Los Angeles

Early voting started in San Francisco today. I voted, but I'll keep my politics to myself.

And then, after 7 weeks of preparation, I finished packing today and headed off to OAK with my parents and Luisa. It seems that there was unanimous consent that the day was completely surreal. In any case, Dustin met up with us at the gate and bought me the new riveting issue of Black Enterprise. No joke.

The flight was pretty uneventful. The Peace Corps recommended that I take a Supershuttle from LAX to the Crowne Plaza hotel for ~$10. iPhone let out a little cough and noted that there is a "Parking Spot" location next door to the hotel that has a free shuttle. So, clever (and spendthrift) as I am, I took the free shuttle and walked over here. Turns out that "next door" was more like a half-mile away. Oh well. It was a good work out.

Groups headed toward Samoa and Tonga are in the hotel tonight for the 1-day stateside training. It looks like there are 13 of us heading to Samoa and about 20 heading to Tonga. Through informal conversations, we've learned that there are a lot of us who have been assigned to IT positions, most of us with little to no IT experience. My theory is that IT is the new English. Most of the world has established self-sustaining programs for teaching English, but an American layperson is considered an expert when it comes to technological savvy. I guess we'll learn more about the state of things as we get deeper into training.

We had a short check-in this evening, which consisted of filling out and submitting five pieces of paperwork. We were issued our special Peace Corps passports, which are kinda cool (but not nearly as cool as the black State Department passports). My picture for my Peace Corps passport is much better than my old passport photo. I'll try and get pictures of each to demonstrate this wonderful evolution.

At the check-in, we were also given our Peace Corps debit cards. We will receive more information on how to use these debit cards tomorrow, but I get the impression it works like a corporate credit card that happens to have a REALLY small limit. We'll see.

Tomorrow we have 4 hours of programming from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and then our non-stop flight to Samoa departs at 11:30 p.m.

Intro and FAQs

There has been very little time between when I was assigned to Samoa and my actual departure, so I realize that I haven't been able to talk to everybody about what I'll be doing there. Please see the list of frequently asked questions below.

Where is Samoa?
Samoa is about halfway between Hawai'i and New Zealand (about 1,000 miles closer to New Zealand). It sits just below the equator and just east of the International Date Line. The time difference is 4 hours behind California.

How long will you be there?
A Peace Corps tour is 27 months; that is, three months training and then two years in a permanent assignment.

Wow. That's a long time. Do you get to come home?
I get 24 days off each year during which I can travel. If I choose to come home, I'll have to pay my own way.

Isn't Samoa an American territory?
There are 4 islands in the Samoan archipelago. The two eastern islands are American Samoa, which is an American territory. The two western islands are Western Samoa, which is independent. In 1997, Western Samoa officially changed its name to Samoa, but it is still widely referred to (by Google Maps, the US Postal Service, et al.) as Western Samoa. I will be going to Western Samoa.

Are you sure? I think you're talking about Tonga.
Yeah, I'm sure. Tonga and Western Samoa are two different independent countries.

How long is the flight?
The flight is 10 hours, non-stop, from Los Angeles to Apia, Samoa on Air New Zealand.

What language do they speak there? Will you have to learn it?
There is a Samoan language, although English is also spoken. Students start learning English in high school. I will be required to learn Samoan as part of my job.

What will you be doing there?
I have been hired as part of the Information Technology program. It is unclear exactly what this will entail, but I get the impression that I will be teaching computer classes to middle school students. A lot of things with the Peace Corps are very tentative, so this assignment could change completely once I'm actually there.

Where will you live?
While I am in training during the first three months, I will be almost surely be living with a host family near Apia, the capital. My housing after that will depend on my permanent assignment. Although there's the chance that I'll have my own place, it's more likely that I will either live with a roommate or be assigned to a new host family.

Do they have internet there? Are you bringing a laptop?
Internet access in Samoa varies by region. In and around the capital, in-home internet is pretty common. There are also internet cafes. Internet cafes should also be available in more rural regions, but access may be intermittent.

What about a cell phone?
Most Peace Corps volunteers in Samoa carry a cell phone. It's unclear whether my iPhone will be functional on the Samoan network. Texting is common. As far as talking on the phone to America, programs like Skype are popular.