Journal Entries:

1 October 2008

“When I lie down to go to bed, I hear the crickets chirping, occasionally a pig will grunt quietly outside my bedroom window, but mainly I heard the waves of the ocean crashing on the beach as the tide shifts or a storm rolls in. The season is changing now, so it rains a lot at night, so then all I can hear is the heavy rain drops hitting the tin-roofed house and the wind blowing in different directions through the rain and the trees.

When I wake up, I hear the roosters first – its usually still dark at this point, around 5 a.m. Then song birds start singing and hens clucking with their babies chirping behind them. My host family begins to stir, my host mother, Lamosa, starts telling the kids to get ready for school and there’s usually a baby crying. My neighbor turns on their radio (which usually stays on until evening). Today it’s oddly quiet – all I can hear is the radio, birds chirping and the ocean. It’s pleasantly – and unusually quiet.”

4 October 2008

“I saw a thunderstorm today far in the distance out over the ocean. It was about five or six o’clock or so, and the sky was bright orange and pink. From the road, on the hill, I can see the ocean – not the beach, but the open ocean in the distance. I was walking home with my host mother and sister and from the top of the hill, I could see the whole thing – the still water and the huge cloud formation: the tall stack high over the ocean with the big T top. (I recognized the shape from the meteorology class I took in college. I’ve seen a thunderstorm from a similar vantage point once before – from a plane in the air somewhere between Bangkok and Singapore.) It was awesome, it must have been a half mile or mile away. No one else got why that was cool.”

I’m in Apia today to meet Group 81 who I suppose has been in-country for just about four hours or so now. The new Associate Peace Corps Director (APCD) – a.k.a. my new boss arrives today also.

Yesterday was a very strange day. Monday afternoon, my host family told me that Tuesday some doctors and nurses would be visiting the village. And sure enough, yesterday morning at about 9 o’clock, a whole team of doctors and nurses shows up, with a pharmacist to boot. A few people were American, and there were also a few Australian as well as several Samoan doctors. They had an-all day free clinic for anyone and everyone in the village. Apparently they come every year and visit five different villages. I went over to see everything, and there were a ton of people, I talked to a bunch of people in my village and some of the visiting people as well. They were even testing people’s eyes and had glasses. Later in the evening, my host father was showing off his new reading glasses.

Also, yesterday when I was eating my lunch (tuna and taro), two ladies came up to the house – one from New Zealand and the other Samoan. They interviewed my host mother about weaving the fine mats and some other things (I just listened – it was pretty enlightening, since she hadn’t told me a lot of this stuff before). When they were done, I was chatting with the Samoan lady and she asked me about my background. I told her that I have a degree in Media Studies, so she asked, “Oh so you’re a journalist?” I said, “Yeah,” and she perked right up and explained that she worked with Woman’s Time Magazine (a Samoan glossy, I’ve seen it around) and asked if I’d be interested in writing for them. Of course, I said I’d love to.

Life is weird, man.

In other news, on Monday I helped the Year 8 English class (which meant that I actually conducted the entire lesson on my own). They have their big National Exam coming up in two weeks (which is all in English), so I offered to help them prepare. I’ll go back tomorrow, also.

I have also been teaching computer lessons to the Catholic autalavou, sans computers, which has been interesting. Apparently they wanted the “theory” first, and then the “practical.” But as a lot of them really want to learn to type I’m hoping I can get them to the computer center next week. (Wish me luck.)