I’m going on an Adventure!

My Peace Corps service ends in four months. It’s hard to believe that this journey is nearing an end. As many of my previous posts depict, it hasn’t been an easy two years of service; I’ve faced heartbreak, sadness, and tears, but I’ve survived it all! As a reward for myself, I’m going on an adventure—a little detour before I make my way to America aka home aka freedom! I’m heading west, traveling to three countries before I make the long journey home.

Originally, I wanted to do a Round the World trip, or a trip enabling me to travel to several countries, but for that to happen, I needed time, at least 6+ weeks. Well my COS (close of service) date is December 18^th. Peace Corps has a rule that allows PCVs to end their service up to 30 days early. I thought, “Great, I’ll leave Samoa around November 18^th, allowing me to do a Round the World trip, and be home in time for Christmas.” In order to leave PC service early, a PCV needs permission from their Country Director (CD). Unfortunately, my CD made it very clear that he will NOT be approving any COS dates in November because the schools are still in session and we made an obligation to complete the entire school year. So the first week in December is the earliest my CD will allow PCVs to leave Samoa. I was a bit upset that I’m not allowed to leave in November, but I understand my CDs reasoning. So, this puts a damper on my big trip. Instead of having 6 weeks to travel, I’ll have just three weeks. Sure, I could very easily travel through the holidays, but that would mean missing Christmas with my family and I don’t want to sacrifice family time during the holidays. My family means the world to me, so I’ll always choose them over anything else. Also, there’s the possibility of doing a Round the World trip after the holidays, but airfare from America to this side of the world is crazy expensive! Plus, I already have travel plans in the works for next year: A PCV reunion in Las Vegas and Coachella, and a trip to Europe. I’m planning on visiting a friend I met during my first year in Samoa. He lives in Europe and I hope to visit him early next year. So I’ve decided to put the Round the World trip on hold, and do a mini trip instead. I’m on the side of the world that has several counties I’ve always wanted to visit, so it would be foolish of me not to take advantage of the opportunity to see a few of them.

As of this week, all my major flights are booked! The countries I’ll be traveling to are: Fiji, Australia, and Thailand, spending about a week in each country. I’ve always wanted to travel to those countries. In fact, Fiji and Australia top my list at the #1 and #2 spot!

Who will be traveling with me?

Two fellow PCVs in my group, Millie and Michelle, will be traveling with me to Fiji. After that, we’ll part ways and each head to different locations. At this point I’ll venture off by myself, heading to Australia and then to Thailand. I’ve never traveled alone, and I must say that I’m looking forward to it. To have the freedom to come and go as I please, without having to cater to anyone but myself is…thrilling!

What are my travel plans?

For security reasons, I won’t go into detail about my trips until I’m in America. In fact, at this moment there isn’t much detail to report on anyway because all the planning is still in the works. And actually, in Australia and Thailand, I know the areas I’ll be traveling to, and a few things/places I want to see, but I probably won’t plan anything major and just go with the flow. Above I’ve mentioned that all my major flights have been booked. I need to make one more: Bangkok to the south of Thailand. I’ll arrive in Bangkok one night and don’t know if I should venture off into the city, or wait in the airport for several hours, until the flight leaves to the south. I’d LOVE to see Bangkok, but I must say that the thought of being in that city by myself is… intimidating! I’ve lived in Samoa for the last two years, where the population is 180,000. In Bangkok alone, the population is 10 MILLION! Ten million, people! Oh my goodness! I was thinking of looking up couch surfer hosts in the area who could show me around the city. Also, Thailand has PCVs, so that’s an option as well, although I’m not sure if they’re allowed in Bangkok. Anyway, if I decide to stay in Bangkok, I’ll leave for the south of Thailand the following evening. If I don’t, I’ll arrive in the south early the following morning. I don’t want/need a couch surfer host anywhere but Bangkok because the rest of my trip I’ll be in small touristy areas. I’m a social butterfly, so I don’t think making friends with my fellow travelers will be too difficult.

China

When I was looking for flights from Australia to America, I saw one route had a layover in Shanghai. I thought I’d make a trip of it, traveling north to the Great Wall of China and surrounding areas. I begin looking up other attractions, as well as visa information. Then it dawned on me: China is in the northern hemisphere, so it will be winter in December. I forgot that the rest of the world actually has seasons, unlike Samoa where it’s usually hotter than hell and beyond humid on a daily basis.

Well, I’ll be coming from Australia, where the hottest time of the year is in December. Going from that to straight winter will be a shock and not enjoyable. Yes, I realize that America’s winter is in December as well, and I know that I’ll freeze once I’m home, but I’ll worry about that when the time comes. Until then, I want to enjoy my trips in hot climates, where I won’t have to buy a new wardrobe to prevent hypothermia. So China’s winter was my main deciding factor. The other was my father. He’s always wanted to see the Great Wall of China, so I’ve decided that I’ll wait for China, so I could travel with him.

So that is when I started looking into other countries, and boom, Thailand became official! It is so cheap to fly from Australia to Thailand. Flying from Thailand to Albuquerque, New Mexico is not so cheap. But flying from Thailand to LAX is! So I booked a flight to LAX, and booked LAX to ABQ separately, saving me about $750USD. I recommend breaking up flights and coming up with your own routes, instead of letting a computer do it for you. The savings are HUGE! And on top of saving $750, I chose Southwest Airlines to fly from LAX to ABQ, which means I won’t have to pay baggage fees, compared to the other airline the automated computer wanted me to fly with. Also, flying from Australia to Thailand, then Thailand to LAX, and then LAX to ABQ is just a tad more expensive than flying from Australia to ABQ, so there’s no reason why I shouldn’t go to Thailand. I’ve really lucked out with flights this trip. My flights from Samoa to Fiji and then Fiji to Australia were dirt-cheap. Flying from America to these countries is outrageously priced, so (early) Merry Christmas to me! I’ve booked almost all my flights on www.cheapoair.com. I recommend them because they have amazing deals. I’ve used them once before, and didn’t have any issues, so check them out!

