I also got robbed for the first time in my life. This is a first for the school my vice principal tells me – and he’s lived here for 27 years so he would know. The thief made off with some of PCV Matt’s stuff, who unluckily had stayed the night. After a month of not hearing back from the police, I figured it was a lost cause. Then this past week they showed up at my house, with all of the stuff (Ipod, digital camera, etc) and it all still worked. Amazing. I’m not sure that could happen in the U.S.
I ate shark and raw sea urchins and sea cucumbers. I saw the most beautiful waterfall of my life. I made friends with the two dogs who live on the school compound with me and they stop by the house every night for something to eat. But of course it is not all sandy beaches and swaying coconut trees. Some not-so-pleasant moments have tested me. But so far thinking of them as just that, only moments, has preserved my sanity.
When I get the chance I’ve been swimming in the ocean, or reading, or just relaxing, but school has started to keep me busy. Planning the next day’s lessons or writing a quiz or staying after school to keep the lab open so kids who haven’t caught their bus yet can come and use the computers eats up the hours of the day without me even knowing it. It boggles my mind that in a few short months I will have graduated one year ago. Vave taimi. Time flies.
A stormy picture of the island of Upolu, sandwiched between the ocean and the sky. 
Tua, he has a fish pen in the ocean behind my house. Just dropping by to give me a fish and show me the shark he caught. I eat lunch with him and his family every Sunday. (Notice his canoe on the left side of his body in the water behind him.)
The waterfall – with PCVs Dan and Paul on the middle right, about to jump. 