Friday, August 07, 2009

magically running says the Observer



in the pics: athletics training, and the t-shirts...

















7/20
Today is brought to you by the word “optimism” and the number 7. I showed the samoan teacher how to do the disk defragment and disk clean up, and copy student pics on 7 computers. I’m also helping a year11 student prepare for the speech competition. It’s funny how things come around. The speech is a combination of speeches written by other students and parts I wrote.

After school I settled down to my toasted sandwich of mayo, cheese, chili sauce, corned beef, and tomatoes. Sounds yummy doesn’t it? It’s what I got now. Mexican comes in December.

Lack of resources—can I really appreciate this? Yeah teaching, but lack of resources for living? Lack according to who? Polynesian ways of living, or Western ways?

A few phrases from the july 20th samoan Observer: 1) “Let’s all just take a moment to appreciate life in general…we are all so blessed and so lucky to be alive.” Madonna talking to audience after a stage crashed down on her crew. I agree. Being alive is quite a blessing. One we don’t recognize enough
2) …that they’re uncharted territory for all of us. Uncharted territories are tugging at a lot of young people these days. And tugging at me. well, they got me..here I am on the small island of western Samoa.

A few phrases from the PC samoa newsletter I thought were interesting:

“Don’t put time tables on work related goals that involve other people.”
Yes yes yes…I agree with this. I don’t have time tables. I just have a list that needs to get done. And get done in it’s own time. Some things are done when I most unexpect it. Hmmmm…unexpect is not a word.

“Understand that plans don’t often work as thought, and always have a fluid plan B.”
Yes yes yes….and how about a fluid plan c and d? and sometimes no plan works best.

A nightly tradition I hear on the radio—the reading of money waiting to be claimed by people in Samoa. It is an advertisement for the money remittance company..but I think it’s a good service. I guess people overseas send money to family here (a HUGE flow of hard currency) but they don’t tell their family???hmmm.
From the dictionary: “finance: money matters” yes it does. Interesting definition.


7/17
What motivates a Samoan to run—for pleasure? I’m not talking about running after the rugby ball. Just jogging down the road, or seawall for that matter. I’m in Apia at dusk watching the evening activities—jogging, soccer—I see a big tent—Magic Circus of Samoa. I think I’ll go and see—and lots of taxis driving by because…have you ever had that feeling that the dice are against what you want to do? I want to go to faofao beach fales tonight. But no bus. But there was the Lefaga bus going back to my village after the athletics day, and then the lady that was going in the car back to Lefaga. Makes me wonder if I should really be in my village this weekend. (side note—I wrote outside my border on that page (20.5) so my tattoo picture/design will be leaga/bad.

United to be the athletics



in the pics: training for athletics day

















7/16
So this morning I’m the only palagi sitting in a meeting to prepare for our Zone D athletics competition tomorrow. I guess Samoa is split into 4 geographic “zones” for secondary school athletics (maybe primary school too if they have big competitions). The island of Upolu has zone a, b, d. the island of Savaii has zone C—that’s a lot of land for one zone. ..but I don’t know how many students. My job at this competition is to write the history of who is da winner (oh my…texting language creeping into my writing)…also known as the recorder. Ok, I’m the recorder’s assistant. I’d rather be running or jumping or throwing, but I get to sit sit sit…fun. I hope our students do a warm up because I don’t think I will be able to lead the warm up—as I have done most days at school. Oh, and the athletics day starts at 7:15am…that’s a bit early for me.
Today is overcast and a gray, blustery day. I want tomorrow to be the same, none of this hard hot sun that Samoa is famous for. Speaking of sun—I saw one of my students putting on sunscreen. I’m not sure if it was for the protecting quality, or the glistening sheen affect it makes on the skin.

I took the bus to Apia this morning. It was filled with the usually twists and turns—but this time “bumpier the bus to Apia.” The road are getting really bad, in our village, and in the big city of Apia. It’s another issue of mainenance—something Samoans don’t
Seem to be very good at. Roads, bodily health, computers, bikes, or otherwise. Teletele pot holes (what’s the faasamoa for pothole???).

But the meeting just finished and it’s 10 minutes to 11am, which means I will have a few more hours on the free internet at the Peace Corps office. Yea, but I have no desire to leave quickly and go out into the pounding rain, which conveniently, just started to fall.


