doogongs, dog bites, ballet and bagpipes.....

Here are some more pics from up at sakao, and at work. Sakao Island was the last place i expected to watch a fully kitted up scotsman strut his bagpipes amongst the coconut palms. It was a very funny sight. The locals were more than confused - asking "why cant i understand that whiteman??" (because he has a VERY strong scottish accent!) I had to explain the kilt was the island dress of scotland. I think they got the picture....

Theres a pic of a big mural i got the youth to do last week - they all did some pretty awesome squares. Very fun doing it. And some more general shots of around the place.

Work has been pretty busy which has been good. Im almost ready for the new library at work to be opened and used - im getting so excited about kids getting into reading!! The sad thing about coming home soon is ive just started to get really passionate about some new projects and i'll have to pass them on to whoever comes next...ah well. Thats life i guess. I'm organising some of our youth to get trained in ESOL type stuff to teach kids how to read which is pretty exciting as its something we have huge potential for but are not being particularly effective yet. Exciting times!

Fest Napuan is this weekend with 26 string bands, blackseeds, a number of hiphop groups, about 30 church choirs and numerous other acts to entertain us all weekend. So im hoping the rain stops (its been going for 3 days now, i guess the rainy season is here!!!). It should be a good weekend though.

Otherwise.....o i went diving with a doogong and gave him a bg pat - totally unreal interacting with something like that int he wild! Very cool. Lots have people have asked what a doogong is....like a dolphin crossed with a sealion with a really huge nose. Very cool. Very inquisitive.

And i got bitten by a dog the other night which was pretty exciting. It wasnt too bad but i did go to hospital just to be on the safe side. Its healing up well!

We also entered a short film int he inagural Vila Film Fest which won first place and me as best female actress!!! Haha, very fuin making and i surprised even myself with my stunning ballet ability...(not!)

Benjamin comes in 2 weeks!! Wow, so excited. Thinking of ya all - not long to go now :) God bless

Life has been getting increasingly busier this last week....some things ive been working on are starting to come together which is exciting and will hopefully be in place sometme soon.

Igot sick breifly but am better now so thats good. Am part way through my dive ticket too which is exciting. Am giong in a duathalon this weeknd just for fun - hopefully ill survive!

And i got given a small sailing dinghy which i have had out in the harbour a few times which has been good fun!

Otherwise, im just cruising along, still involved with everything and starting to feel like i dont have much time left. Its going very fast :(

Thinking of you all and starting to get alittle excited about seeing everyone again! I fly into NZ december 19th!

Another week...

Ha - i love youth work! Here are some pics of this week - A field trip on a boat sailing round the harbour (a 63ft lightweight catamaran that we sailed at 16 kts, speed record is 22 kts!!! The hull is 1.5 mm thick fibreglass with 25mm foam and then another 1.5 mm fibreglass - SOLID!!!)Hockey under the lunar ecclipse, the big mural ive got them all working on...and i think thats all....

Flip time is going so quick at the moment. I seem to be flying from one thing to the next.There seems much to say but ill leave it there for fear of rambling....email me if yuo want details!

Sakau Sailing School

South-west Malekula and the Maskelyne Islands is so remote! Its thick bush, and big swell coastlines, tiny islands surrounded by reefs and sandy beaches…..the villages are different to any close to Vila, or on the main islands. The people seem different too – much more gentle and sofly spoken than town kids, real chilled out and happy. All the mamas in the village woul,d sit under cocnut trees and weave mats most afternoons, the men were helping with the boat building and the young guys were with me learning about sailing and navigation….but so many politics in small villages! And the women were like the long lost forgotten tribe – they never got a mention, never got to eat with everyone else, and did all the work, including cooking for heaps of people without much thanks. Telling people about the setting sounds so idyllic, and it was, but the politics and relationships meant this tiny remote village in the Maskelynes was remarkably similar to other places, despite being so removed in materialistic terms.

The boys I had for sailing school were awesome. Always laughing, really cheeky but good fun. And so studious! They would copy down the notes on scrap paper and then write them up neatly at night in their books, and remembered everything we talked about! So we ended up going through the course material quite quickly because they seemed to hve such a good grasp on it all. They loved it though. So we’d do lessons in the morning and then sail all afternoon – it is a good life! Had a few high speed capsizes in the hobie-cat which was fun. It was awesome seeing their enjoyment when they realized the hobie was just a FAST sail canoe!

