10/12/07
Back in September, I was painfully bitten while asleep on the top of the head by an unknown critter. Last night, I was awakened again with a similar pain shooting through my arm. Was it a bad dream? No, how could it be a dream with blood dripping from by elbow and the two little fang marks. Now I know what being bitten by a Samoan centipede is like.
At least I haven’t been bitten on the testicles as one Peace Corps Volunteer. I hate to think how that felt!
Showing posts with label Iva First 90 Days. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iva First 90 Days. Show all posts
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Friday, October 12, 2007
Preparing for Group 79
10/04/07
There is an excitement among us volunteers. At 5:00 am on Tuesday, October 9th, the newest group of Peace Corps arrives. They are affectionately called Group 79 by the Peace Corps. This is a group know as “Capacity Builders”. They usually work in a school and live on or close to the school they are assigned. (Our Group 78 primary lives in a rural village and tries to help in the development of that village. We are “Village Based Development” workers.) It is a time for us to relive our own arrival with its expectations and note how we are now.
There is an excitement among us volunteers. At 5:00 am on Tuesday, October 9th, the newest group of Peace Corps arrives. They are affectionately called Group 79 by the Peace Corps. This is a group know as “Capacity Builders”. They usually work in a school and live on or close to the school they are assigned. (Our Group 78 primary lives in a rural village and tries to help in the development of that village. We are “Village Based Development” workers.) It is a time for us to relive our own arrival with its expectations and note how we are now.
Trapping Cockroaches
10/03/07
I set my mouse trap out as usual, only to hear it snap shut a few minutes later. A cockroach meets his maker.
I set my mouse trap out as usual, only to hear it snap shut a few minutes later. A cockroach meets his maker.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Teacher's Day in Samoa
10/05/07
This morning we awoke to excited children carrying signs. Was it a demonstration, a protest against something? No it was Samoan Teacher's Day where the children parade down the street with signs of appreciation for their teachers.
There was never a flag pole at Iva Elementary School, built over 20 years ago. Yesterday the pole was finished. Today an historic faded flag was slowly raised for the first time by the school principal, Menime Namulauulu Filipo, as the children emotionally sang the Samoan National Song. The old flag was given years ago by the previous village mayor, Tafa Sa, to the current mayor, Tofilau Kapeli, to be presented to the school when the flag pole was built. The flag waves as a tribute to both the teachers and the country of Samoa. 
This morning we awoke to excited children carrying signs. Was it a demonstration, a protest against something? No it was Samoan Teacher's Day where the children parade down the street with signs of appreciation for their teachers.
There was never a flag pole at Iva Elementary School, built over 20 years ago. Yesterday the pole was finished. Today an historic faded flag was slowly raised for the first time by the school principal, Menime Namulauulu Filipo, as the children emotionally sang the Samoan National Song. The old flag was given years ago by the previous village mayor, Tafa Sa, to the current mayor, Tofilau Kapeli, to be presented to the school when the flag pole was built. The flag waves as a tribute to both the teachers and the country of Samoa.
Children Marching Through Iva
Raising of Flag for First Time In School History
A Peace Corps Tragedy
9/30/07
I don’t think anything is more tragic for the Peace Corps institution or for we volunteers than when other volunteers are terminated early and sent home for irresponsible behavior. This year, six Samoan volunteers have been sent home early because of what the Peace Corps labels as “Frat Boy” behavior, none from our Group 78.
The tragedy is that these experienced volunteers are in the middle of their projects and at the peak of their productivity. The people in their village become irate because their projects are not finished, damaging the reputations of Peace Corps alumni, those currently here, and those yet to come.
I don’t think anything is more tragic for the Peace Corps institution or for we volunteers than when other volunteers are terminated early and sent home for irresponsible behavior. This year, six Samoan volunteers have been sent home early because of what the Peace Corps labels as “Frat Boy” behavior, none from our Group 78.
