Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Family Day


Yesterday my host family celebrated Family Day, a national holiday that falls on the day after Christmas every year in Vanuatu. My host family caught fresh fish and celebrated my arrival in Vanuatu with a prayer and welcoming speech in Bislama. The people here have embraced me and the presence of the Peace Corps and proven themselves to be a culture based on hospitality and community. However, they are also limited and isolated by their geographic position as an archipelago with significant distance from any other nation, as well as their lack of media. People will ask me the same questions repeatedly, as well as questions with obvious answers. I will go to the beach and someone will ask me "Paz, yu go swim?" When I come back from the beach, the same people will ask me if I have just come from the beach. I believe this is because their lack of resources presents them with a scarcity of conversation topics. It is the same reason church sermons are recycled every Sunday. However, I believe the presence of the Peace Corps in the country will allow the locals to witness new information and ideas. Perhaps this is the reason the people of Vanuatu have always welcomed the Peace Corps. They are a culture in search of innovation, new dialogues that will enhance their quality of life.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

The Long Road From Lakatoro


Yesterday I needed to run errands that required a trip to the provincial center and main city on Malekula, Lakatoro. I needed to purchase some supplies for my new house, such as cooking tools and an aircard for Internet access. I also visited the post office and was pleasantly surprised when I offered 100 vatu as a tip for maintaining my mail and was declined. I thought, the Peace Corps must be held in high esteem in Vanuatu if the post office is willing to maintain a mail box for me without any compensation. Since I also have free access to the solar power at my school in order to charge my cell phone and computer while most people are charged a small fee, this to me is the most authentic indication that the Peace Corps is conducting worthy and productive projects here. While I was able to purchase many products I needed, I was not able to locate everything. The main disappointment was the aircard. I walked into an outlet owned by Digicell, the main phone and Internet provider in Vanuatu, and was told they did not have an aircard and sent me to another store. When I went to that store, I was told to try somewhere else. This kept happening until I decided I was too tired carrying many heavy cooking supplies to keep running around Lakatoro in search of an aircard. I walked back to Digicell and asked them to order an aircard for me and call me when it arrived. They said they would, but I do not feel confident this will actually happen soon, if at all. For now, I will be forced to come into Lakatoro and use the Internet at my friend's site. The ride back to my village was both beautiful and wasteful. I saw many variegated birds and trees and even a flying fox. However, the driver made several detours with no apparent purpose behind them. He drove us all around Lakatoro and, after leaving Lakatoro, through a forest outside my village. The ride took about an hour and a half longer as a result. While the scenery was breathtaking and left me wishing I had brought my camera, it was also an enormous waste of gas and time. I was tempted not to pay the driver, thinking a New York cab driver would have been discharged for such a ridiculous lack of professionalism and concern for our planet. Then, I remembered that this sort of thing is much more acceptable in Vanuatu than in the United States, and I did pay him. I came off the truck dizzy and in pain from sitting on the back of a truck for hours. I realized the urgent need for an environmental movement in Vanuatu that educates people about such the dangers of such prevalent practices as burning garbage, wasting fuel, and powering their houses with generators. Perhaps this will be my next project here as an educator.

Zen and the Art of Kava Grinding


I have arrived in my village in the northwest of the island of Malekula. Above are pictures of my new house and the beach nearby. The community here is divided between Seventh Day Adventists and Presbyterians. In terms of religion, this is as diverse as Vanuatu usually becomes. When I tell people about my Buddhist practice, they respond by saying they have never heard of Buddhism. I tried to explain Buddhist concepts such as reincarnation, impermanence, and mindful living in Bislama, and found that people were interested, but did not fully grasp these ideas. However, I do feel more accepted for my beliefs than I expected to be by conservative Christians, such as Seventh Day Adventists. They ask me to say grace before eating and do not object to my chanting the Buddhist prayer Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambudhassa (“Homage to the Blessed One, the Noble One, the Perfectly Enlightened One”) rather than the Christian prayers they are accustomed to. I also made Turkish coffee over an open fire using ground coffee from Tanna, an island in the south of Vanuatu, which they enjoyed. I expressed interest in visiting a nakamal to my family, who told me their religion forbade kava consumption and that, if I wanted kava, I must come to the Presbyterian area, where the religion is less restrictive. Two days ago, I did so. It turned out to be a more involved process that I anticipated. I was told to wait and smoke some strong local tobacco while I waited for the owner of the nakamal. When he arrived, he took me on the back of his truck to a man who sold pieces of the kava plant that resembled potato slices. For one US dollar/100 vatu, I purchased a large bag of kava pieces. After we drove back to the nakamal, I was shown how to grind kava. After grinding the kava into dried gray nuggets, we dissolved them a bowl of water. Using a calico cloth as a strainer, we squeezed the newly concocted kava into another, larger bowl. I was then told to drink all of it. I expressed that I did not want to drink that much kava, but they did not seem to understand the concept of only wanting a small amount of kava. In Vanuatu, kava is all or nothing. Either you do not drink it or you drink it in excess. The culture allows no middle ground. After drinking the entire bowl, I walked home unharmed, and fell asleep almost immediately.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Eclipse Over Vanuatu

