Three Months On Moso

Hello, my name is Juliette and I volunteered on Moso Island for three months. Most people only do it for a month, or at most (there were two people while I was there) for two months. I did three. Now I see why I was the only one. Three months is a long time and you really get under the surface of things that are happening. When I compared what I knew - in terms of the people, about the village, Vanuatu in general, and the project- from the beginning (after one month) to the end (after three months) my understanding was so much deeper and layered. That for me was a plus, because I came to learn about another culture, help some turtles, and try a different life (living in a completely different environment and coming from a culture which has a lot of material things, to one which doesn't) and definitely to learn some things. Other things are that after three months of eating boiled rice and potatoes you become a little desperate for certain things (french fries, cheese, chicken sandwich, chocolate, ice cream - hell anything COLD - and filled with fat and salt). It's also really easy to get caught up in the island way of things (which means doing a lot of nothing at a slow pace). So be careful of that and stay on task! It's pretty much up to the volunteers to go out and make things happen.

The turtles were amazing though. being so close to them and being able to observe a spectacle very few have the privilege of certainly was worth everything. The island itself is gorgeous. Snorkeling (or, as Michelle might know, looking for sharks, watersnakes, lionfish and other poisonous things I wanted to get close to) was a big pastime (and I saw reef sharks! and sea snakes, but no lionfish. *sigh*). I did have the fortune of seeing (two) turtles while in the water (on two separate occasions). It was surprisingly different from seeing them on land. They are really quite big, but also very graceful - and fast! I also saw hatchlings - coming right up out of the nest - and make their way to the water. I saw a dugong too (sea cow, or manatee) which hung out near the village, and an eagle ray. I did a few hikes into the jungle to some beautiful remote beaches - the villagers act as very useful guides and are happy to take you places and show off their beautiful home.

Those were some of the highlights. So you definitely see some cool things there - and the longer you stay the more you see. Some people just like to breeze through and not get entangled in some of the stickier bits, and its really up to the individual volunteer with what and how deeply they involve themselves. It certainly was a positive experience, as a whole, and I am very glad I went. Don't know how soon I would go back, but it would be interesting to see where all my village friends will be in a few years.