Reflection 1 - Pre-Service Training
Smol Toktok Fastaem
On Thursday, November 4th, I was officially sworn-in as a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV). My fellow volunteers and I have all come back from our training villages, based in North Efate, to stay in Port Vila for the next week. After a hectic week of purchasing for departures and planning the logistics of getting to site, Group-23, my volunteer group, will depart for their respective sites. Sites range all over Vanuatu, from the northernmost Torba Province to the southernmost Tafea Province. Additionally, the thirty-nine volunteers of Group-23 expand the capacity of Peace Corps Vanuatu exponentially.
In my sector, Community Health, Peace Corps has brought in fourteen new volunteers, a number more than doubling the current eleven Community Health Volunteers currently in Vanuatu. Many new health sites have developed and the Country Director, Eddie Stice, has plans to expand the Community Health sector to 50% of the volunteers brought in every year.
Now, I can tell the story of what brought me to this point in my Peace Corps training. I refer to this part as training yet, because I believe PCVs are always in training, discovering the best ways to spur development in their small area of the world. I will explain the path all of us PCVs took to get to this point and what I have discovered about Vanuatu, the Peace Corps, and myself along the way.
Trenem fastaem bifo Mifala i Stap lo Olgeta Saet blo Mifala
Arrival in Vanuatu and Pango Village (IDS)
After a fourteen-hour, redeye flight to Auckland, New Zealand, my fellow Peace Corp Trainees (PCT) and I departed New Zealand for Port Vila, Vanuatu, another four-hour flight. Once landing in Vanuatu, after being hit with a blast of humidity and heat, the PCTs went through customs and found the exit to the small international airport in Vanuatu. At once, the PCTs were greeted by a barrage of Peace Corps staff and current volunteers. After much handshaking and picture taking, the PCTs were herded onto buses, which drove them all to Pango Village outside of Port Vila and the IDS camp where the first week of training takes place.
One could sum up the week in IDS as a confusing disaster. This is not to say Peace Corps was inefficient or unprepared, but the abrupt introduction to becoming a PCV was like slamming on the brakes of a fast moving car; you feel as if you are flying uncontrolled through a window.
The Peace Corps staff immediately gets you into early morning classes, which go all day, explaining policy, medical issues, culture, and, all the while, introducing you to the language. After this whirlwind week, that still manages to feel like a long time, all the PCTs find themselves in their respective training villages, expected to start communicating in Bislama, the non-standardized, not quite yet, national language, in Community-Based Training (CBT).
Community-Based Training
CBT is sometimes referred to as immersion training, the sink-or-swim method, for language/cultural training, but more often CBT is referred as submersion training. After experiencing Pre-Service Training (PST) and CBT, I can confirm the feeling of submersion and the literal need to learn or drown in the new culture and community.
During CBT, PCTs spend time learning the language and a lot of time integrating into the community. Activities vary while attempting integration. Possibilities for activities range from going to church to drinking kava. I will touch on kava briefly here: Kava is the local “drug” of choice. Similar to alcohol in some respects, kava can give a person a sense of euphoria and relaxation, but also causes adverse effects on the liver. However, according to the Peace Corps Medical Officer, research has shown the negative effects of kava are completely reversible once consumption has stopped. Kava is a local root found on many islands in Vanuatu. Kava root is cleaned, cut up, ground, and, after being placed in a bag or calico, submerged in a bucket of water and squeezed. Next, they strain the bag or calico and let it drip drinkable kava back into the bucket filled with water. After this, they grind it again and submerge it once more before finishing. Kava plays an important role in Ni-Vanuatu (the name for local people in Vanuatu) culture, especially for men. In many cases, drinking kava will be necessary for the PCV to integrate in the community.
Language Training
Now that I have covered some parts of integration, I will move on to the language learning process. Bislama, basically a Pidgin English with French influences, is being pushed to become the national language of Vanuatu. Bislama developed during the slave trade in Vanuatu. Vanuatu has over 120 local languages and Bislama allowed Ni-Vanuatu, from all over Vanuatu brought together through slavery, to communicate. These local languages have no common theme and, in no way, relate to Bislama. This means that while one might master Bislama and communication in Vanuatu, the village you work in will have their own local language that one might never have the ability to use. On this tangent, many current volunteers have spoken of how locals might believe one volunteer is fluent in local language, while they merely know a few words and phrases. It seems throwing in local language phrases or words with Bislama can convey much respect to the culture and a belief that you are fluent. Now I will come back to Bislama and the specifics of my language learning.
Coming into training, I had a high desire to learn the language and I put a lot of effort into trying to master the language as fast as possible. This led to a lot of frustration and not a lot of improvement in my language learning process; I have learned that relaxation and optimism help and adding to much pressure only holds you back. I have also discovered that English is very difficult to translate into Bislama and once you stop thinking in English, Bislama comes easy. The difficulty in this lies behind Bislama’s lack of a “to be” verb and other essentials to speaking the English language, but I have successfully passed my Language Proficiency Interview (LPI) with an Advanced-Low rating. The scale for the LPI ranges from Novice and Intermediate with a sub-scale of Low, Mid, and High and an Advanced level with a sub-scale of Low and High and finally the top mark is Superior. I now feel confident in my ability to speak and continue learning Bislama.
