TravelStream™ news feed for member rayandjan on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/rayandjan en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:54:40 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1202853060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1202853060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1202853060/tpod.html Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:54:40 -0500 Musings on our experiences in the Peace Corps

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Auckland, New Zealand, New Zealand

Time to bring everyone up to date again. Made it back to Samoa on the last day of October. Ray met me at the airport and we went straight back to the village. Found it a little harder to adjust after being in the US. Really miss friends and family a lot. This is also a very slow time in Samoa. School ended for the year late November and everyone was busy getting ready Christmas. Not so much of the shopping thing as in America but lots of cleaning, sewing, practicing for church programs and getting ready for family to come home from overseas and from Apia. The local "mall" in Salelologa put their Christmas tree up the first week of November and all the buses started playing Christmas songs. Mostly the songs we know but with a reggae of techno beat. Seems very odd to be singing about sleigh rides and snow in a country that never drops below 75 degrees.

Ray and I went to New Zealand on Dec. 26th. Sarah had arrived 2 days earlier and met us at the airport. We rented a campervan and explored both islands for 12 days. Had a lot of fun. NZ looks a lot like the Pacific Northwest. Traffic was almost nonexistent outside of Auckland even though it was the height of the tourist season. Roads are narrow and there are many one-lane bridges. We almost always stayed on the correct side of the road. Usually just screwed up first thing in the morning. Had beautiful weather almost the whole time. Sarah thought it was warm, coming from the Chicago winter, while we thought it was a bit cool. Ray had to buy a coat. We saw Mount Doom (from Lord of the Rings), seal colonies, a reenactment of Maori village life and interaction with white settlers, sheep herds in the road, steam boats, waterfalls, caves, lots of used book stores and a hat shop that made Ray and Sarah very happy. I got to see more that just the inside of a hospital and we made it home healthy. I have to say though, New Zealand seemed incredibly expensive even compared to America.

Back to Samoa and the rainy season. This year it really is raining, only one mostly dry day out of every 5 or 6 days. Really hard rains too but the good thing about living on an old volcano is that the drainage is excellent. Most of the water is gone in an hour or so except in the low-lying areas of Apia. All the clouds really keep the temperature comfortable too. Work is still pretty slow as all the women are busy weaving mats for the Fa'amati. See last years Fa'amati entry to learn more about this. School started this week but won't really be up and running for another couple of weeks.

I worked with my friend Tulipe to write and submit a proposal to the EU asking for money to build a chicken coop for her family. Should hear next week if we were accepted. Also got money in December for the local handicapped school to fix up the classrooms and make a kitchen. Now, finally, people are coming to talk to me about projects and funding proposals. I guess I will be able to stay somewhat busy with that until we finish our service. Ray is talking with the new principal at the Marist school who wants to have evening community education classes. Brother Christopher is going to require that each teacher at the school offer a class to the community, computers, sewing, mechanics etc. He will even work with Ray to offer a general home maintenance and repair class at the public secondary school where Ray has been working with the design Technology students. Brother Christopher says he can help Ray buy materials for the class and help direct students there. Ray has found a man in the village that is a diesel mechanic for the power company. He wants to co-teach with Ray and maybe continue the class after we leave.

The count down has definitely started. We are going to request a close of service date of June 30. It will have to be approved by Washington but we can keep or fingers crossed. I have started looking for work and networking. Probably will want to be in the US for a while before looking overseas again. Ray has now reached the magic age of 65 and likes to point out that he is retired now. Time for his investment in the Jan Ott retirement plan to kick in. Hope all who read this are doing well and hope that we will see you many of you later in the year.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1193414100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1193414100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1193414100/tpod.html Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:13:27 -0400 Musings on our experiences in the Peace Corps

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Thailand and Cambodia, Samoa Western

Hi everyone, I'm finally back to the blog. We had a quiet few months after mom and Josh left. Ray managed to fill the time with the workbench project which is going very well. A few benches have been finished but the going is slow. He only works with the students for about 3-4 hours a week. Sometimes class is canceled for other important things like practicing singing and dances for visitors. There will be an exhibition of student projects the first week in November and the ministry wants to show some of the workbenches. I have been going to the primary school once or twice a week and helping with a English program for the kids that are behind. I have also been doing a lot of work with other volunteers that want to paint world maps at their schools. We have completed murals at 7 schools and a number of the newer volunteers are planning on painting maps too. I have also been trying to get improvement projects started with the primary school and the handicapped school but it is all talk still at this point.

