Police band plays on the pulse

in the pics...
LotuLalomauga: One of the kids in my training village family. He has such big, curious eyes. He is so calm, when many other kids are all over the place.
LotuVilla: Villa is my sister in our training village family. I don’t have many pictures of her. I miss her. Hope to visit during the school holiday.

7/4
Some things really irritate me: the constant wanting to know where I am going, the science teacher not giving me rugby ball back, other things just fill me with compassion: the green basket filled with taro and ulu from the plantation that appears on the bus. We’re doing the best we can. I think we’re doing pretty well.

It is such a different atmosphere between Apia (the “big” city) and the village. It would probably be a shock for a village girl to be in an American “city.”
And then my pule (principal) tells me there are too many cars and dogs. She is from Manono—where I will be going tomorrow to help with a health clinic at another peace corp’s site—where there are no cars or dogs—on the whole island!

Fourth of july party/fiafia/schindig/celebration. A cool police band played star spangled banner and battle hymn of the republic for the flag raising which was all a very formal deal. The fancy (embossed) card (with my misspelled first name) said “fiafia dress” so I wore shorts and a “slick” polo top. (as someone else commented). Most other people wore a nice lavalava and button shirt. I feel more comfortable in shorts. I also didn’t get the invitation until the day I arrived in Apia—July 4th. This is a shoutout to all those people who expect responses snap snap snap…I do not have internet at school. It may take 1-2 weeks for me to get a message. Patience please!!! (fa’amolemole onosa’i). I got a cool American/samoan pin. ..to add to me other pins that I never wear when I dress up..ha ha ha. Note to self: many appetizers and glasses of wine don’t mix well in my stomach.


7/5
Today I was a doctor and measured people’s pulse and respiration. A bunch of PCVs went to an island called Manono—via a single motor boat—about a 20 minute ride. One of the volunteers’ dad is a doctor—so he brought one of his resident assistant and fiancé—who is an audiologist. We also had temp and blood pressure measuring. It is hard to find the pulse of a small child. It is amazing how something as simple as your two fingers can measure something as important as a pulse. I seemed to be the quietest station. There was a lot of laughter at all the other stations.

Mike, a PCV friend—and I went to a movie—Hancock. A pretty OK movie. A lot of violence, but being close makes vulnerable—I like that. And two fingers to measure the cute woman’s pulse.