HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!

HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, SAMOA!

October 7^th marked one year since our plane landed in Samoa on that hot Sunday morning.  It’s absolutely insane how quickly the time has gone by.  It’s weird because a day can drag on here like none other, but months fly by.  Time is strange on the islands. 

This last year has been an emotional roller coaster, containing some of the best and some of the hardest times in my life.  I feel like I have been more challenged here than anywhere else before, but I have also felt more rewarded here than anywhere else before.  Most days I love Samoa, but there have definitely been some days when I think I just want to go home today and never come back!  They say Peace Corps is the “toughest job you’ll ever love.”  I never understood it until I got into the thick of what it really means to be a Peace Corps Volunteer.  What does being a PCV mean to me?  It means giving your last 20 tala to your family or someone in need because they don’t have food for the night.  It means sharing your ice cream you’ve been thinking about getting for 2 weeks with a kid at the shop. It means doing things you don’t want to do, like dancing in public.  It means helping a kid with homework at 9:00 at night.  It means cold showers every day without complaining.  It means sweating bullets everyday when you walk home in the sun in your school uniform which happens to be the heaviest and least breathiest material on the planet (and did I mention it covers neck to ankles?). It means only having about 4 different meal options.  It means crackers or fried flour and water for breakfast every morning.  It means only being able to talk to your family once a month, maybe.  It means getting to see the rewards of your work in your students.  It means getting to listen to a kid read a book they couldn’t have read 6 months ago.  It means getting to hold hands with 40 different kids on any given day.  It means endless kisses and hugs.  It means singing the same song 20 different times because the kids love it so much.  It means dancing silly because the kids think it’s funny.  It means staying positive even on the days you don’t know what you are doing here.  It means remembering that I am an only one person, I can’t do much, but I can do something. 

I’ve been contemplating a lot the idea of time, and how afraid I am of leaving without having done all that I can here in Samoa. It’s scary how quickly time goes by, and how easy it is to say “Oh today is a busy day, I’ll do something good for someone tomorrow.”  I think I’m learning here how important EVERY single day is.  And how important EVERY single interaction is.  How we treat people makes all the difference in the world.  What we do with our time is up to us, but when it’s gone it’s gone and you can’t get it back.  I know, for me, I don’t want to waste a single day not trying to do as much as I can to try and bring a little more good or a little more happiness or a little more kindness into the world.  Because, Heaven knows, with all the bad that there is in the world, we need as much goodness as we can get.  

An Update of the last few weeks...

I’m by far the worst blogger in the Peace Corps, I’m pretty sure.  It’s funny because I feel like I’m always busy but when people ask what do I do, I can’t think of anything to answer.  Instead of trying to catch my few blog followers up on what’s been going on in the last few months since my last post, I’m just going to give a few main highlights and then just vow to be a more consistent writer after today! 

·       I ran a 104 KM relay race with 5 of my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers around the perimeter of the main island of Samoa.  It was an awesome experience.  Easily the hardest thing I’ve done physically and the hottest day of my life, but it was really fun.  It was a beautiful run, I never ceased to be amazed by the beauty of this island. 

·       I got a new puppy, Marley! As some of you may know, my last two puppies, Jackie Chan and Baby, disappeared mysteriously when I was away one weekend.  Subsequently, Marley has been spending a lot of time at the neighbors so she can used to going over there when I’m not home.  She’s a real hoot.  She loves dragging things around the floor, like mats for example.  She also loves sleeping on the bed, more specifically on my pillow.  Which is fine because during the day she spends most of her time playing with her brother, my neighbor’s puppy, so at night I’m just happy to have her close by.  She loves chicken and papaya but will not eat bananas, bread, or noodles.  For a samoan dog, she’s very picky. 

·       My house has turned into a bit of a zoo.  I have 3 cats and Marley, the puppy.  Well the other night, I wake up at 3 am to the sound of my guitar playing.  Just a couple strings, but they were very obviously being strummed.  So I started yelling for catman (my cat) to stop, assuming it was him since I could feel marley on the pillow with me.  About 2 seconds letter, I feel catman moving around at my feet and I still hear the guitar playing. I open my eyes and turn on my lamp to verify that marley is indeed sleeping on my pillow (she was) and that catman is at my feet (he was).  Then I proceed to freak out thinking there is either a giant spider (which is possible in Samoa) or a ghost playing the guitar. I turn on the main light to see a full size crab climbing up the strings of my guitar, and feel somewhat relieved.  Only somewhat because it turns out those crabs have pretty scary pinchers, so that made me worried on how to remove him from the room.  Luckily, I succeeded in letting him back out to the wild.  I had to tell him I just don’t think my little room is big enough for 3 cats, a dog, me, and a crab.  He seemed to understand. 

·       We hosted a Community Day for all of the village to come and see the classrooms and talk with the teachers.  It was nice to have some of the parents of my kids come in and see their children’s progress and the things they have been doing.  I felt proud of my kids.  And of course the kids performed some new songs!

·       We had a 2 week break in between the 3^rd and 4^th term—during which I bought a bike and acquired a guitar.  I learned how to play jingle bells and amazing grace on the guitar—not very well, but you can tell which song is which.  I rode the bike 10 miles to the next PCVs village to help her with an English Fun Day, twice.  I got a pretty good tan laying out on the beach at the resort in my village.  We had a one year reunion at this amazing resort in Asau—it was great to have all of the PCVs together again. 

