1. Buy a ten dollar Bible in Port Vila. I have pretty strong feelings about going to church here--I really, really, really think that it's a good idea--but it's good to have something to read during church. It can be pretty boring ... especially when it happens in local language. But out of respect for the culture, I still think that, no matter what, you have to go at least fairly regularly. But buy a Bible. If it's boring or you can't understand what's going on, at least you can read Ecclesiastes or something.
2. If you don't buy nice sheets and you only have the Peace Corps sheets ... Sew the sides together to make fitted sheets. It will improve your life to not always wake up sleeping on the mattress.
3. If you're going to buy dried beans, lentils cook at least 2x or even 3x faster than any other type.
4. If you're eating with your host parents, make sure that you make a financial contribution to the household. Don't hand them a 1000 vatu note (that's weird), but make sure that you buy tuna fish and sugar and oil and that kind of thing. Yams might be free, but your host parents still worked hard to grow them, so make sure that their children aren't dying for a lolly, or something.
5. Always put bleach in your laundry bucket. If you only use a little bit, it'll make sure that your clothes are cleaner and smell much better than if you only use laundry soap! It'll give you advice on the bottle, but I usually do a few capfuls.
Showing posts with label Unsolicited Advice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Unsolicited Advice. Show all posts
Monday, December 8, 2014
Monday, November 10, 2014
Unsolicited advice for new volunteers
To avoid sounding like an overbearing twit in G27's Facebook group, here is some unsolicited advice for future volunteers in Vanuatu:
1) Bring many more pairs of underwear that you think you'll want.
2) Learn Bislama as quickly as possible. It gives you more legitimacy and makes your life much better.
3) ESPECIALLY when you first get to site, be as outgoing as you can bear. It's easier to back away after six months than to try to develop close bonds after six months of being a hermit.
4) Work is not the only point. Communities remember volunteers who get them big things (that well over there was given by the Pis Kop) but the point is supposed to be world friendship, too. As a PCV, you might be the only American they know, so if you act like a jerk who doesn't want to talk to them, that's what they're going to take away about us.
5) Remember that in this culture, people don't spend a lot of time by themselves. We like being alone much more than most people do. So what might seem like "my crazy overbearing neighbors won't give me any space" is also "oh that poor boy, he must be so lonely. Quick, Johnny, you go help him cut his grass."
6) A lot of conflict happens over whether you're family or a guest. Sometimes your host parents will treat you like family when you want to be a guest. Sometimes they'll treat you like a guest when you want to be family. Accept that it's an awkward situation and remember that you are both, so just roll with it.
7) Eat with people as much as you can. You won't like the food, but developing relationships takes a LONG time. You are not going to really love people if you don't put the hours in. It sounds cheesy, but I swear it's true.
8) For the sake of your bank account, alcohol is a demon drink that should be avoided. For the price of a single domestic beer is a restaurant, you can drink four or five shells of kava with your new friends (whoever is drinking kava at the same time.)
9) I want to write more about this later--but female volunteers, we're in a weird position. Don't forget that this is a male-dominated society and that actions that seem very innocent to us don't appear that way to other people. Good example: my friend Mike and I just spent a week in another volunteer's house on Santo. Mike and I are not a thing. But it's basically impossible to imagine here that two young people could just be friends. Remember that when you're flirting with a cute guy (and that will be most guys here.)
10) Seriously, remember that you are incredibly lucky. Vanuatu is beautiful and filled with friendly people. It's not America, and remember that no matter what kind of site you go to,it will seem like a hardship. Some volunteers have cold showers and flush toilets and limited power at their houses. Other volunteers have bucket baths and bush toilets and hahahahaha what is the internet? Either way it will feel hard because compared to the States, it IS hard. But like... I assume when you decided to join the Peace Corps, you thought it through.
End unsolicited advice pt 1. Next time I have a big chunk of thoughts to spew out, I'll add them in.
1) Bring many more pairs of underwear that you think you'll want.
2) Learn Bislama as quickly as possible. It gives you more legitimacy and makes your life much better.
3) ESPECIALLY when you first get to site, be as outgoing as you can bear. It's easier to back away after six months than to try to develop close bonds after six months of being a hermit.
