Returning to a Tradegy

Returning to the village.
I left for the pasi o va’a at seven in the morning, ready to catch the ten o’clock boat. Being a Tuesday I was hoping there would be a ten o’clock boat. The schedule for the ferry used to be different on Tuesdays, but ever since the new boat was introduced, the schedule changes more frequently than expected. Often a boat will just not show, which makes the waiting game not as much fun. I never seem to be on the loop of when boats decide not to show up (which causes the busses also not to show).
When I got to the wharf I was excited. The new boat was waiting for us. The new boat has been running for the past few months, and I haven’t been fortunate enough to ever get it. I have heard stories of the amazing air conditioning on board, the free tea and coffee and the movies. To make it even better, I have heard that there is plenty of seating so everyone I have talked to never gets stuck sitting on the floor. I have had dreams of going on board this ship. Finally ,I thought, my dreams were about to come true. (Is it bad for my dreams to be full of ferry rides? Maybe I should start getting my dreams a little higher..)
Sure enough, those dreams were tampered. Right before ten, the little boat showed up. The tiny one that made me so sick from the rocking ocean inside the tiny cabin. The only seats available were sitting on the floor and the ride ended with me sicker than can be. I was not about to sit inside that cabin again.
I solved that problem by sitting on the car deck next to the cars. The ride started with a smell of diesel in the air. It began to make me nauseous as I thought back to my recent trip of the bus with both the driver and many passenger smoking. After a few minutes that felt like forever, the smell finally ended. I began to feel better and took a nap on the wooden boards of the deck.
I took my time getting off the boat since for the first time I was not rushing for the bus, which leaves as soon as the boat docks. I had to make a quick trip to the post office to pick up a package in Salelologa. The post office is only open week days, which is during school hours. So it is impossible for us to go to it, unless school gets out early enough for the bus.
Like most places in Samoa, the Post Office enjoys a nice long lunch break, so when I arrived during the lunch break I was a little upset. I wasn’t going to let it bother me though. I found some couches by a hotel and took a nap. I awoke to my friend telling me people were talking about us. The fact is, it didn’t bother me. Samoans will find any place to sleep, and the fact is in the past few hours I have slept out on the boat, and in a hotel lobby and I felt it was completely natural.
After my nap, I headed back to our little PC office in Salelologa, ready for nap number three. However, the office was crawling with volunteers from another group, waiting for a bus, (We all didn’t realize that since the next ferry was not to show up, there would be no bus.) and finally giving up to wait for a cab. I was still exhausted, and since there were no benches to even sit on. (The office really is tiny.) I decided to head over to my favorite store for relaxation.
The Digicel store has some of the best workers in Samoa. They are really friendly, let us play DJ to their music, and often let us use the internet there. When you add to the fact that they also have air conditioning, it makes it the best place to hang out in Saleloga.
I finally had my piece of mind when I saw the 2 o’clock ferry roll in (It was after three), which meant I can finally roll into my village. I was looking forward to seeing the friendly faces of those on the Salega bus, and was happy when I finally did.
Close to five, I finally arrived at my village. It had been about ten hours of travelling (which includes waiting and napping) but I was still exhausted. I was too happy to be home that I didn’t notice the police cars on the street as I headed home, and my sister had to give me a heads up as soon as I came home.
There had just been a tragedy.
Another one.
Another car had ran over a person.
Another death.
A little four year old boy died.
My sister points out where she saw the brain out of the head.
I start to feel sick to my stomach.
Why does this keep happening in my village? I have only been living in my village for half a year and two people have already died from being run over in my village.
The buzz was throughout the village, and it was intense.
What a scene to walk into when I had been gone for weeks prior.
I needed to clear my head, so I joined my family on a trip to the stores to find food for dinner. It was nice to be in a vehicle again. Zooming through the villages past many of my students who looked excitedly as I waved at them. We finally headed home.
I was ready for my well deserved shower. And the water was out.
It did not bother me much, I used a bowl and the barrel for water to wash myself and it still felt great.
Shortly after, the power went out. And stayed out for hours. My family searched for candles and finally we had light.
It had been an intense day of travel, and events in the village. No matter what they threw at me, I was still thrilled to be at home, catching up on life with my family. The truth is, as much as I enjoyed my freedom in Apia and elsewhere, I really do still enjoy living in the company of others. I do wish the mourning family the best, as I come back to life on the Southwest side of Savai’i. Life here can’t be beat!