VILLAGE LIFE

Many of you have asked what the day-to-day life has been like in Vanuatu. Well, I can tell you that it is quite different than anything I have ever experienced – some of it I love…while some of it “not so much”! The first hurdle I had to get over was the unconscious expectation that basic, everyday things would probably be similar. Well, in some ways they were – kids tease, fight with each other, and sass their parents just like they do anywhere else. Much to my surprise, everybody seems to have a cell phone! Digicell Vanuatu has done a great job constructing cell phone towers throughout most of Vanuatu’s islands – so now people with no electricity, form of transportation, or even modern health care have a digital phone! Families seem to have the same challenges anywhere – not enough money to get what they would like to get for their children, they must scrape together money for school uniforms and fees, gardens don’t always produce what we expect – and so on. But in so many ways, island life in this part of the world takes some getting used to.



Some of the things I had to learn to ignore were kids with continually running noses – with mother’s flicking off the snot with their fingers and then continuing to grate the vegetable for lap-lap like nothing happened…or kids who butter the bread for everybody at breakfast while licking the knife between every spread…or people who put a chicken wing into their mouths and eat everything (crunching bones and all)! But perhaps the single most challenging thing of all was the lack of privacy in village life. People here simply do not comprehend that anybody would choose to be alone – or ever want to live alone. So, unless your door is closed, there is always somebody around wanting to talk – or kids wanting to play – or even kids stroking your hair and lifting up sections of your hair checking for head llice! Yes – it happens all the time!!!


On the other hand, I must explain that when this family invited me into their home and gave me a “kastom” name, it was not simply fulfilling their obligation as a Peace Corps host family. Oh no – it honest-to-God meant that I am now…and forever will be…a member of their family. No questions asked – I am now a part of their family forever. They would give me the last bit of food that they had on the table – or the last piece of clothing available – or the last cent of money in their pocket if I needed it. The bungalow they built for me will forever be my home with them – and will be the home of anybody in my family from America who may come to visit. I’m pretty sure that the clothes I brought with me equate to more than the entire family has together. Yet, they gave me two island dresses upon my arrival – and towards the end of my stay with them Mama presented me with her favorite dress – one from New Caledonia. This was a prized possession – the only one like it in the village. Even though it is a simple cotton dress, I will forever treasure it.


The children in my village have no toys – yet I’ve never heard them say they were bored. They run, play, laugh – and always find some way to have fun. Baby Jerry plays with pieces of coral...digs in the dirt with a spoon, and entertains himself for hours with an empty peanut butter jar and lid. Shockingly, nobody seems to worry about the fact that he also plays with a butcher knife too!


There are no cars in the village – no television sets – no 401Ks – yet, they are joyous, fulfilled people. They honestly have everything they need to raise their families – eat organic food – and look to the future as a daily gift from God. It is just amazing!


Does that mean that I loved every minute of village life? Noooo – but I did gain a certain respect for their culture and values. I remember thinking that I didn’t believe my feet and toenails would ever be clean again, but after some soaking in a bucket with laundry detergent and a brush they were good enough!