More Waterfall Jumps

All of the current volunteers living on Savai’i (and even one from Upolu—props, Chris) took a trip to a waterfall and swimming hole about 15 minutes west of Salelologa. The Afu Aau Waterfall is at the end of a dirt road and is easily accessible by taxi or car rental. We took a taxi from Lusia’s, a resort in Salelologa where a few of us were staying.  It’s an example of one of the great things about living in Samoa. The falls look like something out of Indiana Jones or Romancing the Stone—very 80s romance/adventure. Unfortunately, while the morning was bright and sunny, it started to rain on our way to the falls. When I say “rain”, I actually mean “downpour”. And although the rain never stopped the entire time we were there we didn’t allow it to dampen our spirits (just our belongings). We actually met a few other groups of people there, most of who were from America surprisingly. Most tourists to this small, island nation come from closer places like New Zealand or Australia. There’s a small ledge off to the side of the swimming hole that is a nice place to jump from as long as you jump out 5 feet or so. Otherwise, you have a chance of hitting rocks. Some of the members of our group found that out the hard way. We asked the taxi driver to meet us back at the falls in about 2 hours. When he got there, we packed up our things and headed back to Lusia’s. I definitely plan on returning to that spot before my service is over.

Go Chris!

Evening Devotion

Lately, the young men in my village have been practicing rugby on the school's field right outside my fale. It normally ends right at the time of the evening devotion. In Samoa, at sundown there is a short time everyday for devotion which normally includes song and prayer for about 15 minutes. Here's a video of the men singing outside my fale for their devotion. I didn't want to disturb them so I took the video from inside my fale which gives it a bit of a creepy, stalker feel. Sorry about that.

English Day Prep

For my English Day we've been prepping songs, skits, and craft projects at school. The theme is "Protecting Our Environment":

A bat hangs from a tree during the Year 4 skit

Nervous lines

Resting under the tree

The evil Garbage Gang from the Year 6 skit

The helpless villagers! Who will save them?!

The Rubbish Recyclers here to save the day!

Se (decorative flowers for the ear) made from plastic bags

A Year 8 boy shows of his bling

The Year 8 teacher with his new, matching blue se

Bracelet from aluminum can 

Scrubbing the paint of the can

Impressing the designs into the bracelet

From can to craft

Some of the women from the Ministry of Education, Sports, and Culture bought ses to support our school

Samoa Independence Day Marathon, 2013

On June 8th at 5:00am I and 6 other people started out on a 26-mile/42-kilometer race from Apia to Saoluafata and back. For the first hour and a half of the run it was pitch black out with the glowing Milky Way overhead to light my way. The brisk morning air off the ocean was a comfort that would soon give way to the heat and humidity of the Samoan day. During the dark of the morning a truck that was driving the course to keep track of the runners drove behind me for about 30 minutes to light my way with its headlights. An added bonus was that the driver used the metal beast to scare off the dogs who were hoping to get a taste of my calf muscle as I ran across their territory. The first half of the race went by quickly. The turn-around point of the out-and-back course arrived at the same time as the sun. The second half would be a challenge. I had held second up to that point and ran about 1/2 a mile back before I ran past the 3rd place runner. the rest were spread out over about the next mile or two. I felt good about where I was except for that 3rd place guy. He eventually caught up to me. We walked together sharing our successes and woes so far. After a quick water break and walk he took off ahead of me leaving me in 3rd. I maintained that place for the rest of the race though I ended up having to walk rather large chucks of the last 10 miles. The humidity made it impossible to cool-down as the sweat was unable to evaporate. Luckily, there were regularly positioned water stations and most had sponges that the volunteers soaked in ice water and squeezed onto our necks and shoulder. This would cool me down enough to get another mile or two of running in before walking the remaining distance to the next water station. I even stopped to get a soda at a store at one point to cool down. I ended up crossing the finish line 5 hours 10 minutes and 28 seconds after I started. This is and hour and a half longer than my best marathon time but the climate was one that I wasn't used to even after months of training in-country. I appreciated the sense of accomplishment afterwards and the support of several fellow PCVs and even my school's principal and her husband at the finish line. Two other volunteers ran the half marathon and both did great. Check out the video my prinicipal's husband took of me crossing the finish line

One of the organizers giving me my certificate and 3rd place medal

With Madi and Chris, 1/2 marathon finishers

My principal and her husband

Kate, Madi, Chris, me, and Aly. Thanks for the support!

This navy ship was docked right next to the finish line. Four other marathon racers were actually navy crew.

Enjoying a break before chowing down on a hamburger and beer after the race.