The tragedy is that these experienced volunteers are in the middle of their projects and at the peak of their productivity. The people in their village become irate because their projects are not finished, damaging the reputations of Peace Corps alumni, those currently here, and those yet to come.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
A Day with Sophia (Safiya)
9/29/07
Sophia is a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer from our “Gang of Six” (Group 78). She lives in the Village of Mauga on our island of Savaii. Mauga is the smallest village of uor group with a population of about 80 people. Sophia, born in Jamacia, is from New York City. The village is very picturesque with traditional open fales situation around the rim of an extinct volcano. The mountains are is the village backdrop during the day and the Milky Way its ceiling at night.
Sophia has an enclosed room built for her as part of the Women’s Committee House. Women sleep outside her room every night to make sure she is safe. She is amazed by the unity of her village, expressed in the village’s efforts to manually resurrect an old well in the middle of the crater. (They just hit some water; the first drops being ceremonially given to the oldest person in the village).
Pre-school and homework centers are two of her projects. She has started both, as well as, three fund-raising events for supplies. She has even bigger plans for a playground, a library, and sewing machines. Sophia loves her village and from what we can see, the village loves her.
Sophia is a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer from our “Gang of Six” (Group 78). She lives in the Village of Mauga on our island of Savaii. Mauga is the smallest village of uor group with a population of about 80 people. Sophia, born in Jamacia, is from New York City. The village is very picturesque with traditional open fales situation around the rim of an extinct volcano. The mountains are is the village backdrop during the day and the Milky Way its ceiling at night.
Sophia has an enclosed room built for her as part of the Women’s Committee House. Women sleep outside her room every night to make sure she is safe. She is amazed by the unity of her village, expressed in the village’s efforts to manually resurrect an old well in the middle of the crater. (They just hit some water; the first drops being ceremonially given to the oldest person in the village).
Pre-school and homework centers are two of her projects. She has started both, as well as, three fund-raising events for supplies. She has even bigger plans for a playground, a library, and sewing machines. Sophia loves her village and from what we can see, the village loves her.
Sophia in Front of Her House
Sophia and Mary at Village Well
A Day with Jacob (Iakopo)
9/24/07
Jacob is a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer from our “Gang of Six” (Group 78). He lives in the Village of Gataivai on the south shore of Savaii. Gataivai is a large village strung out along the road much like our village. The village’s solitary Methodist church dominates the village. Pre-school, youth center, computer center, and other community buildings are located across the road from Jacob’s house and the church. Jacob has a room in a house of a large family next to the church.
Jacob’s projects are centered on the villager’s health, their community garden, and resurrecting an unused computer center. He has started an exercise and karate program for the youth, got more medical supplies for the health center, and has started computer classes for three village students. He partakes in the Village Council meeting with the Matais.
Jacob currently lives in Colorado where his father is a defensive line coach for the Denver Broncos. Jacob played football for Bucknell and has lost a lot of weight since coming to Samoa. He plans to eat his way back to his former size.
Jacob is a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer from our “Gang of Six” (Group 78). He lives in the Village of Gataivai on the south shore of Savaii. Gataivai is a large village strung out along the road much like our village. The village’s solitary Methodist church dominates the village. Pre-school, youth center, computer center, and other community buildings are located across the road from Jacob’s house and the church. Jacob has a room in a house of a large family next to the church.
Jacob’s projects are centered on the villager’s health, their community garden, and resurrecting an unused computer center. He has started an exercise and karate program for the youth, got more medical supplies for the health center, and has started computer classes for three village students. He partakes in the Village Council meeting with the Matais.
Jacob currently lives in Colorado where his father is a defensive line coach for the Denver Broncos. Jacob played football for Bucknell and has lost a lot of weight since coming to Samoa. He plans to eat his way back to his former size.
Jacob in Front of Telecenter Sign
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Thou Shalt Not…
9/28/07
The Bible is the basis for village law and breaking one of the 10 Commandments is a very serious offense. People with village titles, like Matai or Chief, are expected to set an example for others to follow. If they break a Commandment, the penalty is severe.
