott Card** Shadow of the Hegemon- Orson Scott Card Shadow Puppets- Orson Scott Card [...]
Just a reminder…. Our village needs a water system. Please donate some money money to help us get one. And by ‘us’ I mean Nik who is doing all the work. https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=461-050 ….in a village of 500 people only three taps reach the village area and frequently the Primary School tap runs dry. Not to [...]
So this is the point in my service where I start to ask for help from all of you. You already know a bit about my village, so I hope you will find it in yer little hearts to donate https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=461-050 https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=461-050-deductable moneys to Nik and my projects. https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=461-050 Nik’s is already on the Peacecorps.gov website. [...]
Typed on November 10, 2011 A lot of volunteers do a sort of yearly reflection blog after their first 12 months of service. I have now passed my year mark of swearing in (and today is the year mark of coming to my village) but every time I have tried to sit down and reflect [...]
October 30, 2011 Dairy deprivation brings me great woes ‘Specially when holes are where my poop goes Sit-sit wota, I don’t like you Not when I have to squat to poo But shells n’ cheese yu are so yummy Even if yu hurt my tummy Yes, diarrhea yu are worth it Just to eat [...]
My U.S. mommy sent me a Halloween themed care package that actually made it to me BEFORE Halloween!! I woke up on October 31 and decorated the class 5/6 room with the fake cobwebs she sent me. It just happened to be a Monday, which is when we do a morning devotion as a school [...]
Typed on October 2, 2011 It’s funny how important food was to me before I left America yet how much my standards have lowered and the kinds of foods I get excited about these days. For example, I want nothing more than to eat at a McDonalds while in New Zealand with my dad and [...]
I’m not positive where I left off, so I will just continue on starting in September. September: Empire by Orson Scott Card Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes The Hours by Michael Cunningham (highly recommended) Sweet Potato Peel Pie Society by ?? (I read this in two days at Lindsay’s site, super sweet) Shutter Island [...]
Nik, Nic, and I went to Baitora to help Lindsay with an HIV volleyball tournament. Lindsay was a wonderful host, sharing a fabulous meal of American Mac-n-cheese, green chilies, and Cholula hot sauce on top. A couple of days before that we feasted on breakfast crackers topped with fried SPAM (or the lesser quality Chinese [...]
Also known as Island Pizza. I got this recipe from a second year volunteer, Sandra, when I went to visit her rather isolated site. I finally tried it out in my bush kitchen and it turned out amazingly. The only problem is not having access to flour. And then the little weevil guys like to [...]
Nope, it’s not a soda. Nik and I are pretty awesome. So much so that we had a baby named after BOTh of us. Jennifer+Nikolas(Bislama spelling) = Jenikola She is the pikinini of one of my favorite mamas, hanson. here she is showing off her fancy new American wristwatch. (thank you mom!) Speaking of babies, I missed the birth [...]
()=denotes the letter between g and j t()at stopped working on my keyboard ☺ Some I’ve said before but once again in list format….. Was() my ()air once or sometimes twice a week Don’t s()ave my legs until I go to Port Vila Spit on the ground, w()en folks are watching and sometimes in my [...]
WHile I’m on a video kick… Here’s one from a 3rd year volunteer Matt Hardwick (wHo incidentally was responsible for introducing “Maxy’s” nightclub to a few of us and pretty much changed my vila life forever) anywHo, tHis sums a lot of somethings up in my life rigt now. (tHough i happen to like pooping [...]
For about a week I took photos of most food my family made for me. The rice dish sown is VERY rare to get and was given to me by my headmistress that can afford to eat rice and tin meat more often. Typically rice is served for fundraisers or other celebrations/events and is a [...]
Not looking in a mirror below the neck will do wonders for one’s self esteem. I haven’t seen a full-length mirror since being in Vanuatu. It isn’t at all necessary when wearing oversized skirts and mismatched shirts everyday. My face doesn’t really need to see a mirror either, as it is an eclectic mishmash of [...]
