On Saturday, the same day as my last blog update, Keith arrived in Sydney and we had a meeting with him that night at 8:00. We thought that at the meeting he would be telling us WHEN we were going back. Instead he told us all of the information he had about the damage to the different islands, answered a lot of questions for us (mostly with "I don't know yet") and told us that he and all of the staff in Vanuatu had been in contact with Washington and answered all of their questions about damage, site assessments, etc BUT that he had not received a definite YES or a definite NO to the question of whether or not we could go back at all. This was different than the information we had received on Tuesday, which was that at a meeting in Washington the consensus was that we could go back pending some further assessment. This put us back on our roller coaster and made us very anxious about what Ken would be telling us the next day when he arrived. We all had a meeting with Ken, Keith and Sasha the next day at 11:00 where Ken told us that YES we would be going back! Whew! We still did not know when at that point. I am so thankful for the hard work that Keith, Nik and all of the staff in Vanuatu have been doing in order to ensure our return!!
After that meeting I went to Coogee beach with Lea and Lucas. I needed to lay on the beach and let my mind rest! Cole decided not to go to the beach with us and went to a few optional meetings at the hotel and walked around the city with Jeffery.
On Monday we hung around the hotel and didn't do too much. I watched 50 Shades of Grey on our computer, we did laundry, Cole went and walked around some, nothing too exciting.
We found out on Tuesday that we would be leaving on Thursday!! Cole and I had a date day. We hadnt spent much time together just the two of us since we got to Sydney, so we decided to go spend the day with each other! We went to Chinatown, went into the city, had a Gyro and a doughnut for lunch, went to the Royal Botanical Gardens and went to have a beer at Fortune of War Hotel (which claims to be the oldest pub in Sydney). It was a fun little day. When we got back I took a nap and then a group of us went to Rocks Brewery for a bit before coming back to hotel for dinner and a dessert bar that the hotel provided for us. The hotel staff have been really great! There have many many nights where we have been quite annoying (coming in right when dinner is ending, being very loud, etc) and they have been very patient and understanding and have taken good care of us for the last two weeks.
Today I went to the doctor to refill some prescriptions and then went to the mall with my friend Kate (a G26 volunteer). Now I am sitting at an internet cafe about a 10 min walk from our hotel. Cole went with a group to another shopping center to look at some shoes he's been eyeing. Tonight we are going to do one last load of laundry (back to washing clothes in our buckets after tonight!) and pack.
Our whole group will be flying together to Port Vila and then G27 will get right on another plane to Luganville, Santo to spend the next 2 weeks finishing our training and FINALLY being sworn in as official PC volunteers. We aren't sure yet of exact plans after that. Santo is the island where our permanent site is. Our site is about an hour and a half from Luganville (in Narango), so we are thinking we may head straight to our site after we swear in, but we are not sure.
We are excited to go back and to finally have a plan, at least for the next few weeks...but I have to admit that I have gotten used to the western world again and its going to take some adjusting to go back!
We have lost one person from our group, which is very sad. She decided that PC Vanuatu wasn't the right fit for her right now, and she went back to America today. A piece of what has become our G27 family is missing and I was very sad to see her go. BUT, I definitely understand and can relate to not feeling like the overseas experience you are in is right for you at that time and needing to go home. I wish her all the best and I know that she is going to do awesome things back in the US.
Luganville is Vanuatu's other "city" and we should be able to connect to internet and stay in touch while we are there. So, more updates to come!!!
Many people have been asking about sending things (for us and for the people in Vanuatu)... I will update the blog ASAP with when and where to send things. Hold off for now until I have more info...and THANK YOU in advance!
Remember, you can donate to any of the organizations I posted links to in my previous update!
Wish us luck on this next chapter of our big adventure and PLEASE continue to think positive thoughts about Vanuatu! Talk about it and don't let people forget that the country needs help and that every little donation contributes to the rebuild and the relief that is needed!!
Here are some pictures from my beach day with Lea and Lucas and from our date day...I'm looking forward to posting more Vanuatu pics in the next blog update!!!!
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| A little piece of Vanuatu (the umbrella) and a little piece of Sydney (Opera House and Harbour Bridge) |
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