Earlier this week I went to Luganville in Santo (Espiritu Santo), Vanuatu’s second biggest town on its biggest island. I went as part of the research project I am doing. It was a pretty funny 3 day trip. I was slightly apprehensive about going because I didn’t feel that well prepared in terms of the people I was meant to meet, I had the squits, and there was a 7.2 earthquake in Santo last week! I travelled from Vila with Moses, a VSO volunteer from Uganda who has been in Vanuatu for 2 years, and Marina, the Ministry of Health HIV coordinator (and the only full time member of staff working on HIV in the Ministry of Health) who were lovely and showed me around and made introductions.The first day started well when Moses and Frank (the other Ugandan volunteer who is based in Santo) picked me up from my hotel at 7.15 to go to the Provincial Health Office and we all happened to be wearing white shirts and sandy coloured trousers (them) skirt (me). We looked like a bunch of bible seller which wasn't really a problem as the working day starts at 7.30 with devotion - a member of staff reads a passage from the (Bislama translated) bible and discusses it a bit before everyone starts work...
The trip went well, I met various people from the provincial health department and NGO clinics to talk about the research and Moses and Marina helped me run a focus group with 12 girls at the youth centre in town. I'm not sure the girls really understood my bislama or indeed what exactly I was doing there but they smiled at me kindly. Everyone I met was very friendly, open and helpful especially considering my bislama is so rubbish and the meetings had only been set up a week beforehand. The funniest remark was in a discussion of family planning which apparently doesnt really exist in Vanuatu, sex was described as more often like a 'hit and run.'
7 comments:
Hi guys,
Great to hear your news. You are very brave with your bislami meetings on lifestyle- it sounds a very creative lingo! Granny was struggling to understand Paul's Worcestershire accent yesturday! It was great to speak to John the other night- it took a little getting used to the delay. Our summer seems to have arrived and we now have drinking water - which is fab. Paul will send John a load of CDs in the post. I am on 7.5 days left at the hospital and counting. Speak soon and take care - hope the squits are better. Love Bunner. xxxx
Hello - haven't been on for a while so a bit of catching up to do. First of all I can't believe they have an island called Pele - that is so cool. I am thinking of renaming our house Jarzinio or Dr Socrates in tribute to this most excellent naming system (alternatively nambawanofive would suit). In other news it has stopped raining just in time for us to be whupped at cricket, hazel is chomping at the bit to start her new job (although I probably will avoid horse metaphores when talking about her in future) and, in the absence of In Our Time from the airwaves, I am being a hardnosed consumer affairs sleuth on you and your for a month or so. In my head average conversations in the office go like this -
[The office, it's hot, damn hot... consumer affairs stories are sticking to the news like gum on your shoe...]
Consumer Affairs reporter (pretty, slightly breathless): Oh my god, there's a major story on phone line regulation breaking but there's no one here to help us
James (smoking, in trench coat): Don't panic sweetie - I practically wrote the rule book on that kind of thing. Nothing gets past this brilliant but jaded newshound who secretly has a heart of gold. MAybe not today,maybe not tomorrow etc etc...
What actually tends to happen is this
Reporter (calm, quite old): James, can you follow this incredibly simple consumer affairs story and report back to me.
James: yes (looks keen)
Reporter: Can you then do something equally simple and finally round it off by making a cup of tea without falling over.
James: Yes (still looks keen, doesn't move)
Reporter: HAve you understood anything I've said
James : No (falls over)
Never mind only two weeks to go and one of the blokes really likes cricket (did i mention we were being whupped). He is also my mentor and insists on all mentoring being done in the pub so it's not all bad. Take it easy (as Seiffs would say)
Richard here, just emerged from a world of pink ribbon and horse hair (have been working at the local gymkhana) to try my hand at this blog shenanigans. Have read through it all today - a wonderful history!
John is it possible for you to use your position with the Vanuatan government to push for an international injunction against James' entries? He seems to be fast taking over your blog space!
I have just one question, are wasps known to interfere with the consumption of half-kavas?!
Love to you both, keep up the good work!
Thank you for the comments, keep them coming, it keeps us entertained. Bunner, lovely to chat to you, the squits are better, thank you for asking and if you need some drinking water we can send you some in the post. Richard - there don't appear to be any wasps here but believe me kava is so gruesome it doesn't need a wasp for me to accidently spill it on the floor. however it does sound, Cookie as if you have managed to find a kava stash somewhere in london as people tend to ramble on like that after they've had a few shells. glad to see you're still in love with consumer affairs - as i said - keep it all coming, its lovely to hear from you. glad to hear you have finally got some sunshine.
Loved James's commentry about his days at work! It gave me a right laugh after a particularly nasty incident with an incontinent patient and an irrate relative at work at the hospital - I will leave the rest to your imagination! I harvested my first tomatoes yesturday, which will just about stretch to a ham and tomato sandwich for Paul!Heres for gardening and growing your own fruit and Veg - Yipee. Only 4.5 days left at the hospital- horaay.Hope all is well with you. Speak soon. Love Bunner.xxxx
Most of you will of course know this already, but for those of you who don't, the second line of the Vanuatan national anthem appears to include the words:
"i man blong Vanuatu"
Is this really true?!
Richard
Talk about being in at the deep end - what a challenge to make people aware of issues of which they do not know even exist. By the way what is bislama for 'hit and run'.
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