Wackyfish

When Monkies talk

dorie: oook oook eeeek eeeek eeek
Ted: Monkeys are hot
Ted: Monkeys are cold
Ted: Monkeys are better
Ted: When not covered with mold
dorie: BAHAHAHAHAHA
dorie: that is really funny
Ted: :D
dorie: especally since the humidity here makes things moldy fast
Ted: Does it? Yeah, huh.
dorie: yes!
Ted: Because the poem is so cheesy it makes more mold?
dorie: BAHAHAHAHAHAHA
dorie: I adore you
Ted::x

Note*
Monkey is a word I used to designate a special close friend, someone I love a lot outside the bounds of a romantic relationship.

A right of pasese...

Yesterday I left work at about 12:30 for a walk. After a series of events and errands that is long, not terribly interesting, and too much trouble to write I ended up at home via taxi at around 2pm. (yes, I know it’s 2 hour lunch, but that is not a huge deal here) I made some lunch and then decided I would take the bus back to work as I didn’t want to spend another 5 tala on a taxi.
So at about 2:30 I walked out to the main road and I could hear that the buss was close. The busses have squeaky breaks and I can usually tell how close they are by the sound (and volume) of their breaks when they stop. As I got on the bus it was mostly empty and I took the best seat. (The bench directly behind the driver next to the window.)
There are three schools within 100 yards along the Vaivase strip of my bus route (Samoa College, Vaivase primary, and NUS) and school had just let out. Which meant a nice crowed bus. And Samoans know how to pack a bus! The children sit four to a bench. Two on the seat with one on each lap. However being Palagie I don’t ever get a lap passenger. The children sort of look at me like I am strange sort of monkey. They are curious but cautious. (Not only am I Palagie, but I have funny hair and a ring in my nose, which I am sure baffles them and only adds to my freaky strangeness in their eyes.)
At the Primary school the bus was begging to fill up and a very small girl (maybe 5) in her pink in and blue uniform sat next to me. I was pleasantly shocked. The very young ones usually avoid the strange Palagie. By the time the Bus got to NUS it was pretty full and on oncoming passenger wanted the little girl’s seat.
So instead of waiting for the oncoming passenger to give the girl her lap, I reached over, grabbed the little girl and put her on MY lap. The little girl didn’t even blink. She wasn’t a bit scared of me, and I assume pretty used to being moved to a lap on a crowed bus.
As the bus moved along she began to sort of droop on me, and I had to hold her on my lap with both hands. By the third block she had fallen asleep in my lap with her tiny head against my chest. I had a nice big grin. As we approached my stop I tried to get my money out without waking her. It was an needless worry she slept right through my jostling and wriggling. I hated waking her up at my stop so I could get off.
I had TAKEN the opportunity to share my place with a Samoan and she welcomed it. This is not an honor (though I doubt they see it as an honor as much as a duty to share your seat) that is given to Palagie. It is certainly one I had to TAKE. And I’m glad I did.
Will small children climb into my lap on future bus rides? I doubt it. Will have to continue to extend myself in order to be a more natural and accepted part of my community? Probably. Is that a big drag sometimes? You bet. Will keep doing it? I don’t know, but I certainly hope so!

Leai se ulia

I didn’t get a chance to ride my bike home yesterday. I have no seat. I got an 18’ bike, because all the 16’ bikes were gone (they only ordered 3). The arm length is fine but it is too tall. Even with the seat all the way down it’s too tall. It could be lowered about two inches but the seat won’t actually go down that far because the bar it sits on is too long. So one of the guys in our power distribution center took my bike seat and said he would take a hacksaw to it and make it 2 inches shorter. It’s good to have friends with power tools, eh?
Hopefully the maiden ride will be tonight.

I walked most of the way home last night. The bus came at the last hill and since the drivers all know me now, he stopped and insisted I not walk the rest of the way. Which was nice. I was exhausted and hot and uncomfortable by that time. I got home, took a cold shower, ate some “pumpkin yumm” and then went right to bed with my book (I am reading “Lake Wobegone days” YAY). It was 7ish when I climbed into bed. Yes, I am an old lady now.

