Oh wow - I haven't written since August! That’s a bit poor form! Sorry. I guess I have gotten so used to life on the island that less and less things strike me as 'something to write home about'. As well as the fact that my time in Vila is spent on different things now. Well, the school year is finished up, it was a mad crazy dash to the finish line with lots of things left in disarray. We had a hap-hazard farewell and everyone sort of dissipated, which was a bit sad, as some of the year 8 students will be off to different islands for year 9 so I won’t see them again. I have worked most closely with the year 8 this term in preparation for their exams. These exams are quite major, as they decide both wether the student gets into year 9 and also what school they get into. Kind of like our Tertiary Entrance Ranking
Now that the exams are over and done with and the school has closed for the year the teachers have headed back to their home islands for Christmas. The village is in what they call “Christmas lazy” mode and most people spend a good portion of the day sitting underneath coconut palms sleeping and chatting with friends. There is a lot of sleeping going on, which I must say, really works for me at the end of such a crazy school year.
We have spent lots of time crashing around the bush collecting firewood, ready for the Christmas feasts. My papa is currently on the look out for a pig to kill and madly trying to finish the renovation on the bathroom in preparation for the arrival of a very honoured guest. Mum! Jo-mo is heading over to Vanuatu on Dec 22nd to experience a village Christmas. I’m looking forward to it myself. I’m told it involves lots of church, fancy island dresses and general laying about eating. Sounds great!

hello folks! sorry to have been so quiet for so long! the last few times i have been into villa i have been pressed for time and unable to sit down and blog. So much to do! There always seems to be heaps of photocopying/shopping/showering type stuff to get out of the way :) I have just come back form a four day sport carnival where about 1000 kids (60 odd from my school) camped out at a massive school on the main island Efate and played round robin sports. CRAZY fun. What a hoot - way cooler than school camp - lots of fun and cheering and getting sun burned. I could not believe it - no tantrums, no homesick kids, no whyning, just fun and games. Our school did really well and i spent lots of time just chilling with kids and their parents who came along to support.
Im living with my family in the village full time now because there was a freaky scary guy hanging around my house where i have been living alone. Ill keep the house for when people come to stay with me but my Papa wasnt happy with me being there on my own when this dude is hanging about. So thats fun! this week there were ten of us in the house, though there is only usually 8 - my mama and papa, eldest sister and her two children (4yrs and 3 mnths) my youngest sister, my brother, two cousins and myself. Plus two cats and a dog. Never a dull moment :) Its nice having kids in the house thoug, makes it feel more like home. Im on school holidays for a week, then back to the gringing stone - and this term will be a big one. Ill be going to the top of the volcano to spend a week with the teachers at the school up there as well as a week on the neighbouring island Pele to help out there. Plus it is the big eams for the year 8 classes so they will be boearding at the school and well be running nightly study sessions and etra classes. these eams are a massive deal for the kids because they decide weather or not they can continue onto yr 9, as well as which school they get accepted to. Will be very intense i anticipate.
In other news, i have started to learn to weave, which is cool as can be, as well as fire twirling, skipping stones and various other games that have no name. I am getting ecited about coming home fore a brief visit and Sarahs wedding. So much fun to be had. Hope everyone is well and happy and having a good time
xoxo
flick

G'day gals and guys! Hope everyone is well! Im back in Villa for a few days - came to attend the wedding of one of the Australian Volunteers. I love weddings and this was an ace mix of Vanuatu custom and Traditional western wedding stuff. Very cool, with lots of dancing. Ill be heading back to the island monday to celebrate my birthday with my island family, My Mama is making 'punia' which is root-vegetables from the garden, covered in coconut milk and wrapped in banana leaves, roasted in hot stones. YUM! Its fantastic celebration food and I cant wait :) You just open up the package and lay it out on a mat on the ground, and everyone sits in a circle around the package and tucks in! Interactive, communal food. Fantastic!
x
F

Excitement! People are coming here to visit me! I could not be more pumped, and please ANYONE take this opportunity to discover vauatu, it is amazing and I can give you the total insiders tour :) Also pumped because yeaterday i went shopping and brought things i WANTED instead of things i need. Very cool. I bought two chairs and a candelabra! I realise that a candelabra seems quite excessive, but in fact, when you have no electricity, its quite a fancy version of practicality!

