Shopping Details

I went to the market in Salelologa this morning. Saturday and Sunday mornings are best for fish shopping. I’m broke, since I had to front the money for my refrigerator and it will take a month or so for PC to reimburse me, so I was just window shopping.

There were lots of fe’e – octopus and several pusi – eels. A ton of reef fish of varying sizes and colors. Two items impressed me most. One was a huge yellow fin tuna that was going for $180. That’s about $75 USD for enough freshly caught tuna to feed a small army. Fresh enough for sushi, or in Samoa, oka, which is the raw tuna, onion, lemon juice and coconut cream concoction I love. The other was the lobster. I pointed at the largest one, about a 2-3 pounder, and was told $50. That's about $20 USD Then she explained that was for all of them, about 10. The big guy alone was $20 or about $8 USD. I’ll be back next week after we get our monthly stipend.

I always buy something from one woman. She appears to be elderly, but could be fifty. Hard to tell. She’s the grandmother (or mother?) of one of the boys in my school. She always greets me with a huge smile. We’ve now graduated to a hug/kiss on the cheek that is traditional here. I asked to buy a bunch of small ripe bananas for $3. She tossed in a second bunch (a total of about 2 dozen bananas) and five oranges. Which are bright green, but ripe. They just came into season and I’m looking forward to trying them.

I also bought a head of cabbage for $5, which was a steal. It’s been really expensive, as in $20 for a small head. I scored a bag of carrots for $5, a ready-to-eat serving of palusami (baked taro leaves and coconut cream) and some pankeke balls. I feel like they’re healthier when I think of them as pankeke instead of the donuts they actually are.

I bought chicken last night at my family’s faleoloa. $2.20 for three large chicken leg/thighs. Chicken is the biggest bargain and I don’t understand it. On the bus today a guy got on with two cases of the frozen chicken legs. Tyson. From the USA. How can they import chicken so cheaply but tp is really pricey?

Anyway, now you know what I’ll be dining on for the week. I’ll share the bananas with my family and the teachers.

Random Stuff

Good news. I found a work-around for my hardware issue and solved the software problem so I'll be uploading photos next week. Few words, lots of pix.

This is just a series of random thoughts and observations. I expect things to settle down soon, which will give me more time to be a bit more organized with posts. Also, I’m hoping to get a landline and internet in my new casa sometime in the next month. Here we go:

I told you in yesterday’s post about the girl with a broken arm. I forget to mention the young boy whose eye is swollen completely shut. I noticed it the other day and it seems to be getting worse. He says he scratched it with his finger in his sleep. It looks like his eye has been replaced by a tennis ball. He does not complain about it.

We had a professional development session this week. We observed traditional meeting protocol, which means that the presenter talks while everyone else continues chatting, texting and talking on cell phones. At first I tried to concentrate on the speaker, who speaks very softly, which is the custom here. Hard for me to hear and harder still to mentally translate. With the distraction of the other conversations, which were louder than the presenter, it was difficult and frustrating. I gave up and wrote ideas for this entry instead.

Corporal punishment is traditional here and although it’s been outlawed in the schools, it still happens. Thankfully, not so much in my school, although one teacher is known as a hitter. She led the assembly yesterday and called one boy over and sent him running into a classroom. He came back with a 3 foot stick, about 2 inches thick. She used it to hit him and a couple of other boys on the behind, hard. Seems they were fighting after school yesterday.

Have I mentioned I don’t have a mirror? They’re expensive and I found one that was “only” $25 tala, but it wasn’t actually a mirror, just a reflective surface and smudges couldn’t be wiped off. So, no mirror. I haven’t seen a full-length mirror since I got to Samoa. I just shower, dry my hair, get dressed and go. I feel beautiful, so I’m going with the theory that that’s how I look.
I wear lipstick, by the way. One of the teacher’s likes the color, so she frequently uses it. We share a lot here.

