Cole and Caroline's PC Adventure: A kamp, a custom tat, a volcano hike, a waterfall, a new site and MORE!

Another long update on our lives here in the South Pacific! :)

KAMP GLOW/BILD

On Friday, August 21^st we flew from Santo to the island of Ambae to attend a week long kamp (camp, there are no C's in Bislama) put on by Peace Corps Vanuatu’s Gender and Development Committee. Since we arrived on Friday and the kamp did not officially start until Monday we had a chance to spend the day on Saturday going on a “small walk”, which turned into a long hike down the beach, over lots of giant rocks, up a HUGE mountain like hill, down the other side of the huge mountain like hill, down another beach, and then back to the kamp site. We spent the day Sunday resting and getting ready for the week ahead! Each Peace Corps Volunteer brought a Ni Vanuatu counterpart to the kamp and we spent the week attending and leading sessions on topics such as: team building, self-respect, choosing a good partner, healthy relationships, sex, sexually transmitted infections, etc. There was also time built in for fun kamp activities like capture the flag, ultimate frisbee, tye dye, kamp fires, etc. We slept in dorms on bunk beds with our fellow PCV’s and counterparts and ate breakfast, lunch and dinner together. We all learned a lot, stayed busy and had fun! It took me back to my Girl Scout camp days! The point of the kamp is to teach us PCV’s and our counterparts how to run the sessions and the kamp so that we can go back and run the same kamp, or small portions of it, with our communities. It was a great learning experience, it was great to get to know some of the high school age students that attended the kamp and the counterparts of other PCV’s, and it was great to get to see another island and spend time with our friends. Here are a few pictures from KAMP GLOW/BILD

Sophie and Alfred about to board their first flight ever!

Some of the Vols and counterparts on the first day of kamp

Capture the flag opponents! Go team BLUE!

On the Thursday of the kamp my very good friend, Shannon, got a phone call letting her know that her brother, CJ, had passed away in a car accident. She dropped to her knees in the middle of the grass when she heard our country director tell her the news and within seconds was surrounded by a group of her fellow PCV’s doing our best to comfort her, make her laugh, and do anything we could to make her feel better. She talked with her family and decided to fly home on the following Monday to spend time with her family and attend CJ’s memorial service. I know from experience that it is so hard to be here, across the world, when something like this happens and my heart breaks for her and her family. Our group has been hit hard with family tragedies which have not only reminded us all of how precious our lives are but have also brought us closer together, which is something to be thankful for. Shannon is coming back to Vanuatu on Saturday and I cannot wait for her to be back! Safe travels, Shannon!!! I love you!