Luggage problems

I want to travel with just one backpack and one luggage at the most. Well I have two, so this a dilemma: Do I abandon one luggage, along with half of my belongings, or do I ship it home? I was in Apia last Friday and got price quotes from three companies, ranging from express shipping to sea freight. Any guesses on prices? If you guessed $1,800-$2,000WST ($780-$870USD) then you are correct! I understand that Samoa is in the middle of nowhere, but that’s just crazy prices. After discussing this with PC staff, I was given the idea of going to American Samoa and shipping from there. Because the country is American territory, shipping to America is domestic, and so much cheaper! So I think I’ll do that, flying in a few weeks during my term break.

Random facts

There are quite a bit of them, so I thought it would be fun to include in this posting.

In just three weeks, I will have flown in 10 planes, in 7 countries, and have gone through 9 different time zones… talk about jetlag! I have layovers in Indonesia and China (that’s where the 6^th and 7^th countries come from). If I had more time, I’d make a trip of those two countries, but that would be pushing it. Plus, China’s tourist visa is quite pricey and not worth just a few days of travel, and the reason why I’m holding off on China is mentioned above.

I love that I’m traveling east to go home, over the International Date Line because I’ll gain a day by experiencing December 23^rd twice, which will be beneficial to my long journey home.

As I’ve mentioned in the beginning of this post, my Peace Corps journey is coming to an end and I’ll be in America before I know it. Until then, I plan on going into a major beach coma over the next four months. Then on December 24^th, it will be back to the desert (and winter’s cold) for me.

The Traditional Samoan Tattoo (Tatau)

During my last term break in April, I got a traditional Samoan tattoo (tatau in Samaon). A fellow PCV and I made the decision that we wanted to get our tattoos done together and thought that term break would be the best time because we’d have one week off of work, which would be beneficial for the tattoo and its beginning stages of healing.

Pre-Tattoo

I had just arrived in Apia from Namua Island, and made my way to the tattoo fale (open house) that is located in the city’s cultural center. Unfortunately, no one was at the fale. I decided that I’d return the following day; if no one were there, then getting a tattoo at that time wasn’t meant to me. The next morning I went back. It turns out there were people there! I approached the group of men who were playing cards. One turned to me, so I asked, “Malo, o ai lou igoa?” (Hi, what’s your name?). “Sulu’ape,” was his response. Perfect! Sulu’ape was just who I was looking for. I told him how a friend and I wanted to get a traditional tattoo and asked if he was available that day. He told me to come back the next morning.

So the following morning my friend and I got up early, ate a big breakfast, “Our last meal before we get murdered,” as we put it, then made our way to the fale. Sulu’ape got there right on time, which surprised me because I’m used to island time, which means that Samoans usually don’t arrive to appointments on time. If they show up, it’s often late… hours late. My friend and I explained what we wanted done. I quickly drew a kindergarten type drawing on a scrap piece of paper, which depicted two V like shapes, and told him where I wanted the tattoo placed.

Because my friend lives on the island of Savai’i, we agreed that she would go first because she would have to leave a few hours later to catch the bus to the wharf, to get on the last boat of the day, whereas I live on the main island of Upolu so could leave at anytime because I was taking a taxi back to my village. Frequent readers of this blog may recount posts where I’ve mentioned how uncomfortable buses are here, so getting a tattoo, then sitting on someone’s lap for two hours, while being bumped and touched, gave me a fright. At that moment I didn’t mind paying the $70 tala taxi fare (which is a lot of money here), compared to the $6 tala bus fare.

As I’ve mentioned above, I was planning on getting the tattoo done second, and wasn’t mentally prepared to go for at least 3 hours, after I saw my friend get her tattoo, and knew what I was up against. Then… Sulu’ape looked at me and said “sau” (come). He had me sit in front of him, and began drawing lines on my back. My heart was beating out of my chest, thump, thump, thump. I was visibly shaking and all I could think was, “Oh f!*@, this is really happening,” thump, thump, thump. Sulu’ape saw me shaking and said, “Relax, I haven’t started yet!” My friend Madi was awesome and sat in front of me, instructing breathing practices to calm me down. 

Madi calming me

You may be wondering why I ended up getting the tattoo done first. The reason is because my friend’s tattoo is a lot more complex and curvy, so the outline needed to be done with a tattoo gun. At that moment, the gun was being used on a tourist guy who was getting a half-sleeve tattoo, which was taking a long time to complete. I must add: I felt like a bad ass getting a traditional tattoo, while the male next to me, who is double my size, was getting a tattoo done by a gun. Ha!

The Tattoo

There were several pillows on the floor. I was told to lay stomach down. I could see the bowl of tools ready to tattoo me. The traditional tool is a wooden handle with a stainless steel comb at the end. The stainless steel comb is the part of the tool that tattoos, along with the help of another wooden tool that is used to tap the tool with the comb. This creates a horrid tap, tap, tap sound.

This is a photo I took during my friend's tattoo. Nevertheless, the bowl and tools I've described above are similar. Also, their ink is manufactured.

Sulu’ape dipped a tool in ink and outlined a section of my back by placing ink dots in a row. I could feel the hands of two men stretching my skin. Tap, tap, tap. The tattoo has started. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. This went on for 2.5-hours. Throughout the tattoo I counted each tapping session; some last 5 seconds, while others lasted 10 seconds or longer. I was always relieved after each tapping session ended because I experienced a short internal of a few seconds before the tapping started again. Also, these intervals enabled the men who were stretching my skin to wipe off excess ink and blood from my back. The most painful parts of the tattoo were on my spine and my ribs. I could feel the tools sticking to those bones, and was told that my ribs bled the most. Interesting enough, when my ribs were getting tattooed, I was laying on my side. While the ribs were one of the two most painful parts, I actually felt most at peace during this time. Perhaps it was because I was lying on my side, which is a comforting position.

The beginning stages of my tattoo

When the left side of the tattoo was finished, I sat up, and my friend Michelle snapped a photo. I didn’t want to see it until it was all finished. I actually like how the tattoo looks with just bands on one side, so if I’d seen the photo at this point, I would’ve probably told Sulu’ape to stop the tattoo. I’ve mentioned this to some friends who have said that they think my tattoo looks better and complete with bands on each side. 

