We just arrived back from our training village of Vaie'e after two weeks. It was our first taste of real Samoa. I stayed with a family of an unknown size because in Samoa families are very large and decentralized. It seemed that I was always meeting someone every few days who I was related to.
But it was quite intense, we are in 'school' 8-10 hours a day Monday through Saturday and 4-6 hours of that is language training. Then we go home to our families and bumble our way through conversation for a few hours, then pass out and do it the next day. The culture is so different from the US that I don't even know where to begin. I have taken a lot of international business classes where we discussed cultural differences and all the theory behind it but nothing will really prepare you for being immersed in it. That is the part of it that I have really been enjoying. Everyday I learn a hundred new things and at times I feel like my brain is going to explode but I'm so happy to be here. The country is so beautiful and the people are so nice and happy to talk to you. We do attract a lot of attention. Living in one of these villages is like living in an extremely small town where all the houses are open. Gossip is rampant and we are the talk of the village and the surrounding villages at this point. I'll send out some details in a mass email. This picture is of the best fire dancer in Samoa doing a show for us. I wish I could say that my camera was capable of something like that but no... It was from a fellow Volunteer Tim.
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