Yumi Stap Storian

I traveled to Boston yesterday to attend the American Public Health Association conference, and so I missed two opportunities to see Vanuatu RPCVs. Ginger Newcomb was in Greensboro for a Kindermusik convention; Erin talked with Ginger by phone, and I hope she’ll fill us in on their conversation.
And, Evan Baker organized a party for RPCVs. [...]

The other night, I was part of a Peace Corps recruiting session panel, and I got to talk about my experience in Vanuatu. I really enjoy sharing my PC memories and encouraging others to apply and serve.
But talking about Paama makes me nostalgic, and a bit guilty. I want to go back, and I feel [...]

Remember the creepy crawlies? I wrote a short essay about the cockroaches. Read “Bugs in the night.”
Share your bug stories — spiders, roaches, ants, centipedes, mosquitoes — in the comments, or make a post of your own.

Drew Contreras (who is working as a recruiter for the Peace Corps) alerts us to a list of Vanuatu PCV blogs over at Peace Corps Journals.

Know of any current volunteers who are posting their stories and pictures to the web? Let us know about them, please.
Jamie Funderburk alerted me to a site for Bryan Roosien. And by searching Technorati (a blog search engine), I came across Paama Trees by an Australian teen.

We’ve got 1712 RPCVs entered into the directory. Get listed today by filling out the form here. I like what Andrew Contreras says about his time in Vanuatu:

“My fondest memory of Vanuatu is waiting to get there, waiting to leave, waiting to go back.”

I’ve been waiting nearly seven years to return to Paama. My dad, [...]

Thanks for stopping by to check out Yumi Stap Storian at storian.org.
I sent out e-mail messages this weekend alerting people to this new website. Glad to see people are visiting - we have our first comment from a former Australian volunteer (see the Recent Comments section in the sidebar at right).
Have a look around, and [...]

I was browsing through the wonderful photography on Flickr when I came across the photos of Meyer Island. He’s got some great pictures there. Have a look.

While you’re waiting for Storian to kick into full gear, grab a copy of Charles Montgomery’s The Shark God: Encounters with Ghosts and Ancestors in the South Pacific, an interesting visit to the islands to learn about the missionary influence. Chapter 2 is all about Port Vila.
See also the NYTimes article The Original Bali Hai.

Anton here, dusting off the idea to have a website for my fellow RPCVs from Vanuatu to share pictures, stories, memories and plans for return visits to the islands. Back in 2001, the site VanAmericanNius.com limped along as I learned about online community building. But let’s try it again: join me in this virtual nakamal [...]