Just the other day, a married man and married woman, both with titles were brought before hundreds in the village because they were having an affair. Three different groups each are to decide the punishment. The groups need to be unanimous within and between them. Final decisions must be approved by the High Chief. Both of the adulterers are at least in their 60’s.
Adultery ranks with murder in seriousness of crime. The punishment can be the harshest of all which is large fines and banishment from the village of not only the offender but all members of the family. Here the entire family pays the price.
The Bible is the basis for village law and breaking one of the 10 Commandments is a very serious offense. People with village titles, like Matai or Chief, are expected to set an example for others to follow. If they break a Commandment, the penalty is severe.
Just the other day, a married man and married woman, both with titles were brought before hundreds in the village because they were having an affair. Three different groups each are to decide the punishment. The groups need to be unanimous within and between them. Final decisions must be approved by the High Chief. Both of the adulterers are at least in their 60’s.
Adultery ranks with murder in seriousness of crime. The punishment can be the harshest of all which is large fines and banishment from the village of not only the offender but all members of the family. Here the entire family pays the price.
My Biggest Frustration
9/27/07
It’s electronic technology. If we didn’t have any electronic gizmos here, I think I would enjoy Samoa even more. But we do, and that’s the source of my frustration.
My lab top computer power plug hardly ever works. It could be the male part, the female part, the wiring, the transformer, etc. I spend hours wiggling the connection in hopes of finding the “sweet spot”. Whenever I do, it seems a bird flying by can cause it to lose power again. Sometimes the “force” is with me and power just flows for no apparent reason.
My U.S. cell phone has a broken microphone. I can hear desperate “Hellos” as the caller wonders why I don’t respond. They call back and get the same result. Now no one calls me, but it may be for reasons other than my cell phone.
Email or specifically Yahoo email is a real problem on the computer the Peace Corps has provided for all the volunteers on Savaii. Yahoo just won’t allow us to open, send or reply to email. We have complained without success. Someone said this type of problem is due to all the security filters placed on government computers. I guess there is some consolation knowing we are helping to fight the War on Terror. But what about Gmail or Hotmail, or MSN, why not them too?
Foreign governments and good hearted NGO’s ship computers on a regular basis to Samoan schools and telecenters. There they sit mainly because no one knows how to work them and no one is around to teach them. Soon they break and become trophies.
Maybe the source of my frustration is not that electronic technology is fallible, but there is no place to get this stuff fixed or to find parts. You just have to live with it broken, or do without.
Time for a midday nap. Ah, fa’asamoa. Now that’s the life!
It’s electronic technology. If we didn’t have any electronic gizmos here, I think I would enjoy Samoa even more. But we do, and that’s the source of my frustration.
My lab top computer power plug hardly ever works. It could be the male part, the female part, the wiring, the transformer, etc. I spend hours wiggling the connection in hopes of finding the “sweet spot”. Whenever I do, it seems a bird flying by can cause it to lose power again. Sometimes the “force” is with me and power just flows for no apparent reason.
My U.S. cell phone has a broken microphone. I can hear desperate “Hellos” as the caller wonders why I don’t respond. They call back and get the same result. Now no one calls me, but it may be for reasons other than my cell phone.
Email or specifically Yahoo email is a real problem on the computer the Peace Corps has provided for all the volunteers on Savaii. Yahoo just won’t allow us to open, send or reply to email. We have complained without success. Someone said this type of problem is due to all the security filters placed on government computers. I guess there is some consolation knowing we are helping to fight the War on Terror. But what about Gmail or Hotmail, or MSN, why not them too?
Foreign governments and good hearted NGO’s ship computers on a regular basis to Samoan schools and telecenters. There they sit mainly because no one knows how to work them and no one is around to teach them. Soon they break and become trophies.
