Connections and Commuting

I FINALLY got internet at my apartment.
They wanted the fees immediately, but took their sweet time coming over and installing it.
But now I have digital basic cable and broadband at home.
BUT it is nothing like the broadband in the States...the fastest speed is 768 kbps...so less than 1MB per second...think of it as fast dial-up for 1999.

BLAH!

BUT I can't complain too much as I am connected to the world again!
And I was able to finally upload this video....which took over 1 hour!
1999 internet, folks.

It is a 6 minutes excerpt of my commute compressed into 3 minutes.
It takes me about 30 minutes because the maximum speed limit 25mph..
yes, you read that right.
25 mph.
in some villages they throw rocks if you go over 5mph!
i have seen the cracked windshield as proof.

anywhoooo....i hope you enjoy the little excerpt.
about 10-12 minutes of my commute is just side streets, but the rest of the way is along the winding coast.
sorry for the shaky cam at the beginning.

i dont think i will ever get tired of the view.

Took a walk

During my first week here, I was glued to my desk. I wanted to hit the ground running. Today I realized that I will go crazy if I dont take a walk and leave the office.  So around 11am, I decided to walk along the shore to the post office and pick up my key.  On the map it didnt seem so far, but everyone warned me to take the bus.

S o I heeded their warnings and did. The buses are like the colorful ones you would find in the Philippines. You just flag it down at any point and pay when you want to get off. They are called "aiga" or family buses, and not run by the government.  There really is no schedule.  Service often stops at 5pm, and they rarely run on the weekends.  This basically means for me that I must get a used car here. Until then I have been bumming rides off neighbors and co-workers.  I really can't do anything until I get my first paycheck.  Until then I am keeping my ears open and letting all my friends know that I am looking.

I walked across the street and stood under the bus shade.  And the first aiga to appear was dark purple and yellow, and from far away I could hear that it was blasting Queen!  Of course...just for me, obviously.
I hopped on and grabbed the last seat.  There are no pulls or buttons to push.  When you see your destination, you knock on the wall or window, or clap to get the driver's attention.  They will actually take the time to park where you can safely get off.  In some instances, I have seen the driver take a person directly to the store or building!  I swear I was only on the bus for a few minutes when I saw the post office.
I knocked on the window, and he let me off at the crosswalk.

Amazingly, for the second time in a row, there were no lines at the post office. I got my key and the employee kindly showed me where my PO Box was located. The post office was maybe 1 mile away from work (at most), so I decided to walk back.  It only took 15 minutes, and I was mozy-ing along, stopping at little stores too.

Right across from our building is a park with benches, tables and public beach fales.  Fales are thatched huts.  In more remote areas, people still live in them. There are a few hotels with luxury beach fales that you can rent for the night.  And it common for family compounds to have one huge fale where they family holds it meetings and celebrations.

I wasn't in a hurry to go back to my windowless office.  So I decided to have lunch in public fale. And soaked in the view.

I only stayed for so long because the sun appear from behind the clouds and the wind stopped - it instantly became brutally hot.

Nothing much to report - I can't believe that my second week is almost over.

I am eager to learn the local court procedures, so that I can start clearing the backlog of child support cases!

Home . . . is where the heart is?

Then my heart must NOT be here.

Because this is place doesn’t feel like home.

I’m just going to put it out there – I hate the bathroom.

I hate it.

I hate it.

I hate it.

On the first day, I quickly made a note of the problems and jokingly told them when I took the key.

On Saturday, I bumped into the maintenance man again.

I listened to all his stories.

I even broke out the few words of respect that I knew in Tagalog…very, very few

(Side note: The owner is Samoan but the manager/maintenance man is Filipino, and has been here for decades.)

Like…I would be embarrassed for you to pay the plane ticket and fly halfway around the world, and then make you answer nature’s call in THAT.  Tell nature to call back!

It is NOT uninhabitable…it’s just…no---not going to do it.  I will not commit the sight to words and have its infamy live forever on the internet!

I’ve already promised myself 30 days.  30 days to fix that bathroom or I am looking for a private flat elsewhere.

And it really makes me sad because now I am going to post pictures of the apartment and complex, which is really lovely. 

Let me take you on a tour!

I live at Freddie’s Beach.  It is located in Vaitogi Village, on the southern part of the island and right next door to the airport.  Google it.  You'll see.  Flights are not that frequent so it really is not a bother. It is quite secluded from the hustle and bustle of the island.  There are a lot of huge houses and mansions around here!

Here is the entrance. Note there is no sign whatsoever… like most streets here.   All I know is that I must turn right after huge pink house…not the pink one, but the HUGE pink one. Clear, right?

This is only one of two government complexes.  Actually it is privately owned and managed, the government just pays a flat fee each year.  I really don’t think that is good enough.  For the money that it pays, the government should pay a flat fee per habitable unit after annual inspection! Rant over.

We just follow that road to the left all the way down. And bamn, you are at my unit! I am flat #1!

My neighbor’s car is blocking it.  He lives above me.  I don’t think anyone lives next door.

Once you enter, the first thing you will see is my kitchen.

Tiny. Barely any storage.  All my oils and spices barely fit one cupboard!

But the refrigerator is brand new! Confession:  I haven’t opened the bottom cupboards.

I am too afraid of what may fly out!

If my kitchen hasn’t scared you away, let’s move on shall we?

This is my dining room.

It took two hours and a lot of elbow grease to discover the table’s original color.

Yay! Those lovely flowers are freshly cut from the garden of my supervisor’s mom.

