Before I start, I’ll just say I’m in Vila now for our annual All Volunteer Conference and In Service Training. Two and one-half weeks of daily conferencing and nightly partying. There have been parties every night – do you have any idea how many volunteers are born in May??? That and there are about 16 volunteers leaving because their 2 years are done. I hate to disappoint all of you who know me well, but I’ve been to bed early most nights and up early every day and have had only 1 very mild hangover. You believe me, don’t you??
This is the first of 3 posts about the last 3 months.
They say there are ups and downs here and a lot of volunteers go thru a pretty big transition 8 to 12 months into their service. I suppose that pretty much sums up my last few months. In spite of the tone of my last blog, I was pretty angry and frustrated during my last visit to Vila. In going back to site I decided to approach things differently. Basically I had been making a lot of work for myself to keep busy and thinking “I” could make things happen. When I went back I realized my job was to facilitate, train and guide; it was not to do things. “I” can’t make a battery project work; “I” can teach how to run a project, “I” can encourage and coach while people are learning, “I” can support. But, it takes the community working together and individuals committed to the project to make it successful and sustainable. “I” can’t fix a community if it is broke. So, I’ve started spending more time just involving myself in the community and less time thinking about work and making work.
When I went back, Matt B. came with me. I had had a safety and security incident immediately prior to leaving and he went back with me to carry a message from me to the nakamal. On Tanna, women cannot go to the nakamal at night when men are present and they are drinking kava. That’s when “business” is conducted. (You might want to notice at this point in this blog that I am a business volunteer and I can’t do business the way business is done here.) Anyway, Matt told them that if there was one more incident I would ask the Peace Corps to move me to a new site. After several days of deliberation, the bigfalas asked me if I would be ok with a sori ceremony. Out of respect for kastom I said yes and became the happy mama of my very first chicken.
A couple of weeks later, a mama asked me for 1000 vatu to buy flour for making bread. This is another year of the kastom economy which means encouraging the use of kastom for buying and paying for things instead of money. I suggested trading a chicken and a mat for the money and I became the mama to another chicken – a girl this time. A week later I was visiting another village in the Port community and they sent me back with a 3rd chicken. I almost have a herd of them. I feed them rice and scratched coconut every morning and night. When they see me they come running and follow me around. At different times during the day, they come to visit me while I sit on the veranda or while I’m cooking in the kitchen. At night I make sure they’re all safely perched in a borau tree and say good night to them. My first chicken, Toama (toe am ah), has become fat fat and I don’t know how I’m going to break it to him that he’s going to become dinner in a Malakula style laplap shortly after I get back.
Looking back, I realize I’ve had another volunteer visiting me every weekend since I was last in Vila. Their friendly, helpful presence in my days has helped me. Aaron from Erromango. Larry and Matt D. The tourists are starting to arrive again and that is a mixed blessing. The last one I talked to was a bit angry because I had been in Port for 10 months and hadn’t done anything. I didn’t think it polite to discuss my two 25 page trimester reports while he was on holiday and so excused myself from his presence.
When I went back, Matt B. came with me. I had had a safety and security incident immediately prior to leaving and he went back with me to carry a message from me to the nakamal. On Tanna, women cannot go to the nakamal at night when men are present and they are drinking kava. That’s when “business” is conducted. (You might want to notice at this point in this blog that I am a business volunteer and I can’t do business the way business is done here.) Anyway, Matt told them that if there was one more incident I would ask the Peace Corps to move me to a new site. After several days of deliberation, the bigfalas asked me if I would be ok with a sori ceremony. Out of respect for kastom I said yes and became the happy mama of my very first chicken.
A couple of weeks later, a mama asked me for 1000 vatu to buy flour for making bread. This is another year of the kastom economy which means encouraging the use of kastom for buying and paying for things instead of money. I suggested trading a chicken and a mat for the money and I became the mama to another chicken – a girl this time. A week later I was visiting another village in the Port community and they sent me back with a 3rd chicken. I almost have a herd of them. I feed them rice and scratched coconut every morning and night. When they see me they come running and follow me around. At different times during the day, they come to visit me while I sit on the veranda or while I’m cooking in the kitchen. At night I make sure they’re all safely perched in a borau tree and say good night to them. My first chicken, Toama (toe am ah), has become fat fat and I don’t know how I’m going to break it to him that he’s going to become dinner in a Malakula style laplap shortly after I get back.
Looking back, I realize I’ve had another volunteer visiting me every weekend since I was last in Vila. Their friendly, helpful presence in my days has helped me. Aaron from Erromango. Larry and Matt D. The tourists are starting to arrive again and that is a mixed blessing. The last one I talked to was a bit angry because I had been in Port for 10 months and hadn’t done anything. I didn’t think it polite to discuss my two 25 page trimester reports while he was on holiday and so excused myself from his presence.
The first picture above is how Port got its name, Nipikinamu, Tale Blong Fish, fish tail because from antap (on tap at my host mama's village) the whole peninsula looks like the tail of a fish. The second picture was taken at one of the sewing workshops I taught.
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