Happy Fourth of July!

My Fourth of July this year was certainly not the Ashland parade and the fireworks over Lake of the Woods…and did I miss those things!! But instead I made deviled eggs, bought chips and a jar of Pace salsa that our market her sells for $6.00 and headed to a friend’s house, a friend of the Peace Corps, a volcanist who, by the way, has lots of work on these island! (and there are other potential disasters…in fact, I was awoken this morning by a small earthquake which we have plenty of here!) About 20 of us tried hard to make it seem like the Fourth, hot dogs on the grill and all; when a very small amount of fireworks went off over the bay, I’m sure set by some Americans like us trying to make it “real,” we all felt more at home!

Speaking of home, I am loving my new home, which I seem to be sharing fulltime now with our Chief’s son, his girlfriend, and her five year old son who I was told upon moving in only came to stay once in a while. But they are very quiet and we seem to be making it work quite nicely and I love the location and the view so much that I would do most anything to make it work. Getting up in the morning and drinking my coffee at sunrise overlooking Port Vila’s harbor starts my day very nicely as does ending it at sunset. And when I am cooking, I have the window open and am looking directly at the sea, the same view I have when I am washing my dishes in my plastic tub. As we say in Bislama, we have “fulap dawgs,” five at last count, not including faithful Dusty from my other house who thinks that I am his mom and therefore rarely leaves my side…unlike all other dogs on the island, and certainly in Vanuatu in general, he has “indoor privileges,” sleeping all day in the library, totally making himself at home under my reading groups’ table. Yes, I miss my dogs at home and hear they are doing well, especially after their summer birthdays with Zoe turning fourteen and Isabel eleven, advanced ages for Golden Retrievers.

My work at school is going well; children are learning to read in my second and fifth grade groups and many, many books are coming and going out of the library on a daily basis. The children are thrilled with the new ones from the US and sometimes have trouble choosing the books they are taking home that night…they want them all! I let them take home several and am amazed how many kids come every day to bring back their books so they can get new ones. Teacher friends, I am developing a collection of Reader’s Theater so I would love copies of any you have; these children are typically very shy to speak out and also some are self-conscious about their English so I have decided that this will be another good approach to my teaching. During my 25 years in a primary classroom, I taught reading to hundreds and hundreds of kids and never got over the thrill. But, speaking of thrill, I must say that the change that I have seen in my students here since school started in February is phenomenal and I am so proud of them! I can hardly stop some of them from reading as they are carrying their books walking to and from the library for book checkout and reading groups with me. Many are really “hooked,” really becoming lovers of reading and on their way to fluency, both in reading and in English.

One of the biggest events at Ifira School has been the recent visit from the American Ambassador, Leslie Rowe and did the school go all out!! We had several meetings to discuss and plan the morning and all the protocol involved. From the class 10 boys dressed in custom dance outfits, grass skirts and traditional make-up, meeting the boat in the traditional manner, to the string band music playing as she entered the school grounds, to the school porch that was decorated with palm fronds and colorful flowers, to the wonderful carving of a outrigger canoe that was presented to her, it was a wonderful welcome. This was a huge event to have her visit and everyone at the school and in the village knew it and respected it. We had a flag-raising and singing of the national anthem and a few speeches after which I took her to the second grade classroom where she read the children a favorite book of mine, Mem Fox’s Where in the World?. We then did a tour of the campus and ended in the library where several of my girls read her the Ugly Duckling, all in an hour and a half, after which we walked her back to the boat so she wouldn’t be late for her appointment with Vanuatu’s President!! I felt honored to be asked by our Peace Corps Director to host this event and I was very proud and touched by the school’s effort to host this special visit.

Many of you ask in emails for a “wish list” for care packages so here are some ideas:: DVDs (I am not picky so anything you enjoyed!), small zip lock baggies, manila folders (used ones are fine as I make envelopes out of them for library books to go home in),, loose and longish tunic-type cotton knit shirts size large as I am really getting sick of my clothes and since I always have to wear skirts, I love the look of a long shirt over them, anything from Trader Joes, like walnuts and cashews, pesto and Alfredo mixes, Ultra Fine point Sharpies for drawing with the kids and regular Fine Point Sharpies, too, all black, anything to do with President O’Bama as everyone is fascinated with him here, like kids’ books that have come out, some great ideas for a gift for the Chief…O’Bama baseball cap would be great and/or an XL T-shirt…I didn’t know, of course, that I would be living on his “compound” and therefore don’t have a gift for him, a good crossword puzzle book and, always M & Ms and Hot Tamales!! I appreciate hearing from you, love getting emails and letters, so keep it up and continue to have a wonderful summer!