March Update

Two months into living in Vanuatu and life is finally settling into routine. The alarm rings at 5.30am. I get up, waste too much time checking email and face book, find myself late, throw any leftover food into a sealed container for lunch, have a shower and walk as fast as I can (snail’s pace) to the bus stop.

The buses are hundreds of privately owned vans with a ‘B’ on the number plate and pass every few minutes. If I catch one as close as I can to 6.30am I’ll get a direct route to school “Mi go long PVIS plis?” If I’m five minutes late I could go anywhere (including a lot of places I do not want to go) and the ten minute ride can take up to 40minutes.

My students still continue to amaze me with their mature attitudes, world views and consideration of each other. Yes, they can still be kids but to be honest the worst thing they do is talk too much however if I analyse their talk it is mostly valuable discussion. I’ve decided to harness this vocal energy into weekly debates. I have about eight outstanding speakers who need real competition to move them ahead. We will compete against our own high school students soon but I’d love to see these kids perform in an international debate. For those teachers reading this; I’ve also been giving them the NZ Lit Quiz Sample Questions and the group scores are all eight to ten. I’d score a three or four! They are veracious readers.

We all run an After School Programme to earn a bit of extra money and to cater for students who need extracurricular activities. You guessed it, I run a drama class for years 6,7,8 and 9. It is an absolute delight. They are so clever and funny. If I run an extension class next term I’ll need to call upon TPHS drama teachers for some advice!

Weekends have also settled into routine. Saturday morning I’m up at 7.30am and catching a bus to paddle boarding fitness. I no longer spend the hour sweating and wanting to throw up but actually find some enjoyment in it, I’m also meeting some new people. Maybe I’ll stick to it after all.

Then it’s back to the Kaiviti for breakfast, market for fruit and veges, Numbawan Cafe for a decent coffee and whatever the rest of the day brings. I’m careful to avoid town when the cruise ships are in. Honestly, I think you must be tested on size before you are allowed on a cruise! I’ve never seen so many overweight people wobbly down the street. Yesterday it was like Teletubby Town and nearly every one of the Teletubbies were smoking!!!!

Sundays are for exploring, this usually involves heading off to one of the islands for a lazy day with a bit of snorkelling and reading.  I was really lucky to tour the whole island with my friend Suzy  and her family last week. This really made me realise what a magical wee island Efate is. It’s very easy to get caught up in the whole busy, noisy, fume-filled city and forget that a gentle life exists away from the pot-holed main drag.   Circumnavigation takes three hours but with beautiful bays, hot springs, blue holes etc one could spend days slowly meandering around....and I will.

 

Bislama lessons (local pidgin English) continue to be a heap of fun and more often than not Suzy and I get into giggling fits which won’t stop.  We are a small group, a Dutch photographer, who has an interesting Facebook site called ‘Human Faces of Vanuatu’, a French university professor, a Canadian volunteer, Susy and I.

 

There is much talk here at present of the workers who are heading off to NZ to workthe kiwifruit season. After listening to Ni-Vanuatu speak of their experiences I have to question the worthiness of such a scheme.  Is NZ really providing opportunities for island workers or are they simply generating a pool of cheap labour?  The families and villages suffer; the women work harder, there is no-one to keep teenage boys in line, and no male role models left in the villages.  Troubles brew. The islanders who leave, do so with a specific goal in mind. For many it is to pay for their children’s education which they see as a link to a better life. Most return with only the few hundred dollars which remain after they have repaid their airfares, accommodation and food. If the weather is bad in NZ they don’t work therefore don’t get paid but still have overheads. For some, there have been very bad seasons and they return with nothing.  At times I have felt ashamed as I have listened to their stories. I’m going to dig deeper as I know there is some valuable writing material here.

On a brighter note, every day I learn something new. This week’s lessons: 1)Put glasses on before eating food, those miniature brown ants take only seconds to completely smother any food left alone for the shortest time. 2) Empty the kettle as often as possible. The tickle in my throat after I drink is caused by calcium. When I empty the kettle at the end of the day what comes out looks like huge chunks of blackboard chalk.

I’m always on the lookout for social events that might lead to meeting new friends. Yesterday was International Woman’s Day and Alliance Francaise held a exhibition of art by local women. The food was exquisite, the punch had a real kick, the Ni-Van Women’s’ string band was entertaining (although rather a repetitive sound after a while) and the people interesting to watch. However, watch was all I could do....everyone was young, chic, smoked and spoke French!  I spent an hour  mastering the art of eating delicate finger food, drinking and nonchalantly  looking like I belonged when I totally DID NOT, then wandered home. I hear the Australian Embassy has a monthly fund raiser. Maybe I’ll go to that!!

I’ll be back in NZ early April for a few weeks and hopefully catch up with a few people. Until then, keep in touch.

Lukim Yu