Surreal

Sorry that it has been so long since I have posted an update, especially since many are wondering about the situation here, but it has been a busy and exhausting weekend. Overall the cleanup has been going decently well. Families, friends and volunteers have been working hard and have cleared away impressive amounts of rubble, but there is still much more to do. There has obviously been some snags in the way of organization, looting, and some people taking advantage of the situation – but those are expected. Situations like these bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. This post should give you a glimpse of the recovery efforts from my view thus far.

Thursday I awoke and Thanh and I headed to school to check in and hear the latest news. Teachers were looking melancholy and were swapping stories about the tsunami and news about what is going on. From what we are hearing it seems as though people are still waiting for FEMA to finish their assessments before too much serious cleaning can begin, so we decide to wait to hear from the Red Cross as they said they would call us once they were ready to distribute supplies. Raj and Kelly had told us that they also wanted to help, so we walked up to their house to wait for the call from Red Cross. Two hours later we were still waiting, and getting exceptionally stir crazy. We finally decided just to call them and see what was going on, and once we got a hold of them we found out that there was nothing for us to do. Needless to say we were stumped at how there was so much that needed to be done, but nothing for us to do…

Not willing to give up on helping yet (plus no school so what else were we to do?) we headed to the Mormon church down the road that is doubling as a shelter for those that lost their homes. Upon arriving we discovered that we had just missed lunch and that there was really nothing to do. They actually offered us food, which we politely refused as we really were starting to feel anti-helpful. As I had not yet heard from Taylor and Scott or the National Park folks (phones here are a hot mess) Thanh and I decided to head to Pago Pago where I hoped I would run into the staff at the office.

On the way I was repeatedly trying to call people, and finally much to my surprise and delight got a call through to Taylor. I was relived to here that both her and Scott were alright, and that miraculously their house was fine. Their story turned out to be the one that we had heard through the coconut wireless, but even more terrifying. Apparently they had felt the earthquake, gotten into their car and begun to drive along the coast to get to the road up the mountain, and as they were driving the first wave came up and slammed their car off the road. Luckily they managed to get back on track and drive the car the remaining short distance to the road to high ground, not without much freaking out and swearing as the water was getting ever higher. Both have said that there was nothing as terrible as watching the following waves tear through the village as they looked on helplessly, though thankfully there were no casualties in their area.

Feeling heartened by the good news from Taylor and Scott we continued on our way to Pago. Arriving in the harbor area our mood sunk again as we survived the damage there for the first time. The area that we were just coming to know and love was gone, and I was struggling to remember what had been in the now rubble covered areas. We hopped out of the bus and began to walk, trying to take in the scene. As we arrived at Pago Plaza, where the National Park office had been we now saw the empty shell of the building as all of the stores and offices on the first floor had been gutted by the wave. Looking around I saw no one I recognized, and so we split up: Thanh to get more footage for the Vietnamese news station she had a correspondence with, and me to walk to the Teacher Quality office to pick up my long waiting birthday packages from home. Mid way through my mile long walk I heard a voice shout "Kate!" and saw a SUV pull over in front of me. Sarah and Mike from the park jumped out and Sarah gave me a swift hug asking me if I was alright. I assured her I was fine then asked about them and the rest of the staff, and was amazed to hear that they too, like Taylor and Scott, had a close call. Mike and Sarah had run out of the building and up the mountain with other staff and were only seconds ahead of the wave. If the wave had been a second earlier or a bit bigger they could have been lost. Mike related the story of Jim, another staff member that I know, who was traveling on one of the busses and had to scream and shake the driver so that he would stop and they could both run to safety as he was trying to outrun the wave. Luckily they both also make it in the last moments. It was miraculous that some many people I have met in these last few months were so close to perishing but had the good sense and luck to make it.

Mike and Sarah gave me a ride to pick up my packages, and then a traveled with them until Nu'uuli hearing about the damages at the park, stories from Pago, and Mike's chat with Wolf Blitzer. After assuring them that I would love nothing more than to help them re-setup the office (I guess my new master's work?) I hopped a bus back to Leone. Back on the bus I was in a much more relaxed state than I was twelve hours ago as I now knew for certain that those I had not heard from were safe, even if just barely. The cleanup here stops with dusk, which here is about 6:00, so after a shower at home we relaxed for the night. Somehow we managed to keep out Thursday night tradition of Rubble's alive despite the chaos, and met up with friends from around the island to share our stories from Tuesdays, and ways to help those affected. Back home after that long dinner, I slept much more soundly than I had the last few nights.

 

Friday dawned and the WorldTeach Leone crew had an even more intensified need to help out. Thanh, Julia, and I headed down to Leone and found the chief (also our PTA president) and asked him how we could help. We were directed to an area where we helped those already working sort rubble into wood, metal and garbage piles which we continued to do until the early afternoon with the additional help of Kelly, Raj, Tanne, John and Cynthia. Sifting through the debris was a strangely emotional task. One moment you were solemn because you knew we were still searching for the body of a little boy – the next you were laughing at some ridiculous item you found, like someone's porn stash, or silk boxers – then you were right back to somber as you realized that that was someone's life laid out for you to sift thought. There we also the just bizarre moments were you would find a stiffened and rotting moral eel or puffed up puffer fish.

