Let’s begin this with a pop quiz: Which of the following is not a typical Samoan name given to a boy? A.) Fale B.) Alofa C.) Fatu D.) Kyle

And since you all answered D.) that leaves me with this story to tell: I arrived in my village to begin my service on December 9, 2009. The very next day, there was a baby boy born in my village, and I found out that same evening that the mother had named him Kyle. I never fully appreciated what that meant at the time, but as the two years progressed, it started to become clearer.

Samoans give from their hearts. Kyle’s mother, naming her son after me, gave a gift from her heart, and a sign of respect towards me, as a new member of their community who had arrived to work within their village. As the two years passed, Kyle was a measure of my time in Samoa, as I was able to watch him grow. To tell myself I was going to live in a Samoan village for two years was an abstract concept. To watch a child grow during that same amount of time, served as something concrete.

And so the time passed…we had pictures together along the way, and I came to know their family better. As my last week in Samoa approached, Kyle’s mom came to me and invited me to join them for Kyle’s 2nd birthday celebration. It was Saturday, December 10th! Considering most Samoans don’t do much for their birthday celebration, I was so happy to see that Kyle’s dad went to town that morning to buy a birthday cake for his son. We also had a big spread of food to enjoy, before getting to dig into the cake! I had made Kyle a birthday card, and was sure to get some pictures of us together, some of which I later printed off and gave to his parents.

Now that I’ve left Samoa, I feel even more honored, to have a small child on the other side of the world, who was named after me. It’s another one of those lasting connections which will remain with me and that country I love so much. Perhaps Kyle will be able to look at those pictures when he’s older, and hear the story about a Peace Corps Volunteer who arrived in his village the day before he was born. And someday when I go back to visit my village, I hope to meet Kyle again, and remember the day his life began.

Kyle getting ready to blow out the candles on his birthday cake!

Kyle was warming up to me quite a bit on the day of his birthday, running over to me and wanting to sit near me. Here he even stood still for a picture.

Kyle and his dad.

My last picture with year 8, after

their prize giving--Dec. 2, 2011.

As I believe I've said in the past, year 8 and I had a unique relationship over the past two years. When we first started our journey together in February of 2010, I was still reaching for the reigns on teaching in a foreign country and they were perhaps still grappling at how to respond to a tall white guy who wore glasses and called himself their teacher. But nevertheless, we made it through the challenges and growing pains of the beginning and quickly came to love our time together. I spent the most time with those 8 students during my teaching assignment at the primary school. I am so grateful for their smiles, persistence and patience as we traveled together each and every day.

Looking back now, it's hard to believe that they were all strangers in the beginning--so much so that I was forced to take their pictures that first week of school with them holding their names in front of them, so I could study their faces. Now they are people I will remember for the rest of my life.

As one of my going away gifts to them, I printed those first pictures of them, which most of them had long forgotten about. I will share them now with you, so you can see how they have grown, comparing them to their current pictures from 2011! I'll also take this opportunity to share a little bit about what I'll remember about each of them! Congratulations to Year 8!

Penina

Penina was like the mother of the room. She was looking out for others along the way--including helping them cheat on a couple occassions. Of all the kids, I think she shows the most signs of wanting to become a teacher someday.

Salote

Salote was the one I could always count on to answer a question I had asked, or to offer to come up to the board to write out an answer. She's a great reader as well.

Christopher

Christopher was one of my weaker students, but the amount he grew during our time together was so amazing to see. This kid never gave up, and he fought hard each and every day--with a smile on his face!

Luisa

Luisa was my steady worker who I always could count on. If I needed to trust someone with a certain task, she was the one I'd ask.

Saulo

Saulo was my translator in times of need. He also made a great aid, helping the slower learners after he was finished with his work--a very gifted student.

Neueli

Neueli was the one who kept my spirits high on a bad day. He always came bouncing into my room every morning with a smile on his face and wasn't afraid to give me a hug.

Perise

Perise arrived a term late in 2010, having moved from American Samoa, so I didn't get an early picture of her. She was my librarian. Anytime I needed the books organized, or supplies from the library, she was my go-to person.

PRIZE GIVING PICTURES

In a previous blog I posted on December 3, 2011, I wrote about this year’s prize giving ceremony at my school. However, at the time I wasn’t able to post any pictures from that special day, so I wanted to take this opportunity to tie up that loose end. I’ll post the pictures below with a short description about each one. Again, prize giving is the last day of school for Samoan students where they receive their awards for the school year. This year I found myself holding back emotions as I knew that day was the official end of my work at the school. We had a great celebration, and the kids were as happy as ever!

The evening before prize giving all the year 7 and 8 kids came up to the school to decorate and clean for the event. Here the kids are placing palms around the outside posts of the school for decoration.

The national flower of Samoa, the Teuila, was used for decoration at the school. All the kids were responsible for bringing a few to help with the cause!

The kids are seated and ready for the program to begin. They were told by the principal to have their school uniforms clean for the special day. Notice that the boys and girls are seated separately.

The mayor of the village was asked by the principal to help pass out the awards to some of the kids.

After prize giving with teachers, principal and school committee members.

With teachers, Letaulau and Maria after prize giving.

Not only one of my year 8 students, Saulo was also my personal Samoan tutor, and more importantly, one of my best friends in the village. Here we are together with his gift to me, which his father made and he was so proud of!

The candy necklaces I received from students and parents during prize giving.

Last January when I started my second year as a teacher, I made the point of hanging a world map in my classroom. I knew by doing so, the kids would be able to dream a little bit larger than they had before. They might ask questions and wonder about other continents, countries and cultures. The map led me to develop our theme for the entire school year, “We are the World.” That theme idea came about from the popular song with the same name, by Michael Jackson. It often plays on the radio in Samoa, and the kids have always loved it.

However, I also knew of another Michael Jackson song which I can remember fondly from my own childhood, “Heal the World.” Riding in the car at an early age, I remember listening to it on a cassette tape which got played over and over again. This past school year I decided that it went nicely with our theme, and hoped that in teaching it to the kids, they might be able to carry a new memory with them, about our time together.

In late September I decided to begin teaching my year 7 and 8 students the song. Each week I would have them work on learning a new portion of the song, which I had written on large sheets of newsprint, as well as on a piece of paper I had made and photo copied for them.

At one point during our song rehearsals, I made the decision to choreograph a dance for the song which I would teach to them. Singing and dancing are both a huge part of the Samoan culture, although I hadn’t utilized it as much in my classroom as I would had liked to over the past two years. So this final project gave me a chance to step out of my regular comfort zone and really leave a gift for these kids to remember.

In November they were getting familiar with most of the words, and it was time to start teaching them the dance. Each night I would listen to the song over and over again on my i-pod and rack my brain on different dance moves I could create for the song. The following day I would take it to the kids and have them practice the dance with me. There were definitely moments of frustration as I tried to keep them focused. I kept reminding myself that their excitement was in large part due to the fact that they don’t always get the opportunity to do activities like this with their other Samoan teachers, and that they were really enjoying this new opportunity.

I would always get a smile on my face after teaching a particular dance move where I heard kids saying in Samoan, how cool the dance was. They laughed, argued, and made up several times throughout the two months of our project. It was a great opportunity to have them work together as a team, especially requiring them to break their own insecurities in terms of girls interacting with boys and vice versa. For example, Samoan kids will normally sit with members of their own sex; the boys on one side of the room, and the girls on the other. So when asking a girl to shake hands with a boy during our song, I first got a lot of resistance, but over time was glad to see that they got past that and worked well together.

One night while laying in my bed listening to the song on my i-pod, I realized that we needed some props to go along with the dance. I got the idea to make a huge globe to hold up, and smaller ones for the kids to use. On a weekend trip to the capital I went dumpster diving for old cardboard boxes and found some great ones to use. Once back in the village I traced a globe and used left over paints from my house to make the water and soil with blue and green paint. In class one day I had the kids draw their own smaller globes which were incorporated into the dance.

Although this was my project, I wanted to include the other teachers who had always been supportive of my activities in the past. I went to them and explained our work on the song. I told them that I’d like to record it to show to friends and family back home. They were all on board and eager to help. They had the girls make flower headbands for the day of the filming, and had the guys wear flowers in their hair too (not uncommon for boys in Samoa for special occasions).

In late November we were finally ready for the big performance. The kids came to school that morning with a lot of excitement. It was a beautiful sunny day (during the rainy season) and we began the taping. I had also taught them “He’s got the Whole World in His Hands,” and we also sang “We are the World, with the teachers assigning Saulo to be Michael Jackson and stand out in front with a fake microphone. The kids loved every minute of it.

With the ocean as their back drop and a beautiful mountain to their side, they sang and danced with smiles on their faces. As I was filming I could see my fellow teachers were enjoying the moment just as much, and I was hopeful that I had passed something onto them as well. All the younger kids from all the other grades sat quietly alongside the school and watched on. I think all of us, teachers and students alike, got chills at some point during that day, as we saw all our hard work come to fulfillment.

In the end, I was so thankful I took the leap of faith and taught them the song and dance. I later found out that not only had the song touched them, but the younger kids who hadn’t even sung or danced to it. Several evenings I would be walking through the village and hear a five or six year old singing the song with near perfect English. So many of the kids from years 7 and 8 came up and told me in our final days together that they would sing that song after I left Samoa and it would remind them of me. Now that I’ve left Samoa, and am reflecting back on our time together, I now realize that whenever I hear the song, I will be thinking of them!

Feel free the watch the video of one of our rehearsals for "We are the World." Due to the large size of the video file for "Heal the World," I am unable to load that video to this space.

Kids ready for first note of song!

The flowers looked great that day.

"Make a little space...to make a better place."

The boys and the girls finally got over their "fear" of holding hands!

Christopher, although one of my weaker students, had his moment to shine and did an awesome job!!

The smaller globes worked out well and they never fought over who got which one!

Great work, kids!

One of my teachers, Maria, acting as D.J.

All of us together after a very hot day out in the sun. We were all ready to head for shade!

In the classroom with our globes, standing in front of the "We are the World" bulletin board.

Saulo acting as Michael Jackson for our singing of "We are the World."

My time in Samoa is finished. The ending came and went like the setting of the sun, like the final notes of a grand orchestra composition. I knew all along that the final days were playing out, and that they were days I would remember for the rest of my life. Just as we realize the change in the sky’s brilliant colors before an unforgettable sunset, or hear the final crescendo on a masterpiece of music; so too, was I aware of how those last moments with my village, were marking the end of something great!

That final day in Samoa was now a month ago, which may leave some wondering why I’ve written so late about something that affected me so much. I’ve thought of this very question, and believe it took that month, to process what happened, and what it meant for me and those I left. Perhaps at times like this, I’m most concerned about getting the words just right, working harder than ever to portray what my thoughts, emotions and feelings really are. Nonetheless, today I am ready to embark on that journey, to explore those last days and relive their new place in my life.

I can’t properly bring closure to a 26 month blog in just one entry, so I’d like to invite you to continue checking in over the next couple of weeks as I tell the stories in several posts. I believe this will most accurately reflect my final memories and events in Samoa. Over the past two years, you’ve come to know many of the people that were a part of my life during my Peace Corps service, so let me tell you about our goodbyes and how we celebrated our last days together. Thank you as always for reading, and for your interest in this ongoing journey.

The Hurricane Analogy

Writing in my journal my last week in Samoa, I found a way of describing how I thought the process of saying goodbyes might play out—and it later proved to be spot-on. As the week started closing in on me, I felt like I was preparing for a hurricane. Recall those news and weather reports shown on T.V. of families and businesses boarding up, packing up, and then waiting for the winds and rains to come. When I started my packing, and later took part in multiple trips with my bags to the capital, I felt like I was boarding up, and getting things in order before the storm hit. After my house was packed and things moved out, I had a couple of days to just relax and be with my village as I tried to keep things normal, yet knew they really weren’t. This felt a bit like the waiting just before the first wind bands arrive on shore.

Later, the eve of my departure would arrive, and emotions and feelings became so great that I knew the winds had arrived. Then there was a quiet stillness that last night, before my final morning, as if the calm eye of the storm had passed over. But then the next day arrived, and the back side of the storm came and thrashed. My village and I were strong though, and in the end we were able to ride it all out, and make it through together.

Thoughtful Silence

Throughout my time in Samoa, it was common for me to have visitors to my house. They would come over, kids and adults alike, and we would visit. When the adults came over, the conversation was normally upbeat and lively. When the kids stopped by we might listen to music, dance, play cards or cook food. But during my last week, one thing that struck me as different about my visitor’s time was their longer stays at my house, and more silent presences.

I can easily remember my last week when my friend Saulo came over to visit. I was busy working around the house, doing laundry and packing things. I spent some time in conversation with him, and we played a card game, but after a period of time, when he normally would have left to go home, he didn’t want to. He said he wanted to stay longer. He ended up sitting there for two or three hours as I did my work at the house. We didn’t say much to each other that day, but I think we both knew what was on the other’s mind. It was almost as if we were reflecting in silence about our last two years together, and what it meant to us, and what the future might hold.

As the days continued, I had similar experiences from others in the village I had been close to. My good friend Milo came over and sat as I organized and sorted. They all would come over and just want to be present. They would sit and just be content with little fuss over the topic of conversation. Looking back, I realize those were really our last moments together, as friends and neighbors, before the business of those last couple of days. I am so thankful to all those who came over to visit, who wanted to be with me just because they could be.

The End of Hoarding

As volunteers, we sometimes had a tendency to hold onto things that might have been useful someday, although we weren’t sure what that use might have been. I don’t know if that instinct came about from many of us living in remote areas in cultures different than those we grew up in, but I often heard of other volunteers stashing things away for the day they might really had needed them.

I use to feel a bit embarrassed that I was saving old glass jam and spaghetti jars, until another volunteer said they were saving old peanut butter containers. I felt more secure. But in the end, I never had a use for the jars myself, so when I was cleaning out the house, I offered them to neighbors, who quickly snatched them up—especially the ones that still had lids—because they said they were going to use them to put tea in them.

Routines are Hard to End

One part of life that helps many Peace Corps Volunteers keep their feet steady throughout their service is a well oiled functioning routine. In the beginning when everything feels foreign, the routine may be the only thing that you can count on to be predictable or feel comfortable. Of course, after time, we adjust and become more in tune with the day-to-day life in the village, yet that routine we once began always sticks with us.

For me, that last week was about doing that routine one last time. That involved cooking my favorite meals one last time in Samoa, although they weren’t the most amazing meals, they were the meals that I had become so accustomed to: pasta, pasta and more pasta, and then maybe one night of homemade tortillas.

Exercise was also a huge part of my routine, so I made sure to get out for my evening runs which led me down the most beautiful road overlooking that awesome ocean. The last run I had ended up turning into a soaker, forcing me to take cover under the broad leaf of a banana tree until the rains let up.

When I first arrived at my site in 2009, I never thought that I’d have the ambition or physical strength to run some of those steep hills near my house, let alone even enjoy it. However, as with many other parts of my life, I slowly realized what I thought was impossible was actually quite doable when I set my mind to it.

Another part of my routine, which falls under the category of a “chore,” was doing laundry. I remember thinking that week of how easy life was about to become for me in terms of keeping my clothes clean. Not only was I returning to a country where washing machines are as plentiful as coconut trees are in Samoa, but I was returning to a climate where sweating doesn’t take place for five months out of the year. Washing clothes, and towels, and sheets in Samoa taught me a lot of patience. The first few times I did it I couldn’t believe it, but after a while I found it to be a nice time to think about life and reflect on the day or week. Loosing that slower part of my life that final week reminded me I was about to return to a routine that would be different.

Saulo, during one of his visits to my house the last week.

During one of my last laundry sessions.

Milo always came and sat on the water tank outside my bathroom window to visit while I did laundry. Here he is on my last laundry day.

I literally had a "bench press," as part of my daily exercise routine!

Two years ago the riddle was how

to suspend my mosquito net!

Two years ago today I entered my village to begin my two years of Peace Corps service. We were all strangers at that point. The man who picked me up in his white van at the Peace Corps office ended up being the father of one of my best friends in the village. The boy who greeted me at my house and helped lug my suitcases down the hill became like a brother to me. The women who knocked on my back door with a pillow and blanket in hand, asking me to go for a walk with her, became like a mother figure when I was so far away from my own.

On that first day, I felt like I was in a valley, looking up at this mountain I had to climb. There were lots of people there watching me, I just didn’t realize at the time in which ways they would help me scale to the summit. But slowly, over time we met and the relationships formed. We learned about each other’s lives—our personalities, our cultures, our languages. We made mistakes, yet we made huge strides. It was all done together.

I was lonely that first night. I felt like I was on my own planet, and wondering how I ever got there in the first place. But then my neighbor Milo, the one who had helped me with my bags, came calling from outside my bedroom window. I welcomed him into my house and I tried making sense of what he was asking me. After a few minutes and some improvised sign language on both our parts, I realized he was inviting me over for dinner with his family that night.

When I joined them for dinner, I never realized how much gratitude I would feel towards them that night for having welcomed me to their meal, their home and their family. I remember where I was sitting, the sound of the evening news on the radio, and the food we were eating. I remember the feeling of being unsure about so much, yet at that moment, I knew I was exactly where I needed to be.

Tonight, we’re having dinner together again. However, as we do, we both realize that we are approaching our final weekend together, and the days are running short. I’ll be thinking about that first meal we had together, and how much we’ve grown since then. I was welcomed that first night by one family, but next week when I leave, I’ll be saying goodbye to a whole village!

The bed I slept on for the first week until I was able to buy a mattress.

I've been lucky to live in one of the most scenic places in Samoa for the past two years!

Kids helping with village wide clean-up day!

Remember taking those timed tests where your teacher says you only have ten more minutes to finish, yet you know you don’t have enough time. What about watching a football game where your team is down by just a few points with 10 seconds left on the clock, and you know there just isn’t enough time. And then there are those days you’re late for work and driving fast, but you know that you just don’t have enough time!

I’ve been having those same feelings. With less than two weeks left before I finish my Peace Corps service and leave Samoa, I’m finding that the days pass like the blink of an eye. I keep looking at the calendar in my room and reminding myself it really is December, and this is it.

Despite that feeling of not having enough time, I don’t think I could have prepared any better for the end than what I’ve already done. I’ve taken the pictures I’ve been wanting to take, seeing the people I want to spend more time with, and eating the foods I know I will miss. I don’t think we can avoid getting that feeling of the end and crunch time, no matter how well we plan the end of an experience.

These past weeks have been productive ones. School finished on Thursday with our annual prize giving. The kids decorated the school early in the week to get ready to greet their parents and other family when they arrived for the ceremony. All the kids were in their normal blue and white school uniforms, except for year 8, which wore all white since it was their graduation day from the primary school.

Parents came walking down the hill next to the school Thursday morning with candy necklaces ready to award their children with for their hard work. The teacher’s had prepared for the event as well, grading our final exams and as is part of the culture here, ranking the kids based on their final grades for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places etc.

Prizes were giving out to students who were in those top three spots of their class. The top prizes were dishes which were awarded to the students, but which obviously would be used by their whole family. Samoan culture is very communal, so what’s good for one person, should be good for all. I broke in that tradition a bit, just because I didn’t have the money to go out and buy dishes for all my awards, so instead I gave out candy, pencils, makers, paper notebooks and hand made certificates.

The week before prize giving the whole school participated in a village wide clean up day! It had been on my project list for a long time, and thankfully my principal was on board and we had the kids years 1-8 go throughout the village and pick up rubbish. They filled several big black bags with rubbish from the beach, rivers and near the road. I considered the day a big success, especially when the teachers were explaining to the students what gets thrown in the rubbish, and what can be thrown outside. Samoan kids call leaves and twigs rubbish, so if there is a leaf and a piece of paper lying on the floor and you tell the kid to pick up the rubbish, there is a 50-50 chance they might actually pick up the paper, and not the leaf!

And finally, there are the emotions. They go along with the end of any experience which has had a profound affect on a person’s life. I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting on where I started and where I am now. I think about the people I knew then, and the people I know now. I think about what was difficult, ridiculous, fun, and exciting. All of that is on my mind during these final days.

The packing has begun. I’ve just started to bring my first things back into the office, to set them aside in the free box for other volunteers from Group 83 to rummage through. Other things at my house will be given to people in my village. I’ve tried to put off the packing as long as possible to keep a sense of normalcy to life, but now it’s crunch time.

I also did cleaning at school. Going through two years worth of papers projects and hand made resources, I didn’t realize how much stuff I had accumulated. My heaping mound of newsprint papers got burned this week, that was a little hard to do, but really couldn’t be saved. Other things however are getting saved, in fact, I am leaving a number of books and other resources and materials at my school for the teachers to use in the years ahead. Peace Corps has always loved the word s-u-s-t-a-i-n-a-b-i-l-i-t-y!!!

So the packing will continue, and the goodbyes will begin. The process of bringing closure to my time in Samoa has begun. I’m excited about these next couple of weeks, and the great memories that will be made!

One of our teachers leading the students in the rubbish clean up.

Ropati from year 6 asked me what he should do with the tea pot he found!

After being sick for one week, I got caught up on some of my laundry.

In this post, Elisa shares

some Samoan superstitions with us.

Editor’s Note: A while back I was having dinner with my friend Elisa, a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer here in Samoa, and she started telling me about a number of Samoan superstitions. Throughout my two years here, I’ve found that superstitions are very much a part of Samoan culture. Elisa, being very much integrated into her village and life in Samoa, was the best person to ask to write this for all of you. So a huge thanks to her for her guest blog, which you can read below!

• Cover your mirrors at night with any ie lavalava you have lying around. Many a vain young girl hath been caught unawares by the jealous ghost of some ghoul while combing her hair or examining her visage.

• Refrain from whistling while walking along the road at night lest you attract an evil spirit. Most times whistling gets you your mouth ripped off or your jaw broken.

• Get tattoos and go fishing in even numbers unless you want an aitu to join your party to take the place of your missing member. Note: When fishing, if you can’t find a friend to accompany you, ghosts will accept a sturdy stick stuck into the sand to represent your missing uo.

• Nothing brings bad luck like breaking a dish and the worst luck at that. A broken dish means the immediate death of a family member. Your family may be so extensive that you won’t be notified of the death of this person, but know deep down in your guilty conscience as you sweep up the shards of that ipu that somewhere your 5th cousin twice removed has dropped dead.

• Always swirl eye sicknesses when you are removing them. Meaning, when you take your thin twig to poke at your inflamed sty, be sure to swirl it a time or two before you stick it soundly into your calloused heel. This way the ma’i is thoroughly confused and dizzy before it realizes it has been moved to the bottom of your foot and is consequently squashed.

• Don’t act like a dead man and wrap yourself in an ietoga even if it does look soft and comfy. Lurking aitu may mistake you for a dead man and carry you away.

• Thieving at the pastor’s house causes birth defects in your family. Though you may not know who the culprit is, if your son or daughter is born as a pig (with Down Syndrome) or any other abnormality, you can be sure that it is repayment for something your extended family stole from a pastor.

• Owls are ghosts and cats have 7 lives so be wary of passing owls when you are wandering about at night odds are you are being watched and be careful not to incur the wrath of a cat as they can come back to haunt you six times.

• Aitu are easily offended by obscene language so it may be worth while to scream a few choice swear words should you find yourself face to face with one.

• Umbilical cords should be properly buried when they fall off or else you will leave your newborn restless and haunted.

• It’s rude to point....at old Samoan graves and their inhabitants who you offend may come after you to teach you a lesson. However, this only relates to old Samoan rock graves. New cement graves can be slept on top of and can even be used as a place to dry your laundry and pound your cocoa.

• Should you find yourself under the influence of a curse and doctors cannot find a thing wrong with you (though you can’t control or see out of the left side of your body) cutting off your long locks is always worth a try. If you were cursed by a jealous lady-ghost then odds are she wants you humbled.

• Keep an eye out for shooting stars as they mark the birth of a girl in the family.

Group 82 at the All Volunteer Conference

January 2011

We were the 82nd group of volunteers to arrive in Samoa. There were 23 of us who stepped of that plane from L.A. on that hot and humid morning of October 7, 2009. Now, over two years later, 15 of us remain, and our journey together reveals many stories about the lives we’ve helped change, and the ways we have changed as well.

My friends in Group 82 are some of the few people that will ever completely understand what this experience has been like. Although we’ve all lived in our own village, with our own school, and our own house, we can all relate to the overall journey we’ve been on, and the trials and successes along the way. When we first began, 26 months felt like an eternity, but here we are on the doorstep of our departure.

Although we all arrived together, our exits from the country will take place on different dates. Next week, the first volunteers from Group 82 will begin to head back to the United States. Recently, I asked my friends to share a few things about their time in Samoa. The first question I asked was what was the most useful item they packed for their Peace Corps service. After two years, we all know what that one thing is that we couldn’t have lived without. Secondly, most Peace Corps volunteers can explain in vivid detail certain foods they craved during their time overseas, and this leads most volunteers to plan out their first meal back in the United States months in advance. Therefore, I asked my friends what that first meal would be. Finally I asked them each to share a special memory about their time in Samoa.

As we begin to pack our bags and say our last goodbyes, I offer this tribute to Group 82, and wish them all the best in the months ahead.

Introducing Peace Corps Samoa—Group 82:

Kaelin

Most useful item packed for service:

Faded, old, red baseball hat.

1st meal back in the U.S.:

Philly soft pretzel

Samoa memory:

I loved being together with our whole group on the last night of our Close of Service Conference. The true highlight of that night was Kyle’s stand up comedy. He had us all laughing hysterically.

Rachel

Most useful item packed for service:

Pocket knife and duct tape.

1st meal back in the U.S.:

Everything bagel with garlic and herb cream cheese; Starbucks iced vanilla latte.

Samoa memory:

Running the Perimeter Relay Race as a part of “Kope Keine.”

Cassie

Most useful item packed for service:

Camera

1st meal back in the U.S.:

Salad

Samoa memory:

I know this sounds cheesy, but I will always remember the other Peace Corps I’ve met here. They have become another family for me. I will never forget my family and watching my two younger siblings, Fuaesi and Lehini learning how to ride a bike. Fuaesi was on the handle bars and Lelini was riding her around. I will also remember the chickens, pigs and the occasional horse running around.

Dana

Most useful item packed for service:

Computer and soccer ball

1st meal back in the U.S.:

Green Chile cheese chicken enchiladas

Samoa memory:

The tsunami evacuation on the first day—crazy! All other cyclone and tsunami evacuations (3)!

Matt

Most useful item packed for service:

Guitar

1st meal back in the U.S.:

Mexican

Samoa memory:

Climbing Mt. Silisili [the highest Mt. in Samoa] and only having 1 liter of water for the entire second day—about 10 hours of hiking. At the end of the hike, we walked through plantations and I drank 4 niu (coconuts) and the first sip is probably the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted. Upon finishing the hike and entering the village, we were celebrated as heroes.

Tiffany

Most useful item packed for service:

My kindle

1st meal back in the U.S.:

Fondue (chocolate & cheese)

Samoa memory:

I told my host brother I wanted a niu (young coconut). He agreed to climb a tree and get some down for me. Once he got some niu he told me that he was going to teach me how to husk a coconut. I’ve seen it done with a stick in the ground, so I asked him where the stick was. He told me that before the stick there was the rock. He then showed me how to use a rock to open the coconut by pounding the rock against the coconut to soften the husk before pulling it off the coconut inside with my hands. At one point I put my feet on the coconut to pull at the husk. After about 10 minutes I finally got the husk off so I could drink the water inside the coconut.

Alli

Most useful item packed for service:

I-pod, floss, coffee and French press

1st meal back in the U.S.:

Mom’s lasagna

Samoa memory:

Waking up with a chicken in my bed in the training village. Scary in the morning!!

Emilie

Most useful item packed for service:

The most amazing thing is that its taken me 15 minutes to think of anything I brought that hasn’t broken—that I cherished and would be lost without—nothing! I don’t need anything I brought!