Maybe the source of my frustration is not that electronic technology is fallible, but there is no place to get this stuff fixed or to find parts. You just have to live with it broken, or do without.
Time for a midday nap. Ah, fa’asamoa. Now that’s the life!
Friday, September 28, 2007
Drinking Water
9/26/07
Samoa has lots of water. It falls from the sky almost every day. For our area of Savaii, each village has its own water supply either from a river or underground spring. We are lucky. Other parts of the island must collect rain water from their roofs because the lava rock is so porous. No matter what the source of water, it comes untreated at the tap. This is a problem since typhoid, giardia, and other nasty creatures want to enter your body.
To treat our drinking water, Mary and I have a double filtration system. You put water in the top bucket where there is one filter and gravity pulls it down through the second filter in the bottom bucket. We add two drops of bleach to each liter of water as a final step. We drink about six liters of water a day. Now you know.
Samoa has lots of water. It falls from the sky almost every day. For our area of Savaii, each village has its own water supply either from a river or underground spring. We are lucky. Other parts of the island must collect rain water from their roofs because the lava rock is so porous. No matter what the source of water, it comes untreated at the tap. This is a problem since typhoid, giardia, and other nasty creatures want to enter your body.
To treat our drinking water, Mary and I have a double filtration system. You put water in the top bucket where there is one filter and gravity pulls it down through the second filter in the bottom bucket. We add two drops of bleach to each liter of water as a final step. We drink about six liters of water a day. Now you know.
Our Water Filtration System
Roller Coaster Emotions
9/25/07
Two days ago Mary was in tears, depressed about the many things we face just being immersed in unfamiliar surroundings. Probably, the deeper reason was she didn’t feel a sense of purpose here.
Last night she met with the Women’s Committee about their desire to get manual sewing machines for the village women. The women seemed committed to the project with specific ideas on how to proceed.
The wheels in Mary’s mind started to whirl. She could hardly sleep last night. This morning she took the early bus to town, as happy as I have ever seen her here. She has raison d’etre.
Two days ago Mary was in tears, depressed about the many things we face just being immersed in unfamiliar surroundings. Probably, the deeper reason was she didn’t feel a sense of purpose here.
Last night she met with the Women’s Committee about their desire to get manual sewing machines for the village women. The women seemed committed to the project with specific ideas on how to proceed.
The wheels in Mary’s mind started to whirl. She could hardly sleep last night. This morning she took the early bus to town, as happy as I have ever seen her here. She has raison d’etre.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Bitten in the Night
9/24/07
In the middle of the night, I was painfully bitten on the top of my head. What bit me is unknown. What is known is the mark it left and the venomous pain cascading down my scalp. Who or what can resist secretly kissing a bald man’s pate?
In the middle of the night, I was painfully bitten on the top of my head. What bit me is unknown. What is known is the mark it left and the venomous pain cascading down my scalp. Who or what can resist secretly kissing a bald man’s pate?
Work Progress Report, Month One
9/23/07
From reading this blog, you may get the impression we are spending most of our time trying to adapt and survive in our new village. This is mostly true, but we also have a Peace Corps job to justify the use of taxpayer dollars. Our job title comes under the rubric of “Village Development”.
Our village, Iva, has requested in their application for a Peace Corps that we work with four main village groups, under the authority of the village mayor (pulenu’u) who is also the head of our host family. The groups are:
Taule’ale’a or untitled men. These are men who are out of school and who primarily do the physical work of the village, mostly on the plantations.
They want to provide the labor to build e new 14 room primary school on a large tract of land near the secondary school. The Village Council committed to provide 25% of the cost for school building materials.
Our job is to assist the village in getting the funds for the remaining 25% of the materials and 100% of the funds to construct a 2,100 security fence around the school. So far, no formal applications have been submitted.
Autalavou or village youth. This group is unmarried with a wide range in ages from very young to older, some with children.
They want to teach computer skills to the youth, especially the older youth who are unemployed and have dropped out of school. They hope computer skills will help them get a job.
