11/12/07
I have read about people eating ants, but until now I didn’t have the faintest idea why. Now I know.
Ants in the tropics are everywhere. They seem to even get into the tightest containers. After a while you begin to assume that ants are a natural part of your food. So why not eat them too? Let them suffer the agony of death by stomach acid.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Mango Season
11/10/07
My two favorite fruits are peaches and mangos. Peaches get a slight nod because they are sexier, but taste wise it is a toss up. It is now mango season in Samoa. I want it to go on forever.
Competition for mangos is keen. Flying foxes devour them at night. Children climb up into the mango trees or knock them down with stones. The gigantic mango tree on our neighbor’s property and next to our house is protected by two fierce dogs. Undeterred by fear of heights or sharpness of fang, I am grateful to those children who bravely bring me these succulent treasures.
My two favorite fruits are peaches and mangos. Peaches get a slight nod because they are sexier, but taste wise it is a toss up. It is now mango season in Samoa. I want it to go on forever.
Competition for mangos is keen. Flying foxes devour them at night. Children climb up into the mango trees or knock them down with stones. The gigantic mango tree on our neighbor’s property and next to our house is protected by two fierce dogs. Undeterred by fear of heights or sharpness of fang, I am grateful to those children who bravely bring me these succulent treasures.
Assembly of God Church (AOG)
11/11/07
The AOG Pentecostal church in Iva is the most western and approachable of the village churches. The AOG church was founded in Tennessee and hosts a steady progression of people from the US. Also its evangelical format makes it the most involved church within the village. The Iva AOG church has out reach programs to everyone and has a resident bible school of troubled youth. The pastor is a vigorous man who speaks excellent English. He happened to be in the doctor’s office when Mary was sick and blessed her.
The church service itself mirrors AOG churches in the US. It has upbeat music with choir, band, drums, etc. Words to the hymns are projected on a screen. There is a period when people speak in tongues. Church goers knell at the alter and the power of the Holy Spirit is passed through the pastor.
He message seems to address the immediate problems people face. The belief the Holy Spirit and the power of prayer can alleviate suffering now rather than just in the afterlife is particularly appealing to youth send to the less established member of the village. I don’t know what percentage of Samoans attend the AOG church. It is one of the more recent churches in Samoa.
The AOG Pentecostal church in Iva is the most western and approachable of the village churches. The AOG church was founded in Tennessee and hosts a steady progression of people from the US. Also its evangelical format makes it the most involved church within the village. The Iva AOG church has out reach programs to everyone and has a resident bible school of troubled youth. The pastor is a vigorous man who speaks excellent English. He happened to be in the doctor’s office when Mary was sick and blessed her.
The church service itself mirrors AOG churches in the US. It has upbeat music with choir, band, drums, etc. Words to the hymns are projected on a screen. There is a period when people speak in tongues. Church goers knell at the alter and the power of the Holy Spirit is passed through the pastor.
He message seems to address the immediate problems people face. The belief the Holy Spirit and the power of prayer can alleviate suffering now rather than just in the afterlife is particularly appealing to youth send to the less established member of the village. I don’t know what percentage of Samoans attend the AOG church. It is one of the more recent churches in Samoa.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Food Adaptability
11/09/07
Nothing binds us more closely to our native culture than food. Nothing is more difficult to adapt to than the foods of another culture. Nothing prepares you for the gastronomical chasm you face when you live in a different world.
Talking about cooking, obtaining, and eating palangi (white people) food is the major obsession for many in the Peace Corps. Who has an oven or stove, who lives near a store that sells cheese, who comes into Apia or lives in Apia near a supermarket, who eats with the host family, and prepares their own meals all define the levels at which we are integrating into our new way of life.
Mary and I are currently at a food divide. Mary just can’t eat Samoan food (She is not alone in this aspect) while it doesn’t bother me. Our host family who normally brings us food for every meal is confused about what they are to do about our meals. We sometimes fix instant soup or peanut butter sandwiches when no food seems coming, only to be brought food later, or we sit waiting a meal and none appears.
