Vanuatu
Created | Updated Mar 3, 2006
Archepeligo in the Pacific. Total land area is the size of Connecticut but the islands take up the space of California so if you are American you have some idea what that all means.
Key features include:
1) Kava which is stronger here than anywhere else, tastes so bad that it is standard practice to spit after drinking it and eat a banana or a chicken foot just to clean your mouth. Do not bring your camera to the Kava bar or arrive on an all terrain vehicle headlight blaring nor should you bring your radio to blast music or scream "Hey!!!!! that was a good shell!!!!!!!! Whoo I am messed up" They will kill you. Well no the people are very polite and a little shy so they will just pointedly ignore you and talk about you in a language you don't understand. If you question why these practices are bad drink a shell of Kava and then go to a heavy metal concert with fireworks. You will be in pain. Different islands have different Kavas and customs. Tanna Kava is strong. Malekula KAza is sweeter. In Santo it is not good to step outside of the kava bar or nakamal when you drink. On Efate, usually you should step outside and not spit on the floor in front of everybody. Just do what everyone else does.
2) The aforementioned friendliness of the people. If you happen to find yourself in the middle of Santo, the largest island in Vanuatu, trying to walk back to town, feel free to stop at a village and ask if town is nearby. They will invite you to dinner and to drink Kava and to sleep and ask questions about you and your country and life. Give them cigarettes or some food or maybe a T-shirt or to. They are very good people.
3) The language, Bislama, is a pidgin English. If you are an English speaker, it is great fun to speak and listen to.
"How are you?" Olsem wanem
"Thank you" Tankyu tumas
"I want to eat" Mi wanem kakae
"I don't know" Mi no save
"I don't really know but I think.." Mi no save stret be mi ting se...
"I'm from America" Mi man Amerika
"Where are you from?" Yu blong wea?
"How's the laplap taste?" laplap i gud o wanem?
"It's delicious" O i naes we i naes. Mi likum tumas.
4) The food appears to be tasteless to European and American mouths consisting of a lot of root crops without much sophisticated gastronomy. But after a month or two you begin to appreciate it. Do be prepared if you live with locals to be presented with a fish gutted but head and tail still present. You can eat fish eyeballs and live. You really can. Octopus also looks horrible but is sweet and good. Laplap is grated rootcrop baked over stones in coconut milk with meat. Try manioc (yuca). i naes we i naes.
Avoid:
Drunken Australian tourists
Prickly fishies and starfishies
Wild pigs
Paying high prices for things
Key features include:
1) Kava which is stronger here than anywhere else, tastes so bad that it is standard practice to spit after drinking it and eat a banana or a chicken foot just to clean your mouth. Do not bring your camera to the Kava bar or arrive on an all terrain vehicle headlight blaring nor should you bring your radio to blast music or scream "Hey!!!!! that was a good shell!!!!!!!! Whoo I am messed up" They will kill you. Well no the people are very polite and a little shy so they will just pointedly ignore you and talk about you in a language you don't understand. If you question why these practices are bad drink a shell of Kava and then go to a heavy metal concert with fireworks. You will be in pain. Different islands have different Kavas and customs. Tanna Kava is strong. Malekula KAza is sweeter. In Santo it is not good to step outside of the kava bar or nakamal when you drink. On Efate, usually you should step outside and not spit on the floor in front of everybody. Just do what everyone else does.
2) The aforementioned friendliness of the people. If you happen to find yourself in the middle of Santo, the largest island in Vanuatu, trying to walk back to town, feel free to stop at a village and ask if town is nearby. They will invite you to dinner and to drink Kava and to sleep and ask questions about you and your country and life. Give them cigarettes or some food or maybe a T-shirt or to. They are very good people.
3) The language, Bislama, is a pidgin English. If you are an English speaker, it is great fun to speak and listen to.
"How are you?" Olsem wanem
"Thank you" Tankyu tumas
"I want to eat" Mi wanem kakae
"I don't know" Mi no save
"I don't really know but I think.." Mi no save stret be mi ting se...
"I'm from America" Mi man Amerika
"Where are you from?" Yu blong wea?
"How's the laplap taste?" laplap i gud o wanem?
"It's delicious" O i naes we i naes. Mi likum tumas.
4) The food appears to be tasteless to European and American mouths consisting of a lot of root crops without much sophisticated gastronomy. But after a month or two you begin to appreciate it. Do be prepared if you live with locals to be presented with a fish gutted but head and tail still present. You can eat fish eyeballs and live. You really can. Octopus also looks horrible but is sweet and good. Laplap is grated rootcrop baked over stones in coconut milk with meat. Try manioc (yuca). i naes we i naes.
Avoid:
Drunken Australian tourists
Prickly fishies and starfishies
Wild pigs
Paying high prices for things
