time

Time
Throughout training I would go for a swim in the afu (waterfall) in Manunu. We loved going to the waterfall as it was so peaceful to go swimming in the cool water after a hot day in class. We could float on our back and look up and see all the trees blocking the clouds.
Every day in Samoa I was wearing my watch as I did not want to be late for class, and since I did not carry a phone with me places I felt the need to know the time whenever I may want to know it.
One day at the waterfall, my watch fell off and it was impossible to find in the cloudy water. I think it was symbolic of time here in Samoa. I went from going to such a time orientated country as the United States to such a relaxed atmosphere as Samoa.
If it is time for church, you will not know based upon the sound of the old tank (it looks like a helium or oxygen tank, although I am not sure) ringing, some other metal container is used to mark the start of school. If a church activity is taking place they bang on something that looks similar to an old canoe. If a Matai meeting or a village clean up is to take place they scream it out for the village to hear. In Manunu they used a conch shell to share the events going on in the village. (Which has lead me to pick up the Lord of the Flies to read.)
Time is of no importance here. It was pretty symbolic of me losing my watch in the water. Time has now been washed away. There is no need to be so time oriented here as you will be the only one who is. I have now had my mind begin to switch from needing to know the time at all time, to realizing that it does not matter. Things will happen when they do, and if you try to force it to happening when it is supposed to, it will just get you more frustrated.
I have also lost track of American holidays, and the only reason I will know of them is that the Peace Corps Office will send out a message to us saying the office will be closed due to the holiday. I just received this message yesterday for Monday’s holiday. I was so confused as to what holiday this would be. It took me a long time to learn that it was Martin Luther King Day.
Things will happen when they do, no need to look at your watch, life goes on whether you wear a watch or not.