we had this coming at us as of monday and were expecting to get slammed by wednesday morning. a level 3 cyclone.

but we didn't.

instead, we celebrated gene's birthday with a pizza party at carla's house.

last christmas i got really sick from kava. so every time i try to drink, my face still looks like this.rough.

this is at jake's on tanna around christmas.a 6.9 earthquake woke me from my slumber last night! 6.9 i tell you!glasses were rattling, my bed kept shaking, and by golly, it was frightening.each time, though, when an earthquake is over and i know everything is alright, i can't help but smile. those little bursts of released energy from the earth's crust are pretty cool.

p.s. i, and everyone else as far as i am aware, am/are completely fine.

i am, and probably always will be, a huge facial hair advocate.i think i would look downright smashing with a little 'stach.how fortunate that i found a red bearded man who would grow one out, just for me.spoiled rotten, this girl. spoiled rotten.

i've been getting lots of wonderful mail lately.

i am the luckiest girl!

surprise late christmas notes and packages from friends that feel like family, secret post cards from my favorite big sister at this place, a HUGE box of everything a peace corps could ever want from my buddy abby (who did peace corps in kazakhstan...so she certainly knows).

thanks so much for every single thing. it makes me feel so loved.

and i hope you know that the feeling is mutual.

i got bitten by one of these when i was in saama village last week visiting danielle:my friend michael took this picture. that thing is as fat as my finger.

a giant, poisonous centipede. it was pretty uncomfortable.

luckily, danielle is a great nurse and had water boiling immediately to draw out the poison and an ice pack ready to keep down the swelling.

and i think it earned me a few tough guy points, too.

somehow, seeing spewing lava reminded me how small of a creature i am. it was an incredible trip to the top of the volcano.

if you ever get the chance to see an active volcano, don't pass it up. i promise it is worth it.

sometimes i am forgetful. like when i forgot to bring an island dress to tanna.

luckily, jake has three sisters. and, like all houses full of girls, they had clothes to spare. so they hooked me up with this beauty of a dress:a gorgeous shade of neon orange. very discrete.

but. when i got to church, looooads of people were wearing the exact same color on their dresses and shirts.i assumed it was just a fabric that was easily available.

but when i returned the dress the next day and thanked jake's mama, she thanked me for wearing it.she explained that she was grateful i was comfortable wearing/borrowing their clothes and that the construction cone orange was the color of south tanna (where i was staying)-- it was a point of pride that she let me wear it (and why so many other people were wearing that same color).

i beamed a little bit. turns out it was a lovely shade of orange after all.

on a sunny, cheery christmas morning on tanna island, after a sweet and short church service, imayo village had a program.

dancing, singing, skits galore. and plates and plates of food to eat too.if you look behind that handsome brute in blue, you'll see the dashing, charming jake taylor. he and his beard live in imayo village.

as jake watched his village perform, he decided we needed to join the festivities and dance ourselves, so he ran home to grab his ipod. but before he got back, the program had ended. we all threw in the towel on our dancing, but jake was determined. and headed up in front of everyone by himself. the music started and i knew we couldn't let him go through it alone. so we took a deep breath and joined our buddy. and we absolutely danced our pants off. air guitars and all.

and jake's village ate it up. whoops and cheers and laughs.so much so, that the village asked us to choreograph another little number for a program the following day. we obliged. dancing peace corps volunteers are in high demand. it was very merry christmas.

read this little article.

and then take it with a grain of salt (because after 15 days in vanuatu i was singing the same song as this lady too; go back and check my blog if you don't believe...but she really only has about 1/8 of the whole story). BUT, santo island and tanna island (and yasur volcano and millenium cave) will be where i am for the next few months.

november 13-26, i'll be back in santo for workshops (and will take that weekend in between to go to millenium cave and blue hole). i'll come back to vila for about a week, and then my decemeber spel (holiday) will begin.

at which point i will head down to tanna island, where my dear friend jake lives incredibly close to the volcano yasur, and spend a few weeks in his village (other friends of ours will come and go throughout this time...he is just being really nice and letting me stay for a long time because i am always stuck in the city) and spend christmas and new years.

i am looking forward to getting away and off of my efate island...i've spent way too much time working in my office the past few months. just thought you'd like to know...

we took a boat to iriki island to celebrate danielle and carla being born.sometimes, it feels so lucky to live in a tropical paradise.

and now, i sit in my office, listening to ABBA blaring on the computer of my co-worker, jimmy(he told me are from america...sorry, sweden, i didn't correct him) . fernnnaaando.

i just thought these were really fun... a little bit of what my everyday looks like:

this little guy's mom let him sit at the back of the truck with us...he wasn't exactly sure what to make of us at first... but he came around eventually.

i showed you my kitchen many months ago...so here, as promised (better late than never i suppose) is my bedroom (which literally makes up the other half of my teeeeny tiny house):

those things on the wall are a map of vanuatu i made:all of the islands and where everyone is...here's my island of efate:matt and kara both brought me origami paper from their trips abroad...so i've been making things like crazy...like those swallows:and i made this modeled from something one of my favorite friends, megan, found on pinterest. i just love that pinterest (and that megan)!a bit closer:more of that origami paper. i have some pretty awesome friends:

a rug i made out of calico...i tore it up and braided it into long strips and then sewed it all together. i am happiest with busy hands, clearly.and these i found on pinterest too! i thought they were so cute, i made myself a little pillow out of an old skirt:and the view from my window... louisa's family's front yard:so there you have it. my home sweet home. i'd love for you to come see it for yourself.

a few weeks ago, after a bumpy back-of-the-truck bus ride through lush, ocean-lined north efate, i was in the village of saama to help danielle with a leadership camp (camp g.l.o.w.--girls leading our world and b.i.l.d.--boys in leadership and development) she was putting on.she's pretty amazing, that danielle. she was incredibly organized and her community was really, really excited about it.we split into groups of girls and boys and had discussions had about teamwork, leadership, trust...the standards of leadership camps anywhere (we even had a trust fall and human knots).

vania led an awesome adolescent reproductive health workshop...(can you see the background of that shot?? it is ocean for days and days)and found some MSG...delish.