·       I had my birthday! So now I’m old—23! Where does the time go??? I spent the day at a beautiful resort in Manase just watching the ocean and being so grateful to be here.  I also spent a lot of time contemplating how I used to think 23 sounded so old and grown up when I was 16.

·       I assessed my kids reading levels, and was pleasantly surprised by how much progress many of them have made.  Most are still learning letter sounds, which makes me feel like this is too slow, but I am just happy that I can see that they are learning things, even if it is slow.

·       We had Teacher’s Appreciation Day, during which the teachers chastised some kids for not bringing gifts and told them to bring them next week—that just made me laugh.

·       My mom bought a ticket to come to Samoa!! I’m so excited to see my family again.  My mom, grandma, aunt, and cousin will be coming to spend a week in December and I could not be more excited to get to show them around and introduce them to my life here in Samoa. 

·       I reached my ONE YEAR mark in Samoa—I will write a separate blog about that! 

20 things you probably won't see in the states.....

1.  Kids wearing diapers climbing on roofs to get the ball when it gets stuck in the gutter.

2.  5 year old kids using machetes/knifes and adults not thinking it’s weird or feeling worried.

3.  5 year old kids wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt walking by themselves back from the store carrying their body weight in rice. 

4.  Principals smoking in PTA meetings.

5.  Principals smoking in class.

6.  Teachers/Principals drinking in the library after school hours. (You might see this in some schools in the states now that I think about it).

7.  Teachers sending kids to the store during class time to buy cigarettes, phone credit, crackers, etc. 

8.  Teachers sleeping on desks during class time.

9.  Teachers having students massage their backs during class time.

10.  Year 8 students being assigned to substitute teach for another year while teachers hangout in the staff room.

11.  Kids saying “Give me money Palagi (white person)” when a white person walks by.

12.  Kids sharing their candy when they only have one piece.

13.  Kids sharing everything without ever complaining—this is pretty much all kids in Samoa.  The sharing thing is one of my favorite things about Samoa.

14.  21 people riding in a van at a time.

15.  62 people riding in the back of an oversized truck at a time.

16.  100 people riding on bus made for 40 people.

17.  3 year olds roaming the village alone. 

18.  Kids acting like they have just won the lottery when they get a new book in the school library.

19.  10 year old girls walking around without shirts on.

20.  12 year old boys doring chores without clothes on. Outside. 

FEAU

Life for most Samoans is centered on their chores (feau).  You have the basic chores, like sweeping the house—which is done with a short broom made of parts of a coconut tree and dried.  It is way more difficult than sweeping with a regular broom because you have to really get down low to sweep the floor properly using the side of the long twig like things to sweep the dirt away.   Laundry is another chore that takes ages and is a lot of hard work.  You usually have to do it early in the morning so that your clothes can get out in the sun to dry and also because the water gets turned off in the morning between 9 and 10.  I only know one family in my village that has a washing machine but I know that they exist for some Samoan families because several of the other PCVs have washing machines—I’m not jealous (the more I say it the more I start to believe it).  I am a pretty lazy laundry washer.  I usually just my put my clothes in a bucket with some soap and let it soak for a little while then punch it around for about five minutes and then do 2 rinses.  If something is super dirty or if I’m feeling extra energetic that day then I will use the scrub brush to scrub my clothes.  I try to hang out my clothes out in the sun as early as possible but a lot of times I’m too late so they stay out all night and get rained on but then they are fine by the next day.  I’m not the best laundry doer ever. 

Making the food is another chore that has to be done every day, obviously.  The saka (taro or breadfruit usually) has to be made every day.  That means that someone has to go to the plantation, bring the taro, peel the taro with an old tinned fish can cut down so that it’s really sharp, cut the taro, and then boil it.  Usually it is covered with pe’epe’e, which is like coconut cream.  For that you have to go get the coconuts, peel the shells off the coconuts, crack the coconuts, shave the coconuts, use the water and a hush to make a nice cream liquid out of the shavings—it’s more complicated that it sounds. Everyone I know cooks over a fire, so you have to get the firewood, make the fire, and then cook your food.  Needless to say, making the food can be an all day event.  And if you eat two meals a day then it’s always an all day event. 

Tae Lapisi (picking up the rubbish) is another chore that is done every day.  The funny thing about rubbish is that it’s not really rubbish that they are picking up, it’s leaves.  My dad would be very happy to know that all those days of him making me pickup sticks and me crying that it was the worst thing in the world, have paid off now, because picking up rubbish is one chore that I excel at.  I’m way more thorough than most of the Samoan kids that are usually in charge of picking up the rubbish, so I look like I’m ridiculously slow, but I personally think it looks much better when I do it than when my host brother does it. 

Vele le vao (picking weeds) is a chore that is done somewhat regularly, depending on the family, but is done by every family the week before the asiasiga, which is when people go around the village looking and checking all the yards to make sure they are being taken care of well.  I’ve heard they give a prize for the most beautiful house in the village, but I’m not sure if my village does that or if it’s just some villages.  This is my favorite chore, I really enjoy picking the weeds. 

Sasa le vao (cutting the grass) is also done in time for the asiasiga.  This is a fun chore to watch, but one that I have only tried twice and massively failed at both times.  Basically, you take a machete and just hit the grass really hard with it.  It takes ages and it takes a lot of muscle strength (that may be why I’m not so fabulous at it).  It’s really a very fun chore to watch shirtless young men do—I say that respectively, but honestly.  They are just so good at it.  And it looks so cool when there are ten guys out there just hacking away at the grass with giant machetes. 

