We love Vanuatu’s people and culture, and have probably come to feel more “at home” here than in the US (and such is certainly true for our kids). However, try as we might (and, I believe, regardless of our longevity), we will never fully make the jump from our Western upbringing and cultural backgrounds … we will never be ni-Vanuatu. In fact, Shawnda and I are constantly amazed how invigorated we feel after just one evening together with another family from a cultural background similar to our own - it’s still so much easier and natural. One of the ways in which “American Shawnda and Eric” keep our wits about us in our cross-cultural setting is to listen to a lot of podcasts from the States (sermons and sports), and also watch TV programs and movies. In conjunction with my thrifty ways, I usually end up downloading one-off episodes that are available for free on the internet (usually the pilot or season premiere).
Recently, we downloaded and watched the pilot episode of The Michael J. Fox Show (being fans of his since way back in his Back to the Future trilogy days). The show is designed to be a comedic way to approach the serious disease of Parkinson’s. In the closing moments of that episode, the audience is introduced to a story the main character uses in an attempt to inspire his family and friends, much to their chagrin, to press on in difficult circumstances. He frequently tells the story of a pregnant woman in Mozambique who, when forced to climb into a tree by a flash flood, ended up giving birth. She stayed up in the tree with her newborn until she was rescued. The takeaway for him was, “so, no matter how bad you think you’ve got it, a lady had a baby up in a tree!”
It that same vein, during our recent trip to Tanna Island, I found my own “a lady had a baby” story that will perhaps serve to inspire (or annoy?) my own family for years to come. At the end of our two weeks in the village, we were loaded up in the truck and headed from the village to the airport. Shawnda mentioned that Miswel’s wife, Martha, had gone into labor that morning and was likely to have the baby at any time, and I said that we should give her a ride to town since we had already arranged the truck. She said, “no, she’s just going to have the baby at home.” I inquired as to why she wouldn’t want to make the relatively short trip to Lenekel in order to give birth at the clinic, where she would at least have access to nurses and a (relatively) proper bed. Come to find out, Martha was apprehensive about leaving the house because, during the hour’s walk to town while in labor with their son about a year before, she ended up giving birth right there on the side of the dirt road. Thankfully, her mother-in-law was walking with her and able to provide some assistance. They cut the umbilical cord with a piece of wild cane, cleaned up a bit with some leaves, and walked back to the house. Yeah, that just happened!
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| Miswel with his son, Sam, who was born on the side of the road! |
So, no matter how bad you think you have it, a lady in Tanna had a baby on the side of the road, then got up and walked back home. ;)
PS - Mother, new baby and big brother are all well after the at-home birth in the village.
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