Updated Book List. **=really yummy reading *=worth reading June: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen** Almost Moon by Alice Sebold** Dead Famous by Ben Elton Pedaling to Hawaii by Stevie Smith* Rumour ()as It by Jill Mansell The Girl Who Plays wit Fire (reread) by Stieg Larsson** The 6t Target by James Patterson The Girl [...]
NOTE: Te letter tat comes between ‘g’ and ‘j’ on my keyboard as unexpectedly stopped working. I hope it will not be too much of a problem to decipher my messages without this letter, as it would be a pain in the arse to ave to go in to another computer to edit before posting. [...]
Because of my remoteness and my being a homebody type, I like to spend months at a time at my site once I get there. At about every month mark, my patience is often wearing thin, and my sanity becoming a little less, errr, sane. I’ve decided that as my last blog entry (until probably [...]
Wan Banana Keik Scratch 1-2 coconuts Milk Coconuts Add all other banana keik ingredients together. I prefer to use “Vietnam” bananas and use 4 ripe ones. Prepare the oven. Make a fire on top of black stones. Put a few larger stones on top of the fire and coconut husks last. Put saucepan on top [...]
There’s been a lot of talk of Vanuatu culture and some of the adventures I’ve been through recently, but I’ve neglected to talk about the work I’ve been doing since my arrival to Maewo. In typical bullet point fashion, here are some of the things I’ve been up to in the last 6 months: Participated [...]
And other useful lessons I’ve learned thus far. To avoid smelly squat/bush toilets: throw fire ash in and around the hole regularly. Can also use dry dirt and sand Disposing of fish bones/shells: throw in to the fire. Will burn and also keep away flies To kill ant colonies with eggs: dump boiling water on [...]
Just some of the things I’ve seen around my village and Vanuatu. One and two-year-olds running around with knives the size of their arms and using knives with crazy accuracy. Second grade boy frying himself lunch. He walked home from school, made a fire, cleaned his dish and fried up some Lap-Lap while his mother [...]
In training we volunteers lived a sheltered life. I think our host families were told not to do things like, oh, beat their children in front of us. Or perhaps our parents decided it wouldn’t be a good idea since they were being paid to care for us and feed us rice and other ‘white [...]
Stars denote superbly yummy books. February: Super Freakonomics- Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner** Sail- James Patterson Atlas Shrugged- Ayn Rand** Malice-Lisa Jackson Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk- David Sedaris** In Search of the Lost- Richard Anthony Carter The God of Animals- Aryn Kyle** March: Ahab’s Wife or The Star Gazer- Sena Jeter Naslund **Now I need [...]
Question and Answer Session Hallelujah! Nik and I finally have our solar setup complete after about 6 months of being at site. What does this mean, Jennifer? Well, Jennifer, it means I have a giant solar panel on the top of my kustom kitchen house, attached to a regulator and a car battery. Peace Corps [...]
As one of our medical/nutrition sessions during training, we were all invited over to Nurse Brenda’s beautiful abode to have a team cook-off. The catch? We could only use island kakae that we drew. And we also had to draw for using gas stove or open fire. My teammates were Gene and Eric, and we [...]
Going to try something new….. Start sending packages and cards to the following address: Jennifer Blount Peace Corps Volunteer- Naviso, East Maewo P.O. Box 60 Lolowai Post Office East Ambae Island Republic of Vanuatu You can continue “blessing” the package and writing “educational materials” on it. Maybe I’ll get them slightly quicker this [...]
As a volunteer, you can choose to sign up for a program that matches you (or you choose) an American teacher in which to exchange letters over the course of your service. I have been writing to Mr. Mathisen’s classroom at Manor High School as often as I get the opportunity. Here is an example [...]
Actually Celine, I don’t mind being on my own at the moment. To borrow my friend Kid CuDi’s words, “I’m on the persuit of happiness…” and have never felt less alone and more sure of my place in this big, fat world (or in my case, my teensy-weensy island). When I have the rare opportunity [...]
A little update about mailing me: It turns out my island is NOT the best place to send things. There is a man named Paul Ren on the West side of Maewo who picks up mail and keeps it in his house. But, it’ll pretty much stay there until I happen to drop by, which [...]
