The Chiang Mai weekend night market is probably one of the best I have ever seen. Every Saturday and Sunday Tae Pae road is shut down to traffic and vendors from all over set up stalls and sell everything from rattan lanterns to fried quail eggs. Just walking around and staring at all the wares was enough for me, but having access to all kinds of different food was also a plus.







Alas, I was too full to try to fried bugs when I got to them. I talked to a guy who ate some but he didn't remember how they tasted. Apparently he ate them as quickly as he could and followed it up with a beer. Shame, in Vanuatu my friends told me the steamed ones tasted like lobster.


I still don't know what washing the Buddha is all about. I went to Waht Umong last Sunday and talked with an English speaking monk who told us that rituals have no place in Buddhism. So all the big temples, gold leaf statues and relics are all for people who don't really understand Buddhism. The monk also said that there shouldn't even be images of the Buddha because he didn't want to be worshiped after his death. So much for last wishes.

Buddhism is such an interesting way to live your life, focusing on how you interpret life's events instead of going out and changing them and just letting go. I feel like I can relate to it more after Peace Corps. By the way, the real Jade Buddha looks almost like this one, not very impressive.


These girls were just adorable. I don't know where they came from or what the name of the instrument is they're playing but I've seen it around before. One of the coolest things about the night market is that right in the middle of the street there are people playing instruments, doing traditional dances or asking for money to support schools. I don't know how to describe it, Bislama has robbed me of most of my English skills.







As I was about the leave the market I noticed a large crowd had gathered. Being the curious person I am I checked it out and found this little girls dressed up like some kind of ostrich? Flamingo? See, I can't even remember the name of the bird this little girl resembles. They have them at the San Diego Zoo, they live in some places in Encondido and are really annoying.

So if I had a checklist of things to do in the night market it would read like this:

- Walk down the market until I find finger food
- Eat finger food, find noodles
- Eat noodles, wander around and look at carvings
- Play with the pug dressed in a bee outfit
- Give money to the blind singers
- Buy freshly squeezed orange juice
- Watch people pour water over the Buddha
- Find the end of the market, people watch for a while
- Stare at white tourists
- Start to make my way back, avoid people calling out to me
- Eat sticky rice cooked in bamboo, watch random dancers
- Watch the old guitar player rip it up with his distortion effects
- Get back to the guesthouse, sleep

The End

Here's my DOS (or Description of Service), the only "official" document that says I was in Peace Corps. Enjoy.

DESCRIPTION OF PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER SERVICE

Class 6 Primary School Teacher

Appropriate Technology Specialist

Name: Taylor J. Okamura

Country: Republic of Vanuatu (South West Pacific)

Dates of Service: December 12, 2003 – December 8, 2006

Assignment and Professional Training

After completing the Peace Corps application process which stressed both mental and physical health, a diversified background and a cross cultural understanding, Taylor Okamura was accepted into the U.S. Peace Corps as a trainee in 2003. He arrived to Vanuatu in October with group 16B and soon began an intense three-month training in the village of Epau on Efate island. During this time he lived with a host family and participated in all aspects of rural life including the planting and harvesting of root crops, listening to the traditional stories, learning to cook the local dishes and adapting to a foreign culture.

Practical training consisted of the following components:

Language Training: 120 hours of practical training designed to gain proficiency in speaking, reading and understanding Vanuatu's official language, Bislama.

Technical Training: 120 hours of practical training designed to develop requisite skills forfounding, developing, managing and teaching at a rural, community-based, school.

Cross Cultural Training: 180 hours of practical training designed to develop assimilation strategies for integration into rural Island village life.

Medical Training: 20 hours of practical training in medical self-sufficiency and emergency self-treatment in remote and medically isolated locations.

Taylor succesfully completed the comprehensive practical immersion training program on December 12, 2003 and ultimately achieved an 'Advanced High' score in language proficiency.

Life as a Teacher

In the two years that Taylor was at Naworaone Primary School, he taught math to fifteen year six students and often assisted the headmaster and other teachers with their classes. He taught Health and a science class called "Trees & Water" several days a week. Taylor developed strong relationships with the teachers, helping them to write future lesson plans, build the school garden and organize school fund raisers which raised over $600 USD.

