Encounter Some Cultural Differences

I now respond to a variety of names and sounds.
1. “Misis” is a popular one as any non Ni-Vanuatu woman is referred to as a “European
white woman”.
2. “Lei Riki” or “Lei Rik” is my custom name
3. “Niki” or sometimes even “Nicole”
4. “Pis Kop” (pronounced “Peace Cop”)
5. *Kissing Sound* which is a regular way for anyone in Vanuatu to holler out – similar
to the “hey, you!” in America
6. *Pisst Pisst* another non verbal greeting that means “hey, you look over here!”
7. “Lei Tong” who is the last PC volunteer on the island (it’s just like my mom to get the
kids names wrong)
Basically I respond to any sound or motion.

Phrases I hear often:
“you go rest small” or “go sleep” or “matir shushum” (sleep small in local language)
I’ll hear these phrases anytime I am done eating or if there is a pause in the conversation or if I’ve been working hard (or at least in their opinion of too much for a white man – so if I’ve been cooking or in the garden or weaving for 5 minutes).
At first I took offense, I thought I am an adult, I know when I’m tired and this isn’t kindergarten - I don’t need nap time! However, privacy can be a luxury in a small village and on a small island. So I quickly realized “resting/sleeping” could mean for me some alone time to write, to read, to watch a movie –absolutely anything that I wanted. I can just close my door or tell everyone “Bae mi go rest noa” and everyone will leave me alone. It’s the polite way of communicating “Back off!!!– I need some space!”

Cooking by fire while camping is fun because it’s just for a short time and you can make smores or hot dogs. Well I have no marshmallows or hot dogs here on Tongariki. And somehow the allure and adventure disappears when you have to cook over fire for every meal. Luckily my host family and other families in the village always bring over plates of food so I’m not going hungry - but sometimes you want to have control of the time to eat or I will crave some pasta (or some other “white man kakae”). My fire building skills I’m sure in a few months of this will put to shame some boy scouts, however at this time it usually takes me a few (maybe a lot of) tries. Of course the frustration of starting a fire is only magnified when I have an audience of small children crowding around and my overly independent and stubborn side hates to accept help. But I figure at least I’m trying and they have to respect that.