Leaving for the training village...

Hello there

Olsem wanem, i gud? (How are you, good?) Everything is good out here. After a few days of rain and overcast and a tropical depression down in the south the sun has finally broken through. It was nice and cool the past few days and a little relieving but we are ready for the hot sun again. So today we leave to travel to our training village Epau, located on the east coast of Efate, about a two hour ride. This past week has been fascinating and a little overwhelming with all the perparation and classes. We just started Bislama training a ciouple of days ago and so far its coming along very well. We had our first language practice at the market trying to figure out names of various fruits and vegetables, so many types! So funny down at the market because most of the mamas (women) know that we're learning and just laugh at us as we attempt to speak in Bislama to them, but it is all in good fun and humor, so I just laugh with them anyway, because it really is funny. But most people know that we are here with the Peace Corps and that definitely makes it much easier too. People around here are very fond of the Peace Corps and truly treat us a little differently, showing more of a liking because we learn the language and culture. Actually yesterday in the local paper there was an article about the recent arrival of the newest Peace Corps group 21A (my group name), with a picture of all of us that was taken at the airport upon our arrival in Vila. We were wondering why so many young boys selling papers kept approaching us yesterday trying to sell us papers...haha, now we know.
Yesterday we went to the house of our medical officer and had a full morning of learning about the various foods and preparation methods. It was definitely one of the best days so far. A beautiful house and property that overlooks the bay of Vila, extending out to the Pacific. I forgot my camera but other people took pictures. She has a wonderful family and we had the chance to meet them all yesterday. We also learned how to peel and open a green coconut and crack open a dry coconut and shave off the inside to make coconut cream. Peeling a green coconut aint easy let me tell you. I finally gave up and just used the machete on it to puncture a hole for the juice, but by that time all the juice had leaked out because of all the punctures I had put in it from trying to pry off the outside with a stick. So remember when you see people drinking from those coconuts that it takes a little work to get them looking that good, at least for us. But we'll get better. Shaving the coconut cream out the shell was a little easier but definitely takes longer and builds up a sweat, but afterwards, if you want, you can shave it down to nothing and keep the shell as your own personal kava shell for the nakamals. I didn't keep one but I did have a little kava last night with some others, but not much. It was a nice nakamal though, better laid out than some of the others I've seen. Yesterday we also went out on a cattermaran (I don't know how to spell that) and saw the bay of Vila while learning some water safety and practical knowledge on how to survive, as well as troubleshooting tips for the motor boats we'll be using most often. The waters were a little rough from the storm so we didn't get to snorkle or dive but we did do a little swimming which was nice. Saw our first sea snake too which was awesome, a blue and black banded snake truckin through the water, sweet colors!
So most of last night and today are just last minute emails and prepartions for training village, because we really won't have internet access for quite a while, so be patient. I've had to pack and repack a couple of times trying to figure out what to take and what to leave for storage. Most of us came with all we could bring and then we got loaded with a bunch of other stuff from the PC staff, like a life jacket and a couple of medical kits and more books and papers, as well as some other stuff we had to buy ourselves, like a bush knife (machete). Bush knives are crucial around here for a number of things. So far we've only used them to open coconuts and have sword fights (not really), but we will soon find out the other practical uses for them in the village life. I was going to get a smaller bush knife yesterday but the guy at the hardware store told me that only women buys the little ones, and the big ones are for the men. So being the manly man that I am I had to defend my honor...I succumbed, I got the bigger one!
On another note, we found out the other day about the families we will be staying with in the village. Most of us will have separate houses from our families, but still very close. My mama's name is Leitau and my papa is Kalmara. Some of us met our mamas in the market the other day. I met mine. She was very nice and her Bislama seemed pretty clear which was also reassuring. They have three sons (11,10,9) that I am very excited to meet and play with as well as learn from. Kids are the best source for knowledge sometimes.

So I hope all is good with everyone and wish you all well. I need to go eat some food before we leave this afternoon. Will be in touch eventually but until then I will resort to snail mail, exciting! If anyone wants to email me you can send emails to: volunteer@vu.peacecorps.gov. Just put my name in the Subject line so that they know who it's for. They will deliver the emails to me at the training village every so often, as well as packages if you want to send them. But I don't really need anything as of now...but some non-parishable treats would be nice to snack on and share with others. Love and peace...ale, lukim yu!