Hi All,
This week has been a busy week for us both. Maryann and Linda ran a Key Teacher workshop for the Malampa Province. The Teachers came from all the Islands in the Province and the workshop was helf at the Norsup School with the teachers sleeping on the floor in another classroom. We had a VSA volunteer and a staff member from Save The Children staying with us. We had seven for dinner on Tuesday night with a few extra Peace Corps volunteers who were staying in the area. Quite the thing to be entertaining on such a large scale!
I helped out at the workshop with a few energizers and with cooking for our guests. On the Thursday night of the workshop Linda and George organized a traditional dinner for all the workshop attendees and helpers. He made laplap from Taro, coconut and chicken and it was delicious. You can see a few photos of the evening. We got presented with traditional woven mat and Maryann got a really nice woven basket as well….. she is delighted with it.
All the people that helped in any way with the conference were presented with gifts and it really is humbling to see how much they local people appreciate what we contribute.
We are looking forward to a quiet weekend with perhaps a few phone calls to family. Nearly three months here now – time has gone fast.
Cheers
Vic and Maryann

The weather is either cooling off or we are getting more used to it. There are still some pretty hot days – over 30 degrees I guess – but the mornings and the evenings are much more bearable. Still pretty uncomfortable in the direct sun during the day.
I went back to NZ for 10 days and did some work down in Dunedin with Port Otago. The best thing about the visit was getting to see my family again and I had a terrific time with my grandchildren. It was bloody cold though and I ended up borrowing clothes to keep warm. I thought it would be hard to come back to Malekula but apart from the wrench of leaving family and friends I found I was actually looking forward to getting back “home.”
While I was in NZ Maryann attended a workshop in Port Vila and added a few days on both ends to be a tourist for a few days with VSA and Peace Corps volunteers. She found there are some lovely resorts in Port Vila and it is a very different lifestyle from that on Malekula – far more expensive to live for one thing. If you are thinking of having a holiday in Port Vila then the Iririki Resort is very very nice. Great for families or just couples and covers the entire island – looks like some pretty good package deals are offered from time to time.
In Port Vila Maryann did a big grocery shop for all the things we can’t get on Malekula. Things like coffee, dishcloths, herbal teas, glad wrap etc. They were supposed to arrive last Tuesday on the Big Sista ship. We waited on the wharf (the boat was one and a half hours late) in the hot sun only to find there had been a mixup and our cartons were still in Port Vila – we get to do it all again next Tuesday.
One of the headmasters has approached us about getting books for the schools. If we can arrange a container load of books he will organize all the headmasters to contribute to pay the cost of freight. Books are one thing that they are really desparate for so if anyone has any ideas how to collect a whole lot of books we would be very interested – almost any type of book – novels, texts, journals etc
Things coming up for us …… fly to Santos for a meeting next week (we think?), Key Teacher Workshop the following week, off to Ambryn Island within the next month (probably), Independence Day celebrations in July (not sure where we will be for this)
Overall everything is going well and we are loving the survival parcels that keep coming with books, magazines and CHOCOLATES!
Cheers Vic and Maryann