MANARO

After the glow/bild workshop, a large group of us – 10 volunteers and 11 counterparts - decided to hike the nearby dormant Manaro volcano. It's a popular Peace Corps tradition whenever volunteers are on Ambae. We set out on our adventure on Saturday afternoon. Our first stop: Quataneala Primary School (Our friend Alison’s site) where we sat on a bench outside of the school library and got custom tattoos. The tattoos were given to us with an orange tree thorn needle, ash from a red wood tree, and the juice from a healing leaf squeezed into the ash. The tattoo is two lines that represent the customs and beliefs surrounding the volcano. After we all had our new ink, we awaited a truck that I had arranged to pick the 21 of us up at 5pm. 5:30pm rolled around and no truck yet. Cole went off with Kinsey, the tattoo artist, to drink kava at his house and came back around 6:15…still no truck. 6:30 came and went and still no truck. At this point it was pitch black dark and we couldn’t get in touch with the man I had arranged the transports with, Paul. By 7pm we resorted to just waiting in the road more or less for a ride. Finally we found two trucks who agreed to charge us the same amount as our previously arranged trucks! They drove us the 30 minutes to the bungalows we had reserved for the night with Paul, the same guy I arranged the transports with. We arrived at around 9:45pm. We thought we had the whole bungalow rented, but it turns out Paul assumed since we didn't arrive at 5pm that we weren't coming and he gave out the bungalow to a French man who was asleep in what was meant to be our home for the night. All the men just ended up sleeping in the small church on the ground and the girls slept on mattresses on the floor in the bungalow with the sleeping French man. Inconvenient but whatevs! We all got settled in and then waited for them to prepare food for us. Paul had said dinner would be provided when we got there, but since he assumed we weren’t coming anymore he gave our food away and had to wake up some mamas in the village to cook for us. At 11pm we ate and then went to bed! It was cold and raining and we were tired and frustrated and needed some sleep before our big hike the next morning. We woke up around 4:30, ate some homemade doughnut like bread called gato, packed our small bookbags for the hike, and then…waited. We wanted to leave at 5am but the guide Paul had arranged did not show up. At 5:30 they went to find a new guide and came back a little before 6:00 with a barefoot lady guide carrying nothing but a bush knife. It was pouring rain and very cold when we set off at around 6:05. We were in good spirits, despite all the road blocks along the way so far and started the hike singing songs and chatting happily. At around 9am, 3 hours in, we were told that we were about halfway up. By this time our group of 22 had divided into 3 smaller groups based on speed and we were passing messages through groups and communicating through little yelps in order to make sure the next group wasn’t too far behind. We would stop every once in a while and all catch up with each other and make sure everyone was safe and accounted for. We were soaking wet and very cold, but things were going fine. At around 11am, word traveled back from the guide that we can longer speak to each other. It is believed that when people pass away their souls go to rest on top of the volcano. It's custom on top of the volcano to be silent in respect of the souls resting there. At 12pm, six hours in, we were still climbing with no end in sight. Most of the way up we had been following something of a path. That path was no longer in sight and our guide was now cutting her own path with her bush knife. We start thinking, this barefoot crazy lady is lost. Then it's released that she's only climbed the mountain three times in her life, AND the last time was TEN years ago. We talked amongst the small group we were with (having to break custom by talking, which we regret, but it was a necessity at this point in order to determine our next course of action) and we decided that we needed to turn back because we had been hiking for 6 hours, meaning we had at least another 6 hours back down and we needed to get back in time to catch our truck back to our camp. Cole ran ahead to tell the guide and the front group that we have to consider turning around. Everyone agreed and we turned back with the whole group, except for the guide who had now disappeared (all throughout the hike she had been randomly running off ahead of us to find the path or cut the path). We hadn’t seen the two lakes on either side of the dormant volcano and we were upset about that, but glad to be turning back at a decent hour. We are 10 minutes hiking down the mountain, and the guide catches up telling us she found the trail and the water is so close. Half of us climb down this nearly straight down mud wall for 10min only to arrive at this tiny creek...and the ghost guide disappeared again. After this most recent frustration, we finally give up. Cole and a few others stood waiting for 45min for her and two friends who had gone with her to return near the creek. Finally we called it once and for all. It was 7 hours into the hike now, and we HAD to start heading down. So we climb up the cliff side, then start down the mud trail again, leaving some cookies and a solar lantern for the guide and our friends. Immediately when we start descending, my chronic knee problem that I first got on our first Vanuatu volcano hike in Nguna and was never appropriately treated starts killing me. We have to move at a snail's pace, and Cole has to help me down every large step. One hour in, our small group runs into another group that turned around early. Some of the group, including me, was having a hard time both physically and mentally. It was still drizzling, we were still wet and cold, we were hurting from the 7+ hours already hiked, and we knew we still had a looooong way to go. Oh and at that point our guide was gone and we were just following the path in the middle of nowhere the best we could. It got dark at 6pm and we had one flashlight between 10 people. My knee pain was at like a 9/10 and Cole was literally pulling me down the mountain. The guide had caught up with us at this point, but was walking behind us and not saying anything. We think she was upset that we didn’t see the lakes and that we had all, including her, broken custom and talked at the top, and that the trip had not gone as planned…to say the least! We continued to choose our own path, second guessing ourselves the whole time. One hour with with complete darkness and all of a sudden, this guardian angel, named Mckinney, shows up with a new light, bread and tea. He said they were all worried about us and that he had come to find us and bring us food. We told him he had to help get our friend down the mountain, so he stuck around helping Shannon down and helping us find the right path since our guide was walking behind us and not saying much, except “sori” when I sang out in pain due to my knee or when another volunteer sang out in pain.. Another incredibly long hour later we could hear the voices of the group that had made it back before us. Of course I was crying, because I was in pain and because I was happy that it was almost over and proud that we had freaking made it! Cole let go of me and made me walk the final steps down the trail by myself. We all hugged and celebrated, and surveyed the damage to our feet and then we grabbed our bags, paid for the bungalow and for the guide (kindof reluctantly based on her services) and walked down to the nearest truck road. Thank god the trucks braved the awful muddy road to come up to the bungalow, because hiking down to flat ground would have been another 2-3hours. We joyously rode in the rain in the back of the truck to the school where we had been staying for the week of the camp, took cold showers, popped pain killers, ate a late meal that the mamas has graciously made for us and stayed up to wait for us even though it was nearly 10 when we got back, and went to bed. The next day we were crippled and sore and had one heck of a story to tell. There is very little exaggeration in my words, and I don't think this can explain how long of a day our Manaro hike actually was. In nicer conditions, it would have probably been an 8 hour hike, maybe 4/10 in difficulty. But with all the hardships faced it doubled in difficulty, took us 14+ hours and was a 10/10 in difficulty!! Looking back it was an experience that I will never forget, full of road blocks, frustrations, a few regrets, a little bit of fun, and a lot of will power! I can say with total confidence that I earned this tiny little tattoo on my wrist and that I will never forget our Manaro hike! Cole says that if he is ever in Ambae again, and the weather is good, he will give Manaro another shot. I can say with absolute certainty, that I will never ever be giving the Manaro hike another shot!

