Fa'alavelave with my mom

Fa’alavelave
My parents were having a great visit, we were experiencing Samoa culturally and touristy. We were having fun seeing everyone and visiting everywhere. They were enjoying life at my family’s house, enjoying village life and just having a great time.
One day we were getting ready for school, my mom and me wearing our new matching tasis. My mom walked out of the house. BOOM! She fell. Each night Champ, our loving dog, has been diving a hole next to the bushes, and my mom didn’t see it.
We helped my mom up and into the vehicle. We were off to the hospital. My mom’s ankle was swelling fast. My host dad went for a wheelchair for my mom and we waited for the nurses to show up. Being palagi, we had the advantage, and as soon as the nurses showed up we were the first ones seen. We went into the room and the nurse examined my mom’s ankle. She called the main hospital, which is located on the other side of the island and the doctor said she does not have to bother going to the main hospital and to just rest. After giving my mom a shot of painkillers, and paying our $20 tala fee, we were off.
A bed was moved to the front room, and I made sure my mom was as comfortable as possible before I headed to school. For two days she barely left that bed. We all felt so bad, and spent a lot of time comforting her there.
We contemplated going to the hospital for x-rays, but never thought it was worth the long drive. My mom thought it was broken, and my host parents thought it might be good for the traditional healer to come and massage it for her., He came, and he suggested popping it back into place. Scared (who could blame her), my mom said no.
On the last day of school she did her best to show up. With the help of others supporting her, especially my dad, she was able to come to the school to enjoy the festivities.
For their departure, my family was able to borrow a wheelchair from someone, and I accompanied them to Upolu. The whole family drove to the wharf to say goodbye. After the tearful goodbye, we boarded the Lady Samoa III. The wheelchair helped a lot because there was so much luggage to transport, it would be hard to help another person, by holding them up and carrying them as well.
The next morning, we awoke at 3 am, to get ready to leave, and shortly afterwards we were on our way to the airport. The people at the airport traded my borrowed wheelchair for an airport issued one. We said our goodbyes, and they went through security and were gone from Samoa.
I hopped in a cab to the wharf, and bought my ticket for the 6 am little boat. As soon as I bought my ticket, I was questioned by 6 people asking where my parents were. “Did they have a good time? Was I sad? Did I cry? Do I wish I was going back with them?”
Throughout the next few days the questions continued. It was nice to know how much everyone cared and wanted them to come back.
They told many people they would be back, and I know everyone in Savai’i hopes they will. I know everyone here, including myself, enjoyed their visit, despite their fa’alavelave.
On a side note I talked to my siblings today, three days after they left Samoa, to find out if my mom had finally made it back home. They had a long trip ahead of them, as they had to board 4 different planes. Mom had made it to the emergency room. Her ankle is dislocated, and had fractured her fibula, and possibly her tibia.
Even though they experienced a fa’alavelave during their trip to Samoa, I hope it did not ruin their trip here.
Feel better mom!

Butterflies

School
My parents were visiting, and therefore trying hard to see what life in Samoa was through my eyes. This meant that they would take a step out of the comfortable life they were used to, and a step into the unfamiliar shoes I walk in. Mom wore appropriate clothes every day, and even though dad refused to wear “skirts” he was still proper.
Mom is a teacher, and insisted that we not miss one day of school, and I think all of the students loved it. Every morning she would knock on my bedroom door to see if I was ready, as she wanted to be the first one there.
The first day the students put on an assembly for my parents showing them traditional dancing and singing. The children were beautiful and both me and my parents loved it.
The next week was testing week and my mom joined me in school. While I was busy with my year 5 class my mom spent a lot of time with year 8. The teachers let her help out, and she jumped into the teaching rotation. Mom also spent some time with kids when they finished their exams, having them practice their English and do little art projects.
The two of us did co teaching as we worked with the year 7class. We played games, read stories, and practiced creating sentences with vocabulary from stories.
We also sang songs with kids of all ages which was a lot of fun.
The following week my mom and I continued co teaching. We taught the children about the lifecycle of a butterfly by reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar, singing songs and doing an art projects. The kids all seemed to enjoy it, and for the entire week we saw the caterpillars all over the place.
By the end of their visit, everyone had a good time with my parents. My parents wanted to thank the school for their visit, so they decided to finance a barbecue. They paid for the food, which included chicken, sausage, and ice cream, and for someone to help cook and prepare the food. That day the kids had sports day, and it was fun to cheer the kids on. After they finished eating, the children prepared a surprise for my parents in which they prepared songs. After it was all over, students from each class gave a speech to thank my parents for all they did and give a mealofa (gift of love). It was a beautiful site to see.
There is now a connection with my parents and Gaga’emalae. It was a beautiful goodbye, full of tears from all.
Their visit was a great way to end the term.

