rainbow cookies made of peace and sunshine

 Alright, alright, I realize I've been lazy with my blog. I used to obsessively read other volunteers' blogs when I decided to apply, and I vowed that when I was a volunteer, I would blog religiously... Oops. I forgot. Hopefully, that's a testimate to how well adjusted and in the moment I am, as opposed to being miserable and on my computer all the time. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it! So here's an update:
School:
Term one is almost over! I feel like I'm getting the hang of things, and I'm still generally pretty happy. I absolutely love teaching. I love when I'm sitting with a group of kiddos, and we only half understand each other, but by the end of a session, I know they got it! It's chaotic in the best way, and it makes me feel like a super hero. I'm going to start wearing my lavalava around my neck like a cape!
I miss American schools where I have convenient access to books, computers, teaching materials, and consistent electricity. I miss the general culture of schools inAmerica (to a point). Kids here are way more respectful, but that's because they would most likely get slapped if they're not (My school is actually pretty good about avoiding corporal punishment, luckily, but it's a country wide problem that many volunteers struggle to be around). Children love me, which means I'm constantly struggling to get some personal space and privacy. They're everywhere. But the second I'm in the class room, I'm able to gain control of the situation, and set boundaries. The classroom is where it all works out (most of the time). I love it.
Village life:
I love my village. I love it. I realise I'm saying that a lot, and I hope that I'm not losing credibility here. It's true.
 Church is a huge part of village life. There are 2 churches here (Mormon and Congregational). Some volunteers will try to go to all the churches in their village, and maybe this makes me a less super volunteer, but I don't go to the Mormon church. Mormons don't approve of alcohol, and I really don't drink often, but I don't want to have to lie when I do. Therefore, to aid my integration, I have thrown myself pretty deep into the Congregational church (called E.F.K.S.). I attend 2 Sunday services where I only understand 10percent of the sermon, I'm a Sunday School teacher (kind of) and I even go to Bingo with the church sometimes. My sister should be proud.
I am still learning Samoan, and I spend time with my neighbors to practice. Honestly, sometimes, I'm tired and don't want to socialise, but when I do, I know it's beneficial.
Other stuff:
Term 1 is ending and we get a week long break. I'm sad to miss Easter with my family because it's one of my favourite holidays, but I plan on going to a resort by my house and I hope to skype everyone there (I'm super lucky to live close to a resort with internet. You pay by the hour, and there aren't many places on the island where it's available).
After the break, Peace Corps brings us together for Early Service Training. It'll be nice to see everyone again, but I don't feel deprived of my friends company. We've been a pretty well connected group because there are so few of us (only 10). But I won't turn down a few nights of air conditioning, and socialising!
I tried to write a post that wasn't overly sentimental, and makes it sound like I spend my days baking rainbow cookies made of peace and sunshine or rescuing kittens from burning trees. I try to include the good and the bad. And I realise that the optimism is almost unrealistic. but screw it. I'm really happy. Some things make me unhappy, and some days I cope with those things better than others, but in the long run, I'm really happy. I love it.

Sunburnt and still alive

So, I've survived my first two weeks in my village. That sounds so weird; my village is not something I would ever get to say back home. Here's what it's looked like so far.

