getting settled

11 June 2014

I have been at site for a little over two months now and honestly the time has been flying. At the end of school break I went back to Matanvat to work on my garden and get re-settled before the next term began.

During Term 1 I was working with three different teachers and rotating between them daily. This system worked alright because I was really just getting to know the school, kids and community and doing assessments, but it was not a system that would work for actual teaching. At the start of Term 2 I decided that I would work with one teacher each week–Monday through Thursday, Fridays reserved to work with the little ones at kinde (pre-school for kids 3-5/6ish). This ended up working out really well. I focused on working with weaker students in small groups in the library. I was able to have one week with each class before heading into Vila for a two week training.

Over the last month that I spent at site I really started to feel like I’m settled in my new home. I have routines that include going to my garden, exercising, cooking cleaning and reading (probably reading too much). Life is simple but I love it.

My garden has been growing really well. I should be able to harvest some corn soon but my beans, cucumbers and cabbage are also getting there! My brothers are building me my own small kitchen while I’m in Vila so when I go back I’ll be making a small nursery right outside.

road market

Every Thursday from 6am-7am my village has a small road market where mamas come to sell kato (the most plain donut but still sweet and delicious) and some vegetables. I look forward to the market because my garden doesn’t produce vegetables to harvest yet and although the mamas in my community frequently just give me veggies it’s nice to know I can get some of my own once a week. Most times the produce at the market are limited to island cabbage (best described as really big spinach), bananas and green peppers. Sometimes you can even buy a bundle of fish but it’s too much work to take their scales off for such little meat.

Luckily this past week we had an extra market. Some mamas further in the bush than Matanvat chartered a truck to take them to Lakatoro to sell their product at the big market. On their way they made a stop near my house to sell to us first. So, at 2:45 I woke up to the sound of music and people shouting, “go tell so-and-so that the market truck is here.” I got up out of my comfy hammock bed–half asleep–grabbed my wallet and went to buy some bok choy and tomatoes. I woke up 3 hours later for the regular market with vague, cloudy memories of my late night vegetables purchase but excited all the same to make some eggs for breakfast.

group of youngfala boys working on the new church

mamas getting ready to serve lunch

I am still going to church with my family every Saturday which is intense but not as painful as it could be. I like listening to everyone who participates and I enjoy singing. I was also just asked to join the church social club’s sports team. Every other Sunday we play various sports games in the afternoons. I’m on the red team with some other members of my family. Everyone is working hard these days to finish building the new church. The goal is for the church to be ready by the start of the new year but we will just see about that. There are specific days every couple of weeks that everyone is required to dedicate to church work nomo. They had one of these work days recently so I went to help out a bit, pulling weeds and other minor duties. Work days are fun because there are so many people working together and there's always a big lunch prepared by a big group of mamas. 

Perhaps the most exciting and beautiful thing that has ever happened to me happened on May 22. As it was Thursday I woke up around 5:30 to head over to the market. On my way over I saw my mami who told me, very casually, that my brothers wife had given birth to a small baby girl the night before. Naturally I got really excited. A little farther on I saw my brother waiting for a truck to take him back over to the clinic to see his wife and new baby. He had been there earlier but came home to get some food to bring over. I yelled “congratulations!” He thanked me and told me that since I was the new babies antie I could choose the name of his new baby girl! This made me feel honored but a bit nervous. I had no idea what to say. Luckily my brother had the answer, he wanted me to name her Laura. There was another volunteer who lived here named Laura so now they really like them…double namesake. I of course said “thank you” and “okay, will do.” So I go to the clinic and my sister also says. “Well you must name her Laura.” Pressure. I went into the room and saw my sister in law and smol Laura. Both very healthy just eating and sleeping. Smol Laura never cries, which I believe is the opposite of how I behaved as a baby.

Unfortunately now when anyone asks what her name is my brother says, “her name is Laura, anti Laura named her,” so I feel like everyone thinks I’m just super self centered and named this baby after myself. No mention of how it wasn’t my idea and I was repeatedly urged to do so.

obviously big laura with smol laura