Some other chores are roasting cocoa, which is done over a fire so is very hot.  Basically you just roast the seeds and pull off the shells, but it’s so hot and the shells burn your fingers when you pull them off.  But the finished project is delicious cocoa Samoa, so I am a fan of that chore.  Feeding the pigs is done daily, as well.  That consists of cutting coconut slices, and then sitting down on a bucket and yelling “PIG PIG PIG PIG” in a deep voice over and over again.  That’s a chore I have only done once—but it was so much fun it made consider wanting to live on a farm! Feeding the chickens is kind of the same way, except you usually throw rice and say “Coo, coo, coo.”  Feeding the cows is similar except you just take the leaves and put them in front of the cows when they are tied up, pretty simple.  Making the beds is another chore that sounds similar to things we do back home, but here it usually  consists of putting down mats on the floor, and then laying out everyone’s individual sheet and pillow in the correct spot and tying up the mosquito nets. 

These are just a few of the chores that Samoans do on a regular basis and that I have had the chance to do myself—there are plenty of others that I know I’m forgetting.  Basically, all of these chores make me realize how many little things I have taken for granted my whole life.  When cooking a meal can be as simple as putting something in the microwave for 2 and ½ minutes, whereas here it never takes less than a couple of hours.  It’s little things like that make me appreciate where I come from and also where I am.  I feel so lucky to be in a place that I can learn so many little lessons everyday just by observing the people around me. 

Upcoming Plans...

I have started working on some secondary projects in the village and I’m really excited about them!

First, we have started working on a project called GLOW (Girls Leading Our World).  It’s a world-wide program that’s been done by a lot of peace corps volunteers in other countries.  Last year was the first time it has been done in Samoa, so this year will be the second.  Basically it’s a conference that is designed to teach girls from the rural primary schools in Samoa about career possibilities and education opportunities, as well as exercise and female health issues.  Last year they only had girls from the main island and it was just one day long.  This year, the conference will be two days long and will have girls from both islands.  We think it will be really exciting for the girls from Savaii because many of them have never been to the capitol city of Apia, which really is like the equivalent of going to D.C. for them.  I am heading up the GLOW project, and we have a team of about 8 volunteers working on it.  It’s been really cool for me to get to talk with some of the successful Samoan women about being involved in the conference and to network with new people.  Making appointments with people at UN Women or the Ministry of Women, Community, and Social Development is a nice change of pace from just sitting in my classroom all day, it reminds me there are other things going on out there in the real world. 

Second, we are having our English Camp next week.  It was supposed to be a 3 day overnight thing, but the parents were really nervous about sending their kids to another village to stay the night so we decided to do a 2 day DAY camp.  So the kids will come at 7:30am and then go home at 5:00pm.  We will spend one day in Patamea (3 villages down from my village) and one day in Saleaula (my village).  We were going t do a mystery/treasure hunt them one day and an animal theme the next day and then combine the two and do skits and song s for the parents the third day, but since we changed the program we may just do a bunch of different fun games all day and not really have a theme.  We are having a planning meeting tomorrow to finalize everything.  The kids are all so excited they won’t stop talking about it. I am getting kind of tired of answering the same questions over and over again, but I know I am also like that when I’m excited so I just keep smiling. 

Third, we are going to have an island wide Spelling Bee during the fourth term (November/December).  We are going to try and have all the Primary Schools in Savaii do a spelling bee and then send their top students to the district Spelling Bee and then we will have a Savaii wide Spelling Bee for all of the top students from each district.  I suggested it to all of the other volunteers and they seemed to be excited about it, so I think it will be good. 

Lastly (and most ambitiously), I have started the talk of getting a village library.  I don’t know how it is going to go, but I talked with the brother of one of the high chiefs in the village and he said he thinks it could work.  He said I just need to get some of the high chiefs on my side and then I should have the support of the whole village.  The brother lives in Bangladesh and does development work over there, so I’m sad he won’t be here to help me and work as a support agent, but it was really nice to talk with him and know that there is atleast some support already.  I’m going to work over the break on a proposal for the village chiefs and getting it translated, but it will be a very slow process.  But I would appreciate as many prayers and good vibes sent this way as possible! Also, if you want to start informing your rich friends about it, there will come a point when I will be begging for money or books I AM SURE!

EMPOWERMENT

Empowerment is my favorite word in the English dictionary.  It has so much---what’s the word---POWER? That seems redundant, but I can’t think of another word that carries as much strength or action.  When I was applying to grad schools I wrote my essays about how I wanted to empower people.  Think about what it really means to empower someone—to help people to get the tools they need to be able to think and work and do things for themselves.  Working in my primary school in Samoa is giving me lots of ideas of how I can empower my students with the tools they need to try and be successful .  I love it!  I love this word empower because it’s not just giving someone something, it’s helping them to be able to do things themselves.  When I teach a child that when the “T” and the “H” are together it makes the “TH” sound, I feel like I am empowering them to be able to discover the words themselves.  And then when they look at the word and say it correctly with the new sound they have learned—well, those are the moments that remind me of why I wanted to be in the Peace Corps in the first place.