we took a little walk to have a rus (roast) by the salt water...danielle helped scale the fish with some girls from her village. then we fried them up (and even snuck some soy sauce on 'em...absolutely heavenly).it was a really beneficial camp. there are so many aspects of education that vanuatu is needing and this (safe sex, how bodies work, youth empowerment) dealt with some big ones. and, you know, it was a lot of fun, too.

i could hear the giggles and chatter before i even stepped out of my little house: my neighbor friends were playing cards. and lousia (my friend from my emae travels) and rayline were out front, so we chatted a bit before i made my leave.after the photo shoot and conversation, i was running late for my sushi date with dirk. so i started to walk toward the road in hopes of catching a bus.but they were all heading in the opposite direction.which gave me time to capture the beginning of the sunset...and that sunset got even lovelier once i got to dinner.lots of sushi and sake with a good friend.

a lovely friday, if i do say so myself.

it finally happened. i've got a routine.

things that were fascinating and new and exciting when i got here last september are now simply... life.

i even kind of stopped taking pictures. and everyone knows those are the best part of a blog.

so i'll get out my camera again, because i forget that this wasn't my norm for the first 24 years of my life and show you all what it looks like now. ready?

set....

go.(i promise i'll be back with much more VERY soon).

on a particularly rainy july 30th, vanuatu’s independence day, matt and i made the tromp from his isolated little house over to tebakor, the village where festivities were taking place for the entire island. we were immediately shuffled over to the main area; a presentation and "cocktail party (!)" were about to take place and they needed matt. all week in tebakor, there were booths with kava and food (laplap and pork was our favorite day…) , futbol and volleyball tournaments, and loads of mamas and pikinini sitting around for hours, curious to story about who i was and what exactly i was doing there (i'd get called from group to group and asked the same questions again and again)… i sat and talked with the giggling and whooping mamas (they LOVE that peace corps volunteers speak bislama) while matt wandered around, talking and drinking kava with various male friends. culturally, women and men stay divided in vanuatu..and they tend to think we (americans) are unusual for enjoying the company of someone of the opposite gender. so it was pretty typical when, on the biggest day of the celebration, all of the women were in the front, preparing kava and food and drink for the important village men...chiefs and what have you... while the men stood around with calico and salu-salus (leis) around their necks looking...well... important. speeches and toasts were made while most of emae's population looked on, calling up one important man after another. the men were given kava and then a plate of food after..with, naturally, the most important men being served first. you'll be pleased to know that matt was in the first round of men served. you'll also be pleased to know that a few of the chiefs told matt to have me come up...to get his food for him while he drank his kava so it would be ready when he was finished.

he knew better. and we laughed about it together when he sat back down, having successfully retrieved his own meal.after the chief celebrations, boxed wine and tusker (vanuatu’s beer) were distributed for all other adult attendees and the tables were cleared to be loaded up with chocolate biscuits and sweets and chips for the kids…who all sat waiting with hungry eyes.

the winners for the tournaments were announced and trophies (real, actual, giant ones!) were given to winning teams-—who would promptly raise them into the air to cheers from all on-lookers.

the afternoon crept into evening and matt and I headed back to his house in the dark with double orders of laplap in tow for both of us, stopping only once: the laplap kept sliding out of its banana leaf casing and my smallish hands were having a hard time holding it, so matt took over.

turns out he's just as good at carrying food as i am.

this:

is my favorite face to teach kids in vanuatu. or kids anywhere, actually.

and, for whatever reason (maybe because they're pretty awesome), the kids on emae were naturals at it.and it seemed that everywhere we went, we'd run into kids making that face.they were teaching it to each other.

i was really impressed.

because most kids can't get it figured out.and end up looking like this guy:

like i said, i was really impressed with the kids on emae.



this would be your home on the tiny island of emae:

and these would be your neighbors:

and this would be where you took care of important business: you'd also take care of some other types of important business at the primary school-- building an impressive library-- and at the dispensary, where you appropriately diagnose appendicitis and there after are referred to as "the doctor" in quiet little whispers by small children as you pass them on visits to other villages... it might slightly go to your head...but only enough to motivate you to work a bit harder and live up to your title. if you were matt dwyer, these would be your favorite boys, brando and eddie: certainly no replacement for your beloved rugby team and other friends from home... but much more open to cuddling:

You’d be given metals and called up in front of your entire island with local chiefs for important ceremonies simply because you are their token white man (and maybe because of that work you are doing as well… but mostly because you are white). also, check out that chief's backpack on the right? awesome? and even when certain guests of yours ask the local kids if your long hair is starting to look girly, they'd say it looks like rambo.

and mean it.

this might go to your head a little too. and make certain guests laugh and shake their heads. do you see that awesome ponytail??

and this is where you’d workout, keeping that rambo reputation... all bamboo and branches.this is where you'd cook:

building your own fire at least twice a day. when you first got to emae, you needed kerosene to get your fire going, but by now you'd only need a match, some kindling, some paper and a fan.quite an accomplishment.

you'd eat oatmeal every morning. sometimes with extra sugar:

and hot sauce would be your solution for everything else...eggs, laplap, popcorn...you name it, hot sauce will make it better.

you'd get your water from a well:

and these would be your shoes, that you wear everywhere, and are starting to show the efforts of your journey:

this would be your back yard:

and if you were matt dwyer, sometimes, you would think about how different your life was a year ago; missing it a little bit (especially turkey sandwiches). and then sometimes, you'd stop and realize that now, exactly what you are doing at this moment, is pretty cool too.

because, really, it is.

i started writing this whole story out, but i got hand cramps and it was just too long.

so here is how my friday went in short hand:

1. got to the airport to check in for my flight at 1:00. had called twice before to make sure the flight was going (as it was raining for the first time in over a week and sometimes flights do not go to emae when it is raining. seriously.)

2. Sat for 20 minutes reading before i realized i forgot the MEAT i picked up to buy matt (yes, he and i are now 0-2 on remembering the meat. i do not want to talk about it).

3. figured 45 minutes was enough time to get the meat and back to the airport (about a 7 minute trip both ways).

4. called matt to let him know "i might miss my flight" because it took longer to get the meat than expected... ("why didn't you just leave the meat??" he inquired, laughing, "because i knew you really wanted it!", i replied frantically). i haven't felt so american in a long time...the bus driver thought i was nuts.