1st meal back in the U.S.:

Green Chile Enchiladas with a Mexican Martine

Samoa memory:

The first few weeks (which felt like months) were so challenging for a million reasons. Our daily walks to the ice cream shop in the training village, sharing memories, envisioning Target trips, commiserating on digestive discomfort and cultural misunderstandings helped mitigate the pre-integration trauma. The fate of our deep enduring friendship was sealed early on when we revealed our vulnerabilities. You were ther for me, a shoulder to cry on when I couldn’t stop crying, and I was there when you opened your mail and smelled the envelope—ha! I’ll always remember the morning of your birthday as we talked in your fale (house). I cared about you so much after a few short weeks, still do, and always will. I’m grateful to this crazy Peace Corps madness for that.

Corina

Most useful item packed for service:

Backpack

1st meal back in the U.S.:

Mom’s Chinese food

Samoa memory:

Representing my village at the Teuila Festival as the taupou.

Elisa

Most useful item packed for service:

Audiobooks

1st meal back in the U.S.:

Dad’s homemade mushroom & bean casserole, cottage cheese and a Dairy Queen chocolate malt.

Samoa memory:

I was sitting in the bathroom at my host family’s house, shuffling my feet on the floor to discourage cockroaches from crawling on me and when I grabbed a piece of paper from the “toilet paper box.” I started flipping through, disinterested at it, and saw that the title said ironically, “Lo’u Olaga Fou” (Your New Life).

Lilli

Most useful item packed for service:

Sneakers or computer

1st meal back in the U.S.:

Eggplant parmesan with garlic bread

Samoa memory:

I was biking home from a nearby village and made the mistake of leaving too late. To avoid the heat on my first huge climb uphill, I visited Pat (Group 83) for lunch. However, right after I left it started pouring. Someone I didn’t recognize was calling my name to invite me to their house. (I was over an hour’s drive away from home—forgot about biking distance). I hung out with this family for an hour for the rain to stop. I then continued. As I got to the next village which has a Peace Corps volunteer, it started to rain again. I was welcomed into Dana’s host family’s house with big arms (Dana was away). Of course after the rain let up, I left and was stopped again. The people there yelled at me to come inside. I am glad I went because the rain never let up. I stayed there for several hours, laughing and joking with the family. Of course it became dark. I had a choice: I was invited to spend the next few days with the family (no biking the next day on Sunday) or find a ride. Thankfully the fish truck drove by and offered me a ride home. I realized how easily and quickly relationships with Samoans are made and how many I’ve been able to make during my time in Samoa.

Jenny

Most useful item packed for service:

Non-stick pan, good small backpack

1st meal back in the U.S.:

A big fat veggie burrito or sushi!!

Samoa memory:

That first training village siva (dance) when we all had to dance traditionally for the whole village and other Peace Corps Volunteers!

Jenny

Most useful item packed for service:

Kitchen knife

1st meal back in the U.S.:

Peaches and watermelon

Samoa memory:

I recently headed out with a former Peace Corps Volunteer, Max, to catch Palolo, a worm that comes out from the coral during one night in October. We were heading out into the water and had to swim across a portion of water to reach the reef. As we were swimming, Max dropped his flashlight we were using, and then his shoes started to slip off. In the whole mess, Max started making noises as he tried recovering the lost items. Nearby, men heard him and misunderstood his cries of frustration as if he were drowning. The men rushed out and started to drag Max to safety, while the whole time he was ok, just without his flashlight and shoes! It reminded me about how generous and quick to act Samoans are towards their neighbors and even complete strangers.

Leah

Most useful item packed for service:

Wrap-around skirt

1st meal back in the U.S.:

A pot of my sister’s homemade beans

Samoa memory:

I was sleeping one night when a rat walking on top of my mosquito net peed on my face. I just rolled over and went back to sleep!

Kyle

Most useful item packed for service:

Leatherman knife kit.

1st meal back in the U.S.:

For the trip home from the airport, Dairy Queen’s chicken strip basket with a chocolate chip cookie dough blizzard!! The next day, my mom’s lasagna with garlic bread and a salad.

Samoa memory:

While in the training village for my first two months in Samoa, I shared the family’s bathroom on the compound. There was a string you could wrap around a nail from the inside to “lock” the door, but my host family didn’t use it, because one day I rushed to the bathroom with an emergency and found my host sister sitting on the toilet texting on her phone. We both gasped and the rest of my host family in the house heard and saw the incident and started to laugh hysterically. They yelled at her to hurry up as I waited in embarrassment outside for her to finish!

With year 8 during an exam study session.

There’s a certain level of excitement that leads up to exam week in Samoa. It’s a week that is taken seriously by both teachers and students alike. This year’s exam schedule ran for one week, where all students in year eight (8th grade) throughout Samoa took the same exam in five different subjects: Monday—Samoan Language; Tuesday—Basic Science; Wednesday—English; Thursday—Social Science; Friday—Maths (Australian and New Zealand spelling).

I have spent more time with year eight over the past two years than any other group of kids at the school. They were my students last year when they were in year seven, and so we started this journey together then. At the beginning of this year, I started mentioning the national exam to them, trying to give them a goal to work towards. It is a very challenging exam for the level of most Samoan students, and I wanted to do everything I could to give my students the best chance of succeeding.

In February I started giving them each a packet of work for the week that had English topics they could expect to see on the exam. They did a packet like this each week throughout the school year. In July I knew I needed to get them more prepared for the essay portion of the exam, and by the grace of the Holy Spirit I was able to develop an effective outline format to help teach them essay writing. I drilled this into them week after week doing all kinds of examples as I tried to break them of their old habits.

Samoan students have a tendency to write a short paragraph for what is supposed to be a full length essay. They normally will include in this paragraph a sentence such as, “I like fish and taro,” or “My mother weaves the mats.” No matter the topic of the essay, they always revert back to these sentences they have learned and been drilled on from an early age. So when having them write an essay about going to New Zealand for a vacation, I tried to explain to them that they don’t need the sentence, “My mother weaves the mats.”

During the week leading up to the exams I really raised the bar for year eight, giving them a big review packet of work and holding evening review sessions, and even one on Saturday evening! I think it helped get their attention and focus them more before the exams began. For the three different evening sessions I had, I only had two kids who missed on one day, so I was so proud of them taking the time to come and be responsible for themselves. It was just me and them, no other teachers at the school so it really gave them the chance to feel relaxed and more comfortable.

On Wednesday evening, after the end of the second review session, I looked down at my desk while they were still in the room and just looked at the pile of papers, folders markers and books and realized I just needed to chill out and take it easy for a minute. I had been pushing them really hard and I suddenly had a desire to just talk to them and calm them down, as well as myself. It was only a test.

I had them bring their chairs in to form a circle and I sat there for a few seconds trying to think about what I wanted to say to them. I looked around the room we had shared for two years, and at them, and the memories of all the things we had accomplished together started hitting me. I realized that the curtain on our two years was starting to close. As I was saying how proud of them I was, I couldn’t hide my emotions. Before long, nearly all of them were crying as well. Samoans normally don’t show many emotions, other than laughter, so a few of them were covering their faces. I looked over at a boy who has been one of my weakest students, yet has come so far, and he was crying the hardest. I collected my thoughts again and gave the kids examples of how much they had accomplished since we had started together. It was one of the best teaching moments in the past two years, and it wasn’t planned out in a long lesson plan, it just unfolded as we were living it. I’m so glad we had that time together to reflect.

The teachers and year eight students came to the school on Sunday evening to help get things ready for test week. Students were sweeping out the classrooms, moving desks and woven floor mats. They were the final preparations before the big exams started on Monday!

Monday morning the teachers arrived at the break of dawn to start preparing food for the test supervisors who were visiting from a neighboring school. Samoan culture places a lot of importance on receiving guests with a lot of hospitality, and this is most reflected by the amount of food that is prepared. Each student in the school was assigned a day when their family was to prepare or buy a certain food to give for their assigned day. Brothers and sisters in the same family shared a dish, and food was served for both breakfast and lunch. Food ranged in variety throughout the week, consisting of both traditional Samoan dishes as well as more palagi foods (white person’s food). Kids brought hard boiled eggs, chicken soup, cooked bananas, breadfruit, corned beef, clams, octopus, and the list goes on. The big ticket items were size two pigs which were given to test supervisors to take home for their families to eat. Pigs are classified by their size using a number. Size two is a nice size pig that is typically slaughtered for several occasions throughout the village. A size 4, 5 or 6 would be a huge pig offered to a family at a funeral or wedding.

On Tuesday I had offered to make omelets for breakfast. The Samoan teachers had never heard of them before, so I was excited for their reaction. I woke up early that morning and started cracking the 24 eggs to make the eight huge omelets stuffed with sausage, onion, tomato, cheese and sprinkled with basil. They were a huge hit and one teacher ate three of them! That was nine eggs in all for her, but it was a nice complement I suppose.

Wednesday was the day I was waiting for: the English exam! Since Samoan kids normally don’t eat breakfast, I told all of them to stop by my house early in the morning and I would have rice ready for them to eat. All of them showed up and some even ate a couple bowls worth of rice. After they had finished I sent them on their way to take the long awaited exam.

A few hours later after they had finished, I saw them out in front of the school and got a picture of them with relieved looks on their faces! It all felt kind of anti-climatic for me since I wasn’t the one taking the exam, but I knew that I had done my best to get them ready for that day. In the end, it was only a test, but I think it became more than that along the way. It became a goal for them to work towards, and something they could feel proud for having achieved. I hope they can look back on the process we underwent in getting ready for it, and use it as motivation to accomplish their dreams of the future!

Working with students during our Tuesday evening review session.

The kids working at a our Saturday review session.

THE FOOD

A size 2 pig that was brought by a parent of a year 8 student.

Octopus which I found to be pretty good!

The omelets I made.

The size 2 pig after it was cut up!

This little piggy got eaten.

Plates of food that were sent home with the test supervisors from the neighboring villages.

Crab anyone?

The school's copy of the 2011 English Exam.

The gang after their English exam on Wednesday. Malo lava...good job!

A couple weeks ago, Samoa celebrated one of its biggest holidays, White Sunday. This was my third White Sunday experience since being in Samoa. The day is set aside as a celebration for kids. It is the one day where children, who normally fall at the bottom of the pecking order, are given the spotlight, praises and gifts. Every other day of the year, kids are doing far more chores than any American child would ever dream of doing, and also more strenuous tasks than most kids from American culture would experience. These kids are use to going out and collecting firewood, gathering coconuts, hauling rocks, weaving mats, and preparing the evening meal to name a few things. But on White Sunday, the kids set those chores aside and enjoy a day of rest.

The two days leading up to White Sunday are without a doubt, the busiest shopping days of the year in Samoa. People from the rural villages make an exodus by way of their local buses to the capital of Apia where they stock up on food, clothes and candy, which are all a part of the holiday. It’s the one day where families who normally go without luxuries, like ice cream, might splurge and buy a huge box carton for the entire family. It is the one day where I have seen new clothes be given to kids, as well as new shoes, and jewelry for the girls.

I’ll never forget last year’s White Sunday weekend when I was riding back on my village’s bus on Saturday afternoon. I have never seen so many people in such a small space, and with so much stuff. With there only being one bus to my village, everyone who had any shopping to do that weekend was on that bus.

As I’ve written in past blogs, because of my position within the community as a Peace Corps Volunteer, plus the fact that I’m a foreigner, I am always guaranteed a seat in the front of the bus out of respect—someone would always move to give there seat to me. And although I normally sit near the front of the bus, I decided that on the busiest shopping weekend of the year, I would give up my seat in the front and head to the very back, where I had never gone before. Since the front of the bus is reserved for the high chiefs of the village—matais—as well as older women and women with children, the back is where everyone else goes, and that leaves a lot of people!

After fighting my way through the busy streets and stores to do my shopping, I made it over to my bus where I arrived a half hour early, to guarantee my seat in the back! Upon arriving I told people from my village what I was doing as they laughed and still invited me to sit in the front. But I made my way down the aisle and found my seat in the back right hand side of the bus.

Before long people started stepping aboard the bus and cramming in. Babies were being passed through windows, toddlers getting comfy on their mother’s, or a stranger’s lap. I had my ears wide open to take in the language as I heard people trying to discuss who would sit where and who sat on whom. An older and rather large lady made her way to the back seat where I was and then had a small child sitting on her. There ended up being 6 people in the back seat, not counting the four people sitting on them. I offered to let someone sit on me, but I was in a corner seat so it would have been a bit uncomfortable, although not impossible.

As the bus continued to fill, people were juggling their cartons of eggs, ice cream and loaves of bread. Near the front of the bus were a couple big stalks of bananas, and 6 large coconuts rattled around on the floor near my feet. At one point, I also spotted a yellow 20 lb. bag of rice and some flour. It all came aboard the bus and somehow fit amongst the mass of humanity. Before long, the bus driver fired up the engine and we were off.

Now you might have thought our next stop was the village, but not so—there’s a surprise! Our bus always stops at a petrol (gas) station outside of town to fuel up before the long journey out to the bush. There is also a nice size grocery store at this petrol station where people like to stock up on food. So after cramming the bus full and situating everything just right, the whole thing is undone and 90 percent of the bus disembarks to do some more shopping. And yes, you’re right, what goes off must come back on, and then some!

People were buying bread, chicken, bags of chips and ice cream cones. I chose to stay put, rather than possibly loosing my seat. While we waited for everyone to re-board the bus, a guy sitting in the back with me started smoking a cigarette, which didn’t do too much for the air quality on an already very hot and sticky bus. Yet I signed up for everything I was getting that day.

About 45 minutes after stopping at the petrol station our bus rolled out and headed to the village. With the speakers of the bus pounding out one great song after another, I sat back, and enjoyed the ride. Our bus followed the road along the ocean’s edge as some people even managed to fall asleep.

As we approached the village people started reaching for the bags and boxes they had stuffed under their seats. Slowly the bus started to empty as one family after another got off in front of their house. Mothers and fathers would be greeted at the edge of the road by the younger children who waited to haul the groceries and other goodies back up to their house. All the kids were waving to me and seemed a bit surprised that I was sitting in the back of the bus.

With my two months left in Samoa, I’m glad I took the time to do something I normally wouldn’t do. It may seem like a simple experience, but I can assure you, it will make me appreciate my seat in the front a lot more!

Standing room only!

Some of the guys loading things onto the back tailgate of the bus.

Editor’s Note: Today is the two year anniversary of my arriving in Samoa to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a rural village for 26 months. As a way to reflect on these past two years, I recently conducted an interview with myself. Please feel free to read through the transcripts of the interview to see how the past two years have unfolded, and what is in store for the next few months!

Kyle: Happy Anniversary, myself!

Myself: Thanks, Kyle. It’s been another busy year here in Samoa!

Kyle: I’m sure it has been. Can you tell us how your life as a volunteer is different today, Oct. 7, 2011, compared to last year on this same date, as well as the date you arrived in Samoa, Oct. 7, 2009?

Myself: Compared to last year, I feel more confident having been through it another 12 months. I’ve had that time to learn about how to best accomplish things and be more culturally sensitive. I guess I feel much more integrated into the community overall, and perhaps more “Samoan.” I’m less rushed and more relaxed about daily life.

Compared to two years ago, it’s almost hard to remember all that has changed since then. Obviously my language skills have improved by leaps and bounds since that first day, as well as my tolerance for the heat. I remember those first few months having heat rash all over my arms and legs, but I haven’t had that since early 2010.

I would also say that my confidence in dealing with other people has improved so much since I first arrived. Having entered into this other culture with another language really humbled me and then challenged me to work with other people in order to accomplish my goals.

Kyle: What is an example of a challenging day?

Myself: I guess a challenging day most often occurs when one of my lesson’s at school doesn’t go as well as planed, or the kids are acting up. I’ve gotten a lot better about correcting “derailments” before they get out of control. I’m usually able to end the day at school on a good note and can always look back and find things that were positives about each day. Other things that also use to seem like the right ingredients to make a bad day, such as no water, no electricity, or my radios stereo blasting, just don’t seem that challenging anymore.

Kyle: Is there anything that use to annoy you in the beginning of your service that you now have come to love?

Myself: During my first month of teaching in 2010, I was still really homesick. My house sits right near the school, so every morning, while I was still inside my house, I would hear the kids come walking past and they would always say “Good morning Kyle!” You would think the sound of kids greeting me in the morning would be a motivating factor, but it use to drive me crazy and remind me of how much I didn’t want to be there at the time. But since then I’ve come to love the kids who bounce down the hill next to my house and wish me a good morning. There was one rare day when all the kids passed by my house without saying a word to me—they must have had something else on their minds—but it really made me feel forgotten! It’s also funny when some of the 1st graders who don’t know much English at all, but know I respond to “good morning,” wish me a “good morning at four in the afternoon!

Kyle: What student of yours has improved the most in the past two years? How have they improved?

Myself: Without hesitation I would have to say Milo. Milo is my neighbor and so I’ve spent a lot of time with him these past two years. He knew very little English when I first arrived. I wish I had a video of our first conversations together because it was quite entertaining between my lack of Samoan and his lack of English. He was also one of the lowest students in his class and would often be laughed at for not knowing the correct answers. But now he is one of the top students in my English class and is often able to help other weaker students when he’s finished with his work. He is so much more confident when he speaks or deals with other students. It has been a lot of fun to see him grow.

Kyle: You mentioned Milo is your neighbor. Describe your relationship with his family, whom you consider your “host family.”

Myself: Milo and his family have been such a blessing for me. I believe that whenever we face challenges, God puts someone or something there as a guide, and as a support system. Milo’s family was that extra support for me during my hardest days. Milo was at the road to help unload my bags the day I arrived in the village in 2009. His family were the first people to invite me for dinner, and since then they have continued to be there for everything. When my electricity was cut off, his family strung a wire from their house over to mine with electricity. They have helped improve my language skills and taught me so much about their culture. They have welcomed me into their home and made me feel as if I’ve always been a member of their family. It will be sad to say goodbye to them when I leave.

Kyle: What do you like to do for fun?

Myself: I’ve continued to find exercising a great outlet and way to stay in shape, so I normally try to run about four times a week. I also enjoy riding my bicycle down to the main road. This past year I’ve really enjoyed going over to family’s houses and just sitting with them visiting and practicing my language skills. I’m almost certain to always receive a cup of Samoan hot coco, and maybe even a bit of food. I have also really enjoyed spending time with my students, whether that be after school during tutoring sessions, or outside of school at their homes, along the beach, or swimming in the ocean. I also enjoy writing in my journal and reading three-month-old New York Times.

Kyle: What is something you’ve surprised yourself in this past year?

Myself: My desire to learn the language! A year ago I was kind of in the mindset that I had learned as much as I was going to. I really had no desire to open a language book and start teaching myself more. But once I got back to Samoa from Christmas in the States, I really had a desire to learn more. I started working a little bit on my own, but then got the idea to hire Saulo, one of my year 8 students who is also a good friend of mine. It has really been fun learning more of the language and being able to use it in the village. I think it shows a certain amount of respect to the host country nationals, and certainly allows me to be more effective as a volunteer.

Kyle: I hear you’re still writing letters back home! How is that going?

Myself: I’ve kept track of every letter I’ve sent since arriving in Samoa. I’ve currently sent 167 hand-written letters to friends and family. My goal is to send the 200th by the time I leave in December, so friends and family should be checking their mailboxes!

Kyle: How much do you know about events happening in the United States or other parts of the world?

Myself: Not very much. When I was in the States, I would be in front of the T.V. every evening at 6:30 to watch the nightly news, or even record it if I had other obligations. My first months in Samoa I really missed not knowing the latest news, but then I came to accept and even get use to not knowing what was going on in other parts of the world. Since I don’t have a television, and only limited internet, I guess it is one of the few time in my life where I have a good excuse for not being well informed.

Other volunteers from my group were also commenting on how little they know about world and national events back home, and how we might be a bit of a social miss-fit for our first few weeks back home. Tiffany, a very proactive volunteer from my group then prepared a timeline of U.S. and world events for the past two years which she gave to each member of our group to help us readjust to life back at home!

Kyle: What are a few things you’ll miss about:

Mornings in Samoa?

Afternoons in Samoa?

Evenings/Nights in Samoa?

Myself: Mornings: Sunrises and kids saying good morning to me.

Afternoons: Being able to take a nap and not feel guilty about it, since everyone else in the country is taking one.

Evenings: My run overlooking the South Pacific Ocean, and dinners with families from the village.

Kyle: What is one thing you won’t miss about Samoa?

Myself: The mosquitoes! They are relentless here. I’ll never be able to complain about mosquitoes again once I return to the States because they just don’t compare. Volunteers expend a lot of energy trying to avoid them. We put screen on all our windows, sleep under mosquito nets, use repellent and some burn mosquito coils to keep them away. Normally when I go into my classroom in the morning I’ll have a swarm of them near my desk and around all my books, so I’ll have to fan them away.

Kyle: What do you do when you’re frustrated?

Myself: This week I received a new camera that I had sent from the States. My other camera which I had bought just in January while home for Christmas stopped working due to a “lens error.” Well this week, after only using my new camera for two days, it displayed the words on the monitor, “lens error!” I was certainly frustrated, yet I realized how calm and adaptable I’ve become to different challenges.

Soon after this all happened, I could see my neighbor Milo, out my back window preparing his family’s evening meal. I walked over there and watched him go about his chores for about 45 minutes. I reminded myself about how simple his life is, and how he doesn’t have to worry about digital cameras and i-pods breaking. I guess I felt a little jealous of his simple life. It was nice to refocus my thoughts and remember that it’s just a camera. Other things matter much more.

Kyle: What part of the culture have you come to love the most?

Myself: I really love the way Samoan culture is so welcoming towards others, and caring for neighbors. Samoans take a lot of pride in giving a good welcome for guests, and not just for foreigners like myself. Whenever villages travel to another village for any event, the receiving village always has a certain protocol to follow in terms of making someone feel welcomed. That may be shown through an official ava ceremony where all the high chiefs from the village meet, the giving of food, or other material things such as fine woven mats. Every time our school has a guest from the Ministry of Education, you can can’t on there being food and tea to welcome them.

Samoans live in such small communities that they really get to know one another, often many of them being distant cousins, aunts or uncles. But even for the unrelated members of the community, there is still a deep caring and respect that exists, and that if one family needs help, they can always turn to their neighbor who will lend a helping hand.

This is something I hope to take back home with me. I really want to do a better job of getting to know my neighbors. Not only those who I live near, but those people I meet at church, and in the workplace.

Kyle: What’s something you want to do before you leave Samoa?

Myself: I have been wanting to return to my training village for a long time now, and plan to go visit my old host family there before I leave in December! The training village is where my whole group of volunteers lived for 10 weeks upon our arrival in Samoa to learn the language, as well as cultural, and work related skills. We each lived with a host family during those 10 weeks. I haven’t returned back for a visit since I left there in early December of 2009, so I am anxious to go back and say a proper thank you to my host family there who supported me during my first months in Samoa. At the time I was going through all the emotions and still getting a grasp on the language and culture, but now I’m looking forward to going back and just being with them.

Kyle: What is one thing you will make sure is packed in your suitcase the day you leave?

Myself: Kids have been making me cards and drawing me pictures for the past two years. I’ve been throwing them in a box to save. Some of them say “I love you Kyle,” or have a phrase in Samoan with their name and mine. One of the cards I kept was from my friend Saulo which he gave me on the last day of school last year. It was a thank you note and his saying I was his best friend. It really helped remind me at the time about what all the struggles of that first year were for, and gave me hope for this second year which I’m now about to complete. So those will be the things I make sure get into my suitcase for the trip home. They will be cherished for years to come!

Kyle: Thanks for sharing all of this with us on your two year anniversary, Kyle!

Myself: No problem. Thanks for letting me share! I’ve really enjoyed these past two years and have learned a lot about others, as well as myself in the process!

Marking the two year anniversary with Milo, Christopher and Saulo!

The morning I arrived on October 7, 2009.

With Corina at the airport two years ago today!

At our ava ceremony to welcome us, just hours after arriving in Samoa two years ago.

Here we are during our tsunami evacuation only hours after arriving in country on Wednesday, October 7, 2009.

These shoes weren't made for walking!

Over the past two years I’ve been able to see firsthand how things wear out, break down, fade or rust! I remember in my welcome packet from Peace Corps they reminded us of the dangers of bringing anything irreplaceable to a climate that is so humid. We were told to bring plastic sealable bags to place all of our electronics in, along with Silica Gel packs (those pouches you find in shoe boxes to help suck up all the moisture)! However, despite all the preparations, there was no real solution to battle this climate and the two years of beating our things would go through.

Here are a few things I’ve dealt with:

1. Termites eating through stationary, books, and most of all, all the wooden window frames in my house. Several times throughout the week I have to sweep up the piles of dust the termites leave behind. Most of my window frames look fine from first glance, but if you went and pushed your hands against them, you’d discover they are hollowed out!

2. Electronics crashing or malfunctioning. The i-pod I brought in 2009 lasted about a year here until it fizzled out in November of 2010. And on an even more depressing note, I’m now the owner of two cameras which say they have a lens error, with my newest camera having only worked for two days before the misfortune. But on a brighter note, the camera which I’ve had since the beginning, and which is five years old, still works, it’s just a hassle because it requires AA batteries.

3. My Chaco sandals are now on their last leg, (no pun intended). I bought them right before coming to Samoa, but within the past few months they are getting pretty bad. The bottom of the left shoe has nearly fallen off all the way, and requires me to place duct tape on it to keep it attached (see picture below). I’m bound and determined to make them last for the remaining 10 weeks.

4. I won’t be taking many clothes back home in December. It’s not because I’m being wasteful, but rather because I’m being practical—they are in really bad shape! Faded, stained, molded and with holes in several of them, they have served their purpose, but will be retired by the end of the year. I’ll probably be giving them to neighbors or kids so they can use them as work shirts.

5. The candle on my water filter looks like it was pulled out from the bottom of a swamp. I’ve actually gone through three separate candles for my filter in the past three years. They are supposed to last a year, but no such luck in my case. The one I’m on requires cleaning every other day to keep water filtering through it, but it should last me until I leave.

6. Anything metal rusts so easily. I brought a stapler with me from home which I’ve had since I was about seven years old. It still looked brand new the day I brought it to Samoa, but within a few months it was starting to rust over, and now is nearly all rusted, except for the plastic parts. Paper clips on all my papers are rusted and the spiral binding on my notebooks as well. Living with this much humidity makes anything possible.

So those are a few examples of how two years has had an effect on my things. Overall, I think I’ve been lucky compared to other volunteers in terms of loosing things to the weather and climate. But here’s your warning: if you ever visit the Pacific, or any other equatorial region, be advised that nothing is safe in terms of the climate!

The candle of my water filter looks more like a health hazard as opposed to a means to stay healthy!

The darker color of my shorts you see is the inside of the cargo pocket, the color the shorts were before they faded after two years of wear and tear!

Termite damage to one of my books.

A box of some type of nuts that our principal had the kids gather to sell to China. This is the day they were cracked open at school. See picture below for more!

This is what the box of nuts looked like after sitting in a cardboard box during our two week break from school. The point: mold grows so easily in this climate!

The boys helped carry water from a

neighbor's house for me.

Growing up, I always enjoyed playing outside with the water hoses in the summer and often would set up sprinklers in the yard and watch them make their rotations back and forth. Yet I always asked myself what would happen if the well ran dry? Well now I know. However, it isn’t in the backyard I grew up in, it’s in my backyard here in Samoa!

There are two seasons which people know in Samoa: the rainy season and dry season. Right now we are at the tail end of the dry season, and the pressure is being felt by many. I can’t remember a drier stretch of weather in Samoa than what I’ve been living in for the past few weeks. Even during last year’s “dry season,” I thought it still felt like a bit of a washout at times, yet this year it’s living up to its name.

Samoans, and myself for that matter, depend on rain for daily living. Since most villages in Samoa receive their water through a network of PVC pipes that run from rivers and streams, down to a family’s back door, the level of those waters either makes or breaks it when it comes to a family’s water supply. Many households in Samoa do take advantage of the often abundant rains here by building eves on their houses to catch rain water and then having it flow to a water tank. But many of those have long ago dried up and now many are left waiting for the rainy season to kick into gear.