Last week we had our second English Day, which was fabulous! I was so proud of my kids that I actually started crying when the very first group came out and sang “The World’s Greatest.”  Each class, years 1-8, sang a song. Some of the best were Justin Beiber’s “Baby,” “Lean on Me,” “Ain’t no Mountain High Enough,”  “My Friend” (a little remix to The Temptations “My Girl”), and “You Raise Me Up.”   We also had three plays, which were a little rocky but cute.  But the biggest part of the day was our Spelling Bee.   We had three rounds and then a final.  The kids did so great! I was so proud of them.  The girl that won lived in America Samoa for several years and went to school there, so I felt like maybe some people thought that was a little unfair, but it’s tricky to balance including the kids that have been lucky enough to go to school in America Samoa or New Zealand with the kids that have lived in the village their whole lives.    Overall, all the kids did fabulously.  It’s a new thing for the school and the village but it’s definitely something that I want to continue to do. 

Some funny things about English Day:

1.       One little boy came to school dressed in a big, fluffy white dress with gold hoop earrings and danced in the middle of his class during the song “Baby.”  It was really funny! (Side Note:  Gender is really different here.  Boys don’t have to prove their masculinity and there is no fear of someone calling you “gay” like in the states.  Boys often wear princess shirts, carry Barbie backpacks, and pink is in no way related to girls.  This applies to men of all ages.  But honestly, when a man is wearing a princess shirt and has just finished killing a pig with his bare hands—there really is no question about how masculine he is.)

2.       The kids all do this bow-like thing when they  finish performing, but it’s the exact salute that the Nazi’s did to Hitler.  So they all put one arm out in the air and then they bow.  It’s so different.  (Side Note #2:  People also have the swastika symbol tattooed on their bodies and draw it on all sorts of things.  I often have to remind myself that before Hitler, it was a symbol of peace—so it has very different meaning culturally.)

3.       People talked through the whole thing.  Which is also not considered rude culturally.  I didn’t really notice it that much until a women who is visiting from Bangladesh was like “I was so annoyed because people were talking the whole time.”  And I was like, yeah, they tend to do that.  People talk during prayers, church, speeches, plays, and even Spelling BEES!

I really felt like doing things like Spelling Bees and English Day is empowering my kids with the knowledge that they can speak English and that they can spell! When a kid learns a new word or when they read a new book I just get this feeling like they are being empowered with something that could really help them, that could really inspire them to want to pursue an education, and something that can make them feel smart.  Kids are always being told how stupid and bad they are here.  But I swear any time I tell them they are smart or that they can read or that I’m proud of them, there smiles get so big that I sometimes worry their cheeks are going to make their eyeballs pop out.  Part of that is because they think it’s funny that I’m saying that because they don’t believe it, which makes me want to cry sometimes—but regardless, they do smile, and those little smiles make me one happy girl! 

Apia...the NYC of Samoa.

I feel like I have mentioned Apia a lot in my other blogs but I haven’t explained enough of why it is so exciting to go there!  Apia is the capitol city of Samoa and is the only city in Samoa.  They have a McDonald’s! It used to have a movie theatre but it was destroyed in Cyclone Evan and they should be opening it soon.  But they have multiple restaurants, hotels,  internet cafes, a library (which apparently is kind of disappointing, but let’s not be picky),  banks, markets, shops, actual grocery stores that you go into instead of the stores in the villages where you stand at the window and tell them what you want and they bring it to you, nightclubs, and bars.  You see where the analogy of Apia to NYC comes in, right? 

The truth is, Apia is just really exciting because of what it entails.  To understand this, you have to understand village life.  So in the village, you are always being watched and everyone always knows what you are doing, who you are talking to, where you are going, and you will get asked these questions every time you go outside. You also can’t just leave  your house whenever you want, especially at night.  You have to wear a lavalava everywhere you go, which is basically just an extra piece of fabric to make you even hotter and even less attractive.  In the village, I eat taro everyday.  It’s usually accompanied by fish (which I actually do really really love, but it’s pretty much the same everyday), chicken soup, or chop suey.  IN the day time I eat crackers or instant noodles or a canned soda from the store and sometimes an ice-cream when it’s not “finished”.  Sometimes you can throw an orange in there when they are around.  That’s pretty much the extent of my diet.  Also, in the village I speak Samoan 95% of them time and English 5% of the time.  I really do love my village, I love school, I love my kids, I LOVE volleyball, I love my friends, but sometimes you just want to get out of the village life for  a minute. 

So, what does this have to do with Apia?  When you go to Apia you are free!!! You can wear whatever you want.  I pretty much just wear shorts or capris, but I try to avoid lavalavas at all cost.  You can also go wherever you want to go whatever time you want to go.  It’s pretty great.  One of my favorite parts about Apia is the food options! It’s amazing how excited a fish enchilada or cheeseburger can make you when you’ve been eating the same food for months.  And in Apia, almost everyone speaks English! But the VERY BEST part of the Apia trips is getting to hangout with my friends! I love being able to spend time with my fellow PCVs, especially the ones that have become some of my very best friends!

Usually we go on Friday afternoons or on the 6:00am ferry Saturday morning.  Getting to Apia is quite a journey. I usually wait for the bus for 30 mins to an hour.  And then the bus ride is an hour or an hour and a half.  And then the ferry ride is an hour and ten minutes. Then the bus ride from the warf to Apia is 50 mins.  But even after the four or so hours of traveling, I’m too excited to be there and see my friends that I don’t even feel tired.  We usually go straight to the hotel and crank up the air conditioner (except for the times we have been stuck in the non AC rooms, which were a little depressing) .  Then it’s not long before I jump in the shower and enjoy the hot water for a good 30 mins or so. Then it’s off to eat! Again, one of my favorite parts!  There is generally time spent interneting, watching a movie, walking around, and just spending time together in general.  But it’s never long enough.  It honestly feels like the weekend flies by and then it’s Sunday again and we are waiting at the market for the bus to take us to the ferry which will take us to the next bus that will take us back to our individual villages.  Back at our villages, it’s not long before we are calling and texting again about when our next trip to Apia will be.  I feel very grateful that I was sent to Samoa with such a great group of people.  They truly inspire me to be better, work harder, be more optomisitc, and to try harder to make the world a better place. 

