A week in Savaii

Malo!

This past week has been quite the "Spring Break." On Friday, we all took the ferry over to Savaii, the larger but less populated island of Samoa. We stayed in Tanu Beach Fales for the weekend, ta'ele-ing (swimming), savavali-ing (going for walks), malolo-ing (resting), faitau-ing (reading) and generally enjoying life. There was home-cooked food, a fiafia, upbeat songs and merriment.

Warren, an older gentleman from Australia originally and our professor for the week, took us all around the island Monday through Thursday. We went to lava fields, freshwater springs, swimming holes, waterfalls, the beach, some blowholes, sea cliffs, and even hiked a volcano (my favorite part of this particular hike was that a man with a machete had to lead the group through the jungle)to learn about the geography and geology of the island.

The most I learned about Samoa this past week, however, was not about the olivine brought to the surface by an ancient eruption of an inland volcano, but about Savaii's hospital, where I spent Tuesday afternoon. On our drive back to the Safua Hotel from learning how to make tapa, we stopped for ice cream, where Warren's helper, Samisoni, got out to phone his wife. When he came back to the car, Samisoni informed Warren that he would like to stop at the hospital where his nine-month-old son Joplin was being treated. He came back to the car and said that Joplin needed a blood transfusion and neither he nor his wife could give blood. I, of course, asked what the baby's blood type was and he said "A," uncertain whether it was positive or negative. I told him that I was A positive and that if it turned out I was a match, to come back to the hotel and get me.

After I had showered and was settling into the adventures of Frodo (I'm reading Lord of the Rings), a knock came upon the door. Samisoni, who does not speak much English just said, "You go to hospital?" I said yes, grabbed a water bottle and hopped in the van. We arrived at the hospital and for the next half hour, I mostly just followed people around when they said, "come!" and tried to understand the rapid Samoan conversations going on around me. I had no idea what was wrong with the baby or even where he was. The restroom in the hospital had no toilet paper, soap, or paper towels and all the signs were in Samoan. I finally entered a room and was told to sit in a chair as a man in a lab coat pricked my thumb, took some of my blood and went into a back room cluttered with lab equpiment and papers. He emerged after a few minutes, said something to Samisoni, who went to get his wife, Onivi, and then we stood and smiled at each other, for neither of us had much to say or were able to say much the other would understand. Onivi, Samisoni, and the lab guy spoke in Samoan for about ten minutes, every so often looking at me, pointing at me, or saying my name. I sat quietly until the lab guy asked me to go with him to the back room. He said, "You give blood?" and I said "yes." He said, "You have give blood?" and I said "yes." He said, "How long?" and I said "I've given blood about four or five times." He pointed to a number on a chart, and said, "you give this?" I said "sure." Then, we went back to the front room, he told me to sit on a cot, and he got out the needle and bag to take blood. I carefully watched him open the sealed bag, making sure it was sterile. He got out a cotton swab, put alcohol on it, and cleaned my arm. He got out an arm pressure thing (I'm blanking on the right word) that looked like it was from the 50's, tied it around my arm (it didn't have velcro), looked for a vein, and stuck the needle in. Thankfully, I have given blood enough times to know to squeeze my hand and whatnot, but there was no way of telling how fast my blood was flowing or how much had come out already, as the bag was just sitting on the chair next to me.

To take my mind off the needle in my arm, I listened to the American music coming from the back room. "Look at Me Now" came on, so of course I started singing along. The lab guy came back out and laughed at me. In a combination of my poor Samoan and his poor English, I found out a bit more about his life and the baby's sickness. It turns out baby Joplin was anemic, had low hemoglobin and needed a transfusion. The doctor didn't want it to be from a family member for some reason (something about higher likelihood of anemia) so basically they would be giving the baby my blood that day, without testing for STIs or anything. The guy handed me back over to Onivi, and I finally went to meet her family. I met Joplin and his twin, Sam, and their three older siblings, Vitoria, Violeta and Piula. Samisoni's two sisters were there as well and I talked with them for a few minutes. I got back to the hotel just in time for our group discussion and dinner.

Anyway, I'll write another update soon, with topics more fun to read about!

Tofa!
-Leah