And the winner is..............

May 3 --
Samoa. Me and my asthma are the losers and I'm headed home. The PC Medical Officer and the doctor both agree that if my symptoms got better in Australia and then got worse again when I got back it is definitely climate or environment related and I would be better off getting out of it. They offered to put me on oral prednisone if I really wanted to stay, but I'm going to pass on that one. So see you in June! The tentative plan is to leave the village on May 21, rent a car and do a little sightseeing here in Samoa since I really haven't done any yet, visit my former host families and fly out on June 5th.

I have mixed emotions about leaving early. I didn't really get to accomplish as much as I would have liked from a work perspective, but I definitely did fulfill my personal goal which was to "travel to a foreign land and live among the people for an extended period of time learning their customs, history, and culture which I would document and share with family and friends at home", so all is not lost.

So it’s a mixed bag but I am satisfied. I will go home knowing I gave it my best. It just wasn’t two years worth. The only bummer is that I won’t get to do my "Around the World" trip home. Waaaah!!!! Oh well, Australia is half way around the world. It’ll just have to do.