IT'S SAMOA! JUNE, 2007

It's Samoa!

Talofa lava (Greetings)

Today we received by FedEx the news that we are going to the
island country of Samoa in the South Pacific Ocean.

This is what we know:
Calendar
Orientation: June 4-5, 2007, Los Angles
Pre-Service Training: June 6- August 22, 2007 (In Samoa)
Learn Samoan language & customs, live with Samoan family.
Dates of Service: August 22, 2007-August 22, 2009 (subject to change)
Job Duties
Program: Village Based Development Project (started 2001)
Job Title: Village Development Worker
Work with the "Samoan Division of Internal Affairs of the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development" and closely with village pulenu'u and chiefs matai to help organize various civic projects.
Location of Job
A village
Cultural Attitudes and Customs
Little English is spoken in villages and meetings are held in Samoan. Peace Corps volunteers are expected to learn the polite forms of the language and to understand the cultural protocols. Rules of conduct vary from village to village. Volunteers need to be aware of these differences and adjust accordingly.
Dress Code
Both men and women wear lava lavas (sarongs). For business and meetings, women wear them with a fitted blouse, men with a dress shirt. At home or day-to-day, t-shirts are worn with lava lavas.
Living Conditions
Volunteers live with a family in a room in the family's house or a small faleo'o (traditional thatched house) in the family compound. A few volunteers may live in a house provided by the village. The facilities are often limited and modest. Married couples live together.

To learn more about Samoa and about the Peace Corps in Samoa, check out the other sites listed on this blog.