The Global Volunteer: Part 2 – Arriving in Country

I guess the youths drank themselves into oblivion by about 3 am and we slept soundly till 7.30. We were to be picked up at 9 am for a tour of the town and surroundings. The day progressed with Visa formalities and meeting and greeting. In fact the days of that first week all melted into sleep and wakefulness and busyness. We had to find accommodation, get utilities connected, have visas approved and residency status granted – and we started on Bislama lessons! There were very few wakeful moments for reflection and feeling homesick and every moment was taken up with new interesting and exciting things to do, see and experience.

And then we had to start our work. Ron went off to Malapoa College, Vanuatu’s premier high school, to mentor the Principal and take over the Maths faculty. I arrived on the steps of the office of Youth Challenge Vanuatu to provide support to their new Director and review the agency’s policy, procedures and management practices, institute a staff training program and mentor the project manager! Both jobs were huge – far bigger than we had imagined. And that story is for the next article!

It takes some time to settle into a new environment and we had been warned about culture shock. In the first few weeks you are trying so hard to get to know the people and the places; learn where to get your supplies and meet your friends (the watering holes); settle into strange accommodation; learn about what is a realistic expectation of yourself and others, that you actually spend little time focusing on the differences and more trying to make things have a certain sameness about home so as to feel comfortable. WOW! Doesn’t that set you up for a great fall! We had been told there would be a cycle of emotional adjustment that included large periods of not feeling useful, comfortable and (in fact) verging on depression.  That is what culture shock is about – adjusting to the new environment and not having expectations that this new environment will have anything in it that is familiar. We had to learn to go with the flow, and that flow was so much slower, more bureaucratic, more time spent in discussion, much lower expectations and great leaps in small outcomes.

If there is one thing a new volunteer needs to take to their placement in an international setting it is practical information on culture shock. It is not healthy to have a cavalier approach and ignore just how important this is. Of course the other tools are: a sense of humour; a willingness to listen; an acceptance that the local ways will need to be worked alongside, not challenged too much. Having said that be willing to learn a new language, be authentic and maintain a balanced approach to looking after yourself and your friends.

And in the next episode you will hear how a 53 year old woman won the hearts of teenagers and worked alongside them to deliver great projects across the island communities and within the town of Port Vila. She is now an honorary grandmother to 2 Ni-Vanuatu babies and has lifelong friends in the native population of the islands.