It feels like Christmas. Our PCMO (PC Medical Officer) brought the new guy around for a howdy tour. His name is Dr. Sam and he’s based in Tonga. Seems like a nice, down to earth guy. I’m trying not to take it personally that the Peace Corps hired a doctor for us who used to be a vet. At least he’s from the South, so I don’t have to explain the difference between “ya’ll” and “all ya’ll”. For any Samoans (or Yankees) reading this, the first one is singular, the second is plural.
After a brief exam, Dr. Sam thinks he has the answer to my ear issue that has caused severe hearing loss in my left ear since just after I arrived in Samoa. Likely that I have a problem with my Eustachian tube and it could easily be fixed with minor surgery. I’ll pass for now, but good to know.
In addition to bringing the obligatory stethoscope, they brought loot. It was great to meet Sam and see Teuila, but they weren’t out the door two minutes before I was checking out the boxes of stuff they delivered.
My friend John the Welder left recently after almost 4 years in Samoa as a volunteer. He was kind enough to pack up all his stuff and send it out to those who might use it. Or who begged loudest/longest. Whatever, he sent me a TV, radio, extension cord and a box of assorted goodies including spices, really good balsamic vinegar, wasabi powder, Febreze and a huge box of gallon size zip lock bags.
Are you aware that Samoa is a tropical island? Are you familiar with the aroma of mildew? Do the people who market Febreze not have a clue that we are a huge untapped market? Two large bottles of brought-to-Samoa-in-luggage Febreze is worth its weight in gold. John, I’ll miss you, but will think of you fondly as I use your stuff. Be safe on your ride home from Vegas.
BTW, the TV works and I get one channel that has a very snowy picture but pretty good sound. I get several radio stations very clearly and will have access to daily news for the first time in over 7 months. I think that’s a good thing. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Next, I ripped into the box from one of my best buddies. She moved to Florida the week before I left. Ironic, huh? I talked to her yesterday and she was telling me about their new pool. She knows how much I used to enjoy looking out at my pool at night, all lit up (the pool, not me, although wine was frequently involved). She said I’d be jealous because she has a remote control for her pool light. I used to have to walk ten feet. I’d just finished doing two buckets of laundry, by hand. I told her as politely as I could to shut the hell up.
Anyway, my friend wanted to share some of life’s luxuries and sent me treats for my new bathroom. A shower curtain and very nice shower hooks. Up until now I’ve been letting the water just spray all over the bathroom and then wiping it up after I shower. Now, I have a very attractive shower curtain. I don’t know if she realizes that the container for the shower hooks has a note on the label “Use container as tumbler or cotton caddy.” Reusable packaging. Very cool.
She also included, drum roll please, a set of sheets. Nice, soft, palagi sheets. Not like the current sheet I’m using that is roughly the texture of fine sand paper. Roughly…get it? I crack myself up.
Years ago I discovered the meaning of thread count. I prefer 800 count Egyptian cotton sateen sheets. When I was living in the lap of luxury with a room in my home whose sole purpose was to house a washer and dryer, I used to change my sheets often. As in 2-3 times a week. In the summer, I’d sprinkle a tiny bit of talcum on the sheets. In the winter, a wee spritz of cologne. “Green Tea” by Bulgari. How my life has changed. Did I not just wax poetic because I now have Febreze to spritz on my “it’s been raining/I’ve been too lazy to wash my laundry for over a week” sheets?
After putting down the new bath mat and contemplating how I’ll hang the shower curtain (there will be rope involved), I turned my attention to the last package. It was from cousins in Yuma, Arizona. Second only to Tucson, AZ as having the best Mexican food in the country. Yes, I know that people living in New Mexico think their Mexican food is best, but when you’re born in AZ, you tend to prefer the AZ version of Sonoran. We can argue about Hatch chiles and red vs. green another day.
I didn’t expect this package. A fabulous reminder of how someone’s unexpected thoughtfulness can have such a huge impact. I did not just rip into this package. One of my family had stopped by between package openings and I let him admire my new electronics. I allowed him to gaze at my new shower curtain and bath mat. I even allowed him to touch my fabulous new sheets while we hummed along to Enrique Iglesias on the radio. I was not, however, going to share the glee of package opening with him.
I’m very selfish that way. I wanted to be alone to slowly savor every object in that package. To think about what my cousins were thinking/talking about as they chose the objects and packed them. To allow myself to get a little homesick because we are so far apart. That’s part of the joy of opening a package, you see. Whoever it’s from, it’s about the care and love that went into it. The actual items are just incidental.
Well, not completely incidental. Especially when you have cousins like mine who are not only generous but f’ing brilliant (genetics, runs in the family.) Ok, so here’s what I found in that magical box:
• Jello. They took it out of the boxes to save room but remembered to cut the directions off one box and include it. I have not seen Jello in Samoa. I think we’ll be starting off the second term with a special treat for the teachers. Can’t wait to see their reaction! And there could be jello shots made with the cheap Niu Vodka.