I’ve never been a big reader. I often start books and don’t finish them or take over a month to finish one book. I tend to read food blogs and make crafts before I sit still enough to read in the States. The Peace Corps has changed that. I’ve had a lot of free time [...]
Shaela, one dear friend of mine got married on January 1, 2011. I missed out on seeing her wedding, being a bridesmaid, and some freakin’ good food. This isn’t one of the best photos but I love it because it shows her doing something I am truly envious of…. enjoying a piece of wedding cake. [...]
Making Kumala (AKA: sweet potato) Mashers Peel Kumala Wash Kumala and put in pot with water just covering pieces Light Fire (Keep strong flame) Cover pot and sit on fire until boils and kumala is fork tender. While Boiling: Peel skin off coconut (I cannot do this yet, but my mama or papa use this [...]
Yes indeed, I cannot lie. It cannot be avoided, the fact that I have lost my American “Jennifer smell”, whatever that was. This fact reaches beyond my not wearing perfume. Since arriving in Vanuatu I have traded the sweet scent of Jo Malone with the odor of mosquito repellant and occasional baby powder. Here is [...]
Alcohol + Ni-Vanuatans do not mix. The only time Ni-Vans drink alcohol (for the most part) is on big holidays- Christmas, New Year, Weddings, etc. Because of this, it has been accepted, and expected for men to drink obscene amounts of alcohol at one time, become belligerently drunk, oftentimes leading to violence. The next day [...]
• Wake up. If I don’t wake up before or by 6AM, I will be sweating profusely before I even sit to drink my AM coffee. • Put on bug spray/mosquito repellent • Pee • Carry 2 solar lights to set out by my kitchen house to charge In my kitchen house: • Wash out [...]
Because it is almost Christmas and because I had a super day (and because the IT folks said to turn on my computer every couple of weeks) I am treating myself to some computer time- blog typing and music listening. I haven’t done this because my computer is going to die and I have no [...]
I cook over fire. Yeah, I’ll admit I feel pretty bad-ass about sucking it up and going “bush.” Nick walked in my kitchen the other day to storian with me and he asked me, “How do you deal with all the smoke?” while squinting and looking uncomfortable. I looked around and saw there was indeed [...]
…are letters from you! Here is some updated contact information for my new site on Maewo. When sending packages and boxes: Continue using the Peace Corps office address: Jennifer Blount, PCV Peace Corps/ Vanuatu Private Mail Bag 9097 Port Vila, Vanuatu The Peace Corps will forward them to my site. This will make it get [...]
Time for me to move on to my actual job. Group V-23 swore in on November 4th and I am now officially a Peace Corps Volunteer. I earned Intermediate-Mid on the official language evaluation, not too shabby for just 7 weeks of learning Bislama. I’m going to miss my mama Touman and my papa Allen. [...]
I am going to be living in East MAEWO (pronounced my-woe) island on Penama Province. My neighbor islands are Pentecost to the south and Ambae to the east. I’d say I got pretty lucky considering Maewo is supposed to be the most beautiful island, Pentecost has land-diving, and Ambae has a volcano you can climb. [...]
Photos taken by Jenni Warren on a camera very much like the one I decided to leave at home. sad face. Dessi carrying laundry back from the river, my kitchen and mama/papas house in the background mother hubbards Lindsay, Me and Jenni Apuman getting water from the water tank- where I get my drinking water [...]
A typical training week goes something like this- Bislama language lessons every morning for two hours. It is a fairly easy language to pick up (the basics, at least), so instead of spending hours in a class the trainers/staff would rather us go out in the village and practice our language skills. We then have [...]
I can’t believe I only have two weeks of training left! Actually- yes, yes I can believe it because it feels like I have been here three MONTHS, not just over one month. This is in large part due to the enormous amount of information being jammed in to our brains every day, the shock [...]
A huge thanks to Randy for posting my last blog. When we came to the capital for medical interviews and shots, everybody was on the internet at once.. and the wireless in the peace corps office is already painfully slow. My computer decided to make my life difficult, and refused to connect to the network [...]
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