5. made it to the airport five minutes before my flight is supposed to leave. run into my friend louisa, she's on the same flight. it hasn't left yet. wheeew.

6. call matt. laugh.

7. wait for TWO hours (rain delay or something).

8. hear the flight is cancelled. call matt and tell him such.

9. hear the flight is not cancelled. repeat.

10. get onto the plane. get to emae island. circle emae island. head back to port vila.

11. okay, at this point, i am losing my mind...the weather was miserable and made the tiny plane worse than a rollercoaster. i spent the twnenty minutes back to port vila convincing myself NOT to vomit and that there must have been a really good reason that we weren't able to land. like safety. and my life.

12. by the time we land in vila, i am smiling and laughing with the other people on the flight again (we are pretty good friends at this point), when the piolet turns around (it is a REALLY small plane) and says, "sorry about that folks, we weren't able to land because of cows on the runway." wait....wait, WHAT?? i asked him to repeat what he said, "cars??" i ask, clarifying, "cars on the runway???", "no, cows...blue cows". WHAAAAAT??

13. i call matt again, "are you on a truck? (as in, are you on your way to my side of the island?)" he asks. nooope. i hang up and try to figure out when the next flight will be (seemingly, the story should end here. nope). 14. louisa (my friend i mentioned earlier...) and i go up to the desk to figure out when we can fly next. monday. ugh, monday. okay. we go to hand our tickets to the guy at the same time. my parents taught me to be polite. i let louisa go first. then, the guy lets us know that there is ONE seat open for the monday flight. yep. LOUISA got it. ha. i was put on the waitlist and called matt, yet again to fill him in. HOW, how HOW???

15. it is 6:30 at this point. i meet up with heather and robert, who are at happy hour. they laugh at my story and make me feel much, much better.

16. a phone call saturday morning while at the mama's market from the airport. i'm on the flight.

17. so, tomorrow, i'll try it again. emae is on the verge of being the bane of my existence. it has some serious making up to do. i'll keep you posted.

i leave tomorrow to the tiny island of emae, just north of my efate island (it is only a 20 minute flight) to visit matthew and check out the guy's library/offer my teacherly advice. wish me luck.

so, i'll be back in a week. i am really looking forward to getting away...

i got a package in the mail the other day... from my family in vegas.

oh boy, when i opened it, TWO new pairs of shoes! and, man, if you have seen my other shoes, i really, REALLY needed them.

so these are my feet, my extremely happy, haven't had new shoes in almost a year, feet. and that is exciting for a girl who loves shoes.

and rice krispie treats and family updates and photos...absolutely wonderful. and so, so thoughtful. i am really lucky.

thank you, thank you connie and mike!!! i love you guys...

wrapped in calico, next to a warm water bottle in a little shoe box, my little huckster died this week.

yes, you read correctly. and, yes, you know i cried.

kitten mortality here is just really high...and even though we dewormed immediately...just trust me when i say he gave it a good fight.

so, as i realized that maybe the reason i do not really care for animals is that the emotional attachment will eventually break my heart and i am not good at having my heart broken, i simultaneously realized that i will not be getting another kitten.

you win some, you lose some. rest in peace, little huckleberry friend.

i spent my 4th of july at a celebration for the 50th anniversary of peace corps (and searching for sparklers with no avail). did you know peace corps has been around that long? pretty neat.

the event was held at USP (the vanutau branch of the University of the South Pacific)...and everyone who was anyone was there. well, kind of.

richard, who works at peace corps and has a velvety smooooth voice mc'ed (there he is in the white). and the former president of vanuatu, Kalkot Mataskelekele, gave a long winded speech (but, seriously, check out that beard)... and my pcv friend, vania, and her girls choir from the village of ekipe in north efate came to sing a song that vania wrote about peace corps that just about made you want to cry (and then after the ceremony, they did 'let it be' and 'blowing in the wind', i might have teared up a bit then...but i am a bit of a sap for young people singing songs that relate to my basic beliefs in life)... and a string band from epau, the village where i spent my first two months of training, came! our very own string band live performance! strings galore!

peace corps invited EVERYONE...jamie the hairdresses who cuts everyone's hair when they get in from the islands with greasy mops...and this is genna, who owns pacific paradise, the hotel where peace corps puts volunteers up when they are staying in vila. we spent a good bit of time together when i was in between houses early this year. she is an absolute delight and takes really great care of us... next is judy, our peace corps lanaguage coordinator, with danielle and me. all of the pc staff had outfits made out of the same material for the event.

the woman that chose it did so because it was red, white, and blue AND because it had hibiscus flowers on it...just like she thought we have on the american flag : ) and this is everyone that made it in for the ceremony...peace corps isn't flawless. but it brings people together. it allows cultures that would otherwise be unaware of one another the opportunity to be friends. shoot, to be family. that really is my peace corps family.

and that made for a pretty special 4th of july. even without the sparklers.

this is huck. he just moved in with me. and these are just SOME of the fleas that moved off of his little body after a flea bath. these are huck's baby blues. they sealed the deal on our room-mate-ship. also, the fact that he was homeless. and dirty. we're giving it a shot...because he has heard that i do not really like cats... but that kittens are right up my alley. he's got a few months to endear himself to me before he turns into a cat.i think he's stands a pretty good chance of it.

i got back a week ago from leading a Learner Center Instruction (group work, critical thinking and problem solving, related to real life situations, building from the student's own knowledge...that sort of thing) workshop to untrained teachers on Santo.

it was loads of information that we worked on for weeks in advance to simplify so it could acually be implemented into classrooms.