Oh and BTW for those of you who occasionally call or message, my number now has an extra two 7's so its 00116787764386.

Hey kids! sorry about the absense of updates here, i have just done a five week stint in the village and have only just got into Villa and got access to the net. All is well. Its fantastic to have running water and electricity again as well as being able to talk english and eat western food. I had an episode of homesickness about two weeks ago and Im continuing to recover. While on the island I made a top five of things that I miss about Australia, in no particular order they were a. wearing jeans b. swearing c. drinking/talkingabout red wine d. philisophical conversation / freedom to hold an opinion different to that od the majority e. sitting on the couch. So there it is, and on top of all that is, of course, family and friends. Im really greatful to those people who send messages, call and write, because even though i can not alwayse read or respond quickly its really nice to hear news from home. As far as news on the island is concerned, it is getting "col-col" which means that the weather has become quite mild and dry, and thus everyone complains of the cold. I personally think it is perfect. My little brother has head lice, and refuses to cut his fro, my 2 year old cousin has come to live with the family for a month, and my Papa has decided that he loves my cooking and randomly invited me to come for dinner (to cook dinner) which i secretly love. I have introduced to the family the wonders of garlic, pasta, tomato and hamburgers as well as vietnamese cold rolls. My mama continues to trust me wih increasing amounts of responsibilities around the house (culturaly, quite and honour) I help make Lap-Lap, scratch the coconut to make milk and fry bananas. Im not yt allowed to boil the rice or go to the garden to collect things. She must be sure that i can do it without messing it up before she can hand over chores.

At my own house, I have dug out and built a garden, built a fence around the garden to protect it from the wind off the sea, and planted seeds. As i dont have any pots i have taken to rolling down the sides of doubled up plastic shopping bags and filling them with soil. Some of the seedlings like corn and beetroot were quick to sprout so i have transplanted them to the garden. Everyone watches with great amusement as i faf around in the garen digging and getting dirty. I have very little idea what im doing so it's all an experiment for me and all very amusing to the villagers!!

PS, You can send me post to P O Box 5066 Pt Villa, Vanuatu - one of the other volunteers checks it for me and can pass on aything sent. My mobile number here is 0011 678 64386

Hey there! I’m a bit more well rested now, and hopefully I can write and entry with a bit more content this time. As I may have mentioned, it is the beginning of school holidays, and as such, I have gone into the usual mental slump that inevitably follows the mad rush to the end of term. It also means that I cane come into Villa, and so has half of the village, so I'm bumping into family, friend and students all over the place, which is not so different from home except that here, people grasp you by both hands kiss you on both cheeks and stand talking to you while continuing to hold both hands. And that’s the students as well! Well… the girls anyway. The boys shake hands and blush and avoid eye contact while trying to simultaneously appear indifferent and engage you in conversation. This often means having a conversation with someone who has their back to you, or something equally awkward. Its quite different in the village though, my students at least, have absolutely no concept of personal apace, every opportunity is taken to generate physical contact of some description, the women shake my hand and the men and I ignore each other. Funny old place.
In other news, I have become addicted to rice and tuna, I saw a sea snake while snorkelling, I purchased the DVD of my village string band and can not wait to play it for people – this music is SO cool!! The year 7 boys climbed up the coconut tree outside my kitchen window and pruned it for me, cut down heaps of coconuts and drank the juice before leaving me the mess to clean up. My little brother and cousin have rekindled my love of jokes, riddles and clapping games and I am slowly getting a handle on the local language, which is quite tough, but sounds beautiful. Today is another grey one, but who is going to complain, at least it is not humid.
OK love to all back home xoxo