Halfway finished

At one point, I started talking, telling Sulu’ape the designs I wanted. He told me, “Stop talking, I’ll tell you what the designs mean once I’m finished.” He is such a sassy man. I found his personality quite amusing. I had an idea of the designs I wanted, but as a friend mentioned beforehand: “If you go into a traditional tattoo with a list of expectations, you’ll end up disappointed. It is best to go in and let the tattoo artist do their thing; after all it is an interpretation of their style and work.” So once Sulu’ape practically shut me up, I remembered what my friend said. The designs Sulu’ape put on me mean unity, family, youth, and beauty. How lovely! I couldn’t be any happier with these meanings.

On several occasions Sulu’ape had to tell me to stop moving and stop laughing. That’s right, I was laughing at times because the pain was so unreal; I didn’t know what else to do but laugh. Yes, I laughed but I didn’t cry—I think my body was in such shock, it couldn’t register the torture it was experiencing. The only comparison I can think of: A traditional Samoan tattoo feels like nails getting hammered into your bones.

During one of the intervals, I put my head up remembering that I hadn’t taken the ibuprofen my Peace Corps nurse gave me. I was supposed to take it before the tattoo started but as I’ve explained above, it began so suddenly that the ibuprofen slipped my mind. So I took the tablets about mid-way through. I’m not sure if it helped with the pain; I don’t think anything could’ve helped relieve that terrible pain.

It was quite an experience. Women were fanning me because it was so hot (and to keep the flies away), Sulu’ape and his staff smoked throughout my tattoo (I didn’t know this until I saw photos on my camera. Luckily the ashes didn’t burn me!), and there were drums and other instruments playing traditional Samoan beats in the background. It was a cultural and authentic experience, indeed. The only other thing I remember thinking (besides what my friend said, mentioned above): “This is the most painful experience of my life and I don’t think childbirth could be any worse.” At one point I felt like I needed to vomit and cursed myself for eating such a large breakfast. Also, at times Sulu’ape needed to sit on my legs, which was uncomfortable… and painful. 

Smoking like trains while tattooing me. This by far is my favourite photo taken during my tattoo!

Madi was awesome, lending me her hands and feet to squeeze! Thanks! And thanks to Michelle who rubbed my legs.

Michelle, Becca, and Madi watching my tattoo process. They're members in my group.

 When the tattoo was finished, many of the Samoans who were sitting nearby said “Malo!” (an expression of praise, celebration, etc.).

As I was getting ready to leave, I asked Sulu’ape the price. He jokingly said, “$6,000 tala.” It wasn’t anywhere near that price, but was still a bit expensive. Special thanks to my family in America who helped me pay for it; it was my birthday gift. How kind and awesome of them! Samoans are always curious when they see my tattoo and the first question I usually get asked is: “E fia?” (How much?). Even strangers ask this question. Of course I don’t tell them, saying that my family in America paid for it over the phone with their credit card. Well, this is partially true. While I don’t like lying, if I didn’t tell this white lie, people would think that I have a lot of money (Samoans think all white people are wealthy), and I don’t want to be portrayed like that.

Post-Tattoo

I was in a taxi, on my way home. I was in so much pain. I felt sick to my stomach. The ink stuck to my shirt. I just wanted to get home and go to sleep. Once home, I showered, ate dinner, and then went to bed. Since my tattoo is on my back and ribs, which happens to be the areas of my body I lay on, I had no choice but to sleep on my stomach—a position I find so uncomfortable and painful to my back. But this is how I slept for about two weeks. School started the following week. Teaching attire for women consists of a puletasi, which is a long dress-like outfit. Puletasis are extremely uncomfortable and so hot, so I’m usually covered in sweat by the end of the day. I believe puletasis and sweat are the reasons why my tattoo got infected. Yes, that is right. My tattoo was infected in two areas. I couldn’t understand how this happened because I washed it twice a day everyday, and applied an appropriate treatment to it. After doing some thinking, it had to be the sweat that caused the infections. And the sweat is caused by puletasis and the humidity. Luckily my Peace Corps nurse and a medical student friend of mine said that the infection isn’t as bad as I made it out to be, and my tattoo wouldn’t be permanently damaged. They were right. After applying antibiotic ointment for several days, the infections were healed and the tattoo is fine. The tattoo took about two weeks to heal.

The Tattoo Addition

After doing some thinking, I wasn’t 100% happy with the tattoo. When I explained what I wanted to Sulu’ape, I was so nervous. I said that I wanted V’s so I got V’s. He gave me what I asked for and did a beautiful job, but in reality, I wanted V’s that looked like wings. The endings of each band were so blunt. I wanted them to be curvy, so about two months after my traditional tattoo I contacted Sulu’ape and made an appointment for an addition. He told me to arrive at 9 am. I got to the tattoo fale on time and waited and waited and waited. At about 10:30 am I called him. No answer. I kept waiting. I wanted to get it done. I knew the pain that was to come, and had prepared myself for it; I didn’t want to leave with the tattoo unfinished. At 11:30 am I called him again. He answered. He told me that he would be there at 1:00 pm. Talk about island time! I told him that I couldn’t wait that long because I’d miss the bus (yes, I was riding the bus this time!), so I had no problem getting the addition done by the gun. I had already experienced the hell of a traditional Samoan tattoo; I had no problem getting the addition with a gun so I could compare the pain. He said that his son was at the fale and would do the addition. I found the son and explained what I wanted done. The addition took two-hours! That’s right, two-hours of pure pain, done entirely on my ribs. I don’t know if the gun hurt more (at the time I thought it did), but it was horrible; it was a different kind of pain than the traditional tapping. It felt like a nail got hammered into my skin, and was moving up and down, digging deeper and deeper. At times my entire rib cage shook. 

He was very cheeky the entire time, but he's so darn cute, so I found it amusing.

The tattoos on his legs are the traditional men's pe'a. The pe'a starts from the mid-stomach, and goes down to the knees, front and back.

