Gallery: The Damage from Cyclone Evan

Getting involved in the cleanup efforts

I’m Officially a Peace Corps Volunteer!

On Tuesday, we had a small swearing-in ceremony at the US Embassy in Apia. I made it through training and am living my dream of becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer!

I should be in Savai’i on Monday. I’m excited to go to my permanent village and begin the next two years of my life. 

Peace Corps Samoa Group 84

Cleanup

Seven people from my group left for Savai’i today. I’m sad I wasn’t on the ferry with them, but soon enough I’ll be in my permanent village, starting the next two years of my life. I’m scheduled to leave Apia on Monday, which has been extended by 9 days due to the cyclone.

There are still a handful of us in Apia, all leaving on different days. To keep ourselves busy, we volunteered with Samoa Victim Support today. We spent the morning sweeping and shoveling mud (and who knows what else was in the mud) out of the office building. The mud was about one foot thick… it was hard work. I have an infection in my toe, so I’m sure working in the mud for numerous hours wasn’t the best idea. Cross your fingers that my toe’s condition doesn’t worsen, even though I’m certain it will.

By the time the mud was cleared, it was all over our clothes and bodies. To clean ourselves off, we hopped in the back of a truck bed that was headed to the sea. There was a large group in the truck bed; to make room for myself, I stuck my legs into a bucket full of mud that went knee high. Oh the things I’ve done while in Samoa! Haha…

Anyway, we went to the sea to wash off. It was a wonderful way to end a hard day’s/morning’s work.

A staff member from the US Embassy was taking photos of us working in the mud. Once I get access to them, they will be posted to my blog.

Tomorrow will probably be another day of volunteering. It feels good to lend a helping hand to my new home.

Cyclone Evan

On Wednesday night we were told about a tropical storm headed to Samoa. The next morning, a Peace Corps staff member knocked on our hotel doors, and told us to go to the store nearby, to buy food because the tropical storm had turned into a cyclone, and was expected to hit Apia in the next 7 hours.

Hours before the cyclone hit

Throughout the morning, the rain and wind picked up. Eventually, Apia lost electricity. I’ve never experienced a natural disaster before, so I didn’t know what to expect. I spent a lot of time looking out the windows, seeing the coconut trees blown around because of the high winds. I even went outside a few times to record videos and take photos. Eventually, the nearby river flooded, causing waters waist-deep (probably even higher) to flood the streets, homes, and businesses.

A man rescuing his dog

My roommate Kiri and I decided to keep our minds off of the madness that was going on outside, so we had a dance party in our room. Two guys from Group 83, joined us, along with some girls from my group. It was a lot of fun, and it was nice to not think about the cyclone.

The next day it continued to rain and the winds remained high. It was sad seeing the destruction that Evan caused; a lot of trees got knocked down, and homes were destroyed. Some families lost everything. Apia is starting to pick up after the disaster. People have been scrapping mud off the sidewalks. Others are cleaning up businesses, and cleaning up the trees. The Samoans appear to remain positive after the devastation that was brought upon them.

Because of the cyclone, we missed our swearing-in ceremony that was supposed to take place on Friday. We were looking forward to it because it was going to be at the Charge d'Affairs' home (US Embassy) and the Prime Minister was supposed to be in attendance. We’re having a small ceremony tomorrow. I’m excited to swear-in! I made it through Peace Corps training and a cyclone!

The Past 10 Weeks

When my group and I arrived in our training village, the entire village greeted us, and an ava ceremony was immediately done. After the ceremony, we were introduced to our host families. Once my belongings were placed in my room, I was fed. My host brother fanned my food, to keep the flies away. I didn’t want him to fan my food, but he insisted. That’s how most of my meals went: I sat and ate, while a member of my host family fanned my food and me.

My time in the training village was great. I enjoyed my host family. They spoiled me by giving me a lot of clothes. Total, I received 19 pulatasis from them. A pulatasi is a traditional Samoan outfit that women wear. They cost about $80+ tala (the cost of fabric and the tailor fees), so owning one is a big deal.

