One year down

Trip Start May 12, 2006

Trip End Ongoing

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Flag of Samoa Western Vailoa, Samoa Western
Monday, July 2, 2007

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 � 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..