Village Life

Taylor lived in the village of Purau on the island of Tongoa. While in the village, he was adopted into a host family, earned a kastam name and was given a local style house made of wild cane and thatch roof. Taylor discovered that life in the training village gave him a very basic understanding for life on Tongoa, but realized he still had to undergo a large amount of adjustment. Life on the island was very rural, much more so than Epau, even more rugged than the backpacking trips Taylor had been accustomed to in the States. Without plumbing, electricity, gas or refrigeration, Taylor had to rely on seasonal rain for water, candles for light, a wood fire for cooking, and trips to the market or garden every few days for food. Despite these radical changes in lifestyle, Taylor adapted to "island life" and grew to appreciate his new existence. He read over 100 books and wrote countless letters home to friends and family during service. One of Taylor's fondest memories was preparing kava, the local drink, in the traditional manner with his friends.

Cyclone Ivy

In Taylor's first year of service, Vanuatu was struck by Cyclone Ivy, a category four hurricane. Ivy devastated gardens, contaminated water supplies and uprooted local structures. Using the skills he learned in training, Taylor was able to secure his house and assist other villagers in preparation for the coming storm. After Ivy, Taylor made site visits to the other two volunteers serving on Tongoa and submitted a damage report to Peace Corps Vanuatu.

Volunteer Advisory Committee

Taylor began to serve on the Volunteer Advisory Committee (VAC) shortly after arriving on Tongoa. VAC is a group of elected Peace Corps volunteers who, for two years, present volunteer issues to the Country Director. Taylor was elected as the VAC Chairman in his second year and remained active as Chairman until the end of that year. While on VAC, Taylor helped to draft a new policies on alcohol use, safety and security procedures, per diem, cohabitation, mail, vacation leave, and living allowances.

Secondary Projects

In his second year on Tongoa, Taylor completed several secondary projects:

- Compiled and wrote the new Peace Corps Vanuatu cookbook to be used by all current and future volunteers

- Presented five cooking workshops on Tongoa Island for thirty villagers

- Taught several workshops on salt preservation of meat

- Taught a workshop on the production of brain-tanned rawhide

- Assisted in a local tourism project on Tongoa with marketing, publicity, security and meeting Western expectations

- Facilitated a five day business workshop on Santo Island with two fellow Peace Corps volunteers for over thirty villagers stressing the importance of market share, budgets, and book keeping

- Visited the island of Futuna to develop a local primary school for the island's first Peace Corps Volunteer.

Extension of Service

While serving his two years on Tongoa, Taylor became more and more aware that one of Vanuatu's largest problems is the lack of power on the outer islands. Reliable electricity is very important in sustatinable development and is cruicial in sectors such as sports, education, and health. It was for this reason that Taylor extended his service for a third year, moving to the capital city of Port Vila on Efate Island where he began to work with Vanuatu Renewable Energy Power Association (VANREPA), a local non-government organization working with sustainable energy projects. Living in the capital gave Taylor a unique opportunity to use his knowledge of the outer islands to develop energy solutions on a national level, installing several wind and solar power systems with VANREPA throughout Vanuatu and helping to write several successful grant proposals. In his third year he worked on a Solar Water Pasteurization project in the Black Sands community, a large wind turbine project on Futuna and Aneityum islands, and several solar and wind power schools in Vanuatu. Taylor also wrote and translated into Bislama several technical manuals for solar and wind systems and VANREPA policies. He also helped author VANREPA's website (www.vanrepa.org).

