below: the flags at swearing in
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...
below: my host sister (anne, 8, on the left) and brother (josua, 12)
below: papa and josua on the piano
below: my house in the training village (inside)
below: the kitchen
