Slept until noon to get that volcano walk out of my system completely, and followed it up with a load of laundry (washed by hand) and sailing around Vila Harbor on a catamaran in the rain (so cool!). Returned in the evening for reading and the rest of the duty-free wine, and a surprise dinner invitation from neighbor David, a kind but very nervous and awkward man who came to Vanuatu in 1997 with the Peace Corps and just never left. He lives next door to Susan with a young woman who was his little sister on the island of Malekula where he lived for 4 years, and he supports her so she can get past the 6th grade (most ni-vans don't; familial responsibility is
huge here, which is why
everyone is poor, yet no one is homeless and no one begs--needless to say, grandpa is never put into a home because everyone is tired of him accidentally pooping himself at dinner).
Also present was an old friend from Malekula, Edna, who was in town for a teacher's conference. Susan and I walked her home and I saw the famous ni-van graciousness at work-- the woman wept because we'd walked 10 minutes to make sure she got back to her guest house safely, and brought out gifts. She then walked us halfway back to Susan's, thanking us in a hoarse, emotional voice the entire way. Unfortunately, getting into Fiji, New Zealand and then Oz with my gift bag is highly unlikely, so I think I'll just have to leave it and hope to one day see it again.
Drink Count: 2
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