Ava Ceremony, Pig roast, and Cooking

The first day we got into Apia we came strait to our hotel, which is actually the same building that houses the Peace Corp office. It is a really nice place, air conditioning, sometimes warm showers and nicest of all its clean and there aren’t many bugs. It’s a far cry from how I will be living in a couple of weeks but the Peace Corp is gradually introducing us to our new lives. We have two weeks in the hotel studying, three months in a training village with four other volunteers, then off to our permanent villages will we will be the only volunteer. I’m sure by then I will be ready for the millipedes and rats; well…. at least prepped for battle. When we got here we were introduced to the staff that will be training us and started to prepare for our welcome ceremony. This is the Ava ceremony. The Ava is a shredded and dried root that they strain water repeatedly through. It is drunk out of a coconut and can numb you tongue and definitely give you a bit of a buzz. We had to learn a toast, then the elders gave prayers, speeches, and drank to us and we drank to them. It was really cool and it was fun learning the Samoan cheers. It was also the first time we met some of the return volunteers. Blakey 81 led the ceremony and made the Ava in a beautiful traditional Samoan dress. They all seemed so cool and I was a bit star-struck as I had been following their blogs, and they had become semi-celebrities to me. That night we had a welcome dinner with all the traditional Samoan dishes; a whole roasted pig, coconut milk baked in taro leaves, bread fruit, fish wrapped in banana leaves, and roast pumpkin. It was mind blowing; everything was so juicy, fresh and tasty. I have decided that eating like this for four years may not be such a burden, and now I know why Samoans like their food so much. The next day we had a bunch of intro classes on phrases, security, and just general stuff for getting around in the city. That night a couple of volunteers and I went to the market and picked up a bunch of food to make dinner for everyone. We pan fried delicious fish, roasted pumpkin, and stir fried eggplant, taro, string beans, and onions. Another delicious meal and fun bonding as a group. We have all started to get really close and it seems like we want to do everything together. Someone mentions lunch or going into town, and it seems like almost always all twenty of us find some way to accompany them. You can’t imagine the impact twenty laughing American walking down the street have. I am loving Samoa and loving the people. The gender and society roles are still a little blurry and it’s going to take time getting used to but I’m sure I can do it.


For pics see matt's blog!

LA and Staging

Saying goodbye to my father and little sister, then watching my mother and older sister walk away from me at the airport were some of the hardest things that I have ever done. Looking back now, I already know that it was right. I have been in Samoa for two days and I can’t imagine being anywhere else. I just know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be, at exactly the right time, doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing. Here are some thoughts and stories that have occurred somewhere in between my last blog post and paradise. Like I said leaving was hard and the flight to Dallas then on to L.A. weren’t particularly amazing, but ok. We landed in L.A. in the grayest rainiest day that the city has seen in probably a year. People couldn’t stop talking about how strange the weather was for L.A., but I didn’t let it faze me. I marched right through the terminal and found my friends. We drove around town (in a lot of traffic) and eat a fantastic French dip sandwich at Phillipes, which was featured on “Man verses Food” on food network. It lived up to the hype, deeeelicious! This is my second “Man verses Food” restaurant and I’m thinking of starting a tour de food… maybe when I get back. (P.s. I realize that I have been talking about food a lot, and be prepared this post is all about food too). Then it was off to the Hotel. Staging it self was pretty expected, lots of talking and lots of procedures and stuff. All in all the actual staging part was fine but the part of pre-departure that was exceptional was the people. WOW. It’s like a pre-screened, guaranteed compatible group of friends. We all; love kinds, love travel, love culture, believe in service, have the guts to volunteer, and are pretty friendly. It doesn’t seem possible that twenty people could get together and some how all get along marvelously. With in hours we were all laughing and joking, but most importantly ready and confident for our adventure together. I couldn’t ask for a better support system, I feel like I just make nineteen new best friends. The next big thing hit me when we stepped off the plane in Samoa. It was like stepping into a post card. The sun was setting, there were flowers blooming everywhere, the ocean was twenty feet behind us, and the mountains jutted into the sky in front of us.  It was breath taking. I will never forget the smell of the flowers, ocean air and lush plants. It felt so incredibly right. Then I met my first Samoan and found the people were just as extraordinary; beautiful, quick to laugh, and so open. I knew this place would be home very quickly.

