Cyclone Preparation

Text message from Peace Corps office this morning.
Throughout the day, all of us Peace Corps volunteers have been receiving text messages and even phone calls from the Peace Corps office with updates on the cyclone which is expected to either hit Samoa or pass nearby between Samoa and Tonga. We’ve known the weather was going to be bad since the beginning of the week, but today received the news confirming that the tropical depression is expected to form into a cyclone (hurricane) and either hit Samoa or pass nearby.

Last February, many of us experienced Cyclone Rene’s outer bands of wind and rain, which were quite impressive as she passed to the East of Samoa. This cyclone is forecasted to be a low-level cyclone, meaning it won’t have the force of a major cyclone such as a category 5. Nonetheless, a certain sense of “survival mode” mentality has gone into effect as the storm is expected to arrive by Saturday morning.

So what does this mean for me? A busy Friday night is ahead of boiling water to stockpile, as well as charging the batteries on my phone and other electronic devices, since losing power will almost be certain. Since I was already in town today, I am now able to stock up on food at the grocery store, considering I haven’t been at my house for the last week, due to an English camp I was helping run in another village.

Unfortunately, I cut my hand this morning on a piece of glass, and just the sight of the blood made me light headed. I had band-aids and a triple antibiotic cream with me, so it wasn’t too bad. I never get cuts, so something little tends to worry me more than it should. I did see the Peace Corps nurse who said I had nothing to fear! It’s just going to make doing all the laundry that I need to do, a bit harder the next few days.

Well that’s your Friday update. I better be off to head to the store and then back to my village. I’m hoping for a smooth couple of days, and for no major problems. Until next time, have a good weekend!




This was the result of pushing trash into a garbage bag that had a piece of glass in it. Of course, I was the one who put the glass there the night before.









The kids played games today for the last day of English Camp. The human knot was one of the events!