4) Work is not the only point. Communities remember volunteers who get them big things (that well over there was given by the Pis Kop) but the point is supposed to be world friendship, too. As a PCV, you might be the only American they know, so if you act like a jerk who doesn't want to talk to them, that's what they're going to take away about us.
5) Remember that in this culture, people don't spend a lot of time by themselves. We like being alone much more than most people do. So what might seem like "my crazy overbearing neighbors won't give me any space" is also "oh that poor boy, he must be so lonely. Quick, Johnny, you go help him cut his grass."
6) A lot of conflict happens over whether you're family or a guest. Sometimes your host parents will treat you like family when you want to be a guest. Sometimes they'll treat you like a guest when you want to be family. Accept that it's an awkward situation and remember that you are both, so just roll with it.
7) Eat with people as much as you can. You won't like the food, but developing relationships takes a LONG time. You are not going to really love people if you don't put the hours in. It sounds cheesy, but I swear it's true.
8) For the sake of your bank account, alcohol is a demon drink that should be avoided. For the price of a single domestic beer is a restaurant, you can drink four or five shells of kava with your new friends (whoever is drinking kava at the same time.)
9) I want to write more about this later--but female volunteers, we're in a weird position. Don't forget that this is a male-dominated society and that actions that seem very innocent to us don't appear that way to other people. Good example: my friend Mike and I just spent a week in another volunteer's house on Santo. Mike and I are not a thing. But it's basically impossible to imagine here that two young people could just be friends. Remember that when you're flirting with a cute guy (and that will be most guys here.)
10) Seriously, remember that you are incredibly lucky. Vanuatu is beautiful and filled with friendly people. It's not America, and remember that no matter what kind of site you go to,it will seem like a hardship. Some volunteers have cold showers and flush toilets and limited power at their houses. Other volunteers have bucket baths and bush toilets and hahahahaha what is the internet? Either way it will feel hard because compared to the States, it IS hard. But like... I assume when you decided to join the Peace Corps, you thought it through.
End unsolicited advice pt 1. Next time I have a big chunk of thoughts to spew out, I'll add them in.
Friday, November 7, 2014
The Internet is for Suckers
The internet in Vanuatu is terrible/slow/horrible for loading YouTube videos/insufficient for your day-to-day needs?
No duh. So get off of the internet and go outside. You have quite honestly the entire rest of your life, which you will not spend in the South Pacific!
I seriously believe in my heart of hearts that the more a volunteer is connected to the world back home, the harder it is to get connected here. I'm not saying you shouldn't talk to your friends or to your dad, but it's so easy to skip the initial awkward step of making friends by living on your computer. (End result: no friends.) Technology is cool and stuff, but you gotta get yourself out there properly! This place is your real life now.
No duh. So get off of the internet and go outside. You have quite honestly the entire rest of your life, which you will not spend in the South Pacific!
I seriously believe in my heart of hearts that the more a volunteer is connected to the world back home, the harder it is to get connected here. I'm not saying you shouldn't talk to your friends or to your dad, but it's so easy to skip the initial awkward step of making friends by living on your computer. (End result: no friends.) Technology is cool and stuff, but you gotta get yourself out there properly! This place is your real life now.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Tru tok about working in Vanuatu: time and disagreement
Here is some tru tok about working in Vanuatu: it's not America, it's not Australia, and when volunteers get pushy, their communities push back.
So we're volunteers, and our work is community development. But the people we work with have other things to do ... and, honestly, Ni-Vanuatu aren't as direct as Americans are. When we don't want to do things, we say so, or we make excuses about how we're busy. I've seen a lot that Ni-Vans make excuses to avoid things that they don't want, but they'll also enthusiastically agree to do stuff that they have no real intention of doing. It's not being dishonest, more like -- why, yes, it would be great if we could do this extremely complicated, time-consuming thing! I absolutely intend to do that .... at the bottom of my list of things that I want to do.
I think you see it a lot with work scheduling or meeting scheduling here. In America, we're very focused on the clock, tick-tock, tick-tock, and to show up late for a meeting is rude. It is a way that we tell other people that we don't value their time. But here, people have other things to do and we are not their first priority. So a lot of times when volunteers want to hold a meeting or a workshop, people will come late or not at all, because whatever else came up is more important to them. It's not just with us--they do it to each other, too, and they all understand more instinctively what each scheduled time really means. This takes us a while. It definitely took me a while to understand that church starts at "church o'clock" and that that is largely dictated by the amount of time it takes a family to get ready in the morning. During Independence 2013, there were all of these events scheduled to start at 9 a.m. ... that began at 11:45 or 12:30. Things just don't happen in real life the way that they do on paper.