She is a kind and awesome lady, who has family in Sacramento too.

Her house is lovely and she lets her garden grow wild with tropical flowers.

With her gift, I feel my butt unclench a little, and I start to actually imagine myself living here.

Here is my living room.

Yeah – it is bit drab.  I need to buy curtains.

I also need to borrow a vacuum. We are not allowed to have pets, but clearly someone had a white dog or cat. It is all over the couches!  I also plan on buying some fabric to cover that dreary office gray blue.

Side note:  That huge fan is awesome. It is worth every penny. I feel like Beyonce every time I turn it on.

I know at this point you are thinking, “Where is my room?”

Well, feast your eyes on luxury unparallelled:

I know I keep joking, but I actually like this room a lot.

It gets a lot of sunlight and a constant ocean breeze.

What color shall I decorate it?

And now – my boudoir…

I need to get queen size sheets for this baby…and pillows…

But you really don’t need anything else….maybe a light sheet if there is a storm, but nothing more.

One doesn’t really need a mosquito net, but mosquitoes seem to devour me even in Sacramento, and I didn’t want to take a chance.  So yes I went to Ikea and happily paid $15 for peace of mind.

I really love that I have my own backyard.

And yes, that is a clothesline.

But my neighbor has a washer and dryer and promised that I could use it every week.

Oh, he doesn’t know what can of worms he opened. I hope you weren’t being polite, Mister, because I will become a weekly feature in your house.  I will try to bring homemade cookies or brownies.  And when you crash from your sugar rush, I will try to do two loads!

And just over that wall…

However, like all beaches in American Samoa, this is private land.

I guess I could ask politely to visit, but all those “NO TRESPASSING SIGNS” are telling me something…hmmm…

That maybe I should trespass!

A quick side view of my apartment from the road.

And tada!!!!

OMG! Gorgeous!  Right!

Shall I go on?  Hell no!

I stopped just at last No Trespassing sign, quickly took a picture, and ran away.

Hahahahaha!

Yeah, I had a great first week.

I am not about to spend my second week in jail!

Home...Not So Sweet Home

Living at my supervisor’s house this past week was a blessing.

When I landed on Monday night, I didn’t have to worry about a thing.

I just took a shower, chatted, and went to sleep on a clean bed.

And when it was time to do laundry, I did it.

When we were both tired from work, we watched trashy tv together.

When we were hungry, I cooked us up a batch of hot wings.

On another night, I made chicken adobo.

And yes – even when I got sick, and boy, did I get sick, I felt like I was at home with family.

A unit at the government housing finally became available.

I was able to get the key Friday morning, and we quickly surveyed the state of things.

And I will just write this:  there will be no BEFORE shots.

If I took and posted them, NONE of  you would want to visit me.

But I will be posting some shots AFTER I clean it up.

Stay tuned…

My First Week

Note:  This was originally suppose to go up on Friday night, but my internet access stopped.
Adding it now, but post-dating it.

So yeah…on Tuesday, I had the option of lying about and doing nothing at my supervisor’s house.  But I just didn’t feel like doing nothing.  I didn’t have a jet lag at all.  In fact, I woke up around 6AM.  Quietly made breakfast, got ready for work, and then read the news online for 2 hours.  I felt focused and I had a lot of energy.  It was like some fast-talking broad from the 1920s ala Jennifer Jason Leigh from The Hudsucker Proxy took over and possessed me. I was raring to go!

Around 8AM, we left the house and took her daughter to the grandparents – it was her summer vacation time.  Then we made the long trek to work.  Well …it really is not long.   Only a few miles. However, the road is winds around the island and the speed limit is 25 mph, which is rigorously enforced.  And in some villages, they get loud and aggressive if you aren’t driving slower!  In all, it is about a 30-40 minute drive.

BUT here is my commute.

[Side note:  The sun is bright and big here.  I knew we were close to the equator but daaaammmmmmnnnnn.]

I will try to add a short video later.  My new co-worker and neighbor is letting me access his internet until I set up my account.  I don't want to steal all his bandwidth....I'll wait until he is asleep.

And here is the Executive Office Building…well the side of it anyway.

I really like this mural. It is painted by Robert Wyland, who is awesome!!!

Here is a link about the mural and artist, and they are more shots of the building.

Once inside I was led directly to my new office.

No windows.  But I am directly diagonal from the Attorney General.

My co-workers say that because of the constant change in staff, I will probably have an office with windows in no time.  I really don’t mind.  It’s not like we can open them anyway.

You do have a beautiful view of the mountainside and rainforests, but you also are on the same side as all the support staff and paralegals.  And I can get easily distracted.

I already found a matching red chair and got rid of that ugly gray thing.

Next week they will put in more bookshelves and a large filing cabinet.

There are hundreds….HUNDREDS of child support cases waiting for me.

Yeah….

My supervisor lent me her fan for circulation.

Once I decorate it with plants, fabrics, and pictures, I will post an update!

I had a good first week. I really like my supervisors and colleagues.  Everyone has been so positive and supportive.   I observed a motion hearing. We had a staff meeting and I introduced myself.  We went out for Taco Thursday, where tacos and enchiladas were only $1!  I felt so useless seeing everyone rushing to and from court.  I am not barred here yet, and I will submit my Pro Hac Vice application to practice law next week.  It will probably be about 2-3 weeks before I can appear in court.  So until then I am observing what I can and I am also devouring everything in the office on Child Support Enforcement in American Samoa, which is a creature entirely its own.  In time, I have no doubt that I will be longing for those days when I had nothing to do but read and pick my nose.