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

 

Perimeter Relay Photos 2

 

 

Lillian  Watson

 

Perimeter Relay Photos 3

 

Perimeter Relay Photos 4

 

Fires

Fires

Last week I was driving home from Salelologa and all I could see was the smoke from the fires.  Every village we passed was being plagued by forest fires…it was insane.  I knew that Savaii was struggling with wildfires due to the lack of rain for the past several months, but I didn’t think it had gotten that bad.

There is a fire brigade in Savaii, but many of the fires are far away from the main road that the fire fighters are unable to reach them.  This duty falls on the men of the village.  They can spend all day making the lines to try to fight this fire, while hoping it does not reach their family’s houses that are nearby.   

I was told by someone that many people had gone to their plantation and realized their whole plantation was aflame and lost all of their crops.  This means all of their food.  Unlike people elsewhere, these people do not have a steady income and rely on this food for survival, which is a huge blow, and the importance of neighbors extremely important.

Another devastating loss is a school burnt down, which means that school is forced to have school in village houses like we are currently doing.

Some villages had run out of water as well, and I am surprised we haven’t since the dryness was so bad it was making my skin break out in rashes. 

Thankfully, October starts the rainy (cyclone season) and for the past 5 days we have had rain 3 of those days.  I hope the rain continues so these fires and other health problems will end.

(Pictures are from one of the forests that burnt down months ago)

Books

Books

I used to be picky on books, and put books down at the first sign of disinterest.  Recently I have learned how less picky I have become.  I have found myself finishing books that from page one seemed dull, and in anticipation of it getting better, I continue to read, and continue to get disappointed to the end. 

I have been lucky growing up in America, not with so many choices on food and activities to do, but as I have learned, lucky with literature.  Our libraries are full of so many amazing novels, books that many other places around the world are not fortunate enough to get. 

I don’t know if my reading habits will change back at home with more options out there, but for now I will continue to read anything I can get my hands on.

 

Ghost Update

Ghost Update

I thought my aitu (ghost) left me, things had calmed down for awhile.  And then Friday happened.  I went in my room to lay down for a bit, and left my room for about half an hour.  I left my key on my bed, and shut the door.  The door has a bolt lock that is only lockable with a key.  When I came home, the door was locked, and I had to break in again.  The key was still on my bed.

I am convinced my ghost is still here.