A lot of volunteers get really angry and it's very counterproductive. You just have to understand that things are always going to take longer and start later than planned, and that sometimes, if you choose times and dates that are most convenient to you, they won't happen at all. The trick is, don't take it personally if you try to set a three day workshop in the middle of yam planting season and no one comes (personally guilty of that one). Do your best, but you have to give up on expecting things to work on American time. It's not America, it's Vanuatu, and whatever you want to get done is going to have to get done on the local schedule.
Also, remember: people will agree to your face to do things because they don't want to disappoint you. It's part of saving face, I think. They assume that we'll understand the difference between a serious, firm, let's meet at 9 a.m. commitment and a tentative, let's try to meet sometime tomorrow before dinner but I might have to do my wash first. Even in Vanuatu, I think we're still on schedules because we feel like we need to produce to feel like we're accomplishing stuff. But 2nd goal, y'all. 2nd goal.
So we're volunteers, and our work is community development. But the people we work with have other things to do ... and, honestly, Ni-Vanuatu aren't as direct as Americans are. When we don't want to do things, we say so, or we make excuses about how we're busy. I've seen a lot that Ni-Vans make excuses to avoid things that they don't want, but they'll also enthusiastically agree to do stuff that they have no real intention of doing. It's not being dishonest, more like -- why, yes, it would be great if we could do this extremely complicated, time-consuming thing! I absolutely intend to do that .... at the bottom of my list of things that I want to do.
I think you see it a lot with work scheduling or meeting scheduling here. In America, we're very focused on the clock, tick-tock, tick-tock, and to show up late for a meeting is rude. It is a way that we tell other people that we don't value their time. But here, people have other things to do and we are not their first priority. So a lot of times when volunteers want to hold a meeting or a workshop, people will come late or not at all, because whatever else came up is more important to them. It's not just with us--they do it to each other, too, and they all understand more instinctively what each scheduled time really means. This takes us a while. It definitely took me a while to understand that church starts at "church o'clock" and that that is largely dictated by the amount of time it takes a family to get ready in the morning. During Independence 2013, there were all of these events scheduled to start at 9 a.m. ... that began at 11:45 or 12:30. Things just don't happen in real life the way that they do on paper.
A lot of volunteers get really angry and it's very counterproductive. You just have to understand that things are always going to take longer and start later than planned, and that sometimes, if you choose times and dates that are most convenient to you, they won't happen at all. The trick is, don't take it personally if you try to set a three day workshop in the middle of yam planting season and no one comes (personally guilty of that one). Do your best, but you have to give up on expecting things to work on American time. It's not America, it's Vanuatu, and whatever you want to get done is going to have to get done on the local schedule.
Also, remember: people will agree to your face to do things because they don't want to disappoint you. It's part of saving face, I think. They assume that we'll understand the difference between a serious, firm, let's meet at 9 a.m. commitment and a tentative, let's try to meet sometime tomorrow before dinner but I might have to do my wash first. Even in Vanuatu, I think we're still on schedules because we feel like we need to produce to feel like we're accomplishing stuff. But 2nd goal, y'all. 2nd goal.
Friday, July 25, 2014
So you got invited to Vanuatu...Packing list
I meant to write one of these before, but I figure better late than never!
When I was invited to Vanuatu, I spent forever stalking blogs to try and get an idea of what my life was going to be like. Unfortunately, in Vanuatu, you can't really tell how it's going to play out. Post is trying to get volunteers more involved in their site placement, but sites range from totally bush (aka me) to really pretty fancy (internet, flush toilet, running water and electricity, meat every day.) I'm going to do this post from my perspective, so for a volunteer who's thinking or wondering if they're going to be assigned to a bush community. It's also really written for a woman -- I don't know as much about men's clothing here.
This is my idea of a packing list:
CLOTHES:
1 pair of running shoes and 1 pair of flip flops. You take your shoes on and off constantly so I don't recommend getting chacos or other fancy hiking sandals. The flip flops here are of poor quality but they're cheap and widely available.
