Peace Corps Journals / Samoa / all updates

in 50-500 years Google will be a god

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:43:00 +0800

(Samoa / <"}}}><)
0 reads

Trading Bases

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0800

(Samoa / Matt's Samoa Blog)
I hung out in the staffroom when the bell rang for first period this morning waiting for the van load of teachers who would be heading to the SchoolC feedback meeting. I was reading my book when Tal ...
6 reads

Why Must I Work with Teenagers in Love?

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0800

(Samoa / Matt's Samoa Blog)
I’m not sought out for relationship advice very often. This was true in The States and it’s even more true here. Maengi on occasion plays the role of undercover guidance councilor helping st ...
49 reads

My Mystical Mornings

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:12:00 +0800

(Samoa / Following the Day)
My morning routine has mild degrees of variation to it. Some aspects that influence these variations on a daily basis include questions I pose to myself such as: Do I wake up extra early to exercise ...
15 reads

For anyone feeling charitable

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:02:00 +0800

(Samoa / Peace Corps Adventures in Samoa)
Even though I no longer live in Salesatele I do want to help them finish re-building the pre-school. The old pre-school was destroyed in the tsunami last September and the village is trying to get fun ...
0 reads

Village Clean-Up

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:34:00 +0800

(Samoa / Life in the South Pacific)
FROM THE SAMOA OBSERVERTsunami clean-up beginsSunday 07 March 2010 Hundreds of volunteers supported by the expatriate Australian community (and the odd Kiwi) turned up at Poutasi yesterday for the s ...
12 reads

BUBW Conference San Diego

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:51:00 +0800

(Samoa / Shuraleff in Peace Corps)
March 3 - 7 2010While awaiting a possible Peace Corps Response assignment I have reactivated my association with the foreign student exchange program AFS (formerly American Field Service). One of m ...
1 reads

Awards Re-Cap and Housecleaning

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0800

(Samoa / Matt's Samoa Blog)
First the Academy Awards (feel free to skip this section)... Overall I’m happy. “Avatar” may be the technical revelation that only comes once every couple years and that’s great but I main ...
17 reads

Savaii Sports Tournament

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:51:14 +0800

(Samoa / Samowen Life)
On Friday morning we had a sports tournament for all the Savaii high schools. It was far away on the other side of the island in fact so we set off early from school at 6 a.m. The girls were going o ...
9 reads

Reflections on School

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:11:00 +0800

(Samoa / Following the Day)
Being a teacher is more work than I ever realized but it is fun because of the kids. Every time I teach a lesson that they do not totally grasp I go back to my plans and try to figure out what went ...
0 reads

Cheese Never Fails

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:09:00 +0800

(Samoa / Following the Day)
Will I ever get dive certified? My quest to be a Scuba Diver started years ago while studying abroad in Barbados. I completed the first few dives and was on my second to last dive of the program whe ...
0 reads

with this love and no other love

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 20:21:00 +0800

(Samoa / <"}}}><)
nothing is sacred. it is in this last breath of esoteric nonsense that i rub my eyes into clarity and with a softer voice i speak. i can transport myself into any of my travels when i sleep at night ...
5 reads

Brilliant!

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0800

(Samoa / Matt's Samoa Blog)
The story goes like this: Cale 79 calls Dylan 77 and tells him he’s been hearing a funny sound around his house and he wants Dylan’s opinion on the matter. Dylan assents and then Cale holds the ...
8 reads

15 Random Things I Thought You Should Know:

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:28:00 +0800

(Samoa / Words from the South Pacific)
1. Ants are more coordinated at carrying a dead bug down a vertical wall than across the horizontal floor.2. While playing cards at my neighbor’s the 12 year old boy accidentally touched the bottom ...
28 reads

Picture Blog

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:18:00 +0800

(Samoa / Words from the South Pacific)
So this is a spider that lives in my bathroom. I plan on having an 8x10 made and placing the following caption below the picture: "He hasn't bit me yet but then again I'm not company."Another possible quote might be borrowed from the great movie "The Shinning." "Here's Johnny!"
7 reads

Am I Spongeworthy?