Last night a lunar eclipse appeared over Vanuatu. We saw it outside a club in Port Vila called Rumors, which I found out later was one of the few that attracted gay patrons. Vanuatu has very few safe havens for queer people, and virtually all of them are in its capital city. A group of volunteers went dancing there. We spent the night dancing with each other, expatriates, and locals. I wanted to take a photo of the eclipse, but it was obscured. The night was still, however, spectacular. It had been a long time since I had been out dancing, and I thrived on the inclusive atmosphere. The locals happily allowed me to dance with them and were genuinely impressed when I told them I was from New York. Dancing is an art that unites all peoples, and last night was no exception.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Swearing In

I have officially sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I will be staying in Port Vila until I leave for Malekula on Monday. I will be living and working at a school training both students and teachers. This is a forward progression on every level: professional, experiential, mental, familial, and spiritual. Getting to the island requires a great deal of preparation, since I have many supplies to take with me. Only so much can be transported on a plane. The rest will have to be shipped on a boat. I am quite excited to be living on Malekula. Reading about it, I see that there is an abundance of ceremonial dance, body paint, sculpture, and exquisite landscapes. The above pictures are of my swearing in ceremony, some ancestral statues on Malekula, and a kastom dance. I will witness all of it with eyes of integrity and enthusiasm.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Leaving Tanoliu

I have left Tanoliu, my training village and am currently staying in Port Vila, the capital and largest city in Vanuatu, to continue my training. My host family and I honored our final night together by cooking banana pie over an open fire. They are displayed in the above photograph. My site placement is on the island of Malekula at a school in the northwest. I will have a house right near the beach, which feels like a tremendous improvement from a tiny room on the Lower East Side of New York City. I have also been placed with two of closest friends in the Peace Corps. I look forward to this new creative and professional venture. There will certainly be beautiful stories to come.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Kava

I have arrived on the island of Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu for my host volunteer visit. Here I have viewed classrooms and hiked through forests and waterfalls. The more time I spend here, the more ambivalent I become. Like every other place in the world, Vanuatu is full on contradictions. People have approached me offering food, kind words, and a willingness to speak to me in English, even though I am now mostly comfortable with Bislama (as long as people speak it slowly). However, the treatment of animals here has appalled me. Dogs and cats are attacked with stones and even large bush knives. The other volunteers have told me this is something I will need to become accustomed to, something that will not change anytime soon. I also have been enjoying an herbal drink with narcotic effects known as kava. Kava is consumed mostly at small establishments called nakamals. It is served in coconut shells, has an earthy taste, and causes the mouth to go numb, the legs to wobble, the nerves to relax, and sometimes nausea if one drinks too much. Since it can also make sensitive to bright light and loud noises, nakamals are usually dark and quiet spaces. They say the more you drink it, the stronger the effect and the more vile the taste. There are also many different varieties. Some varieties I can drink two or three shells and feel nothing but tranquil. Others I will drink one shell and suddenly feel nauseous. Driving under the influence of kava is just as destructive as alcohol, and has become a problem in Vanuatu. Kava reflects the contradictions here, as it relaxes people, yet contributes to the chaos in the country, as well as to sexism. Women in many areas of Vanuatu are forbidden from drinking it, and sometimes even looking at it. However, it is also a force that unites Ni-Vanuatus and expatriates like me.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Exciting Events

Tonight, I am attending a cocktail party with officials from the government of Vanuatu and USAID. This is quite exciting since I will be able to network with other world travelers and others invested in community empowerment. I'm very excited about meeting and learning from them. This coming Saturday through next Thursday I will be staying with a current Peace Corps Volunteer on the island of Espiritu Santo. There, I will observe classrooms and learn more about the culture and education here. My host family has told me not to go to outside at night to avoid “black magic.” I told them I wouldn't, but I'm not too concerned about it.

