2 Years!: The Story So Far and FAQs

This morning marked exactly 2 years since we landed here in Samoa. It’s weird how in some ways it feels like we just got here, and the last 2 years has gone by in the blink of an eye—and on the other hand, it feels like we’ve been here forever. The time remaining seems incredibly finite. No longer does a free weekend mean sitting around the house reading a book. A free weekend needs to be spent doing something tourist-y that I haven’t done yet, going to the training village, or preparing to leave. But before I go on too much about the future…

The Story So Far (as continued from July 8, 2010)

The week back after 4th of July was the unofficial School Magazine kick-off, a project which would span the entire 3 months, and be a shocking onerous undertaking. Back in July I started taking class photos. My pule and I also went around to get photos and logos from sponsors.

Around that time, Erica 80 registered Peace Corps Samoa in a 9-week soccer tournament. Though it was difficult to field an entire team at times, and though other teams had an ungentlemanly style of play at times, it proved to be my favorite part of the week while it lasted.

Jen and Tommy came to visit near the end of July. Their stay was cut short because of an airplane mechanical failure that left them stuck at home for an extra day. We made the most of their stay, heading out to Manase for a couple days.

A few days after their departure, I attended my first Peace Corps wedding. A volunteer married a native Samoan in judge’s chambers. It was lovely.

In the midst of all this, the Volunteer Resource Room moved down the hall at the Peace Corps office. At the time, this was extremely controversial, but 2 months later volunteers have made peace with the move.

In school sports, athletics (err… Track and Field for American readers) reached its climax with the national Champ of Champs meet in early August. Though my school performed well at the regional “zone” meet, their performance at nationals was admittedly lackluster.

Champ of Champs was held on the Friday before the long Father’s Day weekend, which meant plenty of volunteers were around to celebrate. Phil and I had lunch with the Indian missionaries up at Apong’s house on Saturday, and a larger contingent of volunteers headed down to Tafatafa on Sunday.

With the help of student aide Maryhellen, I took a great majority of the class photos and staff photos in mid-August. Also, Jordan and I studied for the GMAT.

A visiting Tahitian Rugby Team came to stay at my school in late August, so we canceled the last week of classes for term 2. This did not necessarily mean a longer break since teachers had to come in and cook and serve food on a 3-day rotation. I was mainly tasked with cooking rice.

The Peace Corps came in first in the 2nd annual Perimeter Relay Race.

September was a month of blog lies. I got a tattoo on September 1, but wrote about PCV Paul getting his. Later in the month I posted an apocryphal story about Scout’s birthday party and posted a heavily photoshopped picture.

In reality, I helped Kaelin shoot for the Peace Corps’s new Co-Teaching Video. The project has since run into some roadblocks.

During school break, Group 81 had its COS conference at Le Uaina Resort in Faleapuna. It was the usual tomfoolery.

After the break, the last term started with a fairly easy teaching day, and a mad dash to get the magazine finished. By the first day of school I had a working draft of the layout, though getting all of the students, teachers, and administrators involved to submit articles was a little like herding cats. There was also an unexpected content approval process (which gave me an excuse to make an obscure Elvis Costello reference).

In addition to the magazine, life has been crowded lately by the year 13 camp and their subsequent tests, adjusting to Samoa’s first foray into Daylight Savings, and preparing for the (now arrivéd) Group 83.

And that’s the story so far.

FAQs

When do you get back?

I think I’ll be flying into Los Angeles December 7, but that won’t be for sure until I’ve purchased the plane ticket.

Are you excited?

Yes and no. There’s been a lot of people, places, and things from back home I’ve missed. But there are also a lot of Samoan people, places, and things I’ll miss once I leave. Moving out and moving in and drastically changing one’s lifestyle are never very much fun. And I’m sure the joys of reverse culture shock will be a riot. But yes, I’m excited about coming home.

What about the cat?

The plan is still for Scout to come home with me. True, I haven’t really done much about this, but it’s on my radar.

And you’re going to go to law school?

Maybe. If I am accepted. I think I’m going to start submitting applications Monday.

What schools are you applying to?

Two in California and three on the East Coast.

Tomorrow starts a new round of cultural exploration. Tomorrow’s topic will be Feau. I hope you’re well. Pictures below.

83s Rachael and Olivia. Hey Amanda, doesn't Olivia look like Lara?

21 Months!: The Story So Far and FAQs

This morning marked exactly 21 months since we landed here in Samoa. It’s weird how in some ways it feels like we just got here, and the last 21 months has gone by in the blink of an eye—and on the other hand, it feels like we’ve been here forever. It’s feels different now; the scales have tipped, the wind is at our back, we’re no longer running into the forest. Phil and I had a depressing conversation Sunday morning about how we’re going to slog through the next 5 months, and yet I was just thinking tonight about how much I’m dreading leaving. It’s a lot of contradiction, but without going on...

The Story So Far (as continued from April 8, 2010)

These last three months I’ve had a slew of interaction with people from my American life. Luisa came to visit, then I went to Hawai’i, then Dustin came to visit. To continue with the dichotomous motif, those 6 weeks were both thrilling and exhausting.

