It looks like I have settled back into my old life. It feels surreal to think that only twenty-one days ago I was returning home to Australia from the most exciting, educational and rewarding summer of my life. I had spent 10 weeks in Vanuatu with an organisation called Youth Challenge Australia (YCA).

Months before, when considering which programme to volunteer with, I stumbled across YCA and after looking through their website, I was pleased to see the choice of countries to volunteer in was vastly different to other aid organisations. As volunteering can often be expensive, I was excited by the affordability of the airfares to Vanuatu. I was even more excited about the project itself. Impulsively I applied and before I knew it, I was on a plane on my way to meet 30 other young people – 10 of whom I would spend the next few months of my life with.

An aspect of YCA that distinguishes from other volunteer organisations is that we Australian volunteers got to work alongside the youth of Vanuatu. These Ni-Vanuatu young persons were specially selected to join the YCA team for this project because they had shown amazing leadership potential in their own communities and it is these Ni-Vanuatu persons who continue on the project now that the YCA team have departed.

The project that I was involved in was based in Tanna Island, home to the active Volcano, Mt. Yasur, and Port Resolution, the location where Captain Cook first arrived in Vanuatu.  As part of a Community Ecotourism Project, our particular venture was to construct two toilets and two showers for the Ikamir Guesthouse in our host village, Bethel. Ikamir Guesthouse is a new form of community income, which in turn goes towards supporting children’s education in the community.

Day one, we arrived in Tanna’s capital city, Lenakel, also known as the Black Man Town. My group and I hopped on the back of a Ute, the regular means of transport in Tanna, for the drive to Bethel. After riding for about an hour with dust collecting on my face, we finally arrived at Ikamir Guesthouse where we were to stay. Our local foreman, Rail, warned us that our accommodation would be a huge challenge. I began mentally preparing myself for very basic conditions but as soon as I saw our bamboo bungalows right by the beach I screamed, “Are you kidding Rail? This is heaven!” and then went off for a snorkel.

It wasn’t all that easy all the time, of course. In my first few weeks I got incredibly sunburnt. Also, the girl’s bungalow had a rat problem, which was a bit of a shock for the Australian volunteers. I had a few incidents of rats pooing near my pillow at night, which wasn’t fun either.  Plus there was all the hard work to begin.

We levelled the land, mixed the cement and made bricks from scratch. Our brick ingredients included sand, coral, cement and water, plus a whole lot of shovelling. Slowly our bathroom grew and actually began to look like a building. Community members would come and help us build too. At first, the unfit me appreciated having locals contribute to shovelling cement but slowly my fitness improved and before I knew it, I was mixing cement just as well as the Ni-Vanuatu.

On top of our main construction project, our group were also asked to complete small team projects nominated by the community. We had the choice of the following options: a Life Skills workshop for local youth, marketing the guesthouse with brochures and posters and/or a small team project called Careers Talk. 
 I chose Careers Talk. I asked my mum to send me the QLD Job Guide for 2005 that I had used in year 10. From there I organised and presented a Careers Talk for the young people in the Bethel Community and later during my stay, I presented to Tafea College, a local high school.  It was amazing to see how little the youth knew about potential careers. They genuinely did not realise there existed jobs other than teaching, nursing or being a lawyer. To their astonishment, I taught them about being a chef, a town planner, a community worker, an I.T. specialist, an agricultural engineer and a journalist, just to name a few.  I also offered private consultations for the teenagers. I had over twenty young people come and see me for discussions about how to achieve their dreams. They may not have much but they certainly do have a healthy thirst for progress.

In 2006, the Happy Planet Index named Vanuatu the happiest place on Earth and I can definitely see why. Everywhere children were smiling and adults were singing. The land is so beautiful and the people are incredibly warm, always ready to share a story with you. 
 Although, I will never forget the amount of children I saw running around with machetes, not for the stake of violence but simply for cutting down fruit as they walk into town.

Some other experiences that stand out for me include New Years Eve, when the whole community sung gospel songs and ceremoniously threw talcum powder over each other. We also saw the Chief’s eldest son’s first shaving. He was twenty years old and had only ever been allowed to use clippers until this ritual day when his mother’s brother shaves his face for the first time. This shave symbolises the beginning of his manhood.

We became very close to the community, particularly because we were each assigned a host family. I learnt to cook traditional food such as Laplap and in turn, I helped my little host sisters with their English and reading skills. My Ni-Vanuatu co-challengers became life-long friends. They helped me speak and understand Bislama while I (rarely) corrected their perfect English.

Every weekend or so, after a big week of hard labour, our group made an effort to go on day trips together. I particularly loved visiting Mt. Yasur and I even had the chance to see the lava erupt. I was also in awe of Tanna Island’s giant Banyan Tree, which one Peace Corps member claimed was the largest single living organism in the South Pacific. When I say giant, I mean incredibly HUGE.

Funnily enough, a big cultural shock for me was to see chickens be slaughtered for dinner. We are so used to seeing these birds already prepared, without the head, that we forget they were animals once. At least I did.  
But when you live only on rice, pasta and tinned vegies, anything goes. So needless to say, I devoured the chicken.

Speaking of food, in Australia I had been a serious contender for the World’s Least Competent Cook Award but now I am happy to announce that I can actually make a delightful coconut and tomato tuna curry, which you are all more than welcome to try sometime.  I have also learned to be quite good at hand-washing clothes and I am now an expert in the art of having cold showers.

Of course, there is so much I can tell you and believe me no article has ever been more enjoyable to prepare. I spent hours the other day, staring at my diary, reliving each moment of my trip. If anyone knows any young people between the ages of 18 and 30 interested in volunteering in different parts of the world, I whole-heartedly recommend this experience. I have nothing but praise for Youth Challenge Australia, for my fellow volunteers who worked incredibly hard and for the overwhelmingly generous Bethel Community.

In the end, we completed the project. As a final touch, a local artist, Deni Kaio, sculpted 3D shapes of sea creatures on the bathroom’s outer walls and I covered the shower floors in coral patterns. If you ever get the chance to visit Vanuatu, I recommend that you check out Tanna Island and even if you don’t get the chance to see our excellent bathroom, then at least to go visit the active volcano.

At the airport back in Australia, my family were stunned to see my exotic tan and new muscles. Yet that wasn’t the only thing about me that had changed. I learned about a new culture, I learned a new language, I learned cooking, social and leadership skills, I learned how to mix cement and build a bathroom, I even learned that rat poo is not that bad for you and finally, I learned the meaning of self-discovery. During those ten weeks, I not only positively contributed to a community but I believe I positively changed inside myself.

In Australia, I have always wanted to be a political journalist. However, this recent experience has lead me to believe that before I enter into any career, I’d like to go back and volunteer again. I want to continue to positively contribute to the progress of the South Pacific.