So we've been in Vila for just over a week now but it feels like it has been months! Already so much has happened.
I tried Kava, the ceremonial drink of Vanuatu, twice. The group has mixed feelings- some love it and some can't stand it. The effects are very relaxing: first your mouth goes numb and, eventually, the rest of your body if you drink enough. I'm not sure if it is worth the taste- I can only describe it as a combination of dirt and poisonous leaves. The drink itself is derived from a pepper root and it is served in "shells". Here in Vila, Kava is not served in coconut shells, but in small bowls of about 10 ounces each (still called a "shell" though).
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This weekend we have been really lucky to be here in Vila, because the biggest music festival of the year happened from Thurs-Sat. The first night was the traditional string bands of Vanuatu and the second two nights were Reggae. We couldn't stay through the entire concert any night because we learned the entire town goes crazy and all sorts of hayhem ensues with all the Kava and alcohol consumed.
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On the first night of the festival, I committed the biggest cultural faux-pas of the group: I threw away a cob of corn in what I thought was a small trashcan outside one of the food vendor huts. I heard a loud splash, looked down, and realized that it was a trashcan container full of murky-brown liquid that could only be one thing- Kava! The two guys sitting next to it just laughed because they were not the owners of the Nakamal (Kava bar) but I just grabbed the voluneers I was with and proceeded to walk very fast across the field (we stick out a little here because everyone is Melanasian, so I wanted to get out of sight quickly). Everything turned out ok in the end, but by the end of the night everyone in our training group had heard the story and thought it was hilarious.
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Yesterday we had our "water safety class" which involved our group going out on the Vila harbor (pictured above) and snorkeling in the reefs for the afternoon. I'm not sure what this had to do with water safety, except that we learned what types of coral not to touch. Every day we all have to remind ourselves that we are, in fact, in the Peace Corps, because this has felt like a vacation all week (except for the 8 hours a day of classes!) Apparently, training in the village is when it really sets in.
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We leave today for Mangaliliu, where we will have 10 weeks of intensive language/culture/health classes, but we will be coming into Vila once a week for teacher training. I miss everyone and hope everything is going well back home! Write me lots of letters please :)
