For those of you in the doldrums.

For those of you annoyed at your commute.
For those of you who are really pissed at the old lady at the counter holding up the line.
For those of you sick of shitty tippers and for those of you cringing at the harsh neon lights.
...for those of you thinking, fuck it, I should just run away and join the Peace Corps.
Here's what my life is like.

I live in Ekipe Village on North Efate. Efate is oriented around "The Big City," Port Vila. +20,000 people. But it's a big 20,000. Busy, traffic, bustling, exhaust and man are there asshole drivers. I thought FIB's were bad (they are) but in Port Vila, Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way. There is not a single stoplight in town but there should be. Big minivans that serve as public transport cruise by too fast, and hell, if it rains you WILL get splashed, just a matter of fact, no sense in arguing. So instead of just looking both ways when you cross the street, look both ways when you get near a big puddle. Especially if the puddle is near a couple of overflowing trash cans, or a flooded sewer.
I'm not complaining, Chicago is worse, in some places. Africa is worse, Latin America is worse, or so I hear.
The long arm of Globalization has stretched across Oceania with small and futile resistance. They say that Peace Corps Vanuatu is one of the last places in the world where you can actually get the advertised Peace Corps experience. The one with greenery and remote villages cut off from civilization. Where cell phones don't work, and Radio doesn't reach. For some of my colleagues this is true. But not me. The cell phone towers here have been erected, annoying rings go off in meetings here just like back home. I can write emails to my friends around the world two or three times a month, no problem. 3-4 buses travel from Ekipe to Vila each morning and back again each afternoon. It's a $5 trip one way. 6 days a week. Not remote, not cut off.
When I go back to Ekipe today I will meet one of the chiefs of my village. Chief Atanawara, aka Willie. He is part of my host family. He drives a bus, sometimes his family members drive it for him when he's busy. Krissy and I will meet him at the market. The Mama's Market is a big open building at the center of Vila Town with hundreds of Mama's and Mama's in training (young girls selling produce for their families.) The Mama's Market is the center of economic activity for Ni-Vanuatu on Efate. Though with a 6% growth rate other sectors such as construction and tourism are booming and providing lots of jobs lots of activity, people digging and pouring and picking, sweating, and taking breaks in the heat.
When we drive back to Ekipe, we will pile in with all our stuff, about 12-15 people. We will swerve to avoid potholes and I will get queasy. We will listen to reggae or Rod Stewart or Akon. Probably over and over again. People will sleep with their heads bobbing up and down. We will get to the two big, no I mean BIG, giant Banyan trees that stand like sentries, the only marker for Ekipe village, one on either side of the road. We will jump out and our neighbors and friends who happen to be near the road will sing out to us in Namakura "Daravi Javi!" which means "Good Afternoon" in local language.
We will walk down the narrow trail with our groceries and our luggage, our supplies to hold us over until the next time we go into Vila. We'll pass by all our familiar friends and neighbors greeting them all on our short walk back to our house. When we get close our dog Oreo will flip out run around jump on us and make us yell at her. She's excited because when we're gone she lives in fear of everyone else in Ekipe. The feeling is mutual. She usually barks at them and plays the role of the guard dog perfectly. Well, except that she occasionally chases small children and forces them to climb up trees to get away. This makes us mad. We yell, and try to learn her good. But alas, she really likes to chase children. Pigs on the other hand she's scared of. With good reason. There are many pigs in Ekipe running loose. Some are not normal, they are battle pigs. Remember Battle Cat from He-Man. If you put a saddle on some of these behemoths, small people, like Mugsy Bogues, could ride them into battle. When faced with two barking growling dogs, they do not always run away. About half the time they just stare them down. Occasionally they faint a charge and the dogs run away. There are many wounded dogs, and many stories of dogs killed by pigs.
After we get Oreo off of us for a second, we'll put our stuff down and sigh happily "Home Sweet Home." We'll open the six windows of our tin shack propping them up with sticks. Before everything is back in the house we will definitely have at least two kids show up to watch us and talk. Probably Joy, JoAnna, Tyline, Annitha, Sandrine, Harriet, and Tyler Moses or some combination of these 7. They are our immediate neighbors and friends. As we unpack they'll ask questions, and ask to play SET (which Lauren sent) or Uno, or Hula Hoop. Our small dog Bilavil (Bill) will jump around and bite heels, and small childrens' butts and shirts. Our pusscat will meow insistently until we pet him or give him tuna.
As we unload we'll plan dinner. Depending on what fresh vegetables we have we'll probably make one of our staple dishes: Brown rice and Lentil Curry with kumala, onion, fresh cocnut milk and whatever else is around is our current favorite. Otherwise we'll have beans and rice with a packet of Old El Paso Taco seasoning, also we make pasta with tomato sauce now and again. If we're lucky (once or twice a week) One of our host families will bring us a plate of manioc simboro, or yams and coconut milk, or white rice and chicken or tin meat (if I'm really lucky and my wife is really unlucky). I think tonight probably curry. I'll open a dry coconut with my machete, then I'll use our coconut scratcher to work it until all the shredded pieces are in a bowl. Krissy will squeeze it with water to make the coconut milk that we'll add to the dish later. I'll build a fire and get water ready to boil. If we're low on water I'll have to walk 75 yards or so with a big bucket to get our daily drinking water. I lift it onto my shoulder then walk carefully, so I don't spill it all over myself.

