T-9 DAYS until my departure to Vanuatu. The last few months, and especially the last few weeks, have been filled with laughs, tears and unforgettable memories with friends, family and of course, lots of food, that I will truly miss over the next two years. This last weekend was spent in DC seeing some of the best friends I have ever known. We ate, danced, CHEERED ON THE PATS and obviously drank some beers and shed a few tears. Thank you to all who showed up to see me off. I really couldn’t ask for a better support system to have back home while I head off on this grand adventure.
Thank you extra to Pete who has been one of my biggest supporters (while simultaneously and secretly hating my guts for leaving). As our final hours together ticked away and everything began to get very real, I started to feel the weight of everything that was about to happen, even though there were still so many unanswered questions. The biggest of these questions being what my communication abilities would be throughout my time in Vanuatu. About a month ago the Peace Corps sent us an email explaining that there are four categories of site placements in Vanuatu. Category 1 being the most accessible, and assumedly the best communication abilities, and Category 4 being the most remote locations with assumedly the weakest communication infrastructure. At the time they asked us to notify them if we would specifically prefer to be placed in a Category 4 site. While I wouldn’t have thought twice of being assigned to a Category 4 site, this wasn’t a situation I was ready to put myself in voluntarily. Like all other steps in this process I wanted my final site placement (where I will spend my two years of service) to come to me organically. So here we were in the elevator, Pete and I, after a delicious last breakfast at Open City (!!), starting to really think about how hard it would be to say goodbye in a couple of hours and all of a sudden BOOM! I get an email from the Peace Corps office notifying me of my preliminary (they used the term, not final but “firm”) site placement and HALLELUJAH! I will spend my two years of service living on the island of Malakula (or Malekula), a Category 1 site. While this doesn’t mean I will have regular access to internet and other amenities, my communication abilities could not get any better. Out of nowhere we both suddenly felt a whole lot better just knowing that we wouldn’t have to solely rely on snail mail for communication. It’s amazing what a little bit of good news and positive thinking can do for someone.
Naturally, I spent the next hour or so researching my new island home so I will happily share some info with all you good people! First, some basics:
Malakula is the second-largest island in the archipelago nation of Vanuatu and has a population of approximately 23,000. The total area is 788 square miles (almost three and a half times the size of Martha’s Vineyard). Malakula is shaped like a sitting dog (see image below…somewhere…I hope) and people will often describe where on the island they live by pointing out the part on the dogs body, such as “on the dogs neck.”
There are roughly thirty different languages spoken on the island and two main cultural groups, the Big Nambas and Small Nambas. The names of the groups originate from the size of the men’s nambas or penis sheath. Some history on that…
“Southern islanders say that their cultural hero, Ambat, had two children with white skin and long, straight hair. Like Adam and Eve, these children each ate a rose apple despite their father’s order not to do so. For their crime they were turned black. They were also required to wear nambas and to remain isolated in the island’s south.” (Lonely Planet)
WARNING: SKIP THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU BECOME ILL EASILY OR ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE NATIVE TRADITION OF CANNIBALISM
Perhaps Malakula’s most interesting fact relates to Vanuatu’s known history of cannibalism. The last kaekae man, or victim of cannibalism, roasted in a Big Nambas ground oven in 1969 (yep that’s right, about 45 years ago). Although the most outward expressions of cannibalism died out around this time, a more common form of cannibalism (eating the flesh from a deceased relative to keep some of the beloved deceased as a presence among the living) continued for some years after.
CANNIBALISM TALK OVER, PLEASE READ ON
Not unlike the rest of Vanuatu, Malakula is absolutely breath taking. There are some pretty good videos on youtube if you’re interested but I’ll just leave this one picture for you. I’m excited to be able to post my own in a few months!
Whew. Well, there really isn’t much more to do before I leave. I’m almost packed (amazing) and ready to head to Norwood to hang out with my family for the weekend before jetting to sunny SoCal to hang with the newest Cali Queen, Ana Cristina!! Alexia, the newest Colorado Queen, is the best and will also be joining for the most epic of final days in the USA.
A huge thank you to all my friends and family who have supported me throughout this lengthly, stressful, unbelievably exciting adventure. I can’t wait to finally be on my way! By the time I leave the country, January 24th, it will be a whole year since my nomination. And what a year it has been. Thank you thank you thank you.
Of course there will be no good-bye’s, SEE YA LATER!
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