Last Week in the Training Village

In Apia today for our last center day.  I'm headed back to the training village this evening to complete the last week of training in the village.  Hard to believe that I've been in Samoa for two months and in the village for 6 weeks.

I've only got a couple of minutes, so here are some highlights:

Final language proficiency interview is Friday afternoon.  My language sucks.  I'm hoping to be charming and talk fast and maybe he won't notice that my use of prounouns (there are about 423 in fa'a Samoa) is random.

Saturday, we'll be picked up at 9 a.m. in the village and transported back to Apia for our final week at the Pasifika Inn.  I'm looking forward to a variety of western style foods and vegetables.  Being back in the hotel/class with the troups, not so much.  We're all ready to head to our sites.

On Friday, December 17, we'll be sworn in, assuming that I pass my language exam (and they'll be looking for ways to pass me, I think) and don't get arrested for drunk and disorderly.  I don't think that will be an issue, although I do plan on a couple of martinis next week.  On December 18 we'll experience what I've been warned is the most traumatic PC experience.  The moment you're dropped off alone in your new village. 

We're all excited and ready for the adventure to continue.  I think some of us are genuinely going to miss our host families/village and the comfortable routine we've created there.  There's so much more I could write about our time in the village, some poignant stuff, some funny but that will have to wait for another day when I have more time.

I'll be blogging more from Apia next week.