When I moved in over a week ago I had a small army of bugs living in my house. Not all of them were welcome to stay. I seem to have taken care of the cockroaches and termites. The only spiders that stayed are the daddy long legs, and they are ok. The geckos are encouraged to call this home (bring friends guys, the more of you the merrier!) So the only unwelcome guests left are the ants.
Mostly they stick to the kitchen. At first I launched an all out assault against the ants. Armed with my trusty can of Mortein (the local bug spray that kills just about all bugs. I’m sure it will be the cause of my cancer in years to come) I went direct to the areas they were entering my kitchen and sprayed the hell out of these tiny crevasses. I kept a vigilant watch and this went on for two or three days. I should also mention that I keep my kitchen pretty damn clean. All food is either sealed up tight in Tupperware like containers, or in the fridge. I wipe the counters free of crumbs and spills right away. I mop the floor daily (you almost have to with the rain and mud). I seal up the trash and take it out twice a day (usually, sometimes I am gone most of the day so I don’t make any trash to take out). All this to ensure that there is nothing in my kitchen that they can possibly get to.
This logic has been failing miserably however. This morning when I got up, there was a line of ants headed across my counter to nothing. They were in perfect ant formation from a small corner to the center of the counter and then turned around and went back the way they came. I watched, baffled for about five min before taking my sponge and annihilating them all. What could they have been doing? Why march out to nothing? Maybe they were practicing for the one time that I accidentally leave a few crumbs. I don’t know.
This however blew my theory that I could out clean them. So I decided to take a new approach. If I couldn’t get rid of them maybe I could contain/distract them. This afternoon I left a small piece of bread with peanut butter under the sink. (The other potential flaw with this plan is, I don’t want to attract other things by leaving out food, but I will deal with that later.) I never look under the sink. I certainly don’t have anything under there. So why shouldn’t they have that area? I am hoping that all the ants will find the tasty treat, and spend the next few days dismantling it, thus distracting them from the rest of my kitchen. As of about 5 min ago they had yet to find it. Maybe I should leave a trail of crumbs to speed up the process.
If this method fails maybe I will try negotiation with them. Does anyone know how to speak ant?
When we last left our brave hero, she was headed out of town to the beautiful yet remote village of Siufaga, because her Samoan family invited her. It was not an invitation she could turn down (culturally speaking anyway). Her adventure began with a bus ride.
(This is where I stop talking in the third person because while it is a wee bit funny and makes me feel like a comic book hero, it is more annoying to both me the writer and I’m sure as the reader you don’t appreciate it much either.)
Ok so my adventure began with the bus ride. I love riding Samoan busses. No sarcasm! I really do find them a lot of fun most of the time. It is a great way to observe Samoan people and culture and usually they are extra nice to the Palagie. I have met some incredible Samoans on the busses.
My training village is in the district of Falelatai (fall-lay-la-tie) which is at the end of a road on the other side of the island and the bus ride is about 2 hours long when headed from Apia to Siufaga. It is only 1:20 min from Siufaga to Apia. The difference is a 20 min stop about half way at a market, but I have no idea where the other 20 min goes. Maybe they just drive slower when they are leaving the city.
Anyway, I left my house for the fist bus from Viavase- Uta (where I live) to the main bus depot in town. My house is a little ways up a side road and I had just left my driveway when I saw the bus drive by out on the main road. “Oh well, I guess it will be a while” I thought to myself. But the bus driver must have seen me because not only did he stop his bus, but also he backed it up and waited for me as I jogged to meet him. “What great bus, Karma I must have today” I thought. We pulled into the main bus depot where I would catch my next bus just in time for me to get on the Falelatai bus before it drove away. Another clue that my bus karma was in the positive.
It being the day before a major holiday the Falelatai bus was completely packed. A packed bus means that a small bench meant to sit two often has four. Two people on the seat, two people on their laps. (The only people excluded from this are the very elderly). And since I was the last one on the bus it meant a lap for me. (Women are not really allowed to stand). For some reason I couldn’t decipher at the time there was a young sole (So-lay, means: young unmarried man) sitting directly behind the bus driver with no one on his lap. The front of the bus is a choice spot. Usually young men are at the bottom of the bus seating pecking order, and therefore resigned to the back of the bus. So I was a bit surprised but not unwilling to take his lap. He seems to be very polite at first. He didn’t get cheeky or try to put his hands places I don’t want them. As we leave town I was convinced that in a past life I must have been a bus saint.