The one were I get a bike...

Back in the day when I moved to Arizona, I lived in the dorms at ERAU. The dorms were located at the top of campus. The first semester I had a job in the maintenance department, which was located at the bottom of campus (I was basically an underpaid bookkeeper). I had to be at work at 8am (before my classes) and I barrowed my roommate’s bike to get to work and back every day. It was about one mile from my bed to my desk at the Maintenance office. The morning trip down the hill was no problem. I would speed down the hill and arrive with a red chilly nose to a cup of coffee with the maintenance guys. The trip home however was miserable. One mile, up hill the whole way. And not just a hill a steep hill. The first week I had to walk my bike part of the way. The next month I could make it the whole way up the hill but I was miserable. By the end of the first semester I was zipping back up the hill with no problem and I came home for Christmas break about 25 pounds lighter.
I am getting my bike today. I live in Vaivase-Uta and I work in Tamalini. The distance is somewhere between 3 and 5 miles. Vaivase-Uta is high up on a hill and Tamalini is down on beach road. I don’t expect the bike ride to work to be difficult as it will be all downhill. (Well ok, I am a little scared about the dogs but that is a subject for another post.) However the ride home is terrifying me. It’s all uphill and there are some pretty nasty hills. I’m no longer 18 (I am ten years older in fact). My body’s been through a good amount of abuse in the mean time. I sometimes feel like a 58-year-old woman.
So I am a little intimidated but I’m going to give it a shot tonight.

ANZAC day

Today is a public holiday here.
ANZAC day. It is the Samoan equivalent of our memorial day. Which is interesting because Samoa hasn’t been involved directly in any sort of War in long over a century. Other governments (the Germans, Asians, and even Americans) have used Samoa as an outpost in the south pacific. And currently Samoa has about 30 troops serving as UN Peacekeepers in Liberia. But really, Samoans are peaceful people who can’t really be bothered with political conflict much less war. (Tho they have a history of bloody wars with Tonga, but that ended over a century ago, maybe two. Before the missionaries came anyway.)
Anyway this beautiful ANZAC day, I am celebrating by coming into work and helping out my boys with the payroll data. Which means several hours of data entry. It is mind numbing work, but I am happy to be another pair of hands to help. They take such good care of me and if it means they finish an hour earlier and we leave sooner, then I feel good about how I spend my time. Besides hanging out with Pisa and the boys means music in the office and lots of joking and laughing so it is not as painful as “several hours of data entry” sounds.
This weekend I mean to go to Siufaga but of course I got busy and didn’t get there. We had a big toana’I (Sunday lunch, pronounced: toe-ah-na-EE) yesterday at my house. There were seven people (mostly other volunteers). We made a huge feast and then pretty much just sat around and ate all day.
We went and saw the late showing of “50 first dates”. I thought it was funny. Cute and funny. It made me think of Ronnie for some reason. (Probably because he is the one who actually got me to watch and like Adam Sandler movies.)

Mmmmmm Food!

I just had a big lunch and now I want a nap.
I am going to have a big dinner as well.
Kim one of our APCD’s (Associate Peace Corps Director) is married to a nice man from Nepal and they live here now. (She is an RPCV herself and met her husband while serving her two years in Nepal, many years ago.)
Anyway he is opening a restaurant with Nepal food (Nepalese? Nepalian? What?). It is supposed to be similar to Indian food. I can’t wait. He is throwing a big shin dig for the PC staff and volunteers tonight. (not free but good food cheep apparently)
Since I don't eat out often, it's a pretty big deal.
I wish Mo was here.

I have nothing interesting to say today....

I put up a few more pictures in the wackyfish PC Gallery.
Mostly they are of other PCV’s and I hanging out at my or Mo’s house and being silly.

In other news I am having a really great e-mail discussion with my Uncle Craig. He is conservative, and I am… not. None-the-less we are having a great (interesting and respectful) conversation and I am really enjoying the discourse. It makes me miss the nosey dinner table discussions we have at family gatherings at my grandmother’s home on holidays and what not.