All tatted up

The whole crew! Glad to be back at camp!

MAEWO

With our recent hiking journey barely behind us, we set off the next morning to head to Maewo for a few days to visit our friend Lea’s site, Naone. We left at around 11:00 and went to the “wharf”, aka a portion of the beach where the boats come and go, in Ambae. There we caught a boat over to Maewo. The weather and water conditions were great and we enjoyed an hour long boat ride from Ambae to Maewo. When we arrived we hopped in a truck and rode the 30 or 45 minutes or so to Lea’s site. We limped inside Lea’s cute little hut, put our things down and then limped about 10 minutes down the road to see a couple of small waterfalls. We thought they were beautiful and were very impressed by them, little did we know the beauty we were in store for the next day! We hung out at the small waterfalls for a bit, Lucas jumped in the water, we chatted with some peeps from Lea’s village, and then we headed to her host family’s house where we enjoyed a delicious corn and lap lap snack! That night we went for kava and then enjoyed more delicious lap lap from Lea’s mom. Apparently we had consumed a little too much lap lap because as Hannah, Cynthia and I sat on a bench merrily stuffing our faces the bench broke in half and our big butts went crashing onto the ground. Totally embarrassing. We decided then that it was time to call it a night. We hobbled back to Lea’s where the 7 of us slept on mattresses spread out on the floor in her hut. The next morning we decided to start our day doing something productive, so we walked down to the beach and did our laundry in a fresh water stream that flows into the ocean. Laundry with a view. A few of us also took the opportunity to wash our hair and our bodies in the stream. Bath with a view. Once our laundry was finished and hanging on lines outside of Lea’s hut, we decided it was time for a little adventure. Lea’s beautiful site also happens to be the home of the biggest waterfall in Vanuatu, rightfully named Big Water. Big water is about a 15 minute walk from Lea’s house. After lunch we headed that way, still limping and sore, but excited to be going to the waterfall! We were accompanied by several people from Lea’s village who showed us the way and then showed us where to safely jump off the waterfall. The waterfall is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life. It is BIG, LOUD, HIGH, SCARY, and simply GORGEOUS. Most of us jumped from the highest part, which was terrifying and exciting and took me about an hour to actually do! We spent the afternoon swimming, jumping, taking pictures and having a grand ole time. That evening Lea’s counterpart from GLOW/BILD, Vero, came over and we planned some sessions from the kamp to do at Lea’s school and in her community the next day. We planned and then ate a delicious meal made over the fire in Lea’s tiny little bush kitchen! Once planning and dinner was finished we sat in a circle on the mattresses on the floor in the hut, passed around a jug of wine, talked, and laughed. It was a good day. On Wednesday we did a GLOW/BILD session with all of the pikinini at Lea’s school called Trust and Team Building. It want well and I think the kids loved it! After the session we went and hung out at the beach for a bit and then all of us except Cole went back to Big Water for a few hours. Cole stayed home and slept because he had taken some Benadryl to stop the itching from a really gnarley rash that he had had for nearly two weeks at that point. Once we got to Vila a few days later and he went and saw the PC docs, he found out that it was maybe a bacterial infection or an allergic reaction. Either way, they gave him antibiotics and now the rash is nearly gone. That afternoon we did a GLOW/BILD session with Lea’s village on Public Speaking. It was fun and also went well! Afterwards we were invited to the nakamal to try Gwasisi, a kind of kava they make in her village. The making of this kava is a really neat custom and ended up, even for me – a non-lover of kava – being a really cool experience.