Why a Tattoo?

This tattoo was my first tattoo. Samoa, and Polynesia in general, has a huge tattoo culture. Most Samoans are tattooed with the traditional men’s pe’a, the traditional women’s malu, or just tattooed, which I find so beautiful. I’ve seen many tattoos in my lifetime, and I’d say that the best tattoos are Samoan. So Samoa was the place for me to get my first tattoo. Plus, it is Peace Corps Samoa tradition to get a traditional tattoo.

While my tattoo is representative of wings and my life (see explanation below), it also serves as a reminder: If I could join the Peace Corps, live two years in a foreign and undeveloped country, experience some of the hardest things I’ve ever encountered, sit (well lay) through a traditional tattoo, and survive it all, then I can do anything! The possibilities in my life are endless. I’m happy to have a permanent reminder of this.

Will I ever get another tattoo? Unless my sisters want to get a sister tattoo (my friend Madi gave me this idea), and I don’t think they will, then the answer is NO! Don’t get me wrong, I think tattoos are beautiful and I love how they look on other people, but they’re not for me. That’s why I chose the location of mine: It can be easily hidden and only visible when I want it to be. While it is large, it is discreet. If I got another tattoo, I wouldn’t know where to put it. I’d like a tattoo to be placed somewhere in the center of a body part or be symmetric. Well I took care of the symmetric tattoo. The only other one would be a center tattoo, and that would have to be on the back of my neck or spine (I find tattoos placed here to be beautiful, by the way), but then those placements go against my reasoning of wanting a discreet tattoo. I always think of formal events: I don’t want a tattoo to be visible when I’m wearing a nice dress or while I’m at work, so therefore, no more tattoos for me. Plus, the tattoo I have is HUGE as it is. There’s no need for another one.

Why Wings?

For the past 3-years, wings have been representative of my life and my experiences. I’ve pushed myself to face my fears and do things I’ve always wanted to do: hot air-ballooning, skydiving, traveling, walking a famous pilgrimage, volunteering in foreign countries, attending music festivals, and joining the Peace Corps. The list can go on and on. I’ve spread my wings and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. 

Why Sulu’ape?

The Sulu’ape’s are the only tattooists Peace Corps Samoa approves. Why? Well, because they practice hygienic tattooing, not to mention they’re world famous tattooists. Plus, the Sulu’ape’s are one of the two families who started traditional Samoan tattoos centuries years ago. How awesome is that? The Sulu’ape who did my traditional tattoo is named Petelo, who is the father. When I tell people that he was the one who did my traditional tattoo, they always respond, “Ah, the old man.” That is how he is known. It was an honor to get tattooed by him. 

Here I am with the man who traditionally tattooed me, Petelo Sulu'ape, also known as "The Old Man."

You can read more about the Sulu’ape family and traditional Samoan tattoos here:

http://tautalatala.com/news/2013/ink-art-tattoo/interview-samoan-hand-tap-tattooist-sua-peter-suluape-part-i

The Birthday Gift

I ordered a poster that describes the meanings behind the Samoan designs. As a border I placed photos from my tattoo and my friend’s tattoo. Since she is one of my closest friends here, I wanted to do something special for her birthday. She loved the gift! Once I’m in America, I’ll make a replica for myself. 

Final Thoughts

I’m very happy with my tattoo, what it represents in my life, and the Samoan meanings behind it. I was the first member in my group to get a tattoo, and since then two others have got one. By the time our service is finished in December, 7 of us will have a traditional tattoo and one will get a tattoo done by gun. Not bad for a small group of just 11 people! Once everyone has his or her tattoo, I’ll post a group photo displaying our artwork!

You can read more about Peace Corps and tattooing in Samoa here (on page 38):

http://issuu.com/peacecorpsconnect/docs/22.2_-_language_-_13043wv_web2/7

Below you’ll find a video of my traditional tattoo. It isn't available on mobile devices due to copyright issues with the song. If the video happens to get deleted/flagged, then I'll upload again without the song. Anyway, enjoy!   

http://youtu.be/TjibeQob5S4

Pure Bliss

Moments after the Spurs became the 2014 NBA Champs. Yes, I took a photo of the television. 

 The San Antonio Spurs are the 2014 NBA Champions!!! I’m a HUGE fan, so couldn’t be more thrilled, especially after last year’s heartbreaking loss in Game 6 of the Finals.

If I wasn’t watching the game in Apia

then I was watching the game at a new resort near my village. The resort has satellite TV, which is the best thing to happen to my village life and my love for sports. It’s a very expensive resort, so I’m trying to limit my time there.

The beautiful Saletoga Sands 

Once the Spurs became the champs, I finished my pizza, paid my bill, and then headed to the resort next door. Why didn’t I stay at the new resort? Because everyone from my village works there, whereas the older resort isn’t nearly as busy so the staff is limited. This means I can have more privacy and the beach to myself.

Anyway, I went on the beach and enjoyed the big victory. It was a great feeling; I literally jumped for joy!

Pure happiness

In other news, I've officially finished my 6th term teaching in a Samoan primary school! I have just two terms left! School was released early on Friday, so I headed to the resort for a celebration. I can't believe my time in Samoa is coming to an end.

How am I spending my holiday? I get one week off. I started it at the resort on Friday, spent all day in on Saturday, and I went to church on Sunday. I'm in Apia right now. On Wednesday I plan on going to my favourite beach resort in Lalomanu. Then I'll come back to Apia for the weekend to see a friend who's coming from New Zealand and go out with a fellow PCV.

Here’s to less than 6 months left in Samoa! 

You Know You’re a Peace Corps Volunteer in Samoa When (Part III)...

You wake up to find that the end of your right eyebrow is missing. The conclusion? The ants ate your eyebrow. Always blame the ants. Those little bastards will eat anything.

Males have no problem wearing your lavalava (a lavalava is a piece of material that is wrapped around the waist, like a skirt).

People go through your trash and reuse the contents. Privacy is non-existent in this country.

You meet a man who claims to be the prince of 5 Samoan islands.

