Rock the Boat

Rock the boat
I found myself in Apia. A place I didn’t plan to be. It is such a commute to get to the city, and I hate doing the round trip in one day. (If I take the first boat, it takes about nine hours to arrive at the city. Which means the previous night is usually sleepless as I am often afraid of missing the bus.) So I decided to stay in Apia over night, and convinced my partners in crime Cassie and Rachel to do the same. (Rachel was will to do the roundtrip to Savai’i that day, but I convinced her boat trips are more fun with a friend, and thankfully she listened.)
This trip I found myself doing something that I have not done in a year. At 1:30 in the morning, I opened up my Ziploc bag that contained pants, and put on a pair of pants. It was weird as I finished getting my things together around my room, I felt so scandalous walking around, since I was wearing something I never wear, since it is sa (not allowed) to wear pants in the village for females. I put on my lavalava over the pants, making sure they were covered completely, because I felt a little weird to be wearing them.
The bus arrived in Salelologa around 4:30, and I headed to the tiny Peace Corps office to wait for the boat. Awhile later Rachel met me there, and I showed her what I was wearing. “Wow, you look so American,” she told me. I told her how weird it felt to be wearing the clothes I was.
We went to the boat together, and took naps on the top deck of the boat. I used my lavalava as a blanket, like normal, and when we arrived at the wharf, I looked at Rachel and asked if I should put it back on. “We are in Apia,” she reminded me. So I acted as many Samoans do when they arrive in the big city, I ignored the many village rules that had been engraved into my brain and decided to “let loose”. I walked off the boat with my lavalava in my bag, and wearing my pants. With how scandalous I was feeling in my room, I was feeling even more so as I headed on the bus. I felt as if everyone was staring at me for wearing something I shouldn’t be. Of course it was all in my head, but it was weird to reflect on where my head is, especially in comparison to a year ago.
After doing the errands that sent us to Apia, we found ourselves with a loss on how to spend the remainder of the day. We knew we could easily find a place to sleep, but we could not ignore the opportunity to be around the friends we rarely see. We contacted some of our favorite people in Apia, and learned some of them had relatives visiting form overseas.
This lead us to being tourists for the first time in the nightlife setting.
We were going to Rock the Boat.
I had heard stories of Rock the Boat, that is was a little party ship, but knew not much about it. Rachel and Cassie, both being from NJ and NY respectively, began thinking of the little boats that go around the NY harbor, and figured the night might be something like that.
Except for the many white people, dressed how we would picture them if they were going out in New York City, we couldn’t have been more wrong.
The boat left the dock before sunset, and travelled for about ten minutes before stopping. This is where we would be for the next few hours. We were to be on a rocking boat, looking at Apia. We were so close that some of our friends who missed the boat’s launch were able to catch up to us on a little dingy.
There were so many white people on the boat, that us girls do what we have done as a response to seeing a group of white people for the past year, get nervous. We don’t remember how we used to act around a group of non-Samoans, and don’t want to do anything that we would think of as being offensive, so we cling to all of the Samoans we can (Besides our palagi friends that we know in Samoa, since they are also safe to us). This meant we befriended the staff quickly.
Besides staying in our tight knit group, we had an amazing night full of dancing and karaoke. We were surprised how much fun we had on a boat that was sitting right next to the dock.
When I summed up the day to my friends, they had a laugh with me. What was I to do in a year when I arrive back in America. They pictured what I found be wearing my first Christmas, and it gave me a laugh. We then imagined us going on in NY together, wearing our lavalavas and weird tops from CCK, our favorite store.
No matter what, I know that I will have my connections to Samoa in America, with my Peace Corps friends, and my sister Sharlene. Maybe one day we will go on a real night boat ride together, and get to see something besides the Apia harbor. We could even go tasi’ed up. (That would be a site to see…)

Me? An expert? Why would you think that?