• Individual size artificially sweetened drink mix. You may not be aware that I can’t drink the tap water here. I have a PC-provided water filter. If I forget to fill it, I get very thirsty. If I forget to clean it, I get very sick (hasn’t happened yet.) Diet soda is rare here. I drink a lot of water. Thanks to my buddies Kia, Poolboy (aka Michael), John and Madonna, I’ve been drinking a lot of different varieties of Crystal Lite. But, I’ve been hoarding my stash, since it’s getting low. Now, I have a new stash with a new brand and some new flavors. A delightful change of pace from plain water that may not sound like much to you, sitting in the United States surrounded by more food and drink choices than you could ever need, but for me, it’s a big deal.
• Cocoa. I don’t know who Swiss Miss is but I’d like to meet her. As much as I love koko Samoa, it’s a pain in the neck to make for myself at home. This morning as I made my 6:00 a.m. tea I was thinking how nice it would have been to have some cocoa instead. I have a friend who believes that God will provide so we shouldn’t worry about the future…it will be taken care of for us. I believe in a balanced portfolio, myself. I don’t think that because I wished I had cocoa that God made it appear. I believe he’s likely got much bigger fish to fry. All the same, the timing works for me.
• It is early May. Easter was last month. And what better way to celebrate Easter than with…PEEPS!!! Have I ever mentioned that I buy all my Easter, Valentine’s Day and Halloween candy at the ½ off sale after the holidays? Yes, I’m cheap. And I prefer my Peeps to have a little age to them. These should be awesome. Tonight, Mr. Kindle and I will be gorging ourselves on Peeps. In bed.
• And it will be romantic, because there will be candlelight from my new SCENTED, FLAMELESS CANDLE! For over 7 months people have been asking me what I wanted/needed. I never would have thought to ask for a candle like this. They included the batteries needed for the candle. Did I not say these cousins are brilliant?
• Fruit roll-ups, granola bars and a bunch of nutty goodness items. Like trail mix. Are you aware that peanuts are expensive here and any other kind of nut is not available? A good person would bring these snacks to share at next week’s training. I am not that good. Ok, Danny and Mika since your moms have been so generous to me, you may be in luck. May being the operative word. (Dear Danny/Mika's moms: I had full intentions of bringing some caloric love to your boys, but forgot the snacks. Didn't even bring any for myself. I apologized and gave them extra big hugs instead. I think they would have preferred fruit roll-ups, but they were gracious.)
• Black beans and chicken bouillon. I have some bouillon from a couple of other generous friends, but trust me, it will not go to waste. Samoans boil chicken in plain water and call it soup. I demonstrated what happens when you add some bouillon cubes, a few veggies and a bit of rice. They were impressed. And black beans…I’m already planning a Cuban night of gustatory delight that involves black beans and green bananas, which are very much like plantains.
• Lipstick. Did I mention that my lipstick bit the dust last week? I figure when you cut your lip by sliding it over your mouth when the lipstick is well below the level of the metal, it’s time for the trash. So imagine my delight when I found 2 tubes of new lipstick?? Love the colors. Subtle. Lipstick is the only makeup I still wear every day.
• What do you need when you have lipstick? A mirror! A giant hand mirror. I used the small mirror I have along with my new gift mirror to see the back of my head. For the first time in four months. Since the last time I got my hair cut she couldn’t show me the back because her mirror was broken and they’re too expensive to buy. Sadly, the back of my head is looking better than the front.
• Candy. Have I mentioned my sweet tooth? And they sent special candy, from Mexico. For those without a map, Yuma is very close to the Mexican border. This candy is suckers. They’re mango flavored and in a pouch of salt/chili powder. Lick, dip, lick, dip. What, you’ve never dipped green mango slices into salt and chili powder? Very popular in Latin America. I plan to introduce it here when mango season arrives. In the meantime, I’ve already enjoyed the first sucker.
• My cousins are not only brilliant but they’re a talented bunch. Terre included some of her homemade greeting cards. Beautifully done and I promise to try to be better about sending snail mail. Samoa does have very nice postage stamps, including one shaped like a butterfly that covers about 1/3 of the envelope.
It’s been a stellar day. It was clean up day at school and when the kids were done doing yard work I played games, sang and generally acted the fool with them. It was nice to see Peace Corps staff. It was great to get the loot. Yes, I love the stuff, but it really is the thought that counts. Knowing that my friend took the time to look closely at the pictures of my house so the items she sent would color coordinate…that my cousins took the time to find small and very special treats that will brighten a less than stellar day. I’m feeling the love. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
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