Then he begins to burp. And not just any burp. The kind that smells like he drank way to much Villiama (the local beer) and may now be sick, kind of burp. At one point he even says to me “I’m sorry, drank too much”. I was beginning to grow concerned that maybe, my bus karma was not nearly as good as I had expected. He then starts to fall asleep and drool on me. I put a lava lava on my shoulder where he is resting and pretended it was not happening (in a bus this crowded there is not a lot you can really do, unless you are willing to just get off, which I wasn’t.) While this repulsed me it was yet to get worse. Eventually he woke up a little (usually following bumps in the kind of road) and then the burping came back. Followed shortly by the vomiting. Yes you heard me right he vomited while I was sitting on his lap. He had the sense to aim into his own shirt so I didn’t get any one me. But I did get up right away. I was going to stand if I had to. (Which again is kind of culturally inappropriate, but eeeeewwww vomit!) Some poor soul took pitty on me and got up to stand giving me his seat, and his daughter for my lap. The rest of the trip was long and hot and uncomfortable. By the time I got to my village, I was ready for a shower (make that three showers) and a nap. Which my family who was thrilled to see me was happy to oblige me, once I had eaten. So I showered, ate, napped and then had a nice swim with my sisters.
Horrific bus ride over and composure re-gained it was time to break out the UNO. My parents had sent a deck for me in there Christmas package. (Which by the way RULED! I got several books, one of which is Al Franken’s new book I have wanted to read, some silly putty, my power transformer I left at home and a bunch of card games. UNO included) My Samoan brothers were all in town and having very little in common with young Samoan fishermen I figured UNO would be a good way to have fun with them (That and I know my numbers and colors in fa’asamoa, so I figured I could explain it ok). At first there was very little interest. So I started by teaching my mother. I have found that Samoan women have a lot more curiosity than men in general. That or they are just nosier. My mother caught on quickly and was able to win after two games. Once she won, my sisters came to play. Every time a draw two, skip, or draw four was handed out the fale (house) would erupt with laughter. And the boys soon came running to see what we were doing. 10 pm came around and I was supposed to go to midnight mass with my father. Instead I claimed to be tired and stayed home to dish out a hurting to my brothers. (The truth is that they kicked my ass, but as I brought the game I am reluctant to admit it.) We stayed up late into the night and had a great time. I am super thankful to have had a nice distraction from the goings on at my grandmothers house at home that I was missing. I love chirstmas eve at home, and this is the first year of whole life I have missed it. Needless to say I have been a bit homesick.
Christmas day I slept late. Samoan’s don’t really understand sleeping late. They get up at the crack of dawn by choice. (They also take multiple naps throughout the day). Anyway I slept until 8 ish and then stayed in bed reading until 10. (Reading is also not very common and rather misunderstood by Samoans. They are a culture of oral learners so reading is just crazy to them, but more on that in a later post.) Once I got up, showered and dressed the fun began. My father and brothers were all waiting for me to crack open the niu voka (we mixed it with Coke-a-cola). Essentially this is a local home brew/moonshine made from coconut juice called niu (new). The next few hours were filled with eating, drinking, drunken siva (see-va : dancing, and yes I have pictures!), drunken uno, long drunken speeches about how much they love me and how much I love them, and of course a LOT of laughter. We started about 10:30 in the morning and partied until my mother and sister put me to bed around 3pm. My brothers were all fine. The moral of this story is… never think you can keep up with your Samoan brothers. You can’t, don’t try, it will hurt a lot. At least I had a great time.
Monique came and woke me up around 7pm, and my mother attempted to make me eat. I just laughed at her. Then I had to get ready (still drunk at this point) and go to visit Netta (Lina, a trainee and friend who left, asked me to visit her sister, and I said I would), and then go to the Christmas program at the catholic church, were the Pisikoa (that is fa’asamoa for Peace Corps if you couldn’t guess) were to be the guests of honor. Uggg… it was a long program, and in the middle the most adorable fat baby was put onto my lap to hold (I think it may have been some sort of subliminal message thing sincec they have difficulties with the fact that I am 28 and healthy, but not married and have no children, I am asked about it constantly). Which would have been fine, since he was cute and soft and cuddly, but he was also squirmy and not helping my upset tummy. Eventually they let me off the hook and I went home to bed early (and by early I mean, before 10).