Expert

Somehow I am back to being thought of as the expert of everyone anyone needs help with. People call me over to get help with homework in all subject areas, to see if I know how to fix something, or just in random knowledge. I don’t know how I got this reputation, but I am trying my best to be what people want.
This means after school (or sometimes even during school) I find myself in different situations. Helping people with calculus (never took it…), setting up electronics, teaching people to use computers , and fixing computers.
I don’t know why people think I have this magical ability to do all of those things, and more, but they seem to really trust me. So I don’t want to let them down, and I always agree to go over to their house and perform the various tasks. Sometimes I am a hero, other times I at least get to enjoy a delicious cup of Samoan coco while humoring them with my attempts.
Last week being an expert sent me to Apia, a trip I was not looking forward to doing. I set up our new school computer, and photocopy machine, but when I attempted to connect them together, I experienced problems. Setting up a printer to a computer should be easy, especially when you have the cd. But, there was some sort of error, and I was unable to complete my task. For two weeks I called the company that sold it to our school, and they never called me back. My school decided that the only solution was for me to go to Apia to talk to them in person.
After a seven-ish hour commute, I arrived at the business and told them my problem. After telling them all of their easy solutions did not work, I was instructed to try something else, even though the computer was on another island. I told them to hold on, and I would call the school and have someone try, but technology is expensive, and if someone who is not palagi uses it, it will break (according to them).
So I had to wait until Monday to try it out. And it did not work (of course). This time it only took two phone calls to get in touch with the tech support from the company. Everything they suggested was failing. Their only solution was for me to come to Apia and bring the computer. I was not about to hop on the boat and do that long commute with a big desktop computer. (A few busses and a ferry with that big old thing, not fun! ) (Thankfully my school was in agreement on it waiting for someone travelling to Apia to bring it in.)
Everyone is scared to touch the computer for fear of it breaking, even though I try to reassure everyone that there is nothing really wrong with the machine. So again, the technology sits there….
I guess in closing I just think it’s weird that everyone seems to trust the thought of me being an expert, when I clearly know I am not. (I’m sure Billy is laughing right now thinking of me solving all the math and computer problems from my area of the island…)

Me? An expert? Why would you think that?

Expert

Somehow I am back to being thought of as the expert of everyone anyone needs help with. People call me over to get help with homework in all subject areas, to see if I know how to fix something, or just in random knowledge. I don’t know how I got this reputation, but I am trying my best to be what people want.
This means after school (or sometimes even during school) I find myself in different situations. Helping people with calculus (never took it…), setting up electronics, teaching people to use computers , and fixing computers.
I don’t know why people think I have this magical ability to do all of those things, and more, but they seem to really trust me. So I don’t want to let them down, and I always agree to go over to their house and perform the various tasks. Sometimes I am a hero, other times I at least get to enjoy a delicious cup of Samoan coco while humoring them with my attempts.
Last week being an expert sent me to Apia, a trip I was not looking forward to doing. I set up our new school computer, and photocopy machine, but when I attempted to connect them together, I experienced problems. Setting up a printer to a computer should be easy, especially when you have the cd. But, there was some sort of error, and I was unable to complete my task. For two weeks I called the company that sold it to our school, and they never called me back. My school decided that the only solution was for me to go to Apia to talk to them in person.
After a seven-ish hour commute, I arrived at the business and told them my problem. After telling them all of their easy solutions did not work, I was instructed to try something else, even though the computer was on another island. I told them to hold on, and I would call the school and have someone try, but technology is expensive, and if someone who is not palagi uses it, it will break (according to them).
So I had to wait until Monday to try it out. And it did not work (of course). This time it only took two phone calls to get in touch with the tech support from the company. Everything they suggested was failing. Their only solution was for me to come to Apia and bring the computer. I was not about to hop on the boat and do that long commute with a big desktop computer. (A few busses and a ferry with that big old thing, not fun! ) (Thankfully my school was in agreement on it waiting for someone travelling to Apia to bring it in.)
Everyone is scared to touch the computer for fear of it breaking, even though I try to reassure everyone that there is nothing really wrong with the machine. So again, the technology sits there….
I guess in closing I just think it’s weird that everyone seems to trust the thought of me being an expert, when I clearly know I am not. (I’m sure Billy is laughing right now thinking of me solving all the math and computer problems from my area of the island…)

Speed Bump

Speed bump
About eight months ago, after the first death occurred from a vehicle in my village, I helped my father type a letter to request a speed bump in our village for safety reasons. They answered our call, and we received one last week.
It was interesting to watch a construction crew at work, and I don’t think I would have been as interested if I was in America. Everything was don’t by hand, including the painting. They used paintbrushes and pieces of wood to paint in the lines.
Since then, cars have slowed down, which is a good thing. (It also makes it easier to explain my house to outsiders! Being near a speed bump is more recognizable than one of the many churches of Samoa.)
It is nice to have a safer village.