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0800

(Samoa / Matt's Samoa Blog)
The packing list the Peace Corps sends future volunteers is 4 pages long single-spaced. It goes through the necessities and the optional items and suggests helpful reminders. In my opinion the mos ...
17 reads

Hate and love

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:17:00 +0800

(Samoa / No I Didn't Use Spellcheck)
Hate and LoveThe longer I am here the less and less the words hate and love make sense to me. It does not seem like there is any middle ground at all. For example I was told that I was hated for not ...
10 reads

School Bus

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:16:00 +0800

(Samoa / No I Didn't Use Spellcheck)
School BussesPrimary schools are usually made up of one village however for some smaller villages they often combine to make one school. My school is just the case. I live in the center village so ...
11 reads

Chile Earthquake

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:14:00 +0800

(Samoa / No I Didn't Use Spellcheck)
The earthquake in Chile and Tsunami watchI learned about the earthquake after midnight after the third text our safety and security officer sent finally woke me up. Around two he was making his roun ...
7 reads

School calendar

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:11:00 +0800

(Samoa / No I Didn't Use Spellcheck)
SchoolI am starting to settle into my school calendar more and more each day…although that because of teacher shortages it makes everyone’s job harder. One teacher in our school has been out for ...
4 reads

rugby

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:59:00 +0800

(Samoa / No I Didn't Use Spellcheck)
RugbyDid you see it? The World Cup of Rugby was just in Las Vegas…I know I never knew much about rugby in the past…and in fact I still do not know much…but I do know the pride Samoa feels for t ...
4 reads

The Dating Show

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:56:00 +0800

(Samoa / No I Didn't Use Spellcheck)
The dating showTo make up for missing church a few times from being out of town I am quickly making up for it by going any day that I can. (Well only on the weekends…I do not want to commit to the ...
3 reads

A Trip to the Doctor

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:55:00 +0800

(Samoa / No I Didn't Use Spellcheck)
A trip to the doctorI had an appointment for the doctor in Apia for 11:00…which meant that I had to take either the 6 A.M boat or the 8A.M one. I know that usually a bus comes in my village around ...
2 reads

Week 3 of School

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:53:00 +0800

(Samoa / No I Didn't Use Spellcheck)
Week 3 of AogaSchool has been in session for 3 weeks now and I think I have begun to find my nitch in the building. I am going to visit every class in a week spending more time with the students in ...
5 reads

What Would Jesus Do

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:52:00 +0800

(Samoa / No I Didn't Use Spellcheck)
What would Jesus DoChurch plays a major role in society here. I have some days where my family has lotu in the morning and in the evening as well as there have been many weekends where I have gone t ...
2 reads

Water

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:37:00 +0800

(Samoa / No I Didn't Use Spellcheck)
My Village Projects-WaterSo the overwhelming request was for me to get piped water to my village. I talked to another volunteer who is also trying to get this task and she told me it is a simple proc ...
1 reads

Hurricane Rene

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:33:00 +0800

(Samoa / No I Didn't Use Spellcheck)
Hurricane ReneWe warned….through text messages and by those who have watched the news about this hurricane. I was becoming nervous. I didn’t know what to expect. I had a trip to the doctor plan ...
0 reads

Odds and Ends Thursday 45

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0800

(Samoa / Matt's Samoa Blog)
I can’t wait til tomorrow. The Friday night/ Saturday morning sleep keeps the entire week in balance. It’s the lynchpin the keystone. When it’s taken away like it was last Friday during the ...
15 reads

I’m the most spoiled Peace Corps Volunteer

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:52:00 +0800

(Samoa / Peace Corps Adventures in Samoa)
Last week was a bit sad with saying goodbye to my host family. I had the best fa’amavae I could ask for however. Wednesday night we went over to my host sister’s (Anita) parents’ house for din ...
12 reads

this begins now

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:22:00 +0800

(Samoa / <"}}}><)
make everything you do a step closer to your goal:mole-skin journalno ***clean the housesave moneypush upsresearchmeet with Baris and Mustafa (rize)eat healthydont shavedont cut hair
10 reads

Going Down?

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0800

(Samoa / Matt's Samoa Blog)
It’s a rare day in Samoa when I get to ride an elevator. In fact since I arrived I’ve only been on two: the one in the American embassy and the one in the John Williams building. I took the la ...
2 reads

Tsunami – Round 2

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:02:00 +0800

(Samoa / Peace Corps Adventures in Samoa)
Friday night I received a text around 10:30 pm from the Peace Corps office which told of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile stay tuned for possible tsunami warning. I got another text around 1:30 ...
15 reads

Cadaver Dogs

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0800

(Samoa / Matt's Samoa Blog)
Just after college I moved home and there was one Friday night where the planets aligned and I wound up sitting on the couch between my parents watching crime shows on the Discovery Channel. The nig ...
18 reads

i'm a cylon

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:20:00 +0800

(Samoa / <"}}}><)
0 reads

Science?

