02/15/08
The bible says, “Spare the rod, spoil the child. Not too long ago the use of corporal punishment as way to teach children was an accepted axiom in the U.S., both at home and in the schools. Now newer psychological methods of corrective action (punishment) replace physical ones. We are so convinced of these newer techniques that we have passed laws prohibiting the use of corporal punishment not only for ourselves, but have pressured other countries to do the same. In Samoa corporal punishment is illegal; however, it is widely practiced.
For many the use of force on children is so abhorrent as to cause mental anxieties. Yesterday, Mary watched a 10-year-old neighbor girl being trashed and pulled by her hair by her mother for apparently not picking up the leaves and/or doing her homework. We know and greatly like both. Every fiber in Mary’s body wanted to intervene and stop this mismatch. The effects on Mary may be longer lasting than to either mother or child. These memories are really the hardest and most enduring aspects of living in a very different culture.
Mary and I were raised differently. She never experienced corporal punishment; I did.
Whether corporal or psychological techniques are used it seems that most children grow up into responsible, law abiding adults. The children of Samoa seem to be a happy lot. Their parents are loving and caring.
As for me, I prefer the swift and clear-cut action of corporal punishment when oral persuasion fails. I certainly do not condone either physical or psychological abuse. As to the long-term effects of the two contrasting styles of our parents, others have to be the judge.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Working Together
02/14/08
Valentine’s Day emotes thoughts of love between two people. Indeed, it does for Mary and me. Layered over these endearments are the harsh realities of living together and working together in a foreign land. For us, living together part as gone rather well. Much like in Minnesota, we each have our domestic roles to fill. We have found continually being together without the release valve of separate friends and activities, manageable. The hard part is finding our occupational Peace Corps niches. The challenge is for each of us to develop a purposeful Peace Corps job where no specific job tasks exist.
In the U.S., both couples may work, but rarely do they work together in the same place on the same task. The skills of successfully living together do not necessarily transfer to working together. We and two other Peace Corps couples grapple with this fact as we try to define and execute what we are to do in our villages. It is difficult enough to structure a meaningful job for one and may be insurmountable for two. Someone gets left out, standing in the heat.
My personality blends well with our ambiguous mission. I relish starting things from scratch, organizing, problem solving, and using my domineering style to get action from others. Mary is the consummate listener. She can calm the most troubled beast. Her skills require picking up the nuances of others and translating them back in a suggestive, supportive manner. This is very difficult when faced with linguistic and cultural obstacles.
We are still young lovers, impatient in the game of Peace Corps. Like most young lovers, idealistic; but as a couple of oldies, knowledgeable that living and working together takes more than Cupid’s arrows.
Valentine’s Day emotes thoughts of love between two people. Indeed, it does for Mary and me. Layered over these endearments are the harsh realities of living together and working together in a foreign land. For us, living together part as gone rather well. Much like in Minnesota, we each have our domestic roles to fill. We have found continually being together without the release valve of separate friends and activities, manageable. The hard part is finding our occupational Peace Corps niches. The challenge is for each of us to develop a purposeful Peace Corps job where no specific job tasks exist.
In the U.S., both couples may work, but rarely do they work together in the same place on the same task. The skills of successfully living together do not necessarily transfer to working together. We and two other Peace Corps couples grapple with this fact as we try to define and execute what we are to do in our villages. It is difficult enough to structure a meaningful job for one and may be insurmountable for two. Someone gets left out, standing in the heat.
My personality blends well with our ambiguous mission. I relish starting things from scratch, organizing, problem solving, and using my domineering style to get action from others. Mary is the consummate listener. She can calm the most troubled beast. Her skills require picking up the nuances of others and translating them back in a suggestive, supportive manner. This is very difficult when faced with linguistic and cultural obstacles.
We are still young lovers, impatient in the game of Peace Corps. Like most young lovers, idealistic; but as a couple of oldies, knowledgeable that living and working together takes more than Cupid’s arrows.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Bookmarks
02/10/08
If you are a Samoan who hardly ever reads and you see a book with a bookmark, what would you do? Of course, you would pull it out, examine it, and place it back somewhere in the book.
Now, what page was I reading?
If you are a Samoan who hardly ever reads and you see a book with a bookmark, what would you do? Of course, you would pull it out, examine it, and place it back somewhere in the book.
Now, what page was I reading?
Storm at Sea (ESC)
02/09/08
As we sat trying to concentrate during our sessions, the roar of 15 foot waves crashing on the barrier reef reminded us of the Pacific Ocean’s power and somewhere, maybe hundreds of miles away, there had been a terrific storm.
As we sat trying to concentrate during our sessions, the roar of 15 foot waves crashing on the barrier reef reminded us of the Pacific Ocean’s power and somewhere, maybe hundreds of miles away, there had been a terrific storm.
