Two Wongs Don't Make a Right

"Well, to find the best price on milk, you'll want to go to either Wong Sing or Wong Sze Sing."

"And where are those stores located?"

"Go into town and you'll want to pass the new Nu Look..."

"New New Look?"

"Yep. The new Nu Look...anyway, if you see the Wong Store then you've already passed Wong Sing but are really close to Wong Sze Sing, which is across the street and down a bit.  If you just want to get some things all in the same location you should try LCC, LCM, or ESAH.  Got it?"

My blank stare, unblinking eyes, and mouth hanging open apparently did not clue our new friends into the fact I had no stinkin' idea what they were talking about.  I was now no closer to finding groceries than I was 5 minutes ago.  I wondered, "Are they just putting me on?,  watching to see if the missionary will cry, pull his newly grown whiskers out, and run screaming into the nearby ocean?"

I thanked the seasoned veteran missionaries for their "directions" and headed into town.

The road leading from our missions house is paved and, in fact, very well maintained.  The 7 minute drive into town is beautiful with cobalt sea on the left and thick jungle on the right.  The jungle here has as many shades of green as Arizona has shades of brown. Along the road there are a few houses perched on sloping terrain which look across the mile of ocean toward the neighboring island of Aore (Ow-ray).

After a pseudo roundabout, which is not properly observed by most drivers, the foliage gives way to one and two-story concrete buildings.  Sidewalks were constructed at some point but now look more like opportunities for ankle sprains and broken limbs.  In fact, there are holes of such magnitude it looks not like simple neglect but something one might see in a country battered by war.

Shops, stores, and government offices line the street on both sides.  Exteriors of the buildings are severely weathered from intense tropical sun and frequent wind and rain.  Many signs have been painted by hand and are, in many cases, close to unreadable which certainly didn't help us in our search.

"Mer, there's Wong Sing.  Is that where we're supposed to go?"

"I don't think so.  I thought they said, 'Wong Sing Sing'"

"Oh...we just passed the Wong Store.  I don't think I want anything from there.  No matter what they've got it's WONG."

I snickered.  An easy joke?  Yes.  A bit childish and immature?  Certainly.  Funny?  Everytime!  There are no t.v. stations, no movie theatres, and no radio signals here so we take our yucks where we can get 'em.

We pulled over and parallel parked in front of a store which looked shady at best.  Merissa and I exchanged a glance which conveyed the whole, "We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto." feeling we were both experiencing.

There is a Far Side cartoon which depicts a child, book in hand, pushing on a door to a building marked, "Midvale School for the Gifted".  Above the handle a sign clearly reads, "Pull".  I was having one of those moments.  I pulled and pulled even as I read a sign telling me to push.  In my mind the sign must have been wrong since in the States businesses are required to have doors which open outward.  Squinting and pressing my face up to the glass, I tried to see if the business was indeed open when another patron skirted around me and went inside.

Most of the fluorescent lights were not lit and for good cause.  Merchandise was crammed into every nook and cranny.  Food items had "expires on" dates from when hair bands still ruled rock and roll.  Dust covered most of the glass cases except where oily fingerprints revealed where the un-motivated merchant had leaned to rest. We poked around a bit and left feeling more than dejected.  Was this really where we were to find our food and supplies for the next two years?!  Climbing back into the car no one said much. Fortunately, the exterior of the next shop we stopped at looked very well maintained.

I instructed the kids to get out on the passenger side of the truck so as to not get smooshed by one of the numerous taxis speeding by.  To my dismay, as they stepped out onto the sidewalk another truck popped up over the curb and parked on the sidewalk not 5 feet from us.

Entering the store we were immediately impressed and relieved!  All lights were illuminated, there was room for more than one person between rows of highly organzied items, and they had real honest to goodness scanners.  They even had small shopping carts!

"I think we can actually do this, honey," I whispered to Merissa.

Our family has now been in Vanuatu for almost 6 weeks.  We have yet to starve and are actually a lot more comfortable than we could have hoped.  Merissa and I are having a great time getting to know our little town and its many shops.  We even know the difference between all the Wongs...but two Wongs still don't make a right.