Yet we know that Mother Nature works in her own time, and that even though the rainy season is due to start in October, that doesn’t mean 12 midnight on the first of the month. Therefore, in the meantime, we are left having to be resourceful, patient and helpful. Samoans are so relaxed and laid back that no one is really stressing out about it. Rather, they seem to be use to it, many of them probably having experienced this many times before throughout their lives. Yet for someone who use to have an unlimited amount of water with the turn of a knob, it leaves me more conscious of the way I use to live, and how I am challenged to live now.

There are five main things I use water for at my house: to shower, to do laundry, to flush the toilet, to do dishes, and to drink. Since all of those things are essential, I’ve had to be proactive in order to keep things running smoothly. On Tuesday after school I had four students haul buckets to a neighbor’s house about five minutes away that still has water. They came back with the containers full to the brim. Again on Tuesday I had to have the kids make another water run, and this time with two trips because I needed to do laundry. They have enjoyed helping out and have been asking every day this week if I needed their help.

I feel like I’ve gone back in time to my first two months in my house, when I was without water then, prior to the school committee getting the pipes hooked up. Whatever my use for water, I’ve found ways to ration every last drop. I guess it feels a bit like camping, and for the most part its gone fine. Nonetheless, after finishing my bucket bath the other night, I failed to see the dirt and slimy crud that had settled on the bottom of the bucket during the day, so when I poured the last of the water out, I got covered in a fine layer of dirt.

Perhaps the most challenging circumstances have been faced by our school, which has been without water for much longer than I have. The school is fed off the same pipes as me, but intersects the line at a different point, thus not allowing for as much pressure to build in the pipe. I don’t need to describe to you the vivid details of 85 students using three bathrooms that don’t have running water, nor the health hazards associated with it, especially in a hot, tropical climate such as this. Kids are often thirsty throughout the day, asking to go get a drink, and then remembering that there isn’t a drink to be taken. It’s not like in America where kids can buy bottled water from a vending machine, or take it with them to school. Bottled water isn’t even sold in my village, and if it was, the families wouldn’t be able to afford it.

One of the teachers used to freeze bags of ice that had a punch flavor to them, and then sell them to the students for their interval (recess). But her water has run dry as well, so this once basic drink now seems like a luxury.

I think this type of a situation has really made me more aware of using water wisely, especially once I return home to the States. It has certainly caused me to do so here. But for now, myself and the rest of Samoa will wait until the pounding rains begin, hopefully sometime in the next few weeks!

The dried up river behind my house. Notice the network of pipes, which also are as dry as the river.

The same river behind my house during the heart of the rainy season. Notice any differances?

L to R: Karen, Kyle, Danny, Chris,

Rivka & Katie

A couple of weeks ago I ran in the Samoa Perimeter Relay along with the other five members of my team. This was my second year for the race, having been on the winning team last year. It has become a bit of a tradition for us Peace Corps Volunteers who are runners, and seems to be a great motivating factor in giving us something to train for and come together to work on as a team.

The relay is 104 km, or 64 miles and winds from the south side of Samoa’s Upolu Island, along sandy palm fringed beaches, before heading inland and over the Le Mafa Pass, which always proves to be a challenge for its steep terrain. The route then slopes down on the north side of the island and weaves its way through several coastal villages before ending in the country’s capital of Apia.

This year Peace Corps had two teams represented: a group of all women, and then my team, which was co-ed with three men and three women. The women were competing against all women’s teams, and our team was competing against other co-ed teams, thus allowing us volunteers to avoid competing against each other.

Each team gathered separately on Friday, September 16th to organize and go over last minute details. Our team stayed at Karen and Dave’s house, a married couple who are Peace Corps Volunteers. Dave agreed to be the driver for our team, driving the van that would shuttle us down the race route when we weren’t running. His wife, Karen, was our team captain and had run marathons before so we were in good shape. We fixed a big pasta dinner that evening, and then headed off to bed fairly early.

Each team’s start time for the relay was set according to the approximate time it would take them to complete the race, with the race officials hoping for most teams to finish around the same time. So since our team was predicted to be one of the faster teams in our category, we were the last team to start, jumping off at 6:15 a.m., just around sunrise!

The running order was this: Karen, Katie, Danny, Rivka, Kyle and Chris. Each of us would run between 3 to 5 km each leg, depending on the terrain we were running through. Each of us had a total of 4 separate legs. With me being runner # 5, the sun was already blazing hot when I took off for the first time.

I normally go running four to five times each week for my own enjoyment, but there is always something special about running on race day, something that pushes me harder and motivates me more. It really does feel like a team effort I’m rallying for. That was certainly the case on September 17th as I ran through each of my legs. This isn’t to say there weren’t times throughout the race that day when I questioned why I had signed up for such a feat for the second year in a row, but I always felt reassured of my decision as I completed each run and would be greeted by my teammates at each hand-off point.

I’ve learned that running a race in Samoa presents two battles. The first is mental, which I suppose is true for races in any part of the world, but the other battle is the heat, which is relentless. Last year, as well as this year, I was reminded of the power of Mother Nature as the heat beat down on me throughout the day. This year I decided to wear a hat, which proved to be a great decision. Stretching and hydrating just before each of my runs, I set out with the knowledge that there was a van of five other team members following behind me who I was working with to complete our mission.

As I ran along I heard, saw and smelled many different things. I heard the sound of the ocean, cars honking their horns, kids greeting me in their native language as well as in English, and the sound of my team rooting me on. I saw families going about their normal Saturday routines with men carrying 20 coconuts down the road and women buckets of laundry. I smelled BBQ’s being prepared at roadside stands, rubbish being burned in back yards, bus exhaust fumes and stagnant water at bridge overpasses. It was a day for all the senses.

By my third leg there was some light cloud cover, which made a world of difference, plus there was the added surprise that I was running a huge downward slope in the race route during this time. I tried to push myself while I had the advantage of slightly cooler temperatures for about ten minutes. However, by my last leg it was all sun as we approached the outskirts of Apia and the traffic picked up with more busses, taxis, trucks and cars. Luckily we had a police escort behind us who helped keep the worst of the traffic at bay so we could focus more just on running.

I pushed myself during that last leg and handed the baton off to Chris knowing I had done my best. We then traveled behind him until we reached town and were nearing the end of the race route. That’s when our whole team got out helping run with him across the finish line where we were greeted by several Peace Corps Volunteers and members form the office staff as well. It was a great welcome after a long day of running. Soon after our feet came to a rest, a kid walked up to each of us with a cold coconut to drink!

After snapping pictures and cooling down, it was time for the awards ceremony. We found out we ran the 104 km in 9hrs and 1 minute. It was enough to take first place against the other two co-ed teams. The women’s team had also ran impressively that day and also took first place for their category! Two big wins for Peace Corps!

At the end of the day, I was proud of myself, and my team. Each of us depended on everyone else to get the job done. Despite the sun, sweat and aching legs, I was glad that I pushed myself to run the relay again this year. It reminded me that our bodies are strong and can accomplish challenges when put to the test, we only have to remember to keep mentally alert as well, and then we can win the race!

Getting excited before my first leg of the race!

Rivka handing the baton off to me for my first run.

Karen running with a nice view to her right!

The view from the van as I run my last leg of the relay.

With the police that followed behind us the whole day while we were running.

Raising our ava bowl, the trophy for first place.

Both Peace Corps teams after the relay race on September 17th.

L to R: Emily, Jenny, Leah, Cassie, Kyle & Dana

Continuing to take full advantage of my two week vacation from school, I joined a group of fellow volunteers in taking a day to travel around Samoa’s most populated island, Upolu. My friend Leah took vacation days so that she could rent the car and drive it for us. The rest of us rode along for the adventure. The goal of the trip was to do and see some of the things that are normally harder to do, when we are traveling on the buses. The trip ended up being a great time with great friends.

Below you can see a summary of our tour in pictures.

View from the front seat on the north side of Upolu.

Despite having to drive on the left hand side of the road and use a stick shift, Leah did a great job of driving!

A small rock island.

Washing my hands after dinner at Leah's host familie's house. It is Samoan custom for the children to bring the bowl of water for their elders to wash their hands with.

We saw these guys riding on the back of this truck while on Cross Island Road.

Taking a moment to stretch my legs.

Dana during our stop for lunch at a beach resort on the south side of Upolu.

It's the end of the dry season here so the waterfall was pretty weak, but still beautiful.

We met each other in a hotel conference room. Some of us were anxious, others not as much, but many felt overwhelmed. We each had different talents, different goals and different dreams, yet each of us brought a piece of the puzzle that would make our group a whole—which would make us fit as one. We knew very little about each other and the place we were traveling to, yet we knew we were going there together to challenge ourselves and others, to try and make a difference for those we were going to serve. We were and always have been, Group 82!

This week, I and the other 14 members from my Peace Corps group here in Samoa gathered for our Close of Service conference (COS). COS is held in all of Peace Corps’ posts around the world for volunteers as they prepare to end their service and move on to future plans back home in the United States, or somewhere else in the world. It is meant to help volunteers bring their Peace Corps service proper closure as they finish final projects, and begin to say sad goodbyes. However, it also takes time to look towards the future and prepare volunteers for reentry to life back in the States, discussing future careers, reverse culture shock, and how to best share our stories and experiences with family and friends.

Despite the relatively small size of Samoa, compared to other countries where Peace Corps serves, our group is fairly spread out across two islands and living in rural villages, sometimes with limited bus service. As a result, some of us who are on opposite sides of the country can go two or even three months without seeing one another. Therefore, over the past two years when we are gathered together for a conference or special holiday celebration, it becomes a type of family reunion where we catch up on each other’s lives and talk about successes, struggles and future plans.

That is what this past week has been, yet it has carried a different wait to it than all our other gatherings. This week we have all realized that our time together is quickly coming to an end, and that sharing memories and reflecting on the past two years is more important to us all.

I think all of us have been trying to slow the pace and step aside with one of our fellow volunteers to share a memory, ask about an accomplishment, or talk about the future. Each of us shares a special bond that no one else will ever understand. Although our stories our each unique, they all have common threads. We all know what it’s like to teach Samoan students, ride on a bus, attend an ava ceremony, sit cross legged for one hour, rush to catch a bus, top up on Digicel phone credit, take a bucket bath or kill a gigantic centipede! These are all experiences that will bind us together, no matter how unique each of our own stories has been here in Samoa.

Our conference was held at a resort which was a nice opportunity to relax in a different setting. We were sharing meals together for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We were gathering like families do, discussing our lives and talking about our dreams.

With the first members from Group 82 starting to leave as early as mid-November, there are going to be very few times when we all gather together again as we did this week. We all are fully aware that the size of the United States will make it much harder for us to see each other as easily as we do in Samoa, yet I think each of us is willing to make an effort to keep our ties strong as we head home and begin other journeys in our lives.

Throughout the week, our conference was facilitated by the Peace Corps Country Director for Samoa. Dale has been country director throughout our whole length of service and he said he had looked forward to being able to be there with us to begin this final chapter. As part of our last session for the conference, Dale had us gather together in a circle where we went and stood behind another volunteer whose name we had picked. We then said a few words about them, or shared a special memory of that person from the past two years.

I never anticipated that this activity would bring about so much emotion, but many of us got chocked up either when others were speaking about us, or just in listening to others speak about another volunteer. Volunteers were sharing how others had become stronger, more outgoing, or more patient. We heard funny stories of enduring through difficult moments, or becoming accepting of a certain situation. As I wrote earlier, they were all experiences we could relate to in one way or another, and stories that reminded us of our own journeys in Samoa.

On the night before we headed back into the capital from the resort, we all gathered on the beach to take a group photo. We were on the very same beach that had been hit by the devastating tsunami here nearly two years ago. We had found a coconut tree that served as a perfect spot for taking the picture. The coconut tree had been partly uprooted during the tsunami and was leaning out over the beach on an angle, allowing all of us to sit on it for our picture. Despite all of us sitting on its trunk, and more than half of its roots exposed above the soil, it didn’t budge, it stood firm.

Looking back now, I can see some similarities between that coconut tree we found, and the two year journey we’ve been on. Each of us has experienced our own storms these past two years by the many different challenges that have come our way. We each have felt like we’ve had huge waves crashing up against us at times. But despite all of those external forces and difficulties, each of us has managed to keep firmly rooted, standing strong like that coconut tree. That tree changed as we have changed. It’s still a coconut tree, yet it has grown, adapted, and adjusted because of the challenges it faced. Each of us is still ourselves, but at the same time we will never be the same, because we have had to bend, readjust and become stronger.

Some may argue that the coconut tree looked better standing upright, as it most likely did before the waves came crashing on shore, nonetheless, I’d like to argue that it is more appealing now, because it shows its versatility, strength and determination to survive.

Best wishes to Group 82 as we complete our last few months of Peace Corps Service as Volunteers in Samoa.

Lilli and I at dinner one night.

Working in small groups during COS conference.

Riding to our conference in the Peace Corps van.

Matt and I are the only two guys from Group 82, so we have been roomed together for all our conferences the past two years.

Elisa getting down off the coconut tree after the group picture.

Emily and I at the resort.

Matt's guitar has been with our group throughout the past two years. Matt was my roommate in LA before we left for Samoa in 2009. I remember him playing his guitar in the hotel room.

At Samoa's western most point for the last sunset

in the world on Dec. 31, 2009.

There will be no December 30th in Samoa this year! Those with a birthday or anniversary to celebrate on that day better make plans to travel to another country where that will be possible. The reason for this missing date is due to Samoa’s Prime Minister deciding to have the country switch sides of the International Date Line.

For a geography refresher—the International Date Line (IDL) is an imaginary line that runs from the North to South Poles, cutting a line through the Pacific region which separates where one day ends and the next begins. Currently Samoa lies just to the east of the IDL, making it the last country in the world to see the sunset each day. However, on December 29th, the IDL will be redrawn, and Samoa will then lie just to the west of the IDL, making it the first country in the world to see the sunrise, and thus loosing 24 hours of time and jumping to December 31, 2011.

So why all the calendar whip lash? Samoa’s Prime Minister made the decision because of economic reasons. Samoa use to have more business transactions with the United States, but in recent years, most of it’s trading and tourism has come from Australia, New Zealand and Asia—countries which all lie on the opposite side of the IDL. By Samoa switching to the other side, so to speak, it will be sharing the same day with it’s trading partners in the Pacific region as well as making travel for tourists more convenient.

In the past two years there have been times when I experienced the frustrations of Samoa’s location to the IDL. For example, once when I had a question at my bank on a Friday afternoon, the bank needed to call its main branch in Australia, yet it couldn’t since it was already Saturday in Australia. When Samoa switches to the other side of the IDL, this type of situation will be eliminated.

For the average Samoan living in the rural village, this all seems like a joke. Most Samoans I’ve spoken to about it don’t feel it is necessary. The Prime Minister has been bold in his agenda the past couple of years. In 2009, just a week before my arrival, there was the controversial “road switch,” where Samoans went from driving on the right hand side of the road to driving on the left. This was in an effort to allow more cars to be imported from New Zealand and Australia, where driving is done on the left.

The second big change Samoans experienced because of the Prime Minister was Daylight Saving Time, which was put in place last September.

Now that Samoa will be loosing its title as the “last place in the world to see the sunset,” who will be able to claim that title? The answer is American Samoa, the United States’ southern most territory which lies just 50 miles to the east of here.

None of this time traveling should effect me though, since I’m slated to leave Samoa a couple of weeks before the IDL is moved. Nonetheless, for a country that didn’t have clocks until 100 years ago, all this time changing proves to be a good riddle and perhaps serves as the perfect opportunity to re-watch Back to the Future!

With less than four months in Samoa left, I wanted to focus some of my ideas for the remainder of our time together. I’ve come up with a list of blog topics that will be posted from September through December when my Peace Coprs service ends. There will also be other blogs posted that aren’t on the list, however these are ones that you should be able to count on. Read on and get excited about upcoming blogs!

*All blog topics subject to change without notice.

September

• Date Line switch—Samoa will be changing sides of the International Date Line in December. We’ll look at what this means for Samoans.

• Interview with kids—Asking Samoan kids about their life, daily routine and dreams for the future.

• Bananas—Exploring the many types of bananas that grow in Samoa.

• Wear and Tear—Talking about the effects the weather and natural surroundings have on personal processions during Peace Corps service.

• Relay Race 2011—My second year for running the relay race. A highlight of the day and what went into making it all work for our team.

October

• Samoan superstitions—I’m working on having a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer do a guest blog for this posting, looking at the many superstations here in Samoa.

• 2 year Anniversary—Last year I sat down for an interview with myself to reflect on the first year. Look for the same format as we highlight the past TWO years on October 7, 2011.

• Picture Essay—Following a student from sun up to sun down to see what their day looks like in pictures.

• White Sunday weekend—There’s one place you don’t want to be on the Saturday of White Sunday weekend, but I’m going to attempt to go there and give you the vivid details!

• Group 82 profiles—There are 14 other volunteers who have made this journey with me here in Samoa. We will look at their names, hobbies, and things they loved about Samoa before we part ways.

November

• Year 8 National Exam Week—Samoan students hear about this exam throughout all their early years of education. I’ll go behind the scenes to look at the test preparations and be with them on test week.

• Funny school memories—Over my two years there have been countless moments of laughter at school. Here we will look at just a few.

• Preparing a Samoan meal—I’ll head into the Samoan kitchen to help prepare a meal, and then eat it!

• Fishing—Going out with someone from the village as they fish for their family’s meal.

December

• Before and after pictures—We will look back through two years worth of pictures to see how things looked in 2009 upon my arrival, and what those same places, people and things look like before my departure in December of 2011.

Come along for the ride! It should be a great four months! Thanks for reading and supporting my service as a Peace Corps volunteer!

I was out running on Thursday evening and was captivated by the moon as it rose over the ocean! That’s when I decided I would go out again on Friday night, but with my camera in hand!

Heading out the door at 6:30 I was heading up the hills near my house when I caught the first glimpses of the moon. It was hard to take a bad picture at any time, given the landscapes around me. Soon I found myself at one of my favorite vantage points along the narrow and winding road to my house. I like to stand atop a big rock that gives me a great view down to the rocky coast below and the vast stretches of ocean that reach to the horizon.

It wasn’t long after reaching my rock that night had set in. From then on I was maneuvering by the light of the moon as it shimmered across the water. With its light I could see huge fruit bats flying over head, a sight I often get to enjoy each evening.

Making the way back towards my house, I could clearly see the palms of the coconut trees lining the road as the moon cast their shadows on the road. My shadow was even visible on the edge of the rock faces that line the road. As I approached my house I stopped once more to take one final picture. I was wishing that I could hold onto the moment longer, or even store it away for another day. But I won’t soon forget my first night run overlooking the ocean here in Samoa!

My new reading material.

I’ve never read a single Harry Potter book or seen a single one of the movies! It has left me out of the loop on several conversations over the years, since it has become such frenzy among readers young and old. It’s never bothered me; I just came to accept the fact that I’m not a big reader of fiction.

As volunteers we have access to shelves of books in the Peace Corps office. The very top shelf is reserved for the oversized Harry Potter books that have made their way to this tropical island. There are several volunteers here who have wanted to read the series over again from the beginning, but could never track down a copy of the first book, “The Philosopher’s Stone.” But low and behold, this morning I was sitting in the office when Chelsea from Group 83 asked if I wanted a copy of the first book. Without too much hesitation I told her I would take it.

I’ve heard from several people that I’ll never have as much time to read in the future, as I do now as a Peace Corps Volunteer, so I figured it’s not too late to get with program. People in the office really were excited for me, knowing that I had this one copy of the book and that I had never read any of them or seen the movies! So over the next few months I’ll be taking on this challenge which I hear is a 7 book feat!

In other news:

• It was a fantastic weather week! Very low humidity by Samoan standards with pleasant nights in the 70’s (that’s as cool as it gets here)! This morning on the open Samoan bus, the breeze with the overcast windows was quite chilly! I checked the temperature when I got to town and it was 75 degrees.

• Five cows came stampeding down the hill next to the school on Thursday, causing my 23 students to go dashing to the windows. Then the cows ran back up the hill as fast as they came down. It’s still not confirmed what they were running from, although I suspect it was a dog.

• In other cow news, there was a sick one this past week that ended up dying and so the meet was taken to town and sold for a hefty profit I hear. I found the hunk of meat out by the road one afternoon before the truck came to pick it up (see picture below).

• When trying to have a serious conversation with a student about their behavior in my class this week, the partition wall they were leaning against went falling into the opposite room because the latch had come loose. Luckily no one was on the other side when it went down with a boom, although it killed the atmosphere for my conversation.

• There were many long hours at school for me this week. Most days I skip lunch because I’m busy working with students in my room on different assignments or reading groups. On Thursday I was especially busy as I worked with students after school and then kids from the high school came by after that. At 4:30p.m. I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since that morning before school, so I took a 20 minute break before going back to work on lesson plans until 6:30. I think it ended up being an 11 hour day, but I felt good about it when it was all over.

A friend from the village with the dead cow.

I took this one after my 11 hour work day on Thursday.

Grading papers this week at home.

I was in town Friday night for dinner at a great Indian restaurant with my Peace Corps friends, Tiffany, Cassie, Corina, and Chelsea. In the midst of inhaling our meal, we all concurred that a trip to McDonald’s for ice cream would be a good idea after our Indian food.

McDonald’s in Samoa means more to volunteers than it ever meant to them when living in the United States. On several occasions I’ve heard volunteers say that they had only eaten McDonald’s once or twice in their life, before coming to Samoa. But walking down the road and seeing those Golden Arches here, stirs something inside of us that reminds us of home. It really does become what we call, comfort food.

After doing a little research, I found that McDonald’s first opened in Samoa on March 2, 1996 and has restaurants in 123 countries worldwide. Whenever traveling in another country, there is always something special about seeing that famous logo, and thinking about America’s ability to spread it’s corporations around the globe.

But Friday night’s visit wasn’t about analyzing McDonald’s ability to brand itself on the world stage, it was about its ability to satisfy my sweet tooth! Walking in I had intended to get a vanilla ice cream cone which is only 3 tala (1.23 US dollars). However, a big new advertisement behind the counter on their menu board looked much more appealing: apple pie a la mode for 6 tala (2.47 USD).

Waiting there in line each time I visit, I’m always amazed at McDonald’s ability to keep so much about its business familiar to their consumers. Everything from the cups down to the straws and paper napkins are exactly the same as in the United States. Wherever I’ve traveled in the world, the French fries taste the same and this is part of McDonald’s genius. Even its playgrounds and Ronald McDonald image have made it to Samoa.

Although there is a McDonald’s here, the average Samoans who live in the rural villages have never been there. They have heard of it, they just never have eaten there. This is mainly because they can’t afford to eat there when they have so many other financial responsibilities to their families and church. Therefore, McDonald’s has become mostly a destination for those families who live in the Apia area or for the tourists who flock there because of its familiarity!

For me, Friday night’s visit ended with no regrets in choosing the apple pie a la mode! I was in a familiar place and eating familiar food, and I must admit, I was lovin it!

My selection for the late night run was a new item on the menu here in Samoa. Last month they had taro pies and they were actually good too!

They look the same, but most of all, they TASTE the same too!

The night shift getting into the swing of things.

I'm lovin it!

I’m not one to count the days or weeks, especially since I’m wishing them to go by slower than they are. Nonetheless, I was curious how many it had been, so I found my calendar and discovered that I just finished week 93! The past two weeks have felt like normal weeks for me as a volunteer, but I still thought it would be fun to give a few recaps about what’s been happening here in Samoa. So here you go...

Popcorn Diplomacy: I’ve found that food can serve as a great tool in community integration, particularly popcorn! It’s easy to make and the people in my village love it. I recently made bags for three different families and took it over to their houses in the evening for a “midnight snack.” So many people in this community have reached out to make me feel at home the past two years, so I’ve tried to continue offering my appreciation to them. Popcorn does the trick.

The Big Island: Samoa’s population lives mostly on two islands, Upolu and Savai’i. I live on Upolu, and had only made it to Savai’i twice in the past 21 months—until last week! It’s called the Big Island, simply because it’s the biggest of all of Samoa’s islands (although Upolu is more populated). I went over to visit Peace Corps Volunteers, Emily and Matt.

I started the journey after school on Friday. It was a voyage that included many modes of transportation. I started it off by running down my road to the main road, 6 miles away! I then took a taxi with Sam, another volunteer who was going over to Savai’i. Once in the capital we jumped out of the cab to get on the bus to the wharf. Then it was a 1.5 hour ride by ferry before reaching Savai’i and getting on another bus to Emily’s village!

Emily and I had a great visit at her house, which sits practically on the edge of the ocean. She showed me her school and I was able to see so many great things she’s doing with her classes! We went shopping for our dinner, which we cooked at her place and ate out on the rocks in front of her house as we watched a full moon rise over the South Pacific. At one point, I stepped on a board in the dark that sent three nails through my sandal, but luckily not into my foot, since I was able to avoid what could have been disaster.

Because Emily’s host family is the pastor of the church in her village, and because I’m a guy, I wasn’t able to stay the night at her house, so we went to a nearby village to some beach fales (houses) that are built in the sand on the beach.

The following day Emily and I made our way up to our friend Matt’s village, which is nearly on the other side of the island from where Emily lives. It was a lot of time on buses, but the bus trips here in Samoa are the best. Two hours feels like 30 minutes when I’m looking out over the ocean and watching families go about their daily routines as we pass by.

We had a great visit with Matt and went to a nearby beach resort which is run by a family he is close to. We ate a great meal and had good conversation. We met up with Elisa, another volunteer from our group. That night we stayed at Matt’s before heading out the following day on a very rare Sunday bus from his village to the wharf. By the time I got home Sunday evening, I had more or less traveled from one side of the country to the other!

Picture Day: Growing up, who among us didn’t get a special feeling heading to school on picture day? It was always the day we looked our best, wore our best, and smiled our best! A few months ago I was looking at a Peace Corps magazine and came across a picture of a volunteer from another country. She was in the picture with her whole school. It looked like the perfect picture to capture what the two year experience is about. So I suggested the idea of a school picture to my principal.

I decided that I would use a sheet for a backdrop and take each student’s picture, which their parent’s could buy for 2 tala (the price to develop it). I also wanted several group shots of the kids and teachers.

On Monday morning, the kids came to school with a bounce in their step, looking their best with their fresh haircuts they had gotten in the village from family members over the weekend. The weather cooperated as well—thankfully it’s not the rainy season yet—as the sun was shinning with its usual force. At interval I arranged the benches out in front of the school so that the ocean would be in the background. Amazingly, the kids were very patient and the whole process of doing group shots, along with pictures by grade levels went very well.

Wristband Rage: This year’s health program among volunteers for our individual villages has a new twist. Every participant gets a pink wristband to help remind them to eat healthy foods and exercise. The program is being done with adults over the age of 21, but has also been adapted and modified for a separate program among grades 6-8 at the schools. Wristbands among kids and young adults was popular long before the health challenge began, but once they saw the pink ones they were getting for free, they got excited! Even traveling to the farthest parts of Savai’i last weekend, I saw kids walking the roads over there with the new fad.

I handed out a paper that was written in Samoan, explaining the program and how to eat healthy and exercise. In an effort to also educate parents more, I told my students they wouldn’t receive their wristband until I had the paper signed by them and their parents. Wouldn’t you know, the next day every single student brought back their paper signed! If only I could get that response for homework assignments!

Leatherman Letdown: My friend Katy, who was a Peace Corps Volunteer in South Africa, told me before I left for Samoa to get a Leatherman! I did and it was probably one of the most useful things that I packed in my suitcases for this 27 month journey. Leathermans have a knife, a screwdriver, a razor blade, pliers, wire cutters, and a tape measure, all packed in something that fits in your hand once folded up! Amazing! I’ve used it every day since being here, since in order to turn on my shower, I need to use the pliers! Well the many months have taken their toll on my old friend, and unfortunately it broke in half this week. Now I’m shopping around for something that will get me through the next five months.

Water and a Fuse: Luckily they weren’t mixed together, but then again, they couldn’t have been since I was without both at the same time! I was informed on Tuesday that the water would be off for two days as the men in the village did some repair work on the water tank up the hill behind my house. So this meant walking over to the neighboring village with two five gallon buckets and filling them up and asking for a ride in a friend’s van back to my house. It also gave me the chance to have a bucket bath, which brought back memories from the first two months here at my site when I took them every day since I was without water in the house then. It’s always good to remember where we’ve come from.

