James Gets MedEvaced!! (part 1)

What an out dated post... oh well!!!

So, it was sometime in the middle of March. All was going well, I was watching a movie and couldn't get to sleep, because of what I thought was a little stomach ache. Well, the fear came on strong when several hours later, the little stomach ache changed to some of the worse pain I've experienced and it was certain I wasn't getting to sleep that night. My phone wasn't working and my friend and convenient neighbor, Steve, was staying out on Ika Lahi consulting for the Tonga Development Bank.

Panic set in a bit realizing that I wasn't able to get a hold of anyone. I was nervous. Finally, around 7, A good friend here in Vava'u, Don, signed on to Skype and I was on asking him to call some folks to apprise them of my situation. The situation was that I had been reading the Internet all night and was fearing sudden death from my symptoms, but at the same time realizing I was probably just sleep deprived and making it out to be worse than it really was. Well, I can tell you, my tone must have scared Don, because within 30 minutes I had 3 different modes of transport to the hospital and the concerned phone calls started coming in. While my direct Peace Corps supervisor was on the main island of Tonga for business, other Peace Corps staff was here in Vava'u and on the case. However, it was my supervisor's sister that really earned my admiration. She was with me from beginning to end in Vava'u. She stayed with me as if I was her own family and the comfort it offered me can't be described in a blog post. I also had my best friends here in Vava'u on the wire to America, informing  my folks of the situation. I hadn't wanted to worry them, thinking it might turn out to be nothing, but they are my family here in Vava'u and they did what family does, makes better decisions for you, when you're not making the right ones.

I was in the hospital for three days here in Vava'u and the three days seemed like weeks. The staff was excellent, but the facilities are sparse and if you've ever seen 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' you can imagine where I was staying. I was hooked up to a drip and provided extra strength pain medicine (not just pain pills, as per usual), and amazingly the pain subsided. In fact by the time I was leaving the hospital for the main island to see if I was going to be leaving the country, I was convinced I was fine and had just had a bit of gas. The friends I talked about earlier, were not convinced and made it very clear to me that I was going to have this checked out, outside of Tonga. So, you're wondering what was all the fuss about??? Just maybe, an Appendicitis!

I was flown down to Nuku'alofa and saw some more doctors and the Peace Corps medical staff. With no more pain from me and only my recount of what pain I had, had and some blood tests confirming that it was more than gas. It was decided that I was going to leave the country to have it all checked out. This being said, I nor the in country doctors were very concerned about it being anything serious, because the pain was completely gone. Peace Corps however, was very concerned and were taking it much more serious than I was. The doctor at the hospital in Nuku'alofa said I was fine to fly and so flights were being scheduled; Australia, New Zealand, or Fiji, which will it be? I was an advocate for Australia when it was between Oz and Fiji, but Peace Corps in Washington was concerned about the flight time to Australia and the possibility of me rupturing my Appendix. I wasn't concerned, because I was feeling healthy at this point. After my travel plans were booked and canceled, booked and canceled. It was decided finally, that Australia was the place, until it wasn't and New Zealand was now thrown in the mix. This is a fun part for me, because I gained complete confidence in my country director as my advocate. He got on the phone, telling me, "you might just want to leave the room James." He was going to squash the back and forth and make my plans concrete. Thanks Jeff! It was settled, again my destination was Australia, until a  VOLCANO decided it would be a good time to form another island and the Air New Zealand flight couldn't come in because volcanic ash doesn't come up on radars and the flights come in at night. Damn volcanic ash. However, this was a minor issue, we left 10 hours later and I was on my way to Brisbane, Australia with our Peace Corps Medical Officer, Jacinta Tonga as my personal escort. Catch the Australian side of the story next post, I'm late for school...

Where Am I Going and What Am I Doing Now?

So, we're coming down to the time when a Peace Corps volunteer asks themselves; what next? I have about 6 months to figure out what is next. I have a few ideas of what I am planning to do, but the biggest thing I've learned from my experiences so far, is that you should always be prepared for the unexpected.

Ideas that I am taking more seriously than others:

1. Grad School - I am very interested in design and buildings particularly have me excited right now. I've looked at a lot of Architecture programs back in the states and if this is the path for me, I think I'll be West Coast bound in 2010, where there are a lot of great Master's of Architecture programs focusing on sustainability. Interests are peaked.

2. Travel is of course on the list. Now having lived in 2 foreign countries, I've officially got the bug. I am very interested in checking out the world. I think I could happily spend the rest of my life living in a different country every 6 months or so. I have yet to win the lottery and the rich uncle I never knew about hasn't called, so I'm focusing on smaller trips at the moment.  South East Asia is looking like it will be the first stop after Peace Corps. Something that seems to draw so many, is drawing me.

3.  Island Life is officially part of who I am now. I would like to come back here to Vava'u and have a go at a non Peace Corps related life. I've given this a lot of thought and to do this I need a plan and I haven't come up with something viable yet. Some great ideas, but nothing that I'm passionate about...yet! The most important thing is that I want it to happen and so now I just need to manifest my want into my reality.