The village currently has access to no computers, nor to anyone with knowledge of computers to teach even fundamental word processing. The only computers in the village are located in a beautiful facility at the secondary school, where there are no computer classes, no internet, and limited access to computer lab for students. The computer in the principle’s office sits covered with a cloth. The computer lab was funded by a grant.
Women’s Committee. This is the second most powerful group consisting of married women, with some unmarried mothers.
They want sewing machines so village women can make their own clothes and avoid buying them at the store. They need some one to teach them how to use a sewing machine, and they need land to construct a building to house the machines and hold classes.
At present, no funds or site exist.
Village Council. This is the most powerful group that has decision making power over all other groups. It consists entirely of 130 titled people (Matai’s, Orators, and Chiefs). All are men, except one woman.
We have yet to meet with a council representative. They say because of language difficulties. Their Peace Corps application states a need to manage the mangrove trees and find uses for the hundreds of acres of unused farm land. I sense there are other unstated projects.
Maybe we can meet with a representative to get a better handle of their requests.
Miscellaneous Requests: We have been approached by individuals asking for money to mainly re-establish farms and lifestyles destroyed by the two major cyclones (hurricanes) of the early 1990’s. Since we are Americans, ergo millionaires, their requests seem quite reasonable to them.
Each group and individuals within these groups have their own agendas. We have been trying to meet with these groups and their leaders to learn more about them, and try to understand how we may assist.
With all these requests, the villagers are slowly getting over the fact that we are not coming with money. Our job is to help the villagers find ways they can help themselves, either by applying to the government or NGO’s for grants, or to find ways to finance their projects. This is a difficult concept in a subsistence economy where the primary source of government funding is foreign aid and primary source of income for families is from remittances of family members working overseas.
From reading this blog, you may get the impression we are spending most of our time trying to adapt and survive in our new village. This is mostly true, but we also have a Peace Corps job to justify the use of taxpayer dollars. Our job title comes under the rubric of “Village Development”.
Our village, Iva, has requested in their application for a Peace Corps that we work with four main village groups, under the authority of the village mayor (pulenu’u) who is also the head of our host family. The groups are:
Taule’ale’a or untitled men. These are men who are out of school and who primarily do the physical work of the village, mostly on the plantations.
They want to provide the labor to build e new 14 room primary school on a large tract of land near the secondary school. The Village Council committed to provide 25% of the cost for school building materials.
Our job is to assist the village in getting the funds for the remaining 25% of the materials and 100% of the funds to construct a 2,100 security fence around the school. So far, no formal applications have been submitted.
Autalavou or village youth. This group is unmarried with a wide range in ages from very young to older, some with children.
They want to teach computer skills to the youth, especially the older youth who are unemployed and have dropped out of school. They hope computer skills will help them get a job.
The village currently has access to no computers, nor to anyone with knowledge of computers to teach even fundamental word processing. The only computers in the village are located in a beautiful facility at the secondary school, where there are no computer classes, no internet, and limited access to computer lab for students. The computer in the principle’s office sits covered with a cloth. The computer lab was funded by a grant.
Women’s Committee. This is the second most powerful group consisting of married women, with some unmarried mothers.
They want sewing machines so village women can make their own clothes and avoid buying them at the store. They need some one to teach them how to use a sewing machine, and they need land to construct a building to house the machines and hold classes.
At present, no funds or site exist.
Village Council. This is the most powerful group that has decision making power over all other groups. It consists entirely of 130 titled people (Matai’s, Orators, and Chiefs). All are men, except one woman.
We have yet to meet with a council representative. They say because of language difficulties. Their Peace Corps application states a need to manage the mangrove trees and find uses for the hundreds of acres of unused farm land. I sense there are other unstated projects.
Maybe we can meet with a representative to get a better handle of their requests.
