Second week in Vanuatu

(So I wrote up this post during the second week of my stay in Vanuatu, but I didn't really have internet connection for the remainder of my trip! The same thing with my trip to the Torres, which I will post next. So that said, just pretend like I made this post a week and a half ago!)

Man Vanuatu is so nice! The Lord really has blessed me with this trip, and I feel like I have a second home here. I haven't traveled a lot, but I don't think that it is common to feel as comfortable and welcome as I do here!

The first couple days of the week involved a little scuba diving, and also running some errands around town with Tad. Tuesday was a ton of fun, because we made a long drive up to a place called Fanafo where there is a church pastored by one of the old students of the Searchlight Bible College (where I am staying). We were just taking up some food and supplies for them, but unfortunately Saki (the pastor) wasn't home. Luckily for us, breaking and entering is apparently not a crime in Vanuatu, because Bradley and Floyd just got the chain locking the door off, and busted in. I had never imagined someone breaking in, leaving a bunch of rice and food, and then locking it back up afterward. Saki said he knew it was us right away when he saw the food! We then spent time talking with some of the people from Fanafo, and they shared some amazing food with us (particularly these things that are like grapefruit but sweeter, so good). I'm starting to understand a decent amount of Bislama. After, they led us to an amazing swimming hole/river thing that felt amazing during those hot hours of the day.

The trip back from Fanafo was awesome, because Bradley chose to sit in the back with me and John, and was asking me questions about my life, and also sharing a lot about Vanuatu. It was the first time that I really got to have a long conversation with one of the guys, and it was great to learn so much from him! After we got back, he asked me if I wanted him to take me through the wilderness to a spot that used to be an old shooting range for the soldiers stationed there during WW2. Of course, I answered yes, and it was so cool! If you do a little digging, its easy to find the actual shells and bullets from back then, and it was very cool (I brought some of the bullets home). But it was even better to hang out with Bradley and talk. Everybody loves to feel "liked," but for some reason it felt really good to earn his respect. Although it wasn't anything great about me, I just didn't act like a total jerk! Because of how they have been treated, and how they have been brought up, most of the people here don't like white people, although the guys at Searchlight don't feel that way since they have gotten to know some really good guys like Tad. But even so, I think that they were worried I was gonna be really bossy or arrogant or something, and once they got to know me a little they found out I wasn't too bad!

Wednesday was alright, although it was a pretty interesting scuba diving day. It was my last dive, and I went down to 49 meters, to the engine room. Seeing the control room and the engines and being inside the heart of the ship was so crazy, but I did feel a little bit narced and was kind of weirded out. I had a little bit of a cold too, and you aren't really supposed to dive with a cold, so that might have made the dive a little harder. On the trip back, the wheel fell off the trailer and caused a big scene (not a serious accident), and I wasn't feeling so hot, so I just walked back in to town to be picked up. The good part about the day was that Floyd caught a flying fox in the morning, which was awesome to see, and had cooked it up and let me try it when I got back. Honestly I'm not being witty or anything, it really did taste like chicken, though a little bit juicier. Later that night, Floyd led a Bible study for some people in a small village, and it was great to be able to understand a lot of the Bislama. The message was really encouraging too, as Floyd was in Exodus and was talking about how God can use anything and anyone, which was something I'm learning a lot, even just by being here!

Although we were supposed to goto the Torres this week (they kicked us off the flight for other people, lame, so we're going next week), it really was a packed week! The last major thing we did before church on Sunday was to visit Champagne beach, which was really beautiful and relaxing. It was fun to play with Joel (Sam and Odelene's young son), because at first he was kind of scared of the new, tall white guy! Oh yeah, that's another thing that's cool about Vanuatu: I'm taller than most everybody! So next week is the Torres and I won't have any internet or phones or anything, but I'll write up an update when I get back!

First week in Vanuatu

Well I can't believe that my first week in Vanuatu is already over! It has been pretty awesome, and I'll do my best to share it with you all! I haven't been taking as many pictures as I wanted, but its hard to cart the camera around everywhere.

I'm getting to know the local guys, Bradley and Floyd, a little better, and they are such awesome guys. They were teasing me earlier because its common for men to hold hands here, but I said that it wasn't gonna happen! Bradley leads a Bible study on Thursdays, and it is really cool to listen to them speak in Bislama and pick up whatever I can, since a lot of the language uses English words. Floyd is the quieter one, but he is a really cool guy. There are these big fruit bats here (probably two or three foot wingspans) and it is crazy to see them flying across the night sky and making noise and stuff! But Floyd said he's gonna catch (or kill really, sorry animal lovers) one for me! They either string up a line to catch them, or sometimes they can seriously just knock them out of the sky with a rock... we need him on our flag football team. I'll try to get a photo if it happens.

