That is a root, aka a sign of life! I have been interested in vanilla (despite the short lived flowers and tall growth habit) but don't have one yet, so I'll leave that for someone else to help you out with!

hi

I found them very easy to grow in s. florida .in fact too easy lol. For me it flowered at around 7 feet in length but of course flowers only last one day and will not set beans without hand pollination Found it would not flower at all unless allowed to grow . It does root very easily and is very tolerant of conditions . I decided it took up too much room for the rewards so moved it out to the garden where it's growing on a palm tree.

There are sooo many other kinds of orchids that are far more rewarding but I could see it would make an interesting house plant if you have the room?? gary

I'm inclined to agree with Gary, a lot of effort without much reward. Here is a link to a previous discussion with much valuable info.

Previous discussion

UPDATE: It put out a new stem, and the roots longer!

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3304495/vanilla-plant#15588250

I've never done this before, but this may be a link to an answer I posted on my Vanilla plant several months ago. If it works, perhaps it will be helpful to some here.

Bill