that's correct...from what i spent five years and two degrees learning at university, we picked out the most important ideas and crammed them into a week. we worked, really, really hard. It sounds silly, I know, to be teaching teachers how to implement strategies of critical thinking for their students when they are not even aware of phonics and their students cannot read. A country of illiterate critical thinkers? Okay, maybe not that bad. But critical thinking is something that develops over time….and it is a brand new concept for a classroom here… Regardless. It is incredible the challenges these teachers have: 45 students in one classroom (how do I adequately assess ALL of my students?), schools so small that 1st graders are in the same class as 6th graders (how do I lesson plan to support EACH of my students?), teachers with absolutely no funding (not even a pay check) and no resources (how do I provide materials for my students??). My brain has been stretched so many different ways in the past week… Because (and this may be the craziest part of it all…) I am considered the expert in this situation. this is jimmy. we work together at the ministry. he may or may not have fallen alseep in the middle of the workshop wendesday afternoon...groups worked together to create lesson plans and were then critiqued by their peers...a pretty new concept to these teachers who typically write sentences on the board and have students copy... So, I hail mary-ed and gave them solutions: talked to them through their issues, questioned what would be effective for change, and gave my very best suggestions. I loved every minute of it. I love problem solving. I love education. I love teachers that care about education even though their goals seem impossible. sometimes an extra "s" makes a big difference... this is merelyn. she is a rockstar teacher. seriously. and rex...can you see his necklace?? i LOVE it. vanuatu bling of sorts.

i gave a pre and post workshop assessment, and, i have to say, i was incredibly impressed. these teachers have absolutely no formal training...some of them have only schooled through year 6. they made huge progress.

i was really, really proud.

i am still here...just so, so busy these last few weeks...and the internet is down at my office...making communication almost zero.

i have loads to share...SOON...a workshop in santo and a peace corps 50th anniversary celebration, but for now, i need to go to the market and get some produce...

miss you and love you!

today, i stopped by my beloved mama's market.as i was walking through the rows of table, scanning the produce available, i came across a table that particularly caught my attention.

you see, there was a woman using a pick in her hair, violently flicking the lice from her head onto the table, and consequently onto the food, in front of her.

i literally saw lice flying through the air and onto fresh greens.

needless to say, i did not end up stopping at that table.gross.

hi daddy!

happy father's day. if i were with you today, i would get you some really good beer and maybe mow the grass (because the second time would probably be a charm and i do not even HAVE those little red shorts anymore...) and then we could go to landing pad, landing pad, landing pad! for dinner or maybe that other place that is on tiffin avenue where you like their wings.

and i would definitely give you a big hug and tell you how much your hair cut looks like a certain famous man whose initials are g.c. and i would make sure that frannie did not pester you too much, because i know how patient you are with her antics (you poor guy). and i would check out your progress in the master bathroom and probably tell you how you are very good at fixin' up houses (like those pictures from don and deb's...looked like fun!) and then we could watch a scary movie and i would cover my eyes when you told everyone to because you were a little nervous. or maybe even a bad romantic comedy and i wouldn't even get mad when you fell asleep during it and then woke up at the end and said, "what did i miss?" or "that was a good one...i think i'll finish it tomorrow" even though it was terrible.

thing is, i am thinking of you. and i love you so, so much. and i sure am lucky to call you my daddy.

and thanks for spider swinging with me when i was little. i still have the memory of doing that with you 22 years later. isn't that fun?

some of my peace corps family toughed it through a grey, wet vanuatu morning to swim 3.2 freaking kilometers around iriki island. it was quite impressive. here comes nancy...in the red cap! heeey dirk (in the black and white cap)

me? i stood and cheered. and then had a schnecken to celebrate. h.e.a.v.e.n.

that was my impressive saturday morning feat. happy weekend...

lindsay and matt were in town. they are some of the funniest friends i have around these parts (or any parts, really). so when a particular friend wanted to have a beer and watch the red socks game that lasted until one a.m. stateside (that is four p.m. here), i joined.

who am i to deny myself the enjoyment of quasi-familarity?

the other day, while i was typing feverously on a workshop edit, sam (one of my co-workers) walked into the office (our desks are in the same room), and he looooked at me and smiled and he said, "genifar (that's how mah name sounds when he pronounces it), yu luki wei luki yu kam lo vanuatu, yumi fun, yumi laf laf, bei yumi fokus. (translate: you are really, really lucky--lucky waaay lucky--you came to vanuatu. we're fun, we laugh a lot, but we focus)" and then he just laughed to himself, made a little whopping sound ("ahhhh waaay" is what it sounds like), smiled at me again, and got back to work.

such a happy, funny little man in such a happy, funny little country.

i am luki wei luki.

the fact of the matter is, i live in a city. granted, it has about 35,000 residents, but it is a city none the less.

which means... i ride around in buses all the stinking time.and this it what that looks like:actually vans, this is the most common form of transportation in port vila. though we do an awful lot of walking, too.my shoes are about ready to bite the dust after nine months of wear and tear... but i just cannot give up on them.

i love the combination of jungle and concrete in this dirty little city.

and it is a dirty little city.

i have worms. it is really gross. and that is enough about that.

this is fast eddie felson. a lot of name for a kitten, and no, it is not coincidental that his name is Paul Newman’s character from The Hustler. it is, in fact, an homage. he belongs to matt.

and he is exceptionally fat because i thought he was cute and gave him a lot of food and he does not regulate his eating very well. whoops. remember the egg scene from Cool Hand Luke? his belly felt like that.

anyway.

ready to leave to meet up with friends one evening this week, matt and i looked around for the little man...to say good bye and what not. he was nowhere. my house is way too small for a kitten to be no where.

after about 15 minutes of frantic, tear-the-house apart searching (slight exaggeration...) we were about to give up and trust that he was fine (remember how well that went with buster, mom??), when matt moved the refrigerator to see if he was hiding behind.

nope. even better.he was IN the refrigerator:

tucked inside, nice and warm and dirty. sneakster. and then we had a celebration. for gaea's birth. little rapido eduardo just stayed home and ate.

my brain is f.r.i.e.d.

i've been putting together these leveled readers (reading books) at the recommendation of a former beloved professor and because they were lying around in a closet at my office covered in a thick layer of dust in a state of partial usability, just screaming out for a little fixin'. all of the stories were put together...except they were just a jumble of non-readable, not fluidly written stories. so i've been copy-paste-copy-pasting my pants off all week making them into little easy to read booklets.all that mundain, thoughtless work has turned what little brain mass i had to mush.

and my sunglasses that broke all the way back in december are finally saved (you can breath a sigh of relief now). well, really, they are only kindof fixed. fixed like i put tape on the strap that broke off. i tried hot glue first...which absolutely did not work (and then i insanely tried it again a few times, juuuuust to be sure. no dice). and since that great tape job happened, i have been wearing them on my face. inside. which really, they are no help inside. but they look cool. actually, they probably just look silly.whatever.

and i am sad to announce that my computer is done, gone, finished. best news is, i am not even stressed about it. isn't that great? seriously, i probably would have been flailing about, sighing heavily and sticking out my bottom lip non-stop about nine months ago, but somehow, i just realize how little it ACTUALLY matters. i mean, a bummer, believe me. but.

so, when i get asked what i gained from my experience as a peace corps volunteer, instead of being able to say that i know how to row a canoe or cook a bat or something else that which will really benefit me in the career world like that, i'll say i learned how to chill out and take things in stride. because i was really only okay at that pre-peace corps.

