The daily emails from Lance in Vanuatu.

This surprised me when we first moved here 5 years ago...The sheer number and variety of public holidays in Vanuatu.I would drive to Port Vila town only to find the offices and most of the shops closed.Instead, lots of people gathered in parks or at the seafront, plenty of music and food.Why?...

I was intrigued when talking to a couple of local NiVan boys (8 and 9 years old) the other day.They were on the way home from school and their parents had asked me to give them a ride to save them the 8km walk. The parents and the older kids walked.Anyway, to start a conversation I asked them what...

One of the things I find fascinating about Vanuatu is the people. Specifically how easy it is to talk with people, and what you can learn.For example, this week in the car on the way to town I picked up a man who needed a lift.As usual he asked me where I was from, where I live, and how long I had...

Lots of things to talk about on this subject.The Vanuatu government issued an instruction in 2017 for people NOT to get involved in cryptocurrencies. At that time there were a few scams floating about (when are there not?) and they wanted to protect local citizens and businesses.Within government...

Years ago I heard this illustrative story...Farmer Brown's place was in the mid-west of the United States. One of those places where it is mostly good weather, but sometimes huge storms can hit.As he was getting on, Farmer Brown's wife suggested he should hire a young fellow to do some of...

Yesterday as I was driving to town, I slowed a little as 2 small pigs ran across the road in front of me and started browsing on the verge.People walked and drove by unconcerned. The presence of the pigs rasied as little interest as it would have had they been dogs.Vanuatu is a pig-loving...

As I sit here on the beach in front of our house and watching my wife swimming in the ocean, I can see her bobbing about over the coral, observing fish. She particularly likes the little blue ones. As an artist she appreciates the wide scope of the different intense blues they display, especially...

Why do people decide to get a second residency or citizenship?Let's turn our attention for a moment (because I happen to have found a reliable source of information) to the American experience.One lady working in the Migration field has written of her experience with Americans. She attributes...

By now we've all been thoroughly convinced of the importance of having a solid and multi-faceted Plan B.Yes, the best time to form it would have been several years before the pandemic started, but the second best time is today.Tha main benefit of a good Plan B is that it gives you options and...

Seems like "Spring has sprung" today here in Vanuatu. Not that we actually have "seasons" as you know them. There's a longer warmer wetter period and a shorter cooler drier period. For some reason it's a bit like the fabled Camelot - usually rain falls at night.The last week or so we have...