I was wondering before I left, when it would actually set in that I was moving to live in Vanuatu. So far it had all felt a bit detached and like it was happening to someone else. Perhaps this was due to my generally aloof nature, or due to the process all being pretty seamless, although with quite a few boxes to be ticked. I expected that it would click when I stepped off the plane and felt the rush of humid air and took in my new surroundings.
I think the penny dropped more on the plane itself, with the hospitable hostesses and the first glimpses of coconut palm clad islands. Or more probably it is still dropping after two and a half weeks in. Regardless, I made it to Port Villa and then was met by something I didn’t expect… traffic jams, vans as far as the eye can see, taxis and noise. This is no sleepy island paradise. It has its charm, once you tune out the hum. To make up for this, people seem very relaxed and you are most often greeted with a smile when you catch someones eye.
To help with the adjustment of deployment into a foreign place, we were put up in a pretty plush motel, complete with swimming pool and continental breakfast each morning; not bad for volunteering! It was nice to have this for a week but motel life gets old quite and I was looking forward to being able to set up my new home in Luganville by the end.
The first two days involved orientation briefings with the VSA in-country team and having a look around the place and getting to know the other volunteers. We also had a meet and greet with the NZ High Commision to caht about goals and strategy in the Pacific, which felt casually official and gave a good sense of purpose. It was great to meet people working on some great project, as well as hearing the common pitfalls which were eagerly shared. I’m cautious to try and not let others experiences influence my expectations too much tho.
I then had a weekend to myself as the others went their own ways before I worked two days in the DoWR Vila offices. This was World Cup Fever weekend with France making it to the final, and somewhat surprisingly, old colonial ties holding strong and providing a solid reason to get behind team. I also had my first dabble in the Kava bars, which was surprisingly pleasant, but not too mind bending at this stage. Give it time.
I then had two days meeting my new colleagues at the DoWR and a good time hearing about some of the projects going on. Plenty of work on it seems and lots of raiding of peoples hard drives for important documents and data. This was a good taste of what is awaiting me in Santo and I finally felt like I could start to get an understanding of where things are at in terms of systems and what is happening on the ground. It seems I’ll be thrown into a busy time with lots of work to do, but hoping I can still manage this in a way to ensure I’m sharing the experience, and not just doing the work.
All in all an exciting first week, spirits high and feeling good about finally touching down after months of preparation. Next stop Luganville and learning the language.