Vote

I just sent in my vote for both Presidential and Legislative candidates. If I can vote from a small island in the middle of a very large ocean, you can too. Please remind everyone. We are a free country, because we can vote. DO IT!

Photos

A new bus which can take me to Salelologa.

I don't get cell coverage in my house, so make all of my phone calls at the road.  These are some of the kids who live next door and keep me company.  The two younger boys scream "We love you, Nancy!" when they see me, thanks to their oldest sister (not shown).  It will be so hard to say goodbye.

 

 

Photos!

I'm heading to the training village today. Since it's a holiday (White Sunday Monday) we aren't leaving until 3:00 p.m. I'm using my time on the internet to post some photos. I hope you enjoy them.

We were sitting on the bus, waiting for it to take us to Salelologa.  We passed the time by taking photos.  She's a beauty.

Sunrise in front of my house.  This is the view as I walk to work. Not a bad commute, eh?

I always get to school early and these boys are usually already there.  The beautiful sunrise is behind us.

The boy on the left is Pula'a.  He's in Year 8.  He's always the first to arrive at school, to unlock the classroom and begin cleaning.  He's a smart, funny and amazing boy.  When I first arrived I occasionally called him pua'a instead of Pula'a.  Pua'a means pig.  He never held it against me.

Random Stuff

I bought groceries yesterday because I knew restaurants would be closed today for White Sunday. One of my purchases was a bag of octopus flavored chips. I couldn't resist. Last night when I got into bed, I pulled up the sheet. It came up only as far as my waist. The nice lady who serviced my room had put the sheet on horizontally rather than vertically. Four of my Group left yesterday for Savaii. But they were here this morning when I got up. The van they'd arranged to the wharf didn't show up. They flagged another van but after they drove ten minutes the driver stopped and said they had to wait. Seems it wasn't actually his van and he had to wait for his wife to bring his van to exchange for the van he was driving. The delay caused them to miss the last boat. Very excited about going to the training village tomorrow but will miss the luxuries of hot water and air con that I've been enjoying in Apia.

Group 84 Training Village

It's White Sunday in Samoa and I'm in Apia. I regret that I'm not home in my village for one of the most special days of the year but am leaving tomorrow to join Group 84 in their training village. They left yesterday after their first week of training. I did a team building session with them Thursday, followed by an evening with the women of the group. They seem very happy, excited, scared, tired...all the emotions you might expect after a long flight followed by an intense week of training. Mostly they seem happy and enthusiastic. Friday night we had the traditional Peace Corps Samoa welcome fiafia. It started with food we each brought (I made a HUGE pan of tuna casserole) then moved on to introductions of the new group and a slide show of my group. Next was a fashion show to give them a taste of what they'll be wearing for two years. After the fashion show came the dancing. The men of Group 83 did the Manu Samoa haka, in which they were half naked and covered in coconut oil. Next, the women, including me, did a traditional Samoan dance. I didn't blow it too badly and had fun. Last was the sasa, which I didn't do but the rest of our group sat on the ground and slapped themselves silly in time to a drum. Great fun to watch. Last was the taupo dance in which one of our women, Rachel, dressed in fine mats and headdress danced. Gradually, our whole group and some audience members got up and danced with her. The evening finale was by the pool and was siva afi - fire dancing. It was awesome and done for free by a friend of one of our guys. We just had to chip in for his expenses to get there. He was handsome, talented and announced he wanted to meet a certain young lady from the new group after his performance. It was a fun evening. Several of the group came by yesterday where I was helping sell vaisalo, koko alisa, niu and raffle tickets. We're still working on raising money to bring three Samoan boys to the USA for a month-long cultural exchange program. We hope to make this an annual event, with new kids each year. I got to know the boys better and also work with their families, which was fun. Group 84 had a couple of free hours to prepare for heading to the training village for two months. They bought cold niu (young coconuts) and one brave guy tried the vaisalo which is a delicious and healthy soup made from the juice and inner lining of the young coconut, mixed with tapioca. I'll be heading to the village tomorrow and will be with them for two weeks. I'll add updates and photos as quickly as I can. Just know that they are healthy and happy and seem to be making many new friends.

Group 84

Isn't ironic that now that I have internet access to post photos, I have no time. But, a quick update for any parents and friends of the newest group of trainees in Samoa. I did a team building session with the group yesterday and they seemed enthusiastic and excited. Aside from one stuffy nose, they all seem to be in good health. They are currently in the "forming" stage of team development which means they love each other and everything they're experiencing. Last night, two other volunteers and I hosted Women's Night. A time to eat, talk and scare the crap out of the new folks.That wasn't our intent, but as we described some of the realities of life here we began to see "deer in the headlights" looks. Hopefully they also took in all the good stuff about Samoa we were saying. They all showed up again for training this morning, so that's a good sign. They're off to the training village tomorrow. I'll be joining them Monday. I'm looking forward to getting to know them and helping them navigate the first couple of weeks in their first village.

Leaving for Upolu

It’s been a very busy week and promises to stay this way until I leave. This week was school, doing customer service training and final prep for training the new group of volunteers. Today was my last day of school until October 29. I’ll be working with the new volunteers until then. When I come back to the village, it will only be two weeks before I leave for good. I feel as if I’m on a Tilt-A-Whirl that’s spinning too fast. Today felt a bit like a preview of leaving school for the last time. Such a difference from when I arrived in the village. Then, most kids yelled “Bye bye, Palagi” and a few of the cheeky ones asked me for money. Yesterday as I rode home on the bus, kids not only yelled my name and waved, they blew kisses. That’s something new. One little girl was screaming and using her whole body to launch kisses toward me. She did it until the bus was out of sight. I kept waving out the window the whole time. Today, lots of kids were yelling my name as I walked across the playground. Several children ran to give me a hug or a kiss. The neighbor kids I adore (too young for school) were standing on the block wall between the playground and their house, watching the kids heading home. When they saw me they started yelling and waving madly, which is typical. Usually, they just yell my name. Their big sister, my student, must have been busy, though, because today they were screaming “I love you, Nancy!” Over and over and over. I wonder where I can find another job where I’ll get such love every day at work.