Shocking!

“Just get high!” said Samoa Country Director Dale Withington. He was making an impassioned speech during the first session of our Early Service Conference (ESC). Before you call 60 Minutes or your Congressman, Dale immediately clarified his statement.

“Just get to high ground.” he clarified. “Don’t get high!”  Poor Dale.  It was one of those moments we’ve all had when the words just don’t come out right.  He was talking about what to do when an earthquake lasts for 30 seconds or more.  That is the signal of a likely tsunami and Dale was making the point that we should not wait for direction from PC.  We should just haul ass uphill as fast as possible, since we might have only minutes to escape.

Thanks to Dale we started off the 1 ½ week conference with a good laugh.  That was a good thing since many of us were dreading being back in training together.  We all like each other well enough but our initial training was long enough, boring enough and put us in such close contact that most of us were not looking forward to revisiting the experience.  A few volunteers visited my village recently and were moaning about going to ESC.  One tried to be upbeat and said “Well, it will be nice to see everyone again.”  Someone else glumly piped up with “For about five minutes.”

I’ve been pleasantly surprised so far with ESC.  It is nice to see everyone.  Lots of hugs.  And since I prefer interacting in small groups or one-on-one, I’m doing my catching up over dinner with people I really like rather than hitting the bar with the whole group in the evening.

Tonight will be a special night.  Pizza with my boys.  Just me, Mika, Tevi and Danny.  Moms, this one is for you.  I’ve already gotten the scoop on love life and school.  I’ll be digging for any more info tonight and will keep you posted.  All three guys seem very happy and look well.  Mika has gained some weight and it looks good on him.

The content of the conference itself has been a pleasant surprise.  It is relevant, worthwhile and is giving me a lot of good ideas that I can immediately go back and put into practice at my school.  Exactly what I was hoping for.  Tevita and Mafi– you guys rock!

Another quote worth noting was also during the medical session with the new Dr.  One PCV asked how long it would take for her fungus to clear up.  “Two years.” piped up another volunteer and that got another laugh, since we’ve all dealt with or are dealing with a variety of infections and jungle crud.  Actually, I’m soaking my still nasty big toe in hot water and antiseptic as I type.

Aside from the professional development aspect of the training, we’re also getting some time to do a little shopping.  I’ve been very successful.  Here’s what I’ll be taking back to Savaii:

·          Chili peppers in a jar.  They look like pepperocini, but I think are hotter. $5.50

·         A travel Parcheesi game $3.90

·         Lemon juicer thingy $6

·         Can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup.  $6.50

·         S.O.S scrubber sponge $9.00

·         Small jar of no-name-brand peanut butter $12.00

·         Small jar sweet relish $8.00

·         2 frisbees for the kids $12.00

·         Vifon Tuong Ot which is an awesome sweet/hot sauce $1.20

·         New skirt and blouse from the used clothing store $26.00 Yes, I’m buying used clothing in a third world country.  I’m in the Peace Corps, where they don’t give us many of your tax dollars to keep us fed and clothed and clearly I spend my extra money on food.

·         I did not find olives after looking in 4 stores.

Things I didn’t not buy because it was so freaking expensive:

·         Quaker oatmeal  - $22.00

·         Brie - $34.00

·         Nutella $22.00 

·         Yogurt $3.50 for tiny carton

·         Diet Coke $5.00

I have no dinner plans tomorrow night.  I scoped out the steaks at Farmer Joe’s.  I’m planning to cook in the hotel kitchen.  The current menu is:

·          steak (bloody rare),

·         salad made with HTG lettuce ( which they have here for only $3.20 and don’t have on Savaii for any price)

·         corn on the cob (I didn’t check the price, so that may not happen)

·         icy cold beer. I’d prefer an icy cold Blue Sapphire martini, straight up

Overall, it’s been a good week so far.  I’ve splurged on a massage, eaten both Chinese and Indian food, gotten a haircut and talked to friends I see only once every couple of months. 

Photos to follow.