Kids! Im back in the capitol again and totally exhausted from the trip. I get on a boat at six, power to the wharf to get on the back of a ute at 8, then sit in the back of a ute on the craziest roads known to man, to pull up in the capitol, dusty dirty and shaken about by about 10am. At least this time i had some mates to share the trip, as Adam and Erin, a volunteer couple come to stay at my house for the last two nights, it was so great! my first visitors. We had a ball, swimming, snorkling, chilling, reading, cooking. Wicked. Im reading this back and im not sure it makes sense. OK i might go home, have a shower (novelty!) wash my hair (SUPER novelty!!!) and take a nap. Will try to write again before I go back
love love

So much had happened in the last few weeks I can hardly remember it all! I have become accustomed to island life and I’m really enjoying living on Nguna. I have started working at the school which is ace. It took some time to find my feet but now that I have it is hammer and tongs, just the way I like it. The kids are ace and I am learning more form them than they are from me! Living so close to the ocean is fantastic, I often swim after school with my little brother and sister or in the evenings before dinner with my Mama. When I come home from school I have a rest then help (watch) my mama cook dinner. Slowly she is entrusting me with jobs, like collecting water from the well and scratching the coconut to make coconut cream and food for the chooks. Its quite hard work and I have a few small wounds to show for it J I cooked up a dinner for the family last week, pasta with nepolitana sauce, garlic bread and a bottle of Barossa Shiraz, it was the first time any of the family had tasted pasta, garlic or wine – fantastic, they loved it which I was really pleased about. It made me incredibly home sick though, it tasted just like home! It was all I could do not to cry at the dinner table! That has been my only major bout of home-sickness though. I have got my head around bislama now which is cool, except that my family now want to teach me the local language which is QUITE a bit more complicated! Its fair enough though, I babble on in English, which is their 4th or 5th language, only fair that I have a go at learning their mother tongue. I am having so much fun at school, it is heaps different to Australia, in ways that I could not have anticipated. The kids collect flowers ever morning for the tables! Cute or what? They all play soccer like little fiends and sing at the top of their little voices at every given opportunity. OK, I am going for dinner tonight at one of the AYAD’ s houses then tomorrow is a mad day of shopping , groceries for my Mama, A stash of chocolate for me and a heap of photocopying for the school. Love to all, hope everyone is well
xoxo

ok kids, On the weekend il be heading to Nguna to get this show on the road! I have been shopping up a storm, fitting out the shack thay have built fo me and stock-piling foods. I have had an amazing adventure just trying to sort out how to get a light source and re-charge me computer! I have gone with a 2stroke generator and the most whiz-bang bush lighting system that we could invent. Pretty cool. All of the volunteers have moved to their new digs and started work so its a bit quiet thelast few days. We had a big party at the Australian High Commissioners house which was fantastic and I got to meet lots of ex-pats who are working or volunteering here. Word has got around town that I am going to Nguna so every time I walk down the street someone stops me to say hello because they grew up there or have been there or know somone who came from there. It is an amazing community.