Luisa showed up just before midyear exams got underway, but we were able to get out and sightsee quite a bit despite school still being in session. Among the highlights of her stay was catching the culture show at Tanu Beach Fales, eating at The Curry House twice, and Luisa driving a right-hand drive car around the island.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, my school was mad at work preparing for English Day and midyear exams. My school alternates Samoan Culture Day and English Day every other year. While I greatly prefer the treat for the senses that is Culture Day, I found English Day to be tolerable, if only for the wealth of Michael Jackson tributes. In fact, I was asked to emcee the event at my school, a task at which I performed with stunning mediocrity.

9 hours after English Day ended I flew to Hawai’i where I joined my family on Oahu for a week. Hawai’i, with its statehood and all, proved to be the most American place I’ve been in the last 21 months. I toured the sites and the fast food restaurants, mooched as much wireless Internet as I could, and managed to teach my family Euchre. There was one wild night with high school friend Melisa, and somewhere along the way I managed to take the GRE.

I island-hopped back to Upolu just in time to catch the Digicel Smoke-Free College Rugby Tournament, where my school performed admirably, but lost in the semi-finals to freight train that is Blakey’s school.

And right about then, Dustin showed up. At this point I was ready for life to slow down, so Dustin and I took it slow. We checked out the Sliding Rocks with Lili 82, Rachel 82 and Rachel's visiting guest Gwen, watched a TV taping of the first round of the Samoan Independence Day Quiz, and attended a fundraiser for Peace Corps Samoa’s non-profit arm, Avenoa Tutusa. After a week of sluggishness in Apia, we made it out to Savai’i and then took a trip around Upolu in a rented jalopy.


The 1st of June marked Samoan Independence Day, a very wet morning. The day after, Blakey’s family flew in; her brother Peter is still here 5 weeks after the fact. A host of PCVs ran in the Independence Day 10k, and several of us attended the parade to celebrate the World Championship Samoan Rugby Sevens team.

Schoolwise, term 2 has been tedious. My students aren’t the pious cherubs they once were, and the thrill of teaching has worn a bit. But athletics and soccer have spiced things up.

We celebrated the 4th of July in style with two parties—one of which I didn’t attend—this past weekend.

And that’s the story so far.

FAQs

Are you back yet?

No, I’m not. I still live in Samoa.

But you’re coming back soon, right?

Kind of. I’ll be back a couple weeks before Christmas.

Why don’t you take taxis more often? It’s, like, a $2 taxi ride to Farmer Joe.

I rarely take taxis because they’re expensive. It’s a $4 ride to Farmer Joe, and if I taxi roundtrip, it’s $8. Why pay $8 to travel a walkable distance? Believe me, my time here isn’t busy enough that I don’t have time to walk and save $8. That said, if you’d like to contribute to my taxi fares, please send cheques payable to The Matt’s Samoa Blog Taxi Fund.

What are you going to do when you get back?

Going back to school. Or getting a job. Or getting a job and then going back to school. Or vice versa. Couch surfing. I’m coming to visit you. Eating a lot of burritos. Riding the elevator at the Westfield mall in San Francisco. Joining a gym. Considering going vegetarian. Buying an iBook. You know, that sort of thing. By the way, do you know anyone who’s hiring?

Tomorrow starts a new round of cultural exploration. If you have ideas for cultural exploration, please submit them in the comments section or email them directly. Tomorrow’s topic will be Livestock.

I hope you’re well. Picture highlights from the last 3 months below.

A fire dancer at Tanu Beach Fales.

I've said it before, but this is easily my favorite sunset picture I've taken.

Scout.

Physics teacher Malele and English teacher Suasami at English Day festivities.

Dan, AJ, Jordan, and Casey riding in the back of a pick-up after one of our league soccer matches.

Me and Duke Kahanamoku.

18 Months!: The Story So Far and FAQs

This morning marked exactly 18 months since we landed here in Samoa. It’s weird how in some ways it feels like we just got here, and the last 18 months has gone by in the blink of an eye—and on the other hand, it feels like we’ve been here forever. Being here this long, life has become a lot more routine, and the stuff that used to stick out as great blog fodder is starting to become ordinary and banal. My sense of shock has been dulled, I guess. I’ve got to work on keeping fresh. In any case...

The Story So Far (as continued from January 9, 2010)

I flew back into Apia roughly 72 hours before Chris flew in to visit from The States. I showed him the sites. We hit up the Falese’ela River Fales with Jordan, Blakey, and Briony. After seeing the Papase’ea Sliding Rocks on Survivor Samoa, we went there. And I introduced him to Pinati’s.

Chris’s visit and Group 81’s mid-service conference overlapped by a day, so I saw him off and then got in a van at the airport and went directly to the conference. At the conference we in Group 81 patted ourselves on the back and confirmed how impressed we are with ourselves. Then it was on to the All-Volunteer Conference where morale was a bit lower.

In January, I also revealed I adopted a cat, Scout, back in October. My life has come to this: living alone, owning a cat, and posting things on the Internet. Thanks, bachelor’s degree.

