Malaga

Malaga
Today my trip started early in the morning as I had to travel to the 6
am boat for upolu in order to ensure I was able to get everything done
that I needed to do.
After one last trip to the fish market for a delicious lunch, I was at
the airport ready to begin my 2 days of travel.
I am currently in the middle of my first layover-one that lasts 10
hours.
I was on the flight with miss Hawaii's family- who was just runner up
at the miss south pacific pagent-miss Fiji won, and met the beautiful
miss American Samoa.
So far in pago pago it is cold. I am wearing my long sleeves, pants
and am wrapped in a lavalava. I have closed toe shoes, but in the
spirit of samoa, where shoes all seem to meet their graveyard at the
most inopportune times, the bottom rubber just began to come off, and
it is peeling quick. If I was in Samoa I would have probably ditched
the shoes and began going around barefoot, but I don't think walking
around barefoot is as appropriate as it is in samoa-besides did I
mention that it's cold????
I was told that my next destination of Hawaii is really cold right
now. I can't imagine what will it be like in the mainland as I make my
way to LA and then over to the Rocky Mountain Coldness of Colorado.

Sent from my iPod

Fun fact of the day

Fun fact of the day
Did you know the Tongan Trench (situated between the islands of Upolu
and savai'i) is the second largest trench in the world. I enquired
about the largest trench, but was told to not be fiapoto.

Rumor has it-without news sources except coconut wireless,rumor is the
best you can go by- that scientists are worried about the volcanic
activity there. Sounds pretty scary if you ask me!

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Last Day

Last Day
Well, I didn't have much of a fa'amavae (going away party) at my
school, but one of my village churches more than made up for it.
On my last day in the village the church sermon had a large part
dedicated to me. It was so beautiful to hear what members of the
congregation and the pastor had to say (I've heard so many nice things
about myself that I might start to get a big head...)
Afterwards I spent hours walking around visiting people and delivering
last minute gifts. It was nice to enjoy the time sitting on
falas(mats) ad drinking Samoan cocoa.
In the evening my sister and I walked over to the construction site of
the new building.
Looking around, it was amazing to see how much I accomplished in such
a short time...wow my big head is really kicking in!
But I never expected to work so well with my community to help in so
many (somewhat random) ways. It really showed me that you can do
anything if you just put your heart into it.
It was the perfect way to end my Savaiian experience. Being around my
community that helped me grow into the person I am today and spending
quality time with my youngest sister who reminded me how lucky I was
to be a part of an amazing Samoan family.
If anyone is lucky enough to visit the villages that make up
Gaga'emalae, you are in for a treat!

Sent from my iPod

Lili's Top 3 Places

Yesterday while I was sitting at the blowholes, admiring their beauty for a final time, I realized my list for top places to relax, unwind and take things in.

 

1-Vedauvoo, Wyoming (probably spelled incorrectly).  It was the most amazing rock formation that you can just play on the boulders for hours, or just sit and relax.  There is great camping and sledding there….it is just fantastic.  (it you want to go,  take I80 it will be about 5 miles from Laramie, WY if you are heading west from Cheyenne. 

 

2 Alofaaga Blowholes- The blowholes in Taga, Savaii.  They just take you in.  I was sitting there watching them for an hour….and didn’t realize that any time had gone by. 

 

3.  Staten Island Ferry- It is such an amazing boat ride and you get to see so much.  It makes you really appreciate NYC (and I guess enjoy the parts of NJ that you see along the way…)

Fisher lady

I tried my hand at being a local fisherman today.  I went down in the ocean with my mask and snorkel and had a great time swimming amongst the fish. 

What did I bring home from this expedition, my only catch, which was a lavalava. 

I don’t think I am as good a fisherman as the rest of the people in my village, better stick to teaching as a career path. 

 

 

Poto teine

When I first learned that I would be coming to Samoa, my cousins in Hawaii tried to teach me a few words, but it went in one ear and out the other…

My first few weeks in this country I remember walking along the sea wall telling everyone, “Manuia le aso,” or any other polite phrases that I learned in class. 