The Slaughter family are so awesome, and some of the best times I've had here are just laughing with them listening to some of their family stories! I've been in tears a couple of times with laughter, and it has been a lot of fun getting to know them better. Tad loves bread almost as much as I do (which says a lot if you know me), and there was a story where he tried to go on the Atkins diet that had me rolling on the floor. I think he lasted about five hours, which is longer than I would have lasted. Tad, Marna, Amy, and John have all been great, and they are the best hosts I could have ever imagined! They set me up in an unused building with a little bunk bed and mosquito net, and its pretty great to crash onto after a day in the sun. I'll try to get a pic of my little fortress later!

Some of the other things I've done so far: going to the Blue Hole, which was amazing and so refreshingly cold, although I only jumped off the smaller tree. I'll do the bigger one next time, and try to get a pic or video! Church on Sunday was a ton of fun, it is really cool that everybody just hangs out for the whole day, and it was a lot of fun playing with the kids. It's easy to terrorize kids and make them laugh, even if you don't speak the same language. Also the diving has been awesome! I got hooked up with unlimited dives, so I've been about three times out to the largest wreck I ever imagined. The Coolidge is a huge transport ship that sunk, and so far I went down to about 120 feet, inside the ship where it is pitch black and you have to squiggle to get through holes in the hull. I've seen eels and fire clams and barracuda and a bunch of other cool marine life, but some of the rusted jeeps and toilets and creepy stuff out there are really cool!

I might get another post in sometime this week, but next Monday through Friday we will be traveling on one of the most remote islands in the country! There won't be any internet, and we won't have any phones or anything! Pray no one gets too sick! Speaking of, I got an infection in my foot, and it was weird to actually see redness spreading up my toes and foot. But it took my strong immune system just one night to get rid of it! (also prayer.... also my antibiotics) Anyways, one week down, only two left! I heard someone say that there was snow in Portland... is that a crazy rumor or is that true?!

More arrival pics

Coming to Vanuatu!

Wow! So Vanuatu is pretty much awesome. Even flying in to the country, I just started smiling. Whereas Fiji looked tropical but with a lot of run down buildings and kind of dirty, Vanuatu was pretty much pristine. There was so much untouched land and forest that it was just beautiful. Then at the airport, there was little hassle and most of the staff were super friendly. After landing in Port Vila, I immediately hopped on to a smaller airplane (pic shown) and flew to Santo, where Tad and his son John were waiting for me. Not only is it like the most beautiful place I've ever seen, Tad and his whole family are awesome! They are so nice and really welcoming, and are really great hosts! I hope that I can help them out a little with chores or anything they need to make daily life a little easier.

Also, the three local guys that live with us on the property (Floyd, Bradley, and Samwell) are so cool! Ni Vanuatu (thats what citizens are called I guess) are really shy and humble, so they were really shy when I met them, but they still seemed really nice. and their love for the Lord is really apparent. They lead Bible studies during the week for people on the island, so I'm really looking forward to hearing some of their teaching. And today we went out fishing with Bradley, and he seems like a really great and smart guy. Speaking of fishing, SO MUCH FUN! We didn't even see any fish, but just being out on the ocean and looking at all the beautiful islands is too good. Did I mention that we saw dolphins? YEAAAA!! We saw some motion right near us and we thought it was some big tuna, but when they started cresting we realized what they were! Then they started swimming right alongside the boat racing us! I posted some sweet video footage on my facebook wall. All this and I haven't even been here twenty four hours. Well we came into town to run some errands, but we'll be taking off soon. Hope you all are doing well :) (the upload speed is super slow and I don't have much time, but I'll try to upload more photos later)

Fiji Round One

Well, I made it to Fiji with no problems, and have been here for the past two days. Overall the Fijians and even the Indians here seem pretty nice, and I've only gotten a weird vibe from some of the taxi drivers. For some reason the receptionist at my hostel, a guy named Leps, seems to really like me, which is pretty fortunate because he's hooked me up with some stuff that I don't think the other guests are getting (free locker, towels, no credit card surcharges). There's kind of a strange sense here that I get that everyone is trying to act hospitable and tribal and everything just for the tourists, but it isn't too bad. The surrounding islands look pretty beautiful, and I'll be staying on one during the trip back. The main island is slightly dirty and beat up, but it isn't too bad. I went for a long walk on the beach this morning, and a stray dog befriended me for a couple miles which was fun! I went exploring a little bit in the grass, and found a dead horse just lying there which was kind of weird. But anyways, back to the surrounding islands!

