Pam Timeline + Our time in Sydney

Warning: lengthy post! I’ve been working on this post for several days. We don’t have much internet access and we have been trying to get in as much Sydney sightseeing as possible while we are here, so I haven’t made the time to post it and have instead just been adding to it and making it longer and longer each day!

I’ll start with a timeline of events up until now with a brief explanation of each. Some of this may be repetitive from the previous post, but I wanted the whole timeline in one place…

• ·         Saturday March 7^th: Our group traveled to Vila for interviews with our program managers and got wind of the cyclone.
• ·         Sunday March 8^th: We went to church with our family and then planned to swim to Pele (sp) which is another small island just across the ocean from Nguna. We were told after church that we were on “stand by” and that we were not allowed to leave our current location until further notice…meaning no swim to Pele. We swam in the ocean at Nguna instead and then went fishing with our family that night. We had an unsettling and unsure feeling about when/if we would be evacuated to Vila with the other volunteers. 
• ·         Monday March 9^th: We tried to have a normal day of training (which we did for the most part, with the exception of a lot of talk about what might happen and whether or not we might be evacuated). That afternoon, many of us were beginning to feel frustrated about not yet knowing what was going to happen. We had no internet, had little communication with volunteers or staff in Vila, didn’t know what the storm was looking like, didn’t know if we were going to be evacuated, didn’t know when that would happen if it was going to, etc. All we knew was that there was a storm and that the volunteers had voiced concerned and were already together in Vila. I decided to call Keith, our country director, and voice our concerns. He told me that they were planning on sending out a message that night stating that we were being brought into Vila the next day. Our boat would be there at 11:00. We would all be going to the Holiday Inn because they wanted us all under the same roof and Pacific Paradise did not have enough space for that. Also, the Holiday Inn is a very safe building. We felt relieved to have an answer, but sad to leave our families on Nguna. We did not know if we would be returning there because we only had a few more days of training there, and weren’t sure when we would be sent back or if we would just go to the next training location instead of going back there first. At this point we thought we would be in Vila until the storm passed and then we would go on with our training as usual. We packed and had dinner with our family that night.
• ·         Tuesday March 10^th: We had devotion with our family and after devotion they prayed over us. They prayed for our safety and for us during our service since we weren’t sure if we would be coming back there or not. All of our families walked with us to the boat and waved goodbye to us as we rode away. It was sad. When we arrived in Vila, we ate lunch, had a language assessment, checked into the AMAZING Holiday Inn and then had a meeting with the whole group. At this point the feeling was very positive and the storm seemed like it may not be a huge threat. We were divided into small groups with team leaders, who we would meet with each day and we were told that training would continue as usual there in the hotel. That night we had a fun pool party.
• ·         Wednesday March 11^th: We split into our groups within our group (Education and Community health) and had a separate session. At around 10:15 we all met up for a second session on Bystandard Prevention. During the meeting Russell got a phone call, the phone was passed to Judy-who is one of the people in charge of safety and security and who was leading this session—Judy informed us that we had moved to stage 2, meaning that we were not allowed to leave the hotel. About 2 minutes later, all of our phones started to ring. Our team leaders were calling to tell us we were being evacuated and needed to go and pack. We waited for confirmation from Judy, who had also received another phone call, got the confirmation and then all headed off to pack. I cried. People were a bit panicked. It happened very fast. Within 30 minutes we were all packed, and in the lobby waiting for our next directions. We were told we were going to American Samoa. We boarded buses and then Keith came on the buses and told us that the Department of Defense had not approved us for the military plane we were supposed to be getting on. We all got off the buses, went back into the hotel and waited for more information. That afternoon we were told that we would be hunkering down at the HH and waiting out the storm there. Feelings changed to worried and uneasy.