Normally women are not allowed at the nakamal at all. They made an exception for us and let us sit in the outside area of the nakamal, we just couldn’t go inside. Jeffery, Cole and Lucas were allowed inside because they are males. A super nice man, Jerry, started to tell us all about the Gwasisi custom and even encouraged me to take pictures of each part of the process. Gwasisi kava is different because you grind the kava with a stone, instead of in a meat grinder or by chewing and spitting it like in other parts of Vanuatu. Nowadays, it is mostly ground in a meat grinder. Only a lucky few get to experience chewed kava. Anyway, like I said Gwasisi kava is ground using a stone, which makes it special. Here is how the whole process goes…

Step 1: Go to the garden and get the kava

Step 2: Cut the kava

Step 3: Wash the kava

Step 4: Grind the kava with a stone

Step 5: Squeeze (milk) the kava

Step 6: Sift the kava

Step 7: Sift the kava again

Step 8: Have your hands washed by the person who ground the kava for you

Step 9: Turn and face the east so that you will have a long life

Step 10: Drink the kava!

The Gwasisi kava was really strong and after one shell of it and one shell of regular kava, I felt the effects of kava for the first time since I have been in Vanuatu. Sure, I’ve gotten the numb lips before, but that is really all. This time, I really felt it. It was nice. It does not, however, make me want to drink kava any more that I do now…rarely! Still, like I said, it was a great experience and maybe one of my favorite Vanuatu customs so far!

When we got home Jeffery made us a little meal over the fire, we went to sleep, and the next day we said our goodbyes to Maewo and to Cynthia, Lucas, Jeffery, Hannah, and Lucas. I love those guys so much and had so much fun with all them, among others, in Ambae and in Maewo! I feel so lucky to have made such good friends here! Here are a few more pics from our Maewo trip...

Boat from Ambae to Maewo

Truck to Lea's site, Naone

Hanging with some peeps from Lea's village

Clothes washing with a view!

An intense staring contest during our session on Public Speaking (when discussing the importance of eye contact)

Hanging out in Lea's hut before we left

After Maewo we went to Vila for one week. I had VAC (Volunteer Advisory Council) meetings, Cole saw the PCMO’s (Peace Corps Medical Officers) about his gross rash, and we attended The Solar Digital Library training (which some of you generously funded for Cole! Pictures of that to come...)

