There's no backboard

Back to my Samoan life! We’re already halfway through Term 2, so I don’t know where the time has gone since my Cook Islands adventure.

On the last day of Term 1, my school put together it’s very first “English Day”. Each grade had to perform dances, songs, or skits all in English. This was a big moment for Sili Primary School because these were presented to all the parents. It really promoted English literacy within our entire village and the kids did a wonderful job! I was a very proud pisikoa watching all my students confidently speak English in front of the village adults.

My Year 5 babies promoting reading!

This term has been jam-packed with sports! The Ministry must have received separate funding for physical education this year because we’ve had so many sport competitions that never happened last year! It’s so exciting my students now get the opportunity to play. Instead of volleyball and rugby, this term is netball and rugby. And instead of one district tournament, our district has gotten together for three tournaments already and the term is only halfway through. I’m the biggest cheerleader ever at these competitions; I absolutely love it. However, I have to admit that netball is quite confusing. Where’s the backboard? Why can’t they move with the ball? Now, I’m not saying I know anything about basketball, but netball is just so different. Luckily my students know much more than I do because Sili netball and Sili rugby teams are both undefeated so far!!

GO SILI!

An exciting addition to my service in Samoa has emerged as my school got awarded a grant for a new bathroom block! One of my teacher’s and I worked very hard to put this application together back in February. Our final product came to be about 10 pages long! Anyways, it was approved and fully funded, so Sili Primary School will be getting new toilets and I couldn’t be happier! We currently have about 300 students and I’m not sure if we have even one functioning toilet. This grant will be an amazing asset for years to come. I’m really excited to see my village come together to make it all happen.

Our current bathroom block, but not for long.

The other big event of this month was Mother’s Day! I can’t quite explain the difference in holidays here, but for one, Mother’s Day is a national holiday so everyone gets the day off. Secondly, all holidays must involve dancing – no questions asked. The mothers of my village each had to perform dances and skits (I’ve never been so grateful to not be a mother). The grandmothers had to each give a sermon, including my sweet mama Lusia. It was a nice bonding moment with all the women, but the best part was that we all got ice cream!

Happy Mama's Day to my Samoan Mama!

So, that about covers May. I’ve lost track of how many months I’ve been here. I think June 1^st will mark 20 months! If I’m doing the math right (yes, I admit I’ve lost my math skills), that means I’m at 20/27 months. It’s insane to think this experience is almost over! Unfortunately, Group 87 did lose another volunteer. We’re now at 14. However, one of our group members returned to Samoa after about 8 months away! She’s now part of Group 88, but technically that means 15 of us are still here. I think we can all make it until the end! 

We have 5 weeks left of the term and then we're halfway through the school year!

Jumping off bridges

Perks of living in the South Pacific? Exploring the South Pacific! I got to spend my two-week break in Rarotonga, which before Peace Corps I had never even heard of (and you probably haven’t either).

The Cook Islands are East of Samoa, across the International Dateline. The funny thing, though, is that there’s no way to reach the Cook Islands except through New Zealand, which is the complete opposite direction. I wasn’t too bothered by this fact because New Zealand is my favorite country ever. So, Becca and I headed to New Zealand after Term 1 of school got out. We had about 15 hours in Auckland before our connecting flight to Rarotonga, so naturally we went bungy jumping!! When in New Zealand, right? We jumped off the famous Auckland Harbour Bridge. I’ve already been bungy jumping at the largest bungy in New Zealand, but that didn’t stop my fears this time. I was terrified! We both survived the bungy and needless to say, that was the best layover ever.

Somehow I actually look graceful in this (yes, that's me).

Once we finished bungy jumping, we headed back to the airport (casual). Now it was time for the Cook Islands! Why the Cook Islands? Well, my cousin’s mom (my ex-aunt) lives in Rarotonga and owns a tourist accommodation of bungalows right on the ocean. We went and stayed with Aunt Heidi in a beautiful bungalow. Our bungalow was lofted up so that on one side all we could see were giant waves and on the other side all we could see were giant mountains. It was the best! Rarotonga was surprisingly different than Samoa because of the waves and mountains. In Samoa, there aren’t many coasts that have waves because we’re surrounded by a reef. The waves in Rarotonga were mesmerizing! Our mountains here are all volcanoes, so they plateau at the top. However, in Rarotonga, the mountains had steep peaks. It was gorgeous!

Pretty great house for vacation!

