They
took us to our hotel after a brief tour of Apia, the capitol. We had a short
introduction and orientation meeting followed by pizza and drinks. We chatted
for a bit then I went to bed quite early. The sun sets here at about 7:00ish so
I’m normally in bed by 8:00pm or 9:00pm.
The sun
rose at about 7am the next morning. We all woke up, had breakfast and loaded
into the vans that were taking us to the Ava Ceremony. This is a welcome
ceremony in Samoa during which the host party welcomes the travelling party to
the village. This was the first Peace Corps Ava Ceremony in 2 years. Normally
there are new volunteers that arrive every year in Samoa but last year the
Peace Corps was unable to send a group of volunteers. Even if the ceremony had
happened last year, it is still an event that only happens once a year (or
twice in our case). In other words, it was a very special ceremony in which the
Peace Corps Samoa director, staff, and current volunteers as well as staff from
the embassy participated in welcoming our new group of 13.
During the ceremony we heard the
Samoan PC staff talk to us in Samoan. I understood fa’amolemole (please), fa’afatei (thank you), pisikoa (Peace Corps),
and Barack Obama. The US ambassador to Samoa was also present and explained
to us the history of Peace Corps in Samoa and how much respect we have (and
have to earn during our time here). He also explained how the word for Peace
Corps (pisikoa) in Samoan is
synonymous with volunteer. We have a lot of work ahead of us. We weren’t
allowed to have cameras but the director of management and operations was able
to take photos for us. I haven’t seen them yet but I’ll post them when and if
they are available.
The first week of training was
intense. We eagerly sat through hours of medical training to make sure we were
healthy from the get go, security and safety briefings, team-building
exercises, and discussions and skits from current Peace Corps Volunteers. The trainings
generally lasted from 8:00am to 5:00pm. In the evenings we’d go for walks
around town or hang out and recharge at the hotel with games and songs. We had
some language training to prepare us for our arrival in the training village of
Utulaelae where we’ll be staying with host families.
I won’t have internet access for
the next few (3.5 to 9) weeks so you may not hear from me for a bit. But I’ll definitely
be taking notes. Expect either a long post or several short posts all at once
in a few weeks.
I’m having a blast. I wish I could
write more or chat directly with more of my family friends but know that I’m definitely
thinking about you. If you send me a message or email but don’t hear from me
for a while please assume and understand that it is because I don’t have much
internet access.
