What I did (or didn't) do on my 2 week vacation

To start with I only brought one book to read for two weeks. I tried to pace myself, but I finished it within the first week. I also did not bring any paper so I’m now using those empty pages at the back of the book to write out these blog entries.

A two week vacation may sound glamorous, but think again. I, along with my Futuna family, spent my 2 week school break on what they call “The Other Side.” This is a popular phrase in Vanuatu which really just means the other side of the island. I packed a few clothes and a toothbrush and made the couple hour trek to the other side.

My family is from The Other Side but they just live by the school now because my dad’s a teacher. They like to go to the other side for a break from the busy, hectic life at the school. You see, in the village at the school, they say there’s a lot of noise- telephones ringing, music playing, roosters cockadoodle doing, and babies crying. Well on the other side, there’s still roosters, but not much of the other distractions. Plenty of time to sit and do nothing.

Alright so to get back on topic, the first day I arrived I came down with a nasty cold. In Vanuatu, for every cold they say “flu” and naturally people start saying I have swine flu which I guess isn’t really funny at all, but now if someone sneezes, the new joke is “swine flu”. It used to be Dengue Fever (mosquito borne illness) which is a much more likely possibility- one person on Futuna got it already, but I don’t see swine flu arriving anytime soon. Well luckily I brought 2 bandanas which I’ve been using as a Kleenex alternative. It works fine but is still kind of gross.

My family has a plot of land on the other side where they’re planning on building a house. Note-planning, meaning now there is not a house. Some of the materials have arrived so they put up a makeshift corrugated iron shelter. Also some of the wooden beams are strewn across the ground so we slept on them. It’s better than sleeping on the muddy ground, but since the beams aren’t nailed down to anything when someone turns in their sleep, everyone feels the floor move.

Luckily the last time they came, my family had dug a toilet, and after only a few days while we were here they built a seat and a door. Before that it was a “squat and hope no one looks” situation. In terms of a place to take a shower- nope. Most people here have no problem showering in the open with their clothes on, but I chose to take my bucket of water behind the house and once again hope no one would come.

So it’s been a nice, relaxing vacation. (Not that the last 20 months haven’t been one long vacation). Luckily a package came for me the day I walked here with a People magazine. I’ve now read the issue cover to cover at least 5 times. I’ve got to keep up with my pop culture, but some stuff goes over my head, like what’s Twitter? I have learned a lot too, like by thoroughly examining the advertisements , I’ve come to the conclusion that Americans now want products that are “natural”, “organic”, and “green”. This ranges from skin care to paper towels to snack food, water, laundry detergent and even cat food. What do these labels even mean? Maybe these people should come to Futuna to experience organic!

We’ve been digging up a daily root (manioc) to eat and we’ve been killing a chicken and cooking it quite frequently as well. I can hardly imagine most meat eaters wanting to witness chicken slaughter, but if you’re eating it, you have to face the truth. At least here the chickens have a good life.

Well I still have a few days left here. Like I mentioned earlier, I’m writing at the back of my book. Maybe I’ll reread the book, but I may have to use it for toilet paper soon.


That was the entry I wrote while I was still on break. Today was our first day of school for Term 2, but the students just weeded the grounds and then played sports, because over 40 of the students were absent (I think the total is 120 for primary school). Also 2 teachers weren’t back yet. The plane came today so I think tomorrow we’ll be back up and operating.