In America, we are really, really firm about time: when transport leaves, or when a store opens and closes, or even how long a party lasts. If an airline company sells you a ticket that says your flight to Cleveland is going to leave at 4:05, you probably will leave at 4:05, or maybe 4:15 or 4:35. If a store is open from 8 to 6, it's open from 8 to 6. Show up at 7:30, and chances are low that anyone will open up the door for you. And parties usually have a start time, and an implied, if not explicit end time. Unless you're 14 and having a slumber party, you probably need to go home before it's time to go to bed. Et cetera.
My point is, here, that none of this is universal. This is how we as Americans behave, but it's not how everyone behaves.
Example. I was trying to go attend my counterpart's wedding on Tongariki. (She is, as always, great.) I bought a ticket on Monday, which was supposed to leave Tuesday night. Then it was supposed to leave Wednesday night. Then Thursday morning. At that point, when I saw that the ocean will continue to be rough, and knowing that, usually, ships like to live Vila at the beginning of the week, I decided that I wasn't going to go anymore. I wasn't supposed to get a full refund -- and then I did? But, anyway, it was not that great. I had hoped to be able to go, but since the time of departure kept moving, it was time to get a move on.
Example 2. Vanuatu stores have opening and closing hours, but they're a lot more relaxed, I think, than in America. A lot of the small Chinese stores open in the early morning when the owners get up (so anywhere from 530-630, for the most part) and many close sometime between 8 and 930, but you can't always tell when that is. Like this store Tebakor Shopping Center, that I go to in Vila a lot? Half the time when I come back from kava, it's closed; other times, still running strong. The disadvantage of this all is that you don't always know when everything is open when it's 9 p.m. and you need some hardboiled eggs in your life, pronto.
Example 3. Parties here don't start the same way as they do in America. That is to say, parties and events often start three, four, five, six hours after their proposed starting time, and then they keep going ... until everyone's done. Can you imagine, as an American, if you said that your holiday party was going to start at noon and everyone rolled in at 3:15? You'd be livid -- but here, especially outside of cities, that's how it is. People aren't squeezing in multiple plans, but starting times are more like suggestions. Especially when, like on Tongariki, it's the sort of event where people need to bring food, they're going to come when the food is cooked, the laundry is finished, and everyone's dressed up nice.
What this means in context for Vanuatu is: this place is enjoyable, but things are slow. Things are going to happen at their own pace. Don't fight it! There was this Washington Post article by some people who apparently had a wretched time on Tanna, which is sad, since Tanna has this incredible volcano the likes of which you'd never see anywhere else. They complained about the speed of transport. To which I have to say: it's an island in the South Pacific. Volcanoes aren't conveniently located next to the 7/11. If you want to have a good time, relax, let it go, and don't try to overbook yourself.
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