After dinner we'll drink Milo (Hot Cocoa like drink) or tea and either playScrabble, or read a book, or Newsweek or National Geographic. Krissy will go to bed at 8-9pm I'll usually join her from10pm-12am. We read by candlelight or sometimes kerosene lantern. we sleep on the ground on a thin mattress underneath a mosquito net. it is hot and stuffy under there. Also ants eat away at the wood in our house and the little granules of wood will be all over the sheets, so the nightly ritual involves sweeping the bed of this wooden sand. If cockroaches or spiders or geckos are running around our cat will hunt them and enjoy a latenight snack. After a few nights in the village I'll use my ipod at night to listen to the NPR Podcast of All Songs Considered or Movies. This has kept me sane. Thank you friends for the wonderful gift. I download podcasts in Vila and cherish the little bit of culture I get from them. Thanks to Bob Boilan and Fresh Air I hear new music and reviews of movies I wont see for another 6-9 months. This makes me happy.

Our days are spent washing clothes, getting water, washing dishes, preparing food: Breakfast is usually Oatmeal or Raisin Bran and powdered milk, bananas are usually involved (as they always are in Vanuatu); For lunches we usually have Ramen, or powdered soup. This is not satisfying so I spend most of my meal thinking about what I will eat in 15 months when I get home. This has turned into a game called taste of Wisconsin. Usually I play this game by myself, but sometimes Krissy plays with me, more on Taste of Wisconsin later. The rest of the day is spent exercising, scratching mosquito bites, or louse bites, or various rashes and other itches, entertaining guests (mostly kids who are entertained by looking at us (it feels a lot like being on the other side of the bars at the zoo) sometimes though we can distract them with Newsweeks, or crayons.) reading magazines, reading books and occasionally working on things. Only short bursts of energy are usually necessary to complete our work tasks.

On Mondays we eat at Bethel village a short walk away. We watch a Philipino soap opera named Sarap Gulang (everyone is crazy about this soap opera because Filipino life seems very similar to life here, stark class distinctions between natives, and expatriots; also they eat similar foods and speak a similar pidgeon dialect). A lot of people in Ekipe have TV's and DVD's and a generator to watch movies at night a couple times a week. On Wednesdays I run baseball practice at Ekipe primary school, lately we've had well over 20 kids at practice. They're getting better and their first inter-village game is next Saturday: Ekipe vs.Vila in Port Vila. Wednesday nights is also our luxury night where we eat snacks that our friends have sent us and use half the charge on our laptops battery. We just finished Band of Brothers, and I'm not sure what we'll watch now. Fridays is frisbee practice. Less kids come out for that, but popularity is growing. Sundays we go to church in the morning, we sing and sit quietly marvelling at the pious, excited, emotional worship around us for 2-4 hours. We watch kids run and throw tantrums and be naughty. Then Sunday afternoon we go and spend the day at the beach down in the next village over (Matarisu). We soak up sun and swim and look out to the North East at the island of Emao.
The next week we do it all again and usually at least one of us goes into Vila afterwards to stock up or work on something.
This is our life.

We should have already found out whether or not our water project is funded, I hope this is not a bad sign. But they were supposed to tell us this week. Please keep Ekipe in your prayers.

In a couple weeks we will have reached 1 year of service and Group 21A will come for training. They will be stationed in Epao for training which is about a 20 minute jog from Ekipe. We will be doing a lot of training for them, and see them a lot. This means lots of food, and fun times teaching the rookies. Incidentally this means we are now veterans.



So, this South by Southwest festival. (SXSW). I've been meaning to tell you about it. It's got 1700 bands playing live.