• ·         Thursday March 12^th: We were told after the team leaders meeting at 9:00 that we would in fact be evacuated and that we would be getting on a plane to Sydney that afternoon.  The storm was very large at this point and was heading straight towards Vanuatu. We all called our families and told them to PREPARE! Some took it seriously, and some did not. The weather at this point was okay, a little windy and partly cloudy with periods of light rain. Some of our families don’t have TV and internet and were having a hard time believing that it was coming. Also, many people in Vanuatu believe strongly in customs. Some families were telling the volunteers things like they had done a custom ceremony and that the storm would not come. Luckily, all of our families took what we were saying seriously and told us that they were preparing. We were skeptical of the evacuation because of the previous day. We were packed and in the lobby around lunch time. Once we were at the airport we waited for a long while for our visas to go through and for our boarding passes to be printed. We then waited for another ling while for our chartered plane to arrive. We got to the airport around 1:00 and boarded the plane a little before 6:00. As we were walking out to board the plane several of the wonderful PC Vanuatu staff, who we were leaving behind, stood at a departure decked and waved goodbye to us as we boarded. Again, very sad. We arrived in Sydney around 10:00, went to the hotel and went to sleep. It had been a long day…and we had several more long days ahead.
• ·         Friday March 13^th: We checked the internet for cyclone updates A LOT. We knew it was scheduled to hit sometime that day or the next. We were still in communication with some of the PC staff in Vanuatu at this point. That day, we bought some warmer clothes—because it gets chilly here in Sydney and we don’t have clothes for that!!—we went to see the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, we walked around the city, had a drink at a hole in the wall bar, walked to Darling Harbour, and then headed back to the hotel. It was fun, which I couldn’t help but feel guilty about. The storm hit late that night and into Saturday morning.
• ·         Saturday March 14^th: The storm was still hitting and was now the front page on CNN and the weather channel. Many people were reading about it online, some were steering clear. Reports were not good. We decided to try to stay positive and enjoy our time in Sydney as much as possible. We took the train to Circular Quay, walked to the Wharf, ate lunch and got on the ferry to the zoo. I loved the ferry ride and the views of Sydney from the ferry were amazing. The zoo was really fun. We went to a seal show, saw the giraffes being fed, went to a Koala talk where they got fed and we learned all about them, and saw lots and lots of other fun animals. We took the ferry back to the wharf around 5:15, got starbucks and headed back to the hotel. No word from PC staff, not able to get in touch with family. Still not good reports on the news or on the internet.
• ·         Sunday March 15^th: Waiting to hear from headquarters about damage and our next steps. Had heard that some PC staff were safe. Good news! Also had heard more news about damage and deaths. Not good news. Cole and I went with a small group to a thrift sore for more warm clothes since it looked like we would be here a while. We didn’t find much at the thrift store so we took a bus to the mall and got some things there. We had lunch at the mall and then headed back to the hotel. Not much of an exciting day. We had become very worried at this point that we would not be able to go back to Vanuatu with Peace Corps due to the amount of damage and the fact that it may not be safe in terms of proper housing and/or food and water. We had started seek out disaster training in order to prepare ourselves for work we may be doing when/if we did get to go back. Many people, including Cole and I, also started to explore other options for going back should we not be able to go back with Peace Corps.
• ·         Monday March 16^th: Still no word from headquarters about when/if we would be going back. Had heard from more staff and trainers that they were safe! GREAT news! Still no word from our families. Started to have meetings with small groups—committees kind of – about fundraising, getting training together, etc. Cole went a played ultimate Frisbee with a group of peeps, I hung out at the hotel. A Peace Corps phycologist arrived and talked to us as a whole group about how he was there to support us and how he would be holding individual meetings and some optional whole group meetings. Not a very eventful day. Morale was kind of low.
• ·         Tuesday March 17^th: STILL no word from headquarters. Cole and I did hear from our family on Lelepa that they are safe but do not have much food. Still no word from our families on Nguna or Santo. We heard that our mama at my site, Narango, on Santo was safe. She had been in Vila during the cyclone and the volunteer who was at our site before us was able to get in touch with her. No word on the rest of the family who were in Narango. Sasha, who works for PC in Washington and was with us for the first 5 weeks of our training arrived. She told us that there was not much news from headquarters at that point. We did find out that Keith was doing a fly over to assess damage, so we were hopeful for some news soon. We all went out that afternoon/evening for St. Patrick’s Day/Natalie’s birthday! It was really fun.