The end of August found us at the airport for our first trip out of the country. We went to Thailand and Cambodia for a month. Had a really great time experiencing the great, interesting and flavorful food, the ease of getting around, and the incredible variety of things to buy. Transportation was so convenient and there was an amazing variety in the types available. First class busses with hostesses and video, local busses with A/C or not, big trucks and pickup trucks with caps used for local busses, motorcycle and bicycle rickshaws, motorcycles and bikes. Then there are the boats. I almost forgot the sky train, subway and trains of Bangkok. We found that in Thailand the best way to get to something off the beaten track is to have someone write the destination in Thai so you can show it to people. Once they know where you are going they will help in any way possible but many don't read or speak English and we could never figure out how to pronounce things properly. We spent a lot of time in Bangkok as Ray was getting some 1860's suits made and required many fittings. In between fittings we went to Katchamburi, where the Bridge on the River Kwai is, Phitsonuloke, where we visited a very nice museum about everyday life in old Thailand. There were exhibits of traditional toys, crafts, farming tools, homes and other things. There was also a brass foundry making buddas, from small to huge, and other gods, bells and things. We also went to a crafts training center started by the queen that taught traditional weaving, wood and stone carving, basket weaving, mask making and other things. If you are going to Bangkok we highly recommend that you go to the Joe Louis Theater and see the puppet show. Very entertaining story and cool puppets. They are the traditional puppets invented in 1903. It takes 3 people to work them and the people are an extension of the puppets, moving and acting the same as the puppet.
Next we went to Siem Reap in Cambodia. We spent 3 days visiting the ruins of Ankor Wat and many other temples. They are quite extraordinary. The age, beauty, intricacy, carvings and the work that is being done to restore them. It is impossible to see all of them and easy to overload. No way to tell about it, go see it yourself. My brother Rob and his girlfriend Hai met us in Siem Reap. We went to Phenom Penh with them and stayed another week at their house. Rob was able to show us the side of the Cambodia that the tourists don't see. We visited with his friends that are involved with development work with orphans, waste picker
children, biogas, recycled products used for building materials and crafts and many other things. We visited Hai's relatives out in the country, traveling rough dirt roads and river ferries. Then it was back to Bangkok for a final fitting and the flight home.

We expected an uneventful flight back with a layover in New Zealand but it didn't work out that way. About half way through the layover I started to feel kind of sick. I ended up in the hospital for 2 nights with gall stones. It was really bad until they gave me morphine. That stuff is really great and I had no more pain at all. I had it easy laying around in the hospital. Poor Ray had to schlep all our luggage to a new hotel closer to the hospital so he could walk to see me. Imagine Ray's suprise/dimay when he went to the store to get something to warm up and found only frozen taro in the freezer. Turns out he was in a Samoan neighborhood. We got back to Samoa in time for our Mid-service conference which was 4 days on a small island off the east end of Upolu.

Namua only has the resort, no other people, no electricity just lots of quiet and stars. Had a really good time reconnecting with the other volunteers in our group. Then a few days later I was off to DeKalb for surgery. Everything went fine and I will be back in Samoa by Halloween. Peace Corps policy only allows the sick spouse to be Medivaced so Ray has been held hostage ensuring my return. If it wasn't so cold in Illinois the ploy might not have worked.

So now you have to dry story of our last few months. I will get Ray to write up the colorful version when I get back to Samoa. Take care everyone and be safe. Don't forget to look at the rest of the pictures in the photo album.


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1193333520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1193333520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1193333520/tpod.html Thu, 25 Oct 2007 20:02:09 -0400 Musings on our experiences in the Peace Corps

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Vailoa, Samoa Western



Those of you who know Ray know that he is very involved with Civil War re-enacting. This is a special report that he produced for the Battery Rag of Battery G Northern Illinois Light Artillery. Though Ray had to give up his commission as a Sargent upon joining the Peace Corps, he still works undercover.