As part of an initiative to strengthen the relationship between VANREPA and Peace Corps Vanuatu, Taylor worked closely with Peace Corps in designing and teaching over 60 hours of appropriate technology courses to selected staff members and 48 new Peace Corps trainees on the island of Lelepa over the course of one year. These courses included:

- Soap making and personal hygene

- Water sanitation and ways to eliminate communicable water-based diseases

- Water catchment systems and acceptable water treatment options

- Desalination of salt water

- Construction of local toilets (Pit, Ventilation Improved, and Compost)

- Food preservation (smoked/salted, meat, jams, dried fruit)

- Rawhide production and basic leather working skills

- Alternative energy systems (Wind, Solar, and micro-hydroelectric systems)

- Designing improved cookstoves

- Community skepticism towards technology

- Solar cooking techniques

- Correct disposal of batteries

During this time Taylor also wrote the accompanying appropriate technology manual which has now been incorporated in volunteer training, benefitting the 76 volunteers currenty in the field.

Pursuant to Section 5 (f) of the Peace Corps Act, 22 U.S.C. No. 2504 (f) as amended, any former Volunteer employed by the United States Government following her Peace Corps service is entitled to have any period of satisfactory Peace Corps Volunteer service credited for purposes of retirement, seniority, reduction in force, leave or other privileges based on length of government service. Peace Corps service shall not be credited toward completion of a probationary or trial period or completion of any service requirement for career appointment.

This is to certify in accordance with Executive Order No. 11103 of 10 April 1963, that Mr. Taylor James Okamura served satisfactorily as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He service ended on 8 December 2006. He is therefore eligible to be appointed as a career-conditional employee in the competitive civil service on a non-competitive basis. This benefit under the Executive Order entitlement extends for a period of one-year, except that the employing agency may extend for up to three years for a former Volunteer who enters military service, pursues studies at a recognized institution of higher learning, or engages in other activities which, the view of the appointing authority, warrants extension of the period.

It's only been a week out of Vanuatu but so much has already happened, so much so that living in a house made of wild cane seems almost like a dream. Straight out of Vanuatu, Mike and I headed for the hot and humid city of Darwin, Australia. We had decided a while ago to move slowly back to Western civilization and Darwin seemed like a good start and it was also cheaper flying through there than from Sydney. While in Darwin we saw the jumping crocodiles which are just that: crocodiles that jump. We took a river boat in croc infested waters while one of the guides held pieces of meat over the side of the like she was fishing for them. The crocodiles then jump up and try to snatch the meat as everyone watches. Not only is it amazing to see in person but these animals are less than 2 meters away when they leap out of the water for the meat. It was definately worth it, especially seeing the 5 meter long croc named Michael Jackson with the missing back right leg, he was huge. The rest of Darwin wasn't as exciting as that but we still managed to see Lichfield park where we swam in some waterfalls, did some hiking and saw huge magnetic termite hills. Our hostel was very good for the money and I swear to God a toddler started asking me questions in Bislama "Yu go wea?" I started to storian with the baby but realized it was an infant and could not storian.

After Darwin we jumped on a plane and zipped over to Singapore, which seemed like an Asian Disneyland compared to Vanuatu. It is impeccably clean, the subways are spotless and everyone seemed to have a working knowledge of the English language, something that can't even be said for the average American. It's a gorgeous city and Mike and I walked everywhere, from China Town to the Colonial District, from the Colonial District to Little India and then back to China Town. Along the way we stumbled into the oldest brewery in Singapore where I got to drink beer brewed with tamarind, orange peel and ginger. Not only was it great but due to a waiter's error we got a free serving of fish, chips, and chicken wings, not to shabby for being stuck in a bar during a rain storm. We ate at the food stalls every day in Little China and I managed to get down to the Night Safari at the Singapore Zoo. Now I love zoo's since I was just about raised at the one in San Diego as well as Sea World so I had a blast, playing games with the otters, watching jaguar cats play and spending a lot of time watching the Binturongs which have to be one of the coolest animals ever. I mean, when was the last time you saw a freaking Bear Cat running through the trees? Unfortunately since we couldn't use the flash most of my photos came out blurry. Afterwards we went to the Museum of Asian Civilizations and while it covered south, southeast and west Asia there was no exhibit on Japan. It's cool though, Japan is so cool it doesn't need to be labelled as an "Asian Civilization." I mentioned this on the suggestion computer as we left the exhibits. We spent just the right amount of time in Singapore, I wanted to leave but hadn't gotten sick of it yet.

