Shopping like I've never shopped before

I didn't think that when I came to Peace Corps I would be doing as much shopping as I am. We are supposed to be living at a modest standard of living comparable to the locals; however, I am not sure if I am quite doing that.

Today I spent over $300 on food alone for site. I mean there's only so much root crops a girl can eat. I must let you know that $75 of that was on powdered milk, maybe a little mistake with that. I also planned on buying a gas stove today but the store was out of tubing so hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get what I need.

So here's a few stories for you:

Yesterday I was walking down the street and a little boy came up to me to sell me a newspaper (very common occurrence). I politely declined the paper, but he insisted on opening the paper and then proceeded to show me a picture of me in it. He told me he recognized me from the photo (it was a photo from our swearing in ceremony). How sweet is that! I'm a celebrity here. I should've offered to autograph it for him.

Also today I went to the post office to buy some Aerogrammes. Aerogrammes are these pieces of paper that are pre-stamped and are the cheapest way for me to send international mail. I saw that they were all out on the shelf so I asked them if there were any in the back. They then told me that they would be out until "nekis yia." I replied "wanem?" and he repeated "bae i gat mo nekis yia". "wanem?" "januari!" Basically, in case your Bislama isn't up to par, he told me that they'd be out until january. The post office. Kas! Also just FYI, the ATM was out of money today too. And we're in the capital city.

I am definitely ready to go to Ambae. Well at least I think so. I am now sick of living in the hustle and bustle of the city life of Port Vila. Too much fast paced (although when I first got here, I thought the city was pretty slow moving). I am ready to just relax and not have to race around town. Such a hassle having to go to a restaurant and get food. However, lately we've been living it up on the food front including trips to a Japanese restaurant for some miso soup and sushi, Jill's American Cafe for some veggie burritos and milkshakes, and The Thai for something that resembled Thai food. I can't complain about the food in the capital at all. I just think of how I'll be eating laplap (google it!) for the next two years. Well laplap and 20 boxes of breakfast crackers that I bought at the Wholesale part of the supermarket today.

So on Thursday I head off to Ambae. I think first I will go to Saratamata for a little while (the provincial center on the island) because there is an agriculture trade show. Then I will head out to my site. I don't know for sure the next time I'll be back online, but I hope to be going to Luganville (the other city) sometime in January just to get more supplies and meet up with some people. But maybe I'll be bored in the next couple of days and post again on my blog. Be sure to check out the info on my satellite phone on the right. You can send me emails of 160 characters of less for free. Or you can text or call me, but I don't know how much that'll cost.

And I posted new pictures on the same facebook album from the last two.

Just a quick note

Maybe a quick post this time:

I am in Vila for the week so I will have time to update again soon. But I just uploaded some more pictures on facebook (the last link is the same one).

We had our swearing in ceremony on thursday and left the village on Friday. This week we're suppossed to be shopping and getting ready for site. Then I go to Ambae on Thursday of next week. But check out my pics and the Flickr website pics when you get a chance. I'll post again before I go to site. And check out the info on my satellite phone (on the right side of the page).