walkabout and swearing in...

Well, a lot has happened since my last post...

In November, I spent a week at my new site in Ambrym and I’m extremely happy to report that it was amazing. The people in my new village are all super nice and it’s a safe area. Basically, I’m really excited about where I’ll be living for the next 2 years. (Everyone should celebrate here because I was nervous about this part).

I was welcomed with a custom ceremony where the chief and village committee made a presentation (complete with a custom dance and gifts) and I was given my new name, Lilonpen (Lee – lon – pen). Then we feasted, which I’m learning is pretty standard in Vanuatu.

The village itself is great. It's literally in the bush and everything is at least an hour hike (saltwater, neighboring villages, commercial center, airport, etc). Because of the proximity to the volcano, the community is all volcanic ash. Basically, I am covered in black soot with every step I take. So, a dirty girl I'll be.

I’m now the proud owner of a pig and a chicken, thanks to my host mama and papa. We’ve named them Chicago and Ohio, respectively. I’m told that we’ll be eating them in 2 years for my last meal, so it would be in my best interest to feed them but I shouldn’t get too attached.

The funniest moment of walkabout was when I was preparing to board the plane to return to the training village. Picture this: On my back, a backpack. In my left hand, a rice bag with 20 live crab inside. In my right hand, another rice bag containing a LIVE CHICKEN. Yes, they allow live animals as cargo on planes here. How else are you supposed to get gifts back to your training village? Duh.

After walkabout week, we came back to the training village for technical training and the swearing in ceremony. Now I am officially a volunteer and no longer a trainee! woo hoo!

After swearing in, it was time to say goodbye to the training village and our families. It was very sad to say goodbye to all we've known for the past 2 months. Speaking of, I’ve been meaning to report that I had a dog at the training village. For those of you that know me, I'm not really a "dog person". I'm not scared of them and it's not that I don't like them, I just don't really know what to do with them. I'm convinced that dogs know this about me because as soon as I stepped foot in the training village, my dog "Pepsi" followed me everywhere (toilet, saltwater, class, EVERYWHERE). She even slept outside my house at night. Having a dog pal is not an entirely bad thing except that we'd be walking along and she'd stop right in front of me on the path, tripping me. I got pretty good at dodging her dog-tripwire efforts except at night...she had a knack for getting out of the line of my flashlight and I'd next thing you know, I'm flailing about to keep my balance. I have to admit that I'm going to miss that annoying dog...

So this week has been filled with shopping for supplies (barf) and hanging out in the city before heading to our sites. It's a bittersweet time because I'm excited to move on to the next phase of this adventure but really sad to leave the training group. The next time we'll all be together (and speaking English) is at the end of March, which seems like a really long time. Alas, let the true test begin!

Speaking of my new site, I have a new address:

Lindsay McNamara - Lilonpen
Le Le Village
Craig Cove Post
West Ambrym Island
Republic of Vanuatu

I think you can still email me at the volunteer address and they'll send it to me every week or so. Please keep up the communication. I miss everyone so much and wish you were all here to share this experience! Merry Christmas to all, I'll be sure to write more when I come back in March! Talk to you in 2009!