Look forward to a wonderful story about a little kitten (yes, in fact, you did just read that correctly) and some other photos. i simply need to decipher how to successfully upload photos on this office computer. i'll get to it...for now, just taking it all in stride. look at me go.

i realized yesterday, while in the midst of editing a leveled reading book that mentioned "skiers going zig-zag" and deciding that i'd need to be rewriting this little story because it was entirely culturally irrelevant (it also mentioned a rollercoaster...we don't rollercoast around here, we land dive...), that there are a number of things that i just do differently now.

naturally, i know.

but it really got me thinking about the way i talk now. so here's a little list of seven (why seven? who knows... because that is how many i could think of, i guess...) things i've picked up and now do that i never did before, all because i moved to this little island country...

1. tell people where i am going. all the time. even people i do not know.

1a. ask people where they are going. all the time. even people i do not know.

(it is a bit like asking someone "how are you?" stateside, i promise, but it took some getting used to... "who's asking??!" if you will)

2. raise my eyebrows once in a skeezy-guy-sees-an-attractive-person-and-wants-to-let-that-person-know-he-thought-said-person-was-attractive way to signify a "yes" answer instead of nodding.

for example, my coworker, kaltutak, asks if i'm going to get some lap-lap from the mamas down the road for lunch and the only thing i have my body do in response is make my eyebrows jump up one time to let them know i certainly will be. i do not even have to look up from my work.

i love it.

3. say "uhn uh" (the sound americans make for "no") to answer affirmatively. so if you heard me answer a question like, "is your mom still alive?" (seriously, get asked this one all the time about all of my family members) and i say, "uhn uh" back, i'm telling the truth. she's still around, thank goodness.

4. use "from?" instead of "why?" when wanting more information on something. i realized this talking to fran the other day via skyperoonie. she was telling me something about something that happened and i wanted to know why. i said, "from?" and she said, "from where?". yeah. whoops.

5. make a "tsk tsk tsk" sound when something too bad happens. for example: when i told elvie (my co worker) that a cat had puked all over my front porch, she went "tsk tsk tsk" like one would to scold a child. or when i found out that the computers in our office needed new hard drives, i "tsk"ed away. like probably 10 times. because that was a big one.

6. say the word "yo" in multiple ways. wuuhhee. i should clarify by explaining that this is not the standard little-bit-dorky-from-the-90's "yooo" you are probably thinking of. instead, it is a stunted version...like, if you about to use said dorky "yooo", but someone starting choking you to prevent it from happening and because your air way was blocked you had to stop short:

"yuh"

like that.

when someone calls my name, instead of a "mmhmm?" or "yes?" or "what can i do for you?" (actually, i do not think i ever used that one...) i just throw out a "yuh?"

or if i am walking down the road and some stupid yungfala (young men) sing out (yell out to me), i shoot them a dirty look and a "yuh" because i do not want to give them the same friendly "good morning" or "halo!" that i reserve for basically everyone else who isn't skummy and making me feel like a piece of meat (WHOA rant, that came out of no where...sorry)

or if i am replying in the affirmative: "did you win that bet against matt that he was so sure he had in the bag?" would be answered with a modest, "yuh." (true story about the bet. maybe more on that later)

7. say "ta" instead of "thank you" AND "good bye". a mash-up, if you will. another one i absolutely love, that teeny "ta". you get out of the bus, hand the driver some vatu and say "ta"...you get off of the phone with someone at the main ministry office and say "ta". none of that exhausting, "thanks for your time, have a nice day, goodbye" smut. short and sweet and to the point. saves so much time. who says ni vans aren't efficient??

so there they are. other things i could add to this list if it were about personal hygiene and if i were a little more bold with my assimilation (i've had a hard time adding these three things to my repertoire of ni-van tendencies) are: picking my nose in public (picking a winner, if you will, doug), or clearing out my throat with a force that is downright startling (like heart attack inducing. or at least adrenaline raising), OR coughing and/or sneezing without covering my mouth (a personal favorite).

somethings to aspire to, if you will.

ta.

here's what was happening at my little house saturday afternoon:

pickling! my big sister is a PRO at this stuff (she makes the best pickled asparagus of my life). so i took some inspiration and tried my hand at it.

i'll let you know how they taste.

and planting. some of the neighborhood kids came over and we planted basil, dill, and flowers. they stopped over during their bike ride the next day to check progress.

not yet...

and a PORCH!

my friend sam, the maintenance man, came over this week and got rid of my dirt covered floor and layed some coral and made me a little porch.

and i love it.

pretty little saturday.

the scene of the crime...

most of the following information was obtained via text message:mid march, lindsay returned to her island paradise that is maewo after her in-service training. she collected a number of items to bring back with her to make her stay on said island paradise more pleasant. one of these things was: rat poison. the kind of rat poison that really lurrrrres the rat into your home, having them return time and again to the poison that tastes so delicious but is slowly destroying their intestinal track and KILLING them.lindsay set out the poison, but made one grave error in the process: she set it out as a preventative measure. she didn't actually have any rats.and this rat poison, with its luuuurrrrring quality, brought in plenty of rats. cut to a week of a not happy lindsay, with a house full of slowly dying rats."just be careful no animals eat the rats, lindsay," her dad told her during a phone call home on day, "it'll kill them too."so, linds worried and took extra care to make sure she got all the dead rats before other animals gobbled them up.eventually, all those stupid rats died and lindsay put away the poison and the problem seemed over.except.a few days later, talking to her papa, she found out that a cat had died suddenly. and its belly was really swollen and no one was exactly sure what happened...the verdict is still out on the cause of death. but i have my theories.

mico wrote this note last year after frannie visited my class for a few days. it reads: "i miss franey can you tell us ples MSB (his initials). " all i have to say about this is long live inventive, authentic spelling! and mico!

