firstly a thank you to all of you who wrote to me/emailed and posted messages of sanity/reality on my guestbook. ( i loved them)
i believe that the last time that i wrote to you all, i was just about to leave for the island of pentecost.... (a lot has happened in 4 months....)
There i became 'miss joelle', teacher of science, french, english and development studies to year 7 and 11, eater of corned beef and rice and user of mosquito infested outhouses.
i didnt catch malaria <fortunately> but left ranwadi with some wonderful memories and pining my students dreadfully.
my year 7s have made me promise to return in 2007 and i have been instructed to bring with me 'waetfela drink' so that we can drink and get drunk!
life here is very different (as im sure you can imagine) and took some getting used to.
village life is very public and our (the gaps) every move was scrutinized (usually with approval and a great deal of laughter)
the way us white people walk in an endless sort of amusement. i'm not too sure why.
they have tried explaining it to me but i guess we dont have the same sense of humour.
that's okay.
they dont see the humour in old wrinkled men walking around with a stick and wearing nothing but a small piece of cloth over their willies.
(yes thats why i really wanted to go to vanuatu)
in the past 4 months at ranwadi and whilst travelling around some of the other islands, i have met and stayed with some of the friendliest people ever, eaten some very strange food (both my appetite and stomach have grown in size) and seen some breath taking scenery. i have swum with sea turtles, a dugong and over some amazing reefs, trekked through hardcore bush and am going to climb and active volcano next week (as you do..)
i actually look like a cave girl.
i would love to hear what you've all been up to and will have internet access (budget pending) from the 21st onwards....
Have a merry christmas and a happy new year!
Lukum yufela long '05! I miss you guys tumas!
love miss Joelle
<the true survivor of vanuatu--has that been aired in the uk yet!?>
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