It was a slow, long hard journey to learn this language, but when I finished training, I was told that my skills had reached intermediate middle, which really impressed me. 

Teaching English, I knew it would remain a difficult journey as you need to find the right balance of speaking English with the children and Samoan to practice for yourself in order to communicate with everyone else. 

However, in the end, I somehow managed to make it work.

I am coming back to America with an Advanced low achievement on my Samoan proficiency test.  (I was told It would have been higher as my understanding is comprehensive and I can respond, however, my grammar is off.)

So if you see me wandering around the US speaking Samoan, feel free to say, “Manuia le aso,” in return…it will make my day.

O a’u poto teine….ma aulelei…ma teiene le fefe…ma o le teine o le tama uma mana’o! haha

 

A Week To Go.What Happens Next?

A Week To Go…What Happens Next?

Well, that time has come…time to leave the village….which is why I have been too busy to post any blogs….I am backlogged and will probably finish the ones I started a few months ago while I am back in the States. 

Yesterday, I had a farewell barbecue with a family that I have become close with, and it just seems surreal that I will not be seeing everyone daily….not laughing with the children as we make monkey or other strange faces.  They seemed excited for me, as they rolled off the names of my family members that they met and are excited for me to see again.  (They also are happy for me to see my very fat cats, as it is not normal for cats to be that fat!)  I became at a loss for words when the eldest of the family gave a long speech about how I am welcomed into their family.  When it was my turn to speak, I know I could not match the nice things he said about me in Samoan, which made me a little sad because I hoped they knew how I felt.

Today, someone sang a beautiful song to me, and then presented me with a small mea alofa.  It was too sweet.

For my last week, the teachers are taking me out for a BBQ to celebrate the year, and I am supposed to have a famavae (going away party)…but I am not sure when.  I plan to just enjoy the village life until leaving.  Some of my girls invited me to their dance practice so I can try to learn dances from other Pacific nations before returning to the States.

What are my plans?

Well after spending a month and a half in a reversed culture shock mixed between Colorado and New York (freezing my bum off!)…I will be returning to Samoa!

I have been granted an extension to work with Samoan Victims Support as their Home School Coordinator. 

It is nice to know that it doesn’t have to be goodbye to all the people I have come to love as they have become a part of my family. 

And I get to share my adventures with all of you from the other island…which will be a different experience as Upolu is sooooooo crowded and there are too many cars! (How am I going to survive in NYC for a few weeks?) 

Thank you all for your comments and encouragement over the past two years, it has helped to share things, and never expected an audience of people, especially of people I did not know at the start of this trip.  I have gotten more out of this blog than expected, as I just wanted to document my adventure for myself for later. (I kept a diary…and then a flood happened and I lost all of my entries…so paper did not seem worthwhile to do again.)  But I have also gotten the opportunity to connect with many of you, and friendships have evolved because of it.  Fa’afetai tele lava.

I hope you have a great holiday season.  Ia manuia le kerisimasi, po’o Chanukkah, Kwazaa, po’o ese ese  tu'uaga mo outou, ma manuia lava le tausaga fou.

Thank you again,

Love,

Lili

Photo Blog November 2011

Since I only have a few weeks left, I wanted to take advantage of the time I do have here…and here is some of the fun happening on the South West of Savaii

Photo Blog November 2011 - School

 

Cat

Cat

For the longest time we have only had a male cat…..so when I came home and saw a female cat in a pot with a kitten I was puzzled…Where did this cat come from?

My prediction is:  my cat knocked up his girlfriend and he decided to bring her home to help take care of the baby….

But now the other question is, why is there a book in the pot with the two cats?

 

Halloween

Halloween

Jack-o-Lanterns were carved from papayas with candles inside, the mood was set for a nice spooky Halloween.

The Halloween weekend kicked off with a murder mystery party…..what could be better than that.  Although and my best friend and I had planned to host one when I was much younger, I had never actually attended one (Ashley and I never made it past the planning stages).  This party had well over 20 people, and although it was fun playing the part of someone else, it was hard to keep everyone’s new identity straight.  The night was a lot of fun, and I was not one of the 7 or so people to die, even though I could not figure out who the murderer was. 