Monday is a holiday and I am having the “Go to Siufaga or not” debate. I should go back and see my family. I haven’t been in almost two months. I’m sure they will give me a hard time about it. Especially since I didn’t go back for Easter. I have to go back for mother’s day or I will be excommunicated (and I like my little sister too much for that) from my family. And that is in two weeks, so I could just wait… or I could just suck it up and go both times. I mean, I never want to go visit, but I am always glad when I do. I have a good time with Lotu and other than the nagging it is peaceful and quiet. I should just go… I could take a bus out on Sunday afternoon and get one back on Monday. I would only have to spend one night.
Groan….

Coffee Club

I finally got a picture of the coffee club… sort of. The display on my camera is broken but it looks like it is still taking pictures. I got this shot of the ladies (and I) on Monday morning.
Starting from the right is Pisa (with the big smile), my closest Samoan friend. I love and adore her, and she takes excellent care of me. She teaches me FaaSamoa, makes sure I know where I am supposed to go and what I am supposed to be doing, and just generally keeps me in line. She is sort of a big sister/mother figure.
Next is Me (looking tired, sick and swollen but happy none the less).
Then Lea who reminds me of my grandmother and makes me miss her even more. Lea gives the best hugs, and can’t stop talking about me to her grandsons. She is the wife of the Chief inspector of Police.
And then Barbara who is Palagie. She was married to a Samoan man (George) for many many years. She thought about going back to New Zealand after he passed several years ago but after a two week visit she decided that after 40 years here she was more Samoan than Palagie. She now runs a popular travel agency in town.
Missing is Juno, who is in NZ visiting her family this month. We (I) miss her terribly. She is the funny one. Her family owns a really nice restaurant and about a half a dozen other businesses and properties in town.
Illi (ee-lee) is also out of town. She is in LA shopping and visiting family (but mostly shopping she says). She is the owner of Daphnies (the coffee shop where we meet). Her husband is the Chief Justice of Samoa. Taking the picture you see is Beatrice. She is new… sort of (new to the coffee club but a well know Apia socialite). I don’t know what she does exactly but she has several businesses of her own. Her family is loaded. She has asked me several times to come and work for her and stay in Samoa when my time with the PC is done. I keep telling her “well see”.
That about sums up the coffee club. I love these women. They teach me FaaSamoa (even if it is all gossip), they look after me like a group of Aunts, and I think I am finally starting to actually become part of the circle instead of just “the Palagie who we invited to join us because she is a novelty”….

Watching geckos

What do you do in the late evening, on a weeknight if you live in a rural village on the south side of Upolo? If the evening meal with your family is over, and you have finished your homework for the next day, and you and you family have exchanged all of the words you already know, one of the best things you can do is go watch the Geckos.
We are blessed in Samoa with Geckos. They are great! They eat bugs, namu (mosquitoes) especially. And being a prime namu target (victim) I appreciate their diet. But they are also an excellent source of entertainment!
Generally the evening would finally begin to turn cool around 9pm then boredom would set in. I could go for a walk, but my matua (parents) don’t like me walking after dark. Or I could read, but I am tired of my book for now. So instead I lay on a sleeping matt in the open fale with my little sister Lotu (8) and my cousin Mary (16) and we watch the Geckos eat. Bugs are attracted to the long florescent lights on the ceiling, so the Geckos perch nearby and have a feast. Often three to five geckos of varying size and health hang out around one light. We lay beneath the light and guess which one would get the next bug or which one would eat the most bugs. Often we give them names and cheer when our favorite (I always picked the little guy because he was usually faster than the fat ones) caught his next dinner course and swallowed it whole. Sometimes we even made little wagers (hence Dorie learns to count in FaaSamoa). We bet things like ice pops or bottle caps. Lotu always won of course.
It was a great pastime to share between people who don’t posses a common language, and have already said all the words they know to each other. There was no TV, only a old radio to keep us company. The ocean breeze cooling us down. A conch shell being blown somewhere off in the distance. Soft ballads in Faasamoa washing over us. Geckos chirping and eating. Lotu would hold my hand and we would point, giggle, cheer and roll around on the floor like children.
I hadn’t thought about watching geckos in months until today when I told this funny story to some visiting parents of a friend. It is nice to remember the days when Geckos were a great source of entertainment. I love my simple life here.
And from it I give you this advice…. Remember to make time to go watch the geckos have dinner. (But spray yourself down with bug spray first and take a namu coil with you because the geckos can feast but they never seem to get them all, and the ones they miss make dinner of you!)

