In the Big City

I haven't written in awhile since every phone on the whole island of Futuna is broken (there's 8 phones in total). I don't know what the problem is, but it has prevented me from having access to the internet.

Anyway, now I'm in the capital, Port Vila. I arrived on Monday and am here on official Peace Corps vacation. It's not much different than when I'm here on "work-related leave" but at least I don't have to feel guilty about sitting around on the internet all day (wait- it sounds like Futuna).

Coming in to town, lots of people from Futuna gave me things to deliver for them since our communication outside of the island has gone to zero. So yesterday I had a busy day running around town to different places. Everything was very successful, except when I went to go pay for and confirm my domestic tickets for my family. They said my booking had been cancelled which was confusing because they told me they'd hold it until March 10. When I asked why, they said that now Futuna no longer has flights on Thursdays, so that means that we'll only have flights once a week now- Mondays. Anyway, I wasn't sure what to do about my parents coming to Futuna, but we've decided that they're going to come for a whole week. I think the people on Futuna will be rather surprised when we arrive a few days early, but hopefully they will be accomodating.

Anyway, other than that, not much is new. Before I left Futuna I did some reading assessments and when I go back, I will begin to run groups for weak readers. Now I'm in Vila for about a week and then heading to New Zealand to meet my parents before we come back to Vanuatu. Being in Vila is rather stressful compared to being on Futuna, and also dealing with all the typical Vanuatu style problems in planning the trip can be annoying. At least I feel like I'm learning to be a lot more of a patient person.

Alright, well nothing else is new really. I had cereal for breakfast and it was delicious! I had a milkshake yesterday and I've bought 2 pineapples from the market in the last 2 days. I'm staying at a friend's house and she has a refridgerator so that's pretty awesome too!

Send me an email if you get a chance while I'm still in town!