The real funny part of the night that we had pseudo identities, and it was a costume party on top of that, so it really tripped us up.  There was a ninja Merlin, many vampires, a coconut tree, and much, much more. 

The next night we celebrated Halloween with all of the other volunteers from other countries and Samoans.  At the café we were at we had a costume contest, and somehow I ended up winning one of the prizes for best costume.  (I was the Statue of Liberty…I think I did a good job of doing the Peace Corps goals with that costume!)

It was impressive to see how much everyone put into their costumes.  There was a snowman, 4 legged woman, Minnie Mouse, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Palolo Hunter, Pebbles and Bam Bam, Cowboys and Indians and much much more.  It was great to see the creativity everyone put into their costumes with as little resources as we have.  

 

Drought to Rainy Season

Drought to Rainy Season

It is amazing how quickly the seasons change.  One day I am sitting here complaining about all of the fires and drought, and two weeks later I find myself getting a text warning about flooding due to the massive amounts of rainfall. 

The past few weeks have been full of rain, making me bring my raincoat wherever I go.  It has rained so much that the river in Samalaeulu returned. (The strongest river in Samoa that only appears about 3 times a year.)

Our water levels have not returned to a “safe level” yet to allow people in all villages to have piped water during more hours of the day, but if this weather pattern continues soon, we’ll get there. 

 

Oceania Cup

Oceania Cup

Two weekends ago I was in Apia for a weekend marathon of events, one of our staff members hosted a murder mystery party for us, then most of us were volunteering at an event hosted by Samoan Victims Support, there was also a Halloween party, and still if there was more time, a rugby tournament was taking place.

Family Fun Day through Samoan Victims Support was held at Apia Park, to ensure it was able to reach out to the most amounts of people.  Many people were volunteering at it, there were representatives from JICA (the Japanese Volunteers) AYD (Australian Volunteers), Peace Corps (USA Volunteers) and many host country nationals. 

I woke up and it was a day like any other day…nice and sunny.  However, that changed quickly… the hour leading up to family fun day was complete downpour and the rain never stopped. 

You would think this would deter people from attending this outdoor fun event, but it didn’t too much. Everyone was having a blast playing the different carnival games, relay races through the mud, eating, dancing and doing many many other fun activities.   There was a fire truck there to give the children rides as well as a police car.  All of the kids that stopped by my station had a blast as we used wire hangers to make gigantic bubbles.

As the day continued, so did the rain.  In many places on the grass the water reached well up my calf, which made me covered in muddy water.

When it was over, I decided why leave the park when there is rugby going on and I wanted to see Samoa win another cup.  My wishing came through as Samoa was dominating against the other teams from the Pacific coming out undefeated.  There were so many amazing games to watch because of the weather there was so much sliding and falling all over the field.  The Australian games made me laugh the most as they were covered in so much mud by the end of each of their games they came out looking the same as the other non Palagis from the Pacific.  In the end, it really made me feel pride for this country I have been in for the past two years.   (Of course I did cheer for my fellow Americans from American Samoa when they played….well except for their game against Samoa…)

 

Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?

Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?

If you ask kids in America, they will normally give you the joke response of, “to get to the other side.”  However in Samoa, where chickens cross the road sometimes more than people, children have a different response….Here are some of them now….

Why Did The Chicken Corss The Road 2

Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?

If you ask kids in America, they will normally give you the joke response of, “to get to the other side.”  However in Samoa, where chickens cross the road sometimes more than people, children have a different response….Here are some of them now….

 

Why Did the Chicken Cross The Road 3

Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?

If you ask kids in America, they will normally give you the joke response of, “to get to the other side.”  However in Samoa, where chickens cross the road sometimes more than people, children have a different response….Here are some of them now….

 

Palolo Day 2

Palolo Day 2

Since last year I went several times on the wrong day to kapalolo, I jumped at the chance to go again to make up for the previous year, and to get a different experience I went with different people to a different location.  This time I was going in my village.  It is hard to get to the ocean in my village.  I mean it is right there….but there are so many rocks on the hill and other obstacles to make it hard to travel. 