The Conclusion of the Relay Race

Race continued…
Our team was doing so great. We were passing girls teams, and getting well deserved encouragement from the teams that passed us. When we were up to our last 12km, our boys team finally passed us. We were hoping this would not happen at all, but at least it was at the end. The Peace Corps boys, Toa Pisi Koa, deserved it. Their legs were moving so fast it was impressive. We knew how tired we were, and it was amazing how they kept going.
We didn’t just have the boys team’s support and the other teams, we also had so many people cheering us on. In some areas, people were lining the road offering us drinks, are just cheering us on. The Peace Corps staff also came out to encourage us. Our country director, Dale, came to cheer us on during the run. Our Medical Officer, Teuila came to cheer us on, and check on our little medical issues that we had during our long race. Denise, another member of the staff, and her family also were cheering us on from their house. Their support kept us running.
It wasn’t just Toa Pisi Koa that was impressive, the girls on my team were remarkable as well. We all stepped up for each other when we needed it, for verbal encouragement, or stepping up to run a little bit extra to help a fallen teammate. I know hearing their loud voices screaming for me kept me going when I felt I could not go any further. Rachel’s knee completely went out on her last run. She tried her best, but could only walk, and that was in pain. Corina was quick to jump out of the vehicle and take her place, while Kaelin picked up an extra run. After running four times already, I was amazed how her legs kept moving so fast the entire time.
We all jumped out of the car on the seawall to finish the race with Kaelin. When we got to the finish line, I was amazed at how many people were there to support us crossing. My parents were there, along with many other volunteers, and friends cheering us on. We felt as if we were heroes and did the impossible with how everybody treated us. A few more teams came in, and we cheered them on.
I was about to leave and shower before the awards ceremony, when the man who ran the relay by himself came in. After running 64 miles, he was now limping, but I was amazed about what his body could do. I stopped and applauded his strength before heading to the hotel to shower.
An hours later, we were back at the government buildings for the awards. They first announced Toa Pisi Koa won in the volunteer category. They accepted the trophy. (All trophies had to be given back at the end of the day to put a plaque for next year’s winners to be impressed with the speed.) The firefighters won the Service Category. (They took their trophy last year, and since it was not returned, there was no trophy to give out.) A Samoan team won the boys trophy, and then came the announcement for the girls teams. There were several girls teams, and we thought we had won, but were not positive. They started with third place and worked their way up. I held hands with the other girls as they mentioned the third place team. It wasn’t us. Then, the second place team. We weren’t them either. We wanted to jump up screaming before they mentioned our names, but we held back.
Finally, they said Kenie Kope was the winners. We all jumped up screaming showing so much emotion. We ran for our trophy and our prize. While we were collecting our prizes, the announcer was talking about our team name. Laughing about us being fast girls.
Finally, they announced the overall winners, Toa Pisi Koa. We were so proud of our Peace Corps brothers. They had done amazing and deserved it. What was better was we swept the relay standings. It wasn’t 1-2 overall, but the boys got first overall, and we were the fastest girls. It was definitely an impressive feat. Especially, there was only one person who had ran multiple races before, 2 of us had ran only one other race, and 3 of my teammates were running in their first race ever.
There were refreshments after the awards. I talked with my friends, and many of them congratulated me on my work. I thanked my friends who were on the Hash team for their support. They had so many cars supporting their team and they were always there calling my name out, letting me know how great I was doing. They even poured water all over me on the heat of my last run.
The following week, my legs hurt every step I took, however each step reminded me of how big my accomplishment was, and it made it worth it.
Next year we will do the run again, minus Erin, and I know we will be just as successful. Group 83 Samoa, get ready. We need you for next year’s race to do another sweep!

