What a Week

As usual, I'm typing this as fast as I can so I can get on a bus home before they stop running. I have the added incentive of having a very long document with a complicated format to type tonight for my pule and SRO. They've been working on it for several weeks. They told me five minutes before I left school that they needed to have it typed by the time school starts tomorrow. I'd complain that that's PC life for you, but actually, it's life anywhere you have a job, in my experience.

Here's a quick synopsis of the last week. I'll be adding more entries and some great photos as soon as I can. No, I don't have a phone yet, or internet at home. I applied for the land line 3 weeks ago today but no word. I'm hopeful but not optimistic that I'll have it next week.

Ok, I heard about my friend's death on Thursday afternoon. On Friday I decided I wasn't up for hosting a housewarming and postponed it. Good thing, since on Saturday I got food poisoning. I was sick as a dog for a few days. Happily, I have an indoor bathroom, with running water.

Not to worry that I was sick alone. My family came to check on me. My SRO came to check on me and my pule came to check on me. After being out of school Monday and Tuesday, I went back on Wednesday. Weak as a kitten, but back. Figured I'd get some food in me and I'd been drinking as much water as I could but started feeling worse instead of better. Stomach was now fine, just "puny".

3 friends arrived on Maunday Thursday for the start of our "grand tour of Savaii" weekend. I was determined I was going, puny or not.

Woke up Friday with a badly infected toe. It had been slightly infected and I'd been soaking it in hot water and using antibiotic cream. Clearly not enough.

Hated to do it, but started the trip off with a trip to the hospital. It's close to me and across the street from the "good" store in Tuisivi, so they dropped me off and went to the store. Here's my experience at the hospital:

Walked in to outpatient and was asked to register, down the hall. Did that. Took approximately 2 minutes. Went back to outpatient and was asked to have a seat in the clean/air-conditioned room. Waited less than 10 minutes to see a charming doc. While I waited I was hugged by two different nurses.

The doc diagnosed a rare disorder. It's an unusual kind of fungal infection that you can only get in Samoa. Ok, that's a load of crap. It's an infected ingrown toenail on my big toe. She prescribed antibiotics and told me to have the script filled across the hall. A nurse cleaned up and bandaged my toe and hugged me goodbye.

While I was waiting for the prescription, my friends came back from the store, so timing was perfect. All told, it took less than 30 minutes and cost less than $30 US.

We headed out for the tour. We started by heading north. We saw lava fields. Some of us swam with turtles while others took photos. I would have been in the water but figured my toe deserved a break. Sesa didn't stop smiling during the entire turtle experience. It cost $5 tala per person. A bargain.

Next we headed to the spot I wanted to see - Seki A Pizza. Reputed to be the best pizza in Samoa. It was. And not overly pricey. Ironically, it's only an hour from me but because of bus schedules, I may not get pizza there again for quite awhile.

Because we're gluttons and I wanted to see Le Lagota, a fancy resort, we went there next for dessert. Banana tart with coconut ice cream and chocolate drizzle. OMG. While sitting overlooking a long, wide beach with only a few people. I really am working hard in the PC and have lots of deprivations, but this was just one of the moments over the holiday that I felt like "beach corps".

After gorging ourselves, we hopped (ok, slouched) back in the RAV-4 and headed off. We headed toward the Dwarf Caves and a crater and ended up on a very bad, hilly road in BFE. Never did find the crater, but laughed our heads off and generally had an enjoyable time.

Back on the main road we headed to the bat cave. No, really, it's a cave right by the main road with lots of bats. The batmobile stayed outside.

Next we went to Asau where we rudely dropped in on another volunteer. He was gracious, even though he was busy working on the same project I'll be typing tonight. We spent the night at a fabulous resort called Vai Moana. Reasonable prices (about $40, USD, per person and included dinner and full breakfast) and the food was extraordinary.

I realize I'm beginning to sound like I'm writing for Bon Appetit, but hey, I didn't eat for almost a week. I was hungry. I'll give details later but discovered if you shred vi (known as the Samoan apple) and smother it in coconut cream, it is amazing. Then dip hot buttered toast in it and you have the breakfast of ...fat people. But happy fat people.

After a relaxing Saturday morning we headed off for...lunch! We connected with another volunteer who joined us at another stellar resort. I want to stay there sometime. $85 tala for an over-the-waves private apartment. Meals included. That's about $40 US.

Then we became real tourists. We stopped at the blowholes. Aside from the food, watching a guy throw coconuts into a hole so they ocean could blow them a couple of hundred feet in the air had me laughing and clapping. Video to come. Stellar. I was also feeling more human by then.

We stopped at some waterfalls, where only Sesa was willing to change into her swim attire in the car. Got some great photos of her. Not changing, you perverts, but under the waterfall.

Did some shopping in Salelologa and headed home. We spent Sat/Sunday nights at my house. Went to mass on Sunday. Ate, slept and mostly, talked.

I was back in school today and life is back to normal. I feel human. The kids are being end-of-term wild, but controllable, and I'm definitely part of the community. Of course I still don't know when someone calls me by name and says hello if it's because they know me or just have heard of me, so I commit social gaffes on a regular basis. On the bus coming to town this afternoon a woman acted as if she knew me, so I acted like I knew her.

You know that game you play at cocktail parties when you think you should know someone but can't for the life of you remember who the heck they are? Of course then she pointed out that she'd never met me but knew about me because she knows Lissa who used to be a volunteer and heard that I once visited Lissa's house. Yes, I did. October, 2010.

At the market a woman said "Did you go to school today?" "Yes, I teach in Faga." "I know, you teach my son." Oh, crap. Missed that one. So when the lady outside the Post Office called me by name and said hello, I just said hello and kept moving.

There's no question the people here think I'm a bit slow. They could be right. BTW, I came into town specifically for mail. I'm hoping a couple of packages arrive soon since they were shipped over a month ago. Mail is delivered every Tuesday and today is Tuesday.

But...today is the Tuesday after a holiday Monday, so there will be no mail until tomorrow. The earliest I can get back to check mail is next Monday. Oh, well.

Bottom line, I'm healthy. We had a great trip and Easter was excellent, with great food, if I do say so myself. We splurged and bought a tiny canned ham and had a dinner that involved ham/fresh pineapple/edam, glazed carrots and mashed potatoes. And palusami and taro, courtesy of my family. It is Samoa, after all.