seeing, feeling, hearing after one year
in the pics: two views of christmas. one from the lighted McDonalds Menagerie, some hersey's kisses...chocolate is always good; some keke saina, a chinese type cookie, it's pretty good, and very filling.. i like it with p-nut butter;)1/25
Today is Sunday…about 6pm. I’m sitting on the third floor of our peace corps office, of which part of is a hotel. .i’m feeling the warm breeze on my face. It’s a cloudy day, so not too hot, and this easterly blowing “breeze” I feel musts be a little stronger in the harbor because the water is white capping; further out past the reef it looks like the waves are rough.
Today has been a very “sit in the office and do nothing day. I’m usually very quick in and
out of our PC office, but today is Sunday, and all of Samoa goes to church ( I went to a Baha’I temple), eats toana’I (I made cheesy eggs, black beans, and bread, with a liberal dabbing of hot sauce), and sleeps ( fell asleep listening to my MP3 player). Until afternoon church.
So here’s a random rundown:
What I’m feeling: the sun burn I got yesterday at the beach during our mid-service conference. (did I say MID service conference. Yes. Now the downhill until we get to the end of this journey). The breeze with intermittent drops of rain.
What I’m drinking: previously—mint tea. Now, just plain old, good for you water.
What I’m seeing: a cow…that has broken it’s rope and is mooing in the driveway across the street. It’s eating grass at the taxi stand and no one seems worried. I guess this is a normal thing. A samoan girl is petting (and kissing ) the cow. A palagi is jogging down the street in short shorts (above the knee) not faasaoma on Sunday. I hear a samoan say something about the runner. The darkness of evening creeps in.
Sitting on the third floor also provides a good vantage point. I wonder if the Samoans concept of time has changed at all…the fastest things moving are the cars, which zip around the bend. It sure looks like life has speeded up. Some cars outdo themselves with the boom-boom of a stereo and tinted windows.
What I’m eating: I just ate a keke saina (Chinese cookie), which was very filling. I like them from the Chinese convience store next to the PC office the best. They have the software, moistest cookies I’ve found.
What I’m reading. Two books: the Bone people, by Keri Hulme. The Gift. By Hafiz. More on these when I finish them. I’m about to read Obama’s inauguration speech. The story of the Peace Corps. Fact: early PCVs endured intense physical training at fitness camps to prepare them for service. I didn’t get any physical fitness training. The village based developmentn annual report. I also looked at sports Illustrated pictures of the year—the one with Michael phelps on the cover winning one of his crazy8 gold medals.
What I’m hearing. Cars. People’s voices. Loud, chirpy birds. They are congregating in one tree, which seems to amplify the sound. The moo cow (he wants to have a walk like everyone else). dog barking.
What I’m smelling: dinner smells. Ocean smells.
It just feels weird that a whole year has passed. It feels like the blink of an eye, even though I wouldn’t have said that in the thick of things. One more year to go. Many things to do with my school…and village. I want to start some kind of exercise program at my village. My samoan mother can hardly walk up our front steps. I feel I won’t be able to do much once school starts because I’ll be at school all the time.
Today is Sunday…about 6pm. I’m sitting on the third floor of our peace corps office, of which part of is a hotel. .i’m feeling the warm breeze on my face. It’s a cloudy day, so not too hot, and this easterly blowing “breeze” I feel musts be a little stronger in the harbor because the water is white capping; further out past the reef it looks like the waves are rough.
Today has been a very “sit in the office and do nothing day. I’m usually very quick in and
out of our PC office, but today is Sunday, and all of Samoa goes to church ( I went to a Baha’I temple), eats toana’I (I made cheesy eggs, black beans, and bread, with a liberal dabbing of hot sauce), and sleeps ( fell asleep listening to my MP3 player). Until afternoon church.So here’s a random rundown:
What I’m feeling: the sun burn I got yesterday at the beach during our mid-service conference. (did I say MID service conference. Yes. Now the downhill until we get to the end of this journey). The breeze with intermittent drops of rain.
What I’m drinking: previously—mint tea. Now, just plain old, good for you water.
What I’m seeing: a cow…that has broken it’s rope and is mooing in the driveway across the street. It’s eating grass at the taxi stand and no one seems worried. I guess this is a normal thing. A samoan girl is petting (and kissing ) the cow. A palagi is jogging down the street in short shorts (above the knee) not faasaoma on Sunday. I hear a samoan say something about the runner. The darkness of evening creeps in.
Sitting on the third floor also provides a good vantage point. I wonder if the Samoans concept of time has changed at all…the fastest things moving are the cars, which zip around the bend. It sure looks like life has speeded up. Some cars outdo themselves with the boom-boom of a stereo and tinted windows.
What I’m eating: I just ate a keke saina (Chinese cookie), which was very filling. I like them from the Chinese convience store next to the PC office the best. They have the software, moistest cookies I’ve found.
What I’m reading. Two books: the Bone people, by Keri Hulme. The Gift. By Hafiz. More on these when I finish them. I’m about to read Obama’s inauguration speech. The story of the Peace Corps. Fact: early PCVs endured intense physical training at fitness camps to prepare them for service. I didn’t get any physical fitness training. The village based developmentn annual report. I also looked at sports Illustrated pictures of the year—the one with Michael phelps on the cover winning one of his crazy8 gold medals.
What I’m hearing. Cars. People’s voices. Loud, chirpy birds. They are congregating in one tree, which seems to amplify the sound. The moo cow (he wants to have a walk like everyone else). dog barking.
What I’m smelling: dinner smells. Ocean smells.
It just feels weird that a whole year has passed. It feels like the blink of an eye, even though I wouldn’t have said that in the thick of things. One more year to go. Many things to do with my school…and village. I want to start some kind of exercise program at my village. My samoan mother can hardly walk up our front steps. I feel I won’t be able to do much once school starts because I’ll be at school all the time.
posted by bigchainring at 3:33 PM
1 Comments:
i love western samoa. Have you been to Giodanos? ( i'm pretty sure my spelling is off ) Its great pizza. youve probbly been there. Its by Insel Ferhman. BBQ Chicken pizza takes the cake there. well.
enjoy samoa!
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