The school year ended yesterday, and the students just started a long holiday break. Teachers were preparing their end of the year reports, and students were doing nothing. My dear teacher friends, imagine working on your end of the year business, and being aloud to just let kids play in the field all day long. It's actually beautiful, because you have time to get stuff done! Granted, I had no work to do, so I played with the kids for a few hours at a time. It was like being a daycamp counselor at the YMCA again, but I don't speak the same language as any of the children (my Samoan is still emberassing). I taught them games I could model like duck-duck-goose, ring around the rosies and thumb wrestling. I started a round of DOWN BY THE BANKS, and before it was ever, almost every child in that school had joined in. Playing with kids who I don't understand, who are confused and amazed by my sunburnt skin, and with no other adult supervision gets a little overwhelming to say the least, so I would go make up excuses to sit in the staff lounge. Every now and then, another teacher would ask me to use a calculator to double check her grade book, and I was happy for the work. However, it made my heart hurt. Imagine how much easier these teachers life would be with an excel spreadsheet! Just one of the many, many moments I'm thankful for all the privileges I've had.
After school, I go home, take a blessedly cold shower (it's hot here; have I mentioned that yet?) and then I read or watch a movie for a little while. In the evenings, the church bells ring, and that means that everyone (should) stop what they are doing and sing hymns and pray with the family. At the very least, you can't walk on the road during this time. I either join one of my neighbors, or sit in the open part of my home and listen to all my neighbors. It really is one of those "wow, I'm in Samoa" moments when half a dozen  Samoan hymns are being belted out all  around me. Then, if I'm lucky, someone will feed me, otherwise I cook my own dinner (rice, sandwich, ramens).
At this point, things are a little boring. I wish my Samoan was better, and I had better relationships in the village already, but I know that these things take time, and I am definitely headed in the right direction.

Training

Still alive, still well. I had the sudden realization that training is almost over though. This year, peace corps split training into two phases. I am almost finished with phase I, then I will go to my permanent site until after new years. Then, we will all come back together for three more weeks of training before the new school year starts. But it's crazy because we swear in after phase I, which ends around thanksgiving. I can't believe how fast things have started moving. I find out my permanent site! I am so anxious! But also excited! I have very few expectations about my placement because it really could be anything, but I just hope it winds up being a good fit!

Chickengunya free

Quick check in!
I'm still alive! I hurt my ankle when I fell down the stairs in the rain. But it is healing quickly. There has been an outbreak of chickengunya in my village. My host sister and nephew got it but I think I have been spared. It's a disease transferred by mosquitoes and gives rashes, fever and achey bones. A couple other volunteers got it and they were miserable!

Training is going well. Language learning is frustrating but I wouldn't expect less.  I have to give a presentation in Samoan tomorrow, and I am nervous. But staff has been great! They planned events like a sports day and a campfire with scary stories. That wad fun because it was the weirdest mix of American and Samoan. The language instructors would tell a story and sing a song and maybe do a dance.  Then we took turns telling stories. I told Popo's story about the old lady pulling legs and it was great to have a new audience for that one! Then we all sang all star by smash mouth while one of the volunteers danced with her LED hulahoop.

On Monday I go visit a current volunteer and I am really looking forward to it! Hopefully I will let you know how that goes.

Love and miss a lot of people but enjoying myself none the less.

I am alive! I'm working on my phone, so I will try to keep it short.  Samoa is beautiful and my host family is awesome!  I love my fellow trainees, and it is safe to say I am definitely in the honeymoon period. Learning the language is hard but i love it.  I just try to be patient with myself. My favourite thing so far is coming home and sitting outside on a night like this is

.  The breeze feels amazing, the sound of the ocean and the wind in the palm fronds plus the salty smell is the best way to end the night. I will try to post more photos about life here but for now I will leave you with these.

FAQs

I can’t believe I leave home in less than two days!

Every time I talk to someone, I have the same conversation, so I thought I would fill some frequently asked questions.

1.      Are you so excited?

Absolutely! It’ll be amazing!

2.      Are you nervous?

Yeah, I am. It’s kind of a big deal.

3.      Aren’t you scared?

This is kind of like the last one, but sure I am. Don’t plan on letting that stop me though.

4.      But aren’t you SO excited?

Yes. I am. Thank you for asking… again.

5.      You’re going to lose a lot of weight, aren’t you?

I honestly don’t know. They say women typically gain weight in the Peace Corps, but with the sudden loss of Chipotle, Buffalo Wild Wings and McDonalds from my diet, anything is possible.

More importantly, is it weird that I’m slightly offended people keep asking me about this?