Miscellaneous Requests: We have been approached by individuals asking for money to mainly re-establish farms and lifestyles destroyed by the two major cyclones (hurricanes) of the early 1990’s. Since we are Americans, ergo millionaires, their requests seem quite reasonable to them.
Each group and individuals within these groups have their own agendas. We have been trying to meet with these groups and their leaders to learn more about them, and try to understand how we may assist.
With all these requests, the villagers are slowly getting over the fact that we are not coming with money. Our job is to help the villagers find ways they can help themselves, either by applying to the government or NGO’s for grants, or to find ways to finance their projects. This is a difficult concept in a subsistence economy where the primary source of government funding is foreign aid and primary source of income for families is from remittances of family members working overseas.
Triggers of Time
9/21/07
Time seems to be passing differently here. Those events which for me mark the passage of time are missing. The days getting shorter, the leaves changing color, the beginning of the football season don’t exist anymore.
Yes, there are new triggers denote time’s periodic cycle. I just don’t know what they are or their importance to the people around me and myself.
Time seems to be passing differently here. Those events which for me mark the passage of time are missing. The days getting shorter, the leaves changing color, the beginning of the football season don’t exist anymore.
Yes, there are new triggers denote time’s periodic cycle. I just don’t know what they are or their importance to the people around me and myself.
A Child’s Day
9/20/07
This is the usual daily routine followed by the children in our host family.
5:00 am: Church
6:00 am – 8:30 am: Chores, etc.
Girls: Daily pick up the rubbish (mainly leaves), help prepare breakfast, take care of baby, cleanup.
Boys: Feed pigs
8:30- 2:00: School
2:00- 5:45: Chores, etc.
Girls: Wash clothes, dishes, weed, cut grass (with machete), take care of baby. Play volleyball or just hang out with friends.
Boys: Work on plantation, bring back food, feed pigs, prepare pig food (mainly coconuts from the plantation). Play rugby or soccer. Hang out.
5:45: Warning bell for afternoon prayers.
People are to stop what hey are doing and return home.
6:15 - 6:30: Afternoon prayer time (Lotu Afiafi)
Everyone in village in their home for prayers.
6:30 – 7:00: Shower time
7:00-9:00: Dinner, cleanup, church functions many nights, watch TV news, hang out with friends and relatives.
9:00-10:00 Homework
10:00-11:00 Bed time
Boys are responsible for taking care of the pigs and maintaining the plantation to feed the family.
Girls are responsible for doing household chores, keeping the grounds neat & tidy, cutting the grass (with machete), and taking care of the baby nephew.
This is the usual daily routine followed by the children in our host family.
5:00 am: Church
6:00 am – 8:30 am: Chores, etc.
Girls: Daily pick up the rubbish (mainly leaves), help prepare breakfast, take care of baby, cleanup.
Boys: Feed pigs
8:30- 2:00: School
2:00- 5:45: Chores, etc.
Girls: Wash clothes, dishes, weed, cut grass (with machete), take care of baby. Play volleyball or just hang out with friends.
Boys: Work on plantation, bring back food, feed pigs, prepare pig food (mainly coconuts from the plantation). Play rugby or soccer. Hang out.
5:45: Warning bell for afternoon prayers.
People are to stop what hey are doing and return home.
6:15 - 6:30: Afternoon prayer time (Lotu Afiafi)
Everyone in village in their home for prayers.
6:30 – 7:00: Shower time
7:00-9:00: Dinner, cleanup, church functions many nights, watch TV news, hang out with friends and relatives.
9:00-10:00 Homework
10:00-11:00 Bed time
Boys are responsible for taking care of the pigs and maintaining the plantation to feed the family.
Girls are responsible for doing household chores, keeping the grounds neat & tidy, cutting the grass (with machete), and taking care of the baby nephew.
Hanging out (Tafao): A time for visiting with relatives and friends, just sitting around, like kids do everywhere. There is a lot of social interaction between the kids in different age groups. Hardly any scheduled events outside of church.
