August and September in Vanuatu

Hello again from this lovely island country! I think I am looking around now with wider eyes and increased appreciation for the beauty as my time to leave comes closer: I have decided to return on December 7, a little later than I had originally planned, a decision made so that I am not rushed or distracted with end-of-service work when Amy visits and so that I can stay until the finish of the school term and participate in all the end of the year activities and festivities. My PC group of 17 just completed our "Close of Service" conference, a busy few days of trying not to be overwhelmed with the amount of paper work and information we were receiving. The U.S. government has plenty for us to do before leaving the country and I will have ample time to do it all with my later departure date, as opposed to some in my group who are choosing to leave in early November.

Josh finished his wonderful 4 weeks here on August 14 when we flew off to Fiji together for the promised week of vacation, promised because he worked daily and very dilligently with me during his latest visit. I asked him to play a major part in the World Map Project (see photo), helping me organize it, accompanying me to purchase the materials needed, and leading the students in the painting of it. What an amazing activity; the process was incredible, with each child at the school, class 2-10, painting one country and in the process, not only learning the name of "their" country but also learning names of its close neighbors and also its continent. They all did a very careful job painting, taking pride and great enjoyment in contributing to this all-school endeavor. The staff also participated, each choosing a country to paint. The map is on one wall of the library, measuring 6' X 12' and is a beautiful addition to this room! We all, students and adults, learned a great deal about the geography of the world and anticipate that this wonderful map will serve as a teaching tool for many years to come.

I am very excited that Amy is coming for a ten day visit, arriving on October 2 and staying long enough to celebrate my birthday with me on October 11! I am thrilled that each of my kids will have had the opportunity to experience with me my life in Vanuatu, my life in the Peace Corps. She will meet my host family in my training village, participate in the life on Ifira Island and at Ifira School, and see many sights in the area...including a night or two at our local little resort, Hideaway Island, with its incredible swimming and snorkeling and fish curry served in a coconut shelll!! And speaking of swimming and snorkeling, Josh and I had a wonderful time in Fiji; our three day sailing adventure on a 100 foot schooner was amazing; we traveled with nine other people to a small island in the Yasawa group and stayed in small thatched huts called bures on a little island owned by the sailing company. We also spent three days on the Coral Coast at a small, low-key resort where one of the main events, not unlike vacations when my kids were small, was finding a local doctor to treat Josh's strep throat!! I look forward to my return for many reasons, one being living in the same town as these two of my kids!! And the other one? Rachel is settling back into life in Homer, Alaska; her new home there, a little cabin in the woods, has no furniture yet but she reports life is good, including two classes she is taking and the return to part-time work at the local women's shelter.

The library project has begun!! We now have a 9' X 25' covered veranda on the front of the library room, (see photo...and me in an island dress!) ten new windows have been installed along with four new lights and a ceiling fan is going strong! The walls have been painted and the tile floor will go in, hopefully, next week. The school recently hired a handyman who has been able, when he feels like it, to do a lot of the work; the problem is the concept of "island time," meaning there is a very relaxed attitude about promptness, about length and frequency of breaks, and about the appropriate quitting time...and this is not to mention the quality of the work...I have stayed ahead of his painting, for example, by taping and covering areas with plastic to keep the mess at a minimum!! It is going to be such a wonderful space and there is a great deal of excitement about it...and questions from the students about when we can move back!! They don't like being without the library but luckily we are just completing a two week term break so during part of the closure time they weren't in school anyway.

Speaking of the library, again, as I have completed thank-you notes to the all of the names on the donor list that PC Washington DC sent me, I would love to hear from those of you who donated but did not receive a recent note from me...it means that you didn't check the "permission to release name of donor" box when you donated and therefore I cannot properly thank you! So let me hear from you!!

I am off to great the new group of Peace Corps volunteers who are arriving today; it doesn't seem possible that I myself arrived just about exactly two years ago!! I will leave with very mixed emotions, for sure, but part of my excitement in leaving is knowing that I will see many of you in the days and months soon after my return. So, until then, I send love and hugs and my best...and expect one more blog before my return!