We learn how to live in the village

Other than building relationships with our new friends on Ambrym, our main job now is learning learning learning.

(Hint on the Smileboxes below - many have the option of clicking to zoom in on pictures and for the ones with multiples on a page, that's kinda the only way you can see what's going on in them.)

We LEARN HOW TO LIVE IN A VILLAGE:
How to get around:

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How to do chores:

Personalize a scrapbook How to plant a garden Vanuatu-style:  We bought seeds in Vila before going to Ambrym.  Once on Ambrym, we asked around about where we could plant them for our own garden.  The village had a meeting to decide where we should put our garden.  Everyone's work on the islands is subsistence farming and with it being tropical they know how to make it work for year-round.  Their way of having us plant was very different than planting in the US.  Totally different soil, rain, weather, everything.

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We learn language

Other than building relationships with our new friends on Ambrym, our main job now is learning learning learning.

(On the Smilebox below - you have the option of clicking to zoom in on pictures.)
We LEARN LANGUAGE:
Houghton, Gretchen and I did a lot of informal learning just when talking to people we were interacting with while doing something else, but we did some formal language learning to with eliciting specific words and paradigms as well.  We're lacking in pictures of us doing this so we'll have to be more diligent next time to take them!

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The kids were mainly learning Bislama this time around and Jesiah got his fill going with all the kids to the local primary school.

 

And Gwen and Addy had a lot of very sweet friends who taught them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We fly, we boat, we climb.

Getting to Ambrym means WE FLY (from Vila, the capital city, to west Ambrym island - it's just under an hour flight):

 

 

 

 

I just LOVE it when there's time to read the paper during the flight...  :)

After flying, we walk or ride to the beach at Craig Cove (western Ambrym) and then get on our 'speed boat'.  The next leg is where WE BOAT (from west to North Ambrym - this is anywhere from 2 1/2 to 5 hours depending on seas):

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And finally WE CLIMB (from the 'wharf' here in to the village, about 15 minutes is all):

 These pictures are actually of a friend leaving so imagine this next one of us climbing rather than descending... 

 

And this next one we walk down the road away from the copra roasting house to get to the village.

And finally we climb up this last hill to get into the village of Ranvetlam, North Ambrym, our NEW HOME!!

 We were incredibly thankful to our friends Tamar and Momon for helping us carry our arrival luggage in to Ranvetlam!

 So in these three easy steps you too could be with us in Ambrym!  :)  Come see us anytime!