island time and a taboo volleyball game

Hello all! My apologies for the lapse in communication. Although I haven't been necessarily busy in the past few weeks, internet access isn't exactly at my fingertips. On top of that, my camera went for a swim in the "solwota" on a recent boatride/torrential downpour so I don't have any pictures to share either. Never fear! Mom and Dad have my back and a new camera is on it's way. I promise pictures in the next entry!

So training is every bit as boring as the Peace Corps promised it would be. We're slowly getting used to "island time" -- basically nothing starts on time. We once went to a wedding promising to start at 8am. At 12:30pm, the music started. That's probably the most extreme example but it's pretty common to wait 30-45 minutes for anything to start. Basically, I read a lot.

A few weeks ago, we (trainees) made a bit of a cultural blunder... It was a Sunday and we had already been to church, eaten our fill, and been swimming. We decided to play a game of volleyball. Turns out that it's taboo to play an organized game on Sunday and we offended a lot of people. Other taboo items are work (no laundry or going to the garden) and exercise. Basically, you can only rest, read, go to church, and hang out with your family. On Monday morning, we apologized to all the mamas and the village chairman and assured them that we were ignorant and meant no disrespect. After the apology, the matter was dropped and we moved on. As we apologized, I had to reflect on how different my life has become. I've done several things to offend people in the US but none nearly as simple as a (scandalous) volleyball game. On the other hand, I've apologized for several things in the US and never was the matter dropped immediately. I think I'm going to like that aspect of life in Vanuatu. Grudges are for the birds.

The biggest news, of course, was our site announcements last week. I've learned that I'll be heading to Ambrym, an island known for black magic and great volcano hiking! I leave on Tuesday for walkabout, a week long visit to my site to meet the counterparts and get a glimpse at what the next two years of my life will look like. I'm very excited and should have much more to discuss after my visit.

Until then, take care wherever you are. Happy Halloween!

2 weeks at the training village

things in the training village are completely different than life in vila. 2 weeks into training and so far i've learned to shower with a bucket, helped kill and cook a chicken, have started to speak bislama (sort of) and in the process have completely lost the ability to spell. oh, and i crave chocolate like mad.

and this is only the "baby step" into life in vanuatu. at any rate, the people of the training village are great. they've been extremely welcoming and have already invited us to take part in several of their rituals. so far, we have been invited to mourn with the widow of the deceased, were invited to the ceremony naming the new small chief and were even invited to a wedding ceremony on a neighboring island.

my host family is great. mama (38) and papa (36) are very proud of their culture and take the host parent role very seriously. both were very concerned when i developed a small cough. so concerned that i wasn't allowed to eat mangos for about a week (not sure what the mangos have to do with a cold but i wasn't about to ask...) they were both very proud when the cough cleared up, because obviously my abstinence from mangos cured me. at any rate, they are very sweet although it feels odd to be scolded by a woman 8 years my elder for not eating enough breakfast...

i have 3 host siblings, an 18 year old sister, a 12 year old brother and an 8 year old sister. the younger kids are hilarious and they have been my best language teachers (although i swear sometimes they are speaking french just to mess with me). my 18 year old sister is pretty busy as she gave birth to a baby girl 5 days after i arrived. it's been fun to have a fresh little nugget around the house...

i live in a house made of local materials (basically wood and coconut leaves) and yesterday i came back from the "shower" to find a chicken in my house. sometimes you have to laugh at your life...

that's about it for now but i will write more once i'm back in town. until then, please continue to write. it's been great to hear from everyone! miss you all!