All the chiefs from a couple of villages around the place sat me down one afternoon on the beach and seriously tried talking me into ‘taking’ and Vanuatu man for a husband as it would increase the wisom and knowledge of their local community….after telling them I thought the white guys would learn just as much as them and them telling me in their culture they view their women as products which they try to ‘export’, I reconfirmed my decision NOT to get married this year (tough really….NOT). But they were actually trying to convince me to do it.

We ate lots of lobster, fish, coconuts, yam…..one night a HUGE killer avock mudcrab with pincers the size of my hand tried to eat me while I was innocently asleep on the deck…luckily I woke up and then had a fight with it trying to get it back in the bucket….

I had a few days overlap with Ross (he took over from me with the sailing school) so we successfully became the first white people to circumnavigate Sakau Island in a hobie cat! IT WAS FLIPPIN COOL!!! Had a good breeze, maybe 20 knots, and a few metres of swell and we sailed out the channel in the reef, INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN, and round, and then back in the next gap in the reef. Talk about a good adrenalin rush! If we’d capsized we would have been on the reef in no time, but of course that was the beauty of it all…..adventure a! (We had a VHF and people knew where we were….so don’t worry dad!!!)

Then last night we had all the boys out on the boat for tea, and we cooked them lamb fillets and chocolate cake, and they gave me a mat with my name woven in it and a cool bag, and made me feel special! It was such an awesome priveledge to be hanging with them for a few weeks!

Sleep is calling, but will update this again in the next few days for installment two on remote village life! Project MARC (who i was there with) stands for Medical Aid to Remote Communities. Its a cool set up.

Look forward to sharing more, and hearing about all YOUR adventures! Flick me an email :)

Hugs and blessings,
Miri

Round Island Relay

Well, it was an early start this morning in the support vechile for Wan Smolbag’s team in the Round Island Relay. This was stared when Vanuatu got Independence and 3 teams of 10 runners circled the island in a day, which until then, the villages had thought impossible, however, along the way they united all the villages in their journey. 27 years on its still going stong, with teams coming from New Caladonia, Australia and NZ. Our boys were in the lead (of the less competitive teams) for the first few legs but our girls in the team weren’t quite as strong so we ended coming in 3rd in the Mixed teams, and 10th overall which was pretty good! Overall time was 10hr, 15mins, I think the record is about 8.20 and there are still teams coming in now (several well over 13 hours now.) so they did really well…..especially considering most of them ran the gravel road in bare feet or jandals!!! It was amazing seeing the champion guys, doing 3 minute kms in bare feet along the gravel!!!!!!!!!!!! Crazy huh!!!

But a cool day – got a flattie, saw some good bush techniques of how to change a tire (!!!), the driver fell asleep at the wheel (it was a 4am start) and it was a super hot day so testing for all! Good to be involved though!

Festivities are well and truly underway now with all the stalls having big events during the days and nights (mamas running races, island dress competitions, hiphop comps, you name it, they got it!!) Tomorrow we’re having a hockey tournament out at work which will hopefully be fun and then Monday is actually Independence….no gat plan yet….

Then work on Tueday and sailing to the Maskelynes Islands on Wednesday to volunteer at a sailing school (wahoo!!) so am really looking forward to that! I love the fact im going on holiday from my tropical island to a tropical island……maybe this one will be a little bit closer to the paradise we all imagine…???

Will update more on the sailing soon, and more Independence stories!

Much love,

Miri

Opps, I meant they got Independance in 1980...this is the 27th celebration...

Independance

Well, its been a fairly quiet week here...Vanuatu celebrates Independance on July 30th. In 1989 they took charge, booted out the french and british and began forming their own identity. This is when the infamous String bands started as they wanted to foster a unique style of music to Vanuatu, the motto for the new coutry was "Long God yumi stanup" which pretty much means We believe in God, or we stand on God,which is why church and traditional regilious practises have been so well preserved! All schools teach RE, church is very well ingrained in the culture.

Each year though Independance celebrartions are HUGE and lots of bamboo stalls are being set up along the side of the roads where people will sell food to whoever is walking past....all the youth who usually come to the youth centre are busy constructing these stalls and im told for the next 2 weeks work will be dead as all the youth just walkabout in town, checking out everything thats happening! Ill put a photo in my next post when i get my camera back...

SO works quiet...otherwise life is good. Mum sent the dvd of my 21st so it was awesome to watch that and see everyones faces and be reminded of good times!!

I was meant to be biking around the island today for the next few days but last night we had a huge thunder and lightening storm and its raining again now so it was probably a good idea to put it off. But looking forward to when we do do it.

Still planning on the sailing school in the Maskelyne Islands sometime after next week (just gotta keep a lookout for the boat when it arrives int he harbour and then jump on board!!)