Friday (today as I write this) my sisters Mary and Lotu have come back to Apia with me to stay the night at my new house. I have promised Lotu we would go see the Rock movie, Welcome to the Jungle and get an ice cream at Mc Donald’s tonight. She is standing here looking over my shoulder as if not leaving right now is causing her physical pain so I guess I should go do that. Or maybe I could stall an extra second…. Hehehehehe.
Ok, I hope everyone else Christmas was as good.
A bunch of people from EPC (where I will be working) showed up at my house last night with a pig and a lot of beer. It was an impromptu party. They had planned to party at the Sea Wall but it was poring rain. So they came to my house. Which actually was great. I only really knew two people there (my boss and my kind of boss) but it was great to have a house full of Samoan’s laughing and warming my house up. They even cleaned up after themselves.
Anyway this morning I made a very interesting batch of cookies. And in a few hours I am headed to Siufaga for Christmas. Anyway I will be back on Friday. Have a great Christmas everyone.
My boss kidnapped me this morning and took me across the island to the “best beach in Samoa”. And while I certainly did not appreciate the 8 am Sunday morning wake up call, it really was a very nice beach. I also love that Pisa (Pee-za) is coming to kidnap me. It makes me feel, ummm adopted.
I had thought I had nothing to do today so I put off doing dishes and a few other chores around me house last night in order to give myself something to do today. I am trying to be proactive in the “prevent boredom” arena as I know boredom for me leads to sleeping and eating too much. What I had forgotten was that I was supposed to go caroling at an Old folks home with some other PC volunteers at 2:30 and so I missed it entirely. I think I am making up for that by hosting a birthday party for another volunteer at my place tomorrow. We shall see.
I have started sifting through the writings and pictures from training and I promise to post something interesting tomorrow.
I have everything I really need here. However several people have asked what they could send me (for Christmas and what not) sooo I am making a list of things that would be nice to have.
First off e-mail, cards and, post cards (or even letters if you are feeling particularly ambitious) from home, family and friends are really really GREAT! I love them and they keep me feeling connected. I wish I had the time and free or even cheep internet access to sift through LJ to keep up but as of now, I just don’t. So any of you that have the time, inclination and a printer (like maybe a slow day at work) and want to print out your (and maybe others if you felt up to it) journal pages and mail those to me instead of letter writing, that would RULE!
Secondly there are a few computer Items I would LOVE to have as they are simply un-gettable here, unless you have them sent from home (Home would be you guys).
1. I really need a PCMCIA NIC/Modem combo card. I had one but the dongles went AWOL before I left and if I want to hook up to the network at the PC office or at work or even run dial up from home (someday hopefully soon I will have a phone line at my house so I can do this in theory) I will need one. (Actually they have them here but it would cost me about 3 weeks of pay on my PC salary.)
2. I would love a USB DVD player. I have one that Max gave me but it only wants to work, when I don’t really want to watch a DVD.
Next there are a few small appliances I would love to have that back home cost under $20 but here Cost about $100 to $150.
1. Steam Iron
2. Coffee Maker
3. Toaster Oven (The cheapest one I have found here is about $200)
Books
I have been pretty much eating books. Since I got here I have read everything I initially brought to read with me and I’ve made a serious dent (about half way through) in the 31 pounds of books I sent myself. I would love any of the following or anything you want to send me.
Anything by any of the Beats (for some inexplicable reason I didn’t send myself any)
Bukowski, Ginsburg, Burrows, Keroack, Ferlinghetti, Etc.
Any of the Harry Potter books in Paperback.
The LOTR series in paperback
I would love a real yoga mat, and two of those foam blocks. I am doing a lot of yoga these days and it would be nice to have some nice equipment.
Wow, I realize this has turned into quite a list. But no worries, I really do have everything I need. Please don’t send food, packages take about a month to get here so things spoil and tend to be not so nice when they get here.