A crab is walking around your room in the middle of the night. Instead of putting it outside, and waking everyone up, you kill it with insect spray. I know, I know, I feel bad about it now.

Your bus breaks down, making your travel day 14 hours long.

You own a yogurt maker, which is something you didn’t own in America.

While eating fish, you push its intestines and internal organs to the side of the plate. What happens next? Someone reaches over, grabs the pile of guts from you plate, and puts it into their mouth.

You were kind the night before, sharing all your alcohol and mixers. The problem is, you’re on a remote island that doesn’t sell alcohol. So what do you do? A fellow PCV and you take a boat to the main island, hitchhike to a nearby resort, buy enough beer and mixers to fill up three large bags, and take a taxi to the boat dock to get transported back to the small island. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the ultimate beer run.

While meeting with the tattoo artist, you explain what you want done, drawing a kindergarten-type design on a piece of paper. He doesn’t sketch the tattoo, only saying “okay,” and starts the traditional tattoo. It’s basically freehand on the body, which is a bit scary to think about.

A fly flies into your mouth. You quickly try to spit it out, but don’t think you’ve succeeded.

While at a resort, you have a mini dougie dance off with an 8-year-old Samoan girl.

You’re obsessed with hot cheetos and get so excited when you find them in Apia. So what do you do? You eat several bags in one week, basically cancelling out a month's worth of workouts.

The heavy rainfall caused a leaky ceiling in your bedroom. The only option is emptying out your food bucket and placing it onto your bed. You sleep with the bucket on your bed for several days. Beats a wet bed.

During your 2.5-hour traditional tattoo, all you could think about is how this is the most painful experience of your life (the tools stuck to your ribs and spine) and you don’t think childbirth could be any worse.

You turn on your MacBook to find a light blue strip on the screen. Since then, the strip has turned lime green and is currently yellow. You hope and pray that the computer lasts your final months of Peace Corps service.

You download a countdown app. What is the first countdown you put in? The date and time your flight leaves Samoa. Yes, my flight has been booked! Just 179 days, 10 hours, 31 minutes, 07 seconds to go. But who’s counting?

The heavy rainfall has caused the water pipes to break. This means your new shower is a bucket.

Facebook has become your news headquarter. If it weren’t for Facebook, you’d be out of the loop with all worldwide events.

You hardly drink soda, but you get a craving for one. After a sip, your urge is fulfilled so you pass the can to your neighbor sitting next to you.

You go out in flip-flops. This is something you’d never do in America. Ever.

A guy who is trying to flirt with you asks, “So do you have a wife?” Your response: “Yes, yes I do have a wife.” Ha.

Strangers see you holding a large poster and have no problem asking to see the front of it. I tell ya, privacy is nonexistent.

You’re shopping at a thrift store and ask the worker where the fitting room is located. Her response, “There’s no fitting room in the store, so go to the corner and try on the clothes.” That’s exactly what you do. And no fitting room means there isn’t a mirror so you take videos and photos of yourself on your phone, to see how the outfit looks on.

At a different store, the fitting room is a storage closet. It’s impossible to close the door, so you’re left trying on clothing in the open, with people walking in and out the entire time.

Your day is made because a young boy tells you that you look like a beautiful princess. It leaves a smile on your face when you realize that that is one of the sweetest compliments you’ve ever received.

After hanging out with friends all night, you go to McDonalds at 7:30 am, quickly becoming disappointed that you can’t get a hamburger at that hour because the breakfast menu is all that’s available.

The bus gets so full that you end up sitting on a stranger’s lap for two hours. You feel bad about hurting the person so you squat the entire ride into town. Painful, but a great thigh workout!

It’s time for your friend to leave Samoa. This leaves you really sad, and you get even sadder when you realize that your remaining time will be full of goodbyes to people you’ll most likely never see again.

You ask your family in America to send you photos of the delicious food they’re eating.

You have an interesting dream about your hamster Misty who has been dead for 3 years. In your dream she was alive and well.

While sleeping, you feel something crawling next to you. You feel its shell while pushing it away. Before it runs off, your shine your phone’s light on it, discovering that it’s a LARGE cockroach.

Your friends adopted a puppy that frequently sleeps with you. You don't care that she has ticks.

Your friends weren’t sure you were coming over after all, so they went to sleep. You had no luck reaching them on the phone and didn’t want to knock on the door and wake everyone up. So what do you do? Sleep on the bench outside. The puppy kept you company and the cool air and rain made the situation enjoyable. You’re surprised the mosquitoes didn’t murder you.

Many Samoans, including strangers have asked how much your tattoo cost. The truth will never be revealed.

You’d rather go on the expensive district bus because that means you won’t have to sit on anyone’s lap.

Your umbrella breaks after fighting off a pack of 5 vicious dogs.

Your Samoan name has become the norm. Hearing your real (American) name sounds so odd.

Strangers have no problem zipping up a falling zipper on your outfit.

You witness two young boys carrying a screaming pig that clearly knows its fate. You hope that the pig isn’t your lunch that day because you won’t be able to eat it.

The rain and wind is strong that it destroys your umbrella.

It’s your birthday so you go to a nearby resort for lunch and a jug of Piña Coladas, getting drunk by yourself on the beach. What an excellent way to celebrate a new year of life!

Your friends have a house party. Any guesses on what was stolen? If you guessed razors from the shower, then *ding, ding, ding* you are correct.

Some of your friends think you’re crazy because you take Samoan food to the beach. Taro with palusami is so delicious!

You go 36 hours without sleep because you thought it was a good idea to get on the bus at 2:30 am, so that you could get on the 6 am boat from Savai’i to Upolu.

While waiting for the bus to arrive at 2:30 am, the barking dogs make you regret your decision to catch the first bus because you fear you’ll get attacked.

Your friend is traveling out of the country and asks if you need anything. You ask him to bring you and a fellow PCV Taco Bell. Well, Taco Bell wasn’t available, but he still brings tacos and burritos from another fast food restaurant. You eat the food one week after it was purchased. Internationally traveled, Date Line hopping fast food is still delicious after a week… and we didn’t get sick! Thank you preservatives and Samoa for making our systems like steel!

