When Justin and I first found out that our Peace Corps service would be in Vanuatu, my Dad started e-mailing me random tidbits of information; like that the national anthemis titled "Yumi Yumi Yumi" (sorry Dad, that means "you-me you-me you-me" not "yummy yummy yummy"). He sent one stating that Vanuatu is considered to be the happiest country in the world. A central belief of mine is that to truly experience one extreme, you must also experience its opposite. To know love, you must also know hate; to appreciate joy, you must also appreciate pain. In Vanuatu, they earn the title [View Full Entry]

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ok, ok, i won't keep you waiting any longer. here's another blog. :) - b january 21, 2009 we're continuing to celebrate christmas here as christmas packages and mail are arriving in bursts when the plane lands. lately we've been spoiled by an assortment of traditional german christmas goodies, vacuum sealed and sent from the brulls. i love reading the christmas letters and feeling like we're still in the loop with everyone. this past weekend was quite the adventure. funny how just when things seem to fall into place and make sense, we'll be introduced to another facet of life that [View Full Entry]

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so. two nights ago i received not one, but two new letters from sher! both were post-marked with the same date, but about 2 weeks apart when she wrote them. the one i'm about to post looks like it had a pretty rough trip getting here! i apologize in advance for my little typing errors; sometimes my fingers get so excited as i'm going along, that they get a little jumbled! i will hold posting the other until next week. oh the suspense...-b january 12, 2009 it's the second week of january, but we're still celebrating christmas. the plane was able [View Full Entry]

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i came home from a looong day at work and find this waiting on the island in the larson kitchen to my pleasant surprise! enjoy -b 27 December 2008 While you at home are enjoying what we might deem as a "traditional" holiday season, Justin and I are celebrating the season island style. This year our Christmas tree was a coconut palm decorated with paper ornaments and snowflakes. We had quite a time explaining snowflakes and how they felt to my host brother and papa. Snow really is a magnificent entity: how it melts on your bare hands yet can stick [View Full Entry]

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Here is another blog to hold you over for a few months. While all of you in the States were celebrating Thanksgiving, Justin and I were swearing in as official Peace Corps Volunteers (before, we were at the status of "trainee"). Everyone in our group was given a coordinating island dress or shirt to wear at the ceremony. It kind of felt like we were part of a big wedding, all wearing coordinating bridesmaids and groomsmen outfits. My family added an extra special accessory to my attire for the day - a scrunchie made of coordinating fabric! It is so funny [View Full Entry]

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Hello All! We're in the capital city of Port Vila for a few days before heading back to Maewo. It's been surprisingly hard to readjust to life in a hotel. Last night, our first night back, I woke up and couldn't not figure out where I was. I was cold and saw a weird light above me, that was surely the moon, and couldn't make out my mosquito net or dark walls that usually greet me when I wake up. I could only guess that I was sleeping outside and was just about to wonder where my stash of toilet paper [View Full Entry]

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Our week long "wokabaot" in Maewo rocked our little niche in the Pacific Ocean (quite literally as we experienced about six small earthquakes our last night there). Even though we were only there for one week, we absorbed so much that it is difficult to channel the experience into writing. That being said, our trip included three flights, two of which landed in grass fields. When we touched down in Maewo and got off the plane, it was hard to pick out the road from the thick green "bush." One of my favorite perks about the island itself is that it, [View Full Entry]

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We've got our site announcement - Maewo (pronounced like the crop milo, but with a "w")! Justin and I will be serving at a village/school (I'm not sure which yet) called Gambula. When we got the assignment, no one in our group had even heard of that island. I knew then that we were in for an adventure! We are in the capital right now preparing for a week long visit, namely picking up traditional gifts such as fabric, sugar, or dishes to present our new host family and the village chief. The islands of Vanuatu are generally shaped like a [View Full Entry]

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Our adventures in the training village continue... This past week was probably the toughest so far for me as well as for our group. The small things are becoming routine and we're starting to settle down and grasp the vague potential of our time here. Sometimes it's overwhelming. Sometimes it is intoxicating and emotional to realize you are living your dream. Our group also passed around a virus that affected some with diarrhea, others with vomiting, and yet others with nausea and headaches. Luckily, Justin passed the nasea/headache version on to me before I had anything trying to exit [View Full Entry]

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hey everyone-- the following is a letter we (mom, dad and i) received from sher to be posted on the blog! enjoy! -b We have settled into life in the training village. Our host family is especially awesome and they have provided amazing accommodations! Justin and I stay in a little bungalow house that is in the yard of their house. We arguably have the most ideal house of our whole group. Each day we go to classes from 8-5. Although, with chickens roaming around and the light coming through the bamboo walls, we tend to wake up around 5:00 a.m. [View Full Entry]

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