After 10 intense days here in Vanuatu I have finally had the chance to sit down and write a proper email and look through the many hundreds of photos taken thus far. It is hard to know where to start! We have had daily Bislama lessons, and they are going well, the volunteers all find themselves speaking to each other in Bislama by accident, and if ever my spelling was bad before it is going to be awful after 12 months of writing and reading Bislama. Ill give you an example Mi wanem go long sto blong pem fis, ti mo paepa after mi go bakaken long aelan. I want to go to the store to by fish, tea and paper then I’m going to go back to the island.
Vanuatu is beautiful and the island where I will be living is like nothing I have ever seen before I can categorically say that this is living the dream. The school council are building me a shack on the point with the most incredible view I have ever seen. They say it should be ready in two weeks, and in the mean I will live with a local family in the village who have adopted me. I not have a Ni Van Mama and Papa, two sisters and a little brother and the chief of the village is my uncle. My mama had weaved me a new bag with my name on it and a matching handbag so that I can carry all my books to school and everyone in the village can learn my name! Cute or what? The Island has no running water but that said water is plentiful and easily available because it rains so much and all houses have rain water tanks with little taps. The water tastes fantastic due to the almost complete lack of pollution. There are only two cars on the whole island! There is no central electricity but some houses have solar panels or a generator. I think I will take a small generator with me so that I can keep my computer and mobile charged. Oh, we do have mobile coverage as well! Classic! There is a small island near by where someone is building a private hotel for movie stars and so they put a mobile tower on the island which covers my village as well! Nice one!
I have done so much stuff in the last few days, We caught, tagged, named and released a turtle ( I asked him how old he was, just a young fella of 35), went snorkelling for the first time, AMAZING! I kept squealing every time I saw a fish which was rather often! I found Nemo as well and freaked out when we got back to the beach because one of the boys in the village had caught a tiger shark in that spot the day before. Note to self: ask around before swimming.
We have also, been to church, danced to the local string band, had Bislama lessons on the beach, cooked Lap-Lap with the Mamas, got sunburned, been on a sunset sail in a schooner, been to Pt Villa’s answer to moonlight cinema (over the water with a full bar and pizzas) and probably a million other things that I cant remember because so much has happened.
Its so freaking hot and humid that it isn’t even worth spending energy complaining about the heat and humidity, but we still do “Hemi hot tumas!” It cools down at night time and a fan is all you need to get a good nights sleep. The solwata (sea) calls constantly and we have been swimming every day. The water is coolest in the mornings, but I managed to get burned while swimming at 8am. Lesson learned.
I will be staying in Villa or a few more days as I meet the education big wigs, go to a dinner at the Australian High Commission and get things to set my house up with. I’m really glad that I packed a few good kitchen items. Cooking will be a whole new learning experience, with no refrigeration and all the fruit you can handle growing all around. Its currently paw paw, bananas, this grapefruit which isn’t sour, avocado and fish galore!

Hello team, Im here at last! What a trip! It is SO humid, its a constant sweat-a-thon! We have started Bislama lessons, which is cool and we are getting oriented about town. The place is beautiful, so green! I have not been somewhere this lush before, its quite amazing. People are friendly and all the AYAD's are getting on well. Food is pretty boring but shopping at the market is a fun experience, even if i am not sure what im buying. I have discovered some fantastic fruit, in particular a green grapefruit that is not sour and a sort of custard apple.
All the volunteers are coming to Nguna with me for a week to get settled and experience village life which will be great for me to start off not being totally isolated. We will go snorkeling and walking up the volcano as well as check out church and life in general. It turns out that there is no running water on my island and electricity is sporadic and unreliable. Im looking forward to developing the skills to survive like that though, millions of people around the world live like that, and ill get used to it :) We have been so busy I have had hardly any time to think, and access to the net is more difficult than i thought it would be. In brighter news there has been plenty of rain, the mountains are spectacular, and we have been swimming in sky blue water every day! Its weird swimming in clothes and shoes (protection from coral cuts) but i guess i will get used to that as well huh? Keep me posted on all your news from home!
Love

Hello anyone who cares to read this!! I figure this is better than mass emailing cos you can read at your own leisure and comment back if you like. Please also email me though and keep me up to date with your news and goss - felmitch@gmail.com For anyone who didn't get the details I'm going to Taloa village, Nguna Island, Vanuatu to work at Eles Primary School, check it out on google-earth, the island is TEEEENY! I'll be the only AYAD (Australian Youth Ambassador for Development) on my island but there will be 7 more in different parts on Vanuatu. Ill be working as an ESL Teacher Trainer, but specifics of the job I won't know until I get there. Ill put up some photos as soon as I can :)