6.      I hear the men are gorgeous. Is that true?

At this point, I haven’t actually ever been there, but I’ve heard the same rumors and done the same Google searches as you J

7.      You must be really, really, really excited. You are, aren’t you?

So excited! For the 400^th time today, I’m excited. Can you not tell? I’m screaming at the top of my lungs, clearly excited! Now stop asking, people!

8.      Think you’re going to cry when you leave?

Think that’s kind of a weird question (I even had a stranger ask me this)? Besides, it’s too late. I blame my ten year old cousin, Dylan, and his rib crushing bear hugs.

9.      I wish I would have done that when I was younger, or I could never do that.

I know these aren’t questions, but they are a pretty common point of conversation that I still don’t know how to answer. I could say, sorry I’m living you’re dream, or yeah I’m living the life you wish you could if it weren’t for kids, bills, careers, etc. When someone says, “I could never do that,” I feel like the translation for that is, “Girl, you don’t even realize how crazy you seem right now.” I just don’t know a polite way to respond.

10.   How long are you going to be gone?

27 months. I realize some of my friends and family members aren’t so good at math because I had several people answer, “What? That’s got to be like… 3 years!” And I realize maybe I shouldn’t leave because my services as a teacher might be more needed here.

The last four months has been a never ending cycle of these questions, and I can’t believe I’m done answering them and I’m really, truly, undoubtedly going on Wednesday! 

Medical Clearance (or Fingers in Funny Places)

Coming in to the application process for the Peace Corps, the part that scared me the most was getting medical and dental clearance. When I read blogs from other volunteers, it was a subject that seemed woefully under addressed, and I didn’t know what I was getting into. It’s not like I have any pre existing conditions that I thought could prevent me from serving. In fact, I had no medical history at all. I never had a physical or a dental check up.  I didn’t need one. Those things can be expensive, and since I’ve always been healthy, I never bothered. However, as soon as I accepted my invitation, I was rushing to navigate my way through scheduled appointments and trying to figure out how to pay for all of it.

I am pretty lucky I came across some useful resources. The first thing I did was get my dental exam. There is a group of dentists out there in the wide world who all agreed to offer free exams for future volunteers (http://www.usa-icd.org/projects/peace-corps/CO.html). I expected an office that is offering any free services to be busy, and most likely understaffed. To my surprise, they fit me in right away, and it was one of the nicest offices I’ve ever been in. The staff was also very friendly, but a little confused about me. You tell a dentist (or even a receptionist at a dentist’s office) that you’ve never seen a dentist before, and they don’t know how to respond. They approach you like a child who was raised by wolves. Like at any second I could bite off his fingers. Luckily, despite my horrific neglect, my teeth were fine.

I even came across a clinic with employees who helped me figure out how to apply for Medicaid. I was so blessed to suddenly be able to afford most of the other medical assignments.

Peace Corps required I get a ton of vaccinations (Peace Corps doesn’t require you get a lot of travel vaccines, but they require that you prove you are up to date on childhood vaccines; I wasn’t). They also asked for about half a dozen blood tests, a PAP smear and an eye exam. I had to get one of my blood tests redone because my platelets were high, but apparently they are always high. Then I was done. :) 

I wanted to discuss the whole medical clearance process for anyone out there getting ready to start, but I realize my view is a little skewed because of my total lack of experience with health care. Overall, I just feel exhausted by the whole thing. I’ve had a stranger’s fingers in basically every hole in my body. I’ve been stabbed by needles over 30 times (now I know that I have hard to find veins, and I was shamefully behind on my vaccines). My insurance constantly surprised me by what it did cover and what it did not. Mostly, I was just stressed and embarrassed because I had no idea what I was doing at any point. I didn’t even realize I was going to need to pee in a cup at the physical! It all just felt awkward and foreign.

As strange as it all was, I’m DONE! The last obstacle to my service has been knocked down. I have 28 days until I leave Denver for staging, and then Samoa!

Crazy!