My first day here I spent going out to a smaller island, South Sea Island, and scuba diving all day! I showed up on the island and starting chatting with a crazy, but cool, Australian guy named Serge, who I ended up spending the whole day diving, eating lunch, and chatting with. It was great, because within the first couple minutes after meeting him, he was making jokes about Americans (how they were too overweight to go scuba diving, they always have cameras and get lost easily, etc, etc). I thought it was pretty funny, and when I told him I was from the States he was a little embarassed, but said I didn't seem like an American at all! I posted some of the pictures from South Sea Island , it was a really small but cool island!

The scuba diving was amazing! I first got to do a wreck dive, which was this old style boat that was sunk to about 90 feet! It was really cool when I first saw the top of the mast, and it was just extending down into darkness. The marine life was amazing, with all of the most colorful and beautiful fish you see in tropical fish areas (including Nemo/clownfish), and some really big fish too! Touching anemones was really fun, cuz they kind of grab your fingers before letting go, and some of the fish will come up and bite your fingers if you hold still long enough! Aside from the wreck, I had two favorite parts of the day. The first one was pretty cool, because I was looking down and checking out the coral, just swimming along. I felt the water kind of move, and I looked up and there was a HUGE school of fish swimming right around me! My second favorite part was awesome, but a little scary. I saw a couple of weird things sticking out of the sand, and they looked like some cool plants so I went down closer to check it out. As I got closer, they started to look less like plants, and more like eyes! Then I noticed a long, black stinger coming out of the pile of sand on the ocean floor. Sure enough, it was a decent sized sting ray that had buried himself under the sand, and when I touched the ocean floor, he burst out of his hiding spot and swam away! The motion with which they swim is really beautiful, and I was really happy I got to see him (and also happy that he swam away, instead of at me!).

Coming back to the hostel at night, I met a really cool British couple, Ben and Lisa, who are twenty three like me, and have been travelling around the world for the past couple months! We hit it off right away, and it was really interesting to hear about some of their travels. Ben was a really laid back, sports loving guy (a big Chelsea soccer fan), and I have a feeling he'd fit right in with the guys back home. After the bus ride, we ate dinner together and then watched some of the local Fijians do their traditional "fire dancing" which was pretty cool, although they dropped their fire sticks more often than not! Overall it was a fun day, and I had no issues sleeping. My white skin got the best of me, and I got a little sun burnt, but I avoided the worst of it thanks to the sunscreen my mom made me pack! I'm heading out to Vanuatu tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to it! Sorry for the long post, whenever there is a next one I'll try to make it a little shorter!

Leaving!

Hello internet world! Well I'm chilling in the Los Angeles airport right now, with a couple hours to go before I hop on a plane to Hawaii and then on to Fiji. I was going to eat at the Olive Garden for lunch, which sounded lovely, but I'm not too hungry and figured I'd get this blog going! LAX doesn't have public wi-fi though, so I had to hijack some poor unsuspecting soul's private network! But it was worth it to make my first blog post during my short trip to Vanuatu, so here goes:

Most people that know me well enough, know that one of the things that I really value are my relationships, whether it be with friends, family, coworkers or anybody I come across! I'm so excited for the Lord to use this trip in whatever way He has planned, but one thing I am praying to get out of it is a set of new friendships. It is going to be plain sweet for me to meet and get to know people that come from a totally different culture and lifestyle than what I am used to.

But since this is the first post, and since I'm still technically in the United States, I wanted to tell you all that I'm really going to miss you, and I'm so thankful that all of you guys are in my life. I've really been blessed with the best friends and family! I tried really hard to hang out with and say bye to a lot of you before I left, but if I didn't get a chance (like Christine, Shannon, Wyatt, Hans, Klosty, David, Knuth, the whole Kirschner and Sell families, and lots more) just know that I wanted to, and I'll for sure see you when I get back! My parents bought me a camera and I intend to use it, so here are some pics I took before I left (and also in L.A. dining at Denny's) of what I'm gonna miss while I'm gone: