Update from Training!
I have been in Vanuatu since the 18th of April. This time in Vanuatu has been magical. We have been in a training village a boat ride from Efate, on Pele Island. My first week was quite challenging when it came to adjusting to the heat and the humidity, but I now am a huge fan of both. The crazy thing is I am slowly getting a tan! I have been applying sunscreen like crazy, and I am so glad that I have avoided burns!
Living on Pele island has been a dream come true. I noticed that after the first couple days, I felt like I was home. One thing I have truly loved is the view of the night sky with no light pollution. It has been so amazing. Back in the states, I would constantly look to the stars, but it was never like this. I live in a small village that is right on the beach. It feels like paradise. I understand how Vanuatu is #4 on the Happiness Index.
My first host family has been amazing. I have a Mother, Father, sister and brother. They are amazing. They have accepted me into their home, and treated me like family. I am super blessed to have this experience. The small village I live in has about 13 houses. I really love it. There are grandparents, parents, and children all within the same village. It is wonderful. It is such a good feeling to be apart of a big family that actually wants to spend time with one another. My whole childhood I wanted to have a family that enjoys one another. My younger self would be so happy to know I finally found it.
Being away from social media has been such a blessing to me. It is scary how often I was on the internet, not even doing anything constructive. Being away from internet is quite refreshing. I hate not being able to talk to my family and friends every day, but they know I love them, and that I will contact them when I can. If you are waiting for a letter from me, I will get to it. Expect a delay, I am on Island time. (Also, There isn't a Post office on Pele)
Food has been quite amazing. I would highly recommend anyone who loves bananas, coconuts, taro, and rice to go to Vanuatu! On a normal day, this has been my meals:
Breakfast: fried bananas, fried sweet potato fries, bread dipped in egg and cooked on a saucepan, with tea or coffee, and papaya.
Snack: bananas, clemintines, young coconut tree (a coconut that starts to sprout from the shell… you cut it open. It is spongy and delicious!), and sometimes oreos.
Lunch: Cooked fish (that my father caught), white rice, fried rice, island cabbage, and sweet potato.
Dinner: cooked fish, some sort of rice, island cabbage, papaya and sweet potato and of course, bananas!
Kava. Kava is a huge part of life in Vanuatu. Before the missionaries came to vanuatu, it was only used for ceremonies, and to solve conflicts. Now, however, it is used quite often. It is a root that is peeled, chopped, put through a meat grinder, and finally put though a cloth to strain. Kava in Vanuatu is a lot stronger than the Kava in other South Pacific Countries.
Kava tastes like ground tree, which makes sense. When you drink it, your lips and whole mouth will get numb automatically. The Ni-Vans in my village always have something small to eat after to clean the palletj. The food you eat right after you drink a shell is called "Wash-em-out". I highly recommend it. Citrus fruit is super great to swish the mouth out with. The citrus fruit counteracts the numbing. I was told to only swish and spit, so you don't loose the affects of kava. A lot of people eat and drink hot foods after drinking kava. It is said to increase the affects of the kava.
O! I almost forgot. I have my first Island name: Leisong. It is the name of my host grandmother on my dads side. She lives in the house next to me, and I adore her. I feel thankful to have gotten her name. she is such a strong woman.
That is all for now…
Love you all,
Sadie
also, look at some photos!