Collecting Coconuts
Baby Sitting
Our Host Family
9/19/07
The Tofilau Kapeli Family
Front: Fa’apisa (8), Tali (14), Manuli (11)
Middle Row: Salote (49), Fanali* (27) with KJ (8 months), Ime, Tofilau (53),
Rear: Fiaputa (16), Sefo (18), Taitaia (19)
All the children pictured are going to primary or secondary school. Fanali left for Rome the day of this for the next four years to train to be a teacher in a Catholic College or to be a priest. KJ is the grandchild of Easter (not pictured). Ime is the sister of Tofilau and lives nearby.
Not pictured, not living at home: Filipo (29) was living in Australia for the past two years and maybe to be a priest; Easter, mother of KJ in picture, we think is married to a man who plays basketball for the Samoan National team, Eneliko (22, male) a student, lives and works in Apia.
Understanding a Samoan family can be a challenge. The family who provides us with food and shelter is no different. We do know they have 10 children, of whom six live at home. There is a constant flow of brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews and other relatives who either live in the surrounding houses or are constantly coming and going, sometimes staying, sometimes leaving children behind.
Tofilau is the head of this family with titles of high chief, orator, and Pulenu’u (Mayor of the Village). His parents, grandparents, and great grandparents are buried in large concrete tombs in the front of the property for all to see. These are constant reminders to him and everyone else of the legacy he bears.
Note:
The picture is taken includes the graves of Tofilau’s parents. This is one of the most important places on the property. There are other graves in front of our house of family ancestors. These types of graves are in front of people’s houses and are reserved for those family members of high village rank. The sites are often decorated and people sometimes sleep and play on them.
Villages in Samoa are made up of huge extended families with roots that go back hundreds of years. They are tied to the land and to their membership in the village. Many Samoans live and work in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States to support their families in Samoa. These remittances from children abroad seem to be the main source of income
The Throne (PG-13)
9/18/07
Let’s face it. There are few places better suited for everyday meditation and deep thinking than the throne. In a way, throne time is a period of renewal and rejuvenation, as well as, relaxation. The throne is egalitarian. Everyone is a king. The world just outside is not so scary from your perch.
From my Samoan throne, I have the added pleasure during my allotted time of neatly tearing and folding two sheets of paper on my thigh, one for the soil, the other for packaging, to deposit in the box next to my throne to await eventual pickup and incineration. A flush and away to a new day.
Let’s face it. There are few places better suited for everyday meditation and deep thinking than the throne. In a way, throne time is a period of renewal and rejuvenation, as well as, relaxation. The throne is egalitarian. Everyone is a king. The world just outside is not so scary from your perch.
From my Samoan throne, I have the added pleasure during my allotted time of neatly tearing and folding two sheets of paper on my thigh, one for the soil, the other for packaging, to deposit in the box next to my throne to await eventual pickup and incineration. A flush and away to a new day.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
To Be or Not To Be
9/17/07
One of the main reasons for joining the Peace Corps is to experience another culture by actually living in it. The question soon arises as to how much of this new culture do you actually want to experience or, more fairly, how much of the new culture are you able to tolerate before reverting back to more familiar ways. I am sure every person who has lived abroad has faced this dilemma. We are no different.
Like Maslow’s pyramid of needs and wants, we are now at the bottom level of survival that is food and shelter. Shelter we seem to have made the steps to the Samoan way. Food is a deeper issue.
On thing good about Samoa is there is lots of food and it is prepared for us as if we are royalty. This is the Samoan way of treating guests…us. But the food is very different and we know it creates demands on our host family to prepare it for us. Efforts have been made to accommodate of tastes, but it is still different.
Now do we prepare our own meals and maybe offend our host family who may think their ways are no good or that we are ungrateful, or try harder to adapt to the culture in which we are so fortunate to be living?