I think my friend Donna is having an affair with the guy in the post office in her town. Why else would she send me packages so often? She’s been wonderful about sending stuff I ask for along with some cool stuff she thinks I might enjoy.
Like the small packages of salami, pepperoni and jerky. I’d never even thought about it, but what a treat! Plus, small and packable. She remembered that I love peanut butter and salami sandwiches with grape jelly. Have I mentioned I have a weight issue? I also love peanut butter and avocado sandwiches. I introduced my former family to those, since avocados are cheap and plentiful in season here. Sadly, the season is about over.

Donna sent me a package of Tic Tacs. I offered some to one of the teachers. Shook a couple out into her hand and she looked at them. Then she looked at me. Then she looked at them. I popped mine in my mouth, so she did too. She was very surprised at the taste. I had the same experience with other teachers and one of the kids. The boy was clearly leery about putting them in his mouth but thrilled when he tasted it. Candy! I wonder what the reaction would be if I gave them Altoids?

I’m having shoe issues again. Two pairs I brought from the States have given up the ghost. Now a third pair is getting ready to die. Very sad, but I have found a couple of places in Samoa where I can get cheap sandals (not thongs) that I can wear. Just frustrating, but says something about how much I walk.

I was doing dishes last night and gazing out the window over the sink. Have I mentioned what a luxury it is to have an indoor kitchen after five months of not having one? I’m used to seeing the couple of big pigs and flock of chickens rooting around under the trees, so didn’t think anything of it when I noticed a pig. Wait, that’s a HUGE pig. No, it’s too big for a pig. It was a bull. I saw my “brother” moving it to a new place to graze this morning, so I guess we own a bull. I also discovered a horse tethered in the front yard.

I really like the people I work with. We chat before school, during recess and after school while they wait for the bus. Mostly they speak to me in Samoan and I answer in English. Sometimes they switch to English when we get stuck. I use as much Samoan as I know. I’m getting better but still light years away from fluent. Mostly we talk about sex. Specifically, we talk about my sex life. It is actually non-existent, but if you heard the conversations, you’d think I’m the village slut. They find it wildly amusing so every morning when they ask who I slept with the night before I make up wild stories. We laugh a lot. When I told them I thought I might be pregnant with the principal’s baby, I thought they’d hurt themselves laughing.

I sing hymns, on demand. Yesterday I sang Amazing Grace to 200+ kids in an effort to teach them. They’re good singers and learn quickly. We’ll be singing it again in assembly on Monday. I was given 5 minutes notice, by the way, that I’d be teaching an English hymn.

Flexibility. That’s the key to life in the Peace Corps.

What a Week!

Hard to give this week a popo rating. Guess it averages out to a 3. Highlights are the new house. I'm feeling very comfortable there and it makes such a difference.

I went snorkeling after school yesterday. Not a bad way to relax after a hot day of teaching.

The downside was this morning at school. A year 5 girl came in and one of the teachers and the former principal were talking to/about her. I glanced over and realized her arm was broken. A compound fracture of the forearm. She wasn't crying. They were questioning how she broke it and why she was playing rugby with the year 8 boys. I was thinking that the kid had to be in incredible pain.

I thought I understood them say they'd send her home (walking) so her mom could massage the arm. That's the most common treatment for bone breaks here. I asked if they were taking her to the hospital. They seemed to consider that and the teacher took her away.

I walked out to see what was happening and was told they were taking her to her mother, who would do the massage. They did suggest the hospital to her. I asked if it was lack of money that kept her from going to the hospital. Yes, along with the belief that massage is a great alternative.

When I was in the training village, I saw a man of about 20. Handsome and strong with a pronounced limp, caused by a broken bone that wasn't correctly set. The result of massage instead of a cast.

On a different note, I can still tell who voted in the election a few weeks ago. They all look like they got their right thumb caught in a car door. Black at the base of the nail. Seems it is the indelible ink used when they voted. Apparently a lot of people voted.