Lots and lots and lots of underwear. Bras are available but they're either very expensive or very poor quality, and the sizing isn't that great. Sports bras aren't really available if you want something that'll actually work for exercising. The underwear is cheap Chinese synthetic stuff, very bad quality. PC provides a list that says 2 weeks, but I'd say more like 4. Get your mom to ship you some extra if you don't have any.
Bring socks for your running shoes. You can get socks here.
1 or 2 pairs of yoga pants, long or capri. You'll want this for your house. Maybe even one pair of bike or short shorts, also for your house.
1 pair of jeans, for being in the capital.
1 pair of respectable looking long shorts. You'll need board shorts, but you can buy cheap ones in the capital.
5-7 calf-length skirts. You can wear knee-length skirts, but calf-length skirts are better because in Vanuatu you spend lots of time squatting and getting up and down from the floor. These are very available in Vila.
6 tank tops and 6 t shirts. Vanuatu is a pretty casual place and very hot, so you'll be wearing tank tops a lot. I'd recommend not getting ribbed ones for all of them, just because this is a conservative place and some communities will think that close fitting shirts are inappropriate. This sounds dumb, but also check that the neckline is good for leaning over.
2 or 3 bikinis or swim suits (for town wear and vacation.)
1 zip up hoodie.
1 or 2 light sweaters.
1 raincoat with a hood. I wish I'd brought a rain coat! I brought a wind breaker -- not the same thing. And 1 or 2 high quality foldable umbrellas. The umbrellas here are terrible.
DON'T BRING: Dresses. (You can buy them cheap in Vila and, if you're like me, you'll bring ones that you can't wear. You'll get lots of island dresses to wear to church, anyway.) Don't bring too much lounge wear for around your house. I brought lots of short shorts that I can't wear anywhere. Nothing should be white. White things go brown super quickly. I'd say let go on sunglasses--they're cheap here. And you can buy jewelry here, too.
ELECTRONICS:
Electronics die in Vanuatu very quickly. Bring a laptop that you're not attached to, a big external hard drive, an ipod, a camera, and a kindle. If you have a smart phone, that's ok. Just remember that everything dies in Vanuatu. Don't buy solar panels in the states or fancy solar lights. Those are available in Vila at reasonable prices (and you don't know what you'll need until you get here.)
TOILETRIES/ETC:
If you wear makeup, bring a little bit. I haven't found any reasonably priced makeup in Vanuatu that's of decent quality. I don't wear it at site (doubt that anyone does outside of extendees with office jobs) but when you're going out to dinner with your friends, it's nice.
If you're really picky about any brands, bring that with you. Peace Corps provides sunblock, bug spray, face wash, applicator-less tampons, and so on. You can buy American or Australian brands of everything in town. In outer islands, usually stores will still sell shampoo, bar soap, and coconut oil, but they usually don't have deodorant, conditioner, lotion, et cetera. The sunblock they give is really, really thick but it does work. They give vitamins, too.
As far as medicine goes, bring a few months of everything you use. If you use herbal medicine or protein supplements or something like that, bring more. PC doesn't give that.
ENTERTAINMENT:
You can buy cards in Vila and there's a PC library. I'd recommend having a laptop, kindle, and ipod, but you don't need any of those. If you're really into some hobby, bring what you need -- like your guitar, art supplies, et cetera.
FOOD:
Bring a few snacks from home, to help with the first few weeks. It took me a while to get adjusted to the food and it would have been nice to have had something else to eat. Don't go overboard.
Bring spices. They're available in Vila but a little expensive, so it's worth while bringing some. Don't go overboard (I definitely did.)
Bring hot sauce!
DON'T BRING: Peanut butter (it's everywhere!! why did I bring two huge Skippys with me??).
MISC:
If you really like coffee, it's worth it to bring a French press.
1 pocket knife.
1 purse or backpack.
I think that's about it -- I'll update it if I can think of anything else.
When I was invited to Vanuatu, I spent forever stalking blogs to try and get an idea of what my life was going to be like. Unfortunately, in Vanuatu, you can't really tell how it's going to play out. Post is trying to get volunteers more involved in their site placement, but sites range from totally bush (aka me) to really pretty fancy (internet, flush toilet, running water and electricity, meat every day.) I'm going to do this post from my perspective, so for a volunteer who's thinking or wondering if they're going to be assigned to a bush community. It's also really written for a woman -- I don't know as much about men's clothing here.