One of the main reasons for joining the Peace Corps is to experience another culture by actually living in it. The question soon arises as to how much of this new culture do you actually want to experience or, more fairly, how much of the new culture are you able to tolerate before reverting back to more familiar ways. I am sure every person who has lived abroad has faced this dilemma. We are no different.
Like Maslow’s pyramid of needs and wants, we are now at the bottom level of survival that is food and shelter. Shelter we seem to have made the steps to the Samoan way. Food is a deeper issue.
On thing good about Samoa is there is lots of food and it is prepared for us as if we are royalty. This is the Samoan way of treating guests…us. But the food is very different and we know it creates demands on our host family to prepare it for us. Efforts have been made to accommodate of tastes, but it is still different.
Now do we prepare our own meals and maybe offend our host family who may think their ways are no good or that we are ungrateful, or try harder to adapt to the culture in which we are so fortunate to be living?
Down Days
9/15/07
Well, I guess you have to expect some Down Days even in paradise. Lately a lot of things have been getting to Mary. Maybe it is the feeling you always look like you have come out of a steam bath fully clothed, or it is the strange food which you just can’t eat, or it is the lack of privacy and constantly being in a fish bowl with people around you seemingly 24/7, or it is the inability to communicate in any kind of meaningful way because of both language and culture, or the constant going to church and the ringing of bells, or the heat, or missing our kids, her family and friends, or seemingly being dropped off and forgotten by the Peace Corps, or no available Internet, or getting sick on ferry rides, or facing huge requests for projects from the village, or just being so far away, or…, or things I do or don’t do. Take your pick. At least, tomorrow is another day.
Well, I guess you have to expect some Down Days even in paradise. Lately a lot of things have been getting to Mary. Maybe it is the feeling you always look like you have come out of a steam bath fully clothed, or it is the strange food which you just can’t eat, or it is the lack of privacy and constantly being in a fish bowl with people around you seemingly 24/7, or it is the inability to communicate in any kind of meaningful way because of both language and culture, or the constant going to church and the ringing of bells, or the heat, or missing our kids, her family and friends, or seemingly being dropped off and forgotten by the Peace Corps, or no available Internet, or getting sick on ferry rides, or facing huge requests for projects from the village, or just being so far away, or…, or things I do or don’t do. Take your pick. At least, tomorrow is another day.
Racing Ants, Flies, and Mold
9/13/07
Mealtime seems like a race between you, ants, flies, and mold. It is as if we all want to share the same plate. The ants are small little devils constantly on patrol. If the item has any food value, the ant siren is sounded to the brethren. If they are left unfed, then you become the food.
The flies aren’t really too bad, but they are bothersome. I really don’t know why they annoy me. Maybe it is because they can fly and I can’t. I have perfected my skills by killing them with my bare hands. This has given me somewhat of a celerity status.
Mold is sneaky. It is hard to have sympathy for a fungus. Mold just appears as if by magic. You are never sure the extent of the fungi’s fingers. Mold makes you chose. Do you cut it out, eat around it, or discard the only bread you will get in a week?
Large cockroaches are also in the race. They have the decency to come out at night when you are done eating and asleep. There are other things out there too. I just don’t want to think about them.
Mealtime seems like a race between you, ants, flies, and mold. It is as if we all want to share the same plate. The ants are small little devils constantly on patrol. If the item has any food value, the ant siren is sounded to the brethren. If they are left unfed, then you become the food.
The flies aren’t really too bad, but they are bothersome. I really don’t know why they annoy me. Maybe it is because they can fly and I can’t. I have perfected my skills by killing them with my bare hands. This has given me somewhat of a celerity status.
Mold is sneaky. It is hard to have sympathy for a fungus. Mold just appears as if by magic. You are never sure the extent of the fungi’s fingers. Mold makes you chose. Do you cut it out, eat around it, or discard the only bread you will get in a week?
Large cockroaches are also in the race. They have the decency to come out at night when you are done eating and asleep. There are other things out there too. I just don’t want to think about them.
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