Once people started breaking, we started to plan our next move while sweaty, unbelievably filthy and with stinging eyes and lungs from the dust and smoke. We called the Red Cross only to again find out that they were planning and still didn't need us, so we all went home for some much needed showers and naps. That night we met again over dinner with other friends who were coming to our area as the east side still didn't have power. After dinner we all headed back to Rosemary and Brigit's house where I crashed along with our east side friends Charlie and Jess so that I could be closer to the Red Cross in the morning.

Saturday we Julia and I headed down to the Red Cross praying that they would finally have something for us to do, and lo and behold they did! We were immediately sent to a FEMA training where they were showing recovery volunteers and Red Cross staffers how to set up the Yurts that are going to be the temporary housing for those who lost their homes. The training was pretty cool, and so were the Yurts. They go up quickly and house about 8 people; I just hope they can stand the intense wind and rain that sometimes come up here. Back at the Red Cross, we thought that we would be sent out to put up some Yurts, but obviously there was more organizing to do because we waited about an hour before we joined forces with Sandra. Sandra is the woman in charge of PICED, and we ran into her at the Red Cross where she was also waiting to see if she could help. Eventually she was sick of waiting and decided to take matters into her own hands and get and deliver some supplied herself. We jumped in her truck, Rosemary included, and headed across town to the wholesale store to buy some intense amounts of mackerel, spam, noodles, flour, and canned spaghetti. After loading up the purchases from the few stores we visited, we headed out to Poloa where her relatives lived and were house 35 people from their village who had lost their homes. We swung by and picked up Thanh, and then delivered the food to her family's house.

One the way back into town we stopped by Taylor and Scott's house where they were cleaning the debris from their yard and beach. After we visited for awhile Sandra was ready to go, but the four of us decided to stay back and help Taylor and Scott with their clean up. After a few hours of picking up garbage, hacking trees with a machete, carrying cinderblocks up the beach (torture, I swear…) it was getting late and we were getting exhausted. We clean up and decided to get some Chinese to relax and hang out. Dinner was lovely, and I promptly headed home with Brigit and Rosemary where we were planning to watch a movie, but Rosemary and I were out before it even got started.

Today I decided that I had to relax. Tomorrow we go back to school for the first time since the tsunami and I have no idea what to expect. As the chiefs of some of the villages said no one can go to work or school until the village is cleaned up, or principle is expecting between 50 – 60% attendance. We have no real idea how many will actually show, or how the students will act and feel on their first day back. Because of this, and since teaching is the reason I am here, I felt that I should be properly rested and ready to face tomorrow, whatever craziness it may bring. Attempt at normalcy, here we go.

Again here are some pics from the days past, just follow along and you will be able to figure out what they are.

Tsunami Recovery Begins

The Clean Up Begins

As I sit to write this I am sweaty, filthy, and utterly exhausted.

Today I woke, and the memories of the day before flooded back to me ruining my sleepy ignorant moment. The morning was a dreary, drizzly day fitting precisely with my feelings at the moment. Thanh and I heard from Salu that they were announcing on the radio that teachers should report to school, so we packed up and headed over to Leone. Upon arriving at school we were met with a solemn mood in the office and sidled up to the front desk to hear the news. Some of the worse tidbits include finding out that one of our teachers lot her house and everything she owned in the tsunami, and was caught so unawares that she had to run up the mountain in only her towel after emerging from the shower. She literally doesn't have the shirt on her back. Reports from the far west side is that everything near the coast is damaged, with the village of Amanave left without one building standing. In addition, we heard from our acting principal himself that three members of his family were still missing, including his aunt.

Our hearts were heavy as we left school, but we were determined to help. Thanh needed to return to home first because as the only Vietnamese person on the island she was going to be reporting and sending in video to the global Vietnamese news station (go Thanh!). I decided to head into Leone on my own to see if I could find anyway to help. When I arrived in town I was at a bit of a loss as to where to go to help, and after checking the churches and finding them empty I gravitated towards an area behind one of the Catholic churches. As I was walking I heard some commotion and walked over to see what was going on. Although I can't understand Samoan I could feel from how they were motioning to the police that there was something serious going on. Moments latter an ambulance arrived slowly driving in, and it dawned on me that there was only one reason an ambulance wasn't in a hurry. I turned and walked away as they began to load the vehicle.

Turning to look to my left I noticed that there was an elementary school at which many people were working at cleaning. I read the sign to learn that I was at St. Theresa's school, and walked over to see if I could help. I introduced myself to some of the people working and after explaining who exactly I was, I was briefed on what the basic plans were. We were sorting the debris and I was working on getting all the wood into piles around the school yard. After dumping detritus on to one pile out side of a classroom for a while, and noticing a distinctly pungent odor I realized that laying half out of the pile was a bloated dead dog. All I could think was thank God that the children had gotten out before the waves had come.