Lt. Tedrick:
Though in service to a foreign monarch, I am ever mindful of my true loyalty to the Union, and so have been gathering intelligence as to the military capabilities of the Samoan islands, in the eventuality that they enter the present conflict on one side or the other. To that end, I include herewith a complete photographic record of each and every artillery piece in the archipelago:
This impressive battery defends a strategically placed car rental agency overlooking Apia harbor on the island of Upolu. The guns are said to have come from a British ship wrecked in the early 1800's which were raised over the years by local villagers and finally sold to the owner of the agency.



The island of Savai'i is also well defended (from the position of the gun, I would have to say
against attack by balloon). This piece has no visible markings and the present owner knows nothing of its history. Appears to be a 12 pdr, but very light weight for the bore, I should think it was some kind of gunnade



The picture on the right shows the gun emplacement which renders the small island of Manono an impregnable citadel. Again, there are no markings on the gun, and nothing is
known of its history, but it is in good condition and fitted with a tompion, which is frustrating the efforts of the gunner to load it with a banana.

Finally, since naval gunnery is an important branch of the science of artillery, I include the following panoramic photograph which shows the entire Samoan navy. One must suppose that the guns have been cleverly concealed.


For those wishing details of my own humble efforts to increase the naval might of our Samoan allies, I refer you to the blog: travelpod.com/member/rayandjan.
I greatly miss the campaigns and companionship out here. Tell Sgt. Dave that this would be a great place for a 'perfect' reenactment, except you really yearn for the smell of powder smoke and the bang of the guns after a while.

Ray
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1193334720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1193334720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1193334720/tpod.html Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:06:14 -0400 Musings on our experiences in the Peace Corps

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Vailoa, Samoa Western

The following stories were written for the PC Samoa newsletter, the Faitala (this means gossip) so please ignore any criptic Peace Corps references.

Finally, after much trouble and expense, I have a Samoan dugout canoe. The villagers here are very superstitious about a palagi having a boat. I was not able to purchase a second-hand boat under any circumstances, even though there are a number of them lying about unused. Finally, the master boat builder of the district agreed to build me a new one, but he demanded a hefty bribe over and above the value of the boat. Even so, it is not quite a traditional Samoan paopao though useful enough for my purposes. Then, after I had sailed it a few times, the Tu'ua Sili insisted it be put away in a fale 'to protect it.' It took four men to do this, as the boat is quite heavy-one of the ways in which it differs from a traditional canoe-and the help to get it out again was not readily forthcoming. It was finally spirited out by a large gang of small boys sympathetic to my predicament so I have the use of it again, at least for the time being until the boss returns from the Malua conference.

Having the boat built new was better than buying a used one in any case, because I was able to observe the entire boatbuilding the process, from selecting a suitable tree in the forest to the final finishing, while the master, Pulasui, directed the work of his sons. After the tree was felled, the boat was roughed to shape on the spot and then moved to his workshop for completion.

My intention was to resurrect the sailing canoe, unseen in Samoa for many years. Canoes are paddle-driven for fishing in lagoons. For work outside the reef or for ocean travel where sailing canoes were once used one sees now only aluminum catamarans powered by outboard motors. The Samoan heritage people at the university tell me that there is no documentation of the technical details of the Samoan sailing canoe. They advised me to get a canoe and put any kind of a sail on it at all, to see if any old men would come out of the woods to tell me why it was wrong. This sounded like a good idea, but from the amount of ridicule and perplexity I have attracted with my efforts I would have to say that traditional Samoan sailing technology is lost forever. Still, the thing is fun to sail about in. I named it Taugata. ( Samoan for very expensive)