I'm glad it's Friday and looking forward to some lesson planning/preparation and snorkeling this weekend.

Differences in Samoa

It’s been almost a week in the new house now and it’s starting to feel like home.  I hung curtains.  Well, I stapled pieces of fabric, which is similar in a low budget kind of way.

One of the huge differences here is how open everything is.  Although palagi (western style) houses are becoming more popular, most folks still live in open fales, which means no walls.  If you’re taking a nap in the middle of the day and you live on the main road, everybody driving by will see you.

Whatever you own is on display.  Whatever you’re doing is right out there.  Completely different and hard to adjust to for me.  I grew up with my own room.  For the last umpteen years I’ve lived in my own house.  The house I’ve lived in for the last sixteen years or so not only has walls, it has a wall around the yard in back so even my pool is completely private.

My Florida house is close to my neighbors but because we have walls and window coverings and a culture that’s big on privacy, I don’t see my neighbors that often.  They were friendly and we’d wave and say hello as we saw each other pulling in and out of our garages.  We’d chat during morning or evening walks but we didn’t know the daily routines of each other’s lives.

That is very different here.  I now live on a compound that is composed of several houses.  I’m still not sure how many or who lives here.  Sound odd?  It’s because houses aren’t set in a row like a sub-division.  They’re sort of scattered, in fairly close proximity.  There’s a house at the front of our property, closest to the road.  I believe it is abandoned, but am not sure.

Behind that is a faleoloa (store) which is hugely popular with the school kids, since the school is next door.  The back of the faleoloa has living quarters but I’m not sure if anyone actually lives there or if they just hang out during business hours and use it as a TV room.

Next to the faleoloa, in front of my house, is a faleo’o, the traditional open fale with thatched roof.  I was told only one 17 year old sleeps there, but I’ve seen several family members napping there during the day and hanging out there until late into the evening.

Next to my house is the “big house”, which is more western, but windows on all sides and just one very large room on the inside.  I was told that “everyone” sleeps there, except the 18 year old.  That would be mom, dad, a first grader, and a brother who’ll be going back to the university next term.  There are two other brothers who live in Apia while attending University.

Behind the “big house” is the kuka or kitchen.  It’s a roof over an area where they make the cook fire, which is how they make food for each meal.  Next to the kuka is the toilet and next to that is the shower.  The shower is about 2 steps away from my back door.  It is not covered and given the proximity I can tell you every time someone takes a shower.

As far as I know, the only people using the kuka, toilet and shower are my immediate family. 

Sounds fairly simple, right?  Well, here’s where I get confused.  On the other side of me, just a few steps from my house, is another faleo’o.  I believe this one is only used for hanging out, much like we’d use a porch.  There’s a house next to that, along with bathroom and kuka, but I couldn’t tell you who lives there, other than one of my Year 7 boys.  He’s a cousin of my current family. 

In front of that house is a large western style house that I believe an uncle from New Zealand lives in, when he’s on the island.  I’m basing that on the fact that his truck is parked there.

The confusing part is that because Samoans are social and have large families, it seems to be very common to hang out or sleep wherever.  At both houses where I lived previously, I’d either come home or awakened to someone I’d never seen before sleeping on the floor.  No introductions were ever made.  When I asked, the explanation was usually along the lines of “Oh, family, you know.  Visiting.”  Some visits lasted a few days, others weeks.  Sometimes they spoke to me, sometimes not.

About speaking to me.  One of the challenges here that several of us have encountered is the reluctance of men of any age to interact with a palagi woman.  There seem to be 3 categories of men. 

First, and most common, are those who will literally run if they think you’re about to speak to them (remember the bus driver who didn’t pick me up because he was afraid I’d speak to him in English?)  As I was settling in last Sunday, I was offered to’ona’i…the big Sunday meal.  It’s a time for serious chow and socializing.  I was given the option (I thought) of either joining the family or having them bring me food so I could eat on my own.