School started at the end of January with the obligatory week of cleaning. I got to use the spreadsheet I developed last year to aid in putting together the school schedule. It doesn’t make the schedule, but it does damn near everything else.

There was brief controversy when I had to cut my year 12 class down from the 55 students who were showing up down to the class limit of 24. There was begging and hurt feelings. It was ugly.

All was forgiven once school got into the swing of things in February. We had a big celebration to commemorate the opening of the new art building on campus, my year 13s fared well on their presentations from around the world, and I started singing with my year 10 English class.

Volunteers got together for the Superbowl and the  Ministry of Education’s awkward computer teacher conference, where I gave a presentation on the Peace Corps textbook volunteers have been developing for the past 7 years. Quite the party.

February marked the first time my group has experienced a hurricane warning, and we also evacuated to higher ground when tsunami warnings were issued after the earthquake in Chile.

In March I was asked to teach Science and coach rugby—two positions I am seriously under-qualified to hold (Although I must say, I’m a pretty competent science teacher.). I mostly just watch rugby and keep time on game days. Incidentally, my team finished their season today. They finished 5 and 0. That’s right. Undefeated.

A squad of travelling veterinarians came through town to hold free animal de-sexing clinics in and around Apia.

I also noticed a Guinness shortage in the country, but that didn’t wreck Group 81’s coming together for St. Patrick’s Day. There were, of course, lots of other Peace Corps there as well.

On the actual St. Patrick’s Day, I headed to American Samoa for a dental check-up. And a Carl’s Jr. check-up, of course.

Finally, I spent 4 days in Savaii this past weekend on the big island, Savaii, spending Easter snorkeling and shooting the breeze and generally having good time.

Oh, one last thing... It’s been ridiculously hot these last 3 months. Relentless, unseasonable heat and humidity. It’s been rough.

And that’s the story so far.

FAQs

When do you come back? You come back soon don’t you? You’ve been there a long time.

I will be back in The States in December. I do not have a specific date yet.

Well are you coming back to visit? We should hang out. Get lunch. Or get drinks.

I’m going to Hawai’i in May, but I won’t be back in the lower 48 until December.

And then what?

What do you mean?

After the Peace Corps? Then what?

I still don’t know. I’d like to go back to school in Fall 2011, but I’m still unclear on what degree I’d like to pursue, or where I’d like to go. I’m taking the GRE next month, and from there I’ll start narrowing things down.

What’s up with the sidebar? It says you only posted 9 times in March? Slacking off a little?

I’m not sure what’s up with that. Blogger updates that automatically, so I don’t know what’s causing the problem, nor do I know how to fix it. I believe I posted 31 times in March. The last day I missed was February 3. Something's up though.  March's posts show up in February, February's in January, January's under the 2009 heading.  Very strange.

Tomorrow starts a new round of cultural exploration. If you have ideas for cultural exploration, please submit them in the comments section or email them directly. Tomorrow’s topic will be Pets. I hope you’re well. Pictures below.

The River Fales Hike in Faleseela, Lefaga.

Cat and mouse.

Art teacher Isaia shows off the schedule in chalk.

Ulas ready to be distributed at the Art Building Opening Ceremony.

Phil and Koa (and their beards).

Me and Phil's host sister Fipe evacuating to higher ground in the middle of the night.

Rugby Practice.

Akanese and Asolima.

The parade for the Manu Samoa, fresh off their victory at the Hong Kong 7s Tournament, at the end of March.

Good Friday at Lusia's on Savai'i.

15 Months!: The Story So Far and FAQs

Yesterday morning marked exactly 15 months since we landed here in Samoa. It’s weird how in some ways it feels like we just got here, and the last 15 months has gone by in the blink of an eye—and on the other hand, it feels like we’ve been here forever. Normally I do these quarterly updates on the 8th of every 3rd month, but since I was in Australia yesterday, it seemed more proper to wait until I was back in Samoa to commemorate 15 months of being, you know, in Samoa. So without further ado…

The Story So Far (as continued from October 8, 2009)

Group 82 was baptized by fire: they arrived 9 days after the deadly tsunami on September 29, and after twin earthquakes in Vanuatu, another tsunami evacuation was issued in Samoa on the morning of 82’s arrival. Most of the group has toughed it out though. That said, 3 members of group 82 left in the first 2 weeks of training for various reasons.

In any case, on the night before the 82s headed out to their training village we held the traditional welcome fiafia, which included Samoan dancing, my slideshow, and first of many goodbyes to group 79.

Schoolwise, the third term solely consists of review, which I thought would pretty easy. But it is not pretty easy to maintain the attention of adolescents for hours on end when there’s only reviewing to be done. I was very happy to have a student teacher come in and change things up a little. And I got locked in the computer lab with my year 13s, which was fun.

For Halloween I dressed up as Peace Corps Samoa Country Director Dale. Koa was a Never Nude.

My students took the big standardized tests in early-to-mid-November. The year 12s took the Samoan SchoolC exam and the year 13s took the South Pacific PSSC exam. General feedback from both camps was tentatively good. No one felt the need to burn my house down because they were too ill-prepared, so I’m taking that as a good sign. I should hear about actual results of those tests sometime soon.