And on the same day the water went out, my fuse for my electricity did as well. Luckily, one of my neighbors is an electrician, so he was able to fix it by the end of the day and avoid too much hassle.

Why Did the Village Cross the Road? To go by chicken at the store that had some! There are two family run stores (a counter at a window the size of a car’s windshield) that sell chicken in my village. Normally both stores have chicken, although one of them charges 30 sene (cents) more per pound than the other one. So it was the talk of the village this week when the less expensive store ran out of chicken, causing people to backtrack in their steps to the other side of the road to buy their meat at the other store. I even got caught up in the mess on Friday, after thinking that the less expensive store was re-stocked, yet finding out that it hadn’t been. So I got to cross the road like everybody else this week!

“Privacy Fence” Demolished: There had been, until Friday morning, a nice hedge row of bushes at the top of the hill next to my house. It served as a natural privacy fence for the cars and foot traffic in and out of my village. But the teachers wanted to cut it down so I’d have a better view of the road. Oh well, this wasn’t a battle I wanted to fight, so I went along with it. It looks a bit stark compared to what was there, but I guess I’m already getting use to it.

Low Tide Leads to Cricket: On Thursday I was determined to make it into this beautiful ocean in an effort to relax after what was a busy week at school. But I forgot how uninviting the ocean can be during low tide, which it was at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. So rather than getting torn up on the coral, I “played” my first game of cricket on the beach with some of the kids from my class. They used a tennis ball I had and we swung at it using the base of the palm branches they had collected. It made for some good laughs when I was trying to hit the ball, but those kids sure know how to put a game together, because they were doing just fine!

Group shot with years 7 and 8, who I've come to know the best.

Emily in front of her house!

Emily and I in front of her house.

Watching the sunrise at the beach fales on Savai'i.

This boy sat on my lap for a two hour bus ride. The bus filled up and so kids sit on laps so that adults can have a seat.

Emily and I at Matt's house during my island tour.

The buses get full in a hurry after the ferry arrives at the wharf, as people prepare to head into the capital. My bus was just as full!

The kids sweeping the grass with the brooms during our clean-up day. The men from the village had cut it with machetes a few days before.

It's more than just the pink wristbands! Her are years 6-8 after school on Friday during our exercise workout.

Presenting Robin with a going away gift.

For the past two years, Peace Corps Volunteers in Samoa have had a great friend. Robin Yeager, who is the Charge d’ Affairs of the U.S. Embassy in Samoa, has been a huge advocate for the work we do. However, in the near future, her two year term in Samoa will come to a close and she’ll be heading back to the United States.

Due to the fact that the U.S. Ambassador to Samoa, Mr. David Huebner, also serves as ambassador to New Zealand, with his offices in Wellington, Robin Yeager is in a unique position. As Charge d’ Affairs, she is the acting ambassador when Mr. Huebner is not in Samoa. She keeps a very busy schedule, but despite her many commitments, she has always chosen to make Peace Corps one of them!

My first memory of Robin came during my second month in Samoa. It was November of 2009 and I was still a trainee in the training village. Those were the days of homesickness, stressful afternoons in language class, and awkward cultural clashes with my host family. So when all of us trainees heard that we were invited to Robin’s house for a Thanksgiving gathering, we all soon perked up a little bit more.

We were driven by bus from our training village to her house, about an hour’s ride away! When we arrived and walked into her spacious house with air conditioning, satellite T.V., and crown molding, our eyes lit up. We had been living in Samoan fales (houses) for nearly 7 weeks at that point, and being at her house made us feel like we had a part of our old lives with us. The food was amazing, and covered three large tables. The desert was even more impressive and we were invited back for seconds and thirds!

Since that first meeting at Robin’s house, we have been invited back again and again for all types of events. I think she always knew we had a soft spot for her T.V., which gets several American channels. She was always telling us that if there was some sports game on that we wanted to watch, just to let her know. And we did.

She had us over to watch the U.S. play in the World Cup in June of 2010, and then again in December to watch the Army vs. Navy game. Since there is a seven hour time difference between Samoa and the U.S., this often meant the games would begin at awfully early hours in the morning. But that wasn’t a problem for Robin. Instead, she always told us to come over the night before, cook dinner, and spend the night on her couches until the game began in the morning! She also had a great tradition of fixing us a huge breakfast casserole each time we stayed over for the night.

On two other occasions we held our monthly book club meeting at her house, and were also invited to spend the night and watch the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, this past April. Her two dogs, Lexi and Katie always roamed about the house, making many of us think of our pets from back in the U.S.

When Robin wasn’t hosting us at her house, she was sponsoring us in relay races! Last July I was a member of the men’s Peace Corps Volunteer relay team for Samoa’s Perimeter Relay. Robin helped sponsor our team of volunteers by offsetting part of our entrance fees, as well as sponsoring the women’s Peace Corps team. None of us would have completed the race if it hadn’t been for the countless sandwiches, muffins, cookies, and PowerAde that she supplied throughout the race day. Both of our teams came in first place, so I’m happy we were able to get a win for Robin!

Robin was also crucial in establishing an “American Corner” at Samoa’s Public Library in Apia. The room is full of books about America, and has other great resources, such as computers for the public to use. She has also begun a traveling library which is going around to all the schools where Peace Corps Volunteers are located. This is giving countless children the chance to read great books!

Most recently, Robin hosted us at the new official residence, over the 4th of July! Although we were celebrating the 235th birthday of America, Robin had made most of the evening a tribute to Peace Corps, as her way of celebrating its 50th anniversary! Robin and her staff at the Embassy had gathered pictures and stories from volunteers, present and past, to help highlight the work we have done in Samoa. She thanked us personally for our service and the work we are doing.

At the informal gathering on July 2, the volunteers had a chance to show our appreciation for what Robin has done for us. Most of us volunteers had gone in together to have a Samoan plate made for her, with a carving on the front that read, “Faafetai mo lau auaunaga,” (Thank you for your service). It was a very small way for us to say thank you to someone who has made us feel so welcomed in a country she knows is not our own.

Robin knew most of us by our first names. Once when walking through Apia, she was driving by in her car and recognized me, giving a big wave as she drove by. Before my trip to Australia, I had a question for her regarding my passport. She quickly responded to my emails and followed up with a phone call. It was this personal attention and carrying that she did, which all of us are going to miss.

My final memory of Robin is also my dearest. Because or Robin’s position within the U.S. State Department, she was the one who swore us in as volunteers as we read our official oaths before her, on December 8, 2009. That was the day that began this amazing journey I’ve been living since. Its been full of challenges, growth and rewards. But most of all, I’m so thankful that it included Robin’s friendship. She will be missed. Best of luck Robin, we love you!

Emily and I at Robin's over the 4th of July weekend, 2011

Celebrating Peace Corps' 50th Anniversary with a birthday cake!

Robin always has sparklers for us on the 4th of July!

The beginning of the food line at Robin's, for Thanksgiving, 2009.

Samoan custom is to take off your shoes before entering a house, as we all did here at Robin's for Thanksgiving, 2009.

My plate of food at Robin's 2010 Thanksgiving gathering.

Crashing on Robin's couches and floor to watch the U.S. play in the World Cup in June of 2010.

Gathering at Robin's this year.

Heading up the mountain!

Many of you have seen the popular cable T.V. series on the Discovery Channel, Man vs. Wild, with Bear Grylls. A helicopter drops him out in an unforgiving landscape and he has to survive with limited resources as he battles nature’s relentless power. He gives pointers on what to do if you ever were to end up in a similar situation, minus the camera crew and producers of course!

Recently I had my own Man vs. Wild experience, as I hiked up the 754 m (.46 miles) mountain next to my house on two different occasions. Within my first month of living here in my village, I made the goal to someday reach the summit of that mountain. I was able to accomplish that goal on June 11th, and then again on June 25th.

On the first expedition, I had the company of two other Peace Corps volunteers, Corina and Chelsea, as well as Denise, one of the staff from the Peace Corps office. The four of us were led by my neighbor, along with a few other men from the village. In the lead-up to that trip, people from the village continued to reassure me that there was in deed a trail to the top. We soon found out that the trail was actually decent for half the distance to the summit. The second half ended up being the most challenging, since the men leading us had to cut through growth, which was thicker than I had ever seen before.

Corina, Chelsea, and Denise weren’t able to make it all the way to the top because Corina and Chelsea had to get back into the capital to catch buses to their villages that day. But I continued on with two of the men who were leading us.

As we walked along, I was in awe of the men, as they made the entire trip without shoes on their feet! Samoans start walking outside without shoes on their feet from the time they start to walk as toddlers, so their feet have calluses as strong as the Nike tennis shoes I wore. In my mind, I kept saying “ouch,” every time I looked down at their feet, but it never seemed to slow them down. The oldest man on the trip with me was 59 years old, and he was more agile and limber than I was on the slopes of that mountain. At one point, I looked behind me to see where he was, thinking he had fallen behind. I was in for a wake-up call when I found him waiting for me some distance ahead.

That first trip took seven hours to reach the summit. It was a crystal clear day. By the time we did make it to the top, I began to realize that I hadn’t packed enough food or water because I started to get dizzy and very weak. I’m pretty sure I was experiencing some level of dehydration, which made the trip back down very challenging. Going to the top of a mountain is exhilarating, but then you remember that you have to get back down!

Living in Samoa I’ve been able to experience the convenience of being able to eat off the natural foods of the land. Coconuts are a great source of hydration and give the body lots of good vitamins. But since they don’t grow at the elevations we were at, I kept picturing how amazing it would be when we finally got low enough on the mountain, where one of the men could shimmy up a tree and knock one down for a much needed drink!

After what felt like ages, we finally did reach the coconut trees! This was the first time when I saw the strain of the trip on one of the men’s feet, as he had to make a type of shoe out of leaves to give some traction to his feet, in order to climb the tree!

Not only do coconut trees provide great drinks, they also bare great food. Around the base of coconut trees, you can always find the shoots of new trees that have started to grow. If you break open those coconuts and get to the germination of the new tree, it is very tasty to eat. This food called o’o, has filled my stomach on many different occasions, most of all on that day!

When we finally made it back down, a bunch of my students were following me down the street asking about my trip. We had put up a red flag at the top of the mountain, and many of them had seen it that afternoon. My friends Milo, Saulo and Neueli were all fascinated by my pictures from the top of the mountain and wanted to make the journey themselves, and that’s how the second trip came about on June 25th.

The second time up was much easier, as the trail had already been cut. I was better prepared with plenty of water and food. Saulo took along a hammer and nails, so that the men who were leading us could reinforce the flags at the top of the mountain, which had fallen down since our first trip. It was so much fun to see the kids’ reaction once we reached the top. We were able to see all the way down to our village, and across the island to many other surrounding villages.

Going up only took two hours on my second trip. However, it had rained the night before and thus the second journey proved to be much more slippery than the first. This all turned the fight against gravity on my decent, into comic relief for those who were with me. Only five minutes after we started our descent, and in one of the steepest parts of the trail, I slid and tumbled backwards into a bunch of limbs, ferns and other vegetation, which resulted in me needing the assistance of two of the men, plus Milo, to get me out back onto the trail. Luckily, other than a few cuts I was fine.

When we all got back, the boys told me they wanted to go back up again sometime, but I told them I thought I had had enough! Both trips allowed me to form new relationships with people in the village, which is always a rewarding experience. I was also reminded again, that nature really is wild, and that it takes a lot of energy from those who scale its summits. But when you do, the view is always waiting for you!

Milo, Saulo and Neueli with their new hairdo!

Looking down from the mountain on my village.

Saulo likes pay day!

With each week that passes here in Samoa, the end of my amazing journey here seems to be drawing closer. It’s now about five months away. To look at five months by itself may seem like a good chunk of time, but when you put it next to the 26 months I began this experience with, it seems so much shorter. Recently, I’ve been making a conscious attempt to accomplish personal goals which I had set for my time in Peace Corps. One of those goals was to have a very good understanding of the language before I reached my close of service, this December.

Learning a new language has never been something that has come easy to me, so there are still many days where I am blown away at what I have learned and absorbed in the past 21 months here. Although I’ve felt for a while now that I’ve had enough language to be effective as a teacher at school, and a respected member of the community, I was still left wanting to learn more. I didn’t want my time in Samoa to come to a close and find myself wishing I had tried harder with the language.

When I was in Australia recently, I came up with a plan to get my language skills more polished and pushed to a new level. I decided that I wanted to have one of my year 8 students, and good friends, Saulo, serve as my tutor on a weekly basis! His English is probably the best of anyone else’s in the school, and I have always felt more comfortable speaking Samoan around my students, as opposed to older village members.

I told him about my idea and what it would entail. We would meet every other day during the week after school for a lesson. To help keep me accountable, I asked if he would give me a test at the end of each week’s lesson. Also, Samoan children aren’t given any allowances, so I thought by paying him five tala a week, it would help teach him the value of earning money, as well as make his work feel more legitimate. After I proposed the plan, he eagerly said he would help me.

This past month we’ve been having our lessons and it has been such a great experience. Some days that we meet, he comes prepared with a lesson. Since he and I are good friends and spend a lot of time together, he knows what all my bad habits are in terms of the language. During our lessons he’ll remind me of a time we were walking through the village and I said something wrong, and then he goes on to teach me the correct way. I never realized that he was that aware of what I was saying to other people, but he really does know where my weaknesses are.

For other lessons I’ll make a list of questions I have. All I have to do is ask him what a certain phrase or word is in Samoan and he writes it down without much effort. When we both are stumped, we turn to my Samoan/English dictionary, which he has come to enjoy looking at. From the very beginning of this idea, I knew that not only would our time together be helping my Samoan, but also his English. I think this may be something I’ve disguised from him, as all the attention usually seems to be about me learning to speak his language more fluently.

Since I’ve been teaching him in my English classes since last year, he has picked up on a lot of my teaching habits and ways of doing things in the classroom. Now that he is teaching me though, it has been interesting to see him formatting his lessons and tests in the same ways I do for my English classes! The tests he writes for me are normally similar to the ones I write, but he has also come up with great ideas on his own.

Because the Samoan culture has such a great amount of respect for the elderly, as well as for village leaders and the pastors of churches, being able to use the formal parts of the language can go a long ways in helping establish oneself in the village and being respected by community members. When we’re walking down the road together and are approaching someone, I’ll quietly rehearse my greeting with Saulo as we approach the person to make sure I’m correct. He usually nods his head, or will add something he thinks I should say. I can usually tell that they are pleased that I took the time to greet them in the proper manner, and I think it shows them that I respect their culture and traditions.

I’ve also enjoyed asking Saulo for help with phrases I can use with the kids. Walking through the village and talking to them in some of their informal or slang phrases has been fun to do and it’s always interesting to see their reactions. It has helped the kids to become more interested in me, and for them to be less timid when we are together.

I think he really appreciates being able to help me and takes a lot of pride in it, especially when he hears me using phrases and vocabulary he has taught me.

Taking my first test!

Saulo and I after the big test.

My first test was an 81%, although every test since then has been an A!

After growing up in the cold winters that Michigan is well known for, it’s been a blessing to have the past 20 months in the tropical sunshine of Samoa! So who would have thought that I’d be leaving the tropics for a vacation elsewhere, when most people flock to such a destination for their reprieve? Yet, that’s exactly what I did a few weeks ago when I jetted off to lands further south, visiting Sydney, Australia!

Peace Corps volunteers are given a total of 48 vacation days for their 27 months of service. Even after visiting in Michigan this past Christmas, I still had days to spare, and who wants to let vacation days go to waste? Several Peace Corps volunteers planned trips during the same time as me, since we were on a three week break from school. Many volunteers decided to kick back and enjoy some more sun in Fiji. I, however, was looking to get away from the equator and get some cooler weather, which I’ve seen very little of the past two years!

I learned that there is a very specific weight loss program that is sure to work every time! Join the Peace Corps, plan one of your vacations to a country where the cost of living is high, then save for that trip with a Peace Corps living allowance for the three months leading up to your departure! Since I had bought my ticket back in February, that’s when I started saving. Before I left for Australia, I was down to 175 lbs

Arriving in Sydney on May 22, I planned to take things easy and enjoy some of the modern amenities the city had to offer. However, my comforts were somewhat limited for the first 24 hours, since the airline had lost my bags. I spent that first day getting familiar with the layout of the streets and the cooler temperatures. When I left Michigan for the Peace Corps I packed one pair of jeans and one long sleeved shirt. I’ve never worn the jeans in Samoa (except to the airport on my departure), and the long sleeved shirt I’ve only worn about a half dozen times on cool nights when it dips below 80 degrees. I also had one light wind breaker, which proved to be a lifesaver for my time in Australia.

If I chose to summarize my two weeks in Sydney with one word, it would be, FOOD! Since I live on a rather bland diet in Samoa, it was nice to take advantage of groceries stores packed with every imaginable food a person would ever want. My first trip to the grocery store I was almost run over by people, as I walked around in a daze with a smile on my face. The amount of selections caused me to walk each aisle glancing at every label. I didn’t even want to buy most of it, but it was just fun looking. On the second trip back I was able to gather the courage to grab a shopping basket and delve in. My purchases included a dozen extra large eggs (Samoa has medium size), a gallon of orange juice (it costs 3 US Dollars for 1 liter in Samoa—thus I never buy it), blueberry yogurt, Red Delicious apples, a gallon of milk (they don’t sell anything larger than a liter in Samoa, and if they did sell it by the gallon, it wouldn’t fit in my fridge), some cereal, pasta and basil pesto!

Since I was staying at a hostel, I had the use of a kitchen which was convenient. I enjoyed making big breakfast omelets with toast and jam! Just to have toast was a treat! If I was near the hostel during dinner time, I’d fix up a big pasta dish with bread and garlic olive oil.

And when I wasn’t fixing my own food, I was eating at Hungry Jack’s! Hungry Jack’s is the same as Burger King, but only different in its name. I enjoyed my favorite chicken sandwich there, along with the fries. Although ice cream is readily available in the capital of Samoa, having ice cream in Australia made it taste better, and the varieties of flavors were much greater. I even found a Ben & Jerry’s!

There were of course a number of sightseeing activities I wanted to accomplish while in Sydney. I attended a concert at the Sydney Opera House where I heard the Sydney Symphony perform. Someone asked me what I thought of the Opera House, and I said that they could have been playing Mary Had a Little Lamb in the wrong key and it still would have felt special, just because of it being the Sydney Opera House! By coincidence, the annual lightshow was going on in Sydney during my two weeks there and there were a number of unique lighting features throughout the area near the Opera House, one of them actually being projected on the sails of that historic building.

When I visited New York City for the first time and didn’t complete a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, I heard about it from my uncle, who is a big fan of history. So to keep our relationship on good ground, I journeyed out to the Sydney Harbor Bridge one of my last nights in the city. I scheduled the trip to coincide with sunset, thus giving me two views of the bridge and the city in the background. I guess it’s one of those places I’ll look at in the future and be able to say I was there. There is something about walking over a bridge that humbles a person, thinking about the manual labor that was put into building it, not to mention the engineering feats that proceeded it. I’m happy I made the journey.

Since I’ve been a train fan from the age of three, being in Samoa where trains don’t exist has been a bit of an adjustment. While in Australia, I decided to take advantage of that mode of transportation. Although my budget forced me to stay in Sydney for the duration of my vacation, I was able to take the train two hours north of the city for an overnight stay in the Blue Mountains! This turned out to be a very relaxing and smart getaway from the busy streets of Sydney. The train was very clean, smooth, and affordable. It dropped me just across the street from the hostel I had booked for the one night I would be visiting that area.

Upon my arrival there, I was left freezing! Although Sydney was cool in the 60s, the temperatures near the Blue Mountains were in the 40’s, due to the elevation. People were walking down the main street sidewalks wearing winter stocking caps, gloves and scarves. There I was with my light wind breaker, just having come from Samoa a few days before! All the stores had their heaters on, so I spent part of my time venturing into stores just to warm up. It felt like late November in Michigan.

That afternoon I took in some of the sights in the area and then came back to town for some dinner. I found a great café that had live music. I sat in there for a couple hours eating, reading an Economist (dated that month), and enjoying the music. I found the people in that area to be very welcoming and friendly, a bit more so than the down to business, fast paced ways of the city.

I was also very fortunate to have some great company from Tiffany, a Peace Corps friend of mine from Samoa, who coincidently was in Australia to take an exam during our school break. We spent a few days exploring the city together and doing some of the museums and aquariums. We made a few stops at Starbucks, enjoyed pizza one night, and went to the Sky Tower to take the city lights in from above.

The two weeks seemed to go by at a good pace—not too fast, but not too slow. When my departure date came around, I was ready to head back to the warmer climate of Samoa. Sydney served as a good refueling station on this Peace Corps journey. It’s not that I needed to get away from any troubles in Samoa, because I love this place and my time here. But it was more about taking advantage of my proximity to Australia, realizing it might be harder to make it there in the future, from the States.

When I boarded the plane in Sydney I had a unique encounter. As I took my seat, the lady ahead of me turned around and asked if I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Samoa. I said yes and she said that she had recognized me from reading my blog, and thought I looked familiar. She and her fiancé were heading to Samoa for their wedding and she said that she had been reading my blog in an effort to learn more about the Samoan culture before their getting married. I never had imagined that this unassuming blog would be a part of someone’s international wedding preparations!

The three of us spent some time visiting on the plane, exchanging contact information, and then I invited them to come out and visit my house, if they had time before their wedding day. The next day I saw them pull up in their rental car and we ended up having a great visit. I was so happy they decided to take time out of their schedule to come out and visit someone they had just met the day before on an airplane. Here are congratulations to my new friends on their marriage, just this past weekend!

And so I landed in Samoa for the third time in my life as I returned on June 3. I love coming back to this country and being able to step off the plane and know I have a house waiting for me, with friends who I’ve missed, and who have missed me. It’s also reassuring to be able to step away from the language for two weeks, yet return to it without any trouble. It’s also comforting to leave and come back, and have this place feel like home.

Stock holders in the franchise chain of Burger King (aka: Hungry Jack's) can thank me for lifting the stock value from May 22- June 3!

Just before the concert at the Sydney Opera House

In the Blue Mountains, north of Sydney.

The sails of the Sydney Opera House lit up for the light show!

Beautiful Sydney as seen from the Harbor Bridge

St. Mary's Cathedral

My new friends I met on the plane, who had been reading my blog before their wedding in Samoa! Here we are during their visit to my house.

This was the first word I received about bin Laden.

Going for an evening run on Sunday, I had one text message waiting for me in my inbox once I got to my reception area. It was from one of my Peace Corps friends, Emily, telling all of us volunteers to find a T.V. because President Obama was about to announce that the United States had killed Osama bin Laden!

Two students of mine from the 8th grade, Saulo and Neueli, had gone running with me that evening and as soon as I heard the news, I shared it with them. Most every Samoan, even students in the primary schools, know who Osama Bin Laden was, or at least recognize his name. When I told them that he had been killed you could tell they were excited about the news, and once we got back to the village from our run, they started sharing the news with others. Neueli’s family has a T.V. and I asked him if I could come over that evening to watch the news coverage of Osama’s death.

Leaving my house for his, I thought it was interesting that he was the one who suggested I grab my camera to take pictures of the news coverage—as if he could sense the historical importance of such an event—although he was only four years old in 2001. Realizing his insight, I grabbed my camera and we headed to his house.

Gathering around a fuzzy T.V. screen, I visited with his mother, aunt and brothers while we waited for the 7 p.m. news coverage to begin. We were watching TV 1, Samoa’s local T.V. channel which gets news feeds from New Zealand and Australia. Once the local Samoa programming came to an end, they went right to the news coverage of Osama’s death and you could see all of Neueli’s family in the room, sit up with attentiveness. They asked questions about September 11 and where Osama bin Laden had been hiding. It turned into a bit of a history/current events lesson for this Samoan family.

For me, as an American, I had a longing to see our president, Barack Obama, making the announcement. I can remember so clearly the evening of September 11, 2001 when President George W. Bush made that sad address to the nation from the Oval Office. Seeing President Obama on Sunday evening was a way of capturing some type of closure on a ten year event—although fully aware that the death of Osama wouldn’t mean the end of terrorist threats.

Heading into town this weekend, I found a copy of Monday’s Samoan Observer in the Peace Corps office, and was surprised at the amount of coverage they devoted to the news of Osama’s death. Nine pages out of the 40 page paper had coverage of his killing.

Throughout this past week as this story has unfolded, I’ve realized how interconnected our world has become, and how fast information travels. Here I was on a Sunday afternoon, receiving word of a man’s death that occurred on the other side of the world, while I was living on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I then delivered the news to a 13 and 14 year olds who knew the name of the man who had been killed and what he had done to Americans 10 years ago—when they were only four years old! I then walked down into my village—one of the most remote in this country—to watch the T.V. coverage which was coming from New Zealand, which was coming from New York, about the news that was coming from Pakistan! This is our world, and it seems it’s small after all!

Word of Osama bin Laden's death made it into the Monday paper in Samoa.

Watching news of Osama bin Laden's death at a neighbor's house in the village on Sunday night, May 1st.

A blurry picture on a T.V. in my village shows Obama's address he made about Osama bin Laden's death.

Palm Sunday

The past two weeks have been busy ones for me at church. First there was Palm Sunday on April 17, and then the masses during Holy Week, which finally culminated with Easter Sunday just this past weekend! Last year I attended most of the masses at the Catholic Cathedral in Apia, which were in English. However, this year I deliberately decided to stay in my village in order to experience the masses in Samoan and be a part of their community. I have no regrets.

Things got started with Palm Sunday. I arrived about a half hour before mass started, and soon found out that palms were not given out like they are in the United States, but rather, people brought their own palms from their yards to have them blessed. With this being a tropical climate, I can see where this scenario works better here than it would in Michigan! But not to worry, my church friends quickly produced a palm for me before mass began. The procession began outside with the Pacific Ocean as a back-drop as we processed towards the church. On Palm Sunday the reading of the Lord’s Passion is read, and hearing it in Samoan this year helped bring to mind all the languages around the world in which God’s Word is being proclaimed every day!

Holy Thursday mass began at 7:30p.m. and arriving to the smell of incense burning reminded me of my days as an altar boy. However, being an alter boy in Samoa requires a different clothing attire. At all of the masses the altar boys go without shoes. I remember back home that if we wore tennis shoes or sandals we might be asked to change shoes! But taking your shoes off in a house in Samoa is considered a sign of respect, so doing it in the house of God would only be natural. On other special occasions, the altar boys may also serve without any shirts on, and sometimes spread coconut oil over their chest’s and back’s! But despite the differences in attire, Samoan altar boys are some of the most reverent I’ve ever seen.

Good Friday began with Stations of the Cross at 6:30a.m. and was held outside. Each family from the Catholic church had made wooden crosses for their front yards during Lent, decorating them with palm branches, fabric and fresh flowers. The procession wound its way through the village to different families’ crosses, before ending at the church. That afternoon we had service at noon, which was a real scorcher in the heat of the day, but that didn’t keep anyone away.

During the middle of the Good Friday service, a cross is brought before the congregation when they are able to kiss the feet of Jesus as a sign of respect and memory of His crucifixion. This is something that I’ve been doing throughout my life on Good Friday back in the United States. However, with a new culture come some new ways of doing things.

Just before people began processing up to the foot of the cross, a student of mine from last year, who was sitting next to me said, “Here is your flower.” A bit annoyed that he was trying to give me a flower during such a solemn part of the service caused me to give him a stern look and produce some type of no response, in which he retracted his arm with the flower still in it. Shortly after though, I realized that everyone else in church also had a flower in their hand, which they were taking up with them to place at the foot of the cross (a tradition I had never seen in the United States). Feeling very guilty for having snapped at this boy’s kind gesture, as he saw I was without a flower and was trying to help me, I turned back to him with a smile on my face and reached my hand out for the flower as I patted him on the back with my other hand as a way of expressing my embarrassment. He kindly offered the gift of the flower back to me, and I was able to proceed on without too much embarrassment. I know I’ll be thinking about him each Good Friday in the years to come, as a way of reminding myself of his hospitality and my needing to be more patient.