Your hair has grown 6 inches since you cut it in America in January. Washing it once a week has really paid off.

The word “hate” is used loosely here, resulting in you to regularly use the word. Once you’re back in America, you hope to break this nasty habit.

Your new favorite word is “tragedy.” Example: “The bus is running really late so I’m going to miss some of the game. This is a tragedy!”

Your new favorite phrase: "The possibilities are endless." The possibilities are always endless!

You have no idea why or how you picked up these phrases.

A majority of your friends with cars are males, resulting in the villagers to think that you have several boyfriends.

Your refrigerator keeps getting unplugged; so one morning you take it upon yourself (and find the strength) to move the 4-foot object into your room.

Your classroom is infested with bees and wasps.

The bus is so full that a stranger hands you their newborn baby to hold.

The ants have eaten through one of your shoes; the shoe is now in two pieces!

Your toenail falls off for no apparent reason.

Your arms develop white spots all over them.

Your nickname is Sandy because sand seems to get all over you at the beach.

You love referring to yourself in the third person.

It makes you happy that your friends in America still harass you about being a San Antonio Spurs fan! Go Spurs Go!

The humidity has caused all your photos to curl on the ends.

While going to the front of the church for communion, your host mother grabs a hat off of the closest person’s head, placing the hat onto your head. You’re thankful you haven’t been infected with head lice.

Your host family is adding flooring throughout the house. This means you'll have to move every single object out of your room. You take the opportunity to start throwing items away so it’s less to do when you move out permanently at the end of the year. It also gives you anxiety about packing and leaving Samoa forever.

To upload this post, you saved the file as a PDF on your computer, transferred it to your phone, opened the file on Adobe Reader, opened your web browser, copied and paste ever single page onto blogger.com, and fixed the spacing. Sheesh!


To read Part I & II, click here: http://angelinaaugust.blogspot.com/2013/06/you-know-youre-peace-corps-volunteer-in.html?m=1

My next post will be about my traditional Samoan tattoo, loaded with photos and possibly a video of the process. Look out for it in the coming weeks!

Update

Pink Eye and My Birthday

Pink eye has infected a vast majority of the population in Samoa. Because of this, all public schools in this country have been cancelled this week. Fortunately I haven’t been infected with pink eye, which I’m really surprised by because several of my students, co-teachers, and host family members are infected.

My birthday is this week, so instead of teaching, I’ll be bringing in a new year of life at a nearby resort. How I’m spending the rest of this week: at the beach, working out, sleeping, and watching Dexter. I’m on Season 2, and am hoping to finish the entire series this week! I’m sure I’ll be able to.

Classes resume on Monday, which is the last week of the school term. Then there will be a one-week break. A majority of the PCVs in this country are getting together at Namua Island, which is a small island located off the southeast coast of Upolu. This will be where my main birthday celebration is happening. If you know me personally, then you know that I have several birthday celebrations every year. The first celebration happened last weekend in Savai’i, during a visit with my dear friend Madi, a fellow PCV in my group. I’ll celebrate again on my actual birthday, as I’ve mentioned above, then the weekend of my birthday, and finally at Namua Island. 

A great start to my birthday celebrations!

Spelling Program

When I lived in America and taught in a kindergarten classroom, an awesome spelling program was used in my class. I contacted the teacher I worked with, and got the name of the program. When I was in America for the holidays, I ordered that program on Amazon.com. I brought the program to Samoa and have been using it with my students. It has been an effective tool and in the short time I’ve been using it, I see an improvement in my students’ phonics and spelling skills. I’ll go into more detail in a later post.

Proposal Writing

Currently I’m working with my school’s principal on a proposal to fund my school’s repairs and for classroom resources (like desks and chairs for the students). I’ve written one proposal a few years ago and was fortunate enough to get funding for the organization I was volunteering with, so I hope I can do the same for the school I teach at. Wish me luck!

My COS (Close of Service) Date

I leave Samoa on December 5, which is in 256 days! I see the light at the end of the tunnel, people! I’ll add a countdown to this blog.

Mid-Service Conference.

In my last two posts, I’ve mentioned my Mid-Service Conference, which happened in January. I haven’t posted photos from the conference, so below you’ll find some. Enjoy!

Our first year of service described in six words

We learned that theft is the number one crime PCVs in Samoa report, so we wrote a song titled, "Don't Go Stealing My Things," sung to the tune of TLC's "Waterfalls."

Performing our song

I'm like a butterfly because I'm leaving Samoa soon, flapping my wings and going anywhere my heart desires

This makes me happy

How we spent the end of each conference day: on the beach

And night: playing games

...or just hanging out

Beautiful view from our rooms

Peace Corps Samoa Group 84. I love my group!

At Least I Still Have Rainwater… For Now

A friend mentioned that I haven’t written anything in a month. I’m aware of this, but as I told my friend, I don’t (well didn’t) have anything new to write about. Well that all changed yesterday evening. I came home after work to find buckets and bowls lined up outside, in an area where rain rolls the strongest off the tin roof. I didn’t think anything of it, other than my host family was using the heavy rainfall as an opportunity to collect rainwater. A few hours later, my host sister informed me that the rain broke the water pipe. These last couple of days the rain has been strong, but I didn’t think it was strong enough to break water pipes… Apparently so. Anyway, my host sister claims that the pipe will be fixed today, which is Saturday here. Let me tell you something about Samoa. No disrespect to the Samoan culture but Fridays in this country are very laid-back and relaxed, almost serving as a stepping stone to the weekend. That’s how the schools are anyway. So I’m not hopeful that the water pipe will be fixed on a Saturday. And Sundays are off limits because that’s the Lord’s Day, reserved for church, eating, sleeping, and more church. So I anticipate Monday being the earliest I’ll have running water.