That's insane by the way. And so fucking rad. When you're angry at American mono-culture, aggro-culture, Big ass better than you culture. Please remember how cool it is that one-thousand seven hundred different bands play in one city at one time each year. And then think about if that has ever happened in the history of mankind (by the way, the answer is no, even if you're some stupid history nerd who can prove me wrong) [Dude, Brandon, Bob Boilen mentioned Troubled Hubble on the last SXSW feature on all songs considered, cool little story.]


Peace Corps is like College in Fast Forward but better and in another language.

I have never before met 98 Americans at one time in my life from all over the States. Alabama to Alaska, California to New York, Nebraska to Virginia. Is there anywhere else in American society where you can get to intimately know 90 people who more or less equally represent the fifty States? And on top of it, unlike college, they are not segregated by age. We have 71 year olds and 22 year old's. Where else can this happen? Yes most are younger or youngish but the mean is rising. The experience that is being shared here is unlike any other facet of American life.

In the Peace Corps in the modern age, I can meet people who have big music collections. They have lots of music that I don't and then we can trade and go back to site. In the Peace Corps I have found awesome new music that I love, that I didn't even know before. This is a good thing for all those who bemoan the digital age of music. I've found out about Stars, Camera Obscura, Godspeed You! Black Emporer, Andrew Bird, Animal Collective, Architecture in Helsinki, Band of Horses, Bear Vs Shark, Broken Social Scene, The Format, FourTet, Low, The National, Panda Bear, Southland, and a whole lot more I'm embarassed to say I didn't know or appreciate before. This is so cool.

Taste of Wisconsin

sometimes I get hungry.
and I think about what I want to eat when I go home. If you would like to join me in gaining back the 20lbs. that was stolen from me by Vanuatu, you can join in the journey when I return home sometime Summer-Fall 2009. In the meantime if you would like to eat at these places and then tell me about it in a letter or a comment on this blog. I will think of you with spite and envy and relish the sweet taste of awesomeness when I get home. P.S. for all those who prefer me skinny, enjoy it while you can...it will not last (Krissy I'm talking to you).
Here's my list in no particular order:
Jimmy Johns Country Club with Avocado and Salt and Vineger chips.
The Sausage Kitchen House Special on Italian Bread with Giardineira-Racine
Fulbeli Deli Brett Favre- Milwaukee
Jenny Malacara's Turkey Taco's
Grandma Malacara's Tamales
Mrs. Buchholz' Easter smorgasborg (Beef Tips, Meatballs, Ham, Green Bean Casserole, Party Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Fudgie Oatmeal Bars)
Veggie Burgers and Catfish Sandwiches with Sanddollars- The Yardarm- Racine
Ravioli's-Toteros- Racine
Wood Fired Pizzas- Mangia-Kenosha
Chile Verde, Fajitas- Baldo's or Los Mariachi's
Chili, and Hamburhers, Fresh baked pie at South Point- Stevens Point
Crunchy Spicy Tuna, and buffet- Tokyo Steak House- Stevens Point
Kai Fire Roll- Sake Tumi- Milwaukee
Buffets (watch out, I don't want to injure anyone)
Bloody Mary's and Veggie Burgers at Hilltop- Stevens Point
Salad Bar OH GOD GIVE ME A SALAD BAR
Ribs, Bread, Baked Potato, Salad, Veggies, Wine- Digger's Sting- La Crosse
Burrito Del Mar- Manny's- La Crosse
Old Dutch Custard- Racine
Kopp's Custard and Burger's and Onion Rings- Milwaukee
Muffins of all sorts- Blueberry Muffin- Stevens Point
Hot Dogs, Brats, Italian Sausages, Miller Park Parking Lot- Milwaukee
Italian Sausages Ed Pavlik's on Sundays in Racine
Homemade Salsa and Guacamole, Gourmet dinner: fish with rice and roasted veggies- Mom and Mark's
Gosa Gosa A- The Blue Nile- Minneapolis (I know but it's good anough that it gets put into Taste of Wisconsin, Cngratulations)
That little diner place in Baraboo, I don't remember the name but everything I've hd there has been sooo good.
Kringle- O& H Bakery- Racine
Coconut or Pineapple popsicles from the Mexican push carts- Racine
Sandwiches and Taco Dip and Garden of Eatin Blues from the Peoples Food Co-op- La Crosse
Super Bowl with onions, beans, cheese, oyster crackers- Chili John's- Green Bay
Brotomushapepper thingy at The Wooden Spoon- Stevens Point

Notice I didn't include fast food chains.
This is what I think about. Rich mental life.

Peace out America,
don't get jaded
I love you all, not in the grand general sense, but in the specific never got to tell you how much I loved you sense, I'm telling you now. Let me know if you ever need a reminder, I'll be happy to oblige
Javi