DISCLAIMER

This blog, "Vanuatu Adventures", is simply my personal reflection and in no way represents the opinions or beliefs of the Peace Corps or the US Government. Enjoy - and I hope to hear from you!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

TIME FLIES...WHEN YOU'RE HAVIN' FUN!

I actually didn’t realize it had been sooo long since I had updated my Blog. Now, I hardly know where to start, so I’ll just touch on some highlights that have taken place since my last blog in August 2011:

I enjoyed a week-long birthday celebration – on and around my actual birthday of September 29th. Believe it or not, I totally forgot it was my birthday last year. It was a lot different from my first birthday in Vanuatu. We had just arrived in Vanuatu on the 10th of September, 2010, so my mind was filled with Bislama classes, village life, and overall adjustment. One day I was admiring a dress that Danielle, one of the other volunteers, was wearing, and she said it was a birthday gift from her village sister. As it turns out, her birthday was October 4th – and it was only then that I realized that my birthday had come and gone! This year it was a lot different! Danielle and I shared several special “Happy Birthday” events, including happy hour at the Grand Hotel here in town, brunch at Chill - a lovely air-conditioned restaurant here, and an afternoon at the Iririki Resort here in Port Vila sitting around the pool and enjoying more than a couple of cold, draft beers! I have always wanted to see sea horses when I’ve been snorkeling. Several species of seahorses are indigenous to Vanuatu – but so far I haven’t been lucky enough to see any. But a very special friend of mine gave me something pretty darned wonderful – a locally-carved wooden seahorse. He is really beautiful and is now hanging in my “Vanuatu Villa”. So, 2011 was possibly the best birthday I’ve ever celebrated…to date! But who knows…I have one more birthday here before heading back to the states…where I am also counting on many, many more!!

October 9th was another very special day because it marked the arrival of 29 new Peace Corps trainees. Most of the volunteers from Port Vila and the island of Efate were on-hand at Bauerfield International Airport with loud cheers and hugs for all. All of the new volunteers will be focusing their efforts on either health or English literacy. They were officially sworn in on December 8th and are now stationed throughout the beautiful islands of Vanuatu.

October also marked a big change for me and what I am doing as a volunteer here. The Peace Corps transferred me to a new position as a strategic advisor at the Vanuatu Institute of Technology – a secondary technical and trade school based here in Port Vila. Wow, what a great place to be – and the work there is really “right up my alley”. I’m working on writing and implementing their five-year plan, helping with a transition from trimester to semester scheduling, and providing some training to staff members. The school is staffed with NiVanuatu instructors and nearly 800 students attend – including about 200 students from the outer islands who board at the school. The campus is lovely with lots of trees and beautiful blooming flowers. All the staff members have been very welcoming and helpful. I love going to work every single day!

In November I made the trip of a lifetime to Thailand…by way of Sydney, Australia. I spent three days in Sydney – which included attending a performance of The Merry Widow ballet at the famed Sydney Opera House. That place is every bit as special as all the pictures I had ever seen…and I still can hardly believe that I was actually there. From Sydney I traveled to Bangkok, Thailand. I arrived somewhere close to midnight and was met by the tour company and driven straight to the beautiful Rembrandt Hotel in downtown Bangkok. About an hour later, Sue and Brian arrived at the hotel and stayed in an adjoining room. What a wonderful reunion it was. I had brought a bottle of wine from the Sydney duty-free shop, so we immediately popped the cork and visited until the wee hours of the morning. Thailand is an amazing country. We saw the sights of Bangkok, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, a quick stop in Laos – and then down to Phuket and finally wrapping up with 5 nights at the phenomenal Phi Phi Island Village Resort. The temples we visited were just phenomenal – and there are Buddhas of every shape, size and color everywhere! We were also able to see the local villagers hand-harvesting and thrashing rice in rice paddies along the road. The three of us also thrilled to getting up close and personal with elephants at an elephant camp in northern Thailand and also took an hour-long ride through the nearby hills and jungle. The food was amazing, and the final 5 nights at Phi Phi Island were spectacular. The hotel upgraded us at no charge to a beautiful hillside villa – which included our very own pool. Yes, we were very spoiled – but enjoyed every single minute of it. We also literally “ate” our way through Thailand – that food is so flavorful – and now I want to learn how to cook it!

Christmas was very quiet. Many of our volunteers here returned to the states for nearly a month. But a few of us who stayed here enjoyed a lovely dinner at the home of our Medical Officer. It was an extremely hot day, so we all sat on her verandah and enjoyed a phenomenal meal featuring many of the dishes that she prepared when she lived in New Zealand.

I’ve been in great health – although I did have a week-long bout of giardia a couple of months ago – and then was hit with strep throat a couple of weeks ago. But overall, I’m doing well and staying healthy and happy! Happy 2012 everybody…and I’m on the countdown to returning to the states in the fall of this year!