Maritime Tragedy Averted
Amateur Yachtsman Braves Terrible Storm
On Friday last I was cruising in Vailoa bay with Taugata when a fierce squall blew up. Rain came down in torrents and the wind picked up sharp. There was a certain amount of water in the boat, causing her to trim down by the stern and making it impossible to come up into the wind sufficiently to make it back to port. I determined to run across the wind instead, to the shelter of a nearby river. I was involved in this maneuver when it also occurred to me in passing that there was by then rather more water in the boat than could reasonably be accounted for by the rain. The next thing I knew, the boat went under. We'd sprung a leak and foundered! I hurriedly lowered the sail and was standing next to the boat attempting to straighten out the resulting tangle of spars and cordage when a local fisherman happened by who got out of his canoe and helped me bail out my waterlogged craft. The storm having somewhat abated, I was able to paddle to safety and beached my boat inside the mouth of the river before it filled up with water again. The Taugata is now in drydock awaiting repairs. Fortunately, I was wearing my lifejacket, so serious loss of life was prevented.

NB, Having been informed by Kevini that he uses too much military jargon, the author of this dispatch has decided to switch to using too much nautical jargon instead, as being more appropriate to the subject matter and to confuse Kevini even further.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1183416060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1183416060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1183416060/tpod.html Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:01:44 -0400 Musings on our experiences in the Peace Corps

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Vailoa, Samoa Western

We have completed our first year in Samoa. I think we have made it past the one year slump when people seem to get depressed and wonder how they will ever make it to the end. Don't know if we will make it all the way to August 2008 but it does look down hill from here. The new VBD trainees are here and now we are the sage old guys who can show them the ropes.

Mom and Josh made it here at last. They had to delay a week because mom's passport didn't come through in time. We had a great visit. The weather was really nice, the car was great, saw lots of cool stuff and Josh and I got tattoos. We spent the first night in Apia to get a little sleep in AC then it was off to Vailoa. The first night some of the members of our Peace Corps committee brought dinner and officially greeted mom and Josh. We stayed in the village until Monday so that Josh could present the principal with all of the tools that he got donated for the "weak boys" class that Ray hopes to start teaching soon. The tools came from a manufacturer in Sycamore called Ideal Tools. They sent 35 pounds of screw drivers, pliers, wire cutters, voltage testers and other things. It is an incredible gift for the school and the class. Mom and Josh got to experience church in the village and they both helped with neighboring kids with homework.

Having a car is great, you can see so many things that are hard to get to just riding the bus. We did a canopy walk 50 feet up in the rain forest, swam with sea turtles, went exploring up work roads, saw waterfalls and ruined churches. I did want to give them one ride on a bus but it never happened. A wonderful time was had by all. The day before they left, Josh and I went to get traditional tattoos. This is done by using a stick to tap another stick that has either needles or sharpened boars teeth attached to it. The points are dipped into the ink and then tap tap tap into the skin. I thought it was incredibly painful. Kind of like gnawing your arm off. Looks really cool though. Josh's tattoo took about 1 ½ hours and mine was only 30 minutes.

Now we are back to work. I am trying to plan and prioritize projects for the next year, Ray is working with the students on the work benches and hopes to have the weak boys class starting soon. Round two has begun.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1179777420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1179777420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1179777420/tpod.html Mon, 21 May 2007 16:08:17 -0400 Musings on our experiences in the Peace Corps

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Vailoa, Samoa Western

Finally, after much trouble and expense, I have a Samoan dugout canoe. The villagers here are very superstitious about a foreigner having a boat. I was not able to purchase a second-hand boat under any circumstances, even though there are a number of them lying about unused. Finally, the master boat builder of the district agreed to build me a new one, but he demanded a hefty bribe over and above the value of the boat. Even so, it is not quite a traditional Samoan paopao though useful enough for my purposes. Then, after I had sailed it a few times, the High Chief insisted it be put away in a fale 'to protect it.' It took four men to do this, as the boat is quite heavy-one of the ways in which it differs from a traditional canoe-and the help to get it out again was not readily forthcoming. It was finally spirited out by a large gang of small boys sympathetic to my predicament so I have the use of it again, at least for the time being until the High Chief returns from a conference in Upolu.

Having the boat built new was better than buying a used one in any case, because I was able to observe the entire boatbuilding the process, from selecting a suitable tree in the forest to the final finishing. The pictures show the master, Chief Pulasui, directing the work of his sons. After the tree was felled, the boat was roughed to shape on the spot and then moved to the chief's workshop for completion.

