This morning, everyone in Marulaon was supposed to participate in cleaning up and weeding the village as part of a healthy village program.  Our family was excused since we were still unpacking boxes, but the rest of the village met in a designated area to work together.  My friend, Ofoaen, and her daughter got special permission to come weed our yard.  They weeded around the spiky pineapples, all twenty-four of them!  Soon, we'll be eating all of the pineapples we can hold.

 



 

I walked around the village this afternoon and found so many new babies! One of my favorite stories came from Chief Leonard's wife, Janet. She knew when we left last year that she was expecting another baby. After six boys, she really desired a girl. In the Solomon Islands culture, girls are prized for their high value. In our language group, girls are extra special because our culture is matrilineal, meaning the family lines and the land are traced through the women. Janet had a baby girl last September and named her Lolikia, “We two want you”. Isn't that beautiful?!? I also heard about a local “birth announcement”. When a baby girl is born, someone from the family walks around the village with a cord of firewood on his or her head; when a baby boy is born, someone walks around with a bow and arrow.