I’d be lying if I said that I was 100% fine after hearing this news. I wasn’t, in fact it put me in a sour mood. Before anyone gets critical, yes, I’m aware that this is what I signed up for when I joined the Peace Corps. I have it better than I ever imagined and better than a lot of PCVs worldwide. So that was the thing I kept reminding myself as I thought about this mini tragedy. But it’s difficult having running water one moment, and being nearly waterless the next. The thoughts that ran through my head were: “I knew I should’ve washed my hair yesterday,” “It’s going to be a nightmare getting shampoo out of my hair from now on (because my hair is really long and thick),” “I wish I would’ve filled up my water filter,” “Well looks like my laundry will be sacrificed for a while,” and “F*** this sh**.”

When I lived in Savai’i I purposely took bucket baths; they were lovely because I used to boil water. I had my own house, with indoor facilities so this was a simple thing to do. Now I share outdoor facilities, so boiling water for a bucket bath would be too much of a big deal and nearly impossible since our buckets are limited. Anyway, after my workout last night I had a bucket bath. It was around 8 pm, so it was already dark and somewhat cold. I’ve taken a few cold water bucket baths since I’ve been in this country, and this is how they feel every time: like I’m purposely torturing myself because the water is freezing cold. For some reason bucket baths feel 10x worse than standing under a cold water pipe. Perhaps it’s the notion that the best thing to do is just jump into a pool, allowing your body to feel the cold at once, so it can adapt quicker, as opposed to exposing your body to the cold water a little bit at a time, which always makes the water feel colder than it is. My bucket bath lasted just a few minutes; I got out as fast as possible. I think my host family knew that I was upset because they asked me how I was doing. It’s not their fault, and I’m not acting like it is either. It’s just that these last 6 weeks since I’ve been back from America have been a rollercoaster of emotions. It all boils down to the fact that I’m lonely here, which is interesting because people surround me all day. I just really miss my family, friends, America, and I’m ready to get the ball rolling with graduate school and other aspects of my personal life. So the loneliness on top of being without running water is what caused me to think the curse words mentioned above. But like I’ve mentioned in my previous blog post, my Peace Corps service will be over at the end of the year. While it seems like an eternity away, it really isn’t, and I know my time will come to an end faster than I anticipate. So I’m going to suck it up and embrace this experience. Because come on, when else in my life will I ever get to take cold water bucket baths, on a tiny island, located in the South Pacific? Probably never again.

Eventually the rain will stop, which means that the rainwater will come to an end. There’s a river located in the neighboring village, about a 15-minute walk. I guess that’s where the water fetching headquarters will be. Fifteen minutes is very close, but I anticipate it being a struggle when I’m carrying a bucket full of water. I’m not going to think about that now though, and will leave the worry for when the time comes.

I must add, when I was feeling sorry for myself, as described above, I thought back to my Mid-Service Conference, which was held at the end of January. The conference began with each member of my group sharing a little bit about our first year in Samoa. I shared all the hardships I’ve faced, which everyone was aware of, but I acknowledged them anyway because I haven’t been scared away; they’ve made me into a stronger person. If I can survive my first year of service, which was full of a lot of uncertainty, heartbreak, change, and tears, then there’s no reason why I can’t survive anything else thrown my way.

Collecting rain water

My bath. Also, this is the bucket used to wash laundry.

Well, Folks, I’m Back in Samoa

I was in America for a total of 5 weeks, and boy did time fly by! I ate just about every type of food I wanted/craved/dreamt about for over a year. I saw a lot of family (including a cousin I hadn’t seen in years) and a lot of friends. I even saw a friend I had met in Samoa! He was driving through New Mexico, and wrote me on Facebook asking if I was free to meet up. We met in downtown Santa Fe, playing tourist as I showed him around my city. I never thought I’d see him again, or most of the people I’ve met in Samoa. What a small world, indeed!

Going home for the holidays was the right decision. You may be wondering: What was so special about going home? Well, I got to meet my nephew for the first time. Also, I got to have a real conversation with my niece (our first real conversation), who’s my goddaughter. She was 2 years old when I left for Samoa, and was just learning to talk. Now she’s 3 years old and has quite the personality. It warmed my heart when she recognized me, calling out my name when I surprised my sisters and brothers-in-law. Special thanks to my family for not letting her forget about me. While it would’ve been nice to go to New Zealand for Christmas, or really go to Fiji, family is important to me, and I cherish the time I have with them, so anytime I have the means and funds to go home, I will. I have my entire life to travel, but holidays with family are precious and priceless.

How my trip was like:

*I drove for the first time in over a year! Granted I didn’t drive until week 3 at home, but I did it, and it was manual transmission, too! I appreciated having the freedom to come and go as I please… what a beautiful thing!

*I made it a point to take ava to America. I was a little scared it wouldn’t make customs because the packaging looks like drugs. But it made it through! If you don’t know what ava is, it’s made from a root plant, causing the mouth to go numb and other intoxicating effects, depending on how strong the mixture is. Google it (you’ll probably have more luck Googling “kava”). In a future blog post, I’ll write more about it. Anyway, I made the first batch with my best friends. I’ve drunk ava plenty of times in Samoa, but boy did I finally experience the effects it. It was intoxicating, to say the least. My best friend Justin really enjoyed it, calling it “the best dirt water he’s ever drank.” Yes, it really tastes like dirt water. The following night I made a batch for my family. My niece being a curious 3-year old wanted to partake in the ava making, so she helped me mix it. The rest of my family had a couple of drinks each. They didn’t like the taste (who does?) but were troopers regardless. And, they felt the numbness in the mouth almost instantaneously. I guess I’m a good ava-maker, after all!