Our bungalow was about a fifteen-minute bike ride to a beautiful, touristy lagoon perfect for swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding, etc. Most mornings Becca and I would bike to the beach and spend the day there. It was incredibly relaxing and beautiful! Muri Lagoon has four mini islands right off the coast, Motutapu, Oneroa, Koromiri, and Taakoka. Throughout our vacation we ended up swimming, kayaking, and paddle boarding to all four islands. Once on one of these mini islands, you could look back at Rarotonga and see the mountains. I could’ve stared at that view every day (and I mostly did)! Muri Lagoon is also full of resorts and restaurants, which makes it perfect for vacationers. In Samoa, we barely have any restaurants (there are none on Savai’i), so we took full advantage of having real food options. It was a delicious trip! There’s even a night market in Muri full of all different vendors, including a crepe stand and a pie stand.

Paddle Boarding around the crystal clear water.

A couple days we ventured away from beautiful Muri Lagoon. One day we biked around the entire island! This probably sounds more impressive than it actually is. Rarotonga is only about 20 miles in circumference. It’s the biggest of the Cook Islands, but it’s still tiny! Throughout our trip we probably went around the island at least 15 times, but only once by bike. I have to admit my biking skills are not quite something to talk about, but I did survive (with a very sore butt). It was a super cool way to see the island! We got to see the touristy parts, but also the residential parts. Even though it’s a Pacific Island, there were still many differences to Samoa. Every house had walls and plantations were actually planted in organized rows! It was very interesting to compare cultures and lifestyles.

Our modes of transportation for the week!

Another non-beach day was spent hiking across the island! Again, it’s a tiny island, but we walked from coast to coast straight across the diameter. The Cross-Island Track takes you straight up to “The Needle”, or Te Rua Manga peak. The Needle is a very accurate term for it because the peak is straight up. Many American hiking trails wind a little bit, but this really took us straight up and straight down. Once at the peak, you could see both coasts and only mountains in-between. It was gorgeous and a perfect day activity!

Becca and I at "The Needle" with the ocean in the back.

All in all, in was a great vacation. It was so sad to leave, but we had a blast! Rarotonga provided the perfect mix of relaxation and adventure that we needed. It’s the cutest little island, surprisingly catered for tourists. We biked around it, hiked across it, swam, kayaked, and paddle boarded to four surrounding islands – it was active, but not too active. I loved seeing another Pacific Island and finding the similarities and differences to Samoa. Getting out of Samoa definitely gave me a much-needed break and now I feel ready and refreshed for the rest of my Samoan adventure. Plus, who can say they’ve been to the Cook Islands?! I’m living a pretty nifty twenty-third year of life. Thanks Aunt Heidi for hosting us, thanks Becca for accompanying me, and thanks Rarotonga for being so wonderful!

Easter brunch with Aunt Heidi.

Now it’s back to Samoa for Term 2!

From pink to green

April 1^st will officially mark one and a half years in Samoa! I can’t believe in 9 months my service will be complete. It’s been quite the journey, to say the least.

There’s only one week left of school until our term break, which means I’ve made it through my last ever Term 1 at Sili Primary School. It’s been a very productive term for my classes. My classroom also got revamped! Instead of just concrete floors with woven mats, I now have a linoleum sticker covering the concrete. Samoans call it “carpet”, although I can’t quite agree to that terminology. Whether or not it’s carpet, it still has made a huge difference! The first day I had my new carpet, my students came in and immediately started doing snow angels and rolling around on the floor. It was quite the scene!

We love reading on Miss Sala's new carpet!

This term also involved a first for the Ministry of Sports, Education, and Culture here in Samoa! The ministry organized a sports competition for my district (8 primary schools) in rugby and volleyball. Knowing that the competition was approaching, school ended at lunch every day so that the boys could practice rugby and the girls could practice volleyball. Our hard work seemed to pay off because Sili got fourth place in both sports, which is not too shabby. On the day of the competition, the girls even got to show their knees and wear shorts! This is unheard of in Samoa. It was a very fun day and I have to say I was a great cheerleader!

The cutest volleyball huddle there ever was.

Aside from school, my home life is probably 99% different than it was last year. What used to be a pink house is now a green shop. I was gone for a weekend and when I came back, there was all of a sudden a shop in my house! With Samoa being located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, products and food that can be imported must be very processed in order to make it here. So, Samoan shops mostly sell packets of ramen noodles, tinned fish, and corned beef. Sugar is our other big seller, and that’s about all the shop sells. It’s not quite what Americans would imagine when hearing about a shop. Regardless, my house has now been running as a shop for about a month now. My students find it hilarious to be able to come shopping and see me. I’m too busy with school to really work at the shop, but I’ll help bag sugar when I can. I’m a pro at measuring sugar now!

My new living quarters (shop on the left, bedroom on the right).