• ·         Wednesday March 18^th: We were told during breakfast that there would be a mandatory meeting at 8:00. At the meeting we were told- FINALLY -that headquarters had met and had made a decision….WE ARE GOING BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now, this could change depending on further assessment, but it is the plan as of right now. Headquarters is having another meeting on Friday, so Saturday our time, and we probably won’t know any more until then. BUT, as of right now it looks like all of us will be able to return to Vanuatu with Peace Corps in some capacity. We were told that we will probably be here in Sydney for 7 more days and that trainees and volunteers may be going back at different times. We think that trainees will go back first, and will be going to Luganville, Santo to finish training and be sworn in. We don’t know right now if we will be going to our original site or if we will be doing what we originally came to Vanuatu to do (for Cole and me: teach). We do know that the southern islands were hit much worse than the northern islands. We were told that some of our sites are destroyed and that many things are likely to change. Our permanent site is in the North and from what we understand was not hit very hard and has minimal damage.
• ·         Thursday March 19^th: A big group of us left at 6:00am and took two trains for two and a half hours to the Blue Mountains. We walked around the sweet little town there, that reminded us a lot of Asheville or Hendersonville, stopped at a bakery and went into some cool outdoor store (I got a bookbag and Cole got a new watchband) and then we went on a 4 hour hike! It was so BEAUTIFUL! It was through the Blue Mountains and we saw the Three Sisters Mountains and lots of waterfalls and cascades. We stopped in a little clearing for lunch, some of us went in one of the COLD waterfalls, we walked up like 1,500 stairs, I hurt my knee, and after we finished the hike we stopped at a beer garden for a few drinks before getting back on the train. We got back to the hotel around 8:00. It was a really nice day because it was fun and the views were amazing and the waterfalls were amazing and the people we were with are amazing. We also didn’t think or talk much (until the long train ride home) about the cyclone or about what is going to happen next, which was nice.
• ·         Friday March 19^th –HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN! –  This morning we had a training from a women who works for the Australian Red Cross. After the training we got per diem for the next 5 days and then we got a letter from Keith about some of the damage he has seen and his thoughts about what is next (no new news really, just that he is working hard to get us back there!), we also heard from Keith’s wife, Aimee, who got here yesterday. She told us about her experience and answered a lot of questions for us about what is happening in Vila right now. After Aimee’s talk we went to lunch and then had another training – that Cole organized! – from the New South Wales Emergency Management Services. After that I took a nap AND WATCHED ELLEN and now we are about to eat some dinner and then go out on the town for a bit. We still haven’t talked to our family in Nguna. Cole got a haircut today.
• ·         Saturday March 20^th- Today after breakfast and a Group 27 meeting Cole, Lea, Lucas and I headed to Bondi Beach! It was not an ideal beach day, around 70 degrees and cloudy, but we decided to go anyway because we don’t know how many more days we will be here. We took the train to a stop in the city so Lucas could take advantage of a Vans flip flop sale and then took the bus to Bondi Beach. As soon as we got to the beach we walked to Bondi Ink Tattoo and I got my nose pierced and Lea got a tattoo. I wanted to do something crazy here in Sydney! Cole was in the room with me. It hurt. After our tattoo and piercing adventure we headed to happy hour. Lea and I decided to stop on the way to happy hour and get FroYo instead of having beers with the guys. After we finished our sweet treats/brews we did the Eastern Beaches Coastal Walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach. The walk took about an hour and a half. It was along the coast, was really pretty and reminded me a lot of San Diego. When we got to Coogee we had some delicious Thai food (a nice change from the hotel food we have been eating for over a week!) and then took a bus to meet a bunch of people at Darling Harbour for the Friday Fireworks show. We made it to Darling harbor right in time for the fireworks! After the show we went to Margaritaville and danced to a live band and then a DJ. There was a big group of us there, the band was great, the DJ was great, and we had a great time!