Notes-

• They serve Tang here which is what I drank as a kid in Nigeria, definitely brought back memories
• Watched one of my sisters and I favorite movies “Little Princess” on the flight over and cried like a baby in front of everyone.
• Air New Zealand has the funniest security video I have ever seen and also pretty darn good food
• The flight was only nine hours so no one has an excuse not to come visit, its easier then getting to Europe people!!
• They don’t really have cheese here!!!!! OMG this may be a problem! Does Parmesan and sharp cheddar ship well?

L.A. tomorrow Samoa the next!!

So its my last day in Texas! I have had a great weekend with all the Camp ladies. We spent Friday shopping and then went to get lots of fried stuff (chicken, onion, pickles, and potatoes) with very very large margaritas. Then Saturday we went on a mad search for an army surplus store to buy a satchel, an idea which I kind of fixated on for some reason. We eventually found one and I got a great bag. We wen to go see a movie, "You Again" and I enjoyed a very large coke icy and popcorn. Then it was time for OU VS TEXAS! We spend the afternoon eating pizza and peperoni rolls, and watching the game. It was a resounding victory, well kind of ahha. With a final score of 20 to 28 I never doubted us. Then yummy British sausages smuggled back from the UK on our last trip, with lovely boiled potatoes, and salads. This last one was more of a mama meal then a Texas meal but I'm am going to miss those just as much. Today, pancakes for breakfast, Tommy Bahamas for lunch and then we have to take Meghan back to airport. As you can see I have been determined to touch, TASTE, and smell and the comforts of home. My comfy bed, my families hot tub, doing my hair, putting on a full face of make up, wearing cute clothes, and watching all my favorite shows. But beyond these kind of silly things I have just been enjoying laughing and cuddling with my family. I'm not really nervous anymore, it seems the electricity in my veins is momentarily dormant. I feel so calm and ready now. Its here and I'm ready. I cant wait to meet everyone and to see this amazing place. I have a friend that lives in LA that thinks she will even be able to see me before I check in tomorrow night. I'm sooo excited! I just know I'm going to love this. My bags have been packed for a couple days now and all I have left to do is get my flu shot. Its finally here.

P.S. thanks to Lillian I know exactly what creepy crawlies to expect ahah (this maybe one of my biggest challenges)

http://noididntusespellcheck.blogspot.com/2010/10/centipedes-rats-and-other-fun-things.html

all the fried food!

Saying goodbye to my favorite drinks

The ladies before taking baby Camp to the airport

Boomer Sooner!!

