Hurricane Rene

Hurricane Rene
We warned….through text messages and by those who have watched the news about this hurricane. I was becoming nervous. I didn’t know what to expect. I had a trip to the doctor planned but was unsure if I would make it.
The storm was supposed to start Thursday night, and a little rain and wind came. But by Friday morning when the storm was supposed to be at its worst, the sun was shining as bright as ever. It was safe to at least go to the doctor in the morning and head back as soon as possible.
The doctor is located at the market, and because it is Samoa and they try to make things as difficult as possible the doctor’s phone number was off. When I tried his backup number, again that was disconnected. I did not know what to expect. He could be there, or I could have made the trip for no apparent reason. Luckily, after my search of every shop outside the market, I found his office and after waiting for him to show up for only 45 minutes he showed up.
A few more of us met up and the “hurricane” had started. We were having pretty big winds and a lot of rain. It still did not feel like much compared to the storm we had a few weeks prior. (Where all of us were terrified!)
We had heard that the boats were not running, and judging by how the waves were, I think this was a smart idea. My host dad was in American Samoa, which was in a more direct hit from the storm, and his plane flights were cancelled. Because of all the confusion on the weather, the bus schedule was a little messed up and it took three hours for the bus to show up to go back home.
When I got home I had to laugh because our house was turned upside down to get ready for this cyclone. Furniture was moved, suitcases were packed, candles were ready to be our only source of light, and my family was ready for whatever was necessary. They said it was because of Hurricane Ofa in 1992 that they needed to be prepared, since they lost so much during that storm. Thankfully they now know what to do in case of an emergency.
Don’t worry, the emergency bag is packed and I am ready for whatever is thrown at me.