Holy Saturday mass always takes place in the evening as a vigil for Easter. The mass always begins out in front of the church with a huge fire which is used to light the Easter candle. Samoans make fires almost every day of the year in order to cook their food, so I wasn’t surprised to see the flames they had roaring in front of the church on Saturday night. They were using coconut shells to keep it fueled!

The following morning was Easter Sunday! My Mom had sent me an Easter package with Peeps, Reese’s Cups, M&M’s and marshmallow eggs, so I had a neighbor of mine make a Samoan basket and I put the Easter grass and candy in it, along with two hard boiled eggs I had boiled the night before. It really felt like Easter back at home. I headed over to one more round of church for the week, because mass began at 10a.m. The choir had been busy singing at every mass during Holy Week, and they finished strong. I love how music is a universal language and although I didn’t understand all of what was being sung, it nevertheless helped to facilitate with the prayer.

After mass I headed over to a families’ house for to’ona’i, the big traditional Samoan feast that happens each Sunday, rain or shine! Some weeks it’s not uncommon for me to receive three separate offers to dine with families after church. It almost has become an event I can book weeks in advance. There have even been weeks where I’ve accidentally double booked, and had to dash from one family’s house to another.

Easter Sunday’s meal for me included BBQ chicken (yum), hot dogs (which Samoans call sausage), breadfruit, taro, cucumbers and a couple other things I’m forgetting. I’ve really come to love the food here and have no complaints at all. I even had octopus for the second time a few weeks ago and enjoyed it!

I was invited over to this family’s house by a new friend of mine from church, although I’m loosing this friend next week when he moves to New Zealand to attend school. However, I’ll still remain close to his family! After we were done with the main course and I was brought the bowl to wash my hands in, and towel to dry them, ice cream was served! It was one of my new favorite flavors since arriving in Samoa, banana!

That afternoon the sun was intense as I walked back to my house. A few of my students from school who I’m good friends with came back to my house to hang out for the afternoon and one of them had heard about Easter egg hunts. He said he wanted to have one. I cut out some eggs from construction paper and hid them around my living room and kitchen. They had a blast as we took turns hiding them and trying to see who could find the most.

In the end, it was a great Easter weekend for 2011 and I’m so happy I was able to share the experiences with the people in my village. Once again, I’ve been able to make new memories to reflect back on, as Easter is celebrated each year in the future!

Processing to the church on Palm Sunday

Sunrise on Easter Sunday

Easter basket for 2011

Close up of the candy!

One of the altar boys lighting the candles before church on Easter Sunday.

The priest during mass on Easter Sunday.

I was able to get a picture with Fr. Mikaele after mass.

Neueli, a student of mine, sat with me during Easter Sunday mass. Here we are afterwards.

This is normal and acceptable footwear for attending all churches in Samoa. I had never worn sandals to church, before coming to Samoa. Here Neueli and I are sitting next to each other on Easter.

This was Easter Sunday's to'ona'i feast. The ice cream came later!

Here are Saulo and Neueli at my house during the Easter egg hunt they requested we have!

Some of my visitors!

As some of you already know, my village is one of the most remote areas for any of the Peace Corps volunteers living in Samoa. Having this location conjures up a sense of adventure, and thus many volunteers have been making the trip out to my house to experience another part of Samoa.

Recently I hosted our monthly book club meeting, and had a record breaking, NINE visitors, at my house for an overnight stay! Since the majority of volunteers in Samoa happen to be girls, the book club is thus made up of mostly girls. After mentioning to my Samoan neighbors that I hade nine Peace Corps visitors coming—and them asking if they were girls or guys—word spread throughout my village quickly that in fact, I was having nine female guests at my house! My neighbor Naomi came over that Friday afternoon with a huge flower arrangement she had made, and later, my friend Milo brought over nine coconuts for my guests! I think they were as excited as I was for the weekend!

That evening all the volunteers, along with Denise, the Administrative Officer for Peace Corps Samoa, arrived by taxi. After giving the tour of my house, we began preparing the spaghetti dinner with garlic bread and salad (all on a two burner electric stove top). The day before they arrived I had a thought cross through my mind, about how bad it would be if my power went out (as it sometimes does) after they had arrived. And as Samoan luck would have it, just as we were finishing the dinner, the lights went out!

My neighbors, in their Samoan hospitality, quickly came to the rescue, stringing an extension cord from their house (which still had power), and thus we were able to keep my refrigerator running, and have one small light for the living room. Nonetheless, it still made for an interesting evening. But it was still just as special, and probably a bit more memorable. The next day we walked down my road to a big waterfall in a neighboring village before they all started heading back to their villages. It was great to have so many great friends come and experience what life is like for me at my place on a daily basis.

Over the past month, I’ve also had a couple unexpected quests! A former Peace Corps volunteer from Samoa, who was in Group 14 (I’m group 82) and served in the mid 1970’s stopped by my house with his wife. He said this was his first time back in Samoa since he had left in the 70’s! I asked him how strange it was, and he said he was shocked at how so many things had changed. It got me thinking about what any return trips I might make would be like. Despite the years that had passed, he said he still had a lot of the language skills down, which was neat to hear. I gave him my blog address, so I’m hoping he reads this! However, I have to apologize because I forgot to write his name down, and now it has escaped me! But check out the picture below that we took!

Another day, I was walking through my village when a recognizable tourist vehicle came through (they always drive a little bit slower). They stopped to say hi, and I found out they were Americans, who are teaching in American Samoa (about 80 miles to the east of Samoa) through an American program called World Teach. They were visiting Samoa during their spring vacation (fall). I invited them up to my house for a look around and short visit. It’s always neat to bump into other Americans in Samoa, so our accidental meeting was enjoyable. I also gave my blog address to them (trying to get the word out ) so if they are reading, a big hello to them too!

When Americans aren’t visiting me, I have my Samoan friends stopping by to keep me company! A few months ago, a couple of the boys who hang out at my house a lot noticed a can of Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Soup sitting on my counter. It was given to me by Bill and Kathleen (volunteers who left back in August) but I had never really known what to eat it with, since I don’t cook meat at my house. But since so much time had passed, it expired in December, although I never threw it out. The kids kept wanting me to open it for them, and I tried to tell them it was expired, although they didn’t care. Samoans don’t waste food, and eating a can of soup that is a few months expired isn’t a big deal. So I finally invited the kids over one evening for “dinner,” and we opened the cream of chicken and ate it with rice. The boys brought some cooked banana and one of the smallest fish I’ve ever seen, but it was a nice gesture! They ended up loving the cream of chicken, and I never heard of any illnesses, so I guess it all went ok in the end.

And speaking of visitors, although they aren't visiting my village, I found out today that the production crew and cast members for a new CBS "Survivor Samoa," have arrived in the country and will be filming from May-August. However, their sense of "survivor" is a bit unrealistic (perhaps a blog to follow on that topic later).

In the meantime, this second year of Peace Corps service has been a new kind of adventure as I’m able to share my house with so many visitors. As much as I love to see them all visit, it’s still nice to get back into my normal routine after the “parties” quiet down. However, I’m still looking forward to the next time someone swings by my house for a visit. I may even have a can of outdated food for them if they like!

Naomi made this huge flower arrangement before my Peace Corps friends came!

Leah (foreground) and Blakey, working on a salad!

A former Samoa Peace Corps volunteer stopped by my house in March. He served in the mid 1970's. Here we are with one of my neighbors.

Here are the boys who came over for the expired cream of chicken soup!

A couple volunteers from the World Teach program in American Samoa were visiting Samoa during their school break. Here we are at my house.

For those who visit my house at night, I can offer you sights such as this!

If you prefer to visit me in the morning, I can offer you this!

If you are a mid-day person, this would be your scenery!

Without any doubt, faausi is my favorite Samoan food. I remember the first time I had it in the training village, back in October of 2009, and as I ate it, just kept wondering what it was made from. Since then I’ve found out that it can be made by using either papayas or taro—I prefer papaya. So the full name would be faausi esi (esi means papaya).

While embracing my second year of Peace Corps service, I’ve been trying to learn more about the people and their traditions. Since food is such a huge part of this culture, I knew that asking my neighbors to teach me how to make faausi would be a great weekend activity—and it would please my stomach!

Having asked my neighbors what I needed to get while in town at the market, I picked up 10 papaya and six pounds of flour. Bringing back 10 papayas in a big basket on the bus sure did get conversations started. By Sunday afternoon when we actually began preparing the faausi, I think most of my village knew what I was going to do.

With paper and pen for note taking, and camera in hand, I headed over to my neighbor Naomi and Taunaola’s around 1p.m. and they had already started preparing. A relative of theirs was working on shaving the inside of 20 coconuts, which would later be squeezed for the cream. Someone had also gone out and gathered the firewood which had already been split and would be used to build the oven. My walking over with 10 papayas from the market and my bag of flour suddenly seemed like the easy part of the prep work.

First we cut the papayas and scooped out all the seeds (I’m already a pro at this). My hands always have some allergic reaction to the papaya and I asked Naomi if hers did too. She laughed and said no, and that her hands were strong. After we had the papaya prepared, she put it in water and boiled it over a hot flame for about 30 minutes. While we were waiting, I went over and tried lending a hand with the coconuts, but I was rather slow, and soon handed the operations back over to the pros. If I had continued, we would still be waiting on me! Nevertheless, seeing the manual labor that goes into what are daily chores for these people, helped remind me of how much patience is required.

As we were all in the Samoan kitchen, the smoke from the fires kept driving me outside to get fresh air, as my eyes were very sensitive and kept watering. Once again, if I had been left alone on my own to do this, I wouldn’t be writing this blog about my making faausi, because we wouldn’t have gotten past building the fire.

Once the papaya was done cooking, Naomi and her sister worked at separating it from the juice. This would then cool for a bit and then be added to the flour to make a doughy mixture.

While the papaya was cooling, Taunaola and another man from the village who was there helping us, started working on the sauce. After having built a big fire, they took some of the scolding rocks and placed them on two sticks over the pan with the coconut cream. Then they would pour the sugar onto the rocks and the sugar would caramelize into the coconut cream below, but not before causing flames to chute up on the rock due to the sugar. I kept thinking how this felt like a science experiment my high school chemistry teacher, Frank McCauley, would have done for us. It was really neat to watch, and I kept wondering how everything would come together.

Once the papaya had cooled, we added it to the flour and mixed it with our hands. We actually could have used more flour, but I’ll know next time. After the mixing was complete, Namoi walked over with portions of banana leaves which she said were Samoan foil. How resourceful. She coated each leaf with a light layer of coconut cream and then we filled each leaf with a handful of the dough. She wrapped each one and then they were put over the hot rocks and covered with several banana leaves and even a woven mat to help bake them in the traditional Samoan oven (called an umu). At this point it was just wait watch for about 45 minutes until they were done baking.

Finally, they came out of the oven, and we placed them onto more banana leaves and opened them up to cool. Flies are always a constant bother in Samoa, so I knew without being asked, to fan our food with a towel. After about ten minutes Taunaola washed the outside of a coconut which he then preceded to use as a cutting board. Cutting each baked papaya loaf with a dull knife, he placed the pieces in a bowl and I looked on with excitement. We had almost completed the very labor intensive meal.

Soon the bowl was mostly full and it was time to add the rich sauce we had made earlier. My nose instantly remembered the wonderful smells, as they mixed the two together. Bowls were brought out and as is Samoan custom, they served me first, and with a bowl that was heaping full of faausi. I waited for others to be served before eating, but I was urged to begin, so I didn’t hesitate any longer.

With that first bite I knew that my plan had come to fruition. I was enjoying wonderful, traditional, Samoan food, with people I love and now call family. I had taken the time to ask for their help, and I could tell they appreciated it. It was nice to see all the people gathered around eating, who had helped throughout the day. A bunch of the kids who had been there too, were enjoying the sweet treat and I was happy for them, since they don’t always get food like that on a regular basis.

Now word has spread throughout the village of my love for this Samoan food, and I’ve been invited to make it with another family on Easter. So in the end, this has become much more than a preparation of food, but rather, a way in which to learn more about the people I’m living with.

There have been certain moments the past few weeks at school where I look around my classroom and really truly feel like a teacher. As someone who graduated college not intending on being a teacher—my degree was in liberal studies—I’ve certainly had many days where it has felt normal to be one.

This year I’ve had the opportunity to work more with the younger grade levels. Last year it was mostly just 7th and 8th grade, however this year I’ve been spending a number of days with 4th, 5th and 6th grades, and some days, even 1st grade. Students in Samoa’s public schools receive an education much different than their counterparts in the United States. To summarize the situation most simply, teaching styles are very different here, and in most situations, involve teachers drilling answers with their classes and then having them copy assignments from the chalk board into their notebooks. For most students in Samoa, that’s the only thing they’ve ever known.

As a result, this puts me in a unique situation to share so many of the teaching practices which I grew up with as a student myself, and help show these children and teachers, that there are other ways to learn the needed materials.

Early this past week, I was watching all the kids file out of the school at the end of the day and run up the hill to the road to head home. While sitting there watching them, the Holy Spirit put an idea in my head. I suddenly realized that these kids were leaving school empty handed (aside from their notebooks which they take with them every day.) I pictured myself as a 4th, or 5th grader and remembered taking art projects home on the school bus, and sometimes decorative hats I had made in school. Our school here in Samoa does have the resources to make those things, and although I’ve used those materials for daily lessons, I had never thought to send these kids home with something they had created.

So Monday night, with a general idea in my head, I had to put together a lesson that I would use for the 5th and 6th grade classes I knew I would be teaching later in the week. I had been working with those classes on verbs, and they were struggling, so I decided we would make “verb hats.” One evening I stayed after school to test a hat out for myself. With a template lined up, I cut the needed materials from our construction paper with hopes that it would bear much fruit.

Wednesday was the day! The kids came in and were ready for my usual way of going about things, but then I put my verb hat on and explained what we were going to do. We began by brainstorming verbs and then doing some other short activities, but moved quickly to the hats. They were to pick three pieces of colored paper and write three different verbs on each paper in crayon. On the headband part of the hat, they wrote the word “verbs.” They were allowed to decorate their hats with their crayons drawing other simple designs and pictures. I think they were slightly confused at first, but once I started handing out materials and they started coloring their hats, I could see I had them hooked on the lesson. At one point the room was so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop. It was so unlike anything they normally do, that they were devoting their complete attention to the project. At our interval (recess), one of the teachers came into my room and complemented me on the hats, and asked if she could wear my hat. I didn’t refuse.

That afternoon, I sat in the exact same spot I had a few days before, when I had first gotten the idea for the hats, except this time I watched them as they headed for home with all these creations on their heads. At that moment, I got that feeling that I was a teacher, as though I had helped pass on a part of what it’s like to receive an education in America—an education that is superbly unique to many other nations around the globe.

Of course, whenever I took home an art project from school as a child, it was displayed on the refrigerator or put away in a memory box. But not so for my students! On Thursday morning I saw all my kids come bouncing down the hill wearing their hats they had made the day before! I made a compromise and told them they could wear them before school and during interval, but not during class. I also asked that they be cleared out of my room by Friday, because they were creating a mess. I explained that they can be worn outside of school for fun.

When I’m not busy making verb hats, I always seem to be keeping busy with something else. I arrive at school by 7:45a.m. and many days stay as late as six or seven, with only an hour or two of break in the afternoon to eat lunch and do laundry. Living next to my school gives me a unique situation that many other volunteers who live farther away don’t have. I’m able to hop over to school from 3-6 and work on lesson plans, without it being a huge inconvenience. Last year when I was still adjusting to being a teacher, as well as just living in Samoa, I wanted to leave school and not think about school after it was over. However this year I have this new urge to keep working there, thinking up new lessons, organizing papers, or grading. I take my small radio over with me and tune it to the Christian broadcasts that come from Southern California. It’s great company while I work and great for the soul! Some days, like this past week, I’m even kept company by rats in the staff room while I work. It’s all a part of the daily challenge!

Throughout any normal school day, whenever I have free time I’ve been having kids come in to my room and read to me. I started this program last year where they each receive a “Reading Book,” and after they read to me they receive a stamp. After they have five stamps accumulated they get to pick a sticker from my huge collection. This program has proved to be highly beneficial for all of my students. I’ve seen their reading abilities jump so high just after the short amount of time they spend with me. Last year I did the reading books with grades 6, 7 and 8, but this year wanted to reach more kids so included 5th grade. Now some of my most enthusiastic students are in the 5th grade, with a couple boys asking to read to me nearly every day. They don’t even seem concerned about the stamps or stickers, but I can tell they love the one-on-one attention they get from sitting down with me. It makes me smile.

This year when I get ready for bed at night, I’m excited for the next day to begin. I look forward to seeing those kids come walking into my room with huge smiles on their faces as they say good morning and ask to read a book from the box I keep on my desk. And at the end of the day when they stop by my room to say goodbye, I’m sad to see them go. Some days I have to kick them out of the school because they won’t go home, they just want to be there in that atmosphere. I could go on for 10 more paragraphs about the changes I’ve seen in my students during the past year: ways I’ve seen them grow, ways I’ve seen them mature, ways I’ve seen them gain trust in me. No matter how many times I see it, it never gets old. Each time I’m blown away! I’m reminded of how I’ve been able to be there for them, and how they’ve been there for me. We’re there for each other!

My mom has been a teacher for 31 years so I now know what a messy desk looks like! My normal neatness escaped me this day and I realized how easy it is for a desk to get out of control.

I laughed when I found Charles, a 6th grade student of mine, smelling one of my new books I brought back from America in January. As some of you may know, I have an obsession of smelling new books (or old books that still smell good). So I'm happy to know I'm not the only one with this weird quirk!

Here is Neueli leading a bingo session for the year 8 kids. The boys are often told by the principal to climb a coconut tree during their interval (recess), so that the staff can have a drink. Although I love the coconuts, all that climbing is hard on their shirts and thus keeping a button on is nearly impossible, as you can see!

This is the pipe under the sink outside the school. It serves as a foot washing station for those muddy feet after the torrential downpours we get.

I've been intrusted with the care of the keys for the school since I'm the first to school and often the last home. So when I locked them in the library after school one day, I had a bit of a problem.

Luckily, the keys were near the window, so scheming a plan to get them out, this is what I came up with.

Lucky me! I won't make that mistake again!

This is in my room. When it rains heavy water comes in around the board at the bottom. It's also an entrance/exit for the rats that roam about in the evening and after dark!

Here I am after school marking the students with good manners for the day.

A random exam schedule from 2006, still up on the wall in the staff room.

Kids from my 6th, 7th and 8th grade classes are writing letters to middle school students in America. Look for a future blog post about this!

Last night, Samoa was under a tsunami warning after the devastating earthquake in Japan. Samoa just experienced its own natural disaster back in September of 2009 when a tsunami killed over 150 people in this country. Therefore, people take no chances when the word is given to move to high ground. Luckily, I live on high enough ground that a tsunami would not effect me, should one hit.

Since I don’t have cell phone coverage in my village, I wasn’t getting any of the text messages being sent out about the need to move to higher ground, although Peace Corps was able to contact a man in the village next to me, who is able to get a signal at his house. So last night around 3a.m. volunteers who live near the coast were moving to higher ground. Luckily, there was no damage here in Samoa and all were able to return to there houses early this morning.

I woke up last night to find that I had an ear infection, so I decided to come in on the bus this morning to see the doctor. I’m on an antibiotic now, so hopefully I’ll be back to normal in a few days. This gave me a chance to see the news reports of the earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan.

As I’ve written before, after living here in Samoa, I now have a deeper appreciation for the power that the ocean holds in its vast waters. Swimming in it, watching it day after day, hearing it roar night after night, reminds me of its power and capacity to unleash destruction. Unfortunately, Japan was on the receiving end of its might today. My prayers are with all of those who are recovering from this tragedy. May they find the strength the recover, rebuild and renew.

Milo with his chocolate pudding!

Birthdays aren’t that big of a deal for Samoans. For the first couple weeks of school I asked students in my class to tell me when their birthdays were, so that I could give them a card and have the class sing to them on their special day. However, some students didn’t even know when their birthdays were, or had to stop and think about it for a moment.

Growing up in America, birthdays are a day that children look forward to weeks in advance. Cake, ice cream, candles, balloons, cards and presents are almost always a guarantee. I can still remember the smallest details from birthdays that are now 20 years past. There’s always a special feeling I have on my birthday, and although it’s a day like all the rest, it does feel different.

Many of you have read in this blog, or heard me talk about one of my best friends: Milo. Milo was the first one to greet me the day I moved into my house here in Samoa. I can still remember him carrying my luggage down the hill beside my house and dropping it inside the front door. From that first day we’ve been buddies! Milo was 11 years old when I arrived, and for the past 17 months, I’ve been able to watch him grow up. This past Tuesday, on March 1st, Milo celebrated his 13th birthday!

I made his birthday last year a special celebration. I had bought him a chocolate cake and made some tapioca pudding. I had given him a few small gifts, and made him a card. A couple months ago I was shocked to see that he still had his card which I had made him last year on his birthday! So this year I wanted to continue the tradition.

As the week approached, I kept reminding him that his birthday was a few days away. He already knew, and I think he was looking forward to it more than last year. Besides the tapioca pudding I’ve made for him, he’s also a big fan of chocolate Jell-O Pudding! So the afternoon of his birthday I made tapioca and chocolate pudding to take over to his house for dinner. I also bought four pounds of chicken to give to the family to coke for the meal.

With all the packages I’ve gotten over the past year, Milo has also become a huge fan of bubble wrap. Whenever I have any laying around my house he’ll want to crinkle it up to make the bubble pop. So this year I decided to wrap his gift in bubble wrap. I decided to keep the gift practical. Last year I got him a match-box car and I haven’t seen it in a long time, so I’m guessing he lost it. This year I decided to give him one of my nice mechanical pencils, along with one of my good ink pens. Kids in Samoa never seem to have a decent pencil and their ink pen always is dried up.

Tuesday night I headed over to his family’s house for dinner. Milo got a big grin on his face when he saw the tapioca and chocolate pudding. After eating, I gave him his presents, along with another card I had made him this year. It was a simple evening, but I could tell he really enjoyed it. This will be my last birthday with him before I leave Samoa in December, but I told him as he walked me home, that I would be thinking of him next year, and would try to call to say hi.

Milo has been such a huge part of my life here in Samoa. He’s always there to help me when I need him for something, and on days when I’m lonely, all I have to do is call his name from out my back door, and he’ll come over and play a game of cards with me, or just sit and visit.

I’ve been able to have Milo in my English class both last year and this year. Last year he was one of the weakest students in his class, but this year he is one of the strongest. I’ve watched him as he’s started to read and answer questions with confidence, which a year ago, he didn’t even know. The other day the class had some free time for reading. I found him with one of the books that had a map in it and he was at the back of the room at the big wall map, trying to find the country from the book. I just smiled at his cleverness.

I’m looking forward to our final months together and continuing our great friendship. I hope that these past two birthdays will be days he remembers for years to come, and maybe he’ll remember me when they come around each year. I know I’ll think of him.

Milo on his 13th birthday!

Milo loves bubble wrap!

Milo and I with his card.

OTHER PHOTOS

This was my ride back to my village form the capital last weekend. As I say, whatever it takes!

This is what all Samoans do when they are out on a sunny day. You cover your head with whatever you have, since the sun's intensity is so strong! This was me in the back of the pick-up truck.

Taking time for a picture on the long and beautiful walk back to my village from the main road last Sunday.

Milo was cutting these bananas down out in front of my house on Thursday.

The sunrise this morning, March 5th, on my way into town.

Another view from the bus this morning, on my way into the capital.

As volunteers, we have all made a reference to, or heard a reference about, Peace Corps Headquarters. When going through the long application process, they were always the people we were talking to on the other end of the telephone line. They were the ones we were sending ream upon ream of paperwork to, and always hoping it ended up in the right hands. And now as volunteers, we know it as the place where most of the rules and regulations we are told to follow, originate!

However, last week, the much talked about and sometimes mysterious headquarters from Washington D.C. paid a visit to my house in Samoa! Actually, a group of four individuals has been in the country doing a review of the Peace Corps program here in Samoa, before they head off to do the same in neighboring Tonga and Fiji. I was asked if they could come out to my house to see what life is like for me as a volunteer.

Luckily, because I keep a rather organized house, I didn’t have to do too much cleaning before their visit, although I did complete a few household chores that had been on my list to do for a long time. My 12 year old neighbor Milo, knew they were coming and wanted to give some coconuts for them to drink, so he went and climbed the closest tree.

Whenever visitors come out to my house I always hope for a sunny day because it makes the drive out to my house much more stunning! Luckily it was a sunny day, and once the team arrived, one of them said it was one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen! Knowing she was a well traveled person helped remind me indeed how special this place is, and how I can’t take it for granted.

Although it was a sunny day, it had been a rainy week leading up to their visit, and thus the steep hill outside my house was nothing but mud. Tevita, the Training and Program Manager for the Peace Corps in Samoa, was the one who drove them out for the day in the Peace Corps Land Rover. However, this was Tevita’s first visit to my house and he didn’t know not to drive down the steep, grassy hill next to my house. After it was too late, and he had passed the point of no return, the vehicle had slogged its way down past my house, leaving a look of dread on all of our faces.

I greeted my guests as Tevita turned the Land Rover around. Kathy was the first I shook hands with. She is a senior adviser to the Peace Corps Director, Mr. Aaron Williams. The next to come through the door was Ren, the current Country Director in Micronesia here in the Pacific. I then welcomed Roger, who is the Chief of Operations for the Inter-America and Pacific Region. Finally, the last face I saw was a familiar one; Shelly is the Country Desk Assistant for the Pacific Region, and was at our staging event back in Los Angeles in October of 2009 before we left for Samoa.

Once they all made their way into the house I gave them a tour of what I call home. One of them joked if it was a four bedroom place, since it is rather spacious by Peace Corps housing standards. Before we sat down for our discussion, there was still an uncertainty as to what to do about the vehicle out front. Tevita wasn’t having any luck getting it back up, so Roger went out to try and lend a hand. The rest of us decided to start our visit. They asked a lot of questions about what life was like for me here in the village. We talked about my daily activities and what I do for fun. I mentioned to them some accomplishments from the first year, as well as some challenges.

Before too long, Roger came back inside and said that Tevita was going to gather some help from nearby neighbors to assist in getting the vehicle back up to the road. We decided to continue our conversation so we could finish, and then offer any help needed to get the vehicle back up to the road. I must admit it was a bit challenging to keep my full attention on my guests at times, considering there was a Land Rover outside the window behind them spinning its wheels in mud as the engine worked its heart out. But even they couldn’t resist glances as we all wondered if it would finally make it. Ren, who had his back to the window, asked me to warn him if the vehicle started rolling back towards the window!

It wasn’t very long though before I started seeing all of my neighbors arriving on the scene to lend a helping hand. Men, women and children were all gathering to help push and pull to do all they could. After our talk, we headed outside to offer our assistance as well. It wasn’t at all surprising for me to see about 20 of my neighbors lending a helping hand—it’s the Samoan culture to help your neighbor—and I’ve experienced that in all different kinds of ways these past 16 months. The Peace Corps team from Washington D.C. was very impressed by the willingness of my community and I think this particular situation helped them understand the Samoan culture in a unique way.

Assessing the situation, I could see the car was about a foot away from the eve on my house and was practically sitting on top of the bushes. With a harness attached to the front of the vehicle, and several guys—including myself—at the rear of the vehicle, we pushed as Roger took over control of the driving. After pushing/pulling the group of men would lodge rocks under the tires to create more traction before doing it again.

As they say, it takes a village, but after being splattered with mud and covered with sweat, we finally got that Land Rover back up to its comfortable resting spot on the road. The Peace Corps team looked at the damage the car had done to the front of my house, and offered there sincere apologies. It certainly was slick for a few days, and I nearly fell down several times that afternoon, but luckily after a week of South Pacific Sunshine, my front yard is firm once again.

After helping maneuver the vehicle out of the mud, we all trudged very carefully back to my house for a group picture and a final goodbye. They gave me a Peace Corps pin, which I was happy to receive and invited me to visit headquarters if I’m ever in Washington. They thanked me for letting them visit and for my service. I thanked them for making the long journey out to my house. They said to be leery if anyone from headquarters asks to visit again—considering the event we had all just gone through with the mud! As Shelly commented at one point, it helped the whole situation for all of them, with them having been Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. The point being, that things like vehicles getting stuck in mud, don’t cause too much panic for those who’ve lived in another country for two years. After they all piled into the vehicle they had just helped get back up the hill, they waved goodbye. Their final words to me were to do something about the landscaping in the front yard, because it looked terrible!