I guess the only reason they wanted me to be a recorder was to use my laptop. Aua leaga tele. I said no, it didn’t work. They said they would find me a laptop to use. We’ll see. My laptop does not leave my room. I really don’t want it to walk away….back to our journey on the but this morning—I saw an old yellow bus—like the school busses in America, and then I saw two more busses. The only thing missing was the sing that said “bus graveyard.” Speaking of graveyards—I’ve seen two or three in Samoa. I wonder if it’s shameful or “bad” to put family members in a graveyard, when I’ve seen that almost every house has 1, 2, 3, or more graves in front of the houses. Samoans like to keep their family close, in this life and the next. When I think about my family—one is buried in my home city. And the ashes of the other family member is floating through the waters of the world. That’s not very close. Or it could be very close. I’m in the water almost every day. The bus passed a church with two bell towers. On top of those towers were three or four cell phone repeaters (I think cell phone hardware). I’m not exactly sure what they were , but I wonder how much the cell phone company paid to the village to use their church. “Have cell phone, will pray.” Maybe they have better reception if they talk to Jesus on their cell phones ;0 oh and finally—the famous (or in-famous) 2-story palagi style house, which looks like it was plucked out of some suburb in CA. it comes complete with a two car garage and—well, I’d like to see the inside of that house. And I wonder if there is a samoan fale in the back.



Title of one of my Samoan father’s sermons Sunday.
United we stand, divided we fall.
Tutu faatasi malosi, fevaevaeai pa’u tu i lalo.

Jackson's rugby has triple digits



in the pics: the samoan flag, one of my students and the vice principal's son, my official looking hat (and the tongue) at the athletics meet, and a flash from the past--old housemates..i miss those days...

















7/14
How does no “whys” (asking why about a certain situation) make life simplier? Today’s topic is the speech competition—for year 12 students. But none of our year 12 students can go because the speech competition happens to fall on the same day as the CAT4 computer exam. So we send our trust year 11 student—who probably has the best English in the entire school. The principal wanted me to write the speech and as usual—it needs to done tomorrow. The topic is “suicide is not the answer” how fitting. So I use some parts of speeches that other students had written, and some of my own thoughts. I’m still not a last minute kind of person, but I get to practice everyday.

Another new thing I learned: it is very hard for my year9 students to look at the computer screen and write or draw something they see (ie. I wanted them to draw the MS word window in their notebook.) that was a very hard thing. Oh mr. computer, you have such a powerful mesmerizing effect.


7/11
One thing I will miss when I go home is walking out of the (very hot) house to sit on the road after dinner—hearing the ocean lap against the rocks and the waves crash against the reef in the distance. God says hellos with a shooting star…and some other thoughts:

I saw a palagi (white person)...a man speaking very fluent Samoan on the news tonight. That was very weird…a white person speaking fluent Samoan. I think that was the first time I’ve heard or seen that.

Samoans sit on the road and tafao (hang out) with their cell phones. I wonder how it will be in 50 years. Oh my …that is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too far in the future. Samoa is trying to teach me the here and now—the very present moment.

Something to search on the internet: “games to play in the sand”

I saw the Michael Jackson memorial on TV. One of my samoan friends told me it looked like a funeral for a king—sa’o (right). For the king of pop. I think it was Brooke Shields that spoke of his love of laughter. Well, Michael would sure like Samoa. If he really did have a pure, child like spirit to go with his unmatched drive and talent—then the end of Michael’s life was a sad example of how American culture can twist the pure (spirit) until it breaks. I try and remember the pain the moment I knew Andrew had died. If that’s how Michael always felt—I’d want to end my life too. I think Brooke also said Michael wanted to be known as a person, not a personality. I try to think in those terms, but that is not something I’ve had to deal with, so it is hard to put myself in his shoes. I don’t think about life in that frame of reference.

(still lying on the road after dinner in my village watching the stars) I was going to say that the cars come by every 30-45 minutes on a night like tonight, but it has been more like every 6-7 minutes—busy busy busy.
Sapo…catch

Samoan rugby team plays PNG. The score: samoa-115. (yes that’s triple digits. Something like a basketball score, but no it’s rugby) PNG-7. well, Samoa had fun. PNG kept trying; I gotta give them props. PNG kept on trying, but the ball flowed so well when in Samoan hands, and just popped out, bubbled and bobbled when in PNG hands.










happy countries know essence of God




in the pics: There is a couple a palagi man and samoan woman who are remodelling her family's samoan fale/house, and are making it into beach fales as a business...they put me to work one day...that's good because i don't get enough physical work in samoa.

















7/5
Hmmmm..a lot to think about. Today is Sunday. A day to eat..and rest. And not much else. I’m still uncomfortable with not doing anything. So I will keep my hands busy by writing these words.

What is it you can release into the world that would create the most change? A book? A poem? A movie? A person? That might be why I’m drawn to teaching. It’s a way to change opinions, open minds, transfer (knowledge, habits, love, a better life).