I was told to leave my telephone, what a use as a torch. This worried me because I have fallen walking to the ocean when it wasn’t dark outside.  Our first stop was to pick up the paopao (canoe) so that everyone would have a safe place to keep their buckets of sperm.  When we arrived, the paopao was broken.  The bottom that allows the canoe to float was split in two.  The men set out to find other pieces of wood to fix this and using vines from the tree to tie it into place.  It is always so amazing to watch how inventive Samoans can be. 

We then set off.  Although we walked on the slimy rocks next to the water the entire time, it was still at least a ten minute climb to get to the spot where everyone was.  When we arrived, there were several people in the water searching with their flashlights, similar to the previous day.  However, they were not given as colourful commentary.  We sat on the rocks hanging out until those in the water mentioned the sign of palolo swimming in the Pacific. 

One my one, the rocks emptied as people swam over to the coral to catch the palolo.  I waited until the sun was about to rise.  It was hard to find my paopao of people since the ocean was so crowded and it was still dark.  I spent a lot of time by myself in the water until I saw them.  I helped one of the young girls guide the paopao so it was easy for everyone to access, as I enjoyed the scenery. 

All of the people that I have come to love as a family were there in front of me.  There was the old man who runs the shop who made a little raft for his bucket out of wood and tied it to his stomach.  Another person came over to me with their bucket to offer me a taste.  One of the pastor’s mothers was perfecting the art of catching the little worms.  My brother was there with the mosquito net eating the palolo faster than he could catch it.  It was magical.  I decided I wanted in on the fun.

I still didn’t have a net, and even though I knew any of my students would have given me theirs, I didn’t want to deprive them of the fun.   I put my hand in the water and started catching them that way.  The little green and brown worms I was often able to catch, however I sometimes broke them in half (they still swim) or took all of their colouring off of their bodies.  I popped them in my mouth for an early morning snack and sometimes put them in whoever’s bucket was closest to mine.  It was a lot of fun.

As the sun rose and the whole scene became more and more visible, I realized I had to leave to get ready for school.  I swam back to shore with a big smile on my face. 

I learned later from someone at the market the previous day that someone was selling palolo in a small mayonnaise jar for $400! It is incredible how much it is worth.  I am really lucky to be in a village with such amazing coral that we have an abundance of it. 

 

Palolo- The Sperm of the Sea Part 1

Palolo

He came up to me with a pair of scissors, “This will get it out,” he said as he pointed to my leg.

“No, no, no!” I replied knowing that he failed at looking for a needle to help me.

Finally with the use of fingernails, he took the tiny shards of coral that were causing me pain out of my leg.

In several places, I think my leg got infected, but I did a good job cleaning up the rest of it, so I am no longer seeing green there.

How did this all happen?  Am I really that accident prone? 

Well maybe… but I was fishing for palolo. 

I had heard that palolo, the sperm of the coral, were coming either Monday night, Tuesday night, or  Wednesday night, and after getting it wrong several times last year, I wasn’t going to miss it this year. 

My sister and I awoke at 3:30 in the morning, not sure when the others would be going.  We decided to head to the bus stop to wait it out and watch.  Lying around the bus stop we saw many people with their homemade palolo nets and buckets going either left or right.  Right was the ones who would try to catch palolo in the next village, and the left were the ones who enjoyed a “rocky” start and would climb on rocks to use our village water.

Finally we saw one of the teachers from my school and set off with her.  We were going to our neighboring village, which was nice.  When we arrived there were very few people on the sand, but soon, it became more crowded with people playing music to make it like a beach party.  If you looked tai, in the ocean you would see half a dozen men with flashlights scanning the cold morning water, ready to let others know when to jump in with their nets.  They screamed out many updates, such as, “Maybe this is the wrong day.” 

Finally, maybe half passed five, the time had come and everyone bound for the water.  It was an amazing site to see, because many of them had flashlights, they were all pointed at the water, and we had gotten so used to the night’s sky being our only source of light. It was beautiful to watch everyone at work.  They did their own, “palolo dance” to capture them in their nets. 

