Make Today Beautiful -- by Sarah Schra

 It's been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.  

- Lucy Maud Montgomery

Morning in Vanuatu is filtered sunlight, a full bird chorale and thick hot air. Either rain or steam radiates from the wild dense jungle, pleasantly scented by hyacinth and bougainvillea flowers, coconut and plantain trees. Even on an overcast day filled with rain showers, the air is warm and the birds still loudly welcome the morning. This cacophony of light and sound makes it impossible to sleep in.

Today was no different. I rose early, went for a miles-long walk, expecting to have a cup of coffee, a shower, and maybe a nap and a swim when we got back to our home base. Island calendars are always in flux. When I arrived back sweaty and tired, I discovered we were leaving straightaway to go into town to purchase supplies for our community service project. I'm generally flexible, but the combination of the humidity, heat, and exhaustion from the previous days had put my attitude in a sour place. I really wanted a cup of coffee and a shower at the very least. The ability to flex and adjust, and to give when needed is an absolute necessity in this culture. So, choosing adventure, showerless and uncaffeinated, I rode into town with our crew and the representatives from the Pango Kindergarten.  Aaaand it started raining!

Aroalyn (aka "Aruha"), the 20yr old teacher in training and daughter to the head of school, rode into town with us and we developed an immediate rapport. She spontaneously gifted me a bracelet from her wrist, and in return I gave her the rainbow band from my finger which I had purchased at LAX to replace the wedding ring I had left at home.  This small exchange on a bumpy dirt road warmed my heart and is a core memory from our time on the island. Aruha's warmth and generosity in that moment represents the best of the island, even amidst poverty and hardship. 

 The kindergarten was started by Aruha's grandmother, a retired teacher who saw a need in her community for the little ones to learn to read and write before they could attend the local elementary school. Aruha's mother eventually became head of the kindergarten, and now Aruha is studying to assist her mother and eventually take over the school someday. She has a joy-filled smile, and a spark of mischievousness that only endeared her to me further. Her young neices came along with us, and it was fully evident they adored her as well.

Once we arrived at Wilco, the Port Vila equivalent to our Lowe's or Home Depot,  we hunted down paint and rollers, paintbrushes for the mural we were planning to paint, and priced the new ceiling materials.  

The two younger girls who came to town with us followed Emily all around the store, calling her "teacher, teacher" and helped to pick out brushes, and selected a soft pink and vibrant purple color of paint to use in the mural. The twinkle in their eyes and the way Emily embraced their eager assistance was another bright moment in the day. 

I noticed that the customers in the store were mostly men, but there were also several women in the store purchasing building supplies. The women shopping in the store primarily wore t-shirts and skirts in lieu of the traditional island "mama dress", but there were a few who wore the mama dress. (More on the Mama Dress in a future post). 

On the way home we stopped at a Deli and then went back and cooked a large family meal of roasted chicken, rice, and vegetables. It was delicious, and just what the doctor ordered for those in the group who were struggling to adjust to island food. Dinner conversations with the group always shift to impressions of the day, the island as a whole, what we are reading, and how to reconcile individual rights with the collectivism inherent in Vanuatu culture. I look forward to this time of day and space it provides to reflect and hear other perspectives. 

Making one's mind up that you will embrace the day, whatever it may bring, and choose to squeeze the joy out of it is a life skill that I will continually need to practice. It does not come naturally to me, but when I am successful at it, it truly makes a difference in my attitude and the attitude of those around me, and often grounds and connects me to each moment in a way I would otherwise miss out on. The continuous flux of life in a third-world country offers a unique opportunity to challenge and grow this skill in a way our western bulleted lists and exact times for meetings, classes and plans never could. Our western culture does not force us to shift gears or readjust our expectations nearly as often. As future attorneys, the ability to flex, shift, and take a different route while preserving our good attitude is an invaluable skill that will greatly benefit our future clients.