I was hot, sweaty and tired from moving all my junk but wanted to be social.  I said I’d love to join them, right after I washed my face.  The young man who made the invitation looked nervous.  I asked if it was best if I came or not.  He hastened to assure me that of course I’d be welcome.  But he said he should probably double check. 

He came back a minute later saying he was really sorry but that “the boys” were uncomfortable with the thought of eating with me.  I get it.  Language differences, the feeling that you have to be on your best behavior with the stranger, walking on egg shells because you might step on a cultural no-no.  I really do get it.  Ditto from my side of the fence.  They sent a lovely tray of food to me.

The second category is men who may or may not speak much English, but figure they know enough to ask if you want to fool around.  Or, get married.  As I’ve written, they may be 15 or 75, age and marital status don’t seem to be part of the criteria.

The third category are what I think of as Westernized Samoan men.  Many who have lived or studied abroad, usually in New Zealand, sometimes in Australia and a few in the U.S.  They are more comfortable interacting with palagis because they’ve had experience.  They aren’t ashamed of their English and seem happy to talk about their country and their life here and overseas.  Some have also used their language skills to take the Romeo route.  It’s been made very clear here that snagging a palagi wife or girlfriend is a coup.  We’re “beautiful”, because we look different, but mostly, we’re rich and don’t have our own huge families to support.

More on stuff I’ve noticed later.

Last Housing Update, I Swear

I'm happy to report that I got a call from my new family on Sunday morning, telling me they'd worked all night and my house was ready to move into.  I was a bit leery, but checked out of the hotel and took my bags with me.  Cab was courtesy of a very nice woman from American Samoa.  We'd been chatting and since she was a teacher, too, wanted to pay my taxi to the new house.  Very generous!

When I arrived, the house looked great.  There were a few minor issues the first couple of days, but they've continued to work and things are wonderful.

I woke up at 5:30 a.m this morning and stepped out of bed.  Not off the floor, out of bed.  I went to the bathroom, without walking outside.  The bathroom is new and sparkling clean.

Last night I used my new kitchen to make a huge batch of pasta salad with tuna for the teachers I worked with.  They've asked me to cook everyday.  I can't afford either the time or money for that, but plan to provide lunch every couple of weeks or so.

Rather than bore you with details of the house, I'll work on getting photos uploaded.  Just know that I was not as calm and pleasant as my blog indicates.  I think hissy fit is the phrase I'm looking for.  Having privacy and close proximity will make life so much easier. 

Thanks for all your positive thoughts and comments.  Now I can start telling you about more interesting things.  Like, did you know that the gauges on busses here don't work?  At least not on any I've ridden in.  Not the gas gauge, speedometer, nothing.  

More to come soon, along with photos!

Housing...

I just wrote a brilliant entry, filled with humor, pathos and deep insights.  Then the computer crashed.  That's been my last 48 hours.  So, here's the Reader's Digest version:

I shopped in the morning, very excited about moving.  After some delays we packed all my junk into the "old" family's pick up.  It filled the bed of the truck and part of the back seat.  When we arrived at the new house, they were still working on it.  We moved all my junk into an open fale.

After talking to PC and the homeowners, I am now in a hotel.  At least until Monday.  The family is working hard on the new house but there were issues.  The window frames were the wrong size.  The electicity was out yesterday.  Noone told me.

I'm frustrated.  I envisioned a dinner of green chiles, cheese and homemade tortillas in the privacy of my own home.  Instead I had a lovely dinner of fish and chips, looking out at the ocean.  Coincidentally, one of the employees is the dad of two of my students at the school.  Talking to him was a good reminder of why I'm here.

I saw a news report tonight about Japan.  It is tragic and helps put things in perspective.  I'm fine, safe and hope my stuff is, too.  If it's not, there's always other stuff.  Right now, there's a three year old trying to get my attention.  I sense some Hokey Pokey coming.

Tsunami and Housing

It's been a 2 popo week in Faga.  The week had it's normal ups and downs, as all weeks do.  Because I was anticipating the move, I had less patience with some of the stuff at home. 