My intention was to resurrect the sailing canoe, unseen in Samoa for many years. Canoes are paddle-driven for fishing in lagoons. For work outside the reef or for ocean travel where sailing canoes were once used one sees now only aluminum catamarans powered by outboard motors. The Samoan heritage people at the university tell me that there is no documentation of the technical details of the Samoan sailing canoe. They advised me to get a canoe and put any kind of a sail on it at all, to see if any old men would come out of the woods to tell me why it was wrong. This sounded like a good idea, but from the amount of ridicule and perplexity I have attracted with my efforts I would have to say that traditional Samoan sailing technology is lost forever. Still, the thing is fun to sail about in. I named it Taugata, which is Samoan for 'very expensive.'
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1178846340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1178846340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1178846340/tpod.html Thu, 10 May 2007 21:40:01 -0400 Musings on our experiences in the Peace Corps

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Vailoa, Samoa Western

Been a while since the last entry. We have been busy, I gue ss, but laziness plans a big role too. But it is time to catch up.

First, though nobody knew him, we will pause a moment to remember TimTam. TimTam was the dog of Mat'afa Tauelia. He started hanging with us not too long after we got here because the food was better. When Mata'afa went into the hospital for a little while TimTam moved in. He was kind of a wuss, letting other dogs steal food from him, but he was always happy to provide comfort and friendship by allowing us to pet him. He took to following me, Ray says he was my dog, where ever I went, finding me in other peoples houses. He even followed us one day when we biked to Satupaitea, about 5 km away. Boy was he a tired puppy when we got home. I don't know what was sickening him but one day he took himself off to the plantation to die.

April was a very busy month with the Global Youth Service Day World Map Mural Project to do. All of the fancy plans I described in the funding proposal for the maps came to naught. I had proposed 3-4 meetings with youth leaders to teach the kids about maps, finding maps on the computer, writing invitations (to the dedication ceremony), and how the project would work. None of the selected youth leaders came for the first two meetings, so I gave up and did everything myself. The maps went up surprisingly well for all my worrying. Ray and I with some helpers drew the map on the wall after it was painted ocean blue. We used a projector which meant we had to do the work at night and the enlarging of the map made the borders of some of the countries a bit fanciful but they are all more or less in the right places. Once the outline was on the wall the kids painted the countries. The whole thing takes about 10 hours with 8-12 helpers. The kids were great. When the map was finished we gave t-shirts to all the helpers. We ended up painting a world map, an oceana map and a Samoa map at the primary school. The secondary school got a world map and a Samoa map. Turns out the maps use less paint than I thought. I think we can paint a map at every school in the country. I think I will put the maps on a gridwork so they can be put on the wall without the projector. Can anyone suggest a product that I can seal the maps with that won't yellow in the sun?

Ray and Craig worked on building counters for the computer class. Looks really nice and has 15 work stations. Next, Ray is going to work with the year 10 design tech class to build chairs for the computer class. Ray also got the money to build workbenches which he will do with the year 11 boys. He has been working on curriculum design for second chance education and also a "weak boys" class. Ray is now also the proud owner of a sailing canoe, but I will let him tell about that in the next installment.

Had a really nice Cinco De Mayo at a beach resort with a bunch of other volunteers. Good chili rellenos, enchiladas, sopopias and bean dip. Great time was had by all.

We are looking forward to a visit from Betty and Josh in 2 weeks. It always helps having visitors to see the experience with new eyes. We will rent a car and see more of the islands than we have done already. Might even get a tattoo, who knows. The "rainy" season is over now so of course it has been raining even more. Stormy today, dare I even say it is a bit cold?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1173727800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1173727800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1173727800/tpod.html Mon, 12 Mar 2007 15:52:16 -0400 Musings on our experiences in the Peace Corps

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Vailoa, Samoa Western

Hi all, time for the next installment in the saga of Ray and Jan learn the fa'aSamoa.