The girl next door...

I don’t know exactly how my neighbors refer to me when I’m not at their house.  Ideally, they still call me Ally when I’m not around, but sometimes even people who know me well still call me “Palagi” or “Pisikoa” (white person or peace corps).  My host family calls me “Tiene lale” or “tiene lea” (that girl or this girl) when they are talking about me, it’s not offensive at all because it’s so common, but it still makes me laugh when I hear it. “Take the food to that girl.”  “What’s that girl doing?” “Be quiet, that girl is sleeping.”   So anyways, it doesn’t matter what my neighbors refer to me as when I’m not around, I have finally found a place that really feels like home. 

The last few weeks in Samoa have dramatically changed my attitude here, and I think I owe a lot of that to the family that lives next to me.  I’ve mentioned before that most Samoan houses are big open rooms with few walls or bedrooms (if any) and there is not a lot of privacy.  Because of this, it’s pretty much like we always know what our neighbors are doing at any given point of the day.  We can talk to each other by just raising our voice a little even when we are in our separate houses. 

This was the first family that I really met when I came to Savaii because this is where I play volleyball every day.  We also happen to go to the same church and they have several teenage girls that I really like.  They invite me over for Sunday lunch after church a lot of the time, which I always love! We watch movies, play cards, chat, watch Samoa Star Search, drink cocoa…it’s great! I now spend more time there than I do at my own house, but I love it because it’s a great fix for when I have that homesick feeling.  This family reminds me of what it is that made me fall in love with Polynesian culture in the first place.  I love big families. I love see the relationships and seeing the love and seeing the different ways that that love is shown.  I love watching them work together to get things done.  I love that they have to make approximately 50 pounds of chicken to feed all of the people in their family.  I love that they laugh at everything—that’s what always draws me over there.  When I’m sitting in my room alone, either in silence or just the sound of my own laughter when I’m watching Big Bang Theory (hilarious show, by the way—I totally recommend it!), and I hear the laughter next door, it’s impossible to stay away.  They have 20 people living there now (the compound has 2 houses) so there is pretty much always something going on.  Even during the afternoon malolo time that is generally an understood period of quiet/resting time all across Samoa, you can almost always count on seeing someone in the cooking house or hearing a baby crying.  Which I love since, as my PCV friend Zach recently pointed out, I’m addicted to noise and people.

Some more things I love about the neighbors: 

1.       They are all really good at volleyball.  Even the 6 year old sister has a better serve than I do; the 12 year old is way more consistent in her passing skills than I am and the 50ish year old mom and dad—well they just make me look pathetic.  The levels of anger that people have when I play on their team and suck (obviously) vary from person to person, but despite the fact that I am really terrible, even the most competitive members of the family still let play on their team every day. 

2.       They say the funniest things in English.  The littlest girl always tries to speak to me in English when we are alone.  She says a lot of words, I don’t really understand the message she’s trying to get across, but I’m always impressed with her vocab.  One thing she will say is “It’s very nice.”  or “NICE!” which I appreciate because that’s my most commonly used phrase in Samoan.  “Manaia!”  The older girls say things like, “It’s none of your business” and “I don’t care” or “It’s VERY no good.” and “the ball is very outside.”  They are always hilarious! But my favorite was when the 12 year old girl, who has become one of my best friends in Samoa, was walking home with me and we were holding hands and she whispered “I like your mom.”  I had shown them some pictures from America the night before and everyone was saying how young and pretty my mom is, but she was so cute when she said that!

3.       They buy Ice-Cream for people’s birthdays.  I don’t think this needs any commentary, it’s ice-cream! What’s not to love about that?

4.       They dance all the time. And sing.  It’s great!

5.       They have this family meeting thing where they get together with the extended families in the village for Sunday Lunch. There is so much food, it’s impressive.   I can’t tell you exactly what they talk about, but I know it’s about family things and making the family better.  Everyone has to give $5 (single) or $20 (couple) and they save the money for things like funerals or weddings or whatever comes up in the family where they will need money.  It’s great! I have been invited twice now and last time I gave my $5 and they wrote my name in the family book—I like to think that means I’m officially a member of the family! J

I feel so grateful to have these neighbors that have welcomed me so kindly into their home and have allowed me to feel like a part of their family.  It’s these kinds of things that make me love Samoa.  It’s going to be a great 2 years!

A little update of things in Samoa

Things here have gotten so much better this term than they were in term 1.  I feel so much happier and like I’m starting to feel at home here.