This is my idea of a packing list:
CLOTHES:
1 pair of running shoes and 1 pair of flip flops. You take your shoes on and off constantly so I don't recommend getting chacos or other fancy hiking sandals. The flip flops here are of poor quality but they're cheap and widely available.
Lots and lots and lots of underwear. Bras are available but they're either very expensive or very poor quality, and the sizing isn't that great. Sports bras aren't really available if you want something that'll actually work for exercising. The underwear is cheap Chinese synthetic stuff, very bad quality. PC provides a list that says 2 weeks, but I'd say more like 4. Get your mom to ship you some extra if you don't have any.
Bring socks for your running shoes. You can get socks here.
1 or 2 pairs of yoga pants, long or capri. You'll want this for your house. Maybe even one pair of bike or short shorts, also for your house.
1 pair of jeans, for being in the capital.
1 pair of respectable looking long shorts. You'll need board shorts, but you can buy cheap ones in the capital.
5-7 calf-length skirts. You can wear knee-length skirts, but calf-length skirts are better because in Vanuatu you spend lots of time squatting and getting up and down from the floor. These are very available in Vila.
6 tank tops and 6 t shirts. Vanuatu is a pretty casual place and very hot, so you'll be wearing tank tops a lot. I'd recommend not getting ribbed ones for all of them, just because this is a conservative place and some communities will think that close fitting shirts are inappropriate. This sounds dumb, but also check that the neckline is good for leaning over.
2 or 3 bikinis or swim suits (for town wear and vacation.)
1 zip up hoodie.
1 or 2 light sweaters.
1 raincoat with a hood. I wish I'd brought a rain coat! I brought a wind breaker -- not the same thing. And 1 or 2 high quality foldable umbrellas. The umbrellas here are terrible.
DON'T BRING: Dresses. (You can buy them cheap in Vila and, if you're like me, you'll bring ones that you can't wear. You'll get lots of island dresses to wear to church, anyway.) Don't bring too much lounge wear for around your house. I brought lots of short shorts that I can't wear anywhere. Nothing should be white. White things go brown super quickly. I'd say let go on sunglasses--they're cheap here. And you can buy jewelry here, too.
ELECTRONICS:
Electronics die in Vanuatu very quickly. Bring a laptop that you're not attached to, a big external hard drive, an ipod, a camera, and a kindle. If you have a smart phone, that's ok. Just remember that everything dies in Vanuatu. Don't buy solar panels in the states or fancy solar lights. Those are available in Vila at reasonable prices (and you don't know what you'll need until you get here.)
TOILETRIES/ETC:
If you wear makeup, bring a little bit. I haven't found any reasonably priced makeup in Vanuatu that's of decent quality. I don't wear it at site (doubt that anyone does outside of extendees with office jobs) but when you're going out to dinner with your friends, it's nice.
If you're really picky about any brands, bring that with you. Peace Corps provides sunblock, bug spray, face wash, applicator-less tampons, and so on. You can buy American or Australian brands of everything in town. In outer islands, usually stores will still sell shampoo, bar soap, and coconut oil, but they usually don't have deodorant, conditioner, lotion, et cetera. The sunblock they give is really, really thick but it does work. They give vitamins, too.
As far as medicine goes, bring a few months of everything you use. If you use herbal medicine or protein supplements or something like that, bring more. PC doesn't give that.
ENTERTAINMENT:
You can buy cards in Vila and there's a PC library. I'd recommend having a laptop, kindle, and ipod, but you don't need any of those. If you're really into some hobby, bring what you need -- like your guitar, art supplies, et cetera.
FOOD:
Bring a few snacks from home, to help with the first few weeks. It took me a while to get adjusted to the food and it would have been nice to have had something else to eat. Don't go overboard.
Bring spices. They're available in Vila but a little expensive, so it's worth while bringing some. Don't go overboard (I definitely did.)
Bring hot sauce!
DON'T BRING: Peanut butter (it's everywhere!! why did I bring two huge Skippys with me??).
MISC:
If you really like coffee, it's worth it to bring a French press.
1 pocket knife.
1 purse or backpack.
I think that's about it -- I'll update it if I can think of anything else.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)