I’ve also been able to do more exploring around Samoa recently. It’s hard to believe a year and a half later I still haven’t seen everything, but it’s true! I’m working on it and hopefully will have seen everything by the end. One weekend, a bunch of volunteers and I went on a waterfall hike! It was on a rather undeveloped part of Upolu, hiking up the Falese’ela River. The hike itself was about 6 hours long and probably the coolest hike I’ve done! We were essentially walking through the river the entire time (I was an absolute pro because of my Sili River practice). Throughout the hike, different waterfalls popped up and we ended up jumping off most of them! The craziest part about jumping off waterfalls is climbing up them in the first place. Those who know me know I’m definitely not a rock-climber, so scaling the side of these waterfalls was quite the challenge. However, I think I jumped off about six waterfalls that day, the tallest one being 50 feet high!! Talk about an adrenaline rush. Samoa is so neat because it’s completely undeveloped land and not even marketed or advertised for tourists.

PCV's hiking through a river for 6 hours!

Another exciting thing that happened this month is that my cousin and her family came to visit! This is the second time they’ve visited during my service, the first time being in June. It was so fun to see them again! I’m so lucky I’ve had visitors and gotten to see so much family during my year and a half so far. While they were visiting, we went to Togitogiga Waterfall, which was another first for me! It’s on the southern coast of Upolu and it’s in a national reserve. Yet again another instance of gorgeous and untouched waterfalls! It was so fun to explore and see my American family members again.

Thanks for visiting again, Maile and family!

As the term comes to a close, I am packing my bag and heading to Rarotonga, Cook Islands next week for break! How lucky am I that I get to explore the South Pacific so much?!

Time for some island hopping!

Young and skinny

Second year as Miss Sala, here we go! I’ve officially been back in Samoa for almost two months. I don’t know where the time is going!

America already feels like a distant dream and I’m right back into my Samoan life. My host family was extremely happy when I arrived. My entire checked bag was gifts for them! The children all got backpacks and clothes, while the adults got purses and chocolate. It was like Christmas morning (except in Samoa, there is no such thing as gifts on Christmas, so it was even better)! I showed them pictures from my trip back home and they didn’t recognized me! Apparently seeing my hair down was a big shocker!

"Wait, Sala, who is the girl in red?"

While home, I got a mini fishing rod for Christmas, so I’ve tested out the waters. So far I’ve caught three fish, but the most impressive thing is that I cut up one of the fish to use as bait for the others. Have I mentioned that I’m scared of fish?! Nowadays I can hold a live fish and even cut up a dead one (although, there is still lots of screaming involved). I haven’t broken out my pocket fisherman in Sili yet, but the time will come.

Yes, it's a mini fish, but I'm still terrified!

Upon arriving back in Samoa, Group 87 had our Mid-Service Training. It was at a wonderful resort and it was amazing to be together as a group again. Every day after training sessions, we would go in the ocean until the sun set. The South Pacific is really a great place to watch the sun setting! Our training involved bringing a counterpart from our schools. When the counterparts first arrived, we did an introduction where we had to describe our partner using two adjectives. Most of the pisikoas were described as “hard-working” or “determined”. Well, my counterpart described me as “young” and “skinny”, so I’m really winning at this whole teaching thing.

Group 87 after 16 months in Samoa.

We’re already halfway through the first term of the school year! My students were so happy to be back in school after a two-month break. It’s nice being back this year and already knowing the teachers, the schedule, etc. I feel much more comfortable at school and it really feels like I belong. The teachers and I have our inside jokes. Every morning they laugh at me for running the previous afternoon (it’s really unheard of here) and I in-turn laugh at them for not running. We have a good system of laughing going on! I’m still teaching pullout groups from years 4, 5, and 6. I have a total of 8 at-risk groups and 3 advanced groups. In addition, this year I am co-teaching! So, once a week I teach all of year 7, working together with their teacher. It’s been very fun so far and the students are already learning a lot this year!

Miss Sala's classroom, year 2!

It's hard to believe Miss Sala has only ten months left of this crazy journey!

Land of the free

HOME HOME HOME!! I’m heading back to Samoa today after an incredible 4 weeks in America. It was probably the best and most necessary break of my entire life.

It was quite the process to get from the middle of the Pacific Ocean all the way to Gaithersburg, Maryland. My first flight was from Samoa to Hawaii, where I then stayed with 4 other volunteers for a night at Waikiki Beach. It was probably one of the best days we had ever experienced. The true happiness that came from a hot shower, a real bed, and a salad is indescribable. I then flew from Hawaii to DC during an ice storm, had to emergency land at the wrong airport, etc, etc, but needless to say, I made it home!! I was frozen in Hawaii, so the ice storm was a somewhat shock to my system. This South Pacific islander was not ready for the cold!