in between lamenting my existence last week, i was also putting together a two day phonics workshop for kawanu school, just up the dirt road from my little office.

a teacher from the school came to the office a bit over a month ago asking for assistance, which was doubly exciting because--whoa--they WANTED our help. were ASKING for it.

i like being wanted.(who doesn't though, really?

seriously, who?)

anyway, i compiled a bunch of materials from previous volunteers, from my own schooling, and from the internet (i love that internet...even if goes slower than my fingernails grow...) and put together a pretty cheery little introduction to phonics.

because the teachers at kawanu have never knowingly experienced phonics before.

for all you teachers and aware citizens, let that digest. for everyone else, that means they had no knowledge of the connection between the sounds that letters make and their symbols while reading.

and I got to teach it to them!

maybe you have to really care about education and recognize the importance of invented spelling and the excitement of when a child is able to communicate or learn through writing and text for the first time because of a tool you have helped them obtain to understand...

but, man, it was an exciting thing!

i gave the teachers a pre and post assessment, too, just to track their progress, because, well, i wanted to know if i was effective.

and i kinda was...

where the pre-assesment had question marks and "mi no save" and "no idea" written in the small blank spaces under the questions about phonics, if phonics is important, what indicates the mastery of a letter, etc, the post test was loaded with responses.

and MOST of them were right!!

for a realist who is constantly questioning her effectiveness, this is big news.

Phonics prevails!

we spent a lot of time on vowel sounds, because they can get a little tricky, you know? loooong and short ones.

tricky stuff.

and kalomor, in a bit of confusion with long "a" and short "a", let me know that, he was pretty certain that he made a long "a" sound when he said the word "apple" and that women just speak differently than men. all like it was a fact and such.

usually, i let the made up things that men say in this country go... for example, that the devil breaks into people's homes (that sneaky devil), that if you drink hot water when it is hot outside, you will no longer feel hot because your body will be the same temperature (a vanuatu science lesson, if you will!), that you won't get a girl pregnant if you have sex under a mango tree (actually, i did NOT let that one go...i clarified that "under a mango tree" needed to be replaced with " approximately 99% of the time IF you are wearing a condom"...but whatever), but this just didn't slide.

so instead of getting all attitudy (you don't KNOW me, kalomor), i put a sweet smile on my face and said, "oh really. interesting. can you give me an example?"

and then we tried it out. with like four words. he disproved his own theory...

"no, nevermind." he clarified after.

i took that to mean, "you were exactly right, wise teacher, even though you do not have a penis, which still makes you inferior to me."

i'll take it.

and am glad his students will know better too.

score one for the future of education in vanuatu.

and for phonics being fun. have you ever spelled a word by clapping and snapping during every other letter and then cheering at the end with a fist pump and all ("t" (snap), "o" (clap), "p" (snap), "top", YEAH!!! (fist pump)??

because I have. say what you will, phonics can be fun stuff.

and the headmistress of kawanu thought so too on her survey. who would've thought...

this is exactly what was happening in my house:

royline, lynette, diana, jojo. THIS is why i am here. little bitties. joylene, janet, rasneth. i just love them so much.

and my smartie pants daddy said it best, "...ALL of life is about relationships."

which means (probably) that it is about love (to me anyway). and that feels about right.and so, i'll keep on keepin' on.love you.

it's one of those days.

a particularly neurotic one.in general, i am particularly neurotic, but i am also usually pretty good at distracting myself from that fact. but not today. this head of mine is a jumble.today, in this particularly neurotic mood, i do wonder exactly what in the world i am doing here. not in the existentialist sense, more along the lines of: what is the point of all of this? here, let me elaborate, because it is still sounding too existentialist.

you see, in vanuatu, there is this fantastic and beautiful and HIGHLY contagious sense that there is no urgency to complete anything anytime soon. or to ever complete it.and when you live on a little island where the only real, honest concern is survival (as in food and shelter), that works. as in, it really, really, really works. and keeps your blood pressure way down. life becomes about relationships and talking with the people around you. literally, sitting and sharing stories for hours. sharing culture.and--oh my goodness--i love that. it absolutely warms my soul. awakens it, even. i wish you could see me because i know it sounds absolutely ridiculous...but it is just true.

but when you work for the ministry in a dirty city where the cultural mindset is that same lax no urgency perspective, it creates this bizarre conundrum where the environment is just western enough that it isn't REALLY acceptable to spend a whole day chatting and eating and pulling grass out of the ground, but no one really wants to do anything either.like, for months.and when, as a person who is incredibly hyper-sensitive to the needs and expectations of others (that's me, believe it or not) as well as a person who likes to get work completed in a reasonable amount of time (also me), it makes for this messy feeling in my stomach of: am i really completing anything?i have my work. a lot of it, actually. the national standards, this phonics workshop for the school down the road that hopefully will be implemented in other schools around the area, that multi-grade module... seemingly, i am swamped. yet somehow, i'm not. i caught that beautiful, lacking urgency mindset.except i would be better served keeping my western "gotta keep on moving" thoughts.maybe.or maybe i am just a westerner with a proverbial need for speed. the verdict is still out.anyway, it is just a messy head today.so i had a cup of blueberry tea (thanks, molly and dan)...because as my whole family knows, nothing soothes me quite like that.

like my mom says, "it makes everything okay."

and put on my favorite grey sweater that is ACTUALLY my little sister's...because our weather is finally cooling down. and i am trying to remember that i am just one person. and that i AM doing my best, daddy, and i know that's all you'd ask. or really, all i can do.because, maybe the reality is that this doesn't have to have a "point". maybe it is pretty okay to just be living and enjoying that. which, at the end of the day, if i am perfectly honest, is exactly what is happening.so that.

alright, so maybe that was a bit existentialist. and definitely neurotic.

it'll pass.

until then, blueberry tea.and dancing in my kitchen to florence & the machine.

that always helps, too.

