March 30, 2005
Island trip no vacation
TC couple offer their services at Rarotonga in the Cook Islands
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Veteran travelers, Bob and Grace Rudd had never heard of the Cook Islands until they decided to travel there as part of a volunteer service program.
With Grace recently retired from her position as law librarian for the county, they chose to travel to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands with 11 other like-minded people. Coordinated by Global Volunteers, a non-profit organization that coordinates short-term service projects in 19 countries, the Rudds chose this trip in part because Grace could contribute her skills to two libraries on the island.
In the hot, tropical climate on this volcanic island, even books in Rarotonga's national and parliamentary libraries were at risk.
"I learned to recognize bookworms, silverfish and cockroaches," said Rudd, who spent most of her three-week stay cataloging and restoring books. "If a bookworm eats from cover to cover, there's not much damage; but if they eat along a line of type, there can be substantial damage."
After choosing to make a volunteer vacation, another motivation for the warm destination was to escape a northern Michigan winter. Leaving for the southern Pacific island in late January, they could combine service with sunshine.
What they both found is that by living and working in a community - contributing to the people there - a vacation paradise takes on a new perspective.
"All the times I've traveled, I saw the sights and ate the food but this is the first place where I got to know the people," said Grace, noting that a friend told them of the Global Volunteers program. "You do get to meet them and talk to them and we're keeping in touch via email. You're not there as a tourist."
By working in the library, Grace received both an intellectual and a personal tour of the culture in the Cook Islands.
"The National Library has this most wonderful collection of Pacific and Southern Pacific history and people and culture," she said, adding that one of the librarians included her in daily tasks. "She took me all over the island on her noon hour as she ran errands."
Bob Rudd tackled more physical duties: he hacked at forest growth in a nature preserve, counted wildlife and worked at the St. Joseph's Catholic School, refurbishing a room for their library. The intense heat and humidity were a challenge, soaking the clothes of anyone working outdoors within 20 minutes.
"Grace was the envy of everyone because she worked in an air conditioned office," said Bob of her library work.
Both Rudds noted the different standard of living on Rarotonga, especially when contrasted with the resort areas for tourists or a typical American lifestyle. Even completing a simple task could be complicated by poverty.
"We used a garden spade to take the tools off the wall," said Bob, noting there was not a screwdriver or other tool to be found at the school.
Midway through their second week there, Cyclone Meena struck the island, bringing high winds and massive waves. The 13 Americans with Global Volunteers were evacuated from their hotel to a safer area the night that the storm hit.
"We went to the other side of the island so it was just another windy night for us," Bob noted.
All the Global Volunteers participants contributed to a journal during the trip. Grace Rudd typed up the notes from it for both the organization and the individual volunteers. Each day one person was in charge of gathering input from the others, a fun exercise that kept everyone connected despite their various activities.
"The day you did it, you'd chase the other people around and find out what they did that day," she said.
The Rudds are already contemplating their next service trip with Global Volunteers and might like to return to Rarotonga in the future.
"They have a lot of repeats," said Bob of the program as Grace added: "Absolutely, we would do another trip."