My perfect welcome home committee!

I arrived back home just in time for Christmas celebrations. Going 15 months without seeing my mom and sister, and 9 months without seeing my dad, was all way too long. I’m much too close to my family for that! It was amazing to be with my family for Christmas again. We set up a giant tree and very obnoxious lights everywhere, typical Brown family fashion. I thought being home would feel like a foreign world, but I fit right back in and it felt great! Unfortunately, one of my dogs passed away during my service, so it was strange not having my Rascal to snuggle with at night, but other than that home felt pretty normal.

Princess Sala putting the star on the tree.

I loved being able to finally share my pictures, videos, and experiences with my family in person! I got us all matching puletasi’s made (and the male version for my dad). It was hilarious dressing everyone in Samoan clothes and teaching them how to say a Samoan prayer before dinner every night (I crack myself up)! We also had my aunt and cousin visit for Christmas, so it was a real Brown family affair. We went ice skating and hiking, and Samoa started to feel like a distant dream.

Brown family goes Samoan!

After Christmas, I had a series of amazing visitors. It’s so great to reunite with people after 15 months! I got to celebrate New Year’s Eve banging pots and pans again and I appreciated it more than ever before. After spending this holiday period in a foreign place with foreign people last year, it was such a wonderful feeling being surrounded by love this year. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt this much happiness in such a short amount of time before. We went to DC, we went to movies, we went to restaurants, we played board games (I won, duh). I embraced America to the fullest and I loved being home more than I ever have before.

I love America!!

All in all, this break taught me that I am so extremely supported and loved!! I have so many friends and family here for me and these 15 months haven’t ruined that. I feel like the luckiest human on the planet because I am able to truly appreciate America, friendships, and family. THANK YOU to all of my visitors and everyone who made my time at home so amazing. I can’t say that it’s easy to leave again for another year, but I can say that I’m leaving with a happy heart and that’s an incredible feeling.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for visiting!!

From Gaithersburg to Sili, I’m off to my final year of Peace Corps service!

Sala day

Happy end of the school year!!! I survived my first year as Miss Sala (and my first year as a teacher in general). December 11^th officially marked one year since swearing in, and therefore one year in Sili. I can’t believe I’ve lived here for a full year and that the school year is over. Only one year left!

The end of the school year was very busy although no teaching was involved. There were many ceremonies, exams, and cultural celebrations. Our Year 5 teacher at Sili Primary School unfortunately passed away. Mau was only 45 and her three children all attended our school, so that was very sad. I was involved with the funeral and quickly remembered that touching and kissing the frozen dead body is a big part of the ceremony here. Rest in Peace, Mau – hopefully I’ve experienced my only Samoan funerals.

Gorgeous Mau (in black and yellow) loved my dad's visit early this year.

The end of the school year in Samoa involves a large ceremony called Prize Giving. Students are ranked 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, etc. in their class and it’s announced in front of the whole village. I went to three different Prize Givings this year, which added to the busyness. First, my nieces had their ceremony at the high school. I also attended this last year on my first ever visit to Sili. It was nice to be able to watch two years in a row and see how much more comfortable I was this year. One of my niece’s got first place, so I was a proud Auntie! Sili Pre-School also had a Prize Giving, and I was the guest presenter for this one. The village was so happy to have me present the prizes and I was awarded with a pig at the end of it.

Sili's adorable graduating pre-schoolers!

Finally, it was time for my school’s Prize Giving on December 8^th! This event calls in the entire village and lasts the whole day. We teachers got matching puletasi’s (traditional Samoan outfits) made and each had to present our prizes. I presented prizes for the first place student in each of my ten classes. My prizes were extra special because I teach at-risk students, so they’ve never been called for first place in their lives. It was amazing to see how surprised they were and how happy their parents were as well! I presented all of my prizes while speaking Samoan, so I definitely felt like a member of the village. This time I was awarded multiple pigs, chickens, and cow parts. It was a fun way to end the year with my students and village. I’m going to miss my 8^th grade babies so much next year!

My Sili Primary School crew!

Speaking of ending the year with my village, this past Sunday was declared a holiday called Aso Sā Sala (Sarah’s Sunday). My church dedicated the entire day to me. The children ran the service: songs, bible readings, the sermon, the whole nine yards. Each family presented me with a Samoan gift to thank me for my work this year. I then got up and gave a two-page speech in Samoan! I worked pretty hard on the speech and I think my host parents nearly fainted hearing me speak that much Samoan (I am not good at Samoan). Aso Sā Sala was a huge success and I felt incredibly loved by my village! My niece gave a speech about me and started sobbing to the whole congregation. It’s wonderful to know that all of my time spent integrating this year really did work and pay off. I have my own holiday in Sili now!! I can’t imagine what my permanent departure next year will include.