In other news, I think that there may be a pack of aliens living in my tummy again. That or I have the worst case of indigestion in my life. I am placing my bet on with the aliens. What do you think?

O lo’u matua Amerika... and some other stuff

The fish Tikka Massala turned out… well. It didn’t exactly taste like tikka massala but it was close, and still pretty damn good. Ema came over and played co-pilot in the kitchen for me.

I have to say a few words about “O lo’u matua Amerika” (my American parents) here. I dig them. I super dig them. It’s neat when you grow up and you think your parents are neat people and not just people who raised you. My mom is smart, witty and cleverly funny, my dad is very loving and funny in a silly way. And they are both great people with wonderful hearts who live their lives in honorable and exemplary ways. As an adult I both admire and respect them. And I miss them so much. For many years I lived 30 min away from them and never saw them. I didn’t really miss them like I do now. Maybe something about knowing they were close enough to drive to, if I ever really needed them was enough. But now they are thousands of miles away and I have been feeling like a kid who has gone off to camp and is away from home for the first time. They will be here in less than two months for a visit. I cannot wait.

Mo, Fish massala, shopping stuff.....

Mo is gone. She was Med-evaced to Hawaii. It’s lonelier when you best friend in country leaves. I hope she gets better soon and is allowed to come back.

I got up early this morning and came in for coffee with Pisa and Lea. I had missed another three days of the coffee club an I missed them terribly. One of these days I will actually get a picture of the lovely ladies and post it here. Our morning visits over coffee have become an emotional sanctuary for me. So it was worth it for me to get up at 7:30 on a Saturday to see them.
I then did god’s own amount of shopping (and those who know me know I’m not generally really very fond of shopping and avoid it as much as possible). I had never been to SVM’s which is the closest we get to a wholesale store. So I went and checked it out. I found refried beans, so I got six cans. Then I headed off next door to another store I’d never been to called “Hanna’s”. I found Turmeric and Garam Massala. Tonight I will make my first try and fish Tikka Massala! I am very excited!
Next was a trip to BlueBird hardware. I got light bulbs for the new reading lamp I purchased in Pago (I was unable to find a reading lamp here for anything under 95 tala. I found one in Pago for $7.95 US, which translates to roughly 20 tala. I will have to use a power transformer but I have one that is not currently in use soooo it’s all good.) Then off to Lucky food town to buy fresh basil and eggs. They were out of eggs. Followed by a stop at the bank and then to Chan Mow. I found “Louisiana style” hot sauce, some fabric I needed, and the eggs. So now I am loaded down with groceries and other good things.
On top of the things I brought back from Pago it feels a little like Christmas.

Pago

Pago was fun.
I had near Mexican food. It was a pretty big deal. I was in heaven.
It got in a ton of work, I stayed with some great people, and I got to do a bit of shopping.
Anyway, now I am tired and I have a ton of grocery shopping and house crap to do. And then I am going home to call my dad.
I hope your week was good.

Gone baby gone

I went to Pago (America Samoa) for work for a few days. I will be back on friday afternoon.
More on the trip when I get back.
Tofa

Fifilemu (take it easy)

I live in a beautiful and amazing country. My life here is not easy by any means. I have been sick, I live on almost no money, and I lack many of the modern conveniences (like a car to get around at will) that my previous life afforded. In spite of the difficulties I find that I am happy. Really, genuinely, happy. I had a conversation this weekend with Ema (another volunteer from my group) in which we attempted to figure out what exactly makes us so happy here. I came up with several things, and I thought I might share them.

