Hi everyone! I am at the end of my small vacation, we have a two week break between every term for school. Peace Corps sent all the volunteers for Port Vila for an All Volunteer conference. It was held at Iriki Resort, which is the most beautiful resort I’ve ever stayed at. We all had Jacuzzis on our porches, an amazing view and rooms with everything we’ve been missing from the states. I was very spoiled for 4 days, but it was much needed after living on a remote island for so long.
After the conference I hiked up the highest mountain in Vanuatu, Mount Tabwemesana. It’s 6,150 ft. It was the most physically challenging thing I’ve ever done. It was a 3 day hike through the bush. The first day we hiked 4 hours over a creek bed and then another 4 hours up hill. I used every muscle in my body to climb. That evening we camped out at a base camp. The next morning we hiked another 4 hours up hill, my body is slowly deteriorating at this point. We had to hike through white grass which if you touch it the wrong way gives you paper cuts, so I now look like I got in a fight with a cat. We spent the night at the next base camp because the summit was too cloudy. The last day we hiked a total of 14 hours. We hiked up summit, but it was still cloudy so we didn’t see much when we got to the top. Then we hiked all the way back down to the village. It was the first time in history that anyone has ever hiked up summit and all the way back down to the village in one day. I spent half of the descent on my butt (kinda like when I ski). The last 3 hours of our hike was over the creek bed in the pitch black dark. Luckily we all had small flashlights. It never felt so good to be finished with something, although I’m proud I did it.
The past month at site was good. I held my first workshop. It was planned and carried out my headmistress and I. It was a 3 day workshop and covered all the basics in teaching, lesson planning, assessment, classroom management, ideas for games and activities, and shared and guided reading strategies. 12 teachers from the 4 different Anglophone schools came. It was very successful and raised my confidence about my abilities and skills as a teacher.
Next term I’ll be teaching class 5/6 English again and team teaching with the Class 2 teacher in his English class. My goal is to hold workshops more frequently for the teachers at my school.
My little sister, April is visiting in mid-July, I can’t wait!! But that will be the next time I’ll have computer access again.
Oh yes…I have now have a Satellite phone at site given to me by Peace Corps. I can’t really use except to call Peace Corps, but I can receive text messages.
You can send a 160 character message – spaces count – through e-mail at
00881621455543@msg.iridium.com
So please send me messages! Just know that I can’t message you back.
Miss you all!
After the conference I hiked up the highest mountain in Vanuatu, Mount Tabwemesana. It’s 6,150 ft. It was the most physically challenging thing I’ve ever done. It was a 3 day hike through the bush. The first day we hiked 4 hours over a creek bed and then another 4 hours up hill. I used every muscle in my body to climb. That evening we camped out at a base camp. The next morning we hiked another 4 hours up hill, my body is slowly deteriorating at this point. We had to hike through white grass which if you touch it the wrong way gives you paper cuts, so I now look like I got in a fight with a cat. We spent the night at the next base camp because the summit was too cloudy. The last day we hiked a total of 14 hours. We hiked up summit, but it was still cloudy so we didn’t see much when we got to the top. Then we hiked all the way back down to the village. It was the first time in history that anyone has ever hiked up summit and all the way back down to the village in one day. I spent half of the descent on my butt (kinda like when I ski). The last 3 hours of our hike was over the creek bed in the pitch black dark. Luckily we all had small flashlights. It never felt so good to be finished with something, although I’m proud I did it.
The past month at site was good. I held my first workshop. It was planned and carried out my headmistress and I. It was a 3 day workshop and covered all the basics in teaching, lesson planning, assessment, classroom management, ideas for games and activities, and shared and guided reading strategies. 12 teachers from the 4 different Anglophone schools came. It was very successful and raised my confidence about my abilities and skills as a teacher.
Next term I’ll be teaching class 5/6 English again and team teaching with the Class 2 teacher in his English class. My goal is to hold workshops more frequently for the teachers at my school.
My little sister, April is visiting in mid-July, I can’t wait!! But that will be the next time I’ll have computer access again.
Oh yes…I have now have a Satellite phone at site given to me by Peace Corps. I can’t really use except to call Peace Corps, but I can receive text messages.
You can send a 160 character message – spaces count – through e-mail at
00881621455543@msg.iridium.com
So please send me messages! Just know that I can’t message you back.
Miss you all!
posted by Valerie Selden @ 3:54 PM
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