Not the new kid on the block anymore.

October 17 -

I have returned from Apia following the welcome party for the new trainees. It was a rip roaring success. It was great fun being on the other side of the mike this time around. We got to do the entertaining while they watched in awe. Oh that's right, that wasn't us they were in awe of. It was the fire dancer!, but they seemed to enjoy our fumbling attempts to do Samoan dances as well, and as one of the staff pointed out, they don't know what you are supposed to be doing so it's going to look great to them. Quit worrying. We provided a potluck dinner which had food ranging from pizza to roast pig, spaghetti to east Indian cuisine, and a lot of traditional Samoan dishes. It was delicious.

The rainy season is trying to arrive. It rained quite a bit while I was gone and when the wind blows just right it blows the rain into the open part of the house and from there it runs into my room, so today I am drying out my floor mats. Fortunately I had a stroke of genius before leaving and switched off the 220V outlet that my power strip plugs into. Not sure what happens when you mix water with 220V but I imagine it's exciting. For the uninitiated, all plug receptacles have switches to turn them on and off. Something to do with the fact that 220V can kill you.

I bought a FAN!!! I am so HAPPY!!! I also talked the PC out of a kerosene stove for cooking. The big propane tank for the range that I filled one month ago is nearly empty and I can't carry a full one so it makes it quite inconvenient to be refilling it all the time. I can carry a bottle of kerosene plus they sell it here on the island so it seemed to make good sense to me to switch. Because they had issued me the stove they offered to drive me to the boat dock so I wouldn't have to drag it on a bus. Thank you, thank you, thank you. That meant I could really load up on all sorts of stuff since I had a ride. So I went shopping! I got a new clock radio to replace my little travel alarm that has been my faithful companion through many years of camping but finally gave out and my radio I brought from the states that was broken in transit. It was pretty cheap so we'll see how it holds up. No other exciting purchases. Just stuff. All potential purchases (including food) have to be weighed against the portability factor - that is, can I get all this home?? The answer today was yes, so I loaded up.