The looks on my sisters' faces says it all! Haha

Well these are supposed to go on the end, but blogger acting up. Update soon

  

*Unfortunately my MacBook died. If it could’ve died at anytime during my service, it picked the perfect time to call it quits because I was in America and had access to an Apple Store. If it broke while in Samoa, it would be a lost cause. I tried troubleshooting it on my own but had no luck. The wonderful techs at Apple were able to revive it. But there was a cost. There’s always a cost, right? I wasn’t charged a fee, but was hit with a huge loss, a loss that no amount of money could solve. My internal hard drive was wiped out, resulting in 65GB worth of photos (about 20,000. That’s right 20,000) to erase. Yep, that was a huge kick in the gut. This wasn’t the first time a laptop have failed me. One would think I’ve learned my lesson. The funny thing is, “backup MacBook on external hard drive” was written on my “Things to do in America” list. I just never got to it. If you’re not familiar with Mac products, they have an awesome app called Time Machine. If you have an external hard drive, Time Machine creates carbon copies of your operating system. Yes, I have an external hard drive that’s backed up on Time Machine. A few weeks before I left to America, I was cleaning out my external hard drive. I saw how much room Time Machine was taking up, so had the “smart” idea to manually delete backups. Bad idea. If you’re a Time Machine user, NEVER DO THIS! I accidently (I say accidently, but the truth is, I had no idea what I was doing. Whoops!) deleted the main backup, which would’ve been extremely handy and had all my photos when my MacBook died weeks later. The good news is, my MacBook is up and running again. I was told that I needed a new internal hard drive. So I bought one that has quite a bit of memory, and installed it myself, saving me a couple hundred bucks. Thanks, YouTube for the installation tutorial! Before I left home, I backed up my operating system, and backed up my back up on an extra hard drive that’s in America. I think I’ve finally learned my lesson! Oh and I didn’t lose every file. Time Machine was able to revive some files, so it wasn’t a total loss. Plus I have tons of photos on Facebook.

*I created priceless memories. Yes I did. Like I wrote above, going home was the right decision. I made it home in time to celebrate my dad’s and aunt’s birthdays (they’re twins), and I got to spend the holidays with my family, which was great because last holiday season was around the time I moved to Samoa and I was quite depressed to be so far from family during that time. This holiday season I got to participate in my family’s awesome Christmas tradition of opening up our gifts on Christmas Eve, which is technically Christmas morning (we don’t give Santa Claus a chance to drop off gifts. Sorry, Santa!). I loved this moment, and seeing the excitement on my niece’s face was priceless!

Santa Fe has an awesome Christmas Eve tradition called the Farolito Walk. Farolitio is a Spanish word for “paper latern.” Every Christmas Eve farolitos line up Canyon Road, a famous art gallery street in downtown Santa Fe. My family and I participated in the farolito walk while I was home. This definitely put me in the Christmas spirit, but boy was it FREEZING! I also spent some time seeing my aunts and cousins, eating delicious food and watching Spurs basketball and the NFL Playoffs (some of my favorite things).

If I wasn’t with my family, then I was out with my friends. I spent a lot of time with my two best friends Justin and Andrea. It was so good to be reunited with them. Our time consisted of eating, dancing, and laughing. Also, we had a great New Year’s Eve together. It’s comforting to know that I have a great group of friends I can rely on.

New Year's Eve

Final dinner and night with them.

I got to see a close friend Jimmy. I hadn’t seen him since March 2012, which was right before he got deployed to Afghanistan. Jimmy and I have the kind of friendship that picks up right where it left off. It definitely didn’t feel like two years had passed since we last hung out.

So excited to see Jimmy!

All good things must come to an end. I’d be lying if I said that I was exited to come back to Samoa. The truth is I wanted to stay in America a little longer. I wanted more time with my family, eating my mother’s delicious food. I wanted to hear one more life-lesson lecture from my father. I wanted another chatting and laughing session with my sisters, while listening to music non-stop. I wanted to teach my niece one more “bad” thing that would get her mother upset with me. I wanted to see my nephew smile one last time. I wanted one more night out with friends, resulting in a late night food run, buying way too much food, and leaving a mess in the car. I wanted one more night on my amazingly comfortable bed and pillows. I wanted one more day of privacy. I wanted more time to just feel normal. The 5 weeks I was home passed like a blink of an eye.

It took about 19 hours to get to Samoa. As the plane was landing, I started feeling nauseous; anxiety definitely got the best of me. The moment I stepped out of the plane, I was hit with a wall of humidity. The smell brought me back to the first hotel I stayed at in Samoa during my group’s training. That memory made me feel worse because it brought back the way I was feeling during my first few days in Samoa, which is indescribable.

I’m fortunate to be surround by a great group of friends in Samoa. They spent the weekend with me, keeping me company. By the time the weekend was over, my spirits were lifted and I felt a lot better. So if any of you are reading this, THANK YOU! You guys mean the world to me. Staying in Apia the weekend I arrived was the right decision. If I would’ve gone back to my village right away, I think I would’ve been depressed and sad. Apia was a good stepping-stone back into the Samoan culture.

I arrived in the village and I got the feel like I never left. This is a good thing because it verifies that Samoa has become my second home. Samoa is where I’m meant to be right now. Yes, I was sad to come back here, but who wouldn’t be? I just came back from a long trip at home, seeing the people most important to me. But just because I wasn’t happy to be back in Samoa, didn’t mean that I wanted to leave Samoa/end my Peace Corps service early. Quitting was/is never option for me. If I left Samoa early, it would be quitting at the finish line. The finish line because I finish my Peace Corps service this year, either in November or December. I see the light at the end of the tunnel, people! So while I miss my family, friends, and America so much, I’m going to enjoy my time in Samoa (and all the sweating I’m doing. Damn you, humidity!) because it’s limited and will be over before I knew it. Then I can go back to my American life and freedom that I love so much.

In a couple of hours I’ll be headed to the village of Lalomanu for a Mid-Service Conference. It will be an informative week, at a beautiful beach resort. Peace Corps Samoa is such a spoiled post. Also, I begin my second year of teaching next week. Update soon!

Below you’ll find photos from the rest of my time home, and photos from my first weekend back in Samoa. Enjoy!

Family:

Farolito Walk on Canyon Road, Santa Fe, NM, USA

Um, yeah, I was freezing!

My family and I created these Christmas tree ornaments for our ornament exchange

This photo brings me so much happiness! My niece was so excited opening up her gifts.

I went to my niece's dance class

At my sister's first game. Go Bek!

I love this photo. My nephew is the happiest baby!

At the airport. I love my niece and nephew so much!

Goodbye to my family :(

Watching Spurs basketball, while watching the NFL Playoffs. God Bless, America!