Blogs from Ambrym, Vanuatu, Oceania

So the other day, we had “a day at the beach”… Along the beachfronts of Ambrym the volcano's lava flow carved out little pools before it let out into the mighty sea. These pools, when the tide is not in, are thermal hot springs. A day at the beach, here, means sitting in hot water as cold salty water crashes against the rocks around you. Amazing and unique to even the islands of Vanuatu. The hotwater provides a luxury beyond self indulgence, as well. Since, we virtually have no water in my village, we need to carry our clothes down (as it’s a steep climb to the other side) to the “hot water” to wash. The other day, as all the mamas prepared their dirty clothes to carry down the “cliff”, I gathered up Meup (May-oop) ... read more

Sweat poured off me and my head span from the previous night's excessive kava drinking as the ground shook to the stamp of four hundred feet. Two hundred naked bodies jostled on a large flat area of bare earth hacked into the mountainside and I, the only one wearing any clothes, danced with them. People shouted out words in a language incomprehensible to me, giving me a strong urge to shout out something, even if nonsense, just to join in and feel more a part of the unified animal that the two hundred dancing bodies had become. Dance, to me, has always seemed to have some sort of deep primordial power. Every culture in the world loves to dance and probably always has; surely this is an indication that it satisfies some sort of basic animal ... read more

Ok the last bunch of blogs my sister updated were actually pretty good, so catch up with me there. As far as all updates well I'll be moving once again, but it's ok I will be able get the school going finally. One of my double classrooms (for a primary school not the RTC) is finished so we will have that opening in the new year. And I"ll be doing a small camp for the girls in my community. Focusing on the the 3 life skills of communication, decision making and relationship skills as well as making crafts (tye dye, friendship bracelet) and doing sports (kick ball, yoga, etc...) Sad news, 2 mos ago today a PCV here in Vanuatu was killed in an accident. It's been very hard on us all, but we are getting ... read more

Discovering Lonwolwol From 1933 to 1948, a missionary by the name of Paton lived and studied language and custom on Ambrym. He eventually published his findings in a scholarly reference book through a university in Australia. I’ve recently gotten my hands on this book and have found it very useful in learning more about the place I live but also I find it very interesting that as old as the information is much of it is still in practice today. But I’m not going to talk about custom in this blog. In Paton’s 15 years on Ambrym he learned from it’s people their language and a place called Lonwolwol. Lonwolwol is significant for a number of reasons: 1. Because according to Paton the birth or starting point of all dialects on Ambrym emerged from this village. ... read more

It has been a long time since I’ve decided to write. Unfortunately, books, pen and paper all seem to collect dust now that I have music when I want and an endless supply of DVDs (solar panel, car battery and Chinese bootleg DVDs-hey there are no copywriting laws in Vu). Not entirely of course, but the reality of the situation is music and movies keep me sane in quicker time. But today is Sunday (which means the village is quiet with everyone at church) and I’ve just applied enough repellant to keep the mozzies away for a few hours and the pen stuck to my hand (the effects of DEET and plastic) so here goes… A few weeks ago, I flew into Vila to replenish my stock of food and get some work done for the ... read more