Kope Keine Means Fast Girls

Kope Keine Means Fast Girls

My knee hurts when you put pressure on it from where I chipped my bone, and Thursday night to Friday, I was sick as a dog. I was trying to show my parents the beauty of Upolu, but during most of our drive I had my head out the window being sick, while my parents were amazing with being patient with me, and keeping me well hydrated.
We hurried back to Apia, faster than originally planned, because I wanted to see the PCMO medical officer to get medicine to get this bug out of me. I told her my symptoms, and my intentions for the next day, and the recommendation was not to run. The thought of all of my months in preparation for this day being a waste seemed ridiculous and unheard of. She thankfully put me on different antibiotics than planned, since there was a possibility of me running.
I saw my team that evening, “We need you,” they told me. That added to the fuel. I was going to run whether my body liked it or not. I rested for a bit, then met our team for our sleepover/team dinner.
The US Embassy’s office is amazing, because not only did they sponsor the event, they played a huge part in making sure both Peace Corps teams were healthy and as prepared as possible. A big part of why our team would be mentally prepared is the country’s wonderful Charges ‘de Affairs. She offered the girls team so much, with her car, and her willingness to drive us the entire day. And, to make her an even more amazing person, she offered to host us for the evening, to make sure we had a proper runners meal, and a good night’s rest. My body needed some fuel for the following day, and thankfully my body was able to hold down the amazing pasta dinner we shared.
After dinner, we all tried to go to sleep early, but our nerves were present to make it difficult for us, and before we knew it, it was 2:30 and time to wake up. We put our race clothes on, a team shirt that a few people took the time to paint and make us look like a proper team, and I added my I’e since that is the only way I know to run island style through villages. (It was my one with fast colors from the 10k race in May. We added ice to the coolers. The Charges ‘de Affairs had provided us with sandwiches, cookies, chips, fruit, water, a power sports drink, and much more to make sure we were truly ready. We loaded the car, and we were off on our adventure of a lifetime, knowing that this challenge was going to be bigger than we realized.
Our team name is Kope Keine. At the awards celebration later that day they mentioned that kope keine means fast girls. It is really bad because I was a part of this relay experience and I always thought that the word kope means hurry up, and keine, or teine means girls. I feel bad being a part of this team and not knowing that our team name means two different things. We were hoping we wouldn’t have to shout out, kope, meaning hurry up, to our team, and we would do amazing. But we will still unsure of our abilities, and that is how we got our name.
We drove across the island to the start of the race. The Australian volunteers team was getting ready to start their journey. We wished them all luck, especially the few on the team that we knew, and their kickoff member, Aussie Andrew, got them started off properly.
We went to the bathroom, not sure when the next church with an open bathroom would be.
Before we knew it, it was our start time. Kaelin lit up our baton/glowstick, put on her reflective vest, and off she went.
Kaelin started off so fast, it was truly impressive. I think it gave us the boost we needed for the day, because next in the line up was Dana and I could not believe how fast her legs went.
While Dana was running, we headed to Erin’s village where we took our first of many bathroom breaks. We didn’t have time to relax because before we knew it Dana was back, and Erin was off.
I began to get my first sign of nerves knowing I was next. My first run was 4.3 km, and it said it was going to have some hills. They were right when they said that., but less than half an hour later, I was a quarter of the way done with my portion of the race. Rachel followed me, with Corina being our closer.
The race was long, and after a few hours we began to catch up to some teams, which really excited us. About an hour later, teams began to catch us, but we didn’t let it bother us. We were having a blast.
Along the way, we had a few falavelaves. For starters, the markers on the road were not written well and we had trouble seeing them. So much trouble that in one spot, we accidently made Corina run extra because we could not find the spot. She did it like a champ. It was amazing.
Later on we had our next problem, Rachel’s knee began giving her problems. In between runs we made sure there was plenty of ice on her knee and it was kept elevated at all times. By the time it was her last run, it completely gave out, and thankfully the rest of our team stepped in to help her finish her run.
As for my runs, the first one was hilly, but fine (They called it variable.). The second was mostly flat and was the easiest of my day. My third was the one everyone was nervous about. It had a hill that went straight up for a long time. I knew this was the hill that Erin had run the previous year and was the reason why her team did so well. I did not want to let my team down, and I ran my heart out for the hill. My teammates saw the hill, and were worried about me. They wanted to make sure that I was feeling okay and tried to meet me at the top to provide me with water, since it was already really hot for the morning. But I surprised them. By the time that they reached me, I only had a short run down. My last run, was another “variable” and the heat made it unbearable. I tried running, but had to do a few short walks to give my body time for rest. I kept jockyig for position with a female on one of the others girls’ teams. I didn’t let it bother me if I were to be passed, because I knew we started the race well after her, and were still beating her team on time. I was so thrilled when I finally saw the church to show that my part was ending.
To be continued…