Castrating Cattle (ESC)
02/07/08Jan Ott, from Group 76, gave a demonstration on castrating cattle and to teach men the method from Peace Corps Volunteer Shawn's nearby village . Some of the village men asked why castrate the young bulls?
We Peace Corps males watched with shivers up our spines as Jan expertly removed the bull’s “Essence of Manhood”.
No female members of our group came.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Early Service Conference (ESC)
02/09/08
One of the happiest times is when our Group 78 gets together. This past week (Feb 4-8) we went to a required Peace Corps event called Early Service Conference held at Faofao Beach Resort at Saleapaga on the island of Uplou. We stayed in Samoan style beach houses next to roaring waves. We stuffed ourselves with such rare delicacies as cheese, grapes, and salads. Sessions were held to improve our language, learn more about writing proposals, teaching methods, and another retelling of Peace Corps rules.
Group 78 seems to have a special place in the minds of Peace Corps trainers. One of the staff who has trained over 20 groups remarked that our group was the very best. We feel that way too, but exactly why we are held in such high esteem is difficult to understand. The trainers feel it is due to their new training methods. Maybe it was the training village of Manunu. Maybe it was the preparation of the villages prior to our arrival by the Peace Corps staff and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Of course, we feel we are just a talented group with a sense of purpose. The bar is set high for us. We like that honor.
Our entire group of sixteen is still together after eight months. The only person who did not attend was Sophia Mitchell who was flown to Hawaii for treatment of a nasty tropical intestinal problem. There seems to be a genuine caring and interest in what each of us is doing. As the oldest person in our group, I feel this kinship which crosses age, gender, and talent boundaries. Just whether our group falls into the long standing “Early Separation” statistic of 29% remains to be seen. We still have nineteen more months to go.
What were beneficial to us all were the individual presentations about our highs and lows. We all have had them. When we were working actively on our projects seems to mark the high times; the lows during those inactive periods waiting for something to happen, when we just couldn’t get others to share our enthusiasm.
Some in our group are having problems with their initial placement; some have already been reassigned to new villages and/or jobs. Peace Corps does a lot to properly match the volunteer with the job and does not take moving people lightly. Many times the problems works themselves out as both Samoans and the volunteer readjust their expectations. Sometimes the chemistry just isn’t there.
In trying best to describe Samoa and the culture we find ourselves in, the word “convoluted” came up. No one can think of a better word. We are all trying to connect the dots. The lines don’t seem to go in a straight line. Just where the line goes, we don’t understand, but somehow the dots get connected. We just need plenty of patience and not to worry.
One of the happiest times is when our Group 78 gets together. This past week (Feb 4-8) we went to a required Peace Corps event called Early Service Conference held at Faofao Beach Resort at Saleapaga on the island of Uplou. We stayed in Samoan style beach houses next to roaring waves. We stuffed ourselves with such rare delicacies as cheese, grapes, and salads. Sessions were held to improve our language, learn more about writing proposals, teaching methods, and another retelling of Peace Corps rules.
Group 78 seems to have a special place in the minds of Peace Corps trainers. One of the staff who has trained over 20 groups remarked that our group was the very best. We feel that way too, but exactly why we are held in such high esteem is difficult to understand. The trainers feel it is due to their new training methods. Maybe it was the training village of Manunu. Maybe it was the preparation of the villages prior to our arrival by the Peace Corps staff and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Of course, we feel we are just a talented group with a sense of purpose. The bar is set high for us. We like that honor.
Our entire group of sixteen is still together after eight months. The only person who did not attend was Sophia Mitchell who was flown to Hawaii for treatment of a nasty tropical intestinal problem. There seems to be a genuine caring and interest in what each of us is doing. As the oldest person in our group, I feel this kinship which crosses age, gender, and talent boundaries. Just whether our group falls into the long standing “Early Separation” statistic of 29% remains to be seen. We still have nineteen more months to go.
What were beneficial to us all were the individual presentations about our highs and lows. We all have had them. When we were working actively on our projects seems to mark the high times; the lows during those inactive periods waiting for something to happen, when we just couldn’t get others to share our enthusiasm.
Some in our group are having problems with their initial placement; some have already been reassigned to new villages and/or jobs. Peace Corps does a lot to properly match the volunteer with the job and does not take moving people lightly. Many times the problems works themselves out as both Samoans and the volunteer readjust their expectations. Sometimes the chemistry just isn’t there.
In trying best to describe Samoa and the culture we find ourselves in, the word “convoluted” came up. No one can think of a better word. We are all trying to connect the dots. The lines don’t seem to go in a straight line. Just where the line goes, we don’t understand, but somehow the dots get connected. We just need plenty of patience and not to worry.
Group 78 with Language Trainers
(Sophia Mitchell, missing)
Language Classroom
A Little Evening Entertainment
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