We're back!

It feels good. It really does.

The last couple of weeks have been really weird, with a lot of really good moments, and a lot of hard ones too. Sydney's a cool city, and having all of the Peace Corps Volunteers, Trainees, Extendees, and Response in one place was pretty awesome. It was difficult not knowing for so long what was happening in Vanuatu; whether staff, communities and families were alright. Not knowing where we were going or when we would leave...only having been in Vanuatu for such a short time made it simultaneously easier and harder. I felt like I'd been here long enough to get attached, but not long enough to deserve feeling the same as the other volunteers who had been there much longer and have much deeper ties here. I'm amazed at how quickly this place and these people have captured my heart. I know that my service here will be different because of Cyclone Pam, but I'm so glad to have the chance to be back, and to see what I can do.

While my island Ambae seems relatively unchanged as far as the scenery goes, you have to understand that in a country of 250,000 people, everyone is affected in a huge way. Everyone has family, or knows someone that lives in one of the more affected areas. It's going to take a long time to recover from this.

As far as our trip back goes, we trainees were flown to Vila, then put directly on a flight to Santo (one of the least affected islands), to finish our training. It was jarring flying back into Port Vila, to see a previously lush, green, landscape, turned brown. Here's a photo I took during my first week here:

And one Keith took from almost the same spot, post-cyclone:

Going back?

After a week full of more emotions than I thought possible, we found out this morning that the plan is to send us back to Vanuatu. This is a tentative plan, and as site evaluations continue it is still possible that they decide not to send us back, but this is by far the most promising news we've heard yet.
I'm really excited to head back to Vanuatu and continue my service with Peace Corps, but it's also a possibility I face with a lot of trepidation. I don't yet know if I'll be going back to my site on Ambae, or what my job will look like when I head back. It's hard to know without being on the ground how I and the rest of the volunteers will react to the new reality of life in Vanuatu. That being said, they won't send us back if a certain standard cannot be met.
Suffice it to say, I can't wait to go back and get my hands dirty, but I'm also trying to be aware of the potentiality for how different it could be.
I'll keep you updated as we know more! We should be here in Sydney for about another week, when the trainees and I will fly back to Vanuautu and head to Luganville, to finish our training and swear in, assuming all goes as planned. Here's hoping!

Post Cyclone News

It's been quite a week. Finding out about a potential cat 5 cyclone headed our way and that all current volunteers had already been evacuated to Vila. Being evacuated to the capital ourselves on Tuesday. Watching the path projections only to see the storm moving closer and closer to Vanuatu. Being told we were evacuating, and packing and loading onto buses only to be told the DOD had not approved our evacuation on the military planes. Being told again the next day that we were actually evacuating to Sydney. Playing the tourist in Sydney for the last few days, while simultaneously watching Cyclone Pam making landfall in the capital and the southern islands, and reading all the news stories about what's been going on in the country we so recently left.
Suffice it to say that it's been a little hard to process.
At the moment, we don't know what happens next, how long we'll be in Australia, where we're going when we leave, what we'll be doing when we get to wherever we end up...it's hard to not know. It's hard to not know what's going on in the country I so recently left, and so recently got to know.
All that being said, we're all looking for ways to help, regardless of whether we go back or we go home to the US. I'm going to make a shameless plug here for a few organizations that are currently taking donations to help provide relief in Vanuatu:

• UNICEF’s Cyclone Pam relief fund: UNICEF works to ensure that communities have the knowledge and resources necessary to provide for the needs of their children.
• CARE Australia’s Cyclone Pam relief fund: CARE works in communities across Vanuatu, preparing the people to face disasters such as this, and gives them the skills they need to respond and rebuild.
• OXFAM’s Cyclone Pam relief fund: OXFAM works to help governments, businesses, and communities be as prepared and strong as possible. They assist organizations in working together to build a stronger future.
• RED CROSS’s Cyclone Pam relief fund: The Red Cross focuses on first aid training as well as responding to crises, helping under-resourced communities across Vanuatu.

I'll try to update again when I have more information about next steps.

Cyclone Pam

5/11, 2:00 PM
Over the weekend, Peace Corps Vanuatu pulled all PCVs from site to bring them in to Vila, in anticipation of a potential Category 5 cyclone, named Pam, headed our way. Yesterday, they brought in all the trainees and Efate vols, and put us up at the Holiday Inn Resort.
We went to bed with the news that evacuation was unlikely as the storm was projected to pass between Vanuatu and Fiji, meaning the brunt of the storm would pass us by.
Jump to this morning, when we get the word that due to a shifting course in the storm, we were going to be evacuated to American Samoa in army planes. We all packed up our bags and loaded up on buses, only to be told that the evacuation plan had not been approved and we were all staying here for the moment. The current word is that they are looking into potential other evacuation plans. Peace Corps staff is having a meeting with select volunteers right now to give an update, and I will post when I know more!
Here's the current map from the Fiji Meteorological Service, showing the projected path of the storm as it stands now:

5/11, 2:40 PM

Latest word is the airport is closed, so we will not be leaving the country. We're hunkering down here at the Holiday Inn to ride out the storm. The hotel staff is boarding up the windows, and Peace Corps is taking good care of us. I'll keep updating while possible, but internet and phone service will likely be first to go.