Probably the most important lessons I get to learn (I am still in progress of learning) from the Samoa Tagata (people) is that happiness is a matter of being content. If they don’t have things like TV, video games, cars or fancy clothing they just live without them. The world goes on with out material things.
If the power goes out they can just live without it as well. You don’t need power to take a nap or fish or drink Ava. If the bus is broken and not running, well hey it’s a beautiful day so you walk or just stay home and go wherever you were going to go tomorrow. If they never go anywhere more exciting than their own tiny Samoan village or never see any more of the world than their own tiny country, that’s ok too because, hey it’s paradise here.
The breeze off the ocean still cools down the earth in the evenings. The rain still comes and refreshes the land. There will still be Ulu (breadfruit) on the trees (although we are recovering form HETA still so it is scarce these days). There will still be fish in the sea, and plenty of taro to eat. Families will still get together to laugh, sing, dance, tafao (hang out) and ultimately take care of each other. And life will continue with it’s beautiful, slow, peaceful rhythm as it has done for generations. They have all these blessings regardless of money, or possessions, or even time. So why worry?
This whole philosophy of living permeates so much of the Samoan culture that it seeps into just about everything. It is the basis for the laid back lifestyle we live here.
For instance, time works so much differently here. Back home I remember making lists and list of things to accomplish and I felt like I never had enough time. Here I am busy but nothing is ever urgent so I never feel pressed to be as productive as I can possibly be (I feeling that used to plague me daily). This weekend Ema and I tired to remember what kinds of things were on those lists. What was it that filled our days and gave us a sense of panicked urgency? We were hard pressed to remember anything that seemed significant enough to justify the stress it induced. Please don’t get me wrong, I am still a busy girl (it is just in my nature), but I rarely ever feel rushed and have never been stressed about time. (Which was a HUGE stress issue for me back home). “Tomorrow is another day” is a very popular saying here. The implication of saying this is… “don’t worry about what ever it is you think you have to do… sit down, malolo (rest) and have another cup of Ava”.
Also this philosophy causes people to experience less attachment. They are less attached to material things, other people, money, jobs, and etc. If you had a nice watch and lost it… “Oh well”. If your relative passes on or moves abroad “they are in a better place” or “they are helping the family”. It makes sense that people are not attached to money if they are not attached to things. Jobs take up time and mean money.
These are just general observations on a whole culture. So they are not absolute. Samoa has it’s share of people who are concerned and attached to time, things and people. But for the most part the change has, well it is changed my life. And while it is not an easy life by any means, it is a very happy one.

Wacky.

Six months ago today I left my other life.
Now I have this life.
Rock!

Hollywood vs Mother nature

Thursday night a few of us got together at my house to cook dinner and watch a movie. We rented “The Magdalena Sisters”. Half way through the movie a HUGE rainstorm hit and it sounded like a great continuous lion roar outside. I jumped up, paused the movie and dragged Michael and Jess outside to have a “porch sit” in the rainstorm. IMHO mother nature puts on a better show than Hollywood any day.

In Lieu of a real entry...

Here is a picture of Mo and I at the 80's party on Saturday. I was trying for Mod and sort of missed.

List of good things about today

My phone is working again. The SamoaTel guys came to my house this morning and got everything working again. So I have a phone now.

I have, in my hot little hands (well at my house really) the working PC sewing machine. This means that I will be able to alter all my clothing to actually fit me and hopefully try my hand at making a Pulotasi. I am so excited.

This morning I picked up a package at the post office from Jess {THANK YOU!}. I think she may have some sort of freaky package foo because her packages get here faster than anyone else’s. It was full of tortilla chips, egg coloring kits and special cookies. I can’t wait to get my hands on some Salsa. I think I am going to try home making it. It is not that hard. Chips and salsa here I come!

I feel like I should be doing something Samoan this weekend since I have a long weekend ahead of me. Go see my family, go for a hike, go to Savii, or even just visit a beach. But really, I want to stay home, paint my bathroom and use the sewing machine. Solitude is what I want. Which I am ok with, so I figure that is what I will do.