We arrived in Bangkok yesterday and got a cheap ticket up to Chiang Mai the same day, finally getting to a hostel last night around 9pm and immediately headed over to the Sunday night market where I ate way too much at all the food stalls. It was incredible how many people were in such a small space. I'm sure it wasn't too much but for me it was a little overwhelming. We spent a while walking around, admiring some bamboo lanterns and painting when Mike decided to get a foot massage. Not thinking much of it, I got one as well and had a very intense hour long session of calf and foot work done while trying to speak to the masseuse who knew about 20 words in English. Chiang Mai seems just busy enough for me without giving me vertigo, I'm very happy we decided to skip Bangkok as I have heard crazy stories about how busy and crowded Bangkok is. Today we started the first of 5 days at the Chiand Mai Thai Cookery School which was an absolute blast. I haven't eaten so much in a long time and it was all so so good, my favorite being the fish in red curry sauce. Mmmmmm, curry. We also met up with Jenneric and should be going to a Muy Thai boxing match with them and Joe and Karen.

So we went to the Muy Thai match and it is freaking brutal! We saw kids from like, 6 and up. The title bout was between two boxers who weighed 140 lbs of pure muscle. I was hoping that the guy in blue shorts would win and he made a great comeback but was ultimately knocked out, sori. Mike and I were betting on matches (just between the two of us) and ended up coming out even at the end of the night. We'll be in Chiang Mai for a while, I'll probably change hostels in a few days and take a trip or two up to the Hill Tribes and see the long neck women.

It's been an awesome trip to Tanna so far. Me, Melissa and Joe went to go see Mike Hoffman in Middle Bush Tanna, check out the volcano and as a last something before leaving Vanuatu. We've been drinking kava at Mike's nakamal and walking around almost the entire island. The first day we met Mike at the airport, walked to Lenekal and happened to come across Matt, the 19A volunteer. We drank kava in Lenekal and slept on the beach near the bungalow where Brett has been staying since he doesn't have a real house yet. The second day we walked for a few hours until we came to Matt's house which can only be described as niiiiiiice. After a prolonged rest at the house in which we roasted, ground and percolated our own Tanna coffee we spent the rest of the day hiking to Mike's village in middle bush Tanna. Mike's site is interesting in that everyone walks about 30 minutes to either a waterfall or river just to bathe. After bathing in the river we went back to his site and he, myself and Joe went to drink kava at the nakamal and while Melissa made Tanna soup back at the house. On Tanna it's forbidden for a women to look at kava, which means she can not enter the nakamal at night since that's where the kava is made. Melissa was a good sport about it as she understands the importance of traditions here in Vanuatu, especially on Tanna.