School has been slow this semester, but good.  I’m teaching my kids Zoo Phonics, which is letter sounds through animal names.  It’s fun and they love it.  I see progress with them, but it’s slow because I only have a very limited amount of time with them.  But next term it will be better!   I am planning another English Day which will be like a spelling bee, which I think will be a lot of fun for the kids and the parents. I’m really hoping it will be fun! And then we are having a soccer festival the last week of school, so my principal has roped me into being the soccer coach of sorts—I have led a couple of practices but mostly they just play an unorganized game with themselves for a couple hours in the evenings.  During the term break I am planning an English camp for the kids with another volunteer and his students.  It’s only three days, but it should be a lot of fun for the kids. I’m excited!!  We are planning scavenger hunts, crafts, plays, songs, games, reading activities, and lots of cool things! I think it will be great. 

We are also planning a GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) Conference in September –which will soon be posted online and asking for donations from friends and family back in the states, so I’ll give more information about it when that time comes.   Basically its going to be a really neat experience for the older girls in the Primary Schools that will talk about career options, importance of education, Health and other topics.  Many of the girls have never been to Apia before so this will be their first time. I think it will be awesome! I’m probably the most excited about this right now. 

On Monday I’ll be volunteering at the Special Olympics in Savaii, which I’m excited about.  And then next week will come back to Apia for the Closing Ceremony of the Pacific Partnership.  SO things have definitely picked up in terms of my busyness level—but anyone that knows me, knows I love being busy! And I think being busy makes me feel more useful and makes me feel more excited to be here! I’m loving it! Anyways, that’s a pretty general update of things in Samoa.  I really am grateful everyday to be here.  It’s a great blessing. 

The Crazy Events of Samoa’s Independence Day

Yesterday was one of the coolest days I have had in Samoa.  All of the PCVs travelled to Apia this weekend on Friday for some events that were taking place on Saturday.  The trip over was by far the worst that any of us had experienced so far.  There was a big storm so the sea was terribly rough, which meant a lot of sea sickness for most of us.  Luckily I didn’t throw up, but part of that was because there was so much rain outside and the seats were all taken so a lot of people were just standing under the little covering outside.  The thought of throwing up over the edge in the pouring rain while all those people were watching me greatly deterred me I think, but it was still an hour and half of torture nonetheless.  So we came to Apia Friday, did a little business in the office, and then after having Pizza, we went to a Faafafine show.  Faafafines are this really interesting concept in a lot of South Pacific Island(and maybe other places too).  They are boys that are raised like girls.  So generally they dress, talk, walk, and act very feminine.  You could write a book on the whole concept so I won’t try to explain them in this blog, just to say we would compare them to Drag Queens, but they aren’t really like that at all because it’s more of a lifestyle they have from childhood.  So anyways, we went to this pageant (kind of like a drag queen show) and it was pretty funny.  The Samoans were laughing so hard and screaming about everything so it was pretty funny to see them get so excited about everything.  So we came back pretty late on Friday….which leads me to Saturday….

We woke up at 6:30 on Saturday morning, 30 minutes later than what we had planned but my phone died so we missed the alarm.  We were supposed to be at the parade at 7:30, the paper technically said between 7 and 8 but our Country Director said 7:30.  The paper also said we would start walking sometime between 9 and 10.  So when we left the hotel at 7:30 we weren’t too worried because, Hello, it’s Samoa and nothing in the history of this country has EVER ran early!!!  So the taxi guy can only take us so far because of the traffic, so then we get out of the taxi at 7:40 and start walking.  We finally get to the parade sight at 7:55 and then across the field from where we are, we see the American Flag and realize that is where we need to be.  So we start walking over there.  At this point I must insert that it had been hurricane sized rain the day before so the field was obviously just a big mud pond that we are walking through, which means it’s  a lot trickier because your sandals sink in at every step and then you flick a little mud every time you pick up your feet.  As we get about half way to the other side we realize (well becca and kate realize because I’m too busy looking at the ground trying to pick the least muddy spots) that the Flag is moving and our group has started walking. Oh, another thing I must insert is that this “parade” isn’t at all what we think of when we think of parades.  Each group only walks about the length of a football field (maybe a little smaller).  There is this big awning that all the VIPs sit under and the news crew is under and that is where you walk.  So when the girls saw that they were walking, they started running, realizing we were about to miss the main reason we came to Apia this weekend.   Well I’m still focusing on getting the least amount of mud on my pants as possible, when I suddenly look up and realize the girls are about100 yards in front of me splashing mud all around them.  So then I say “Are we running now?”  and decided to jump on the band wagon.  It was at that moment that I see our group is almost right under the awning.  We were splashing mud on all of the people we were running past and the people were saying “Hey! Watch out!”  It was pretty embarrassing. So they get there you know like 15 seconds before me and then I finally run into the group literally right in front of a camera man almost knocking him and a fellow PCV, who happens to be a 72 year old woman, down to the ground.   So that was probably the most embarrassing moment of my life.  Ever. One of the other PCVs said her host family called and said they saw us running. So that’s just fabulous. 

We walk for about 5 seconds, do this little clap/knee slap thing, and say “Manuia lau aso  fua” or “happy independence day.” Then walk for another 15 seconds and then we were done. It was  super short and a lot of work for 30 minutes in the spotlight! Haha. But I was glad we made it, even if it was very last minute.   It was a neat experience and really cool to see what our version of the 4^th of July is like in Samoa. 

That evening we were invited to go to the Opening Ceremony of the Pacific Partnership.   I can’t really tell you a lot about the Pacific Partnership except to say that it involves tons of NGOs, US Government programs, the US Navy, possibly the French Navy somehow, and they are working with Pacific islands to develop sustainable programs and humanitarian aid where needed.  There were 700 people on the ship that arrived yesterday, but there were already a lot of people and navy guys that came earlier to start working on developing hospital resources and putting water tanks in school.  It’s a pretty fabulous program. 

