only a few moments to catch some sleep and maybe take a moment to read
a book or catch a TV show on my laptop. I have been working on the
health project for the group 82 volunteers. The original plan was to
roll out the project in early July. I held a training with them this
week to introduce them to the approach and the content of the program.
I apologize if I am being redundant in explaining this, I can't
remember if i explained this in my last post. The health program is
formulated around the Diabetes Prevention Program approach. It is
going to use a modified version of the "Lifestyle Balance" curriculum,
the same program I used when I worked in Tama with the Sac & Fox
Tribe. I have been scrambling to get the content modified and
approved, all the while creating the training sessions for the
volunteers.
This week brought about a long needed break in the grind, partially
expected with the completion of the training and partially unexpected
with the delay of the program start. After a number of factors were
considered, the powers at be decided that the program would be better
off if it started in September instead of July. Being at the mercy of
their timeline, I was happy to hear about this. The downside is there
is no way I will be able to leave a few weeks early in December, which
I was hoping to do to surprise Whitney. On the up side, it allows me
a lot more time to look into cultural and social aspects of lifestyle
behavior change here and tailor the program as best as possible. I
will also get to work with some of the volunteers who may be less than
excited about the project. As I understand it most volunteers are
excited or at least ok with the program. But as with any project
there are those dissenters. I am planning on trying my best to make
the program palatable for them and I am hoping they meet me half way
and understand there is only so much that can be changed while still
maintaining its effectiveness. If they don't, well, I can play that
game too. Obviously i am hoping for the best.
So now that I have a few months to finish refining the program my
schedule is a lot less stressful. Something I am thankful for because
I have had a cold for 2 weeks now and I haven't been able to shake
it! A few good nights sleep and I think I will be back on track.
Last night we had a fundraiser for the NGO, Avanoa Tutusa. Maliu Mai,
a local restaurant let us use their place for free and the Peace Corps
Safety and Security Officer brought his band to play, for free as
well. The entertainment included live music from his band, Peace
Corps Volunteers performing traditional Samoan dances and a few
Samoans dancing to raise money. As is tradition when having a
fundraiser and a person or group is out on the dance floor and a
bucket or bowl is placed in front an people come up and put money in.
We had a great turnout of Peace Corps Vols, Peace Corps Staff, some
friends of mine from the Red Cross and some other friends/co workers
of Avanoa Tutusa members. Everyone got a kick out of our dances and
they were pretty good (with the exception of on the got a little messy
for a few seconds!). At the end of the night we brought in over $850
tala! I would like to give a shout out and thanks to Kaelin and
Jenny. They did all the planning and a great job organizing and
running the fundraiser for our NGO.
Now to the title line of the post. I took off my sandals before we
went to dance and didn't put them back on when we were done. We had
all our sandals and bags next to the table where we had people taking
the cover charge. I was running around thanking the people that
helped with the evening and come to support. By the time I got back
to the table most the bags and sandals had been picked up because
people were leaving to go home or out to another place for a few
drinks. My sandals were no where to be found. They were right next
to my bag. A bag that had my laptop in it. I am happy that the bag
wasn't taken and really you just have to laugh. Only in Samoa could I
have my sandals stolen and my laptop remain! It is a sad moment, I
loved those Tevas! I haven't had to wear the crappy "jandals" that
everyone wears here. Jandals are just cheap thong sandals and they
don't give your feet any support and you have to deal with weeks of
blisters and rubbing in between your toes as your feet get accustomed
to the uncomfortable plastic. So, it looks like I have to assimilate
my feet into the local custom for the last 6 months here. My feet are
not looking forward to the next few weeks.
I'll close with my usual hollow promise of trying to post more often.
The odds do look better now that I have a bit more free time.
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