Savai'i

Being a tourist -Savai’i style

Back in Savai’i , Mm parents came with me to school daily. The first day they were greeted with a school assembly. The students sang and danced to welcome my parents into their community. The teachers also introduced themselves by dancing to their students voices. It was really sweet and my parents loved it.
That weekend, I made my parents become a part of the community by attending church with me. I had warned them that it would probably by about two hours long, since they do not attend religious service regularly. They sat through it real well, and before we knew it, the two and a half hours of service were over. I am really glad that they came to church because I feel as though my church is just like a family to me. I needed my parents to meet them all. After church, a few of the church members came over to our house for to’ogani, in which my brother made only delicious foods.
I wanted to spare my parents the hassle of being guilted (I know, it is not a word, think I have been in Samoa too long, and my words are escaping me quickly.) into going to church both on Saturdays and Sundays of their visit. So after church we headed to one of my favorite hang out spots in Salelologa. My parents had a giggle when we shared the honeymoon sweet, especially since the honeymoon suite had two beds. But outside of the fale I shared with my parents the dock some of us volunteers like to hang out on. They witnessed the other volunteers that were also enjoying the time there do terrific jumps into the Pacific.
I spread my time between the two groups, playing games with my parents, and saying goodbye to Group 80, as it would be the last time I saw many of them, until our reunions in America.
Some of the places we visited after that weekend included both rainforest preserves located in Savaii. One of them is in the village of Tafua, and the other is in Falealupo. We only drove through them, neglecting to do the hikes, and tree climbs to make the views even more fascinating. I was amazing still seeing the lush forests. They were beautiful.
Another day we headed to the southwest of the island. We picked up Dana, since I wanted to show off my parents to everyone I encountered, and Matt rode his bike to meet us in Vaisala. Vaisala has the best snorkeling around. The coral is amazing, and Dana, my father and myself enjoyed it thoroughly. Matt and my mom hung out on the beach.
After the beach we went to Falealupo where we went to the Rock House. The Rock House was a competition between men and women to see who could build a house made of rock the fastest. (I am not sure of the time period.) The women stayed up all night and beat the men. The lava rocky area was really neat as the houses included stone chairs. Another interesting fact about the Rock House, is that is where the lava tubes where the villagers rescued themselves from a hurricane.
Also at Falealupo we were able to witness the last sunset of the day. Falealupo hosts the westernmost point before the International Date Line.
Another day we met up with Supi and went to the blowholes of Taga. It was amazing to watch the pools of water fill up before shooting out. We went at high tide so it was incredible!
Our final trip was to the north shore where we met up with Rachel to do touristy things. We first swam with turtles which was a lot of fun. (My did experience, our big friend, Mamba Jamba’s big little teeth biting his bathing suit.) We fed the tutles plenty of papya and they loved us for it. After that we went to the villages that were destroyed by the volcanic eruption in the early 1900’s. We walked into the church that was destroyed by lava which was incredible. We also visited the Virgin’s grave, which was one of the only things untouched by lava during the eruption.
Overall, we had a pretty great time exploring Savaii.

