Letter From A Not-So-Much Exile in Samoa
Letter From A Not-So-Much Exile, Plus TMWRMU Update
From darling Dis, our Samoan exile. Some names have been changed to protect the innocent (and the guilty). I get major shout-outs. Natch.
"hey there, hi there, ho there:this is the first posting from the "Dis in samoa" update. well,in case you didn't know, i'm Dis' Real Name and i'm in samoa. it's in the south pacific, very near new zealand and Australia. i left Our Southern Hometown october 11th for san fran. after crying in my warm bath at the hotel, we departed for samoa. the trip was a bit of a blur and we finally landed at 3 in the morning. gorgeous view of the islands? not unless you have night vision goggles. after that we were herded to our hotel where we began intense training. daily shots and 4 hours a day of language and culture. a week and a half after that,we were moved to our training village where we had to live with our very own samoan family. good ole catholic karmie was stationed in the bishop of the mormon church's house. first thing he asked me, "What religion are you?" when i said catholic, he said, "In samoa, you'll be mormon." what to do, what to do. the bible belt survivor in me wanted to tell him what he could do with his latter day saints but i told him "sure" and after that,there were no problems. i didn't have to do anything to prove i was mormon,i just had to agree. if i had made a fuss and told him no, i expect i would have had to deal with a re-enactment of the exorcist. as it was, we were gravy. so for 2 months i lived with this family. training is the high highs and the low lows. if ever i thought "what the f**k?" it was then. but i survived and picked up the language fairly well. i was even asked to give my group's swearing in speech. we were then assigned to our schools and after the mormon debacle, i wanted to go catholic. so now you are reading an email from the desk of the head of the science department of paul VI college. unlike most peace corps volunteers, i have hot water, a tv and vcr, and a laundry machine. how did i get all this? i think my catholic god pulled a few strings for me. everyone else in the peace corps is wondering the same thing. i live in a two-story house in the nun's compound. no matter what you thought of brides of christ, samoan ones are a little different. basically they're women who opted out of this patriarcle society by living in a million dollar home. they have the nicest pad in all of samoa. and they're FUN. they drink, they break the village rules, they do whatever they want. i love them. as for my school, it rules. the kids are fairly good (o.k., as good as 16-year-olds can be) and i really get along with the staff and the principal. i'm the medical trainer for the boys rugby team which just means i go to their games and watch them get sweaty and if they get hurt yell at them to "be a man." i also play netball with the girls team. the peace corps issues us trek bikes so i bike about everyday and swim everyday too. i live with a new zealand volunteer named pete and he's awesome. i thought my humor would go to waste here in samoa but pete is seeing that it's still alive. as for much more, i can't remember and if you really want to know, you'll write me. or send packages. except for My Real Full Name [because, and those of you who know her can attest, she always calls me by my full name], no one has sent packages though susan, scott, stacy (x2) and the ever faithful maria (numerous cards and letters and one watercolor) have dropped me lines. i was the big loser in our group who received no boxes of love. so this is a plea to send me stuff at:
Dis' Real Name, PCV (not pvc like the pipe but like peace corps volunteer)
Dis' Addy
South Pacific"
I miss that gal like the Smurfs on Saturday morning.
Oh, and if y'all want some hurts-so-good Clark/Lex, please do check out Past Grief by the lovely and talented Te. Listen to Jewel's "Abscence of Fear" and have some wine and tissues nearby when reading.