Family selfie on Aso Sā Sala with all of my gifts.

In life outside of Sili, Group 88 swore in and officially moved to their sites and Group 86 departed and became Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. It’s weird being the oldest volunteers here now. We said goodbye to the 9 volunteers who remained in Group 86 and hello to the 20 newbies. Ten got placed on Savai’i, so I’m very excited to make new friends! It’s crazy that this time next year I will be departing for good. It was a fun end of the year in Sili and also with other volunteers. We celebrated Thanksgiving on a private beach swimming with turtles, so we’ve got Samoa figured out at this point. Our second year should be lots of fun and will most likely fly by!

Look at these Peace Corps Samoa pros with only one year left.

I’m currently in the airport awaiting my flight to AMERICA for the first time in 15 months!!!! Tofā Sāmoa, Talofa ‘Amerika!

Girl power

Girls Leading Our World (GLOW) is a worldwide Peace Corps initiative that seeks to empower women and girls through different conferences and camps. It is in coordination with Michelle Obama’s “Let Girls Learn” initiative. In Samoa, Peace Corps volunteers have planned annual GLOW conferences for the past 4 years and I was lucky enough to be part of year #5!

Girls Leading Our World!

GLOW Samoa 2016 brought together 20 volunteers, about 70 girls from years 7 and 8, and 22 women counterparts. We came from 22 different villages spread across 3 islands all to the capitol, Apia, Upolu. For my three beautiful girls and one counterpart, traveling to Apia meant leaving our island and going on the ferry. For some, this was the first time ever leaving Savai’i, which is a huge eye-opening moment! The conference was 4 nights and 5 days. It was held at Papauta Girl’s College (an all girls boarding school in Apia). This is a long time to leave your family when you’ve never left home before. I was so honored to accompany these girls and see the impact of this conference.

My Sili girls with the new Miss Samoa!

Day one was career day. We began by traveling to the Samoa Observer, our national newspaper. We got to see how the newspapers are printed and got to hear from several workers about how they got their jobs and what they do there. It was especially great to hear from the women employees who work for the newspaper, proving that these girls can get jobs! After our field trip, we heard from 4 other working women, what they do, and how they got their jobs. This was a wonderful day for the girls! In Samoa, males hold a lot of power and it’s easy to think that women cannot get jobs, so it’s extra special for these girls to hear that they can in fact have a career.

Field trip to the national newspaper.

Day two was health day! We began by taking the girls to hike Mt. Vaea (where Robert Louis Stevenson is buried). Hiking is a very new thing for these girls, but those that made it to the top were so happy and proud! We went from the mountain to the Moanalisa Hotel for a cooking class! Most of these girls have never been to a hotel either, so it was a very exciting day. The cooking class was all about fruits and vegetables. The girls were missing their taro, but happy to help learn and prepare a new meal. After our lunch, the girls got to swim in the hotel pool! Three girls quickly realized they couldn’t swim and I was happy that I’m still technically a lifeguard. Other than that, they had an absolute blast! We came back from the pool to have a visit from the National Rugby League, and a visit from the Special Olympics. It was a very active day, to say the least.

The Samoan Special Olympics visit!

Day three was ending violence day. Violence against women is a major issue in Samoa in particular and this day was dedicated to showing the girls that it does not need to be “normal”. We heard from many speakers about human rights and how to get help. The girls also had self-defense class from a Judo team!! The members who represented Samoa in the Olympics in Rio came and taught the girls some self-defense moves. It was so much fun! We ended the day with a visit from students at the National University of Samoa with a star-weaving project. Australia has put together a project called “A Million Stars to End Violence” and Samoa has agreed to provide 10,000 of those stars. It was awesome for these girls to be a part of the project!

I'm so proud to be part of this in Samoa.

Those were our three big days, and the others were dedicated to traveling/getting to know each other. This was the first time my girls slept in a building with walls! It was their first time sleeping on a bed and they actually all moved their mattresses to the floor because they didn’t like it. We were essentially at summer camp! We stayed up late chatting and playing card games. It was so wonderful for girls from all different villages to be able to meet each other. The girls and counterparts were blown away with the fact that they didn’t have chores to do, so they would diligently clean every building every morning without being asked to. It was such an incredible experience bringing my girls out of Sili and they learned more than I could have imagined!

Me, Leātivā, Momoli, Melissa, and Meaalofa from Sili!

I’m sad our week of summer camp is over, but thankful to be part of such meaningful work here!