The Peace Corps vehicle next to my house.

This is how close the Land Rover came to my house!

Without help from the village we wouldn't have been able to get the vehicle out of the mud!

Here is Roger, the Chief of Operations for the Inter-America and Pacific Region of Peace Corps, lending a helping hand!

Everyone pulling hard!

We finally got it up to the road!

Peace Corps Samoa volunteers and staff

at this year's All Volunteer Conference.

Somehow another two weeks have slipped by and I’m left wondering what to write about for my blog. Since no one topic comes to mind, I’ll just give a quick overview of the past couple weeks, and perhaps some of you will enjoy a look into the life of a PC volunteer.

It’s been a solid two weeks in my village! I didn’t go into town last week on purpose. After my trip back to America for the holidays, and then two weeks away from my village for meetings, I had only been at my house for a couple of days in the past month, leaving me with a longing for the old routine.

Being back here in Samoa for my second year of service has left me looking through a different lens. A few days ago I celebrated 16 months since arriving in Samoa. Normally an anniversary day like that would be a joyous occasion for me and leave me longing for the next one to come around. But now I’m at the point where each month’s anniversary is a reminder of how short my time here in Samoa is. Another volunteer and I were discussing a couple of weeks ago how we finally “get it,” in terms of realizing why a Peace Corps service is 27 months long. We both commented on how that first year is about getting our feet wet, meeting people, learning the culture, and becoming comfortable with just being here. For me, I feel that my second year already has a momentum that my first year was lacking. This in no way leaves me feeling as though my first year were “lost,” or “wasted.” That first year had to be the way it was in order to get me where I am today!

This has been a bad week for me in terms of health. A slip in the mud last Saturday caused my knee to hit a rock and although the rock looks the same as before our run-in, my knee has been sore since then. Then with a cold arriving and a couple days later, the worst stiff neck I’ve ever had (it lasted three days), I was left unable to go for my evening runs. But this provided me with the perfect opportunity to work on school projects. That momentum I mentioned earlier has been noticeable at school. For the past week, I’ve been working at school until 7p.m. in my classroom, making resources and lessons for the kids.

School began on January 31st, and I knew going in this year that these first weeks are very slow in the Samoan school. Many students don’t even come to school the first week. Since there is no janitorial staff at the schools, the kids spend the first week cleaning the rooms, moving the desks and picking rubbish up around the school grounds. Instead of bringing paper and pencils to school the first week of school, students are required to bring woven mats and brooms that will be used throughout the year. The number of mats and brooms they have to bring is determined on how many children our in their family.

Now we’re heading into our third week, and I can feel the pace picking up, and I’m glad it is. I have changed some of my classroom procedures from last year, trying to make things run more smoothly, while at the same time be more challenging and fulfilling for the students. I’m trying a new alternative to homework. Although I still plan on assigning the traditional homework assignments from time to time, I’m going to give the majority of their “homework” at the beginning of the week and have them turn it in to me on Fridays. Each packet of work will be tailored to each student’s level. I have kids that are reading rather good English and others that don’t know the alphabet. Why assign a homework assignment on sentence structure to the student who doesn’t know the alphabet. This will allow me to work with each student individually. They will be required to come to me during the week and ask for help on particular areas they’re having trouble with. Having them turn in the work on Friday will also allow me time to review their work over the weekends and help prepare lessons for the following week. I think it will also help them to become more responsible in terms of making sure they keep up on their work so it’s ready to turn in on Friday. I’m doing this with my year 7 and 8 students, which is a total of 15 students. So my weekends just got a bit more full, but I’m looking forward to the challenge. I expect my kids to raise the bar this year, so I most certainly expect it from myself.

Despite all my enthusiasm for the new school year, I haven’t been spend all of my time there. As I noted earlier, last weekend I stuck close to the village. Some of the boys from the village had been wanting to go for a walk to a nearby village and get ice cream at the roadside store, since we don’t have ice cream in our village. The walk took us about an hour and a half, but it was a nice sunny day and the treat at the final destination was worth it. I bought Chilly Chocks Ice Cream for all the boys and we sat next to the ocean and enjoyed the cool treat. I had been wanting to call my Dad to say hi, and thought the kids might enjoy speaking to my Dad. I let them dial the number and say hello in Samoan. They got a kick out of it and enjoyed asking questions in English and Samoan. It was a fun afternoon.

My meals the past two weeks have been as interesting as my adventures for ice cream and time in the classroom. Due to circumstances I couldn’t control, my power had been cut the night I arrived back from the capital with all my groceries. Without a refrigerator, I was left with limited choices for my diet over these past two weeks. So to make a long story short, I’ve been having Wheet-Bix cereal for not just breakfast, but sometimes lunch or dinner. The same with oatmeal. This past week has been mostly a pasta and rice marathon though, when it comes time for dinner. But remember, I have no butter and no money to buy butter, so the menu would read like this: Monday: rice and crackers; Tuesday: pasta with basil leaves (no butter, no sauce), and crackers; Wednesday: same as Tuesday; Thursday: same as Wednesday; Friday: Wheet-Bix and the last cracker in the box—which I dropped on the floor where the cockroaches scurry, but I ate it anyways! However, despite the lack of main entrées, my desert selection has been amazing, considering I still have all my candy that I brought back from America.

And finally, I didn’t want to spend too much time commenting on the weather, since my past two blogs were about weather events, but I can’t let this get posted without mentioning how wonderfully pleasant the days and nights have been here in Samoa. This is based off my distinct memory of last year’s rainy and humid season being a scorcher. I remember streaks of heat rash up and down my arms last year in February. Even the people in my village are wondering where the heat is. So what gives? Evidently, this is a La Nina year and thus causing “cooler” temperatures. Now when I say cool, I mean mid to high 80s for daytime highs, but the lack of 90 degree days are certainly recognized and appreciated. Now just wait, March will be an oven.

Well now I better head off to Farmer Joe’s to do some grocery shopping. Thanks for letting me share the past couple of weeks with you. I hope it was informative.

Saulo, Neueli and Milo talking to my Dad over the telephone.

Neueli getting ready to climb the coconut tree for a coconut!

Neueli going up.

Neueli made it!

Enjoying our coconuts.

All the new charts in my classroom have been made!

My new bulletin board idea for the year!

The brooms that have been brought for the new school year.

My desk is all organized.

New classroom rules, and February's calendar.

My new role book for this year smells like Byler's Market, which is a small bakery near my house back in Michigan. It's a good smell!

Kid's fighting the rain on their way to the first day of school.

Wild Waves

It didn’t ask permission before coming ashore; it just did whatever it wanted to. The ocean’s wild and forceful waves came pounding over its normal boundaries and displaced corral, sand and seaweed in an event which reminds us all of the power of nature. Cyclone Wilma, which was suppose to hit Samoa, luckily, passed to the south and spared this tropical island for the most part. However, despite the cyclone not hitting directly, I could certainly tell that there was a storm out over that ocean somewhere, because for three days, the sea was putting on quite a show for its spectators.

Beginning on Friday evening, the waters around Samoa were turning up the bottom of the ocean floor as one wave after another crashed with violent force. Saturday was impressive and Sunday even more so. Each time I looked out over the water, or walked along the shore, I thought I had seen the biggest wave ever, but then later they would get bigger. Saturday morning I was out jogging my usual route which stretches high above the ocean and overlooks the rugged rocky shores below. Very little slows me down when I’m out for a run, but on Saturday, the sight of a huge wave crashing into the rock face caused me to stop without hesitation and gaze at the sight. For five minutes I stood there in awe of that ocean and reminded myself of how spectacular God’s creation is. The force He unleashed when He created those waters is one that has not been tamed since, and only could be by His hand alone.

Saturday afternoon, I walked down through my village and saw the excitement on the faces of those in my village as they watched the waves right in front of their houses. I knew then that this particular storm must have been impressive, if it was drawing the attention of those who’ve lived next to the sea for their entire lives. Some of the kids followed me as I took pictures of the waves and I could hear the excitement in their voices as they pointed in all directions as the waves became bigger.

Sunday morning I woke up to a stiff wind and rain. The rain later tapered off as I prepared to walk the 15 minutes to church in the neighboring village. Walking down the steep hill towards my village, I could see the ocean was still going at it, unleashing one wave after another. As I approached the other village where I was attending church, I could see that the entire road had been covered in corral, sand and seaweed. The ocean had thrown its waves over the road when high tide had come in and left one wondering where the road actually was. I thought to myself how my family back home in Michigan is slowed by snow drifts this time of year, and here I was dodging chunks of corral as my obstacle.

After church, I walked back to my village as the barrels on the waves seemed to be the largest I have ever seen before in my life. Water was still splashing up onto the road in some spots, causing me to run to avoid getting hit by a wave. I noticed that the very same sand volleyball court that people were playing on Saturday evening was now littered with all kinds of rocks from the ocean. It amazed me how with no effort at all, it had done so much damage. It would certainly take a fair amount of effort to remove it.

Sunday evening my neighbor and I went for a walk so I could take pictures of the road. I kept hearing him talk about the size of the waves as we walked through the villages. He was thoroughly impressed by the sites. We sat for a while and watched the ocean. Sometimes the sea would have waves extending three deep, all crashing at the same time, as if they were all lined up and taking a bow together. Each time I saw a wave start to form, it left me wondering how big it would get before it broke. Off in the distance I could see the rocky shoreline I had seen while jogging the day before, still being slammed with one wave after another, as water went cascading straight into the air after impact with the solid rocks.

On Monday we had the grand finale, from cyclone Wilma. The skies opened up and rain came down in all directions for hours. The rivers coming down out of the mountains near my house were overflowing onto the road, damaging all the work that had just been done to reseal and smooth it. Just when I thought it was raining as heavy as it could, it would get a little harder. The rain resulted in small mud slides, causing breadfruit trees and coconut trees to slide down the slopes near the road. It was another amazing day to watch unfold.

Now the word from the Peace Corps office is that another tropical cyclone could form by Thursday. I had a feeling that we might get a double punch, but we’ll have to wait and see what forms and where it goes.

I’ve been in fascination with weather events before: blizzards, thunderstorms, dense fog and torrential rains, but these past few days have rekindled my respect for Mother Nature and the way in which she makes herself known. Although the seas may be calming here in Samoa, I’m confident they’re getting violent someplace else in the world. They keep us feeling small and reminding us how fragile our lives can be. While praying that everyone has remained safe, here’s a big thanks to the South Pacific, for a wonderful weekend show!

Waves crashing in front of my village.

Big waves.

The road in the village next to mine where the waves covered the road with corral and sand.

Road after high tide came on shore with wild waves!

This was a volleyball court on Saturday, but on Sunday?

More waves!

During the worst of the rains, the river behind my house came over the road which had just been redone and tore it to pieces.

After the river let up, this was the damage to the road. Milo was checking the road conditions with me.

The river behind my house was out of control. The white PVC pipe is the water to my house, which was torn apart.

Waterfalls behind my house on Monday.

Another waterfall behind my house.

A rock that slid down the mountain's edge and onto the road leading to my house.

Throughout the day, all of us Peace Corps volunteers have been receiving text messages and even phone calls from the Peace Corps office with updates on the cyclone which is expected to either hit Samoa or pass nearby between Samoa and Tonga. We’ve known the weather was going to be bad since the beginning of the week, but today received the news confirming that the tropical depression is expected to form into a cyclone (hurricane) and either hit Samoa or pass nearby.

Last February, many of us experienced Cyclone Rene’s outer bands of wind and rain, which were quite impressive as she passed to the East of Samoa. This cyclone is forecasted to be a low-level cyclone, meaning it won’t have the force of a major cyclone such as a category 5. Nonetheless, a certain sense of “survival mode” mentality has gone into effect as the storm is expected to arrive by Saturday morning.

So what does this mean for me? A busy Friday night is ahead of boiling water to stockpile, as well as charging the batteries on my phone and other electronic devices, since losing power will almost be certain. Since I was already in town today, I am now able to stock up on food at the grocery store, considering I haven’t been at my house for the last week, due to an English camp I was helping run in another village.

Unfortunately, I cut my hand this morning on a piece of glass, and just the sight of the blood made me light headed. I had band-aids and a triple antibiotic cream with me, so it wasn’t too bad. I never get cuts, so something little tends to worry me more than it should. I did see the Peace Corps nurse who said I had nothing to fear! It’s just going to make doing all the laundry that I need to do, a bit harder the next few days.

Well that’s your Friday update. I better be off to head to the store and then back to my village. I’m hoping for a smooth couple of days, and for no major problems. Until next time, have a good weekend!

Flying over a smaller island of Samoa before landing.

Within less than a day, I changed countries, hemispheres, time zones, currencies, seasons, languages, and sides of the road when driving. I left a country of more than 300 million and entered one with only 175,000. I went from a continent to an island. These may be a lot of changes, but it seems as though I’m handling them very well—and admittedly, much better than I had ever anticipated.

After one month in the United States, visiting with family and friends and indulging in several restaurant visits, my time there ended, now over one week ago. Many people asked me if I was ready to go back to Samoa, and when my answer was always yes, they seemed to express a sigh of relief—this being that they knew how rough my first couple of months in Samoa were, now over one year ago. But if you had told me a year ago that I would be all smiles while landing in Samoa after a joyous holiday with family in Michigan, I would have said you were crazy. But time and patience have that way of changing someone, as it has me.

Perhaps, most of all, I was anticipating see the kids who I had taught for the past year. They are my best friends in Samoa, and help provide me with that motivation when I can’t find any myself. They are the ones who never seem to be in a bad mood, even if I may be. They’re the ones who have been most patient with my language skills and have helped me in learning it.

Last Wednesday evening, I was able to meet up with many of them. Running on only a couple hours of sleep since Tuesday morning, I still was eager to take a walk through the village. Walking past the first house in my village, four kids playing in a tree near the road starting shouting my name and saying hello. They said this with a bit more zeal than they had a month ago. I guess absence does make their hearts fonder to me. About half way down the road to the village’s center, three boys from my year 7 English class came running up to me shouting my name and gave me big handshakes. They followed me as I went visiting different houses and delivering chocolate I had brought from home. We walked over to the neighboring village and then back to towards my house. They kept asking where there chocolate was and I told them maybe tomorrow I would give them some.

Before my plane landed last Wednesday morning, we glided in over the Pacific Ocean and over some of the smaller islands that make up Samoa. The sun was just starting to break over the horizon and the sky looked warm, even through the thick barrier of that airplane. I had left a landscape covered in snow and entered one with coconut palms. When exiting the plane, the first thing I noticed were the smells—always a huge first impression on my travels. It smelt tropical, warm and humid. I could feel the warmth blowing at my skin. The jeans I was wearing suddenly became a ridiculous wardrobe for the climate I was in.

Last time I exited the airport, back on my first arrival in October of 2009, I was dealing with a whole new life that was about to unfold, but on Wednesday, I knew the life I was entering, and it gave me confidence. The people, language, trees and buildings were all familiar. Riding in the taxi with another Peace Corps volunteer we both looked out the window with great interest, soaking in a life we had been absent from, yet had kept on living. My friend Corina, who I was riding with, commented on the first fly that landed on her in the taxi which reminded me that I hadn’t had to deal with that for 30 days.

I had dinner that night with my neighbors who I have grown close to this past year. The husband and Milo—one of my best friends—were in the capital for a few days so I was sorry not to see them, but we still had a nice dinner. After a month at tables and T.V. trays, I was back on the ground, eating with my legs crossed, and had no complaints about it.

I thought I would have experienced more culture shock coming back here, but it has felt like a seamless transition from America to Samoa which of course are two different worlds. So this gives me much hope for my remaining eleven months. I am eager to begin school and get back to teaching. Break if finished in a couple of weeks and then I will be busy once again with the students. I know this last year is going to go quickly, and I’m trying hard not to take one day for granted.

Riding in the bus back to my village last Wednesday, I was in awe of the amazing view as we climbed the road up around the mountain which extended our line of site over the Pacific Ocean. With the waves crashing below and the palms swaying in the breeze, I realized again how lucky and fortunate I am to have this experience. My trip back home to Michigan was well worth it: I was able to visit with my family and friends and in the end, my being away from Samoa helped allow me to appreciate it even more than I ever had.

Our plane from L.A. to Samoa

Looking a bit sleepy after a day of travel

Breakfast on the plane was very delicious!

After arriving in Los Angeles at 2:30 p.m., following a ten hour flight from Samoa, I cleared my way through customs. I had already missed my connecting flight on Southwest, but proceeded to the ticket counter to look into another flight. Southwest was very understanding and put me on the next available flight which was scheduled to depart at 6 p.m. for its four hour flight to Chicago. After checking my bag, I headed through security for the second time in 12 hours and then entered a part of the American fabric: the concourse of gates in the domestic terminal of LAX. Walking about, I was smiling at everything I saw. Suddenly I was thrust back into what I had left for the past 14 months, and I had many observations: the toilets flush themselves, the water at the bathroom sinks is run on sensors as well, and I even jumped a little when I accidentally set off the paper towel dispenser. Everything was easier here, compared to Samoa. Walking to my gate, I noticed the building was very clean, the people were all dressed in fashionable clothes and walking with a sense of urgency that Samoans never match. I even had to laugh when I saw two Starbucks within 150 yards of one another! I knew I was back in the U.S.A.

So excited at what I was seeing, I made phone calls to my parents and sister. I then decided to call a friend of mine, Katy, who had served in the Peace Corps in South Africa and had told me before of her experiences about first arriving back in America and the reverse culture shock that came with it. We had a good talk and then I went to get something at McDonald’s. After being handed my bag of food, I realized that I didn’t have my laptop with me! I had left it in its bag back at where I was on the phone, right there in the hallway of the concourse. I rushed back and discovered it was gone! My heart sank.

At that very moment I started glancing at every person walking with a computer bag—suddenly, everyone looked suspicious--but in an airport the size of LAX, and with 90 percent of the people having a computer bag, I very quickly felt as if I was being put into a trance. A part of me wanted to yell at everyone to stop! I had only slept for 30 minutes after being awake for over 24 hours and the thought of someone stealing my computer after serving my country for 14 months, made me suddenly build an anger towards the America I had just been oohing and awing over on the phone with my friend.

I finally decided I needed to find someone who could help me. I spotted a Southwest employee near a gate and ran up to him to tell him what had happened. He seemed half confused at the situation I was in, probably because I presented myself in such hysteria. The man said he didn’t know what he could do, considering he had just gotten off an airplane after being on it for the past couple of hours—I realized he was a flight attendant. He did tell me where the police were.

Walking towards the police I continued scanning the crowd. Everyone was walking as if they had a stiff wind at their backs, pushing them forward with momentum. I called Katy back, as if she could help me living 3,000 miles away. Making it to the police counter, I explained my situation to a group of 3 officers—I think I hung up on Katy at that time. They started asking a number of questions: can I see your ID? Can you tell me where you were standing? How long ago did this happen? What color was the bag? Was anyone near you? How long were you gone? What time is your flight?

Then one of the police officers, during my time of panic, took time to make a point out of what I had done wrong. He said: “you were standing, talking on the phone, and had the phone in one had. What was your other hand doing?” I didn’t respond. He said, “why didn’t you have your computer bag in the other hand?” Well the simple answer was that I had set it down. I obviously knew I had made a mistake, but he was almost saying “shame on you.” I said, it was my fault, I made the mistake, but now I just want to try and find the computer. Time continued to feel as if it were moving slower and slower. Another officer asked me to go back down to where I had made the phone call. On the way he said, “don’t you know you aren’t suppose to leave bags unattended in the airport.” Yes, of course I know that. I’ve flown all over the country and the world and had never had something like this happen before. In a polite way, yet with firmness in my voice, I said, “I didn’t leave my bag there on purpose. I wasn’t trying to have my computer stolen. I walked away forgetting it was there. I made a mistake.” I explained to him how important that computer was for my work as a Peace Corps volunteer, and that I would never want to lose it.

While standing at the place of my huge mistake, I was trying to recreate exactly where I was and how I was standing for the sake of the officer who kept asking me. While I was doing this, a man walked up to us and asked if we were looking for a bag. He had just found one that had been left and was getting ready to turn it over to the police if no one came back in five minutes. I said that I had left my bag there. He walked over to the row of black leather seats where he and his friend were sitting. There it was, resting on the chairs. I walked over and reached out to touch it with my right hand, as if to ask its forgiveness for having left it alone and having been so foolish. The officer said that I owed the two men a huge thank you. Indeed I did.

With the four of us there, I thanked the two men for having taken the bag and watching over it. After thanking them, I felt this instant guilt inside me, for having doubted everyone I had been glancing at in that airport concourse. As if entering a confessional and bearing my soul, I started an apology: “I have just gotten back from serving in the Peace Corps for 14 months and was so furious and felt betrayed when I thought the computer was stolen. I’m sorry for having thought the worst of my fellow Americans." At that moment my emotions overcame me and I started to cry. I felt so proud to be an American. I felt proud of those two men for having represented what I had always hoped America was. I didn’t feel at all embarrassed to be crying in front of three men and a gate of passengers waiting for their flight. I was elated. The one man, whose name I later found out was Pete, said, “We Americans are still looking out for one another. Welcome home. Welcome back to America.” I continued to cry.

The police officers work was done and he thanked the men and I thanked him for his assistance. I said I had learned my lesson and would be more careful. After I took a few deep breaths I offered to buy the two men dinner or a coffee, but they kindly declined. But I couldn’t just leave them; I suddenly felt this connection to these two strangers. I wanted to slow the moment and take a moment to visit. I asked them if they minded if I sat down for a few minutes.

We introduced ourselves and made some small talk. I asked them about their jobs—Pete is an aerospace engineer and Tom a mechanical engineer. I praised them both for their abilities as scientists. They asked me some questions about my service in Peace Corps. I mentioned to them how students’ test scores in Samoa are low in science and how I wished that the children could do better in that area, as I know it is important for any country. They asked where I was headed, how long I was going to be visiting. I still had to eat the meal from McDonald’s that I had been carrying all over the airport for that 30 minute ordeal. But before I said goodbye, I asked them if I could write about them here on this blog. We exchanged contact information and I gave them this blog address. I thanked them again and we said our goodbyes. A few minutes later as I was eating, I realized I had forgotten to get a picture of them. I darted back over—with my computer bag—and asked for a picture.

My flight ended up leaving about 45 minutes late. It gave me plenty of time to sit there at the gate and listen to the public service announcement stating: “Due to security measures, and for your safety, do not leave bags unattended and do not ask others to watch your bags.” The same message played on repeat. Each time it felt like a knife in my back being twisted. But each time it reminded me how lucky I had been that night.

Looking back on that night, I was able to see how my Peace Corps experience has helped change me. If this had happened a year ago, I might have just thanked the men and been on my way. I would have been grateful, but I’m not sure if I would have had the initiative to sit and learn more about them. After living in Samoa, where building relationships is such a huge part of a volunteer’s success in the village, I now realize that I’ve come to value this kind of friendly conversation, that causes one to slow their pace in a busy world. The relationships matter, they make us better communicators and listeners.

Tuesday night I was faced with a situation that tested ordinary Americans who did extraordinary things. I would never want to relive that fiasco again, but in a way, I’m happy I was able to see it unfold, because it was the best welcome back to America. It was hard proof that this country, despite its enormous size, can act as one family, looking out for another’s brother, or sister. Samoans proud themselves on being hospitable, friendly and caring, and I have found that to be completely true throughout my service there. Yet I’m so proud that America still has those same types of people who care for one another just because it’s the human thing to do. It’s the American thing to do. Thank you Pete and Tom for showing me once again, why I’m so proud to represent our country as a volunteer overseas.

Waiting at the airport in Samoa after our plane was delayed to leave by more than 3 hours.

Leah, from Group 82 was layering to try and keep warm!

Getting ready to board the plane in Samoa at 3:15 a.m.

The exterior of the Boeing 767

A real dinner on board the plane. Breakfast was just as big!

The first sights of American soil after crossing the Pacific Ocean from Samoa.

Corina and Cassie outside the international terminal at LAX.

First picture with Mom and Dad at Chicago after a long journey.

Bundled up and wondering what happened to all the coconut trees.

Final destination. Home for the holidays!

Leaving the house this morning at 6:28 a.m.

to start the trip back to America!

The journey home to Michigan has begun! I left my house this morning at 6:28 a.m. to come into town on the bus. I’m in Apia today, until tonight when I leave Samoa for the first time in 14 months. I’m boarding an airplane and jetting across the largest ocean in the world on a 10 hour flight to Los Angeles, California. Then it’s another four hour flight to Chicago. Then it’s a two hour drive from there, before I get to sleep at home for the first time since October 4, 2009.

Last night I took one final walk through my village for 2010. I went to a few houses to wish people a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. A bunch of kids came out and followed me down the street and asked when I was leaving for America. I ate at my neighbor’s house yesterday for a going away dinner and they had invited the mayor of the village, and his wife over for the occasion.

After saying my goodbyes I went back to my house to finish the last of the packing. I kept thinking to myself how much easier it is to pack for a month visit to Michigan, than a two year stay in Samoa. My stress level was very low as I went about the packing, but perhaps some of the “care free ways” of this island life have rubbed off on me the past year. I think that’s a good thing.

But just as I have come to live a relaxed life, I’m about to be thrust back into the rollercoaster life in America. For example, my flight arrives in Los Angeles at 11:40 a.m. on Tuesday but I have to make my connecting flight before it leaves at 1:55 p.m. That may seem like a good chunk of time, but here’s what I’m up against: I have to wait for the plane to taxi to the gate, deplane, go claim my luggage, go through customs, travel from the international terminal to the domestic terminal, recheck my bags on my next flight, go through security and then make it to my gate before they close the door to the plane! That’s a lot for someone who’s been living the slow life for 14 months. I’m keeping my fingers crossed though.

Once I make it to my final destination, I’m entering a whole new climate. The temperature in Samoa right now is 82. The temperature in Michigan: 15. The heat index in Samoa: 90. The wind chill in Michigan: 3. That’s an 87 degree temperature difference based on how the weather feels to the skin. My body has certainly grown use to the heat and humidity, considering I get chilled when the mercury dips to 80 degrees! 76 degrees in Samoa feels like a late October day in Michigan where I’m ready to bundle up. I haven’t seen snow since April of 2009, that’s 20 months without the slushy, slippery mess. At this moment, I hear reports about a large snow storm that has just passed through the Midwest. As much as I have missed the change of seasons, I haven’t missed the snow. But at the same time, I’m looking forward to a White Christmas, and think the snow will be exciting (at least for a month).

But among all the things I’m looking forward to, nothing compares to seeing my family. I was fortunate to have my sister visit me this past July and share that time with her, and my life here in Samoa. But other than her, I haven’t seen any family, the very people who raised me and supported me for 25 years! I wrote about what it would be like to be with them, back during my hardest days of homesickness. They have continued on with their lives, but they’ve continued to support me through phone calls, letters, packages, and most importantly, their prayers. This week we are reunited in what will be one unforgettable moment after another.

As much as I enjoy looking forward, I thought today might be an appropriate day to look back, and see what life was like one year ago today: December 13, 2009. Following are a few excerpts from my journal entry on that day.

“It’s 12:24 in the afternoon and I’m still homesick like you won’t believe.”

“I wrote a letter to Mom last night. I cried during most of it.”

“I’m trying to adjust, pray, and stay active, but whatever I do, I can’t feel that groove.”

“I feel so separated from my family, friends and traditions. I know it’s all just a 14 hour flight away, but I feel so trapped here.”

“I can’t forget I’m not in this battle alone. There are volunteers in this country and around the world dealing with similar situations.”

“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done and if I back out now, there will be huge consequences for the rest of my life, and that is a scary thought, perhaps enough to keep me grounded where I am.”

And I’m happy I stayed grounded, right where I am. Looking back 365 days is amazing, as I see how much has changed and how much I’ve come to love where I am. Last night as I was lying in bed, I just thought how grateful I am to God for leading me through those tough days, to the place I am today. Right now I’m thinking about my journey home, excited to see family and friends, but at the same time, I’ll be looking forward to returning to Samoa in 2011. Goodbye from Samoa. See you in America!