Eye of the Storm

These last couple days have been a real rollercoaster. Update; teeth are filled and a little sore, suspect mole removed and sent to lab, power of attorney given, vaccination records in the mail (let’s hope they get here before Monday), shopping done, and packing tonight. My sister comes in tomorrow so I want to have all the Samoa packing and prep done, so the weekend can be for family time. Things to do; eat Chipotle for lunch today, have Wings and More for dinner with Meg, have nice goodbye dinner with sisters and mama on Saturday, then Sunday have one of our family picnic style days where we sit outside, drink wine, eat cheese, olives, salamis, and other tasty treats. During all this there will be lots of crying, kissing, laughing, cuddling, and knowing my family dancing around in the kitchen. What a wonderful way to say good bye to my time in the States, me my sisters and my mama all together. I wish my dad could be here too but he is off in Nigeria preparing for my parents new life there and my mother will join him in a few weeks. So I will have to save up my papa love to pile it on him when my parents visit my in Samoa. It’s kind of hard to explain how I am feeling about leaving, especially as it seems to change daily. On Monday I did my last big Wal-Mart shop and left feeling like electricity was running through my veins, I wanted to scream and run and jump up and down. Then later that day I just kept saying “Oh my god” and trying to breathe deeply because I couldn’t catch my breath. Yesterday I had butterflies in my stomach all day and kept randomly crying. Today I have settled into some weird calm. It seems like I might be in the eye of the storm waiting for the other wave to hit. All of a sudden it’s the people around me freaking out and I just kind of keep saying “yeah” and nodding my head. Tomorrow is my last day of work and then my weekend and girl time begins. I am determined to spend the weekend basking in their love, laughing, and soaking it in. I don’t want to spend every minute thinking about leaving I just want to have a good time with my family and have that memory to take with me. Next time I write it will probably be from staging, so till then wish me luck and strength to say goodbye to the most wonderful mama and sister in the world.

Pino and Picasso in Houston with the girls!

The girls at my parents 25th wedding aniversery.

The Camp ladies throw back style! Check out the matching out fits mama made umm! She is such a bad ass!

Dallas Weekend...Oh Wait Just Kidding

There is one week left... and today is almost done… and I leave early in the morning on the fourth so… it doesn’t really count either. This means there is only six viable days left in the USA. OMG. I still feel like I have so much left to do. This past weekend I came done with a really bad upper respiratory infection, which cramped my style several ways. One, I couldn’t drive down to Dallas to say goodbye to my two roomies. Two I can’t get any immunizations while on antibiotics and the cycle doesn’t end until the day that I leave for LA. Three, I couldn’t do any Samoa shopping and I wasn’t able to play in my last softball game of the Season. This all equals, LAME. But there are also some nice upsides. My wonderful roomies surprised me and drove all the way down to Houston when they found out I was sick. The pharmacist says that he will make an exception and give me my N1H1 the day I leave as long as I promise not to still be sick (fingers crossed). Also it’s Monday and I already feel better, yay for drugs. I rallied enough on Saturday to take my girls for some amazing shopping (the non-Samoa kind) at our epic mall here in The Woo. Also we got to spend some quality time cuddling and watching movies. So all in all definitely ended up a pretty good weekend. Some more teary good byes, or like I said before really just see-you-laters. I know the hardest ones are still to come, but I will have to face that when it comes on Monday.

This next week is a big one. Fillings tomorrow at the dentist, worrisome moles check on Wednesday, sister comes in on Thursday, hopefully flu shot on Saturday, then last minute craziness on Sunday. Somewhere in there I have to love on my family as much as humanly possible. I did a little Samoa shopping last week at the outdoors store and am doing my last Wal-Mart shop tonight. My aim is to try and get some of my packing done this week because as Paul put it in his post (http://kincaidsamoa.blogspot.com/2010/09/wow-to-group-83.html), I don’t want to be wasting my last couple days with my family locked in my room trying to make my luggage work.

Fun things to share

-there are now ten of us in contact from 83! Nancy, Lindsey, Sarah, Katie, Natalie, Jenny, Danny, David, Karen, and myself! (Seems like the girls are going to outnumber the boys)

-I bought a whole of bunch silly bands to give the kids in my class as rewards. This way they will learn the English name of the object the band makes and get fun toy type things. (I’m also curious if they will trade them and if they will migrate across the island and any other PC’s will encounter them)

-I bought a huge US flag and a huge Texas flag to decorate my classroom

- OU vs Texas is the weekend!! BOOMER SOONER!