On Thursday I attended the Fa'amati. This is an activity that happens every year in March for the pastors of the Christian Congregational Church of Samoa, the predominate church. Other churches do this at other times i.e.: the Catholics do it in July, Fa'ajuli. Anyway, what happens is that the women of the congregation give presents to the pastor and his wife. These presents are in the form of different types of hand woven mats, household goods and cash. Each woman is responsible for making a certain number of mats. Consequently, most of the women have been busy for the last six weeks or so working on mats (see last journal entry for a description of the process) and raising money for the other items. On the day of the Fa'amati the wives of the pastors, a church official and a few village representatives for each village in the church "district" go from village to village in that particular district and count and record every item given to each pastor. The gifts given to our pastor are as follows:

101 large mats with yarn around the edges
41 mats woven with dyed fibers
52 mats of a coarser weave like sleeping mats but nicer
90 sleeping mats
2 ia toga (really fine mats that cost 1500-2000 tala)
20 large bath towels
22 sheet sets and tablecloths
2 bedspreads
18 plastic serving trays
36 dish towels
3 floor fans
63 woven palm leaf place mats
dishes, teapots, silverware, knives, serving utensils, glasses, teacups, bowls, teakettles an electric skillet, a refrigerator and
$5000 tala

As you can imagine, the women are all relieved that it is over. For us, it means that we can get more attention from the village on projects though Ray is thinking seriously of throwing over this Peace Corps gig and becoming a pastor. I was really surprised when the pastor's wife gave me 2 dyed mats and 2 yarn edged mats. One of the dyed ones she gave us is the orange on in the picture.

Ray has been busy working with Craig, the new computer teacher, on the layout for the computer class room and the design of computer tables. They hope to get the tables built soon. Ray also wrote a funding proposal to New Zealand AID for money to build his work benches. The school committee was unable to find the funds since they are still trying to pay off the house that they built for Craig to live in. Ray has also been doing homework with neighborhood kids almost every night.

I am in the final design phase of my pig farm proposal and hope to turn it in to the FAO soon. I just heard last week that I received funding to paint 2 world map murals at the local primary and secondary schools. Actually, I got the funding twice. I hadn't heard from the original source a week after the deadline so I mentioned the project to the Chicago area RPCV group. They got the e-mail just before their board meeting started and agreed to fund the project. The next time I checked my e-mail I had responses from both groups. Now I am waiting to see if the Chicago group wants to redirect the funds or have me expand the project to more schools in Samoa.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1170457140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1170457140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1170457140/tpod.html Fri, 02 Feb 2007 18:12:30 -0500 Musings on our experiences in the Peace Corps

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Vailoa, Samoa Western

Hi faithful readers, sorry for the long quiet spell. Having been in Samoa now for 7 months, things are starting to seem everyday to us. As a consequence, we find it harder to notice things to write about. Please let us know if you have any questions you would like answers to. Perhaps you have a special interest in tattoos or surfing or vacation spots or something else we can tell you about. Not that we know very much about any of the above things.

School has started again and things are pretty much back to what we have come to know as normal. The kids head off for school about 7:30 and the neighborhood gets very quiet. Work is starting to pick up again too. We are working on grants for gardens and pig farms. Most of our neighbors are weaving either fine mats or sleeping mats. This seems to be the time of year for that sort of thing. Tulipe showed me how to weave a sleeping mat and I made one about 8 inches square. One foot can sleep on it at a time. I think I will need a lot of practice. Maybe I can make a set of place mats. The mats are made from very long leaves that have nasty sharp serrated edges and thorns along the spine. The leaves are about 4 inches wide at the base and taper down to a point about 3-4 feet long. You have to cut all the spikes off with a knife and then role the leaves into a big solid wheel. These wheels get boiled for 5 minutes or so and then are laid in the sun to dry for several days. The boiling and drying bleach all the color out and make a beige, flexible leaf to work with. Next you remove the spine and cut the leaf into strips. There are actually different varieties of the same type of plant used for sleeping mats and fine mats. If you are making a sleeping mat you cut the strips about ½ inch wide and use a double layer of them in the weaving. A fine mat has strips anywhere from 1/8 to ¼ wide in a single layer. Sleeping mats are usually about 2 ½ feet wide and 6 feet long. Fine mats are any size but usually 6 feet wide and 10-15 feet long. Fine mats are almost a form of currency and are given out during ceremonies for almost everything. Weddings, funerals, fines, finishing buildings etc. Some even have historical significance and have been handed down in families for generations. Most fine mats are not of really high quality anymore and the government is encouraging people to make the more traditional ones again. I guess the process is somewhat different and more time consuming. The fine mats and tapa cloth used to be used for clothing.

