First Week of Adventure

I have only been away from home for two weeks but it feels like I have been living in Samoa for two months. Our campus looks like an old summer camp surrounded by trees and mountains. In the mornings I can hear my friends waking up and getting ready for class. The campus feels like a big family where everyone says hi which makes all of us feel welcome and comfortable. For the past few days we have gone to church, where we are able to observe the culture and we have had many traditional meals. I can already tell that I will miss the bananas the most because they taste like pure sugar.

The hardest part about being on this program are the “drop offs”. Our academic director drives us in a van and tells us to get off the van one by one in an unknown location. The purpose of these drop offs is to have human interactions and to find a destination while getting to know the island. It sounds scary, and it feels scary, but so many people are looking out for us because they know we are foreigners. I feel like I know the culture so much better because we are immersed in it every single day instead of learning about it in the classroom. Every day is a new adventure around here, and I can’t wait to see what is next.