On Thursday night I went to sleep at the usual 10:30.  When I was deep asleep, I got a text from PC warning about the earthquake in Japan and possible tsunami.  We were hold to stand fast, which means sit tight and stay tuned.  I went back to sleep.  Then got a call from the country director asking if I'd gotten his email.  Yup, holding fast here under the covers.

An hour later, I woke up when a lizard fell on me.  I really am starting to hate lizards.  A bit later someone knocked at the door.  "What?"  No response except another knock.  There's only one person who knocks on my door in the middle of the night.  Sometimes she does it just to ask if I'm awake.  I called her name as I struggled to disentangle myself from the mosquito net and get off the floor.  The only response was another knock.

I opened the door, and said, with more than a touch of exasperation "What do you want?"  "We're evacuating.  Leaving now."

Okay, "stand fast" might have meant be prudent and pack a bag in case of evacuation instead of rolling over to snore some more.  I washed my face, brushed my teeth and regretted not showering before bed.  I threw on some clothes and grabbed my backpack.  Imagine you have 2 minutes to pack.  Everything you leave behind may be lost forever.  What would you take?  At 2:30 a.m., still half asleep?

I took my PC passport, safe in a ziplock; TP; a change of clothes; large bottle of water; Mr. Kindle; my headlamp; mosquito coils and mosquito repellant.  How'd I do, PC?

After packing like a wild woman, I raced to the main fale, where everyone was huddled around the TV.  The report was coming in from Japan with text scrolling to say there was a tsunami watch in effect for Samoa.  I knew that.  What had changed to make them want to evacuate now?  "Ou te le iloa"  "I don't know."

After half an hour, I quit watching TV and went back to bed, fully clothed.  What seemed like seconds later, in the middle of a lovely dream the phone rang.  It was PC, saying that Samoa wasn't advising that but it would be better to be safe than sorry, so evacuate.  This time it was my turn to wake everybody up.

After some confusion about who was going in which vehicle, much as if the 3 Stooges were facing a tsunami evacuation, we headed out in a 3 vehicle caravan.  I was with my buddy from New Zealand in the last truck. We headed inland up the auala galue, the road to the plantations.

We drove at about 5 MPH for 30 minutes or so.  We parked.  I tried to get in a comfortable position to grab a bit of shut eye.  Ten minutes later, we all drove on.  I have no idea why.  Neither did the driver.  We parked again, and I went back to trying to get comfy.  Another ten minutes later there were lights.  Seems some folks didn't believe the tsunami warning and were heading to work on the coast and we were blocking the road.  More vehicle maneuvering.  I tried again to get to sleep, with the radio from the next car blasting.

After an hour of sweltering in the truck with windows closed against mosquitos, we heard a yell.  "All clear.  Alu i le fale."  We're going home.   Excellent.  Home.  Bed.  When we got there I asked about school and was told there would be no school because of the discombobulation during the night.

I fell onto my floor/bed fully clothed and started snoring.  When someone knocked on the door 30 minutes later I was not happy.  And they kept knocking, but not acknowledging my shouts of "What?"  What I really meant was "WTF?" but that seemed harsh.

It was my "sister", asking why I wasn't ready for school.  "You said there was no school."  "Not for children.  Only for teachers."  Then I was informed I had ten minutes to shower and change.  Which I did.

I was surprised then to see lots of kids at school when we arrived.  About half the school was there.  I was there physically but mentally I was in the dream that the PC Director interrupted hours before.

The day ended with a shopping trip to buy a refrigerator for my new house.  It's lovely, with a small freezer.  And, I can lift it.  By myself.  Gives you an idea of how large the fridge is.

We took it to my new house.  We couldn't put it inside because the house wasn't ready but we were assured that it would be all set for my move in on Saturday.

TO BE CONTINUED...WILL SHE ACTUALLY MOVE??