....

those silly images spread throughout? a sampling of the 25 pictures i drew for billy's healthy pregnancy workshop.a lot of ni-van families. cool.

p.s. my big sis graduated last weekend. with her second masters. she's a champ. in my humble opinion.

it's one of those days.

a particularly neurotic one.in general, i am particularly neurotic, but i am also usually pretty good at distracting myself from that fact. but not today. this head of mine is a jumble.today, in this particularly neurotic mood, i do wonder exactly what in the world i am doing here. not in the existentialist sense, more along the lines of: what is the point of all of this? here, let me elaborate, because it is still sounding too existentialist.

you see, in vanuatu, there is this fantastic and beautiful and HIGHLY contagious sense that there is no urgency to complete anything anytime soon. or to ever complete it.and when you live on a little island where the only real, honest concern is survival (as in food and shelter), that works. as in, it really, really, really works. and keeps your blood pressure way down. life becomes about relationships and talking with the people around you. literally, sitting and sharing stories for hours. sharing culture.and--oh my goodness--i love that. it absolutely warms my soul. awakens it, even. i wish you could see me because i know it sounds absolutely ridiculous...but it is just true.

but when you work for the ministry in a dirty city where the cultural mindset is that same lax no urgency perspective, it creates this bizarre conundrum where the environment is just western enough that it isn't REALLY acceptable to spend a whole day chatting and eating and pulling grass out of the ground, but no one really wants to do anything either.like, for months.and when, as a person who is incredibly hyper-sensitive to the needs and expectations of others (that's me, believe it or not) as well as a person who likes to get work completed in a reasonable amount of time (also me), it makes for this messy feeling in my stomach of: am i really completing anything?i have my work. a lot of it, actually. the national standards, this phonics workshop for the school down the road that hopefully will be implemented in other schools around the area, that multi-grade module... seemingly, i am swamped. yet somehow, i'm not. i caught that beautiful, lacking urgency mindset.except i would be better served keeping my western "gotta keep on moving" thoughts.maybe.or maybe i am just a westerner with a proverbial need for speed. the verdict is still out.anyway, it is just a messy head today.so i had a cup of blueberry tea (thanks, molly and dan)...because as my whole family knows, nothing soothes me quite like that.

like my mom says, "it makes everything okay."

and put on my favorite grey sweater that is ACTUALLY my little sister's...because our weather is finally cooling down. and i am trying to remember that i am just one person. and that i AM doing my best, daddy, and i know that's all you'd ask. or really, all i can do.because, maybe the reality is that this doesn't have to have a "point". maybe it is pretty okay to just be living and enjoying that. which, at the end of the day, if i am perfectly honest, is exactly what is happening.so that.

alright, so maybe that was a bit existentialist. and definitely neurotic.

it'll pass.

until then, blueberry tea.and dancing in my kitchen to florence & the machine.

that always helps, too.

....

those silly images spread throughout? a sampling of the 25 pictures i drew for billy's healthy pregnancy workshop.a lot of ni-van families. cool.

p.s. my big sis graduated last weekend. with her second masters. she's a champ. in my humble opinion.

(except i might)

happy birthday, miss frannie underpants!i miss your freckle face...

do you like this one? i just found it and really do... snarky, huh?or maybe this one? i like it too. heeey close up...here is your birthday playlist. a compilation of some things that you know and love and some additions, essentially, it is what i would play for you today if we were hanging out together.

i love you so so very much, little sister. enjoy your special day...

Furr: Blitzen Trapper

Pink Moon: Nick Drake

Us: Regina Spektor

Wouldn't It Be Nice: Beachie Boys

Two Weeks: Grizzly Bear

Sigh No More: Mumford & Sons : )

Say Hey: Michael Franti

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger: Daft Punk

La Vie En Rose: Louie Armstrong

Five Years Time: Noah & the Whale

Got to Get You Into my Life: Beatles

Gonna Make You Love Me: Ryan Adams

and of course...

Isn't She Lovely: Stevie Wonder(ful)

hope you are dancing your pants off, little sister.

or maybe keep the pants on.

xo

is that you do not have cool pictures to document the times you fearlessly jumped off of a cliff (before anyone else!) into the crystal clear ocean with two of your favorite peace corps friends and four little ni-van girls from the nearby village.

instead, you document other things you love. like your friends playing on gravel hills, walking down the entirely-out-of-place-looking paved road on your little island for two hours to visit host families, a little short trip to the ocean, those same friends giving you annoyed looks for candid sea-side shots (cranky, cranky...), babies bathing in little basins, sherbet colored sunset skies (doesn't that sounds sweet? as we were walking, danielle said, "i just love sherbet colored skies"), pick-up futbol matches and the occasional broken wheelchairs.

you'll just have to take my word on the cliff jumping.



did you SEE that little guy in the bottom right corner? so cute...

MOMMA!

you know i would never forget you. it is about 8:00 on monday morning (5:00 pm mother's day for you) and i caught a truck ride back from north efate around 6:30 this morning to skype with you.

but this computer of mine...for the FIRST time in almost a month, is completely non responsive. so, here i am, on the peace corps computer, typing away...hoping hoping (HOPING!) that my little lap top gets it together before your mother's day is finished.

i guess something like this was bound to happen when i jumped ship to the other side of the world.

anyway, i just love you so much, and don't you forget it. what a lucky girl i am. thanks for absolutely everything.

p.s. cliff jumping was awesome. maybe we can do it when you come? : )

p.p.s. is this maybe where you got "eggs jennifer"? sounds delicious...

off for a weekend of cliff jumping and island living in north efate with four peace corps friends...

be back monday. have a wonderful may weekend...

love you.

to avoid slander, this is not the cat discussed in the following. just another cat i do not particularly care for...it is a well known fact in group 23 (the group of people i came with to vanuatu) that i have a particular disdain for animals.

yeah, yeah, i know...what kind of heartless human doesn't love a nice pet? and the answer to that is: this kind of human.

if a dog comes sniffing around me, my face scrunches up in annoyance. a cat rubs up against my leg... sends a shiver up my spine.

no thanks.

bluuuhh.

don't even get me started.

anyway, i had always planned to get a cat to kill rats and mice (which i LOATHE...even more than cats. eww) at my house (i also planned to live in the middle of the bush of vanuatu instead of this high rise apartment in the biggest city in the country...biggest having about 35,000 people...and high rise having a front stoop....sometimes you do not get what you planned, i am learning all too well), but when things proved otherwise, i was relieved.

no animals. no feeding, no poop, no nothin' but one happy, pet-less girl.