Some other thoughts and info...

We found out yesterday (Saturday) that Keith – country director – and Ken – Regional director – are both coming to Sydney and will be having a meeting with all of us sometime on Monday. We should find out then when we will be leaving Sydney and going back to Vanuatu!

We found out the other day that the death toll in Vanuatu is low and that many volunteers and aid organizations are there now doing relief work. They are working on getting food and supplies to the outer islands that were hit hardest.

It is weird to see people driving on the other side of the road in the other side of their cars.

It is also weird to walk on the other side of the sidewalk or mall and to have the escalators on the opposite sides of what we are used to!  

I kind of miss bucket baths.

I don’t miss the flies. Vanuatu has more flies than any other place on earth (including Edisto Seafood!!)

I need to practice Bislama! Everything we have learned the last 2 months is slowly leaving me!

Uncertainty is excruciating.

We have a curfew while we are here in Sydney. It was 10:00, but has now been extended to 11:00. There have been a few nights where we have cut it close and large groups of us have found ourselves sprinting from the train station to the hotel (once in the rain) to make it back in time!

Parts of our time here have been really hard. I feel bad saying that knowing how much harder it has been for the people in Vanuatu effected by this awful storm. We are here with Group 26, who have been serving in Vanuatu for over a year and with some extendees from Group 24 or 25, who have been serving in Vanuatu for more than two years. People are at different points in their service and therefore have different feelings and emotions. People have different personalities, and people are stressed for many different reasons and handle that stress in many different ways. People who have been there longer obviously have different connections to Vanuatu than we do and it is impossible for us to all relate to one another. This is a stressful and crazy situation that we have all been thrown into and it has taken some time to get used to it and to make sense of it…which is still in the making! The groups have been meeting separately and together with the PC psychologist that is here and everyone has started to work well together and, I feel, to let go of the differences between us all and realize that regardless of the difference in our service, our feelings and our emotions, we are all in this together. Sometimes people from different groups never get to meet each other because of the fact that we are all on different islands far away from one another, so this is a unique situation that we have the opportunity to take advantage of. We have had the chance to get to know people from different groups and I have found that there are some really awesome and amazing people in all the groups and I am so happy to have gotten to meet and get to know them all.

Here is a picture of all of us before boarding the plane from Vanuatu to Sydney

I found myself thinking a lot about what it might be like if we were sent home, which seemed like a real possibility for many days. I thought about how wonderful it would be to see Murray, to see our families, to see our friends, to meet baby Charlie, to attend Crawford and Mcrea’s wedding, to eat at McConkeys, etc. But I also thought about the fact that going home would mean that we would have failed at our overseas attempts AGAIN, that we wouldn’t have health insurance, or cars, or a home of our own, or jobs, and most of all that going home meant that we would not be going back to Vanuatu. Sometimes I thought maybe I wanted to go home, but mostly I thought how not ready for that I was and how badly I wanted to go back somehow and in some capacity. It was so nice to finally hear that we will be going back and to be able to move forward with that and stop thinking about those “what ifs”. We now have a whole new set of “what ifs” to consider, but that news was still so relieving.

While we now know that we will, should things not change, be going back to Vanuatu, there are still a TON of unanswered questions. When will our swearing in be? Will we go back to our original site? Will we teach? Will we go somewhere else and help with disaster relief? How can we help our families? How can we help other volunteers? Will we be able to do this? What will we see? How will we deal with what we see? It seems very difficult at this point, after all of this, to think about going back and continuing with service as it would have been before stupid Pam. But, we are trying to just focus on the fact that we get to go back at all, and realize that no matter what we end up doing, we have the amazing opportunity to help the wonderful people of Vanuatu in some way.

I have been helping with the fundraising committee and we will hopefully be posting a little project we have been working on soon. In working on the project we were all thinking about why we love Vanuatu so much and trying to put those reasons into words. I haven’t fallen in love with Vanuatu as deeply as some of the people here, but I feel like I will over the next two years! I do know that the people of Vanuatu are some of the most kind and beautiful people I have ever met. I know that our host families began treating us as their own the minute we met them. I know that people who didn’t know us at all welcomed us into their communities with open arms, local kaekae, island clothes, etc. I know that they hold so tight to their beliefs, their religion, their customs and their culture and I have a lot of respect for them because of that. It is an interesting, at times infuriating, beautiful, unique, tiny, country that I am excited to learn more about and make my home for the next two years.

I know I have said it before, but we really do appreciate so much all of the concern, the kind words, the thoughts and prayers for us and for the people in Vanuatu, and the support. I am so happy to hear that Vanuatu has been making the news in America and I hope it means that people will not only help, but will also think about coming to visit and getting to experience some of the great things that we have already experienced! Here are some links to organizations who are currently accepting donations and providing relief to Vanuatu should you want to donate. We will be continuing to update people on the best places to donate to once we are back. Feel free to share these links with your friends and family, on your facebook, in an email to everyone you know, with your church, etc. Thank you! Cheers.

•http://www.unicef.org.au/ : UNICEF works to ensure that communities have the knowledge and resources necessary to provide for the needs of their children.
•https://www.care.org.au/appeals/cyclone-pam/… : CARE works in communities across Vanuatu, preparing the people to face disasters such as this, and gives them the skills they need to respond and rebuild.
•https://www.oxfam.org.au/…/international-crisis-fund-cyclon… : OXFAM works to help governments, businesses, and communities be as prepared and strong as possible. They assist organizations in working together to build a stronger future.
•http://redcross.org.au/cyclone-pam-vanuatu-2015-appeal.aspx : The Red Cross focuses on first aid training as well as responding to crises, helping under-resourced communities across Vanuatu.

Here are a few photos of some of the things we have been up to in Sydney...There are lots more on my facebook.