None of us realized how big of a deal the ceremony was until the American and French Ambassadors were there from New Zealand (don’t ask me why they live in NZ, I get confused. I think they are ambassadors to all South Pacific Islands, but it’s confusing), the governor from American Samoa, the Prime Minister of Samoa, and a lot of other really important looking people.  Not to mention the hundreds of Navy people in their really nice uniforms.  The ceremony itself was pretty short but it was really neat.  They did the raising of the flags and the navy band played the Samoan National Anthem as well as the USA’s.  They played Samoa’s first and I immediately thought of my kids and how they sing it with so much pride and gusto every Monday and Friday morning during our prayer meeting at school.  I thought of how cool it is that this song has meaning to me and that I can sing some of the words to it and really be able to understand them.  And then they played the US national anthem and I got a little teary eyed.  I realized how proud I really am of where I come from and what the US represents-freedom and bravery and so many good things.  I really had one of those I AM proud to be an American moments.  I am proud to be working for the US government in Samoa as  a Peace Corps Volunteer.  I’m proud of the US government for being involved internationally and working with other countries to help them meet their needs and develop more where needed through programs like the Peace Corps and the Pacific Partnership.  It really is excellent.  I just thought it’s so cool that I get to be a part of this.  It’s amazing to me the things I’m learning in Samoa and trying to do here and how much love I’m developing for this country and these people.   The Samoan Flag really does have a special place in my heart now.  And I feel overwhelmed with gratitude thinking how I get to have this experience of serving in Samoa, while working for the US government.   We really are working together.  The Ambassador quoted Oprah saying, “We all have friends that want to ride in the Limo with us.  What we need is friends that will take the bus with us when they limo breaks down.”  Words of wisdom from one of my personal Heroes.

Emptying the Ocean with an Eyedropper....

I was reminded again of how being in the Peace Corps is kind of like trying to Empty the Ocean with and Eyedropper this week as I was noticing a few things that I felt proud of.  I have had to step back a few times already in Samoa and remind myself that I’m not going to change Samoa and I’m not going to change the world, but I will try to make a little difference in the lives of the people I come in contact with.  I had a training a few weeks ago with the teachers on how to use the copy machine and the computer.  It was all very basic stuff, ie, this is how you turn on the machine, this is how you open up a word document, this is how you print, etc.  But this week three of the teachers have come into use the computer and five of them have come into use the copier.  It makes me so happy to see them doing it themselves! So anyways, there is this one teacher that has never used a computer before. She asked me to type her son’s science project for him.  When I gave it to her, she asked me to make the font bigger.  So I said, “here, how about you try?”  She was so nervous she just laughed, and I gave her a look that clearly said “I’m not kidding.”  It was the first time she had touched a mouse I guess, so I put my hand on top of hers to show her how to guide the mouse and how to click on something.  It took us about 20 minutes to change the font and underline the titles of the 6 different sections, but as I sat there, I thought you know this is a lot better than me just doing it for her because hopefully she will see that she can learn to use the computer and they aren’t as scary as she thinks they are.  It felt good to feel like I was empowering her a little even if it is with such a small little thing.  It reminded me of the Benjamin Franklin quote “Tell me and I’ll forget. Teach me and I may remember.  Involve me and I’ll learn.”  That’s kind of my motto as I work with my kids in Samoa. 

Another moment that made me feel kind of proud happened as I was just sitting at my desk watching the kids in the library.  It was the last few minutes of free library time before the kids had to go back to class, and I was just sitting there watching them.   I noticed how many of the kids put their books back the proper ways (with the bind facing outward and on the appropriately colored shelf) and how they were turning the pages without ripping or bending them.  I thought back to term one when it was a completely unorganized mess and the kids had no idea of how to put the books on the shelf.  They have come so far.  It’s such a little thing, but it really is something that we have been working on for weeks and made me feel like we are actually making progress here. 

A similar feeling came as I was checking out the kids book at the end of library time and one of the girls yelled at the other kid, “FAI LE LAINA!”  (Make a line!)  I must explain here that lines aren’t really an understood concept in Samoa in my experience.  For example, at the wharf when you are buying your ferry ticket, it’s a gigantic blob of a mess. People just squeeze their hands in wherever they can to give the money to the clerk and if you do try to wait in the back thinking maybe you can make a line and people who come after you will get behind you, well then you are just stupid because you will wait forever until everyone else is done.  So anyways, I’ve been trying to teach them that when you want to check out a book you have to get into line, it’s a new concept.  We are working on it, but they are picking it up! And I love it! Anyways, these are just a few of the small accomplishments I have felt in the past few weeks. The little things are what keep me doing! And there really are a lot of them that add up to make my experience here pretty awesome.  

Mother's Day in Samoa

Mother’s Day was great here in Samoa.  As with any big occasion, there was a lot of food and church! I got to help my neighbors in making the candy necklaces for the women at the church, which was fun! I mostly just like doing it to spend time with them, but it was neat to learn how to make a necklace out of saran wrap and ribbon.  At church I felt a little homesick and missed my mom when I saw all the girls giving their moms the necklaces, but I also felt a lot of love from the women in the village on that day.  I know that they know I miss my family and I know they care about me.  I can feel their love, which makes me love them even more. 

