Some Specifics

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It's raining raining raining! The rain is beautiful here because, as of yet, there hasn't been any thunder or lightning. Just the calming sound of rain. Some volunteers complain of rain making them depressed or mellow, but I am rather hyper about it. The fauna of the area definitely reflect the constant rain and warm weather. Even our hotel has a mini rainforest in the center. One bad side effect, however, is that the rain drives the cockroaches up to higher ground - this morning we found a dead one in our room.

This week, our training group has been taking classes on everything. We have learned how to use iodine to prevent against infection, about geography and ocean currents around Vanuatu, brushed up our our sex ed knowledge, some history on Bislama, and even how to do an instant malaria test (yes, this involves pricking your finger, and yes, I almost passed out...)

Women in the Ni-Vanuatu culture wear skirts below the knee. Any skin or form fitting around the waist and thighs is an open invitation. I'm getting used to what fabrics to wear with the rain and all. The guys can get by with pretty much anything. Justin usually wears khaki pants and light button down shirts. Since we are in the capital and it's pretty touristy, our dress code is pretty lax, especially in the evenings when we are away from the Peace Corps offices. But, it is best and safest to be modest.

Food here is way too fun. There are a ton of new fruits to get used to, varieties of banana and other melons. Justin and I are currently addicted to a pampamoose which is a bit sweeter and a lot bigger than a grapefruit. Another of Justin's favorite is tuluk, a meat stuffed inside a potato or other root type surrounding and cooked.

Last night we went to a birthday party for a volunteer and another girl in her village who has the same birthday. The "new" volunteers (us) brought traditional party foods from the U.S. - chips, salsa, hamburgers, cookies, etc. and her neighbors provided native dishes. Somehow, these seasoned volunteers have found out how to make spaghetti and cookies, so hopefully they'll pass those tips along to us new ones.

Although we are all chipper and excited about all this newness now, we are about to move into our training village which will be another level of cultural barriers to come through. Justin and I get to stay together with a host family. The family will provide our meals as well as teach us some necessary skills like laundering, cooking, fishing, etc in the village setting. We'll meet the illustrious Chief Mor Mor, popular on Survivor, and hopefully get to story with him about his village and history. So, our blogs and emails will not be as frequent as no phone or internet service will be available to us in the village. This training will last for 10 weeks. We may take a trip or two to the capital for phone/internet, but otherwise, snail mail will be your best bet for reaching us.

Disclaimer: The contents of this blog are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

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Photos

Bislama
Sorry, can't translate this for you, yet...

Birthday Party-er
After taking the picture, I did help this little guy out fixing his party hat.

Island Flora
Here ya go Mal, some Vanuatu style flowers. These were outside the "Mama's Market" in town.

Comments

[ang]

flowers
what beautiful flowers. i hope you put one in your hair!! it sounds like you are having a great time. watch out for that malaria test lol. you're in my prayers and looking foward to your next blog.

[Mallory]

pretty pretty flowers
The flowers look gorgeous! I shall need a close up to add to my wall of flowers in my room :). I'm just catching up on your blogs now so I'm a little behind but it's so good to hear of your exciting adventures! Oh! Bring me back some pampamoose! That's all I ask for. You think I'll forget? I won't! :D Love you both!