One of my year 8 students who had a huge national exam was in the water, because he knew palolo catching is one of the best days of the year.  (I am NOT saying this is a good test taking strategy to wake up in the middle of the night to do this…)  Other kids were having the time of their lives, picking up some of the sperm and eating it fresh.

Finally when the sun became to come up, and we would be able to see what was happening, my sister and I headed into the water.  I only stayed on the sandy bottom, but there were still many palolo swimming my way.  I was amazed at how long they were. 

It was so nice to be a part of my village and go kapalolo.  It really is an experience that shows you pure acceptance into the village.

Besides who doesn’t love a slimy wormy sperm from the ocean to eat in the morning?

 

Palolo-The Sperm of the Coral Part 1

Palolo

He came up to me with a pair of scissors, “This will get it out,” he said as he pointed to my leg.

“No, no, no!” I replied knowing that he failed at looking for a needle to help me.

Finally with the use of fingernails, he took the tiny shards of coral that were causing me pain out of my leg.

In several places, I think my leg got infected, but I did a good job cleaning up the rest of it, so I am no longer seeing green there.

How did this all happen?  Am I really that accident prone? 

Well maybe… but I was fishing for palolo. 

I had heard that palolo, the sperm of the coral, were coming either Monday night, Tuesday night, or  Wednesday night, and after getting it wrong several times last year, I wasn’t going to miss it this year. 

My sister and I awoke at 3:30 in the morning, not sure when the others would be going.  We decided to head to the bus stop to wait it out and watch.  Lying around the bus stop we saw many people with their homemade palolo nets and buckets going either left or right.  Right was the ones who would try to catch palolo in the next village, and the left were the ones who enjoyed a “rocky” start and would climb on rocks to use our village water.

Finally we saw one of the teachers from my school and set off with her.  We were going to our neighboring village, which was nice.  When we arrived there were very few people on the sand, but soon, it became more crowded with people playing music to make it like a beach party.  If you looked tai, in the ocean you would see half a dozen men with flashlights scanning the cold morning water, ready to let others know when to jump in with their nets.  They screamed out many updates, such as, “Maybe this is the wrong day.” 

Finally, maybe half passed five, the time had come and everyone bound for the water.  It was an amazing site to see, because many of them had flashlights, they were all pointed at the water, and we had gotten so used to the night’s sky being our only source of light. It was beautiful to watch everyone at work.  They did their own, “palolo dance” to capture them in their nets. 

One of my year 8 students who had a huge national exam was in the water, because he knew palolo catching is one of the best days of the year.  (I am NOT saying this is a good test taking strategy to wake up in the middle of the night to do this…)  Other kids were having the time of their lives, picking up some of the sperm and eating it fresh.

Finally when the sun became to come up, and we would be able to see what was happening, my sister and I headed into the water.  I only stayed on the sandy bottom, but there were still many palolo swimming my way.  I was amazed at how long they were. 

It was so nice to be a part of my village and go kapalolo.  It really is an experience that shows you pure acceptance into the village.

Besides who doesn’t love a slimy wormy sperm from the ocean to eat in the morning?

 

O le tūlāfale

O le Tulafale

A new movie came out recently, and it was the best movie that I have seen in a long time.  The movie is titled O Le Tulefale or The Orator. 

I went to Apia for a meeting, and as soon as I arrived I was hearing so much buzz about this movie…and being where I am which sometimes has a media block out (no radio, no newspapers….and who really wants to sit in front of a tv?) I had never heard of it before, but I agreed to go with someone for my first Samoan movie experience.

I had never been to the movies before, and from what other people told me, I didn't expect much.  I was surprised though, the movie theatre was much better than I thought.  It is not like movie theatres in New York (which you pay about 4x the price for a ticket, and about 3x the price for popcorn), but the seats were comfortable to screen was perfect, what more do you need?

O le tūlāfale is a Samoan movie that really captures the Samoan experience.  Listening to the sounds puts you directly in the village.  It is so beautiful.  The movie is in Samoan, but subtitled to ensure everyone will get the full picture. 