With 10 Peace Corps leaving on the flight tonight to L.A., this is what the Peace Corps office looked like this afternoon!

I’ve now lived in Samoa for two Decembers. And that’s given me two Decembers to realize that December in Samoa will never feel like December in America. December in the United States has all kinds of cues that lead a person to know it’s almost Christmas. If I were brought out of an underground bunker after loosing all sense of time, and dropped at a Wal-Mart store in America, I could easily figure out it was December in a hurry. There are Christmas candies by the door, along with poinsettia plants wrapped in red, green and silvered papers. There are three or more aisles devoted exclusively to Christmas decorations. There’s someone out front of the store ringing a bell and 25 cashiers wearing Santa hats. There are major food brands plastering pictures of Santa onto their packaging and some that even change the contents inside that packaging: M&Ms become green and red, Little Debbie’s take on the shape of a Christmas trees. And if that all wasn’t enough, there is Christmas music playing over the speaker system in the store!

Those are all signs of December in America. If you love them or hate them, it is a part of the American fabric, and a way of knowing that December is upon you. But America is an exception. Sure, Christmas is celebrated all over the world, but in other places, it’s not being made known to you by advertisers, the way it is in America. So I asked myself, if I came out of that same bunker and was dropped in Samoa, how would I know what month it is, and that it is in fact December? What cues would lead me to know, it’s two weeks away from Christmas? Here’s what I came up with.

If I were dropped in Samoa I could tell it’s December based on the price of pineapples at the market in Apia. Pineapples come into their peak season starting in December, and thus the price drops significantly. A large pineapple in November can cost as much as 15 tala (about $6.19 U.S. Dollars). However, that same size pineapple can drop to 6 tala (about $2.47 U.S. Dollars) just a few weeks later in December. So was the case, this past week when I walked through the market. I knew the season was just around the corner and I kept holding out to buy one for the cheaper price, and it finally came down, just like it did last year. It’s as predictable as the inflatable snowman display at Wal-Mart, just another indicator in another country in the month of December. I’ve bought two in the past week and plan on getting one more before I head home for Christmas. Pineapples here are so sweat that as I’m cutting them up, it’s hard not eating half of it before I put it away in the refrigerator. I’ve also enjoyed mixing the pineapple with bananas and freezing them for a chilled desert.

Another way of knowing that it’s December in Samoa is by the number of unfamiliar faces appearing in the village. This of course, is preceded by the caravans of rental cars that come streaming into a normally quiet village. Most evenings when I go for a walk through the village I can easily identify most faces, but once December roles around I start seeing all kinds of new faces. This is because most Samoans have large numbers of family members who come back for the Christmas holiday from overseas; countries such as New Zealand, Australia and the United States. Within the past week I’ve met about 10 new family members in one family alone who have come in for a visit. Many of them are great English speakers so they enjoy speaking to me in English, and get a kick out of hearing my Samoan, so we have our bilingual conversation before we both go our own ways.

And of course, the third sign of it being December in Samoa is the rain. The rainy season officially starts in November, but I’ve found it’s like an old rusty machine that takes a while to get moving again. The engines were fired in November but now that it’s December it in full operation and dumping it in buckets at times. The rain normally comes at night and is weird on the dreams; I always feel half awake and half dreaming as the pounding rain disorients me. But I love it when it rains so hard here in Samoa, it almost makes me feel like I have this bubble around me, protecting me from the rest of the world.

Samoa may not have all the Christmas decorations and hustle and bustle before December 25, but as a person lives here and comes to know the routines and traditions of this country, or any country around the world, they can certainly come to know that it’s December and a time for family and friends!

My first pineapple for the 2010 season!

Cutting up the first pineapple for the year.

I remember how the end of the school year felt back at home while growing up. It was always a nostalgic time with classrooms being disassembled after a year’s worth of time with friends and teachers. The warm days of early June reminded teachers and student alike that their summer vacations were just days away. There was always an end of the school year assembly where certificates were given for accomplishments made. My parents and grandparents came and took lots of pictures and gave warm hugs for another year completed.

And now having lived in Samoa, I’ve found that the similar traditions take place for the children of this island nation in the Pacific. Although Samoa lacks the change of seasons, and is perpetually hot, I was still able to sense a change of mood at the school as our year ended and the kids prepared for their advancement to the next year.

Samoa’s schools celebrate prize giving their last day of school, although it’s an event that is a few weeks in the planning. Prize giving is a chance for parents to come and visit the school and see their children receive gifts from their teachers. Although teachers in Samoa see the parents of their students every day in the village, either while playing bingo, going for an evening walk, or stopping by the local store, they hardly ever discuss a student’s progress and teacher parent conferences don’t exist here. So prize giving is probably the one day of the year where teachers, parents and students truly connect in a meaningful way in terms of accomplishments related to school.

Prize giving is something I began hearing about a year ago. Volunteers who had already experienced it warned us about it well in advance. But now having lived through it, I think it was a great event to wrap up the school year. When I asked other volunteers in the office to describe prize giving at their school in one word, here’s what they said. Jenny C. from Group 82 said “wild.” Tiffany, also from 82 said “superfluous,” while Corina, also from the same group said “Christmas.” Lisa, from Group 79 summed up the event with the word, “emotional.” My word would have to be “thoughtful.”

Our school began preparing for the event a couple weeks before when the teachers taught the students, years 1-8 dance motions for a Samoan song. Then the older years, 7 and 8 did a dance on their own. Dance and music are a huge part of Samoan culture, so this was a great way for the kids to unwind after 10 months in the classroom. Watching the smiles on their faces as they learned the dances was exciting to see. It also taught them about working together, since it was choreographed, and the younger kids were having to watch the older kids. After listening to the same two songs play over and over and over and over for two weeks, I was one song away from scratching the CD. But now looking back, I realize that whenever I hear those songs, I’ll always remember those kids and our first year together. Just today on the bus into town, one of them was playing on the radio and I just smiled at the thought of our time together.

Food is a huge part of social gatherings in Samoa. Between the help from families in the village, and the teachers, we were planning to feed all the family members who attended the prize giving. I didn’t want to be left out, so I offered to bring a fruit salad and popcorn. Also, the night before prize giving all the kids came up to the school with palm fronds to weave traditional Samoan baskets that the food would be served on. They had probably over 150 baskets! The next morning the food began arriving in huge pots that you would see used in a kitchen of a college campus’ cafeteria. We were busy organizing all the food as it arrived and placing foil in all the baskets from the night before.

For prizes, the teachers go all out. These are people who don’t have a lot of money but splurge for the kids on this one occasion. Many of the kids who receive prizes were receiving bowls and bags of chips, cookies, or candies. I had made certificates for my year 7 English class since they were the kids who I had taught the most throughout the year. I gave awards for the top grades on the final exam (ranking students based on test results and making it public is very common for this culture), as well as for attendance, overall best homework throughout the year, as well as a certificate for the student who washed their hands the most in our hand washing competition. I gave an award for the student who was most improved. That one went to Neueli, who could barely read English at the beginning of the year, but now is doing a wonderful job and is always excited to be in the classroom!

Also, I had a competition with students form years 7 and 8 for good manners. Beginning back in late August when I started the event, I kept track of their manners each day. We had talked about good and bad manners and so this was very helpful for overall classroom management. If they had good manners at the end of the day, they received a mark next to their names. Over the past few months they would come into my room to check their progress and I could tell they were taking it very seriously. Perhaps it was because of the reward: a free trip into the capital to visit the public library and then have lunch at McDonald’s and finish up by getting a double scoop of ice cream.

At the end of November, I counted up who had the most marks next to their name and it was Kolly from year 8. I got permission from my principal who was on board with the program and then spoke to the student’s parents who were also excited for Kolly, who was making his first trip to McDonald’s (and the library). On December 1st we had a great trip and spent about an 1 ½ at the library looking over the books. It was great to see his reaction as we walked in, and especially to hear him read English books with such ease in the children’s section. He had a great hamburger with his Happy Meal and then filled up with his ice cream. I had taken pictures throughout the morning and then made a point of stopping to have some printed off to give to him, knowing he would take them back to the village and share them with all the kids and get them excited for next year’s competition.

Back to the actual day of prize giving, the dances went well and plenty of food was eaten. The principal spoke and gave an overview of our school year and what had been going on in the school. He mentioned our new photo copier and the re-painted library with donated books from New Zealand. I gave a thank you in Samoan to all the parents and teachers, for their welcoming me into the community and looking out for me during my first year.

As the students started heading out the door at the end of the day, a few students brought some small gifts up to me. Luisa gave me a traditional Samoan wooden weapon that her brother had carved. It was beautiful. One of the last students to come up to me is one of my favorites. He handed me a piece of paper that was folded up to create an envelope. On the front it had my name and it said to “open up.” I put it in my pocket, wanting to enjoy reading it later in the day once things had quieted down. But just him giving it to me was enough to bring a couple tears on as I said goodbye. Our school year was ending, although I’d probably see him later that evening on a walk through the village, it was an emotional moment just thinking of his accomplishments and how we had both matured over the last year.

After saying goodbyes to the principal, teachers and school committee, I walked back to my house, changed out of my sweaty shirt and sat down to read my card. I opened the envelope and unfolded another piece of paper written on a piece of graph paper. I read it. “I love my best friend Kyle. Thanks. Saulo.” Below that was written the date, Saulo’s class year, and then the funniest part of the whole card, the expiration date! I started to cry. I was crying thinking about how I had almost left Samoa for an easy way out when things were hard, when life was tough. There were days when I didn’t feel a connection to any of those students. But now I was holding proof in my hand of what hard work and dedication would result in: helping change someone else’s life. That piece of paper alone made every challenge I’ve faced worth it. It confirmed the fact that I had indeed made the right decision by staying here in Samoa, to do the work I was asked to do, to do the work I said I would do, and to do the work those students needed me to do. Although the card had an expiration date of 2020, I’m hoping that the memory of our time together will last Saulo, and the other students for a lifetime.

The certificates I made for year 7 English students.

Some of the food before serving it at prize giving.

With my teachers (in green), principal (in blue), and school committee members (in white) after prize giving.

Students and parents at prize giving.

Monthly manners chart, with Kolly's name at the top.

The food in the ipu kuagiu, or Samoan plates.

When I joined the Peace Corps I knew that I would be finally learning to cook some meals on my own. Always living at home, or at college, I never was in a position where I had to cook my own meals. Of course I could handle the basics like spaghetti, scrambled eggs or other easy fixes. I had even made a cherry pie and banana bread one time. But I guess whenever I made something I followed the directions and measured everything out. If I was fixing oatmeal and the box called for ¾ cups of oats and ½ cup of water, that’s what I put in.

However, living on my own and fixing meals on a regular basis—for the need to survive—has taught me I can bend the rules a bit when it comes to cooking and even experiment. Now when I make my oatmeal, I don’t measure anything. I eye the amount of water I put in to boil. I know how many oats I will need to add to the water to get the oatmeal the right thickness that I like. I sometimes laugh when I think about me measuring for such a simple meal like oatmeal.

I’m finding that cooking is teaching me patience as well. It takes a lot of effort some days to cut up all the vegetables, or to make the tortillas from scratch. Always having the food served to me, never made me appreciate the work and time that goes into making a meal. Even on the days that I’m tired I find that taking the time to make a good meal can help make me feel better in the end.

So what am I cooking, and how does it work? Well I’ve started off with simple things. Instead of buying box macaroni and cheese which is very high in sodium, I now make my own macaroni and cheese and find I like it more than the boxed kind. Then I started adding basil for some color and additional taste. I sometimes make garlic bread to go with this. And since Texas Toast and other popular garlic breads aren’t available here in Samoa, I have to buy garlic cloves (I didn’t know what they were a year ago) and add the chopped garlic to butter in order to make my garlic bread.

I cooked rice for the first time in my life. It sounds like such a simple thing, and after I had done it, I stood there and looked at the rice and told myself, “I really never had done this before, unbelievable!” It was just so easy. I never knew that you had to rinse rice before cooking it either. I use the rice to put into my tortillas or eat it on its own. One time I even added it to some left over spaghetti. Since I’m normally cooking for myself, all that matters is that I like it.

These tortillas I keep mentioning are actually really good. They are better than any tortilla I’ve bought in the stores back in the U.S. because these don’t tear apart when you fill them. They are so moist and soft. They remind me of a taco shell from Chipotle! It does take a little time to make them. All that is required is flour, olive oil, salt and milk. First I kneed the bread and then it sets for 15 minutes before I separate it into small round balls and then they set for 20 minutes. After they set, I use my rolling pin (an old glass Sprite bottle) to roll them out and then they each only take 1 minute to cook on the stove. Sometimes I go all out and fill them with beans, rice, lettuce and cucumber. Other times just rice, or sometimes I eat them by themselves and just put a little butter on them. Recently I’ve found that stir-fried vegetables are really good inside as well.

Stir-fried vegetables are another thing I had never made before but now I love. First I put a little oil in the pan and then add garlic, onion and then put green beans and carrots, and sometimes cucumber in to cook. I add all kinds of seasoning. When some volunteers left back in August, they left me with all of their spices which I now use on a regular basis. Sometimes I add cumin and basil to the vegetables, as well as salt and pepper. It helps make my house smell like a home and really makes me feel like I know how to cook.

Salads are also something I’ve always enjoyed, back home and now here. I normally just put carrots and cucumber in the salad and then use an Italian dressing. I am a huge fan of hard boiled eggs (as is most of my family) but I haven’t fixed any here yet, but soon!

I’ve also done my fair share of grilled cheese sandwiches and tuna melts are my new favorite. I like to top them with cucumber and use whole grain bread! I also tried sweet corn one time last January, but it didn’t even come close to the great taste of Michigan’s sweet corn, so I haven’t done it since.

Since meat is rather expensive here and sometimes hard for transport and store (do to my small refrigerator), I have never cooked meat in my house. I normally eat with my neighbors a couple times a week and am able to have chicken at their house, or splurge on a hamburger when I go into town.

I cook all of my food on a two burner electric stove, which makes me feel even more accomplished. No oven, no broiler, no microwave, just two small burner tops. It requires me using a fair amount of aluminum foil—say aluminum Mom—(inside joke), in order for me to keep things warm. For example, when I’m doing tortillas, garlic bread or French toast, since I can only do one at a time, I stack the finished food in the foil as I do each tortilla or piece of bread individually.

Sometimes I forget how easy a microwave was. There’s a microwave in the Peace Corps office’s kitchen that we can use. Just last weekend I bought a bag of popcorn and popped it there. I actually had two bags so I brought the extra bag back to my house. This week I was trying to make life easy for myself and performed an experiment. I tried to pop microwave popcorn on my stove top. I got my largest pan as warm as I could and then put the bag inside. Unfortunately, nothing happened. Yet I was so determined to have popcorn that night that I got out my kernels and vegetable oil and did it the old fashioned way. It tasted just as good, but just required a couple extra steps.

Breakfast has become one of my favorite meals; in part, because it’s still cool in the morning and I find it more enjoyable to eat when it’s 84 (normal morning temperature) as compared to 94 (normal afternoon temperature). I was always a big cereal fan back home, so I’ve continued the trend here. There are a handful of Kellogg’s cereals to choose from at the stores in Apia, but they are very expensive. However, there is one cereal called, Weet-Bix which is reasonably priced and happens to be my new favorite cereal in Samoa. It’s not just my favorite —it also claims to be New Zealand’s number one choice for breakfast cereal. It’s 97 percent whole grain and I love to cut up a banana to mix with it. It’s not uncommon for this to be my lunch or dinner if I’m in a hurry or just too tired to cook something “elaborate.”

Other breakfast food I enjoy: I mentioned oatmeal, which I add brown sugar to. I also enjoy eggs or French toast. Back in December and January I was doing a bunch of pancakes from a Betty Crocker box, but I’ve found that French toast is easier and cheaper. I also enjoy a few crackers. The crackers here in Samoa come from New Zealand and they are much thicker than the crackers in the U.S. They are really good to spread peanut butter or jam onto for a snack or with a meal.

And now I must mention my biggest food addiction here in Samoa: peanut butter! Peanut butter is reasonably priced. I always was a Jiff person back home, but since Jiff isn’t sold in Samoa, I’ve switched to Skippy. I eat peanut butter almost every day, and sometimes several times a day. It’s actually something I’m trying to get control of. Because it gets so hot here I keep the peanut butter in the refrigerator, which makes it easily accessible throughout the day. As I mentioned earlier, it’s great to spread on crackers for a snack, but is also great to eat straight from the jar. Yes, that may sound bad, but several other volunteers do it too from what I hear. It must be a real weak spot amongst volunteers here. There’s just something about the taste which is comforting and tasty and very addicting. Even when I wasn’t eating it just from the jar, if I would spread it on crackers, when I was done I would dip the knife into the jar and take a bite before sticking it back in the fridge. Now I have a new rule that I can’t eat it unless I’m sitting down and it can’t be from the jar. Believe it or not, but there’s something less appealing about eating peanut butter from a bowl as opposed to the jar itself, so this has helped me cut down on the amount of peanut butter I’m consuming. I was going through a jar a week (16.3 oz), but now I can make that last me two weeks!

As I mentioned I eat with my neighbors a couple times a week. I’ve enjoyed introducing some of these food to them, and my buddy Milo, likes to come over and watch me fix the food from time to time. One night I took a big tossed salad over there and he devoured it—a 12 year boy who loves salad! I think it’s been a part of the Peace Corps experience for me to learn more about their foods and for them to learn more about mine. Food seems to be universal language that brings different cultures together all around the world.

I hope you have a better idea now of what types of things I enjoy cooking and how I go about it. I still have a lot to learn, but I’m feeling much more confident than I was a year ago at this time. I’m still here to write about it, so I must be doing something right. Below I’ve typed up a list of some of the things I get at the store and the prices in Samoan Tala and then the U.S. equivalent based on an exchange rate of $2.42. And now before I close, I have to confess one more thing that I’ve fixed from time to time. My mom wouldn’t be too happy with me because it has raw eggs in it. Yes, you’ve probably guessed right: cookie dough!!! Except, after I make it here I don’t have to feel guilty about eating it raw, considering I don’t have an oven to bake them in!

Food / Samoan Tala / U.S. Dollar

1 Liter of milk = 3.80 / 1.58

Oatmeal (750 g) = 6.40 / 2.64

Crackers (375 g) = 3.00 / 1.23

Potatoes (2 lbs) = 2.10 / .86

Carrots (1 lb) = 3.08 / 1.27

Eggs (1 doz) = 5.80 / 2.39

Rice (3 lbs) = 4.70 / 1.94

M&Ms (46 g) = 2.70 / 1.11

Coke (355 ml) = 2.50 / 1.03

Kellogg’s Raisin

Bran (15 oz) = 17.00 / 7.02

Bananas (15 small) = 2.00 / .83

Papaya (1 large) = 3.00 / 1.23

Bananas from the market. Smaller than the kind you find in the States, but the same great taste.

A healthy omlet and French toast.

Grilled Cheese and "Sweet Corn."

Spices make food taste much better!

This is what my kitchen area looks like while I'm preparing for a dinner for five guests!

I’ve often thought it is a unique situation that I’m in: I have never owned or rented my own place back in the States, yet here I am living for “free” in another country and with a view of the Pacific Ocean! And this living arrangement also allows me the chance to entertain, and that is what I’ve been doing more often than not, this past week.

It began last Friday, November 12th, when four of my friends from the Peace Corps came out to my house to celebrate my birthday a few days early. I planned a meal of spaghetti, stir-fried vegetables and garlic bread. My guests were Kaelin, Cassie, Jenny C. and Jenny M., all from my group, 82. There is always a rumor going around the office that my site is so remote and hard to get to. That may be true, but nonetheless, the girls made the trek out to my place to help wish me a happy birthday. They were given a lift from the host family of Jenny C. I started to laugh when I saw them arrive—four girls wearing dresses, jumping out of the back of a pickup truck. It was great to see them.

Jenny M., who happens to be a great cook, had made me a chocolate cake. I gave them the tour of the house and then we started dinner. I kept commenting to them how nice it was to have other people in the house; sometimes I forget how alone I am out here. We turned on some music and had a nice visit.

Dinner was wonderful and I am still amazed at how much I can cook on my little electric, two-burner stovetop. We all had seconds and got really full. Then I remembered we still had cake, and I had made some chocolate pudding to go with it. My dad had sent some candles in his birthday package so the girls lit them and put them on my cake. I was saying goodbye to a long year that had so many ups and downs, so after they sang to me, it was then time to make a new wish for a new year. Each birthday I often wonder what the next one will bring.

We cleaned up all the dishes as we complained about how full we were. As we were doing dishes I mentioned how having them there with me and then the smell of the cake, really helped it feel like my birthday. Because I’m from Michigan and 40 degree weather is common by the middle of November, I’m still getting use to it being in the mid 90s on my birthday here in Samoa.

The following day, Saturday, I had more visitors come out. The Peace Corps office had asked a bunch of volunteers from my group to host one or two members from Group 83, who arrived in October. They were visiting us for a few days for a shadow visit. Peace Corps wanted them to experience what life is like for a volunteer on a typical day, since they themselves will be heading to their own villages next month after their swearing-in.

I hosted Mike and Danny. They arrived on Saturday on the bus and for the second day in a row I gave a tour of my house! We spent some time visiting, but in all honesty, I really thought they would get bored out here for their three day visit. Most of us volunteers had discussed this beforehand. As much as we enjoyed the company, our lives are pretty simple compared to the lives we lived back in America.

Despite the slow pace of life in the village, I think the visit was a good opportunity for them. We took a walk through my village and they got to have all the kids stare at them since they were the new attraction. I cooked dinner the first night. On the menu: homemade macaroni and cheese with vegetables and garlic bread.

Sunday was slow as always, but we made it to the Catholic Church and then toonai (the huge meal after church on Sundays). We ate toonai at my neighbor’s house. I had gone down to the store early in the morning to buy chicken to give for the meal. Whenever I eat at my neighbor’s house, I always sit with my legs crossed on the floor. I’ve gotten a lot of practice with this the past year and my legs have been toughened up for long periods of sitting. As I watched Mike and Danny grab their legs as they fell asleep, it reminded me of the days mine use to hurt. I can’t remember when they started feeling better for me, but as the months went by, they gradually got use to being crossed for up to an hour at a time.

Sunday afternoon was spent relaxing at my house. It got up to95 degrees that day and I wanted to lay down for a nap but my bed just feels to warm in the afternoon, so I put a towel on my floor and slept there for about an hour. In the evening I introduced the guys to the card game, Phase Ten. Danny won that and then it was time for bed.

Monday was school and Mike and Danny visited. Monday was my actual birthday, and the kids and teachers had found this out. They all sang happy birthday to me at the end of the day in Samoan and English! I received a couple of carved kava bowls from one of the students in year eight. His dad had made them, but he had been telling me about them the whole week before. I could tell how proud he was to give them to me. He also had his sister who is in high school make a card for me. I wish he had tried to make the card himself, but at least he had the thought.

Danny and Mike got to meet my teachers and see the kids. I explained some of the projects we had been working on this year. Our final exams were last week so this was a slow week at school, but I had a couple of kids read to them.

After school on Monday, Danny had to make a phone call and I wanted to call home as well. As the empty bus headed back out of the village we climbed on for a lift out to my area where I get a cell phone signal. We each made our calls before making the walk back to my house in the hot sun. That evening we went over to my neighbor’s house again for dinner. They had a huge meal prepared for us and had made a birthday cake for me. I’ve always appreciated receiving a birthday cake each year, and I think it’s something that Americans come to expect. But these past two birthdays in Samoa have really given me a chance to pause and realize some of the sacrifices others are willing to make so I have a special day.

Birthdays aren’t normally celebrated by the typical Samoan family. Everyone knows when their birthday is, but there aren’t normally cakes and ice cream or balloons. My neighbors don’t have a lot of money and for them to have a birthday cake for me really made the day extra special. As I sat there with them, Danny and Mike, it was a perfect image that reflected my own life this past year. I thought about Mike and Danny and related to them, knowing how I felt a year ago, sitting where they were—legs sore, trying to grasp the basics of the language. But then I looked at myself and how I had changed this past year and it was really a special moment that helped illustrate how comfortable I have become here since my last birthday. After they sang to me and we ate the cake, we played some cards before Danny, Mike and I went back to my place.

Danny and Mike left on Tuesday morning. It was great to have all the company, and especially during my birthday celebrations. I’m glad I was able to share my experiences and routine with some of the new members and I hope it helps give them hope that things do settle down and become normal. Those first months were the hardest, and most challenging, but I’m so happy I was here for my 26th birthday!

Danny listening to a student read, Six Ducks in a Pond.

Mike listening to a student read during his shadow visit.

Celebrating my birthday!

The kava bowls given by Kolly from year 8, as a birthday gift

Me in front of the birthday sign my mom sent all the way from Michigan. She has hung a birthday sign on my birthday since I was young!

The kids took a picture of me

under the waterfall.

I can still remember when I was a child and would play out in the back yard digging holes and trying to build little rivers and streams using the garden hose. I asked my Dad on more than one occasion how we could build a pond. Before I was old enough to know better, I thought that just involved pouring water into a hole for so long that it would eventually stop saturating into the ground. I never mastered that and remember asking my Dad to get some plastic at the hardware store to keep the water in the “pond.” I remember he picked some up and I made a small pond and was very pleased with the experience.

There are also other occasions where I had a fascination with streams and water pools. I can recall visiting our local landscape nursery and always admiring the decorative fountains and trickling water pools they had on display. When I was in 4th and 5th grade I use to love digging trenches out on the school playground after a heavy rain, allowing the pools of water to flow like rivers around the playground. Going to play miniature golf as a seven year old was less about hitting the ball down the green turf and more about walking over bridges and amongst waterfalls that made up the landscaping. And during summer visits to the shores of Lake Michigan, I have fond memories of building sand castles with moats and little streams. All of these memories came flashing back this week as I set out on an adventure to the “Secret Garden!”

It all began on Wednesday. A group of boys who normally hang out in my room well after the bell rings at the close of school, were still lingering around and wanting to play a vocabulary game they enjoy. By that time, I had decided I wanted to go for a walk since it was such a nice day. I asked the boys if they wanted to go with me. They hid their school bags behind the bushes in the front of my house and we were off down the road. Along the way they would stop and break open an o’o, which is a germinating coconut. It has the texture of a sponge, but is a pretty tasty treat.

After walking for about 10 minutes, we reached the first of many streams that lead out of the mountains around my village. At first we were heading for the stream to get a drink of water, but soon we found ourselves walking into the thick brush, and away from the road. The kids were fast on their feet as they walked over the slippery rocks without any trouble. I, on the other hand, searched for a walking stick to support my clumsy body and slowly maneuvered around, and over the rocks which had water rushing over them. The rocks that weren’t under water were covered in a slimy moss and made the trek extra adventurous. One of the boys noticed my lack of abilities in walking up a river and gave me a steady hand.

We only went back up the stream about 50 yards before the kids found what they were looking for. It was a beautiful little waterfall that poured into a deep water pool. They all jumped in without any hesitation while I sat on a rock nearby. As I looked around that’s when those childhood memories struck me. I thought about how ironic it was that I spent so much of my childhood dreaming up how to build a fantasy world of waterfalls, streams and pools in my back yard, and here these kids had grown up with this all of there lives. The first thing I wondered, was how they viewed it. To me, as a 25 year old who grew up in the middle of the flat corn fields of Michigan, I thought it was pretty darn awesome that these kids have this kind of a “playground” just minutes from their houses. The next thing that went through my head was what dream worlds do they want to create for themselves if they already have something like this.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t planned on going swimming anywhere when we left my house so I didn’t have a suit, and because I hadn’t put mosquito repellent on and we were in the “jungle,” I was getting swarmed by all sorts of mosquitoes. After letting them swim for 20 minutes we decided to head out with the plans of coming back on Friday, and me wearing my swimming suit so I could cool off as well.