To survive and preserve our own relationship, we have purchased a propane gas stove and soon to buy a refrigerator and cooking utensils. The next challenge is to find food on this island we can eat to cook.
I can tell those who frequent ethnic restaurants and think they can eat anything, don’t be too boastful. We were there once too.
Nothing binds us more closely to our native culture than food. Nothing is more difficult to adapt to than the foods of another culture. Nothing prepares you for the gastronomical chasm you face when you live in a different world.
Talking about cooking, obtaining, and eating palangi (white people) food is the major obsession for many in the Peace Corps. Who has an oven or stove, who lives near a store that sells cheese, who comes into Apia or lives in Apia near a supermarket, who eats with the host family, and prepares their own meals all define the levels at which we are integrating into our new way of life.
Mary and I are currently at a food divide. Mary just can’t eat Samoan food (She is not alone in this aspect) while it doesn’t bother me. Our host family who normally brings us food for every meal is confused about what they are to do about our meals. We sometimes fix instant soup or peanut butter sandwiches when no food seems coming, only to be brought food later, or we sit waiting a meal and none appears.
To survive and preserve our own relationship, we have purchased a propane gas stove and soon to buy a refrigerator and cooking utensils. The next challenge is to find food on this island we can eat to cook.
I can tell those who frequent ethnic restaurants and think they can eat anything, don’t be too boastful. We were there once too.
Pulling Teeth
11/08/07
There is a group of three dentists from Portland, Oregon who have set up a free dental clinic at the local Assembly of God church. This group has been putting in long hours this past week giving much needed dental care to over 300 villagers. They have my admiration and are planning to return in about nine months with their families and equipment. Until then they have to work with only manual dental tools. The three procedures they perform are: 1) showing people how to brush and floss, 2) clean and scrape plaque, and 3) pull teeth.
As I watched them pull teeth from pretty young girls, I could feel both their admiration about their Samoan patients who never complained, never showed pain, and accepted their fate. You can see their desire to teach dental hygiene and the destructive effects of sugared drinks. Their gallant efforts to bring relief to some is against the immense backdrop of poverty which limits getting a toothbrush or floss and seeking care until the only remedy left is pulling teeth.
There is a group of three dentists from Portland, Oregon who have set up a free dental clinic at the local Assembly of God church. This group has been putting in long hours this past week giving much needed dental care to over 300 villagers. They have my admiration and are planning to return in about nine months with their families and equipment. Until then they have to work with only manual dental tools. The three procedures they perform are: 1) showing people how to brush and floss, 2) clean and scrape plaque, and 3) pull teeth.
As I watched them pull teeth from pretty young girls, I could feel both their admiration about their Samoan patients who never complained, never showed pain, and accepted their fate. You can see their desire to teach dental hygiene and the destructive effects of sugared drinks. Their gallant efforts to bring relief to some is against the immense backdrop of poverty which limits getting a toothbrush or floss and seeking care until the only remedy left is pulling teeth.
Scenes from a Samoan Dental Clinic
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Visiting Julya, Jan & Ray, and Catlin
11/01/07
Today I joined Julya Steyh, her visiting father, Ed, along with Jan Ott for a bike ride around their villages. It is fun to see where other volunteers live.
Julya is finishing her stay as a computer teacher this December. Her father is visiting for the second time from Seattle. His first visit was with his wife.
Jan and Ray Ott have been here for over a year and are on similar village development program as Mary and I. Jan is active teaching farmers how to castrate cattle and poultry training while Ray is helping teach wood working at the local school. He concentrates on those boys who will not go on to the university. Both have been Peace Corps Volunteers before in Morocco from 1981-83.
I also stopped at Catlin’s village. She is paret of my Group 78. She is working to build a pre-school and getting pig fencing for the village. She also is filling in for a non-existant fifth grade teacher every day. Her new dog is "PoPo".
It has been my longest bike ride to date. I can attest to the power of the tropical sun. Thank goodness, November 1 is a national holiday, Arbor Day. Little traffic as people planted trees or just rested.
Today I joined Julya Steyh, her visiting father, Ed, along with Jan Ott for a bike ride around their villages. It is fun to see where other volunteers live.