Update: (which is just my way of disguising a long weekend report)

I have been absent from here for the past few days for several very good reasons.
First being my standard “I’m sick” excuse. I am still sick but on the mend. My sickness these days seems to be limited to the annoying side effects of antibiotics, which I will be done with tomorrow. Hopefully once I stop taking them, the strep will not come back. My eye tick seems to be gone which is a positive thing. I took Friday and Monday off of work and spent a large part of this weekend, Sleeping. So I am good and rested.
Other things of note this long weekend are…

I saw “Passion of Christ” on Friday.
I have to say I thought it was grossly overrated. Having been raised in a Baptist Christian home, I was more than familiar with the story and was hoping for some new angle or perspective on the event. The only thing new or enlightening was the brutality, which frankly my imagination had previously served me well enough without having it displayed on screen. So I’m not sure what the big deal is and frankly could have spent my 6 tala in much better ways.

Saturday evening I was feeling up to going to the big 80’s themed birthday party for several volunteers. I put on a black top and skirt and lots of make up and went “mod” style. Many people said I made a great little “goth girl”. Which made me laugh because I looked mild (I was going for “Mod”, which is really “pre-goth” or “goth lite”) for a full on goth. But what can you expect from a bunch of PCV’s. (Something about living in a third world country tends to cause you not to be the hippest people in the world). Anyway, I wanted to get pictures since we all looked great, but the display on my camera is broken. The LCD went all white and there is no picture. I can still take photo’s I think and download them later but… BAH! My camera is broken. Fortunately I got it at “Best Buy” and I purchased the extended warranty so I just need to send it home to mom and dad and have them get it replaced. If I send it on time I bet they could bring the replacement with them when they come and visit in June.
Anyway, I didn’t drink (cause it makes the meds not work) but I had a good time visiting and heckling everyone else. What can I say, I am a born heckler. Oh and a few of the girls made a piñata that looked like Mr. Burns head and a cake that looked like Bart Simpson. I made 80’s mix CD’s and brought them. It was neat.

Sunday I didn’t really do a damned thing, it was great. Although after making my very important every other week phone call home to my parents, my phone died and has yet to come back on. Gotta love the public services here (note: heavy sarcasm)

Monday, I called in sick again and pretty much also did nothing but rest. That is until my neighbor came over and knocked on my door about 2:30pm with an urgent message from work (I have no phone, it’s dead remember). So I went next door and called my boss, only to be told we are leaving for America Samoa today, and that I needed to work out my “passport issues” ASAP. So I hauled tail into town and found that the amazing wonderful PC staff (having had a little advance notice that a trip was coming up) had already arranged for an Exit and Re-Entry permit for me and that my passport was ready and waiting for me to pick up. So I went home, packed my things and rest up, only to find that we actually will not be leaving until tomorrow morning. But hey, two days in Pago Pago work sponsored. I’m excited.

A good friend came to stay with me at my house and play nurse (and clown, and chef, and storyteller and other things) this weekend. He took excellent care of me. I felt cared for and spoiled and loved. It is good to have friends here that take care of me and that I can take care of.

Anyway, I don’t know if I will be able to update from Pago but I imagine it is likely. If I am absent for a while, I hope everyone has a great week and then weekend.

I crack me up!

dorie: Hey guess what?
gwynnie: What?!
dorie: I'm all better
gwynnie: YAY!!!! Antibiotic goodness!!!
dorie: HAHAHAHAHA APRIL FOOLS!!!
dorie: I am still sick as a dog
gwynnie: :p
dorie: :D
dorie: I am sick but still funny.

Fun with Phonics

This morning we had another big presentation. The meeting went really well overall and was VERY productive. I had to present certain parts because I was the expert. Which meant that my sections got presented in English. At one point I was going through some flow charts and used the word “Clerk”. Which got a huge round of laughs. Laughs I didn’t understand at the time, so I just pretended to giggle and moved on. Later Pisa explained that they pronouce it “Clark”. To which I responded… “but it is spelled with an e”. Forgetting momentarily that in FaaSamoa the e sound, sounds like an a. Hence my clerk is their clark…
But wait you say… you were speaking English so technically it’s YOUR language.
Yes, yes it is. But I phub up their language all the time so I figure this is their fee bee.
So be on notice, all clerks out there… I will now be referring to you as clarks.