The movie tells the story of a dwarf man (surprisingly not Stoe, there is a new dwarf actor now!) and deals with Samoan issues on family, and banishment. 

The setting takes place in the village that I had my training in, so I lived for several months.  It was excited to see the places I hung out on the big screen. I even saw my host father in one of the Matai meetings.  Sadly, they did not go down the road to show my house with the camera.

If the movie comes to you, make sure to watch it, it will tell the Samoan experience far better than I ever could!

 

The Samoan Factor

The Samoan Factor

The Samoan Factor is when things are meant to go one way, and in fact every other country, and every other situation they would play out perfectly, but here things get Samoan and don’t.

On Saturday my back started hurting, by Sunday it was pretty bad, and by Monday I knew for sure it was a boil.  I wanted to see the doctor, but did not want to spend an entire day travelling to go to the main hospital on my island.  The doctor comes on Thursdays to my district hospital, which is how it has been forever (except for when there was doctor shortage and there was none….)  I suck up the pain, self treat myself, and wait until I know the doctor is there. 

When Thursday arrives, I get excited thinking that I will be healed soon… and learn that the day of the doctor has been changed to Wednesday.  I decide to see the nurse anyway, because I really want my back to stop hurting!

In any other situation, if I wanted to see the doctor, I would have been able to….but here the Samoan Factor always comes into play and you never know what will happen.  Nothing is ever a sure thing.

 

Boils

Boils

When reading about ancient history, you have to stop and think about it….how did people survive?  The Jewish people were plagued with boils…that means way more than one or two at a time…and without antibiotics, how did they keep on living?

I am on boil number three (numbers one and two were in the armpit area last year).  This one is different because I cannot see how it is getting worse, or even check and see if there is any improvement; why because it is on my back and I live in the country without mirrors.  Well I take that back, there are some mirrors, many families have a piece of a broken mirror somewhere, but nowhere can you get a true look at yourself.  I have been using my bike mirror to judge this boil, and so I can not completely see the extent of it. 

My boil looks like a pimple…and now it has grown a little bit bigger…not sure exactly how big though…My opinion is it looks like when those teenagers in junior high pops their pimples and they explode into a little crater.  Although it is small, the area in which it hurts is large, bigger than my hand.  The problem with back pain is it hurts in everything you do.  You can’t lay down, sit, walk, or skip without feeling pain.  So it is a constant annoyance!

I’ve been trying to self treat myself for the past few days, and might go today for traditional medicine, and if it continues….there is a doctor in the hospital on Thursday afternoons.

I am sure the ancient people didn’t whine as much as me...but I am pretty good at whining, just ask my family in America.

I’m on the home stretch before going to the States, body please try to stay healthy!

 

Extension for Next year

Last week I met with Samoan Victims Support to interview about working in their school as the Home School Coordinator.  The Job Responsibilities entail:

1.       Plan, lead, organize and control educational work plans, teaching materials, and curriculum at SVSG Home school

2.       Maintain complete and accurate records of student attendance, non-attendance, and extra curriculum activities in accordance to office requirements from time to time

3.       Coordinate and organize volunteers and their schedules in accordance with home school schedules for the relevant classes

4.       Research and gather materials to create a multilevel/multiage curriculum for ease of networking with other mainstream educational institutions

5.       Facilitate after school extra curriculum activities of home school students

6.       Assist with livelihood programs as well as physical education of home school students

7.       Report to Executives on a weekly basis on the operation of the home school

8.       Assist SVSG with fundraising activities and any other duties as directed from time to time.

 

 

I am really interested in working with them starting in January..What would my next steps be?

Thank you all for your help!

 

Regards,

Lillian Watson

 

 

Apia Kids vs Kuai

Apia Kids vs Kuai

I have gotten used to living kuai (away from the city-excuse my spelling!).  I never realized that children are raised differently in the different areas.  Living by the city, with working parents, children are spoiled a little more it appears.  I base this solely on a visit that a primary school from Apia took here, and I know it is not true upon everyone. 