1. I have way more space than a single person needs.
2. I have hot water, which while it is not very PC I really appreciate.
3. Gekos are really LOUD at night.
I really love my new house. It is not SMV, but it is still nice and after I paint and make it a bit more mine I think it will be really comfortable.
I move into my new house in a few hours.
I spent the morning running around like a crazy woman buying stuff. The house is really nice, but it could use some TLC, a good scrubbing, a little paint, and some practical stuff. Like dishes, and linens. Which is mostly what I was taking care of this morning. I bought dishes; a pillow, a fan, and a bunch of cleaning supplies. I got all the basics I need. I looked into paint and it will cost me about $250 to paint. Which is way more than I can afford. But I have a little bit of money saved from training and some other money of my own I could use. Anyway when it is done it should be very nice! And since it is a three-bedroom house I will have plenty of room for visitors. {Just in case anyone reading this happens to be in the neighborhood please feel free to stay with me}.
Anyway I have to run now. Have a great weekend.
Yesterday I took the oath. It’s official and now I am a real Peace Corps Volunteer. Fulfilling your own dreams is a wacky and surreal thing. I cried tears of joy once the oath was over, and I cried once again when the CD shook my hand, gave me my official ID and said “Welcome, Peace Corps Volunteer”.
I am now a part of a long legacy of people who have done amazing things not only for their country but for the world as well. I am going to consider this (not the first but) a very big step in my quest to save the world.
Watch out folks my Polyannic idealism is currently running ramped. Consider yourself warned.
So tomorrow is the big day and today is full of crappy errands and housekeep stuff.
Another round of shots
Picking up my dress from the tailor
Inventorying and getting med kits
Bike clinic
Go to the bank
Meeting later with the country director
And hopefully going to see the inside of my new house.
I know I should be posting some of the volumes of writing I did in the village but honestly I have been way to busy to sift through it all. Fortunately, after this week is over I will have two whole weeks of freedom (and boredom) so I am hoping to sift through them then and get some pics posted as well.
We got back from the training village early Saturday morning. It is really nice to be back in town but I feel like I have so much yet to do before Wednesday when we Swear In. They throw us a big ceremony and we all become real official Peace Corps Volunteers. Eeep! I get little butterflies in my tummy just thinking about it. I have wanted to be a PCV for so long now, that it almost seems a little unreal.
The last village stay seemed to drag on forever, as every day seemed to be as long as a week. However in hindsight it seems like it went by really quickly. Funny how perspective and time are relative and contradictory sometimes. In fact our time in the village was full of contradictory feelings and emotions. For instance I felt constantly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things we had to do or learn or work on, and at the same time I was often bored out of my mind. I was hungry all the time (probably because of all the walking) and yet I never wanted to eat. (Speaking of which I just went and saw the tailor this morning to be measured for my swearing in outfit and I have lost 3 inches since we got here, wacky eh!) I was exhausted but could never sleep. And knowing that I needed to rest, I would lay down and get restless and antsy after about ten min. The whole experience was an adventure in new, strange and contradictory states of being.
I really enjoyed spending a lot of time with Lotu (my 8 year old “little sister”) and Mary (my 16 year old “sister”). Mary knew some English and was really the only one I could ask questions like “what does this or that mean” or “where am I supposed to be” and “what am I supposed to be doing” right now. She was very helpful and loved my CD walkman. Lotu spoke no English at all but looked at me with these eyes of adoration, and followed me wherever I went. She also insisted that we go swimming every day after class and that was a lot of fun. Other than these tow I didn’t bond with my family a whole lot but I think I am going to go back to the village on Christmas day anyway and see them. We won’t be able to say much to each other but at least I won’t be alone in a big empty house by myself on the holiday. And it will be nice for them to have someone around to laugh at, when she tries to speak Samoa.
Anyway, on Thursday I move into my new house. I have seen the outside but not the inside. It looks HUGE and I know it has a few bedrooms. I can’t wait to get settled. I have been thinking about things I want to do with the house and I think I will start with paint for the inside and maybe look into have a desk made. I want a nice comfortable place to set up my laptop and write.
Ok, more tomorrow I promise.
Have a great evening.