August in Vanuatu

I am starting to write this blog entry on the sixth day of August, exactly two weeks since we have had a regular day of school; with this statistic, it is not hard to under- stand why Vanuatu has such a low literacy rate; there are just not enough days where the children are in school and therefore learning to read as well as teaching to read are very challenging undertakings. It started on July 24 with the national holiday of Children’s Day which then led into the week-long celebration of Vanuatu’s independence, the 29th anniversary of the end condominium government which England and France oversaw. So then my thought was, school would start back up on Monday of this week…but, no, another day was needed to recover so Tuesday I was back again, wondering where everyone was as the school was deserted except for the few of us who hadn’t heard the news…another Ifira Island resident had died during the night and school, as usual, had been canceled out of respect for the family. This is the sixth death we have had on the island since the February start of school and therefore the sixth day off for this reason. But also, we have had a day off for Chief’s Day, for Efate Island Day, for Shefa Province Day, for Ascension, Good Friday and Easter Monday, Labor Day, Father Lini, Day (a local hero) and upcoming, we will have no school on Constitution Day, Unity Day, Culture Day and, of course, Christmas and Boxing Day!! Oh, I must not forget today, Election Day!!! I, needless to say, get frustrated trying to run consistent reading and library programs; it seems like just when we get going again, we have a day or two off and then, afterwards, a day or two to recover.

Speaking of days off from school, soon our second term ends and we have two weeks of holidays. In May, I had a visit from a wonderful Australian family, three generations, who brought a large number of books for the library plus pencils and many other school supplies. We spent a day together, swimming and having lunch in the library. They mentioned that they would welcome a visit…and so I decided that I would take them up on it!! I am flying to Brisbane on August 29 for a week, I am sure the only time I will ever spend in Australia. I am determined not to leave there with- out seeing three animals, a kangaroo, a wombat, and a koala. I will speak at a Rotary Club on the Sunshine Coast and visit a school and receive more books on the Sun-shine Coast. And I will have a few days to explore Brisbane on my own. I also look forward to spending some break time here in Vila with my friend, Karen, and meeting her sister who will be visiting from her home in Mexico.

I would like to tell you about a typical school day for me: I am up by 5:30 and quietly make my coffee, careful to not wake my housemates though they are soon rising as well. I am at school, a three minute walk, by 7:00 to open the library. School starts at 7:-30. By 8:00, I am working with my first of two second grade reading groups; I get them from their classroom and work with them in the library for 45 minutes and then walk them back and get the next group;; I love this short walk that we take together since usually I have to remind the children to watch their steps as they have their library books open and are reading while they walk!! The classroom teacher works with the other two groups, hopefully using some of the methods for guided reading and phonics that I have modeled for her. We have a 15 minute break at 9;30, when I have just dismissed my last readers. The library is typically packed during this time, with often 20 or more kids coming to exchange their books; I let, in fact, I encourage, them to come in as often as they want to get new books…and many come every day! The large amount of wonderful books that so many of you have sent have made a huge difference in the interest level and in the reading level of these students and they are certainly meeting one of my goals, to have them love to read. Since these children have never before checked books out of a library and most never even having books at home, I am especially thrilled with the enthusiasm and thrilled with observing so many getting ‘hooked on reading.’

I am very excited about my travel plans to Australia but even more exciting will be Josh’s arrival on September 29. He plans to stay three weeks; there are many sights to see in this southern Efate Island area, daytrips that we will take, and a one night stay in my training village, Mangalilui, with my host family. In Vila, we will join some of the younger volunteers who will happily instruct Josh in the drinking of kava and an afternoon of fishing is also planned. We will leave this island to fly south to spend one of the weeks having many interesting adventures, like walking around Mt. Yassir, one of our active volcanoes on the island of Tanna, swimming and snorkeling off of Mystery Island off the the southern-most Vanuatu island of Anneityem, horsebackriding to the world’s largest Banyon tree and visiting the John From Cargo Cult site from World War II days. Josh will then fly to Auckland; he has applied for and received a “work/holiday” visa which is available to young people between the ages of 20 and 30, and is good for one year; this visa will enable him to find seasonal jobs during this period. Some opportunities will include working on organic farms, working in ski resorts, picking fruit, or general handy-man work. Rachel arrives in Pt. Vila December 2 and will spend 2 weeks with me here before we head together to New Zealand on December 16; we will find Josh, wherever he happens to be working, and have Christmas together; if he is between jobs, we have been invited to spend the holiday with friends that I have made here who live in Welllington. Rachel and I will then continuing traveling, probably in a rental car and staying in hostels, until I fly back to Vanuatu in mid-January. She plans to extend her stay and spend the next 6 weeks also doing seasonal work before returning to Homer, Alaska.

My next blog will mark my one year anniversary here; I left Portland on September 16 and flew out of Los Angeles on September 18, arriving in Vanuatu, because of crossing the International Dateline, two days later. It is impossible to believe that almost a year has passed. I have one piece of sad news for those of you who knew her…our beloved 14 year old Golden Retriever, Zoe, died last week. Her 11 year old ‘sister’ remains in great health and has found a great pal in her housemate, Amy’s dog, Levi. To my teacher friends, have a good reentry back into school and to all of you, enjoy the last days of summer as fall is upon you…while we here in Vanuatu prepare for the warmer days of spring!!