-It’s beautiful weather in Texas, breezy, balmy and sunshine. What a great farewell J

All the tripod united

The Silly Bandz in their shapes

the bandz on a wrist, Im thinking Ill start a trend

The Weekend and The Email

This weekend I went to San Antonio to meet Trent. A little bit of background, without getting too personal/emotional. Trent was my boyfriend for my first year and a half of College. Due to his being in the military, my travels and both our impending departures; him for Afghanistan and me for the Peace Corp, we have been in and out of each other’s lives. We have been saying "good bye" for about two years now, but just keep seeing each other again. This weekend in San Antonio was the real one, with me leaving for Samoa in two weeks and his deployment in March. He was testing for their fire department so I drove up to spend the weekend with him. From the very beginning we both knew that our futures were headed in opposite directions. Goodbye may have been easier if we never got together, or if we had stayed away when we broke up a year ago, but I also would have missed out on some great memories. It was an awesome weekend and we had a blast watching the OU game, drinking too much, and laughing a lot. It was hard to say good bye, but I know that we will always be in each others lives; it’s just the capacity that changes. My love, my prayers and thoughts will be with him in Afghanistan. It’s time for us both to start our adventures and I feel so blessed for the times we have had together. Another hard good bye and I know there are more to come. This weekend I complete my tour de Texas with a trip to Dallas to say good bye to my college roommates and the other legs of my tripod, Emily and Sabrina. After that it’s going to be saying good bye to my mom and my sisters. I know it will be hard but I am feeling much better about my goodbyes, or as I like to think my "see you laters." I received an extraordinary email this weekend from Jane, mother of Paul 81. She read my recent blog post describing anxiety over leaving people, and wrote to me about her experiences from the other side. This wonderful email inspired tears, laughter, and a lot of faith. She described to me how the space can actually strengthen relationships not dim them and how although it will be tough, the new relationships I make will be just as extraordinary as those I have at home. Thank you so much Jane, because of you I picture spectacular night skies, diving on the reef, and a new family waiting for me. I can’t say I’m any less nervous, but I can say my excitement has tripled. The mix of emotions is just indescribable, only 14 more days. WOW!

Trent and I and his Basic Training Graduation

T

It Has Happened

So I guess I knew this was going to happen, but I was hoping I might just skip over this step. The nerves have set in. Up to know I have just been excited. In my correspondence with my group members many have mentioned anxiety and panic but I seemed to be immune. Maybe I thought, “hey Im used uprooting my life every two or three years. This will be like all the other times, piece of cake.” At first all I could see was the adventure. I knew it would be hard, but come on that’s the fun of it. Then I went on another weekend trip to say good bye to another friend. This time to A&M. I got a little tearing in the car because it really hit me; I have such wonderful people in my life. My family is loving, supportive, and so much fun. My friends are understanding, steadfast, and amazing. For the first time in my life I have people that I don’t want to leave behind. On most of my adventures I had my family with me, and I was too young and my friendship too fleeting to really miss them. It was the nature of the expat life you were always leaving friends or being left, but you knew there would be a new batch to replace them. It’s different this time. My family is dispersing, my little sister in school in Oklahoma, my big sister working in Houston, and my parents living in Africa. Also, I have friendships I want to keep. It seems ironic that it would be harder to say goodbye to people you know will always be in your life, then to say good bye to those you may never see again. Why is it trickier to say good bye to people you know you will see? I think this is what brought on the nerves. The real understanding of what I am leaving behind. I value my relationships so much and I know I will feel there absence this time. It got me thinking about how much of a change it will be, I guess I have gotten too comfortable in these 6 years living in the states, just traveling a few months a year. I’m not scared, just nervous. I know I will be successful and I know I will love it. I was made for this, and I have wanted it for longer than I can remember. Now it’s finally here. Its just that the immensity of it is becoming clear to me. So I guess I’m not immune, I feel anxious too. My sense of adventure and excitement have not diminished but it’s hard not to be nervous when I look into the eyes of my sisters, my parents, and my friends and wonder “how do I live without these parts of me?”

On the right is Reginald who you have already met, on the left is Luna a new Frenchie my sister has just gotten. She is a pain in the ass but also lovely!!