Okay, so those are the biggest things on the mind as far as where I'm going after Peace Corps. As I've mentioned these are the three most frequented ideas. I've have so many and am ready for the unexpected as well. It's exciting to have options.

I've talked about where I am going, but more importantly... what am I doing right now???

I've had some strong challenges in my Peace Corps experience, as all volunteers do. Though I didn't actually ever get a job description sheet, I was told by the powers that be in the beginning of this experience that I would be a computer teacher. Well, I'll start by saying, this is finally true... kinda. The first year and a half, I was a computer teacher without computers. I would have tried grants or donation programs, but I was always told that computers were coming and sure enough 13 months into my service as a volunteer, there were 5 IBM computers delivered to the school. I now started to plan my computer classes and was excited about the prospects of being a computer teacher with computers.

It was all put on hold. I had an Appendicitis and had to be medically evacuated to Brisbane, Australia. Now that sounds pretty dramatic. In all honesty, I was feeling really good by the time I left the country and was feeling like I might show up in Australia to be told I had had a bad stomach ache or something. I was taking the whole thing very lightly; too lightly it turns out. I had a severely infected appendix that was very susceptible to rupturing in Tonga or even worse... 30,000 feet up in the air on a 7 hour journey to Australia. Hmmm, that doesn't sound good at all! Luckily I have very smart and cautious friends, family and Peace Corps staff that insisted I have this all checked  out, outside of Tonga. 

(I will write separately about my trip to Brisbane, but for now moving on with with getting to where I am right now).

Returning from Oz after 3 weeks, I was back to  school, having spent about 4 weeks away from school. Upon returning I got back into the swing of things. I started teaching my computer classes, working on my schools library, helping my school's principal with administrative work, tutoring my class at the local university and the routines of socializing with my friends. About 3 weeks pass and I start to get these really bad upper rib pains. When they don't go away for a week, I fly down to the capital city and get checked out, thinking it has something to do with the surgery (I had the exact same pain right after the surgery, while I was still in Australia that led me on a trip back to the Emergency Room).  In the past three months I've spent more time away from school, than at school. This has created a huge problem of detachment. I spent a week back in Vava'u without going back to school. My friends took the stance of kinda laughing at my laziness, I think there were some moments people thought I was getting ready to throw in the towel on the whole Peace Corps experience (cough, Jason) and of course the jokes and fear let me ask the question myself... WTF am I doing?

My Peace Corps site has had many issues, I've had many struggles, but at the end of the day, I enjoy working with kids, I feel like I've been a positive addition and  I can still get some cool things done in my last 6 months. I am continuing with my computer classes in the afternoons. I WILL figure out recycling in Vava'u and get the schools program back up and running. The library that I have organized so many times, will get one more attempt put forth at a sustainable organization program and I am now going to be assisting Class 1 pretty much full on in the mornings. My principal thinks its the best place for me, because they will really benefit from hearing a native English speaker so often. My next 6 months is so different than what I pictured for my Peace Corps experience. Expectations are something that I never held onto, through this entire experience and it's done me well. I'm excited about knocking these final months out and am excited for what lies ahead. The future is full of possibilities and I'm going to enjoy getting there.

For Dave!

My appendix had to be removed, I'm in Brisbane, Australia. I think that's a good excuse for not writing or uploading my new website...

J

Long Time, No Write

An update from Vava'u. I'm alive. Ha. I guess I've been pretty awful at the concept of blogging, being that the general idea is to give regular updates on what I'm up to, but no apologies, cause I've been living and things have been going.
A new year brings Peace Corps Vava'u a new group of great volunteers, new endeavors as a volunteer and a brand new energy all together. The past months have been as challenging as they come. A group of friends has left, a best friend has started a new adventure in New Zealand (shout out to Jman), and a girlfriend has left paradise and moved back to England. I've felt uncertainty about my motives for being here and my resolve to stay was tested. When things change (as they always do) the reaction is often to reach for what was good. So often we get caught up in reaching for the good we forget about all the good around us. I live in an amazing place; paradise! I still have a tremendous group of friends; Alistair, Jason, Steve and Stan, holding it down on Mt. Talau. And Group 74 brings a motivation and excitement for service that can be lost somewhat, after 18 months in country.
The challenges I've been facing aren't going to go away. It's one of the biggest reason I signed up for Peace Corps. I wanted to test my ability to live outside my comfort zone and for me to gain prospective and appreciation of what I have in my life and the opportunities I am looking forward to: backpacking through Southeast Asia, Portland, sustainable architecture; to name a few.
So my Dad commented recently asking for a blog update and that's where I'm at. I'll hopefully have some exciting updates very soon, along with pictures, because I know everything I write is only improved with a bit of eye candy. Things to look forward to from me: a new website; www.jamesiam.com, new blog design and many more blog posts (honest...), and lots of pictures of all the fun and exciting things I'm getting into during my last 9 months.
I'm excited about 2009, the projects that are hopefully happening at my school, the University of the South Pacific, hopefully a whale watching project to get children from Vava'u out on some donated trips, and another year of unknown and uncertainty. Thanks for checking up and check back soon for the latest and greatest.

'Ofa atu,
James