Group 85 Packing Suggestions:

This is just to give you one current PCV’s opinion on what has been useful. I have a bit of a unique living situation which might have an effect on what will be useful for you in your future placement. I live in my own house on the school grounds. I have a host family who live just down the road from me and I eat dinner with them most nights and hang out afterwards. But I don’t live there and have more control of my living situation. So just understand that you will most likely be living in the same house as your host family or at least on their property but in a separate fale.

Clothes

The most important thing to remember here is that you will be washing your clothes in a bucket and line-drying it. So, the more clothes you bring the more clothes you have to clean if they pile up.

10 cotton t-shirts:          you can easily go through 2 or 3 shirts a day when it’s hot depending on what you’re doing. Personally, I prefer cotton shirts to the wicking or athletic shirts that other PCVs are suggesting. So, use your best judgment. Don’t worry about logos or anything. No one here notices them and some people wear shirts with images/phrases that are actually kinda offensive but no one understands them anyway.

5 pairs board shorts:     I have one pair that doesn’t have lining and I prefer that pair. I think the packing list suggests that they are conservative but that’s honestly just ridiculous. The shorts available here are normally brightly colored and not what I would call conservative. Just bring some you like.

Undershirts/A-shirts:     I have both. I use the undershirts for school and A-shirts (tank top/”wife-beater) for around the village.

Undies:                         Bring a lot. 10-20 pairs. Save half in a plastic bag for later on. Or just buy in-country if you're OK with briefs or other non-boxer options.

Shoes/Socks:                Who needs ‘em? You will never wear socks even though at staging they will make you wear them. Unless you plan on running then bring a few pairs (I have 3-4 pairs and that’s more than enough). I’d just wear a pair of your athletic socks and your running shoes to staging. They might put up a little fuss but it’s absolutely ridiculous to make people bring a pair of shoes just for staging. You will only need flip-flops for basically all occasions (again, except for exercise/hiking on your own time). You can get them here for about US$5.

Button-up Shirts:          You should probably bring about 5 of these (more if you want some variety during staging). You will be wearing them during training and during your practicum. They will also suggest these should be “conservative” but my host family gave me on with fiery skulls all over it which I wore to school and my co-teachers loved it. On that note, when deciding how many and which ones to pack, keep in mind that you will probably be given at least a few ofu tinos (button up shirts) from your training village host family and will also probably have to buy some for your school’s uniforms.

Sunday Whites:             The normal shirt top is a long-sleeved, white, button up, collared shirt. Don’t go buy a fancy one. Just buy one at a Goodwill/Salvation Army. If you’ve ever waited tables and needed a white shirt for your uniform you’ll know just the kind to get. As for the bottom, ie faitaga, you can buy a white one at CCK in Apia during your first week here. They run about US$15. Bring a few, basic ties, too. Shoes are, you guessed it, flip-flops. Nothing fancy needed.

Electronics

Laptop:                        Bring it. You could survive without one for sure, but it’s just much easier to do things like write blogs, keep track of photos, or watch movies from. I also, am doing the Masters International so I use mine to write up reflection papers as well.

External Hard Drive:     I didn’t bring one. Everyone raves about them but I think I would just be too tempted to sit at home and watch movies if I had brought one. Instead, I bought a 64-GB thumb drive that works just fine for getting new movies if I want.

MP3 player:                  I brought one and it was toast within 4 months. The rain and humidity just got to it. Up to you on this one. They’re expensive to buy here on your living allowance.

eReader:                       I brought my Kindle and it was totally worth it. But, just in case you don’t have one and/or don’t want to bring one, the library at the PC office in Apia is HUGE. 5-6 large, bookshelves plus boxes. Lot’s of books form the last few years, too. I actually use that about as much as my Kindle (if not a little more).

Adapters:                     You can buy outlet adapters here for about US$1. Converters are probably available here although I’ve never seen one. I’ve also never looked for one. Probably best to bring with you if you want one. Personally, I don’t ever use a converter here. I brought one but I just haven’t needed it yet.

Toiletries

Shaving:                        I’d say bring a ton of razors (very expensive here). Also, I have a thick beard and sensitive skin and so shaving can suck. BUT, I totally recommend “Shave Secret”. You can get it at Walmart for about US$3 per bottle. It’s honestly the best product I’ve ever used. You only use about 3-5 drops per shave with a little bit of water. I brought 3 little bottles and I just started using my 2^nd bottle a couple weeks ago. It lasts forever. Save money and space.

Cologne:                       Cheap, watered-down cologne is available aplenty here. If you desire some of your own, bring it. But it’s not necessary.