Yesterday, we had the idea to get a nanni (goat) and then take it up to Yassur to eat with the wine we bought in Vila. So in the morning we walked down the road trying to find a goat to buy. We eventually found one and bought it from a man named Jimmy about 45 minutes away from Mike's house. We tried putting it on a rope but that didn't work so we took turns carrying it back on our shoulders. Joe was carrying it until we came across a group of kids and a momma. The kids said they would be able to lead it on the rope so we thought “Hey, maybe they know something we don't know. After all, they've lived here their entire lives and have probably pulled a lot more nanni's than we have.” So trying to be as culturally appropriate as possible, Joe took the goat off his shoulders and handed the rope to the pikinini. Well, the kids just kicked and beat the nanni with sticks and tried to pull it along but harder than we had been trying. Of course, this didn't work. “Got i no save rop” (The goat doesn't know how to follow a leash) they said. We went back to carrying it on our shoulders. Back at the house we made preparations to kill the goat. Since none of us had actually killed a goat before this took a little bit but we eventually settled on a game plan. Mike held the goat down, Joe knocked it out with a log of wood, I cut its throat with Mike's big-ass black Kabar army knife and Melissa captured the whole event on video. We then proceeded to field dress the nanni, cutting it into four legs, ribs, tenderloins and spine, saving the skin and brain for a brain-tanned rawhide demonstration I did in the nakamal for the men in Mike's village. It was pretty sweet, man Tanna loves blood. We then seasoned the goat with a wet rub, smoked it for a day and a night, roasted it and ate it as we hiked with a dipping sauce I made out of onions, garlic, wine, ketchup and Maggi seasoning. To say that the goat was good is a crime, to say it was exceptional is an understatement; I had never truly tasted goat until I bit into that roasted leg. We snacked on goat until Jungle Oasis where we ate two legs of it, even sharing some with the manager (who we saw for probably five minutes the two days we were at the bungalow). Anyway we told the cook there “Hey, we have a lot of roasted goat here, is it ok if we store it in your kitchen so it's safe?” And the cook replied “Yeah sure, it's cool.” We really wanted the goat to be safe because we put so much work into it and because we were planning to eat it for the next two days. Also, most of the dogs in Vanuatu are starving and love meat. In fact, earlier that day when we first arrived to Jungle Oasis and set all our stuff down, a dog ran over and was trying to eat his way through the plastic bags that the goat was in while we were showering. We put the two legs of goat and the two tenderloins in the kitchen, double bagged in heavy duty Ziploc freezer bags. Of course the next day the nanni was gone but there was an empty Ziploc bag. We asked the cook “What happened? Where's our God damn goat?” and the cook replied, “Oh I think a dog took it. You know, if you'd have told me you wanted to put goat in the kitchen I would have told you to keep it in your room where it would be safe.” I don't think I've ever been so close to murdering another human being in my life. All of us were speechless for about fifteen seconds. For the next hour or so we tried to play detective, searching the kitchen, the surrounding areas looking for clues and asking each other questions like “How could a dog have taken it if there's a clean Ziploc bag there” and “Do you think if we could eat the dog that ate our goat?” We're still not sure if it was a dog or man but we strongly believe that a staff member took it. But we were all very very pissed off, two smoked legs and two tenderloins gone. Just gone. After we realized that bitching and pointing fingers would get us no where, we decided to take jam and bread up to the volcano instead. I started the jam as I normally do and went to go take a shower, telling the cook not to do anything until I came back. Unfortunately when I came back the “cook” told me he had added the coconut milk, which totally spoiled the jam because the sugar didn't caramelize. I told him to wait for me but I guess he knows better than I do. We spent the better part of the day playing Euchre and waiting for the jam to cook down.
After we had our jam and bread ready we packed up and hiked to the base of Yassur volcano. Yassur isn't very tall so we planned to play around the ash plain until we needed to summit. We started to follow a dry river bed that looked like it might lead to the summit. After a while some folks wanted to turn back, stating that no one knew if the trail would even lead to the top. I was persistent, asking for just a little more time, give us a 4pm deadline. We kept walking, climbing over boulders, clearing a bush trail at times and trying to keep folks from turning back. Eventually, the river bed did lead up to the main trail, but only after leading us through sharp red volcanic landscape. Ironically, we were all barefoot since I had climbed to the top of Yassur barefoot the year before and had told everyone we didn't need shoes. At the top of Yassur we mailed some letters from the volcano post office box and went to the left observation ridge for some fireworks, wine and bread with jam. We had heard from several people that Yassur fires up when people drink wine at the summit. Sure enough, minutes after uncorking the wine Yassur really fired up. It was such a large explosion that the ground shook and we saw a visible shock wave go through the smoke and ash that was in the volcano. Being that close to something that powerful really makes one realize how small and meek they are, especially when hot lava starts falling down on you. After the initial reaction to the huge noise, we looked upwards and realized that at least two pieces of molten rock were coming . . . right for us. Very quickly we picked up all our gear and started running, nay, bolting down the side of the mountain lest we be crushed by melting rock.. I managed to look up and see a basketball size rock land maybe 10 feet away from where Joe was standing. Halfway down the volcano we sat down and tried to gather our thoughts and breath for a second. We all agreed that it was the closest we've come to death, closer than looking down the barrel of a gun, deer hunting or eating steak tartar. After we had settled down and stopped our racing hearts we decided to try going to the right observation ridge in hopes that there would be less chance of death over there. We took our backpacks up to the right and just chilled, admiring the power of the volcano when lo an behold, it fired up again but this time sending molten rock over our heads. Luckily we realized that it is better to see where the rock is going to land and then move accordingly instead of blindly running down a volcano bare foot. We spent a long time on the Yassur, only leaving after the sun had gone down and having an impromptu dance party on top. Upon reflection, it may have been a little culturally inappropriate to dance on top of an active volcano but we were so happy to be alive and I brought my speakers with me. Besides, volcanoes love James Brown.

