Bigfala knife and lots of shots

So I don't remember exactly what I wrote last time, but since then, I have been going through some training and different things. I got 4 immunizations for various diseases and my arms are slightly sore. I've learned all about malaria, giardia, and everything in between. I have a vague idea of what I'll be doing for the next 10 weeks of training. We haven't started language training yet, but we start soon.

I am getting more into the culture lately. I have shopped at the market where there's tons of fresh produce for very cheap. I have started to use the very minimal phrases I know in Bislama. I walk most places, but also take the local bus system. This bus system is crazy. Buses here are just large vans and you flag one down anywhere on the street. Then you hop in and tell them where you want to go, but the trick is that there are other people in there too. So they just basically drop you off in the order you got in. But it's always only 100 vatu ($1) no matter where you are going in the city.

Let's see what else. Everything is starting to feel familiar to me, so it's harder to write about the basic things. But I know to you they are still foreign. In terms of clothing, in Vila women are allowed to wear pants, but once we go to the village we are not allowed to wear pants anymore. If we want to, we'd have to wear a lava lava (sarong) over the pants. You also should wear shirts that cover the sleeves. For the most part, I wear long skirts and collared shirts or t-shirts. The boys have more freedom and they wear shorts and t-shits most of the time. I am excited to get my first Mother Hubbard, which is a dress made of colorful fabric that is very large and does not really have a shape.

For now, I posted the link to the group's photo website where we'll all start uploading pictures. I posted that link on the right, but here it is again: http://www.flickr.com/groups/vanuatu20b/

I don't know if anyone's posted pics yet, but you can check that out when you get the chance.

Also, here's the email address you can use to contact me during training (for the next 2 months). It's volunteer@vu.peacecorps.gov just make sure you put my first and last name on the subject line, and they'll deliver those emails to me at the training site (I go on Sunday). If you're too lazy to write a letter, an emails a great alternative, and you could send me an email AND write a physical letter if you want.

That's all for now!