My First Earthquake

Last Saturday I felt the Earth move for the first time. I was outside getting ready for a gender and development workshop and witnessed the Earth shake beneath me. It was an innocuous earthquake with no damages. Vanuatu is subject to several earthquakes every year, as well as volcanic eruptions, cyclones, and tsunamis. Peace Corps Volunteers who had been living in Vanuatu for a year were unaroused by it, unlike me who was shaking and waiting to see if any buildings would collapse. This was my first earthquake, but certainly not my last. But at least I now have some idea of what to expect.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Teaching Go Fish In Vanuatu

I have arrived in Tanoliu, my training village on the island of Efate, and have begun training in education, Ni-Vanuatu culture, the Bislama language, health, nutrition, and other relevant topics to my stay in Vanuatu. My host family are a father and mother with four children.  I have been given a new name (a kastom name): Kalfao, which means "new man." I have found the people here to be quite hospitable and convivial, but also somewhat gossipy. I recall coming to class one day and a friend from the Peace Corps asking me, "Paz, when did you wake up?"
"I don't know, 6:30," I responded. "Why?"
"Because my host parents told me you slept in today," she said.
Coming from New York City, where nobody knows or cares what your business is, this comes as a bit of culture shock. Wherever I walk, people shout out "Kalfao! Yu go wea?" (Kalfao! Where are you going?). Half the time, I won't even know the other person's name! This has required adjustment.
However, I have been able to have an impact on others. Last week, I taught my host sisters and brothers, as well as other children in the community, how to play go fish. I did not speak Bislama nearly as well as I do now, and the fact that I was able to teach them is proof of how much communication is nonverbal. I simply dealt the cards and showed them what to do. The children loved the game and must have played it five or six times that day. This gives me immense hope that, as I assimilate more and more into Ni-Vanuatu society, I will be able to truly have an impact on my community.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Let The Staging Begin

I have arrived in Los Angeles to begin a process called staging, in which I will meet my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers and be provided tools and resources to begin my service. Tomorrow, I will fly to Vanuatu via New Zealand, arriving in Vanuatu on Sunday around 9:00am (hopefully). I write this blog post from my hotel room near the main airport in Los Angeles awaiting the other Volunteer who will be sharing my room. My mind and body are racing with enthusiasm, somewhat similar to the night before I left for Turkey last year. However, with this event comes an additional thrill: Never before has my vocation required me to travel and provided a hotel for me. This is, essentially, my first business trip! Traveling for business has always struck me as among the most adult activities. Everything I have done up to this point--moving to New York for college in 2004, reading with first-graders in Harlem in 2005, studying abroad in India in 2006, working with incarcerated youth on Riker's Island in 2008, working in a summer youth program for low-income kids in 2008, painting a mural with Harlem teenagers in 2009, working with emotionally-disturbed youth this year--has brought me to this point. This is proof of the law of karma. Giving to others results in future gifts we rarely anticipate.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

I'm Live!

Welcome to my blog. Beginning in October, I will be relocating to Vanuatu, an archipelago in Melanesia, to begin my Peace Corps training. I will be teaching English and working to ameliorate the conditions in Ni-Vanuatu schools. The title comes from the Sanskrit word "prakasha," which literally means "to shine forth," but can also mean "enlightenment," "pure consciousness," or "radiance," and the following quote from one of my favorite writers, Tennessee Williams: "To be free is to have achieved your life. It means any number of freedoms. It means the freedom to stop when you please, to go where and when you please, it means to be a voyager here and there, one who flees many hotels, sad or happy, without obstruction and without much regret. It means the freedom of being. And someone has wisely observed, if you can't be yourself, what's the point of being anything at all?" (Taken from Tennessee Williams' Memoirs) Thanks for reading! Paz