The day after we almost died, we started back to Lenekal. After leaving Jungle Oasis we realized that all we had to eat was a few slices of bread and the water we had with us. After a few hours on an empty stomach we all agreed Tanna needed more stores, that is, until we found one and gorged ourselves on breakfast crackers, tin Santo Beef and peanut butter. As we ate the salty yet nourishing meal, I mentioned that the only thing that could make the meal any better is if we had that goat the bastards and Jungle Oasis stole from us. Everyone agreed. Luckily we were able to catch a free truck ride back to Lenekal, we had walked over 30 miles in so many days and were getting a little tired. We spent our last night on the beach we slept on the first night we were in Tanna but not before catching an absolutely breathtaking sunset.



The plan for the next few days is to pack up all my crap, cook tapas and party like I'm leaving the country. My next post will probably be from Singapore or Thailand.

First off let me thank you for taking time out of your busy day to come visit my little web log. For all my friends and family I'd like to say “Hello” and “What's up.” For my Vanuatu and Peace Corps friends, “Olsem Wanem” and “Kusé!” For the next three months five or six months I'll be on the road, taking a long trip after three years of Peace Corps service in the island country of Vanuatu. For those of you who are unaware, Vanuatu used to be called New Hebrides and is located in the South Pacific near Fiji and Australia. It's one of the least developed countries in the world (by Western standards) and is one of the poorest countries in the world (also by Western standards).

But enough about its history, I leave Vanuatu on December 9th after myself and other volunteers finish our Closure of Service (COS) conference on December 8th. From there I leave with Mike, who came with my group and also extended a year, and travel to Australia for a few days, enjoying the food, infrastructure and wildlife. As a former Marine and Lawyer, Mike should be an interesting travel buddy. Then it's off to Singapore for some time as I try to get adjusted to Asian life. Of course Singapore isn't the more rural of Asian countries but it is a gateway to our next destination: Baghdad, I mean Bangkok. While in Bangkok we hope to meet up with Adam Kane, another RPCV who has been traveling the world for almost a year on the money he saved while in Peace Corps Vanuatu. Adam has to be one of the most misery, resourceful people I know. I don't think he plans on going back to the States anytime soon.

However, before I leave Vanuatu I plan on getting in some last minute travel in country. Tomorrow I fly to Tanna with two friends, Joe and Melissa to check out the volcano and visit the other volunteers down there. I've been to Tanna before but the volcano wasn't as active as I was hoping. I had the same problem when I visited the volcano on Ambrym. I seem to have bad luck with volcanoes. After a week in Tanna I may be installing a solar system on Mota Lava in the Banks (Northern Vanuatu). Looking ahead seems difficult when I still have so much left to do in country: paperwork, last kaekaes, medical checkouts, selling all my material possessions, etc.

I'm burning to CD all the music I think I can take traveling with me. This of course begs the question: what kind of music does one take around the world? I suppose one could also ask the question: what music would you take to a deserted island? The answer is: as much as you can take. I have artists ranging from System of a Down to Mozart, Rob Zombie to Bob Marley, Shakira to Tomoyasu Hotei. All the music I can't take will stay on my laptop, to be enjoyed by whoever eventually buys it. Selling off my stuff has been hit or miss. Some things like my travel chair and solar battery charger I've been able to sell very easily to my friends. Other things like my internal frame backpack have been more difficult to sell, I'll probably give a lot to my old host family in Epau Village. I find myself in a strange position in that I will have to fit all my worldly possessions in my backpack as I travel. No suitcases, no rolling monstrosities, just what I can fit in the overhead compartment (which seems to get bigger every time I fly an airplane).