The rest of my students took final exams, which I had to correct by hand. I marked up 468 short answer tests. Cale and Sara were generous enough to correct a large portion of the multiple choice.

Correcting those papers was a lousy time, but with finals I got to use my fancy grade-automating spreadsheet. I’m estimating it saved between 40 and 60 human hours, and I’m therefore chalking it up as a success. The next step will be teaching my school secretary how to maneuver the spreadsheet so she can do it next time.

PCVs gathered at the Charge d’Affaires’s house for Thanksgiving. And shortly thereafter, Cale and Sara became the first members of group 79 to officially finish their Peace Corps service.

My school celebrated Prizegiving (i.e. Graduation) in early December. It was an elaborate event, and rightly so given how much the students rehearsed for it. With singing and dancing and speeches and trophies and elated family, it was an appropriate end to the year, and I look forward to doing it again next December.

2 days later I flew to American Samoa to take the LSAT. I did reasonably well. Not as well as I would have liked. But you know, reasonably well.

Blogging was a little erratic in the weeks that followed. It was difficult to keep on top of things with all the chaos here as many PCVs headed back to The States, the entire nation prepared for Christmas, and I got ready for my trip to Australia.

I left the day after Christmas and arrived 2 days after Christmas. Luisa and I housesat in Sydney, where we celebrated New Year’s, sunburned at Bondi, and hiked the Blue Mountains.

And that’s the story so far.

FAQs

How is the country coping with the tsunami 3 months after the fact?

I recently posted a picture of all the tsunami ’ies being hawked at the market these days. Beyond that, in Apia at least, you’d hardly know anything had happened. Things got back to normal surprisingly quick. On the other hand, on the southeastern shores of the island, reconstruction efforts are slow-going. The saltwater in the tsunami killed off a lot of vegetation, and there’s still quite a bit of debris to be removed. That said, some of the beach fales are trying to get back on their feet, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

When does school start again?

I think students start showing up January 25. There are supposed to be teacher meetings this week, although the director of the Congregationalist school system has stepped down, so things are in limbo right now.

Does your school have a cafeteria? Lunch ladies?

No cafeteria. We have a “canteen,” which is more like a “snack bar.” They serve little pies and ice cakes. But students don’t really eat lunch. In fact, I’m pretty sure “lunch” isn’t really a big thing in Samoa.

Tomorrow starts a new round of cultural exploration. No pictures today.

12 months!: The Story So Far and FAQs

This morning marks exactly 12 months since Group 81 first landed here in Samoa. It’s weird how in some ways it feels like we just got here, and the last year has gone by in the blink of an eye—and on the other hand, it feels like we’ve been here forever. The last 3 months—particularly the last 6 weeks—have been unexpectedly (and expectedly) historic for Samoa, and it’s been rather incredible to be living in this time and place. Some of it’s been quite a shock to the system; also it’s been good for site traffic. In any case, the following is a brief history of the last 3 months.

The Story So Far (as continued from July 8, 2009)

While July marks the dog days of summer in the northern hemisphere, July is the middle of the dry season here and also the middle of the school year. Classes seemed to be advancing swimmingly. I was able to stretch out and give my year 13s time to take wrap their brains around the more difficult components of Microsoft Excel. But just as I was starting to get things right on schedule, the Swine Flu epidemic hit.

There were over 100 cases of Swine Flu in Samoa; nearly all of them secondary school students. The government recommended schools shut down for the last week of July, and then forced schools to shut down the first week of August. This gave volunteers an excuse to hang out together and wait out the pestilence, but it wreaked havoc on the school year.

I and 5 of my fellow Peace Corps found time to participate in the 1st annual 64-mile perimeter relay race around the eastern side of Upolu. The weather mostly cooperated, and we placed second overall. It was a fascinating (and ominous) tour of the island.

Other than that, August was a slow month, and I took the time to hike the Robert Louis Stevenson trail, cook a helluva lot of pumpkin, and conduct social experiments. The month was spent marking time since September promised to be a busy month.

We had no idea.

Amanda swooped in early in September, and we had a good time checking out Teuila Festival events, making friends at the Faofao Beach Fales, and playing Rummy with Phil. We were also able to gain tickets to the 2009 Miss Samoa pageant, which would provide the first huge bump in traffic on the blog.

And then on Amanda’s last day in Samoa, the country became the first in history (or so I’m told) to switch from driving on the right side of the road to driving on the left. The über-controversial switch ended up coming and going without too many hiccups, save for an ongoing bus shortage.

A week later, I was walking home from the Peace Corps office and noticed a bunch of people staring up at the likeness of the Virgin Mary on the side of the John Williams building. The apparition would become the explanation for many subsequent events.

September had a number of other noteworthy aspects including Year 13 Camp, the burning down of Hotel Kitano, and an Around-the-Island tour with Koa and his friend Caroline.

And then in the early morning of September 29, Samoa was rocked by an earthquake measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale. There’s been much fallout from that.

