pre training training...

We arrived safe and sound in Port Vila, Vanuatu's capital. They gave us coconuts at the airport and then drove to the place where we would begin training. It's dorm style housing on someone's land right off of a beach :) We have been giving some basic health, language (Bislama) and behavior training. We have also had free time to explore the beach that is so close to us. As time goes on, all of these training's will get more and more intense.

We have also gotten phones! I can receive calls for free if you call 678-538-4678 (this includes country code), but can't always be sure that I will have reliable service. Just try anyway haha (the time zone is 16 hours ahead).

Last night we had a kava (Vanuatu's alcohol) info session. We were told all about the culture of kava and how it's made. Men drink a lot of kava here! Therefore, it's acceptable for men to drink kava, but it's only sometimes OK for women to drink it. It is even considered acceptable if the married male volunteers leave their wives at home at night to go drink kava with other men. But whoever's drinking it, it is ground, strained and then drank like a shot. The difference though is that you are supposed to drink the shot by yourself in a corner, and then after it is drunk, you can join the rest of your group and continue to talk and hang out. After this lesson we got to try it and continue to get to know each other. 

Today we spent the day on Port Vila's main strip at the Peace Corps office. We got our malaria meds and learned more about malaria in general. There are a lot of mosquitoes here and there is apparently a Dengue fever outbreak, but we have a lot of information, medicine and bug spray in order to steer clear of these illnesses. After we got our meds we had free time to use the internet here and wander around Port Vila to get food and buy anything we might need. I went with a few other volunteers to the "Mama's Market" - the open air market run by a lot of mothers and families. We ate lunch there and bought some snacks for later, also talking to a man sitting next to us while we ate in order to practice our still basic Bislama.

Later today, we're going to have a swimming safety lesson! I am so excited about being here with this amazing group of people and can't wait to see what every day has to offer. I plan on meeting a lot of 5 am sunrises with yoga, meditation and a content mind :)