The rash! It got worse before it got better #gross

The BIG MOVE (NARANGO TO EBENEZER)

When we got back to Santo from Vila we spent one night in Luganville where we bought a few groceries and geared up for a crazy next couple of days. We went back to Narango on Friday afternoon. We spent the weekend packing up our little hut and spending time with our family. We also went and had a shell of kava on Saturday night and went to church on Sunday morning where I gave a smol toktok (small talk) saying thank you for taking good care of us, that we would miss them and that we would be back to visit. On Sunday afternoon Cole and I, along with our host family (mom, dad, Johnny and Junior) took a truck the 20 minutes down the road to our new home. Our family helped us get our things into our house and then we said our sad goodbyes. We were welcomed by several of the teachers here at our new school, Ebenezer, who live on school grounds with us. Our house is really nice (indoor kitchen and bathroom, running water, solar electricity) and everyone is super friendly and seems very excited that we are here. Best of all, it seems like the teachers and the students attend school on a regular basis, which is wonderful! Since Sunday we have spent some time unpacking and getting settled, we did a TON of laundry (which was much easier with running water), we walked the 20 minutes or so to the sand beach (which is amazing and beautiful), we introduced ourselves at Monday morning assembly, and we started our first project here, which we are really excited about (more about Bottle Bricks below!) Here are a few last pics from Narango...

Pepper and I taking a break from packing up the hut and thinking about our big move

Our sweet family

BOTTLE BRICKS!

When we were in Vila a few months ago for reconnect training the volunteers from the group before us (G26) gave presentations on projects they are working on, have completed, or plan to start at their sites. One of the G26ers, Alison, presented a project that she is working on at her school in Ambae called Bottle Bricks. When she presented it we thought it was really awesome and since then we have talked with her more about it, done a little more research on it, and decided to do it at Ebenezer. Rubbish (trash) is a big issue here in Vanuatu. You very rarely see trash cans, there aren’t really any organized places to dump your rubbish, and recycling has only recently been introduced and is not a well know concept at all. In most villages people burn their rubbish, bury their rubbish or just throw it either into a giant rubbish pile, onto the road, into the bush or into the ocean and rivers. It is not a good situation. Bottle Bricks to the rescue! Bottle bricks are basically plastic water bottles (or cooking oil bottles or any large plastic bottle really) packed FULL with rubbish and then used, as bricks, to build something. On Tuesday we went to each class (1-8) at our school and talked to them about recycling, reusing and rubbish! We talked to them about what recycling is and why it is so good for our world. We talked to them about rubbish that is okay to burn (paper, wood, food) and rubbish that is not okay to burn (plastic, tin, batteries, styrofoam) and why. Then we introduced the bottle bricks. We showed then how to use a stick to stuff the bottles full and how to cut up things that are too big in order to make them fit into the bottle. We encouraged them to fill the bottle bricks with rubbish that is not okay to burn, really focusing on plastic and batteries. Then we told them about the bottle brick competition that we came up with. Each class will act as a team. Each team has until November 1^st to make as many bottle bricks and collect as many points as possible. Each bottle brick is worth 10 points. Each battery is worth 1 bonus point. The class with the most points at the end of the competition gets a party…with CAKE! They are all about it! There have constantly been kids lined up at our door giving us full bottle, excitedly telling us how many batteries are inside and anxiously waiting to hear how many points they have! By the end of day 1 we had collected about 40 bottle bricks (class 6 and class 8 are currently neck and neck for the lead). When the competition is over, all of the cake has been eaten and all of the bottle have been counted, we will have a big meeting and decide what to build with all of our bottle bricks! Maybe some benches or tables for the library we are working to organize? Maybe a little bottle brick hut to sit under and spel (rest) or read? Who knows! What we do know is that the kids are loving it, the school is way cleaner than it was a few days ago, and that now they know that it is not good to burn certain types of rubbish or to litter and why! All good things! We will keep you all updated!