Finally, group 82 showed up yesterday, exactly 52 weeks (or 364 days) after we did.

And that’s the story so far.

FAQs

Are you okay?

Yeah. I was in Apia for the quake, and the tsunami didn’t hit anywhere near here.

What can I do? What do victims need? Where can I send money?

Yeah. I'm going to refer you to Sara' blog.

Was your host family affected?

Nah. They have a large mangrove that separates them from the ocean, so they came out unharmed.

I have family in __________ village. Are they okay?

Once again, Sara has done a ridiculously good job of cataloging the state of different villages. It’s best to check with her.

Hi Matt. I’ve never met you. Do you mind if I comment on your blog?

Not at all! I love comments. Please comment. Hey Supy's Friend Lauren, that goes for you too.

Tomorrow starts a new round of cultural exploration. Tomorrow’s topic will be Mourning. Pictures below.















Amanda came to visit.















Traditional fautasi races finish in Apia Harbour as part of the Teuila Festival.















Jacinta, the winner of the 2009 Miss Samoa Pageant.















Family from Saleaaumua, one of the villages hit by the tsunami.

9 months!: The Story So Far and FAQs

This morning marks exactly 9 months since we landed here in Samoa. It’s weird how in some ways it feels like we just got here, and the last 9 months has gone by in the blink of an eye—and on the other hand, it feels like we’ve been here forever. And the baby's due any day now. Haha. Just joking!

Ben 80 equated my quarterly rehashing of my time in Samoa to a “clip episode” from a classic sitcom where, rather than coming up with a new episode, the writers would phone it in by having the show’s character’s “reminisce” as an excuse to edit together a bunch of clips from old episodes. The point is well taken, Ben, but I think of it more as one of those “LOST” specials they cut together for people who came into the show late. I don’t want the story arc confusing new viewers, so I’m offering an abbreviated catch-up. In theory, you could click on the “The Story So Far” tag, read the 3 posts, and you’d be fully caught up on the 9 months. Also, I’m phoning it in. So without further ado…

The Story So Far (as continued from April 8, 2009)

Many Peace Corps were in town for the Easter holiday since Samoa essentially shuts down for 5 consecutive days. A lot of volunteers come into Apia because getting around and hanging out is easier in town on such holidays than in the village.

The rest of April felt a little like marking time until school break in May. At my school we simultaneously prepared for midyear exams and Culture Day, which we celebrated 2 days before the last day of school. Culture Day is a pretty big deal in schools across Samoa, and at times it’s difficult to discern whether exam studies or Sasa practice takes priority. Culture Day was extravagant and fascinating and my team won. So I guess I’m cool with it.

Meanwhile, much of Peace Corps Samoa descended on Lusia’s Lagoon Fales to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. It was a good time, albeit expensive.

My parents were scheduled to arrive at 5:35 a.m. on my school’s Culture Day, but their flight from San Francisco was delayed and they missed their connection in Los Angeles. So they had to go through Auckland to get here, and they arrived two days later at 5:35 a.m.

Their stay was fun though. We hung out in Apia, visited the host family, took the ferry to Savai’i, and hiked to Robert Louis Stevenson’s grave. Good times all around.

There were 3 days between when my parents left and group 81’s Early Service Conference. All except Joey met up at the Peace Corps office, where we vanned down to Saleapaga for the week. We stayed in beach fales, ate Samoan food, and kvetched for 3 days. It was refreshing.

We were back in town on Thursday. I attended a VAC meeting Friday, after which I caught the Aggie Grey’s shuttle for the airport. My plane took off just before midnight on May 22, and I landed in Auckland on May 24. May 23, 2009, I never knew you.

I met up with Luisa in Auckland where we brunched at the Sky Tower, walked through the rain in Paihea, did a wine tour of Waiheke, and frequented Starbucks whenever we could. I stayed on two days after Luisa left, which I spent consuming Kiwi Mexican food.

I arrived back in Samoa to catch the tail end of Independence Day. The best part was they turned on the Christmas lights that line the streets of Apia. I think I would have preferred to go back to school then, but we had another week of break, and teachers began to grow loopy.

School started just in time—although “start” is a generous term. My school spent a week and a half calculating grades for first term. Also, my principal informed me that the other computer teacher quit, so I have been teaching 29 of 30 periods per week so far this term, which has been lousy, but hopefully the situation is temporary.

July has been a busy month with our Interchurch Athletics Day last Friday and 4th of July at Robert Louis Stevenson’s on Saturday. The US Navy is in town, as is Greenpeace. And today we canceled school to play host to a girls’ school from Auckland.

And that’s the story so far.

FAQs

So how’s it going?

It’s good, man, how are you?

If I come visit, can we just hang out on the beach for a week?

There are surprisingly few beaches in the Apia area. But please come. I have a couch. You are welcome any time. And we’ll find our way to the beach. And when we’re not at the beach, we can find other things to do.

What’s the most people you’ve had stay at your place? Do all Peace Corps have their own housing?