After church, I went back home to have to’ona’i with my family, which turned out to just be my mom and sister because my dad and brother had gone to have to’ona’i with his family.  It was probably the best meal that I have had in Samoa, not only was the food good, but we had the best conversation because it was just so few of us and just the girls.  It was really nice.  I gave my mom a lotion from America (which she loved!),  a necklace, earrings, and a pair of shoes and she seemed really surprised and happy with the gift.  I realized how much I really do love my host family.  They are so good to me and so kind.  Especially, my host mom.  She always tells me there is nothing I need to worry about, which I just laugh at because I feel like I’m worried a million things at any given point in the day, but it’s just nice to know that they really do want me to feel relaxed and happy here.

I definitely miss my mom and have had lots of time to ponder how much I am grateful for her and all the lessons she has taught me throughout my life.  I feel very blessed to have a mom and stepmom that are both kind and supportive in all that I do.  I was so happy to be able to talk to both of my moms on Mother’s Day and then, like any great holiday in Samoa, top it off with a few games of Volleyball! What more could a girl ask for? 

English Day and the feat of the bugs….

Well English Day is finished….I won’t make this super detailed about the day itself since I already went through the program in my last blog, but I will say it went fabulously and I felt like a proud parent.  I sat on the side of the stage and mouthed the lines of every kid’s poem, all the lines to each skit and play, and sang all the songs and did the dance moves when the kids looked a little lost.  I gave them all thumbs up before and after and smiled with my most cheesy like velveta smile.  I was sooo proud. Honestly, I couldn’t ask for better students.  I did get a little “shush” cray-cray to the students that were sitting down and talking during the other student’s performances, but again, I was like a protective mother that wanted everyone in the world’s attention focused on her thirty children.  Oh, they really just did sooo great! They yelled their lines so that everyone could hear them (obviously there were no microphones) and they danced with vigor. 

I had to give a speech in Samoan and, although I was shaking with nerves, no one laughed at me so I felt pretty ok about it.  I just decided not to go into a career that involves me giving speeches in foreign languages…so that narrowed down my options by, well, not a lot.   We ended up not being able to find any speakers so we couldn’t show this really awesome PowerPoint I had made complete with two really awesome videos, which you know being a perfectionist I was really annoyed with for about two minutes…and then I remembered they never have technology at any of their programs so no one would care or notice a difference. And the kids were so wonderful they didn’t even need my technology.  I’m so proud of them! Like any Samoan event, it turned into an opportunity for people to give money.  So the parents and guests would bring up money to put in a bowl in front of the students when they were performing, which kind of distracts from the kids, but it’s a very culturally normal thing.  So we made quite a bit of money and then at the end the teachers split the money between themselves…some things I don’t really understand, but I nod and go with it. 

After the program the kids got to play soccer, which they love! The funny part was that most of the kids had worn super nice white church dresses and didn’t bring a change of clothes so there were like 20 kids out playing soccer with their dresses on and flying around.  They looked cute.  So we have a 2 week break, which isn’t much of a break because I really only have 4 free days out of the whole 2 weeks that I don’t have something planned and 2 of those are Sundays.  But I’m really excited for the break anyways! We will be having a get together with all of the peace corps next week at some nice beach fales, where we will have a bbq and swim.  So that will be fun! And then I’m going to try to go on a snorkeling day trip, because I feel like I need to see more sea life since I’m in the middle of the most beautiful ocean in the world.  Side note-I’m also going to get scuba dive certified! Because really, how often do you get to do that in your life! LIFE IS TO BE ENJOYED, NOT JUST ENDURED! And then I will go spend a couple of days with my host family from Utulaelae before we start our Early Service Conference the next week at the Peace Corps office.  I’m not excited to be sitting in a classroom during that time, but I am excited to be with all the other volunteers and to hear from the staff!

Besides English Day, the only Blog worthy thing is my experience with the GIANT BEETLES FROM HELL.  I’m not kidding when I say they are 2 inches long and over an inch wide.  It’s scary.  And there wings flap louder than a helicopter’s.  So the first one I saw was when I was inside my safety net (mosquito net) and the whole thing was moving as the beetle walked around on top.  That time I just stayed really quiet and hoped it would feel sorry for me and just leave me alone.  It did. The next one wasn’t so lucky though. I was sitting in my bedroom floor and it flew into my hair, where it kind of was hanging on so after I flipped it out, I decided it needed to do.  SO, I grabbed my sandal and hit it.  The think didn’t even crunch a little bit. Didn’t even act phased. So then I got scared and decided it really needed to die before it tried to seek revenge.  So I had to stand up and literally put all of my weight on the thing to crunch it (talk about having a shell of steel).    I have never seen a bug filled with so many guts before.  I’ll spare you the details of the smell and thickness of the guts as I cleaned them up, but take my word for it when I say it wasn’t pleasant.  See the picture on facebook for more details. 

The next one I saw, I decided I needed to show it to my host family to make sure that this wasn’t some kind of demonic, blood sucking, soul stealing bug.  So I heard it flying and when it landed on my suitcase, I was ready with a tanktop of mine to throw on it so I could capture it and take it to my host family.  But then I decided my shirt wasn’t thick enough to protect me from the bloodsucking, soul stealing, beetle.  So I threw a lavalava on it and then wrapped it up into a tiny little ball.  When I took it out to the family’s fale, they all cracked up at my reaction when it started flying and they told me it was fine.  The bugs and I are getting along pretty well in general, but this particular brand of beetle and I have mutually decided to be arch nemesis. I’ll keep you posted….