new babies and dragonflies use Wikipedia

in the pics: Mother's day ...a day to celebrate mom. lots of candy necklaces (ulas), my mealofas (gift) for my mom included some candy, bingo dabbers, and perfume. oh, and a church service with singing and performances by the mothers!

4/26
There’s a new baby in my samoan family: Faavai ma Tagi Lelei. To make the total in our family ….hmmmm 12 I think.

Movie tonight: Twighlight. More reminders of home: Columbia River Gorge, Indian Head Beach. The lighthouse. I don’t see any lighthouses when I look out in the samoan ocean. ..well I guess technically it’s the Pacific Ocean.
Misty green—waterfalls—lighthouses
Hmmm…


Went on a hike up a hill in Apia…wrote this poem:

Smoky light dragonfly
Coming down Mt Vaea on a steamy Samoan afternoon,
I come to an opening in the jungle and look down.
Many small fires
No, not smoldering war.
Samaoan umus baking taro, maybe ulu
I refocus my vision.
Something else in the sky, dragonflies.
Through smoky late afternoon light,
I realize I’m amidst a dragonfly’s
Playground, 20 or 30 I guess
With their quick erratic flight pattern.
Two things here that keep me in awe
Makes for a good afternoon jaunt
Up and down the mountain heat.
Smoking light dragonfly’s playground buzzing.


4/25
Today is Saturday. I got a lot done: 3 hours on the internet to check email, update my blog, download song lyrics for my school’s English day. Ate lunch at Skippy’s—yummy fish burger with egg. Stuff I bought—5 bottles of chili sauce, French dressing sauce, tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, oranges, a large jar of crunch p-nut butter, a small can of (pi soupo) corned beef. For my Samoan family—a 3 pound can of pisoupo, ,a tin of crackers, ,and 2 pairs of sandles. Thing to remember—I need to install Wikipedia (the offline version—there is no internet at our school) on the computer the principal a and VP use. Wikipedia is like an encyclopedia, only on the computer. So it is a very BIG folder of MANY different text files and pictures. Well, I thought I could use a search function on this encyclopedia, but I don’t think there is a search function :(… tear. I wonder if there is another version with search capability. A few teachers also use the Encyclopedia Britannica on a computer in the lab. I sense I will doing a a lot of writing things down both for the samoan teachers, and other PCVs if they want to try and do classes with teachers. The bus just started, and here comes the boom boom music.


4/12
It’s harder than I thought it would be to explain that the index fingers stay on the key with a bump—the F and J keys.

I’ve had more than a few people ask me about cheap places to stay in apia..here are a few: hidden garden, outrigger hotel, samoa hotel accommodations, Lynns