Before I was ready for a break I was told we had to stop. When I asked why, I was told so that people could take pictures. I was thinking that that was ridiculous until someone else explained to me that FEMA was here and that they needed to do their assessment of the damage, and that we had to halt clean up so that they could record what had actually happened. I spend the next ten minutes swapping stories and news with some of the women I had met, and was soon taken to meet others from the school. I mentioned that my acting principle was still missing family including his aunt, a baby, and the babysitter.  One of the woman (obviously understanding the Samoan that had been spoken) told me that the old woman, my principal's aunt was the victim that I had just seen found. This was too close to home. Next thing I knew I was being kissed by the principle and thanked, and had my arms filled with frozen broccoli, a gallon of liquid eggs, lunch meat, and a pallet of chocolate milk as they were trying to not waste the food as it would go bad soon. Surprised and thoroughly bemused I was lead to my new friend Lucy's car, and she gave me a ride home as the rain picked up and we had to break for FEMA anyways. As I stumbled into the door at home, Thanh looked at me like I was crazy and commented, "Shouldn't that food be going the other way?" I explained to her that I guess it would go bad and that how could I refuse the food that they were shoving in my arms coupled with kisses. I don't want to offend.

Filling Thanh in with what I had been up to, then taking a break and grabbing some lunch I managed to regain my energy and Thanh and I headed to the bank was we needed to bulk up on cash. While at the bank Julia called me and let us know that she had hooked up with the Red Cross office, and Thanh and I joined her as it was conveniently across the street.

I met with the woman, Lani (who turned out to be our principal's wife), who is in charge of the west side for the Red Cross and within the hour she had hooked us up with a couple trucks that were going out to the extreme west coast of the island to deliver food and water to the road and utility workers and people hardest hit. Turns out that in American Samoa when the Red Cross delivers food they deliver McDonald's - I kid you not we handed out over 500 meals from McDonald's and hundreds of bottles of water in the next few hours.

WE rode in the back of one of the pickups through Leone and all the way to Poloa, all the while seeing first hand how severe the damage was. In addition we constantly ran into our students who would shout a greeting, and if we were stopped stay and chat. I cannot tell you how amazed I am at the attitude of my students and the people in general. While chatting with one of my kids as we passed out food and water I learned that all he had left to his name right now was the clothes he was wearing. Somehow he still had the good humor to jokingly ask if we had homework for tomorrow. It was the same with everyone we talked to, very surprisingly upbeat.

One of the harder moments came when we were driving and were in a bit of a traffic jam. A car coming in the opposite direction (headed to town) was frantically laying on their horn to get through, and as my worry spiked I saw into the back of the pick up to see a young man being held my family or friends - one holding a towel to the lower half of his face, another doing chest compressions. The blank look in the young man's eyes terrified me as the seemed too dull for life. We could only pray for the best for him, but we knew I was not looking good as they were still 40 minutes from the hospital. I am hoping like no other that it was not one of our students.

Seeing the utter destruction in some of the villages was completely devastating, but the attitudes of the people and seeing everyone cleaning and helping out made the sadness much lighter. After giving out the extra food we dropped off some that we had set aside for the newly homeless now residing at the Mormon church in the area.

Back in Tafuna we got some dinner, and then made plans with Lani to help out tomorrow if we didn't have school. The Red Cross was done for the day, but hearing Rosemary's experience as the check in person at the desk at the ER we headed to the hospital to see if they needed any help. We were glad to find that the hospital had calmed down and the nurse we talked to thanked us for the offer but said that they were finally seeing a slowing of people injured in the tsunami.

Thanh and I hitched home with a student's family, and now I find myself here typing this post. Despite all the chaos, tragedy, and destruction I experienced today I cannot help but be in a better place emotionally that have been for the last two days. Seeing the community spirit to help rebuild and clean up has really helped to raise spirits as it reminds me that while it will take many months, even years, there will eventually be a return to normality. However the people lost cannot be replaced, and images of the people recovering the woman's body and the boy in the back of the truck will not stop playing before my eyes.

Students will not return to school until Monday, but teachers are checking in tomorrow morning. Lani is going to pick us up on the way back out to the west side and we are going to continue to help with the food and water distribution, and help out in anyway that we can. It is the strangest feeling as a teacher to know that many of my students have lost family and all their possessions, and I am at a loss for how this will affect our community and school for the next few weeks. These next few days we are merely going to try to help out in someway, because this is our community now, and I cannot help but feel that I must help if only for the selfish reason that I need to feel as if I am doing something.

I tried to document as much of my day as possible, so as you follow this post check the pictures to see what I am talking about. I have some video that really puts the destruction of the far out villages of Amanave and Paloa in perspective, and as soon as the internet is running a little faster I will post them.

Tsunami Aftermath