Friday morning, they all showed up at school asking right away if I was going to go to the river to go swimming. I said yes and I could tell they were pretty excited. So after school on Friday I prepared myself for our adventure. I had my mosquito repellent, sun block, water, swimsuit, and camera. After we arrived I was happy to see my walking stick from Wednesday was still safely hidden in the tall grass for me to use. Nonetheless, I managed to slip and fall on a rock and almost brought Milo down with me.

Friday’s visit was more impressive than Wednesday’s, due to the fact that on Wednesday night we had a torrential downpour that lasted a couple of hours and thus the river was flowing with a much greater force than earlier in the week. The boys were walking up to a ledge and jumping into the deep pool. I took a plunge and they all laughed. I worked my way over to the waterfall and sat underneath as the water came pouring down onto my head. It made for a nice back massage.

While I was sitting under the waterfall, I felt something dangling around my head. I turned and looked up and one of my students had draped a vine down the face of the waterfall and was prompting all the boys to climb up. The vine could have supported one boy, maybe even two, but not four! In the process of me telling them to get down, they came down—in a huge pile—and fell on to me. Luckily everyone was alright and I made it clear there wouldn’t be any more swinging from vines.

As we were in that pool I kept looking up and wondering what was at the next level above us. That water was coming from somewhere much higher than where we were. There was a safe path around the waterfall that we decided to explore. The boys charged up the hill without any trouble and I brought up the rear. Saulo from my year seven class was one step ahead of me. Saulo is one of my strongest students and has fairly good English. As we were climbing up a steep part of the hill he was giving me commands as to which branches to grab.

I’ve been teaching the kids a number of vocabulary words this year and some of them have been really challenging. As we continued up the hill Saulo made my day when he used one of the vocabulary words in the perfect context. The word was hoist, and as I was looking for my next step in the slippery mud with ants running down my arm, he yelled out, “Grab here and hoist yourself.!” It was nice to know that even under these conditions he was able to recall vocabulary words.

We all safely made it up the hill and found another pool of water from another waterfall. This pool was about twice as large, although much too shallow to do any jumping into. I took a few pictures of the kids and had them take one of me. The bugs were horrendous so we decided to head back down. We revisited the first pool of water for a quick cooling off and then headed back out to the road. I was more careful on my way out and managed to stay on my feet.

As we gathered near the road I tossed my walking stick into the weeds in the hopes that it would stay hidden for my next visit. I felt a bit like I was hiding the key to the Secret Garden. Although most everyone in my village has swam at that same waterfall at some point in their lives, I still left with the feeling that it was something that I had discovered all on my own. Perhaps that’s because it helped to make one of my childhood dreams come true, of having that place where streams rushed over rocks, and waterfalls emptied into deep pools below.

As we walked back in the hot Samoan sun, our suits and shirts started to dry. I was so glad that I decided to go for a walk this week and so pleased at where it ended up.

The boys swimming in the pool below.

Saulo is my student who knew the vocabulary word, "hoist," during our river adventure.

Walking from my village to catch

a bus on Friday after school.

I thought I would dedicate this entry to updating you on a number of different things going on the past couple of weeks.

1. The rainy season seems to have arrived on time this year. It typically begins in October, and I’ve noticed this past week a return to those days when it rains whenever it wants to, followed by sunshine. I have yet to experience that first torrential downpour of the season, but it will be fun to see when it happens. A torrential downpour in Samoa grabs all your attention and you are lured in by its pounding force and just stand at the window in hesitation, wondering if it could possibly rain any harder. Sometimes it does.

Unfortunately, because the rainy season is beginning, it makes life a bit more challenging. I’ve had to cancel my daily run for the past two days and finding a time to do laundry seems to be a losing bet against Mother Nature. But somehow I made it through last year, so I guess I can do it again.

2. Many Samoans eat corned beef from a can, otherwise known as pisupo in Samoan. It is extremely high in salt and fat and it is one thing I’ve chosen not to eat while here. However, on a few different occasions I have been given a can (or two) as a gift, and to turn down that gift would be culturally insensitive, so I always seem to have a stack of pisupo on my kitchen counter. On Thursday I decided I would open a can for the two teachers at my school. I knew that they liked it, so I thought it would be a good solution to get rid of it. I decided to cut some carrots up to make the meal somewhat healthy. I warmed the corned beef and took it over to the school. The teachers seemed really surprised and grateful. However, once they started eating it I could tell they didn’t care for it. I’m not sure if I overcooked it or if the expiration date had passed, but because they couldn’t just set the food aside, they thanked me for it after a couple bites and then called in some kids to finish the rest. I could hardly keep from laughing as the kids ate the food. I don’t think they cared for the carrots either.

3. Remember the term caveat emptor? It was a business principal that came from England which meant, “buyer beware.” Well I’ve found that it also applies in Samoa. I had been buying, and enjoying a chocolate breakfast cereal here that was very similar to Coco Puffs, although I’ve bought my last package a few weeks ago. The last batch I bought looked different when it was in the milk, and also tasted much different than all the other packages I had bought in the past. I checked the expiration date and that was fine, and it wasn’t the milk. I took the bag back to the convenient store where I bought it. Of course I didn’t have a receipt, but I tried to explain my situation. The store clerk said there wasn’t anything he could do because the food came from another distributor, but didn’t hesitate to sample some of the cereal just to make sure. He stuck his hand into the bag—the same hand that had been working the cash register all morning—and took a few bites. He said they tasted the same, but got a second opinion from his colleague behind the counter, who stuck her hand into the bag— the same hand that had been stocking shelves all morning—and she said they were the same. Just to be sure they were in fact the same taste, they both asked the lady waiting behind me in the check out line to try some, and she stuck her hand into the bag—I don’t know where hers had been—but she delivered the same ruling as the first two.

Cereal is not cheap here, especially for someone on a Peace Corps budget, so I took the cereal back to my house with me in the hopes of figuring out what to do with it. A few days latter at school, my year seven students had done a great job so it dawned on me, “give it to the kids.” They had never tasted the cereal before and would go crazy for cereal (most Samoan don’t buy cereal because of the price and because many families don’t have refrigerators for the milk). It ended up being a huge hit and the kids loved it. I even gave some to the teachers!

4. Thanks to Lisa, a Peace Corps Volunteer from Group 79, (who has just extended in Samoa for a fourth year!) I found a man who lives near Apia and makes soap at his house. I went out to his house with Lisa last Saturday and bought a small square block of soap for only 4 tala—less than $2.00 U.S. Dollars! He uses the coconut oil in making the soap and has many different scents and designs to choose from. I’ll be making a visit back there again soon.

5. I’ve had a fever twice within the past two weeks. This isn’t all that uncommon for volunteers, although I had gone several months with good health. Having a fever just slows me down here. It is hard being sick back home, but being sick in a foreign country is harder. The language, and daily routines seem a bit more harder on those days. But I’m back to feeling pretty good now and hopping it stays that way!

6. September and October have gone by so fast and November is going to do the same I’m sure. We start final exams at school in one more week and those will last two weeks. After that it will be all about end of the school year cleaning and preparing for prize giving (look for a future blog on this in December). Right now I have that feeling my mom always talked about at the end of the school year where she is trying to get stuff done with the kids. There is so much more I want to do with them, but I guess some of it will have to wait until next year.

7. I have further proof that the “coconut wireless” is alive and well here in Samoa. I told only my neighbors who I eat dinner with regularly, that I was going back home to the United States during Christmas; I purposefully only told my neighbors, wanting to see how fast the word would spread. In less than a week, most of my students seem to know and several people throughout the village who I’ve talked to, so I guess I won’t need to announce it any further.

8. It is continuing to get dark out later and light out earlier as we head towards Summer here in the Southern Hemisphere. Sunrise is somewhere around 7a.m. and sunset around 7:45p.m. And that reminded me about a neat feat that I will have accomplished once I return to Samoa in January. Within less than a months time, I will have lived a part of every season. When I leave Samoa in December it will be spring here, but fall when I arrive home. Winter will begin while I’m at home and subsequently, when I return to Samoa in January it will then be summer! So let’s get this straight, the order of the seasons is spring, fall, winter, summer—right?

9. The new group of trainees (Group 83) arrived safely a few weeks ago. They will be sworn in as volunteers in December. We welcomed them a couple weeks ago with our traditional fiafia which included a night of Samoan dances, a great slide show put together by Matt from Group 81, and a buffet dinner cooked by us (or picked up by us if you got Chinese take-out like I did). They are currently out in the training villages for language, cultural, medical, safety and teaching training. Best of luck to them as they continue to slog through the first couple of months in country.

10. My last bit of news is actually about family. I found out on Thursday, October 21st that my cousin Anita and her husband, Phil, are expecting their first child! I received a text message from my sister announcing the fantastic news. Unfortunately, I’ll be in Samoa during her delivery, but I’ll be looking forward to meeting them after my close of service. Congratulations to Anita and Phil!

11. And just because I didn’t want this to turn into a “list of 10”, I’ll let you know that my birthday is on November 15th!

The waterfall I have to cross over was flowing pretty heavy on Friday.

The view as I walked from my village!

These two guys visited with me during the last part of my walk. They asked for me to take their picture.

I recently received a letter from a good friend of my mom’s, Char Snyder. In the letter Char asked a number of questions and then kindly apologized if she was too nosy asking any of them. But she had no need to apologize because they were great questions, and questions that help me reflect on my time here in Samoa. They are the types of questions which I never ask myself, yet great to-the-point types of questions that are important to think about. Therefore, I thought I would take this opportunity to look at a couple of the many she asked and share the answers with all of you.

Three questions stood out to me the most:

What do you miss the most? (other than family)

After living away from home for a year, you might think that this question would be easy to answer, when in fact, it is one of the hardest to respond to. The longer I’ve been away, the more I’ve realized that I can do without almost everything that I had before which made life convenient. I had a car, but now I can’t drive. I use to use a washing machine, and dishwasher on a weekly basis, but now I do those chores by hand. I use to walk into stores that had a sliding glass door, but now I have to pull or push. I use to peal off stamps and they’d already be sticky on the other side, but now I have to lick them. I use to pop popcorn in a microwave, now I pop it on the stove. I guess maybe this is what it was like to live in the 1970’s?

Each of these examples shows how life has changed for me, but to say that I miss something the most is very difficult to do. But perhaps the thing I miss most isn’t a thing, but a concept. What I really miss at times is the language and culture. Even though I’m living in a country where many people know at least some English, it has never been the same as when I was living at home.

While I’ve been living here and learning to speak a new language, I’m often thinking two thoughts in my head at any given time during a conversation. The first is, “what are the words I need to make this thought make sense?” The other is, “is this person understanding what I’m saying?” Recently I’ve noticed that when I’m watching a movie and two people are speaking to each other, I find that internally, I’m asking myself if the other person understands what the other person is saying. Or if one of them says a big word, I think to myself that the other person won’t know that word. And then I catch myself and say, “of course they understand, they are both speaking English.” That is when I miss being around those who speak English as a first language. Volunteers obviously have the opportunity to speak English when we are together, but it never seems to last long enough. I’m looking forward to the day when I can go from the morning to the night without thinking about what I’m saying or what others are saying to me. To go to the gas station and talk with the sales clerk, or go to a restaurant and be able to eavesdrop on the person sitting next to me will be an amazing experience.

Did you feel prepared?

Yes, but let me explain. I’m not sure if anyone can fully prepare for the experience that the Peace Corps throws at a volunteer, especially given the fact that each volunteer has unique situations that belong only to them. But at the same time, when I look back at all the challenges I’ve faced, I feel as though I had the right “tricks in the bag,” to solve the problems and come up with a reasonable solution to each.

What is the most unexpected delight about this adventure?

My unexpected delight has been being so highly thought of by the people in Samoa. This is a culture that is very friendly and very neighborly. As a Peace Corps volunteer, that places me at a certain level by itself in terms of the kind of respect I receive from Samoans. This is true wherever I may travel in the country. Many times when visiting with a taxi driver in the capital they will ask me what I’m doing here. When I tell them I’m a Peace Corps volunteer living and working here for two years I am frequently thanked by them for my service. This type of general respect exists throughout the entire country from village to village.

But then there is another type of respect that I receive within my village. This is the place where they know me much better than any taxi driver ever would. These are the families that live beside me and whose children I teach. I walk down the same road they do and ride the same bus they do. I speak the same language and wear the same cloths. Because of all of this, I am, in a way, a superstar in my village. It is a type of attention that many volunteers experience in posts all over the world, and a type of attention that Peace Corps reminds us will vanish once we return to the United States. Here in the village I am like the fish in the fishbowl with everyone looking in. But back home I’m just Kyle, not Kyle the Peace Corps volunteer.

It is hard for me to go for a walk through my village and not be followed by 10 children or waved to by 10 adults. When I go for a walk everyone watches and takes notice. I’m not saying that I like this type of attention, but it does make me feel special and loved within the village.

Once I return to the United States I hope to develop closer relationships with my neighbors wherever I may move to in the years ahead. As Americans we tend to stick to ourselves and maybe just wave or smile at our neighbors, instead of really getting to know them. I love how Samoans interact with one another and treat one another as family.

Random Photos:

My year 7 students loved cutting card holders for the backs of the library books! It kept their attention for a few hours and they wanted to do more!

Let's just say it was easier going up the coconut tree than going down it.

I realized one day how lucky I am to have such great tropical fruits available and for very little money if at all. The coconuts I had my neighbor get and the mango (front left) is from a kid at school. The bananas were just a couple tala at the market and the papaya (large, center)was a couple tala as well!

Teacher's Appreciation Day was in September and one student gave me an ula. Here we are together. He got some brownie points!

Recently several volunteers from group 80 have been completing their two years of service here in Samoa and heading back to the United States. Although it’s sad to see them go, they did leave us with some parting gifts. Actually, they left us with all the stuff they either didn’t want or couldn’t fit inside their suitcases. In the volunteers resource room at the Peace Corps office is a pile of stuff labeled “free.” There always seems to be a “free” pile somewhere in the office, but only accumulates good stuff when a group heads home.

A few weeks ago I found myself poking around in the pile, not expecting to find anything too exciting. But suddenly I spotted a black Sony radio. It was in good condition, but a bit outdated with a cassette player as a feature. The antenna was a bit worn, but overall it looked pretty good, and I could hardly complain since it was free. I had looked at radios several times in Apia, but never felt like spending the money on one. It was always one of those things I thought I could do without. Being a wise volunteer, I took the time to plug it into the wall and actually make sure the thing worked because it could have been completely possible someone put a broken piece of junk in the free pile. Luckily, it worked. I put it in my bag and went to catch my bus.

Later that week, I decided to test the radio out at my house. I turned it to FM and slid the tuner. There were a handful of stations in Samoan, but I was holding out for an English one. Most people in the villages have radios and love to crank the volume up to levels that can be annoying at times, so I’ve heard plenty of music off the radio the past nine 11 months, just not in English.

But then I got lucky. Turning the tuner as slowly as I could, I finally dialed in on an English station, 93-KHK, which was playing American music. I didn’t recognize the song though. I’ve probably only heard a handful of American songs the past 11 months. When it comes to my knowledge of current day hip hop back home I am out of the loop.

Soon I heard the radio announcer and realized the radio station was coming from American Samoa, a U.S. Territory just 60 miles to the east of Samoa. American Samoa has American money, it has more American fast food chains than Samoa (Samoa only has one McDonald’s). I was hearing advertisements for Carl’s Junior and KFC. It reminded me of home. The style of the radio announcer, and the tone in his voice made me think I was riding in the car back home. In the United Sates, the commercials on the radio became annoying really fast, but here I found myself glued to this radio in amazement. I had gone 11 months without this kind of access in my house, but all of a sudden I had this outlet to the outside world.

All day I kept the radio on, almost as a companion. I had it sitting on top of my refrigerator and every time I went to get a drink of water, I would find myself just standing there listening to the music or the announcer. I kind of felt like I stepped back into history and was sharing an experience my grandparents had when they all use to gather with their families around the radio. I never would have known that a radio could have been so enjoyable.

Later in the evening I was preparing dinner, I was listening once again and heard a Fox News update from the U.S. with the day’s top headlines. I heard that President Obama had been traveling in Ohio, pitching his new economic plan—which I didn’t know anything about. I’m someone who used to be in front of the T.V. at 6:30 every night for the evening news. They even played a sound bite of President Obama’s speech, and I heard his voice for the first time in months. For a brief moment I felt this weird connection to my former life.

October is the beginning of cyclone season here in Samoa and last year the winds were swirling as Cyclone Rene grazed the coast of Samoa. This left me trying to translate the radio updates in Samoan, coming from my neighbor’s house. It will be nice this season to have a radio signal to know the latest on any cyclones that may come our way.

As the months go on, I think I’ll use the radio in small doses though. There has always been something peaceful about being alone without having a ton of background noise. I guess it is the typical image that people relate to when they think about the Peace Corps experience. Yet, I’m thankful for my little black Sony radio with the cassette player. Of course I don’t have any cassettes to play, they were all packed into my memory box back home in the late 1990’s. But luckily I still have 93-KHK.

Editor’s note: This next week, October 7, 2010, will mark my one year anniversary of arriving here in Samoa. This type of occasion causes me to reflect on the past year and consider where I’ve come from, where I am, and where I plan to go. Recently, I sat down with Myself and answered some questions on a variety of topics. Below you will find the transcripts from the interview, which was conducted by Kyle.

Kyle: Congratulations Myself, on making it through your first year of Peace Corps service in Samoa! This must be a special moment in your service. Can you tell us what your feelings are after 12 months in Samoa?

Myself: Thank you for this opportunity to share some of my experiences from this past year. As this date has neared, I have been reminded about how I felt when I use to look forward to my four month anniversary and then five and six months. As each month passed, I felt a little bit stronger, and a bit more at ease. And that ease has continued along the way. Perhaps it is the best way to describe how I’m feeling now at my one year anniversary. I’ve been in this country long enough now to feel very relaxed and comfortable about where I am.

Kyle: Thinking back to who you were a year ago, how do you think you have changed?

Myself: I feel that change is so hard to mark during the Peace Corps service. Many of the ways I’ve changed I may not fully realize until I complete my service and get back home. Coming into this experience we all realize that we are going to change, and that leaves us volunteers often asking when the change is taking place and what is it that is changing us? But from what I’ve learned this past year, the change is very gradual. It is so hard to pinpoint one single date and say, “that is the day I started to change.” I think the change began the minute I clicked send on my application to the Peace Corps. From that moment on it has been a part of my daily vocabulary.

But realizing that change doesn’t happen at one single moment, I can say that I have become a more patient person as the months have gone on. Patience is required in so much of what I do. Being one of the most remote volunteers in the country leaves me relying on patience when traveling to and from the capital. Patience is tested when speaking the language, or trying to understand the culture. Patience was at work in those early months when I was still getting use to my house being infested with cockroaches. This patience thing comes in so many different forms that it really does start to slow your life down and cause you to reflect more and take a few deep breaths at times.

Kyle: Can you recall a particular day or moment when things just didn’t seem to be going right? What got you through those tough moments to where you are today?

Myself: I’ll never forget those first weeks out at my house after I moved in. It was mid December and almost Christmas, although it never felt like it here in the tropics. I can remember waking up each morning with this awful feeling in my stomach. I felt nervous and anxious and would just pace around inside my house wondering what I was doing here. I had never lived more than 45 minutes away from home in my entire life and then all of a sudden I made this huge move. I had always heard about homesickness, but never felt it. I’ve been on vacations before overseas where I start to miss home, but homesickness is a whole other level.

On one particular day I was getting ready to leave my house to go out into the village and do some introductory visits. I can remember getting all my stuff around. I got dressed, put sun block on and then locked the door. I began to walk up the hill near my house and into the village when I just froze. I turned around and went back into the house where I proceeded to fix a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese that I had been sent from home.

I eventually made it out of the house, but looking back on that moment I can now see how much I’ve grown. Back then I was longing for anything that would keep my mind close to home, such as that box of macaroni and cheese. Those were the days that I was growing the most though, I believe. They were the days when I was learning to live away from home and learn to live here.

Sometimes when I’m walking up that hill near my house, I smile and remember that day I turned around and went back inside. It gives me motivation to keep going and to see what new things lay ahead in this experience.

Kyle: I understand that you have been teaching at the primary school now for eight months. How are things going at school and how have you seen the students change this past year?

Myself: I think these kids are giving me the perfect gift for my one year anniversary: they are learning how to read! Within the past month I have seen some huge gains made by my students. One of my year seven students who was one of the lower students in the class is reading words he couldn’t, just a few months ago. Just this past week he had one of the higher scores on a test, where as he use to score the lowest. All along I had been telling myself I was making a difference for these kids, but now to have the proof in front of me each day is really inspiring.

Kyle: What other projects are you working on at the school?

Myself: The library has been a major project of mine for the past couple of months. We were able to get roughly 2,000 English books donated to our school from libraries in New Zealand. They are children’s books, easy readers, and there are also class sets of many books. One of the big hardware stores here in Samoa, Bluebird Hardware, was gracious enough to donate four gallons of paint to the school and I’ve been working with the students to paint the library’s walls and bookshelves. We are just about finished with the painting and getting ready to organize the books so that we can establish a check out system.

Kyle: I understand that many Peace Corps volunteers find a routine that helps them make life run smoothly. Can you tell us a little bit about your daily routine?

Myself: Well I normally wake up around 6:15a.m. and get breakfast started soon after. I’ve really enjoyed breakfast as a time to wake up and read while I’m eating. I enjoy fixing oatmeal, scrambled eggs and some days French Toast! While I’m eating the kids begin to arrive at school and walk right past my house. Every morning I have about 10 students say, “Good morning Kyle” (teacher’s in Samoa go by their first name with the students). Shortly after, I head over to school myself, which is about a seven second walk.

School starts at 8:00a.m. and normally finishes around 12:30 or 1:00 in the afternoon. After school I either work on lessons for the rest of the week or do work in the library. I normally grab a quick and simple lunch. By this time of the day it’s normally 95 degrees in my house and I don’t feel much like cooking too much. A salad is usually a good lunch.

In the afternoon I either do laundry, write letters or read. Most people stay inside their house and out of the sun during the afternoon because it’s just so hot out. I’ve tried to visit families during the afternoon but most of the time they are always sleeping!

In the late afternoon I normally do dishes and listen to the radio. Then I get ready to go jogging around 4 or 4:30. Before I go jogging I do my lifting, which consists of using a small wooden bench in my living room as a literal, bench-press. Then I’m off down the long, steep and winding road. I jog 20 minutes out, where I am able to get a cell phone signal to call home or text a Peace Corps volunteer. Normally after about 20 minutes the mosquitoes are starting to eat me alive so I head back in for another 20 minute jog.

When I get back I shower and then either go to my neighbor’s house for dinner or prepare my own dinner some nights of the week. If I go to my neighbors I normally go around dusk and they always have dinner ready for me when I get there. When I’m over there with them I try to speak only in Samoan. It has been a great way for me to develop my language skills. After we are done eating, we normally play cards for a bit. Most nights I help the kids with their English homework. After that, Milo, who is 12, and Alofa, who is seven, walk me back over to my house. I’m not afraid to walk by myself, but it’s kind of become tradition that they walk with me. We say goodnight and then I tuck myself away fro the night. This is the time of day when I normally read my Bible, and write in my journal. I like to read one of several books I have going and then get ready for bed around 10 or 10:30.

All Peace Corps volunteers have noted how early we seem to go to bed here. I remember when I was in college and would get out of marching band rehearsal at 8p.m. and eat dinner at 8:30 and start homework at 9:30!! But I’ve heard it mentioned more than once, that because we are dealing with a new language and culture every day, that can be exhausting and at 10:30 we are ready to crash.

Kyle: Is there something weird about your daily routine that makes you laugh?

Myself: Oh yes. Every night I have a procedure for getting into the mosquito net. First I tap around the outside to make sure there aren’t any huge spiders, cockroaches or centipedes lurking around. Then I shut the light off and quickly crawl under and tuck the net in under the foam mattress. I then take my flashlight and examine the interior of the net to make sure there are no centipedes. It does seem like a bit of a hassle and some nights I just laugh, but I’ve always been told that the one time you don’t check is the night you get bitten and centipede bites are the worst kind of bite you can get in Samoa! Luckily I haven’t experienced it and am just going by those who have.

Kyle: You mentioned a foam mattress? What is that like sleeping on?

Myself: Well considering during my first week at the house I went without the mattress and was just sleeping on woven sleeping mats, this feels like a plush mattress. It’s gotten indented in a few spots from regular wear and tear, but I guess the worst part is having to lay down on it during the rainy season when it doesn’t cool off below 90 in the house at night and the mattress is so full of humidity that I feel like I’m sleeping on a wet sponge. Other than that it’s great!

Kyle: Mail must help lift your spirits. Do you know how much mail you’ve received this past year?

Myself: I’m actually saving every letter that is sent to me, and as of today I have received 92 letters or cards from family and friends. This isn’t including the dozens of packages that I have received. My aunt Betty has sent me lots of chocolate and even some of her homemade strawberry jam. Aunt Carolyn has sent lots of pictures of the family and made me two pillow cases with a tropical pattern. My uncle Jamie has sent novels, such as On the Road, by Jack Kerouac, and a number of old Michigan history articles and magazines. Uncle Bruce has sent pictures from home and some Girl Scout cookies, among other things. My sister Jenny has sent countless CDs with her favorite songs for me to add to my i-pod. And my mom and Dad have been great sending anything and everything that I request from home. I’ve gotten Hostess cupcakes from my dad and several New York Times from my mom.

Kyle: So what’s the story behind your glasses?

Myself: Peace Corps discourages volunteers from wearing contacts because of the possibility of eye infections. We were required to bring two pairs of glasses with us. On two different occasions I’ve had to have my first pair of glasses sent back to the eye doctor’s office in Michigan. So my glasses first came here, went back to the U.S., were sent back here, and then when my sister came she took them with her back a second time and then they were once again sent back to me where they now rest on my face. To make a long story short: if my glasses could accumulate frequent flyer miles, they would have accumulated two, free round-trip tickets to the Far East.

Kyle: I hear a rumor that you are going home for Christmas. Can you confirm this for us?

Myself: Yes, your sources are correct. After much contemplation, I’ve decided to spend about a month at home over the holidays. The break coincides with our long school break here in Samoa so it will be a good time to take the leave. There are several other volunteers going home as well to spend time with family and friends. Originally, I had planned on taking a trip to New Zealand or Australia during that time, but a trip home will mean a lot more to me during the holidays. One of my grandmas is 95 and the other is 90 and I am looking forward to sharing this experience with them when I’m home. It will be great to be with them and my whole family for Christmas. I’m still planning on making it to Australia or New Zealand later in 2011.

Kyle: As you begin your second year in Samoa, tell me what your thoughts are.

Myself: At this point I’m going to continue taking it one month at a time. That is how I’ve done it from the beginning and it seems to be working well. The months are going by faster the longer I’m here. I can remember one night laying in bed and thinking maybe it was going too fast. I just want to take more time this second year to continue to learn about the culture and become even more integrated within my village. The hardest part is behind me though, in terms of settling in and meeting people and getting familiar with the language.

It’s like taking an introductory course to calculus. After you’ve gone through pre-calc, you can get on with the real business in calculus. I think this first year was my pre-calc year and now I’m looking to the future with more ambition and drive to solve the problems in the next part of the journey. It’s been a challenging and rewarding first year, but I’m anxious to see what unfolds in the next 525,600 minutes!

I’ve already posted a blog with before and after pictures of my living room, kitchen and bathroom, but since then have finished the painting in my bedroom and the spare bedroom. Below you will find before and after pictures of each room. It’s nice to have all the painting done now and the house really feels like my own.

The spare bedroom before the paint went on.

Facing the same wall after a two coats of paint!

The dirty walls of the spare bedroom before.

A very different room after the paint and curtains!

My bedroom before. Notice the white walls in the back.

My room on my very first day at the house, December 9, 2009.

My room after some paint! I finally got that net up too.

There's a story behind the two colors of paint. All the walls were originally going to be the same color as the top portion, but after I dropped half a gallon of paint in downtown Apia, I decided on the green for the bottom. The way in which they mix paint here isn't all that scientific and I knew for them to create the exact match might be expecting too much! It turned out nice though, I think.

Moving in day: December 9, 2009.