I didn’t have my computer during training, so unfortunately, I’m just typing things that are coming to mind. Below is a list of some things I saw/experienced:

• A 12-year-old boy climb to the top of a coconut tree, cutting down coconuts with a machete so we could drink the coconut water! It was amazing! I wish I had my camera to take a photo.
• Chickens running around the training fale (house). One even laid an egg on my chair!
• Pigs running around the training fale, eating trash out of the bins.
• Pigs and chickens roaming the sides of the roads, like cats and dogs do in the States.
• A freshly caught octopus, which later turned out to be my dinner.
• During our Culture Day, some people from my group had to strangle chickens, and one pig was killed. The animals were cooked, and we ate them.
• Taking a shower in a little wooden building, that was located behind my family’s fale. I LOVED when it was raining during my shower!
• Washing my clothes in a bucket, while sitting in my shower.
• A woman and her child showering in the open. They had on lavalavas, of course.
• An amazing Thanksgiving lunch at the Chargé d'Affaires home (US Embassy). I thought that my Thanksgivings in Samoa were going to be turkey-less, but I was wrong! We were fed a feast!
• Amazing sunrises and sunset! I’m from Santa Fe, which has some of the best sunrises and sunsets I’ve ever seen! Samoa competes with Santa Fe.
• Having 30+ mosquito and ant bites all over my body! I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the ants!
• Zumba! I never thought I’d go to a Zumba class while in Samoa, but I did! It was an hour and 15 minutes of fun and intensity!

A beautiful sunrise at my training village beach

 I even spent some time dancing. When we were practicing a Samoan dance for our swearing in ceremony, the music changed, and the song “Teach Me How to Dougie” played. If you know me, then you know that I love to dance. So what did I do? I dougied! The Samoans who were watching, got a kick out of it. A couple of weeks later, there was a fundraiser for the Methodist Church in my village. All the volunteers had to solo dance. In between our dances, there was group dancing. They played “Teach Me How to Dougie,” and I was picked to start off the dougie, along with a couple of other dances; that night was so much fun. It was probably one of the best nights I’ve had in Samoa.

During my solo siva (dance) for the farewell fiafia.
Also, I'm wearing a pulatasi.

Ice cream in Samoa is s big deal because it is so expensive. One day, Kiri and I decided to surprise our families with ice cream. Kiri’s brother-in-law drove us to a nearby village to make the purchase. We spent $45 tala (about $23USD) on a 10L box of ice cream for our two families. While the purchase was expensive, it was worth it because the looks on their faces were priceless! Between 10 of us, we nearly ate the entire box in just one sitting!

The first three weeks in the training village was dedicated to language training. By the end of this, I was mentally exhausted. But… the good news is: I passed my language proficiency interview. I even exceeded the standards. Am I fluent in Samoan? No. But considering I’ve only been in Samoa for 10 weeks, I’ve learned a lot and expect to reach fluency (or close to it) once my two years are up. After language training, our training was centered on technical training. Then had our teaching practicum (we each created 13 lesson plans and taught them) at a nearby primary school.

Somewhere in between all this, I was told where I’d be placed, once training is up. My permanent village is on the “big” island of Savaii (I’m not allowed to post the village name). My village is GORGEOUS! So is my fale! It is right above the seawall, and I can feel the sea breeze through my windows. My fale is like a studio, with everything in the open. I have a little sink for food prep, and an indoor toilet and shower, which is a big deal here in Samoan because most of these facilities are outdoors. My host family’s home is behind mine. I was supposed to move to my village two days ago, but am stuck in Apia because of Cyclone Evan. The Peace Corps staff is attempting to contact our host families, to determine if our villages are safe, and to make sure there’s plenty of water and food. If all is well, I could be in Savaii as early as Wednesday. 

Last Saturday we said goodbye to our training village families. It was an emotional morning for the families and for us trainees.

I apologize for this post being all over the place. I experienced a lot in the past 10 weeks, and it would be impossible for me to blog about every single detail.

My next blog will talk about the cyclone.