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September 2002
The Whearty Family Tribune
Volume I. Number I.
We must be the change we wish to see in the world. —Gandhi
Editor: Kinsey Whearty
published once in a while
Emily's Q & A
- Q: What's it like being a student at Onesua Presbyterian College?
- A: Going to school here is an interesting experience. It's
much different than school in the U. S.
The Students
The students in my class are very noisy and they like to make
rhythms on the desks. The boys mostly stay outside the classroom
unless a teacher is supervising the class. Here, the teachers
switch classrooms every period while the students stay in their
classrooms.
The Teachers
The teachers are supposed to be in class all the time. Sometimes,
however, the teacher sleeps in or leaves for a vacation in the
capital city, Port Vila. This is a major problem here at Onesua.
The parents of the students are paying for them to be here in
school, but the teachers are playing hooky. My French teacher
(Monsieur Belton) went to Vila once and that was fun for me because
I got to talk with the girls in my class.
P.E. and French
My P.E. class meets once a week. My teacher is Japanese and is
named Miss Maki. Right now we are playing soccer and it's okay,
but it's hard for the girls to even touch the ball because the
boys hog it so much. I take Seventh Grade French four days a week.
It's fun, but I'm still behind. Dad is helping me catch up. If
you have a question, please e-mail me or write to me and your
question might be printed!
Hateful/Grateful
(By order of the editor, comments about cold showers are not
allowed in this column!)
Bruce:
- H: What's with flies and ankles? Why are they always hanging
around down there, and what do they expect to find, anyway?
- G: I admire the eagerness of the students and their smiles.
Lora:
- H: Ants that cannot read the instructions on the ant traps.
- G: I'm glad that we have a garden and the water to put on
it.
Kinsey:
- H: The way every picture and poster you put on the wall curls
from the humidity.
- G: We get to snorkel.
Emily:
- H: I'm tired of being stared at by little kids.
- G: I'm grateful for the jungle where we climb trees and play.
Kinsey's School
By Kinsey Whearty
I am taking Eighth Grade French and P.E. at Onesua Presbyterian
College along with the Calvert Correspondence Course which includes
Maths, Science, History, Spelling, Reading/Literature, and Grammar/Vocabulary/
Composition
I really enjoy the Grammar/Vocab./Comp. I am composing different
kinds of paragraphs, essays, and presentations. I don't really
like the Vocab. part of it, but the Grammar part's okay. I also
like the Maths. I didn't pass the eighth grade maths entrance
exam because I didn't know what I should have known. I'm doing
double the Maths every day so that I will finish with Eighth Grade
Maths as I finish everything else in eighth grade.
I love French class. I sit next to one of my friends, Relvie.
She is very kind. Monsieur Belton doesn't speak English. He speaks
French and Bislama. I can normally understand what he's trying
to get across though.
You Know it's a Small Country When
- .you stand next to the Prime Minister in the receiving line
after church.
- .the former moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu
is counselor of your school.
- .you walk down the main street of the capital city and always
meet as least one former student.
Cold Showers
By Kinsey Whearty
These are the techniques each of us use in the act of taking
cold showers.
Joke by Bruce
Why are a cat and a cold shower alike? Because they both pounce
on you and suck your breath away!!!
Thought for Today
We make our world significant by the courage of our questions
and the depth of our answers.
-Carl Sagan
A Day in Port Vila
By Lora Whearty
Port Vila is the capital city of Vanuatu and we are very fortunate
to live on the same island. Our school, Onesua Presbyterian College,
is located on North Efate Island and Port Vila is strategically
situated on a large bay on South Efate. Onesua just has a very
small cooperative store that sells the essentials, so about every
two weeks, we take a trip around the island to stock up.
Rossi is the bus driver who takes the trip around the island
every day. We never know what time he'll leave; sometimes he's
as late as 6:30 or 6:45, but sometimes as early as 5:55!
It takes about an hour and a half to drive the 35 miles to Port
Vila because the roads are so rough. We have actually learned
to read while bumping along.
It's exciting to arrive in the city, because there are so many
things we can do there that we can't do at Onesua. First, is a
stop at Jill's Café (an American restaurant) for coffee
or juice and a muffin. After a stop at the bank to get cash for
the day's shopping, we stop at the Chemist's (pharmacist) shop
to get Lariam, our anti-milaria medicine. Then, we take the film
to get developed before hitting the library.
Next, it's off to the Chinese shops which are small variety
stores filled with really cheap stuff from China. They are the
only shops where we can get some things, such as kerosene lanterns,
pots and pans, and snorkel gear.
At lunch time, we treat ourselves to a picnic of things from
a grocery store or stop at a restaurant. We call our favorite
one Yashi's, because that's the name of the very cute four-year-old
daughter of the Chinese man who runs the restaurant. Yashi just
wanders from table to table entertaining people. The food is great.
Our favorite dish is fried noodles.
A trip to the open air market is next on the list. The market
is table after table of produce brought from all the villages
around the island. We buy peanuts, tomatoes, cucumbers, and kumala
(sweet potato). We have our eyes open for pineapples, but they
are still too small and rare right now. The price is very high.
The grocery store is our last stop. We finish our list and have
a taxi take us to the place where we meet our bus. We stow our
things and have just enough time to run downtown to treat ourselves
to an ice cream cone. We're tired on the trip home, but going
to Vila is always an adventure.
Things We Miss
- couches
- living room
- pine forests
- telephones
- pop music
- boxed macaroni and cheese
- potato chips
- newspapers
- beef jerky
- milk
Mystery Bible Verse
- Hae God i stap lukaot gud long mi olsem we mi mi sipsip blong
hem, nao mi no save sot lot wan samting.
- Oltaem hem i stap putum mi mi spel gud long ples we i gat
gudfala gras long hem. Hem i stap lidim mi mi go long kwaet
ples we wota i stap ron smol long hem.
Can you guess this verse from the Bislama Bible? If you think
you know what this says, then either write or e-mail us and if
you are right, your name and location will go in the next newspaper!!!
Please try and be one of our winners!!!
Pet Report
Cynthia is a golden orb spider who lives on the front porch.
Her body is about the size of a quarter, and her legs cover an
area the size of my palm. She has moved her web to the highest
point of the gable in order to keep us from walking through it.
Thanks, Cynthia!
Torey is an orange tabby kitty who is pregnant and sits on our
porch waiting to be stepped on. We feed her and wake in the morning
to the sound of her gagging up hairballs.
Heraldo is a bright green frog that sits on the window ledge
in the evening when the electric lights attract insects to the
screened windows. He competes with the geckoes for dinner.
Amazing Facts About Vanuatu
- The price of gas is about $4.35 per gallon.
- The national boundary of Vanuatu would fit inside Montana.
- After being imprisoned for illegal activities, the country's
prosecutors had to be released from prison to prepare their
own prosecution!
- The largest temperature fluctuation in one day has been from
22 deg. C. to 27 deg. C. (72 deg. F. to 81 deg. F.).
Vocabulary
By Emily Whearty
Vocabulary is different here than it is in the US. Here are
a few of my favorite examples. See if you can guess what the word
means before you look at the definitions below.
A. Rock melon
B. Spanner
C. Elastoplast
D. Biscuit
E. Mince
F. Spade
A. Cantaloupe
B. Wrench
C. Band-Aid. This is a company name. If you just want to say
bandage, you say plaster.
D. Cookie
E. Hamburger
F. Shovel
Recent Quotation
"I love the night. It's my favorite time of day." --Emily
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