Here everyone eats everything on their plates.  They eat their meat to the bone, and even suck on the bone.  Although I don’t devour meat like they do, I do find myself eating much more off the plate than I did in America.  Food is not wasted, as whatever you take on your plate, you eat, since that is what is expected.  I have gotten used to that, because I know people spent a lot of their money and time preparing the food, and it is a way to thank them. 

The Apia children were given a buffet, and filled their plates (who could blame them with the delicious food they had!) to the brim.  What surprised me was they were handing back their plates saying they were full, with their plates still full and only a few bites taken out. (Like good Samoans, we went to the back, and finished up their plates for them, and it was delicious!)

These children were also not allowed to drink tap or water tank water, and had to buy bottled water.  It was shocking to see, because so much money was wasted on water, water that most people feel is suited to drink, especially when you are living here.

Having their visit made me extremely happy for where I am.  I love living amongst the people who waste less and seem more down to earth on their mannerisms (which I probably would not have thought two years ago…)

On a different note, a few of us were staying at a hotel last month, and did not pay extra to have breakfast there.  A few people were sitting in the kitchen area, and when a palagi couple got up, another peace corps had to really restrain herself from finishing the avocado and eggs left on their plates.  (The workers took the plate away right away….and I think that was the main reason for her restraint!)    

 

Malo Kope Keige

Kope Keige Wins the Race

Wow…this blog is a little late….

In September I competed in my fourth race ever-the Perimeter Island Relay.  Our team had been shaken up a lot due to injury, and we were completely unsure of how we would perform.  We were nervous, and many of us felt that we were not in the good conditions we were last year. 

Natalie, one of our new members to the team lead us off, and she gave us a great way to start.  We were so lucky to have her on our team.  She gave us the perfect amount of energy to get us excited about running.

Next up was Kaelin.  Kaelin is by far my favorite person to watch run.  I don’t know if you have ever seen the Friends’ episode where Phoebe tries running….and says the way to run is to run like you did when you were a little kid….Kaelin runs just like this, and it is my favorite to watch.  It always gets me motivated. 

Going third was Jenny, our other newbie to the team.  She just started running a few months prior, and was not taking it seriously, but we were so happy when she said that she would try the race with us.  Jenny was by far the most valuable runner we had.  She was so dominate in all of her runs, and had by far the toughest legs.  I don’t know how she was able to do it, but it was beyond amazing.

I was fourth, and I feel like I did okay.  I pushed myself on the last leg to ensure that I did not walk, even when the heat of the sun felt like it was begging me to just take a break. 

Fifth was Dana, my Savaii sister.  Dana had been unsure about the race because she was not given the opportunity to train properly because of many falavelaves happening in her village causing it to be inappropriate to exercise for several months.  Dana runs faster than anyone I know, her legs just keep going, it is especially impressive on the hills.

Last was Corina.  Corina had been training for this race, and you could see it.  She was faster than I have ever seen her.  She was simply incredible, and brought us to the finish line faster than anyone would have thought…it must have been her fastest run. 

Our driver was one of our fallen runners, Rachel.  She gave us such motivation and helped us so much during the race.  She looked like she was ready to take one of our places, with her matching shirt with us and running shoes on. 

When we finished at the government building we were overwhelmed with the support from the Peace Corps Staff and other volunteers.  It was so beautiful. 

We made it in before the other Peace Corps team, Toa Pisi Koa, and it was nice to cheer them in.

Our team, Kope Keige won the women’s open category for the second straight year, and even beat our time with 11 hours and 42 minutes (we really had nothing to worry about!).

Toa Pisi Koa, a team made up of Kyle, Karen, Chris, Rivka, Danny, and Katie won the Mixed open’s category.

No one was able to beat the record our boy’s team set last year.

After the race, Jenny sent me a text saying how great she felt about her accomplishments...not only had she just finished running around Upolu, but earlier in the year we both biked the island.  We have been able to excel in exercising in Upolu.

The Perimeter Relay was such a great experience, and remains one of the best highlights of my experience in Samoa.

 

Perimeter Relay Photos 1