Iake- AKA Jacks

Iake
When I was real little we played with jacks (iake in Samoan), but it didn’t last long.
For the past few months, every day I see the students playing iake. It is a little difference since they lack the little rubber ball with the little fun metal pieces. They collect stones and play with those.
I’ve learned from watching how amazing of jugglers you can become from playing jacks. I am especially impressed with the size of some of the rocks they play with. I don’t know how the little kids fit so many rocks in their hands and play a game with them.
The only problem I am having with iake is the kids want to play it all the time. Everywhere I look, I see them playing. The problem is, they keep trying to play while I teach, and it is really distracting for me when I see rocks being thrown up in the air. It seems like every day I catch one of my students with rocks in the classroom. (Once I even saw them trying to play with small pencil stubs.)
I guess jacks is a past time around the world.
It is entertaining to watch, as long as I am not teaching!

Halloween 2010

Halloween
Last year Halloween was beautiful. It was so unlike an Halloween I have ever had since we were sharing our tradition with people for the first time, which meant it was all about the kids. We played games, danced, and shared ghost stories-complete with a blackout in the middle of the story. We made costumes with the little materials we had, which made them interesting.
This year was going to be different. A few of the Peace Corps volunteers were throwing a party with the JICA volunteers and everyone had enough notice to make a costume….but I didn’t go.
Which meant I was to celebrate Halloween by myself. I wasn’t too worried. I know how to have a good time!
The week before Halloween I began teaching my students about the holiday. I shared with them pictures, books and stories from my past. It was a big step into my life for the year 4-8 classes.
The first day, I don’t know if it was the vocabulary I was using, but the students left my class for the day thinking Americans were weird for what they believed. (In fact they still might think so, from what I was telling them!) This pre assessment told me I had to take a step back.
With the help of my amazing art skills we went over vocabulary, especially what scares us around Halloween. Bats (pe’a) they thought were silly. Bats fly around everywhere and don’t do anything to humans, so why should people be frightened. Black cats (pusi uli uli)are still just cats. Cats don’t do anything bad. I tried explaining how in the dark you only see their eyes and it sends shivers down your spine, and they thought I was even weirder than the start of the class. Ghosts (aitu-probably spelled wrong) were normal. Everyone is scared of ghosts. Then I began to explain the hardest word, since I did not know the Samoan word for it, witches. I tried to explain how a witch could just point at you and turn you into something. I pretended I was a witch and did pointed to a kid and said I would switch you into an apple, pointed to a boy and told him to turn into a girl and so forth. It gave them quite a laugh.
I told them what kids do on Halloween and explained the phrase “Trick or Treat”. I asked them which one they would prefer from a neighbor, a trick played on them or candy, and just about everyone wanted the candy.
After an amazing story, written by yours truly (and other stories around the library) complete with reading comprehension, I taught the kids the amazing rhyme:
Trick or treat
Smell my feet
Give me something good to eat
If you don’t I don’t care
I’ll pull down your underwear

They burst into tears of laughter hearing this. Some of them were curious if people do get their underwear pulled down on Halloween which gave me even more laughs.
Halloween was on a Sunday. So like most Sundays, I went to church. The only reminder I had of it being Halloween and not an ordinary Sunday was when I went with my sister to buy pancakes in the evening. I looked up at the dark, cloudy, spooky sky, and saw a lone bat flying overhead.
Happy Halloween

My First Boil

Boil
I have felt horrible for my friends when they describe the pain they are in when they can’t walk or sit down from boils. I was wondering what they much have been doing to get them. It wasn’t just one sex, as boils don’t discriminate.
I was beginning to think I might fly through the two years without ever getting one. Almost 13 months in, my luck ran out.
I am getting a boil in my armpit. I know they say every place a boil emerges is uncomfortable, but this surely is as well. I can’t always keep my arms spread that open to give it air to breathe. But I am trying. The boil is still in its primitive stages, and I don’t want to develop into anything bigger than it is.
Please boil-go away soon!