I’ve had 5 people sleep here on a couple of occasions, which means one on the bed, one on the couch, and three on the floor. The floor’s comfortable though. Not all volunteers in Peace Corps Samoa live in their own dwelling space. Most of the teachers do, but most of the village-based kids do not; they live with host families.

Can you upload some video, or does that take too much memory?

I have a couple videos (e.g. Savai’ian dance from Culture Day, Toa Samoa cheer, Lions roaring at the Auckland Zoo, etc.), but I think it might take the rest of my time here to upload video via my dial-up connection. Maybe one of these times I’m at the Internet café I’ll give it a whirl.

Is palusami good? What about vaisalo? Oka? Kokoesi? Miti? Pe’epe’e?

There are many Samoan foods I like a lot, and there are some I try to avoid. Tuna sandwiches were served at lunch today, which I didn’t touch, but I did have at least 3 helpings of vaisalo. I like oka a lot, but not as much as Paul. Kokoesi is great, as is pe’epe’e on just about anything. Miti is good for dipping breadfruit, but I can’t sip it. Blakey and Dan love palusami; I find quality and temperature can vary greatly.

Hi Matt. I’ve never met you. Do you mind if I comment on your blog?

Not at all! I enjoy comments. Please comment.

From Marques: Was the "Disk Read Error" on a floppy disk or on a hard drive?

The error is on the hard drive, I believe. It’s the first thing that pops up after the BIOS runs. There are no CDs or floppy disks in the system unit. Do you think it’s fried?

Tomorrow starts a new round of cultural exploration. Tomorrow’s topic will be faleoloas. Pictures from preparing for the Auckland girls school visit below.
















Chopping esi.





















Making sandwiches.





















Making palm wreaths.
















Setting the table.
















Students at the assembly.
















Ulas ready to be leid on the visitors to the visitors.
















Valuing niu.
















'Ava ceremony at the assembly.

6 Months!: The Story So Far and FAQs

This morning marks exactly 6 months since we landed here in Samoa. It’s weird how in some ways it feels like we just got here, and the last 6 months has gone by in the blink of an eye—and on the other hand, it feels like we’ve been here forever. After the frenzied life of training, these first 3 months of actual service have been much slower and more predictable. That said, there’s still been a lot of adjusting to do.

The Story So Far (as continued from 1/8/2009)

January turned out to be a strange mix of waiting for school to begin and attempting to prolong training as much as possible. Coming off the high of New Years, we had 3 or 4 weeks before school began, which meant we could spend time “nesting” and hanging out with one another before students showed up. Teacher meetings started late-mid-January where Phil, Koa, and I pretended to be IT guys. They stayed over at my place, and we played Clue in the evenings to pass the time.

I lobbied the Chargés-Affaires to show Barack Obama’s inauguration at her house. It started somewhere around 5:00 a.m. Samoa Standard Time, but a bunch of us were awake, drinking mimosas, toasting the new president. In addition to Dan’s birthday, January 20 also marked the last time I had a hot shower.

A couple days soon after, computers arrived in my lab, which was exciting because to that point, it seemed questionable whether or not I would really be teaching Computer Studies. The workstations are ridiculous and completely not what I was expecting when I joined the Peace Corps: flat screens, P4s and Core-Duo Processors, and a Samsung MFP. It’s as nice as anything I had back at my corporate job in The States.

I sewed my own curtains just in time for students to arrive and do yard work around my house. It was a little bizarre supervising students as they weeded and trimmed foliage around campus.

February kicked off with the Superbowl, which we had to arrange specially with one of the sports bars in town because most places aren’t open on Sunday. But any nostalgia for all things American was quashed quickly by the first day of actual classes. Without another computer teacher, I taught 28 out of 30 classes classes for the first 2 weeks of school. My counterpart started in week 3, which brings my schedule down to 4 classes per day, which has been much better.

I went surfing with PCV Aaron in February, just before he left to go back The States. It was a good time, and I think I could almost be a legitimate surfer with a little practice, but I have yet to get back on a board. The waves at the surfing spot crash into lots of rocks, and it’s really not the kind of place to learn.

I visited Phil in mid-February and I was able to get all of my stuff back that had been stolen from his place in early January. My digital camera, iPod, and Skype headphones are all back in my custody. Props again to the Samoan police. My stay in Savai’i that weekend was too short, but I have yet to have time to go back since. But I will soon enough.

I have ventured back to the host village thrice since the end of training. I’ve been trying to go once a month, which has worked out well so far. During my trip back in February, a siva fundraiser was going down at the church, and my family made me dress up as the Taupo, the ceremonial virgin, for the big Taupo dance. Yeah. You’re jealous.

I watched the Oscars with my neighbor, Maegi. Good times, although my picks did poorly. And no, I didn’t like Slumdog Millionaire all that much, and yes, we can dish it out on email if you feel that passionately about it.

In mid-March we had two musical acts come through town. It would have been weird to have one, but we had 2, which was completely bizarre. They were both great. One was a bluegrass band from Bowling Green and the other was a German indy rocker. The German’s sound was more crisp and unique, but the bluegrass band played Paul Simon covers, so I’ll call it a draw.

