13.11.2017 - By Stephen Soole in Vanuatu
It’s incredible how fast the time has sailed by. What happened to the time I thought I had?
This time almost two years ago we were getting ready to head out on assignment full of the fears, uncertainly and excitement that goes with venturing into the unknown. Up until that point we had never lived outside of our home district for any length of time, yet here we were about to leap outside familiar comforts and move to a country we really didn’t know anything about.
Now with the apprehension that the end is fast approaching, we find ourselves once more preparing to venture out, this time full of the uncertainty, excitement and sadness that comes from finishing and returning to our prior life. However this time while heading into what should be familiar ground, it won’t be! While the locality will be familiar, I’m confident much of what we left has changed, just as we have. So it feels kind of weird going back. Yet if there’s one thing this experience has taught me, it’s that life doesn’t take place out there somewhere, it starts with one’s self. It’s whatever you make it and the choice is entirely yours.
Fellow volunteer Josh Mitikulena at the beach - these seemingly small moments of connection are often the only spark needed for change to happen.
Being away from one's previous surroundings for any length of time and relocating to a different country and culture, challenges and teaches you a remarkable amount about yourself. You cannot help but see life with a different appreciation. And to say that I’m grateful and appreciative doesn’t do justice to the experience and what it has revealed. One’s actuality is brought into focus. Sure, there have been moments when I’ve queried myself: What am I doing here? How can I make this work? And the answer as always has been the same: Trust.
The resilience and pride of the people here, who are welcoming even when they're recovering from disaster.
So has the assignment been a success? In the conventional way success is measured it’s ticked many boxes. However measuring success or the value of success is an imperfect undertaking, weighted towards things that are easy to identify and pigeonhole. It cannot capture or calculate the variable components in all of this that comes from the human element. More often than not these things can’t be ticked or crossed in a box. Actions and outcomes are often invisible or subtle, like a simple conversation, an exchange of ideas, or doing something different, that we think nothing of, yet which results in a change or shift in thought which only time can determine or measure.
Life here in Vanuatu has been full of first time experiences for us, which we would never have had, had we not taken this opportunity. As the final days dwindle down, it’ll now be filled with last time experiences to relish. So, has the time been worth it? The answer is overwhelmingly yes. Did I enjoy it? Immeasurably. Vanuatu has at times surprised and bewildered, yet also been remarkable.
I'll remember the pride of the face of the onion grower we visited in Epi.
I leave Vanuatu knowing this experience could never be bought, it’s different for everyone, and that is its uniqueness. I leave knowing we gave it our all, sure in the conviction of the power of “the positive”. Assured that every positive thing we do regardless of its seeming insignificance has a subsequent effect that ripples outward. Where it finally ends and its significance, we’ll never know.
As our thoughts move towards getting ready to go and leaving, we’ll be packing very little luggage, but taking a mountain of memories from our time, these possessions far more valued then anything material. Grateful in the knowledge for having been part of what’s been a great experience. Ka kite ano and Lukim yu.
Lukim yu, Vanuatu.