Toothbrushes:               You can get brushes and paste here for a reasonable price.

Hair gel:                        More watery, crap is available here. Bring yours if you care. I just use the watery crap on occasion or go without.

Travel bottles:               Those small plastic bottles that you can put shampoo and stuff in. I didn’t bring any but I go to Apia/Salelologa overnight at least once a month and they would totally have been nice to have. I know REI and similar places sell really nice packs. I remember them being kinda spendy, but if you have the funds I totally recommend them.

Fitness

Weights:                       I’d look for water-weights if you can find them. Another PCV from the former group who stayed on this year gave me his old ones and they work great. Light-weight as well. Or bring resistance bands. I’d bring a few different levels. Just be careful with the humidity. The bands might snap. The one I brought didn’t, but the handle broke. Lame.

On a side note: if the “Your Assignment” booklet you get is anything like ours it will say that your toilet will be “a concrete slab with a hole in it that is set on the ground and flushed with a bucket of water.” This is stupid for 2 reasons. First, I’ve yet to visit a Samoan home that doesn’t have a flush toilet (they all do). Secondly, Peace Corps volunteers were the ones who brought the flush toilet to Samoa decades ago. Another word for toilet in Samoan is “fale Pisikoa” (Peace Corps building). Peace Corps needs to update their info. You will have a flush toilet.

There’s probably tons I’m forgetting and I’ll update this if I do think of anything else. For now, here’s the links to 2 other current PCVs suggestions:

http://angelinaaugust.blogspot.com/2013/06/packing-advice-to-samoa-group-85.html

http://boelmaninsamoa.blogspot.com/p/a-note-to-group-85.html

End of Term 2: Designing Courses, English Day, and English Camp

So I'm coming up on the last 2 weeks of my second term here in Samoa. We just finished 2 weeks of testing. That means that I haven't been teaching for the last 2 weeks. Not teaching has allowed me to focus a lot of energy on designing my course (especially for my second year), and English Day I'm organizing for my school for the last week, and a 3-day English Camp a fellow volunteer and I are organizing for the up-coming break. While I haven't actually been teaching lessons I have still felt very productive.

Course Design:
I'm using one of my textbooks from MA TESOL at Gonzaga University to go over the context of my course, my beliefs around the course, the content, and the organization and assessment of the content. I'm hoping to have a document that I can leave behind for my co-teachers to use as a resource when planning their own courses in the future. It will also be a convenient tool for tracking, evaluating, and documenting my time here so I can bring that back to my program.

English Day:
I'm actually quite excited about organizing this. I asked my principal what theme she would like and she suggested, "Protecting Our Environment". So for grades 1-3 we're doing environment-related songs, for grades 4-6 we're doing skits (which I'm writing--think "Glee meets Lost"), and for grades 7-8 we're doing craft projects from rubbish. The crafts will be a great way to clean up some of the rubbish lying around everywhere in Samoa in my village. So far I have chip bag coin purses, aluminum can boxes, and plastic bag "se"s (the flowers one puts behind one's ear). I also have lofty goals of starting a project where the students make these and other crafts and sell them in the market or at resorts to raise money for the school.

English Camp:
The volunteer in a village nearby an I have organized a camp that will bring our students together. The theme is kind of safari/mystery/animals. One of the goals is to bring students in other villages together. There is a strong feeling of national pride here in Samoa but this is juxtaposed with an equally strong village pride which translates to strong, often irrational, competition between villages. Hopefully we can ease some of that tension and bring the youth closer together. The students will be doing an exchange. They will have a partner whom they will stay with at night and eat meals with. They will stay with this partner's family the first night in my village. The next day we will move to the other village and the other partner's family will house the students. This helps build community as well as taking the burden of supplying lodging, meals, and supervision off of the two of us. Day 3 will be an award-giving/closing activity with the parents. I think it will be a lot of fun as well as a huge success. Wish us luck!

Waiting for the bus

I'm just sitting on the main road and waiting for a bus that should have been here 45 minutes ago so I thought I'd post a quick update. This will be my first from my Samoan phone. I'm headed to a nearby village to meet with another volunteer about an English camp we're organizing for the upcoming break.

And I just got on the bus!

River Hike

June 7, 2013

I went for a river hike in Upolu with a few other volunteers for Madi's birthday. Her mother was visiting for a week and came along. It was intense and awesome. We ended up jumping off a 50-foot waterfall at the end. Running my third marathon (and my first one in another country and in the southern hemisphere) tomorrow starting at 5am. Wish me luck!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRfCoYyj9DA&feature=youtu.be