The first week - at IDS

10/22/2012 - Well it's been 2 weeks since coming to Vanuatu, and I must say so far it's been a wild ride. It all started when I landed in LA and took the shuttle to the Radisson. I could overhear some chatter by some girls in the back saying they were Peace Corps volunteers assigned to Samoa. Once landing I called my folks to let them knmow I landed safely. Went to check in and started chatting it up with some girls there, when I realized the Samoa and Vanuatu groups would be sharing the same training area/agenda.

After checking in and draaaaagging my heavy-ass bags to my room I called up Ketan, who said he would come down in an hour or so to see me.  Some of the other Vanuatu vols went to see Frankenweenie as a way to intro themselves to each other, but I knew this would be my last chance to see the Doshi's since they moved from Hawai'i. So after freshning up a bit I went downstairs to see if I could register...and to my dismay I see a loooooong-ass line of other PC vols waiting to register...and the line was NOT moving.  Soooo I said fuck it and met up with Ketan and Teena...we had dinner at Chipotle and drove around Rodeo Drive, and eventually made our way to an observatory (sorry forgot the name) where we could see all of Downtown Los Angeles in her smoggy glory lol

On the way up though I got a call from Sasha (the Vanuatu PC coordinator) who asked if I was...well, alive. Apparently I misunderstood the directions when they had 2 dates for registration, and I was SUPPOSED to register that evening. Oops. Oh well, I told her I would see her early the next morning to register.

Anyway, after saying goodbye to Ketan and Teena (and receiving a DELICIOUS box of Haldiram's cookies, woohoo!), I marvelled at the thought that they would be the last familiar faces I would see for the next 27 months!!

Aaaanywho the next morning I woke up to see this bearded red-head sleeping in the bed next to me, and figured he was another Van vol. Sure enough my russling around my 3 monster bags woke him up; he introduced himself as Hunter, another Van vol. After chatting it up a bit, I went down to the registration ballroom and there was an older woman sitting there. I thought she was a PC staff member at first, but turns out she was a PC Samoa vol who also misinterpreted the rules...well at least I wasn't the only one!

Anyway eventually I finished up my registration as the other vols started trickling in for the training.  Some faces I recognized from the Peace Corps Facebook group!  We did alot of these activities where we split up into groups and do these activities where we discuss and share our expectations, feelings, anxieties, etc. about the journey we were about to embark on...  It was quite interesting to interact with people whom we "knew", but didn't really know...

Anyway the session was eye-opening in that almost everyone there had the same feelings, the same insecurities, the same fears. But there was a really positive energy there, a really supportive one. These were good people.

And it was nice to meet two other Desis in the group ;P

The plane ride to Auckland was pretty good, albeit long (13 hours); we chatted up and almost instantly bonded with each other, like we knew each other for weeks before (well I guess we did, albeit online). Anyway the flight was pretty good, got to see "MIB 3" and "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" which was pretty good. I also liked how the Air New Zealand flight safety video had Ed O'Neil and Snoop Dogg in it lol

So after a 13-hour flight from LAX to New Zealand, we land in Port Vila! It looked like a really rural version of one of the neighbor Islands of Hawai'i. And yes, it was humid. Wasn't too bad, actually, as there was a breeze. I forgot something on the plane and Hunter, my roomie, stayed with me til I got it. We also waited for Noni who forgot something, and she also carried something for Katelyn who forgot something too. I could already see how supportive and helpful everyone is...and trust me, this would be VERY important in the coming days.

The current Vanuatu PC vols and staff came to meet us at the airport, bringing us leis (aka "salusalu") and coconuts to drink! We took pictures as a group and chatted with the vols we would be replacing in the coming weeks (whom I also recognized from the Facebook group).

We all went into our respective vans and after a quick tour of the tropical paradise (lots of oohs and aahs from my fellow PC vols from the mainland), we reached IDS, our home for the next week...and holy crap we REALLY hit the ground running. Basically it was like a camp where the men and women were segregated into dorm-like buildings. We had language training, cultural training, health training, homework, reading, briefings, etc. etc. within the first couple of days!! After learning the initial ins-and-outs, getting supplies and medical kits (including several packs of condoms hehe), we all started getting sick. Like, one after the other, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, muscle aches...when one person got better, the next person got sick. I spent prettymuch one whole day vomiting and in pain...my bunkmates were awesome tho, they made sure my water was filled up and all.

One thing that happened really cemented the bond this group has...we had a bonfire (two actually, but this first one was extra special). Not just any bonfire, it was a stand-up-and-gush-about-your-inner-most-feelings-and-tell-us-how-you-got-here kinda thing. And man, we didn't hold back. We talked about our fears, our insecurities, some of us cried, we hugged each other, comforted each other. It was a total love-fest...I've never felt so vulnerable and so secure at the same time.

Oh I hafta mention this...so one day Divya was feeling really bad so I spent some time with her at thwe PC doctor's office in Vila. So after getting an IV and being treated, we head back to IDS...and there was NO ONE THERE!! Like, pitch-black and no staff...see, everyone else spent some time at Hideaway Island to drinks and pizza, which kinda sucked since we had no food, no electricity at IDS until 6pm to 9pm. One of our Bislama language trainers, Elinda, didn't want to leave Divya, Jenn (another victim to whatever has been plaguing we Group-25-ers) and I alone, so she stayed with us. I was concerned that Divya wouldn't have enough to eat, so Elinda and I went to the kitchen where the mamas cook our meals...

Oh the meals! Lemme tell u about the food here for a sec. So basically the food here is ALOT of starch...various versions of cooked potatoes, yams, taro, small midget-chickens (I swear the eggs are bigger than the birds), and lots and lots of rice.  Oh and fruit juice, consisting mostly of concentrated Passion Orange and mango juice with sugar and water.

Glad I brought my Tobasco sauce lol

But I digress...

Anyway so after trying to pry open the door to the kitchen by pulling it like crazy (which we later found out we had to PUSH...duh), we get a fire going...the only thing they had on hand was ramen noodles and eggs, so I call Brenda (one of the PC medical officers) to see if Div can have eggs; she said yes we could. So I give my headlamp to Elinda while I go to get another flashlight. I decide to call some people at Hideaway to bring something back to eat from town...so I'm fiddling with my phone trying to call people (no one was picking up) in the pitch blackness of the Vanuatu night, when WAM!! I hit a metal window awning right above my right eye...as I turned my head apparently I scratched my face on that same awning.

Well at this point Andre, who is the maintenance guy walks over and sees me walking funny and asks me what's wrong. I laughingly told him I hit my head on the window awning...honestly I didn't feel any pain, just the impact of the hit, so when he lit his phone to my face, the look on his face pretty much told me it looked UGLY...like I musta been bleeding buckets (I was sweating in the humidity so I couldn't really tell).

Anyway I get back to the kitchen when I see Divya walking around with Elinda (Elinda was freasking out in the dark by herself, and Divya didn't want to sit still) and Divya was like OMG WTH did you do to your face?? So I grabbed my med kit and she applied some antibiotics, gauze, etc. to it. So yeah she paid me back that night. Next day I went back to the PC Med Office, and they gave me some antibiotics. I got a cool scar now. ;p

Anyway after spending a rollercoaster week at IDS, we head off for one night spending time with the Mamas at Pango Village. We all got a gift, the girls got "Aelan dress" and most of the guys got "Aelan shirt". I got a basket.  Turned out to be very useful tho so all is well.  Hooray for small victories! :D