5/11, 3:30 PM

One of the perks of working with the Vanuatu government is that they set me up with a government email. This means that it turns out I've been getting updates from them about the storm! Here are some of the key points from the most recent update:

To give some context, we are currently in SHEFA province, and my permanent site is in PENAMA province.

5/11, 5:30 PM

A couple of quick updates. First, the Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) advises people that Yellow Alert is now in effect for TORBA, SANMA, PENAMA and MALAMPA provinces. So, we are still not even in alert mode. Should stay pretty calm here for the next 24-30 hours.

For those of you (like me) that didn't know what Yellow Alert means, here's a handy reference guide:

There are four stages of community alerts issued for a cyclone; Blue, Yellow, Red and All Clear.

• Blue Alert means prepare for dangerous weather
• Yellow Alert means take action and get ready to go to shelter
• Red Alert means go to shelter immediately
• All Clear means that wind and storm surge dangers have passed but you need to take care to avoid the dangers caused by damage

And here's some info from Nik Karr (one of the Peace Corps staff members), who gave us instructions to disseminate it:

Please be advised that ALL Peace Corps Volunteers and Trainees in-country are safe and have been consolidated at a large hotel in Port Vila. The hotel was selected for its reduced exposure to wind and elevation from the water. Peace Corps and hotel staff are taking all necessary actions to ensure the safety of all Volunteers and Trainees.

Peace Corps Medical Officer and Acting Director of Training are housed with the Volunteers and Trainees at the Holiday Inn. Four Satellite Phones are also placed at the hotel. Peace Corps Senior Staff are also equipped with Satellite Phones.

Concerns or questions should be directed to the Peace Corps Washington Emergency 24-hour Response Telephone Number: 855-855-1961, ext. 1470 OR 202-692-1470

5/11, 9:15 PM

Not much new to report, but I found a cool graphic!

Embed: Wind map of Australia and Pacific

5/12, 10:45 AM
The word is in that we are leaving for Sydney. Take it with a grain of salt, as we were supposed to evacuate yesterday as well. Seems like this one is actually happing this time though. The storm projections keep putting it closer and closer to Efate, where we're currently holed up. Keep the people of Vanuatu in your thoughts!

5/12, 10:55 PM

We arrived safely in Sydney, and are waiting to hear information about how the storm is progressing. Keith, the CD, and most of the rest of the Peace Corps Vanuatu staff stayed behind in order to better assess the situation when the cyclone passes.

5/13, 7:50 PM

We've gotten a couple of updates from people currently in Port Vila. They're experiencing strong winds and rain, and power has gone out in some areas. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers as the storm hits tonight; the latest project map from the Fiji Meteorological Website is pretty terrifying.

The current plan is for us to get Disaster Relief Training here in Sydney so we can hopefully be a bit more prepared if and when we head back.

Here's an update from the Peace Corps website:

5/14, 10:00 AM

Last night, we went to bed with the news that the cyclone had again turned and was pretty much directly over Efate and Port Vila, the capital and most densely populated area of Vanuatu. A lot of news outlets are reporting widespread destruction, and fears of a high death toll. Hard to believe we almost stayed. Hard to believe people are still there. They're still keeping us here in Australia, so we're all staying hopeful that we'll be able to go back and help with the recovery effort. We did get word this morning from the Country Director that he and his family are fine, but we're all anxiously awaiting more news about the situation there. The cyclone is currently above Erromango/Tanna right now, and still going strong. This is a picture I've seen circulating around of the capital.

A birthday to remember

Turns out my birthday is on Chief's Day in Vanuatu; a national holiday. That means that while I normally would have headed in to Vila with my fellow ICT volunteers, we went in a day early and had Thursday free.

We started the day with a walk to the conservation area on Nguna, and spent the rest of the morning snorkeling around. I even got to see a sea turtle! The picture I got of it is reminiscent of the pictures of the Loch Ness monster in it's quality, but I swear it's there!

We headed back to our host village at around lunch time, and proceeded to hang out on the beach for the rest of the afternoon. Colton and I made a bunch of new frisbee friends; Laura and I played with a kite until we gave it to my host brother who proceeded to run away with it down the beach; we helped make a volcano sand castle on the beach; I played with the adorable puppy at my site; and I spent some time reading on the beach.

At about 4:00, the rest of the VITEL vols staying in Taloa came back from training up the mountain in Mere, and we headed to a Nakamal (kava bar) for cake and celebrations. Sean Corrigan, a fellow VITEL volunteer who also happens to be working on Ambae with me shares my birthday, and some of the other volunteers had organized cakes for us. As I was on my way out the door of my house my host mama called me back and insisted I put on an island dress (pictured below) before I could leave.

After cake, we hung out on the beach storyan (bislama for talking/hanging out) and drinking kava for a while.

A couple of us headed back to my house to make crepes over the wood fire, only to head back to the beach to watch a beautiful sunset and enjoy some warm nutella crepes.

All in all it was a pretty phenomenal birthday, and one I will not soon forget.