Survivor

So some more time has past. I have been watching Survivor Vanuatu lately. You should watch it. It was filmed right in the village that I'm at now, and a lot of the people from the village are on the show. The chief that they mention on the show is our chief. It's really cool. And all the food that they are eating is what we eat too. If you get a chance to watch it, (rent it from blockbuster) you'll get a small taste of what my life is like.

So I'm pretty sure I'm going to Ambae for my site. On Saturday I am going for my wokabaot for a week. Then I'll be in the training village until the first week of December so don't expect too many more updates on this. I think once I go to site in December I will have a satellite phone. I'll be able to receive texts and emails for free so as soon as i get that number, I'll post it on here.

No new pictures or anything. For the next month since I'll be a site, if you want to contact me send an email to volunteer@vu.peacecorps.gov and put my name on the subject line. Those emails are great and I love getting them.

Happy Halloween!

my first real off island experience

This past weekend I went to the nearby island of Nguna to visit another volunteer. About 15 people from my training group along with a handful of the other volunteers headed over for a little fundraiser type activity. Our journey began with the normal standard of aelan taem (island time for those without excellent Bislama skill). The truck, due to arrive at 7 I think, maybe rolled up by 8:30. In this truck, a common mode of transportation in Vanutu, we all sit down in the back which is covered by a steel frame and then a tarp (because it's raining). It is sweltering hot and I have bodies touching me on all sides. After a bumpy ride, I look out and see water all around us. We have parked on the pier. We then load into 2 speedboats (and we all have our Peace Corps issued lifejackets) and zip off to Nguna. The sea was a little rough but we made it without any spewing. Once we arrived to the shore of Nguna, we then had an endless trek up to this particular volunteer's village. Up and up and up, and okay, maybe endless means 45 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity.

In Nguna, we mostly just hung out and talked and of course played Uno, because that's how we spend all of our time. There was string band performance and then the next day there was an optional hike up to the volcano, but it was downpouring so I opted out of that in favor of another game of Uno. Seriously, Uno has taken over my life. The biggest stressor in my life right now is if I have a Draw 4 Wild in my hand.

It had been cold and rainy for the last few days, I was even wearing my heavy jacket, but then all of a sudden, yesterday, it got at least 85 and humidity through the roof. We played our first game of Ultimate Frisbee in awhile and I was exhausted.

So that's basically it right now. In a week and a half I will be heading out for wokabaot where I get to visit my site. I think I may be going to an island called Ambae which probably means absolutely nothing to you. But I won't really give much info because it's not definite yet. I will find out next week.

And don't forget you can send me emails to volunteer@vu.peacecorps.gov and they'll print them out for me.


And here's a picture of sunset in my village:

earthquakes

My days have become a blur so it's getting harder to write things about each day, but this morning, I did experience an earthquake. I woke up and my bed was shaking and I thought "wow it's really windy out here". But then later when I was talking to other people, they told me it was an earthquake. There was one last week but I slept through that one. This one was a 4.8 I think.

In other news, on Thursday a PCV in Vanuatu passed away due to an accident involving a tree branch. Very sad and took a toll on the Peace Corps community. There's more details on the Peace Corps website about it.

Also, a lot of volunteers in my group have been finding out their site assignments. I still have no idea. In 2.5 weeks I leave for wokabaot where I go for a week to my site and visit. I am going to try to pull it out of them sometime soon. I want to know where I'll be!

Well, that's all for now. I've enjoyed the mail I've been getting! Thanks!

beaches and head shaving

Hanging at Survivor Beach (where Survivor Vanuatu was filmed)






Dan cutting my hair with a Bigfala Naef (machete)- then i shaved it all off.







Also before I forget: here's the link to my newest pictures. http://loyolamd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036341&l=45432&id=20101312

Well, I have another very successful week. Lots of good stuff. Lots of learning? in class. I have improved my Bislama skills for sure. Over the weekend we spent the time relaxing at the beach. I've done a lot of snorkeling. I eat a lot of good food. I am still getting up early in the morning, but I've been going snorkeling and have started to do yoga in the a.m. too. Also, all the volunteers have been hanging out at night, so that's good too.

In other good news, I bought a guitar and am learning to play it. I am very excited about that and hopefully when I get home, I'll be a guitar pro.

Also, I shaved my head which was fun. Washing my hair with a bucket of cold water was too much work. Plus it was really hot out. My hair will grow back, don't worry, but everyone says it looks good.

What else? It's hard to say. Things are starting to seem more normal now, more like life instead of being amazed by every little thing. But the sunsets are still gorgeous and the stars in the night sky are absolutely amazing.

Training!

View from my classroom at the training village








My very own house!










Wow, I moved out to my village for community based training. It is absolutely crazy. This was much more the Peace Corps I expected. I sleep in a little grass hut in a cot sized bed with a bug net. There are lots of bugs. The first day i couldn't speak much Bislama at all so I felt pretty out of place, but now, by day 3, I feel like I can speak it fairly well. My days consist of getting up very early due to loud roosters, taking a bucket shower, going to class, going swimming/snorkeling, eating, and going to bed soon after it gets dark. The village I am in is right on the ocean so it's great. It's very small and everyone knows everyone. The kids are great and want to play with us all day. I have one sister in my host family who is 7 years old, and we are best buds. She shows me where the best place to swim is to avoid sharks (just kidding! sort of). The only potentially dangerous creature I've encountered is a couple giant centipedes which are super scary and apparently hurt like no other. I mildly freaked out when I saw them.

Let's see what else. I told my mama "mi no kakae mit" so she makes me special vegetarian meals. I've eaten more here than I normally do at home. The mamas want us all to eat a lot which is good. The food is a blend of all sorts. Some local food, but my village is close to Vila so they buy a lot of imported goods too. My mama cooks all her food on a fire she builds in the little kitchen building.

Okay, well I am going to go now, but I wanted to let you know I posted more pictures on the same facebook album as the last post (the last post labeled "pictures" i think). Check them out to see village life.