Day 3- Initiating New Volunteers

So today my cleaning job was the kitchen and thanks to the kitchen people last night there was not much to do. Just a few sides to wipe down and washing up to put away. After that Maisy went to collect the new volunteers Katy and Seb, we introduced them to everyone and then went through the welcome talk. They then had to sign the code of conduct and then we waited for the others to come back from the snorkel survey before heading for lunch. The guys from the survey saw 5 turtles but again they said it was very busy with several boats and tourists surrounding the turtles. We went down the Jetty for lunch and I had a cheese omelette with toast. After lunch me and Maisy went and showed the new volunteers water confidence and that was easy as apart from some snorkel stuff and getting into a life jacket when it is thrown at you they were excellent swimmers etc. Maisy then showed them round thr village where the kayaks are kept, while I swam to the jetty and did some fish spotting, saw some cleaner wrasses. did the initiation Jetty jump several times. We then went back to the house and showered. While waiting for people I spotted an Asian Monitor Lizard walking up the path and I ran and got my camera. By time I came back it was already quite far up the path then ran under the house so didn't get an amazing photo but will post it later. Some of us then headed for Pitani Beach for a chill and a beer with the Community lot. We went to the Aluna resort restaurant where it was £2 for a 330 ml can but better than nothing. We chatted til the sun goes down, later we walked back in time for Malay dinner. This consisted of us going to a locals house and having dinner with them. We all have to wear sarongs as part of their culture. As everywhere in the village when entering a building we had to remove our shoes. One thing I have found strange but completely understand is the amount of houses with TVs and big TVs too. However, I've learnt that although their houses are basic, the price to improve them compared to the price of a nice tv is drastically different so makes sense to get a TV. When we got in we sat in the circle and the Man of the house was finishing the cooking while the woman in the house joined us in the circle and served all the food in a circle like a buffet. There was fish, chicken in a spicy sauce, vegetable soup, fried vegetables, chilli sauce, fish crackers (similar to prawn crackers) and my favourite dish egg pancakes with spices and sauce. Before eating a pot with water went round for people to clean their hands with. We had no cutlery so we had to eat everything with our hands. She took our plates and filled them all with rice and then we tucked in. I didn't have any of the fish but I had everything else. Once I had finished she asked if I wanted more rice and of course I did this food was tasty. I had more chicken vegetables and egg pancake with lots of the sauce from the chicken. I must have eaten most of the egg pancakes as not many people wanted more than 2 bits, so I finished it off. I also got served up the rest of the chicken and one of the bowls of vegetables when I had my third portion. What I didn't realise when eating some of the vegetables with the rice was that there was a fat chunk of chilli with all the seeds in my handful and I ate it whole. I do like hot food but I have a limit. Immediately my forehead was dripping with sweat and I downed my ice tea drink. The host women said I could stop but I was determined to finish my meal, couldn't leave waste. I think she liked my attitude, I said she was going to be my new best friend and Melissa translated the woman smiled and shook my hand. I told her I was here til November and she said I must come back, I'm sure I will. She got a tupperware box and filled it with the rice, some of the sauce from the chicken the rest of the veg and a slice from her secret stash of egg pancake. We then we're offered little biscuits I had one that looked like a Jammy Dodger and tasted like one too. After that we said our thank yous and said goodbye. On our way back we popped into the community house as Dan and Maisy had eaten with them. They were listening to music so joined them and had a good laugh teaching Kerry (One of the community helpers, she is lovely from south Africa but now lives in England) about grime and what mine and Dan's nights out in Plymouth are like. Was a great night, it got late so we headed back to our home and went to bed.