The rainy season has finally started in the last few days. Rain every day now, sometimes torrential for 5 or 10 minute but mostly just normal persistent rain. Still, the rain is different here-it has a pronounced edge to it. The other evening it began to rain up the hill behind us, we could hear it roaring in the trees, and see the rain advancing down the hill like a waterfall. We once walked along the road for a quarter of a mile, perfectly dry, while it rained in torrents right up to the edge of the road. It hasn't been quite as hot either, because the sun is obscured and there is more of a breeze. We had our first test of the Emergency Action Plan. There was a tropical depression to our north about 120 miles. It was expected to strengthen and hit the north coast of Savai'i so Ray and I finally put together our emergency bag that we had talked about for so long. As it turned out, the storm petered out instead. We didn't really see any change in the weather on the south side of the island where we live. Now we have eaten most of the food in the emergency bag and will have to start over when the next storm shows up.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1166911020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1166911020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rayandjan/pcv_samoa/1166911020/tpod.html Sat, 23 Dec 2006 17:17:13 -0500 Musings on our experiences in the Peace Corps

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Vailoa, Samoa Western

Haven't posted anything here for a while so this is a general catch up kind of a post plus a few nice pictures.

Ray has finished the workbench for the secondary school. The wedge vise works really nicely. As much as he hates working with wood it came out really nice. Now he has to convince the school committee to pony up the money to build 9 more. It will be about 100 tala per bench. One of the reasons it took so long to build was that he was working out the kinks and figuring out lesson plans as it was built. Now he can supervise a few students in building the next one and then they can supervise other students and so on.

School has finished for the year. It starts up again the end of January. We have been to prize giving ceremonies for the pre-school and the Methodist secondary school so far and will award two scholarships at the local primary school on Thursday. The local Rotary Club teamed up with the Peace Corps to solicit applications for 100 tala scholarships to cover school fees. There were only 22 scholarships available to the whole country and our school got two of them. The prize giving consists of a lot of speeches, giving the prizes (donated goods and trophies), eating, singing and dancing. Each dance includes a donation bowl to collect money from the people who come up to dance. If you dance you put money in the bowl but you can also put money in and sit down. Often the people dancing are clowning around quite a bit. These ceremonies can take quite a while. The pre-school one was almost 2 hours.

We are moving into the rainy season which has so far been drier than the rest of our time here in Vailoa. The heat and humidity is coming along nicely. Vailoa is getting to be quite a palangi (foreigner) place. There is a new PC computer teacher coming to the secondary school in a few weeks. Craig seems very nice though we haven't been able to spend much time with him. He is 53 and from Sacramento. They are building a small house for him at the school. One of his hobbies is making Mexican food. He also has a buddy who is a big wig at FedEx or one of those so he can get all the necessary supplies sent to him.

Thanksgiving came early here. There was a PC meeting on the 18th and then a potluck dinner at the Charge d'affaire's house on the 19th. About 75 people attended. It was really nice, lots of food. I made English muffins. Not really traditional but good comfort type food.

Things have really quieted down for us as Christmas gets closer. Everyone is very busy cleaning up and getting ready for an influx of visitors. Ray and I are making plans for next years projects and visiting with other PCV's. We spent a night in Samalaiulu where Vik lives for his birthday. Lots of good food and fun with about 16 people. Some of the group was riding around Savai'i and I met them in Taga a few days later. There are some cool blowholes in Taga. It was about a 1 hour 45 minutes to ride there but about 3 hours to ride back. We were all pretty tired and there was a flat tire to fix. The area is really pretty, see the pictures. We are going to join a group of volunteers at a beach out at the end of the island for New Years. I hear that the sunsets are incredible so I will try and get some good pictures.

Happy Holidays to everyone. Keep the letters coming and we have an extra room with a mosquito net for those who want to visit.
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