Tourist-Museums

Being a tourist-Museums

With my parents visiting, I have had the wonderful experience to see Samoa as a tourist, and go to some of those places that I have always wanted to go, but never really had the time to go to.
The first was the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum. Going on this tour made me learn quite a bit more about Samoa, as well as the famous writer. The museum is his former residence, and after he passed away and his family moved back to America, the house had many famous residents. When Samoa was under German influence, it was where their leaders met, and the same was true when Samoa first gained independence. However, in 1991 (I think), Hurricane Ofa came through and destroyed the house, along with much of Samoa. There was another hurricane, I think in 1993, that helped to destroy many places.
The Samoan government could not afford to renovate the house, so it sat there for several years falling apart. Then former LDS missionary from the States came back to visit Samoa, and saw the shape of the building. He decided he would make it his mission to bring the house back to its glory days. He invested millions of his own money at the time, and is still putting in much money to ensure the house stays in its best condition.
Things I learned from the museum, Robert Louis Stevenson came to Samoa for his health. He was searching the world for a place to help him have a better quality of life for his sicknesses. While he was in Hawai’i, someone clued him in on the beauty and fresh air of Samoa. His family all made the trip with him. Apparently, they loved the lifestyle here, and only the maid had to return because of the heat. All of RLS stories had to be handwritten because the time period was before the age of even typewriters. His daughter worked as his scribe writing and illustrating all of his novels. While he was in Samoa, he wrote more than one book a year, which is pretty impressive (I am having enough trouble keeping up with this blog, and thankfully I don’t have to handwrite it.)
Their house is not very Samoan at all. It has a lot of Scottish influence (Where he was born.), and American influence (Where his wife was from). It was strange to see a Samoan house with a fireplace, but if it helps you to feel at home, it is very important. (As a PCV, I have learned that some little things that connect you to home are extremely important to hold on to.) His wife’s bedroom was constructed with wood from California trees, to give her a taste of home.
Of course they did not live as they did in the past, and integrated well into the Samoan culture. The name Robert Louis Stevenson is long and hard enough for those of us who are used to the English language, but for Samoans at that time, it was near impossible. Because of this, they gave him the name tusitala which means storyteller.
There is a hike you can do to his grave, but we decided to hold off on that for another time.

We also made the trip to the Samoan museum. The Samoan museum has great cultural information about Polynesian culture. There are artifacts from all around the Pacific as well as Samoa. It actually helped me out as I saw a few things that I noticed in the village, and now I actually know their purpose.

Kope Keine

Kope Keine
I just woke up with the biggest stomach ache. I haven’t run much in the past week and a half, and yesterday when I tried to go running my knee felt funny. My knee still has a bump, and when I went to the nurse last week, she thought I might have chipped the bone in my bike crash. It still hurts when pressure is put on it, but at least it is not infected.
If you were to ask me even a few days ago if I was ready for this race, I would have told you, “Yes sir,” however now that it is less than 24 hours away, my body is helping me realize I really have cold feet.
I have not been in the loop with the race news, but we are running about 64 miles (at least that is what last year’s tee shirt said) and it sounds like much of it will be in the heat of the sun, since we are starting at 4:45 a.m.
I am nervous and anxious to get started with it. Our team captain in Erin, and she had made sure we are as prepared for the day of the race as possible. Our team is being sponsored by the Charges de Affairs, who is being extremely nice. Not only is she donating a vehicle, but she is going to spend the day driving us around, and prepared sandwiches and drinks for us.
The rumor is we will start an hour before our Peace Corps Boys Team will start. Our mission is to ensure that these boys do NOT pass us. Some of them were trying to make bets on where along the race this might happen, and I hope we can prove them wrong. They might outsize us by 7 feet or so, but I do not think they all share the heart we do for this race.
Our team name is Kope Keine, which means “Hurry Up Girls”, and our team symbol is a girl with a dog chasing us. The dog is something that we are hoping is under control and we are not as fearful of the dogs as we are thinking we might be.
No matter what happens, I am really proud of my team and all they have done. Tomorrow will surely be a success in all of our eyes.