Vanuatu

I am sitting here in Auckland, New Zealand waiting for my connecting flight to Port Vila Vanuatu. The flight from LAX was just under 13 hours. I must say Air New Zealand has to be the nicest airline I have ever flown on. Every seat had on-demand entertainment. So I watched three movies, had access to pause when needing a bathroom break or a stretch. I managed to get about 3 hours of sleep in as well.

I met up with my Peace Corps group (20b as we are known) in Los Angeles just a couple of days ago. It is amazing that we have 23 people in our group from all over the United States, from Maryland to Hawaii, again from 21 to 72 (her second time serving,) and instantly we act like we have known each other forever. The comfort level is incredible amongst our group.

We did two days of orientation in Los Angeles. This consisted of mostly PC (Peace Corps) protocol and regulations. There was also some great unintentional team building. Some how I instantly became the tour guise because I was from California, it was hard for them to understand that Nor Cal is so far away from So Cal.

We have had our share of hiccups along the way. On the way to the airport we had a shuttle bus pick us up and deliver us to United Airlines. Well we found quickly, but not soon enough, that we needed to be on United Airlines sister company, Air New Zealand. Well our shuttle bus was gone and now we needed to get 23 people to the opposite side of LAX with two carry on and checked bags each plus a guy with two surf boards. Not an easy feat. Along the way we had to take an escalator downstairs. As easy as that sounds, they we doing construction on the bottom and there was little room. I was the last one done and had to run up the escalator because I could see person after person falling on top of each other with no where to go. No one was injured and most of us laughed pretty hard about it.

In LAX they told us we could not check our bags all the way to Vanuatu and would need to claim them and go through customs in New Zealand. Well it turns out they should of checked them and we did not have to go through, but because we had to claim our bags we needed to stand in the customs line of the largest airport in New Zealand to retrieve our bags. While standing at the very end of the line I saw a sign that said flight crew and diplomats. Hmmm… worth a try? So I headed off to the diplomatic line, where there was one flight attendant ahead of me and passed right on through. I explained to the guy the situation and that 22 more people would head in behind me. Fastest customs experience of my life!

Well that brings me to sitting here in the airport where I just had a spicy salmon role and a kirin beer to wash it done! Life is pretty good. 8 hours from now I will be arriving in Port Vila and that is when the real adventure begins.

Well like always things do not go as planed. We all decided to check in right when the crew arrived and good thing because it took us two hours to get our crew through. While we never had an issue on the other flights here they are very strict about the weight of your luggage. And to make it tougher you can not just pay extra to get it on. So we had to rearrange many of our bags. I was okay but my carry on was two kilos over weight so I had to empty a bunch into my check in bag. The flight was pretty good. I was in the back of the plane against the wall that does not allow your seat to recline back. But the stewardesses were great. I have never seen so many drinks served. When they finished serving drinks they started over again with more. I had some NZ wine, which left something to be desired, but then I saw that Brian a fellow volunteer had ordered a Tusker which is the Vanuatu national beer, and more then it being the national beer it is the only beer. So if you don’t like the taste you learn to like the taste. I think it is pretty good. Reminds me of a Heineken. Being at the back of the plane did have its advantage. Turns out the exit is at the back of the plane, Dale and myself were the first to down on to the tarmac enjoying the first sights of our new home. Holy Crap is this a dream? There was a group of people yelling and waving at us (I think?.) Turns out they were some volunteers and staff there to greet us. But before we could get to them we had to go through customs again. The line zig zagged back and forth and then out the door. Then I remembered we are NOT visitors, we are now residents so we got in the line with one other person! Feels like we are kings here.

After grabbing our luggage we headed out side and were welcomed by the staff. After being here only one hour I was Leigh’d! They gave us some beautiful flowers made by one of the local mama’s. They then wrapped us in a very colorful skirt and handed us a coconut with a straw. What a life!!

This place is amazing. After a short tour of town and an orientation, where they gave us 16,600 VT for spending money we headed to our hotel. Unfortunately we are all split up. So the women are in one hotel and then four guys at another and four of us on the outskirts. Of course being the farthest away as its advantages. We are staying at a place called a room with a view. I am currently sitting on a balcony looking out to the bay. If I had a sling shot I could hit the water.

After a short shower we headed over to the Nakamal (kava bar). We got there just in time to see the sky turn fire red. Is this real? Seriously! I can not believe that I am here in the Beach Corps, I mean the Peace Corps! I had a four shells of kava and a couple of tuskers. The kava is made from the peppercorn family and tastes like peppery wheat grass. Instantly my lips went numb. It is hard to describe the feeling. I would tell you that son the voices dropped and we were all wrapped up in conversations and admiring the view of the ocean below us. I LOVE this place. After spending a few hours there we trekked about 3 miles over to L’Hostelete for dinner. Prices in Vanuatu are about as expensive as they are in California. For a small personal pizza it was 1,000 vatu, which is about $10US.
After dinner we headed back to our hotel.