So I sit here trying to absorb the essence of God. It’s a Godly day—Sunday. A day people go to church. But then rush off—I do mean rush. Why not sit and be still for a while. But Samoans usually do not eat a “breakfast” before church on Sunday, so I’m guessing they are hungry to eat the toana’i—the Sunday “brunch.” And yes, it usually has many different kinds of food. Samoans like food, but on Sunday the food is special. God wants a daily relationship, not a hello and goodbye on Sunday morning. That’s not a real friendship. Yeah, well the other part of me says a real friendship is with someone I can see, touch, hug, and talk to—and get a verbal or written response. ..oh…there’s that voice, saying faith faith faith. Yes, my dear. So that’s something I miss…being in a community with other people trying to figure out the God thing. I’m at a Catholic mass this morning with my peace corps friend. “My ‘second’ breakfast this morning” says my (palagi—non-samoan) friend. After toast and pizza..the second breakfast. The Samoan teacher says she has not had any fod yet today. A different way. Some parts I may never understand, or really appreciate…the part about not having “enough” food.

I spend all day struggling with my projects trying to make the world a better place, even if it’s only in the small village of Savaia, on the small island of Upolu, in the LARGE ocean of the Pacific.

O le a le mana’o a’u?
What do I want?

Hmmm…service is not about demanding wants..that I have. But do I have to want something to make service effective. Sometimes, I sure have to be directing, demanding and loud to make things happen in samoa.

“The happiest country in the world is Coasta Rica…cananda is #2..many countries in South America top the list.” Where is the USA..oh, I hear it’s waaaaaaay down on this list. Hmmmmmmmm costa rica……nice yoga retreat.
Top the list because “they are not big consumers” I hear, unlike the USA. Can you be a big consumer AND be happy? I think yes…when you’re consuming for God’s purposes. CONSUME. PRODUCE. What do you do whtn you’re not consuming? ..just being…when I eat a lot I feel bad. When I but a lot I feel empty. When I drink (alcohol) a lot I feel bad also, unless it’s the fruitiness of a strawberry daquri; mango passion yumminess. Raspberry bite.

I don’t like my health right now. I can feel my knees getting weaker…oh hohohoh you might say. That’s old age, well I’m only ………well, why don’t you guess. But I think it has more to do with my not exercising nearly as much. As much yoga. And NO ultimate frisbee. That will change when I go home.





the busses and the crepes go drip drip drip


in the pics: a hike up the side of the mountain, at the beachfales called Faofao. there was even a "hiking" sign. i was impressed.

6/29
I’m trying to get back to my village this Monday morning. The first bus that usually rolls out about 7:30am didn’t show. I saw another Lefaga bus, but the driver said he wasn’t going to Lefaga. So here I sit, drinking some ginger tea with some time to watch the world go by. The bus drivers like to have hood ornaments on their busses. Usually I see a female figurine with wings. I just saw a small rack of antlers. Different. Unique.

Another lefaga bus goes by. It is going the wrong way…it is going to town, not back to the village, which is where I need to go right now.

I associate Hitachi with electronics, TVs, circuits, computer-type things. I guess they also make large earth moving machinery. Or maybe a twice removed subsidiary cousin??



6/28
A weekend house sitting for my friend Kat. Making food is fun: crepes, lamb curry, all with a layer of cheese. The downside is that after gorging on yummy food my stomach feels of—not hard cardio or workouts ;(
Watching the new Star Trek: “Let go of logical. Do what feels good. What’s necessary is always wise.” I think that’s good advice…from the Vulcan.


6/26
Today has been brought to you by the formulas that float in MS Excel and by the word “drip.” My computer students took their third practical test on the computers—MS Excel. Half of them did not remember how to enter the first formula. That was kind of disappointing. It still seems like it is a black box of reasoning and synthesis of information for most samoans—and I think two years will not be enough time to crack it. The kids are raised on direct commands about how to do everything. Thinking on their own is very outside the samoan culture.

Drip drip drip…goes the shower faucet in the peace corps office—oh well, it’s back to (cold) bucket showers. I did wash my hair three times again (with shampoo). That was nice. Now we need to add to that a sauna and hot water and things would be awesome. Ahhh…but then it wouldn’t be a peace corps adventure, would it ;)

Drip drip drip goes my nose. I’m house sitting this weekend for a friend. I don’t know what it was but when I stepped into the house I started having a sneezing attack. I must have sneezed about 30 times—maybe more. Not enjoyable, but yes, my nose did feel cleansed, or is on fire more like it? Then my nose starts dripping, not the green goo, but clear, almost water-like. And it wouldn’t stop. I haven’t been swimming or riding my bike because it has been grey and constantly raining bad excuse, but it’s what I got right now. My eating of fruit and drinking milk is almost non existent. Oh—the challenges of staying healthy. I ate three samoan oranges yesterday to try and blast some vitamin C into my system.