As site departures approach, I am beginning to think about what I need to bring and how I can get my things to my site. Vanuatu provides a unique challenge that many other Peace Corps sites do not have: Vanuatu consists of 75 inhabited islands. This can create a logistical nightmare for Peace Corps Headquarters in Port Vila attempting to keep tabs on every volunteer. Additionally, this creates a problem for volunteers attempting to make their way to their new sites with all their materials.
Saet Blo Mi
Logistics and Departure for Site
Naviso, Maewo Island, Vanuatu is my new home for the next two years. This prospective site has many in the Peace Corps staff excited. No volunteer has been to East Maewo before, so the site is brand new. Additionally, the site requested both a teacher and a health volunteer, so I will be sharing the village with Jennifer Blunt, a teacher trainer. The site also happens to be very remote. The difficulty in accessing the area and the lack of consistent transport to the area and the island in general are reasons Peace Corps wants two volunteers at the site.
To reach Naviso most directly, one would could fly into the airport on Maewo, assuming that rain has not made the airfield unusable. Considering that Maewo has heavy rains year round, this can be a large problem. If flying to Maewo direct is not an option, one could fly to Ambae and then take a boat to Maewo. Both of these options get one to North Maewo though. This still leaves the trip of getting to East Maewo. This involves an hour plus truck ride up the mountain in the middle of the island until one reaches the “end of the road”. After this, one must trek down the other side of the mountain to reach the village on the coast. The length of the trek has been described to me as somewhere between two and six hours. Additionally, during the rainy season the trek can be difficult due to the mud.
By now you probably have an idea of the logistical problems confronted by Peace Corps Vanuatu. As well, you probably have a hint of the safety and security concerns Peace Corps has for volunteers, which mostly revolve around natural disasters in Vanuatu. These include cyclones, earthquakes, volcanic activity, flash floods, and landslides, most commonly. Being stationed in such a remote site does garner my fellow PCV and I satellite phones, solar chargers, and antennas to keep in communication with Peace Corps staff in Port Vila. The remoteness of the site might cause problems for Peace Corps logistically, but this same reason is why it is so important for PCVs to work there.
A Community in Need
On their application for Peace Corps, Naviso described that their remoteness resulted in a lack of professionals willing to stay and work in their village. In this regard, Peace Corps presence is important and in high need in Naviso. I feel that because of this I will be able to use much of the public health knowledge that I have garnered over the years. Finally able to apply this knowledge in the field is an exciting prospect. One statement I heard said to a fellow PCV was that you will be surprised at what kind of difference you can make, even if you do not feel prepared because as an American you know more than you think. This statement rings true in the fact that many Ni-Vanuatu lack basic knowledge regarding hand washing, sanitation, water quality, sex education, NCDs, and infectious diseases. I will not know for certain what my specific projects will be until I go to site and even then I will spend the first portion assessing the needs of the site and determining what the village wants and needs. Additionally, I need to discover what the village is motivated to produce and what they will continue to sustain after my time in Vanuatu ends.
From Wanem Mi Stap lo Vanuatu
Reflections on Purpose
During my time in Vanuatu I have battled with various negative thoughts telling me this might not be the place for me, but the longer I have spent here, the more I have realized this was the right choice. Moreover, I believe joining the Peace Corps was the perfect decision for me now. While I am confident I will have times where I once again question my purpose, I believe my knowledge that I made the right choice will help me through the rough spots.
Moving to another country can be intimidating and realizing that you will be here for at least two years before you go home again can be disheartening at times, but the one thing I have learned is one must adapt to the situation at hand and accept certain sacrifices while working to help others.
Peace Corps vs. Development
One criticism I have heard of the Peace Corps is that the development work done is minimal and real significant change is not attained. While part of me agrees that some work PCVs do is not making measurable strides in development, I propose that the work PCVs do, that is not measurable, is just as important to development. A major lesson I have learned in my time so far is that not everything moves with the speed Americans expect. Many projects take longer in the developing world and many things are not needed that Americans might consider necessities. I have learned that building relationships can be far more important to the development of a country or village. The Peace Corps exemplifies this by placing volunteers in communities to integrate and share the culture of another people. I contend that the Peace Corps ability to build international relationships with countries, governments, villages, and people enhances development as much as the millions of dollars spent each year. The building block to developing an area rests in sustainability. Sustainability does not come with more money, but trusting relationships and true belief in what the developer is trying to do for the people.
I feel that I have found a real purpose in the Peace Corps that I did not find in the classroom. I have found that development is different than what I thought and I have found that my desire to integrate into the culture and share with the people of Vanuatu far exceeds my desire to escape back to the comforts of America. Peace Corps has given me a chance to work and share with people who could not get any professionals to work in their village and I cannot possibly show how grateful I am for this opportunity.
Taem Mi Mekem Finis
I realize that I will have many problems during my time spent in Vanuatu and not everything will work out like I want it to, but I have also found a purpose here in the Peace Corps that I never felt before I came here. I believe that my experience so far has changed me greatly and I believe my time spent at site will change me profoundly again.
I now have three months at site before all Community Health volunteers must return for PST-Phase 2, a two week in-service training in Port Vila. My first three months will be spent integrating and assessing the needs of my village. I have a feeling many things will change before my next reflection, but I look forward to the changes more than ever. Pepa blo mi I finis. Bae mi raetem yu bakegen lo tri manis afta mi bin stap lo saet blo mi. Ale! Lukim yu!
