Hey. It’s finally cooling down here and I’m feeling pretty good. What a day! Woke up and circuit trained with my sister Suzy. At least I think it was circuit training, I’m not entirely sure. We ran for a little while, then did pushups. We ran some more and did crunches. We ran some more and did squats, etc. We did some stretching then ate some of that delicious Weet-Bix that I love so much. With milk powder and a dash of cinnamon. Yum! I took a bucket bath, got my dirty clothes together along with the bag of powdered laundry detergent I purchased in bulk in Vila, and headed over to my family’s house.
We took the road by the ocean so as to avoid the church service that was going on. There’s an Anglican festival thingy happening here this week and there are services pretty much all day every day. I feel like such a sinner walking on the road that goes through the village whenever I pass a church service that I’m not attending.
I washed. Thankfully Suzy helped me because I had a lot to wash and the sun was pretty hot already. I hadn’t washed my clothes since before I left for the workshop on Ambae two weeks before. Throw in my bed sheets and a towel and pretty soon I had 2 hours worth of laundry on my hands.
I hung up my clothes to dry then prepared to rest a bit before heading home to relax and make lunch. My mama asked me to buy a kilo of rice for her to cook our lunch with, but because I had brought no money with me, she told me to go to the garden with Suzy and get some cabbage. She said the equivalent of “oh, it’s not far at all,” in Bislama, which means it’s a lot farther than it is closer. People in Vanuatu live very close together and grow most of their food in the bush, sometimes upwards of a 30 minute walk away, up hills and through mud. They are some tough people. I struggle to slip and slide down the hills as we come back from the garden only to see old women walking down confidently, carrying large loads of taro or firewood on their backs and on top of their heads.
Luckily there were no hills to climb. I had actually been to this particular garden before. It’s a nice walk through a small coconut plantation and a few clear, ice cold creeks to wade across. We got to the garden and picked watercress and Chinese cabbage then headed back.
By the time we got to the house, I was very hungry and suffering slightly from dehydration. Boy does this country make me feel like a princess. These days I get motion sickness just smelling gasoline. (In the last week or so, I’ve vomited once while riding in the bed of a pickup truck and then again taking a boat from Maewo to Ambae). I also get dehydrated basically everyday. Sigh. I asked my mom to send me some more Gatorade powder to mix with water though. I always hated Gatorade in the States, but it’s a real life saver for me here and I swear the powder has more sugar in it or something, it doesn’t taste like flavored sweat. Anyway, when lunch was served, I felt so nauseous I could barely choke it down, but I forced myself to eat small bites and soon felt a lot better. I also sipped my water. After I ate, I walked back to my house, took some Tylenol, and laid down for a bit. About an hour later, I was good as new. That’s the cool thing about it, if there is a cool thing about getting dehydrated daily: I know exactly how to fix it. Obviously drink more water, but, if you really wanna feel better quickly, eat a little bit (preferably something with salt), take a pain killer, and sleep. Taking a cold bucket bath never hurts either.
I woke up to somebody calling my name. Nicholson, the mechanics teacher, was at my door, asking for chalk. I had told him a week ago that there was no chalk, so I’m not sure if this was just him making sure I was sticking to my story or if he was hopeful or that forgetful. Once he left, I puttered about my house and talked on my phone for a bit.
I worked on my “field of interest” piece for a graduate school program I’m trying to apply to. I wrote “trying” because applying to grad schools without telecommunications is frustrating. Hopefully I can pull it off successfully, but part of me wonders if it might be better to just wait tables for a year back in the States while taking my time to research schools. But then I remember the nine months I worked at Barnes & Noble between college and Peace Corps and shudder. I loved my experience there, but going in 40 hours a week not knowing what my next step would be was difficult. I guess in this case I would have a plan and be researching schools so it might not be so bad. Maybe I’d even move to a different city. I’ve always thought about living in Boston, but the west coast sounds cool, as does Austin. It’d be easier to save money living with my parents back in Maryland, but I feel like trying something new.
Anyway, I really need to wash some dishes before I go back to my family’s house for dinner. There are so many people from Naviso, the sole village on East Maewo, here in my village for the Anglican thing that I feel like I just arrived in a new village all over again. People in Naviso rarely see white people, so many of them come up to me just to touch my hair or look at my nose ring. They’re fascinated when I take it out. They also love it when I get Stuey to sit and shake hands. But it’s weird walking around in my normally quiet village being greeted by people I’ve never met, who seem to know me.
I’ve been meaning to walk over to the East for some time now. They’ve invited me over there for Penama Day, which is Penama Province’s annual celebration. Each province has one, but ours is September 15. There’s going to be a big party in Naviso and they want me to come. I made the mistake of telling them I’d think about it, and have since had tell people (the same people) over and over that I would think about coming. I’d love to go, but I think I’ll wait until a non-holiday time when things aren’t so crazy. When there’s dancing and drinking, it’s nice to have your own house to go to and hide in if things get too crazy. Plus I’d like to go with the other Maewo volunteers, who also don’t want to go during a holiday. In fact, I think all three of them are coming to my house this weekend and staying through the 15th to celebrate here. Yay!
Also, a Peace Corps Staff member called me today about hosting a few trainees here on Maewo next month. I’m really excited and I hope it works out. I’m hoping they’ll send my good friend Stephanie out here. I haven’t seen her in about a 18 months and I’d love her to see my site. Lots to look forward to, but I should really wash those dishes…
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