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0800

(Samoa / Matt's Samoa Blog)
When I was little I wanted to be a scientist. For a while there I wanted to be an astronaut and then a paleontolog- ist. And then I turned eight. I enjoy science lite. Back in the States I subscri ...
8 reads

alice and the protagonist

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:49:00 +0800

(Samoa / <"}}}><)
losing a journal is worse than losing a finger. i feel like this about my backpack (alice) as she is like a journal to me. she carries in her many pockets the stories i've come to tell and be told o ...
13 reads

A Tail with No End

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0800

(Samoa / Matt's Samoa Blog)
There’s a gecko that hides out behind the Obama placard on my wall. He’s relatively big and when he runs out from under the placard the rhythm of his feet on the hollow drywall sounds like thun ...
7 reads

Rude Awakening

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0800

(Samoa / Matt's Samoa Blog)
“Mati! Mati! MATI!” Asolima charged into the room where I was sleeping throwing on clothes over the ones she slept in. A commotion of dog barking and men’s voices shouting outside. I check ...
6 reads

February Miscellaneous

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 22:46:52 +0800

(Samoa / Pirate Blog -- Toa Samoa)
I know that its been a while since I’ve posted anything and I am sorry. I have been very busy with school and I don’t usually make it out to Apia until the weekends. Unfortunately none o ...
12 reads

Tsunami Warning

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:56:00 +0800

(Samoa / Sweating in Samoa)
Well as recent events have shown paradise is not always a paradise. I was woken up this morning at 2:00am by a call from the Samoa Peace Corps office there has been a 8.8 magnitude earthquake off ...
20 reads

The Interview

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:38:00 +0800

(Samoa / Shuraleff in Peace Corps)
2/26/10Interviews are daunting and humbling experiences. You are at the mercy of someone else. The power of the question controls and may even determine the direction of your life. To avoid interviews ...
28 reads

Groundhog Day

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0800

(Samoa / Matt's Samoa Blog)
Repetition can be fun. Junior year of high school I was the Rat King in a stage production of The Nutcracker—a play not a ballet—two days of which we performed for elementary school students fro ...
9 reads

The Ball is Rolling

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:00:00 +0800

(Samoa / I swim with sharks on a daily basis.)
My projects have come out of a lull in a big way. Below are the details.With the help of my district's member of parliament (MP) the process of acquiring sewing machines for the Women's Committee has ...
12 reads

Odds and Ends Thursday 44

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0800

(Samoa / Matt's Samoa Blog)
They say the second year of the Peace Corps goes by in a flash and I guess it’s because it’s made of weeks like this past one. I wouldn’t say I’m at the top of my Peace Corps game but I gue ...
11 reads

Amazing Grace

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:39:00 +0800

(Samoa / Words from the South Pacific)
On the first day of school Feb. 1st 2010On Wednesday February 24 I was the only teacher from my school who showed up to work. There were about 90 kids running around the school like wild animals an ...
5 reads

Coach

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0800

(Samoa / Matt's Samoa Blog)
My dad coached a bunch of my soccer teams growing up and at the end of most practices he would give the team a little pep talk. And after he’d said what he wanted he’d look at the assistant coa ...
6 reads

some deserve tall tales.. some wrote 'em..

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:38:00 +0800

(Samoa / <"}}}><)
hardening of a heart.. gold melts.. the day the time comes my heart is set to judgement against a feather i'll bear not the weight of burdens. i'm guilty of no crime. only sins i've committed are ...
13 reads

Our Gang

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0800

(Samoa / Matt's Samoa Blog)
We had a young boy who lived in our dormitory my senior year of college. A professor lived in the building and her 3-year-old son was a regular at mess hall meals and various building functions and ...
5 reads

High and Dry

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:00:00 +0800

(Samoa / Matt's Samoa Blog)
I just spent 45 minutes in the shower. The water was cold and for most the time it wasn’t on. For the first 5 minutes I had a solid stream and the next 40 minutes was long periods of waiting a ...
6 reads

Lungfish

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:23:00 +0800

(Samoa / Shuraleff in Peace Corps)
2/22/10 "Beef Wellington"When you are a Biology teacher in an alternative ex-urban school for teenagers "recovering" from various substance abuse problems you can have lungfish for pets. Like my dau ...
15 reads