My birthday was pretty cool. Actually, 3 other current volunteers celebrated birthdays that same week. And all of us turned the same age. It was odd.

Since then, things have been pretty quiet. In part because of a week of rain. Apparently there was a cyclone(? Maybe a hurricane? Monsoon?) in Tonga, and we were on the outskirts of the weather pattern. So the weather here was only extreme in the sense that we had a lot of rain. Although I did manage to build my cinderblock shelf without getting the wood wet, so it wasn’t any kind of Ark-necessitating storm.

And now Easter break has started for students, and tomorrow should be easy for staff. And that’s the story so far.

FAQs

How big is your school?

My school has around 750 students and about 30 staff members. I’m not good at estimating acreage, so I can only compare it to places in The States. I’d say it’s about as big as the 500s at Logan. Maybe a little bit bigger. The 500s plus the Old Gym.

How many computers do you have in the lab?

I have my computer plus 12 student computers. My computer is running Windows Server 2003 and the rest are networked. Occasionally students use my computer, but often I’m using mine to broadcast demos or PowerPoint presentations out to them.

How do you like teaching?

Teaching here is a lot better and a lot more fun than teaching in Oakland. The students are better behaved, and the administration seems more put together. I like teaching the older kids best. I feel like I have an easier time relating to them, and their English is better so they have an easier time understanding. It’s frustrating and difficult to teach through a language barrier.

What’s the medical situation for a typical Samoan?

There are traditional healers in villages, but there are also westernized medical facilities. Traditional healers use the leaves and roots of different native plants in their healing. The girls got sick a lot when I was in the village, and I did my fair share of schlepping around children who’d been covered in strange and exotic smells. In my experience, the kids abhor the way it feels. They scream bloody murder. There was also the case of the man in Faleupo who cauterized the cut in his foot.

When I went to the doctor last month, I went to a clinic near the Peace Corps office. I had a scrape on my cornea, and the doctor shined a bright light into my eye and had a chart on the wall to test my vision. It was similar to any doctor’s office back home.

Pharmacies are referred to as Chemists. And they sell everything you’d expect a pharmacist to sell.

Have you ever thought about posting a "glossary" page?

Yes, but I haven’t figured out the best way to do it. In fact, I wanted to do a whole site re-design, but Blogger is pretty limiting in the templates they allow. To do it well, I think I’d need to publish the blog via FTP, and I admit I have no idea how to do that. Liz 80 has a great setup. I need to talk to her and see how she set hers up.

So when is Hillary coming?

Hillary Clinton is not coming. That was an April Fools joke.

Why don’t you shop at a fale’oloa rather than the supermarket? Why haven’t you tried wearing Jandals, the flip-flops most Samoans wear?

My life in Samoa is full of compromise. It’s hot and humid here. I have no car. No TV. No oven. No garbage pickup. I sewed my curtains. I manually wash my clothes. I wear a lavalava to school every day. I eat a fair amount of taro. Most people in Apia speak English to me, but I try and speak Samoan when possible. And occasionally I will pick up something from the fale’oloa. But occasionally I just want to eat some peanut butter. And I want to wear my comfortable flip-flops from home. Part of compromise is recognizing what is dear, and for me, that’s peanut butter and my feet.

Tomorrow starts a new round of cultural exploration. Tomorrow’s topic will be the Open-Air Produce Market. Story So Far pictures below.
















Students at an assembly. Boys on the left, girls on the right.
















My computer lab.
















The school schedule written out by hand in chalk.
















Year 13s.
















Volleyball on sports day.
















Tafale (in a Rick's College t-shirt) and Tone in the village.
















The Germans.




















Christian and I celebrating our birthdays. Don't be fooled. Both shots are posed.
















The lizard in my sink.















Knuckleheads.

3 Months!: The Story So Far and FAQs

This morning marks exactly 3 months since we landed here in Samoa. It’s weird how in some ways it feels like we just got here and the last 3 months has gone by in the blink of an eye—and on the other hand, it feels like we’ve been here forever. It’s kind of funny because if you make the scale smaller, it feels the same way. That is, each day feels extremely long, but the week seems to pass quickly.

I recently posted a bunch of photos spanning the time we got here until just before New Years, but I figure we might benefit by going over the story so far. So here goes.

The Story So Far

We arrived in Apia October 8. We were greeted by a whirlwind of adapting to climate, time difference, and culture shock. To ease us into the country, they put us at a hotel. We were clumped with a group of strangers who would come to be Group 81; that is, the 81st group of Peace Corps to volunteer in Samoa. We have become a family, and like a family, we all love each other and want to smack each other… both at the same time.

Our first Sunday here was a national holiday, which we spent at the beach. The next day was water safety, which we learned by snorkeling. What a life!, you’re thinking. What a life!, we thought. But alas, the honeymoon couldn’t last forever. And like fatted pigs being led to the slaughter, we piled into the van and headed out to the host village.

The first week in the host village was another round of culture shock. Some parts were blissful: meals were prepared for us, our bags were carried, many of us were given the best sleeping accommodations in the household. Other parts, not so nice: the fishbowl effect, the lack of freewill, the bucket showers (which I came to enjoy).