Julya is finishing her stay as a computer teacher this December. Her father is visiting for the second time from Seattle. His first visit was with his wife.Jan and Ray Ott have been here for over a year and are on similar village development program as Mary and I. Jan is active teaching farmers how to castrate cattle and poultry training while Ray is helping teach wood working at the local school. He concentrates on those boys who will not go on to the university. Both have been Peace Corps Volunteers before in Morocco from 1981-83.I also stopped at Catlin’s village. She is paret of my Group 78. She is working to build a pre-school and getting pig fencing for the village. She also is filling in for a non-existant fifth grade teacher every day. Her new dog is "PoPo".It has been my longest bike ride to date. I can attest to the power of the tropical sun. Thank goodness, November 1 is a national holiday, Arbor Day. Little traffic as people planted trees or just rested.
Tsunami
10/30/07
The Samoan government conducted its first nationwide tsunami drill. The drill had been repeatedly announced for several days on newspaper, radio, and television. The Peace Corps also was expected to participate.
At about noon, we received a text message from the tsunami alert center. About ten minutes later, we received another text of a warning at which time people are to evacuate to a higher consolidation point. About eight minutes later, an ambulance with siren blaring announced the warning as it sped down the road. I started to walk up the road to the high school (our consolidation point) shouting “Tsunami” to the villagers. It was a lonely walk as the villagers greeted me from their houses. About another fifteen minutes the church bell sounded another warning alert. Still I walked alone.
At the high school, I sat under a tree while students continued their classes. One of the host family boys who was riding his bike home asked me why I was sitting alone under a tree. I told him about the tsunami drill. A short while later his father, the mayor and my host father, arrived with his wife. Another neighbor joined making it a foursome. About an hour after the warning, the all clear was texted. We returned home.
To put the whole exercise into perspective, one has to realize the good intentions of the international world community to fund such a warning system, flawed though it may be, and that a significant tsunami has never hit Samoa and if it did, the short time people would have between warning and wave, the acceptance by the villagers of “God’s Will” and protection, and the fact you don’t conduct a drill in the heat of the day.
I think my status as respected Peace Corps Volunteer dropped to that of “Village Idiot”. At least we four returned to the village. I felt a little better because one person is an idiot, two are stupid, but with four, maybe there is a germ of doubt.
Now if there was an actual tsunami warning, I would probably do what the rest of the village would do. I would run down to the sea with my camera to see what a tsunami looks like.
The Samoan government conducted its first nationwide tsunami drill. The drill had been repeatedly announced for several days on newspaper, radio, and television. The Peace Corps also was expected to participate.
At about noon, we received a text message from the tsunami alert center. About ten minutes later, we received another text of a warning at which time people are to evacuate to a higher consolidation point. About eight minutes later, an ambulance with siren blaring announced the warning as it sped down the road. I started to walk up the road to the high school (our consolidation point) shouting “Tsunami” to the villagers. It was a lonely walk as the villagers greeted me from their houses. About another fifteen minutes the church bell sounded another warning alert. Still I walked alone.
At the high school, I sat under a tree while students continued their classes. One of the host family boys who was riding his bike home asked me why I was sitting alone under a tree. I told him about the tsunami drill. A short while later his father, the mayor and my host father, arrived with his wife. Another neighbor joined making it a foursome. About an hour after the warning, the all clear was texted. We returned home.
To put the whole exercise into perspective, one has to realize the good intentions of the international world community to fund such a warning system, flawed though it may be, and that a significant tsunami has never hit Samoa and if it did, the short time people would have between warning and wave, the acceptance by the villagers of “God’s Will” and protection, and the fact you don’t conduct a drill in the heat of the day.
I think my status as respected Peace Corps Volunteer dropped to that of “Village Idiot”. At least we four returned to the village. I felt a little better because one person is an idiot, two are stupid, but with four, maybe there is a germ of doubt.
Now if there was an actual tsunami warning, I would probably do what the rest of the village would do. I would run down to the sea with my camera to see what a tsunami looks like.
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