mmhmm.

except last week, matt came to visit, and for WHATEVER reason, the guy really likes cats. like, actually, genuinely likes them. has THREE of them at his house in emae. i understand one (rat protection), but three?? bluuhh. and he takes pictures of them! like a proud PARENT or something. insanity.

anyway, so there is this one cat that must belong to my neighbor or something and from time to time, it wonders near my house, but she and i have a mutual understand: "don't come near me, and i won't throw water on you." pretty simple. EXTREMELY simple.

except then matt comes along and is all like, "hey cat, even though you are ungodly ugly (it is not an attractive cat), i'll still treat you like a worthwhile creature...want me to scratch under your chin? how about your back too? no, do not worry, it's cool if you sleep on jenni's front stoop. she totally doesn't mind."

cue the cat-induced shiver up my spine. euuugh.

so, matt and i would come back from town and there would be that stupid little cat, curled in a stupid little ball on my stoop. and then matt would be all sweet again. and try to convince me that i was the crazy one, when he was all smitten over some cat. right.

then yesterday, i came back to my house, just me, as matt has been gone for a week, and that little cat was STILL sitting on my stoop. she dashed away as soon as she saw me (the girl still remembers our agreement) and i thought to myself, "okay, jenni, maybe matt is right. maybe that little lady isn't so bad. she doesn't take up much space and she's really quiet..." and then she peered up at me from the bushes in front of my house and almost looked cute and i almost didn't completely hate her. i've been wrong before. maybe matt had a point here.

anyway, fast forward to this morning, as i am cheerfully getting ready for work, and as i open my door to leave my house, happy as a clam, i see the cat. and after my initial grimace, i think, "i'll give her a chance". i take one foot toward my stoop, and stop dead in my tracks.

a pile of cat vomit covered in ants, exactly in the path of my bare foot.

AHHHHHH.

the feline darts (understandably, because at this point, it was extremely clear that she had blown ALL chances with me...mr. nice guy who??) and i grab a bowl of water and forcefully slosh that vomit off.

done and done.

except then, i open my door the rest of the way, and there is ANOTHER pile of puke...and this one is EVEN bigger. with EVEN more ants. SERIOUSLY, cat, SERIOUSLY???!>?!

and thus, my hatred remains. that cat has just been cordially uninvited to spend anytime on my front stoop ever again. grrrrrr. judge me accordingly, but cats are really big jerks*.

really big jerks.

*except kittens. i mean, seriously, i am not completely heartless.

this weekend i:

1. was indecisive all weekend with one of my favorite north efate visitors, danielle. look, i'd argue that danielle and i are a lot of fun together, but please, whatever you do, do not force us to make a decision. especially about eating or evening plans. we are ENTIRELY incapable.

2. found out that my friend eric lee wong (from pentecost) LOVES the red panda. so much so that his facebook picture is a red panda ("what is THAT thing??" courtney exclaimed, glancing at eric's profile picture. "it's a red panda. my favorite animal ever." eric shrugged and responded napoleon dynamite-esquely which made me burst out in a cackle from the other side of the room).

3. dodged a massive pile of poop hidden around a turn of the secret stairway of the secret shortcut from the peace corps office to anchor inn, a local eatery, as danielle, eric and i headed to meet carla and jane for an afternoon beer. i was leading the pack and stopped dead in my tracks to see the giNORmous load of mess covered in shiny, black flies who were as BIG AS MY FINGERNAILS. i turned back with wary eyes to eric and danielle, "just go fast" they told me. great. i held my breath and ran as fast as i could around it. flies swarmed all in my face and everywhere, a frenzy of fingernail sized, poop loving flies, all in my business. "i thought that wouldn't be too bad," eric noted, as we reached the bottom of the stairs, where i was still feeling pretty traumatized, swatting away the last of those little fly bastards, "especially because i didn't go first." jerk. "what kind of feces do you guys think that was?" i asked, in between gulps of air, as i was still recovering. "red panda poop." danielle responded snarkily. eric was pissed. i snorted.

4. went to the market (i love that market so much) and got more coriander and even some...wait for it...DILL! i feel almost as strongly about fresh dill as i do coriander or mayonnaise packets...or any food, really, for that matter. making it such that, i will most certainly be eating tuna burgers with a lemon dill mayo sauce on top this week. maybe i'll eat that meal two times, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" is my motto. it isn't really my motto. not sure why i said that...

5. drew pictures of pregnant women in island dresses, smoking cigarettes and drinking beer. i almost want to leave it at that, confusing you to pieces, but i'll elaborate instead, because i like you. my friend, billy, a health pcv, asked me to draw some pictures for a workshop on "healthy pregnancy practices" (and NON healthy ones...thus the cigs and booze) that he'll be eventually giving to ni-van mamas. if you are nice to me, i might show you some later. they're pretty ridiculous.

6. discovered cooling powder. heavens, how did i make it through the last eight months of my life without this stuff??? simply baby powder mingled with menthol, cooling powder has CHANGED MY LIFE. seriously, i covered my entire body with it on sunday. "i think you only put it in places where you sweat a lot...", danielle, who informed me of this miracle product, said. "i am only putting it in places where i sweat a lot". i responded through a white, powdery cloud of bliss. and it smells nice, too. sigh.

so that is what the weekend was like for a vila volunteer. chalked full of the modern conveniences that are provided by a dirty, smelly capital city of a developing country.

the good life, if you will. puh-lease.

okay, so not the greatest birthday present ever (what an awesome way for this to start...let me try again).

molly, my big sister, is claiming another year today. that's right, she's stuck around another 365 days, and earned the right to another birthday.nice work, sis.

annnnyway, molly likes bislama (or bislamy as she calls it sometimes, which i think is really, really cute). occasionally, she asks me to speak it to her--"say something in bislamy"--sounds cute, right?

so, while this isn't the BEST bislama video, or even a very good one, really, it is my favorite little girl that lives near me (her name is joylene), and at the very end of it, she takes a sip of cold water (courtesy of my icebox) from her cup and it is about the cutest thing i've ever seen. so, happy birthday, mol. and i really, really hope other people got you better presents. because all this is is really cute.

i love you.

(okay and then maybe watch this one...because i bet you and your funny husband forgot about how really funny it is. or maybe you didn't)