After a week, we came back to Apia and dispersed to visit actual volunteers in the respective habitats. This was essentially a tease. “Look how great life will be. Good. Now, back to the village!”

Returning to the village was actually nice. People were excited to see us. There was a routine once more. We came back to Apia to watch the election returns. Hooray, Obama! Back to the village.

The village stay was great language immersion. And great cultural immersion. I played bingo, I played cards, I went to church, I went to the plantation, I practiced walking with the baby, I hung out with the native twentysomethings in the evening, I played barefoot soccer, I went shopping, I watched TV, I danced. But still, there was the whole lack of free will, the lack of choices, the lack of internet. And then I got the diarrhea that felt like someone was punching me in the intestines.

Thanksgiving came. We went to the Charges-Affaires’s house to have turkey and mash potatoes and cranberry sauce and stuffing. We also attended the All-Volunteer Conference. And then, back to the village.

Returning to the village was ehhhh. People were excited to see us. There was a routine once more. My diarrhea turned feverish. I slept for a day. I got better.

Things started to wind down quickly. Our group did relatively well on the fluency exam. The village rolled out the red carpet for our big Swearing-In Ceremony. At the reception, the local youth group danced and sang for us. We had also prepared a dance, a skit, and a song that we performed for the Women’s Committee. And then it was over.

We were dispersed out to our sites. I will be teaching at a secondary school in Apia. But there has definitely been another round of culture shock. This one is a little more difficult than the first two in the sense that it’s forever and there’s no longer 12 other people in the immediate vicinity to commiserate with. And a week after the newfound loneliness began, it was Christmas.

Seven of us went back to our host families to celebrate Christmas. The other six went to Chris’ house. There was drinking at Chris’ house. There was drinking at our host families’ houses. Christmas was merry.

Back home for a few days, and then out to the far end of the other island, Savai’i, to celebrate New Years. Though we are somewhat stranded there, it’s a good time.

Someone breaks into Phil’s house while he and I are at the grocery store. The guy makes off with a bunch of my stuff and $10 of Phil’s. Sucks.

And now I’m back in Apia, passing the time, waiting for school to begin. And that’s the story so far.

FAQs

What’s the Internet situation there?

There are a number of cafés in town. Rates vary, as does quality. There is also a wireless provider called LavaSpot that allows users to connect from about 20 locations in and around Apia. Hours are much cheaper when purchased in bulk. I am currently paying $6.64 WST per hour, which breaks down to between $2.20 US and $2.35 US, which isn’t bad at all, especially since I can use my own laptop (and therefore my own iTunes, Skype, Firefox, etc.). Hopefully sometime very soon I will be able to access the Internet on dial-up from my house.

What’s the phone situation?

Every volunteer has a cell phone, and all of us are on prepay plans. It costs me $0.45 WST/minute to call someone here and $0.99 WST/minute to call the United States. It costs $0.20 WST to send a text message to anywhere in the world.

How fluent are you?

I am not very fluent. I tested Intermediate-Mid. I think I was right in the middle of our group. Some people were really good by the end, and others had some more work to do. The thing is that now that I live in Apia, I’m surrounded by people who speak English, and now that we’re out of training, I don’t get to practice very often.

Say something in Samoan.

Ha. What do you want me to say?

I don’t know. Say whatever you want.

Okay… Ummm… ‘E leai ni fōma’i po’o ni tausima’i i le nu’u, na’o taulāsea, which means, There are no doctors or nurses in the village, only healers.

Any other sickness than "diarrhea that felt like someone was punching you in the intestines"?

Not really. I thought I had pink eye near the end of October, but it seems like a lot of maladies show up for a while, and then disappear as quickly and strangely as they appeared.

Are you having fun?

Yes. It’s a good time. Each day takes a lot of effort, but few things are completely impossible. The first time I did manual laundry, I thought it was an exercise in futility. I had no idea what I was doing and throughout the entire process I vowed again and again that I would pay for my laundry to be washed in machine from then on. But then my clothes dried. And they were clean. And I had successfully washed my clothes without a machine washer or dryer. It was strangely thrilling. I got the same thrill yesterday when I finally got my kitchen light to work. I got the same thrill when I had to wake up at 4:00 a.m. and caught the bus that would get me on the 6:00 a.m. boat to Savai’i. They’re all little things that seem impossible until they’re actually accomplished. And then they don’t seem like they were ever that difficult in the first place. It’s weird.

Tomorrow I’m going to start a series of cultural exploration. Our first topic will be Grocery Shopping in Samoa. Story So Far pictures below!

This is Group 81. From left to right: Joey, Phil, Matt, Paul, Koa, Jordan, Supy (in front), AJ (behind), Chris, Kate, Erin, Dan, and Blakey.

My host family. I like to think of Asolima as my host sister. And her two kids, Leme and Akanese.

This is the moustache that I grew. It was awesome.

This is my duplex in Apia.

This is my bike.

This was my halloween costume. I was supposed to be a mosquito. Hard to tell, I know.

Thanksgiving.

Christmas. Dancing.