Hope all is well at home!
Much love and hugs, hope the Peak 2 Peak went great for everyone involved!!!

Here are a few more pics of the adventures with mum and dad....Mum crossed all cultural boundaries and joined the String Band for a song...it was awesome! Then some of the local boys hanging out at sunset, and me, with Mum and Dad last night for a nice tea out beside the boats...

Been back at work this week which has been good - Leina's away so it full-on!

On thursday I snuck away for the day and went round the island with and dad and some of the other vols who have work on the otherside...It was so cool to see the rest of the island!!! Some really nice beaches, nice bush...half of the island is covered in this creeper stuff which the americans brought in WW2 for camoflague....its works brilliantly, but doesn't let much else grow...

Saw turtles, a WW2 coke bottle museum (classic guy, speaking in an american accent, collecting glass bottles...), and sussed out some possible nap places for a circum-cycle-navigation next weekend!! If i make it through the first day, and then the first halfhour of the 2nd day Ill come back alive!! We're taking 3 days, me and 2 aussie vols so it should be cool!

Saw mum and dad off this morning, and then a big training ride....im starting to seize up...haha

The mighty Yasur Volcano

Facts about Tanna:
Home of the world's most accessible volcano
Home of local Vanuatu coffee (mum and dad saw a coffee tree....)
Over 20 languages throughout the island
Southern most port where yachties can clear customs (for vanuatu)
Has the best cultural tour in all the WORLD!!

Hey All!

Well, its been so fantastic having family here the last few weeks! My cuzzie Trina came for a week to do some filming for VSA which was awesome. She hung out at work with me and filmed what was happening, so that will go in a dvd to show schools, and unis about volunteering. Then Mum and Dad arrived and my much awaited week off work has been so much fun! Its been great showing mum and dad round, introducing them to my friends and workmates. I think they have enjoyed it too! I've managed to get to a few touristy places I hadn't been too so that was nice, some cool waterfalls and - most excitingly - Yasur Volcano on Tanna island!!!

Yasur Volcano -

We were met at the airport by a truck which took us to the other end of Tanna, lots of kids on the road, and small villages every so often. Eventually, we got to the ash fields at the base of the volcano which was such a different landscape. It was like being on the moon....or what the moon might look like....anyway, a quick stop at our jungle bungalows (thatch rooves, holey mossie nets, and damp dirty beds), then it was straight up the volcano for dusk. So we drove most of the way up and then walked the last wee bit right up to the crater rim. As the sun went down and it got darker the volcano became more and more impressive. We had a few really big explosions, which spat out huge bits of red hot rock into the air. It was the most impressive fireworks ever! And just unreal standing so close and hearing the thudding of the red hotr rocks as they hit the ground and you realised just how big they were! Any big explosion was followed by the sound a second or so later, along with a heat rush from the rocks. SO IMPRESSIVE!!! Good adrenalin rush!

The next morning we experienced the most scary/amusing.realistic cultural experience I've ever had, and probably will have. We were led through the bush and then left to make our own way, at which point several traditionally dressed men jumped out of the bushes and pretended we were the first white people they had seen. Complete with clubs, body paint and screaming, it was quite frightening! As we progressed through the bush they acted out how they caught pigs, made food, made fire (rubbing the sticks method), and how they made mats out of leaves....very impressive acting! They never slipped out of character, even as they were discussing which one of us would be the best option for eating...I think they were deciding on dad.....

The only regret is that we didnt stay longer! But a good taste of things to be experienced outside of Vila and the big city here.

My week off has gone far too quick but mum and dad are still here for another week which will be awesome.

More stories soon!

mi laekem...

Things I love....

1. Icecream
2. Cute island kids
3. Getting funding proposals approved
4. Having lunch with random people in Vanuatu (Malc's parents!!!!)
5. only 2 weeks til ma and pa come!

Well, other funding got approved so thats both my boys off to get formal qualifications!! Yes!!! It was awesome seeing how stoked they were to leanr they were ogingto uni! Very satisfying.

I met malcs gordons parents forthe first time int he weekend....in Vanuatu.....(is that wierd or what!!) So lovely to hang out with them, and get to know them, haha. Love it.

Gt another few weeks booked of being youth centre manager which is exciting! And am in the process of writing manuals for setting up the seasonal workers thing here. O and still trying to work something for computer class (but soon we'l have qualified tutors!!!)

Just a quick note today, but am alive! Just had another hockey session tonight which went well. And am really looking forward to seeing mum and dad!

Better go, but loving your emails and thoughts!

Right, blessings,
Miri