6:10 am. Sitting in the foyer of the guest house. It's a beautiful place. Big long building with high ceilings and skylights in a main corridor (common area) with a kitchen at the back, office at the front and covered common areas out front. It's across from the marina which is adjacent to the port, so it's industrial, but only by island standards. There's a seawall across the street. It's a five minute walk to downtown. The staff are very friendly. The only real downside is that there's no air con. My room is stifling. I had a look at some other places yesterday and they are more expensive, smaller rooms and further from town. I am spending too much energy on this I need to decide today and truly settle in. Booking the first three nights from Toronto was a great idea. Being able to base myself here, without moving again will be a bonus. The addition of a desk top fan will perfect my room. Still waking up early. Little mini-bugs are crawling all over the laptop - might be the light from the screen that attracts them. Who knows. There's a variety of bugs in my room that I don't know. One of them likes to bite me when I'm sleeping - but there's no visible bumps and other than a minor itch it's not a big deal...so I think I'm going to live with it.
The coincidences are continuing. I met with Mats yesterday. Plans are continuing to flesh out. Looks like we will travel together to the south coast next wednesday. Mats needs time to communicate with potential subjects and receive confirmation that we are welcome. Mats and I talked for a long time and discussed our objectives. He is working with the Samoan Tourist Authority on some web projects. I mentioned my idea to work with children and song and dance. Mats is introducing me to Sia's cousin who is taking kids from this side of the island over to the South to spread some cheer. After telling Mats about my desire to create a lasting contribution to the people of Samoa, through mentorship while I'm here, he responded that that's what HE wants for himself. Turns out I will mentor Mats. He's been attempting to learn about video and has made progress, but a mentorship is very welcome to him. How amazing is that? Mats and his family are largely responsible for our prior positive experiences in Samoa. We stayed with his family and extended family in 2000 and 2003. Mats took us to Lalomanu. He took us to Sinalei resort. Those places are the worst hit. Giving directly back to Mats means a lot to me.
Last night I went over to the Gourmet restaurant two doors over to see about using the wireless internet. It works fine. I can prepay for bulk time and log in and out to compose and reply, which is the lesser of two evils. Alternatively I can use the house computer at the guest house, but it's crowded and expensive. Much better to go next door. The food's reasonable also. After confirming that it all works fine and a nice chicken dinner I recognized a woman at the next table from a previous visit...it's Dawn, who works at the University, who was Lynda's main contact on our last visit. I sat with her for a while and had a lovely conversation. The woman sitting with Dawn is the head of Housing Samoa. I shared cards and requested an interview. Hopefully she follows up with me.
Had my first visit to SUNGO yesterday. As soon as I pulled into the driveway I knew I wanted to shoot for them. It's a cabin type building in a complex filled with similar type structures, at or near the University. Think rustic summer camp office. There were a bunch of people sitting on a tarp in front of two cargo shipping containers hand sorting clothing and small household utensils. Roina's office is large with a big table. She offers her lunch to me - she's too busy to eat...but I had just had lunch. We discuss the leads and connections I've made. SUNGO is the last part of our conversation. She comes out and asks if I will shoot for them. I almost blush at having not been more explicit. My response pleases Roina - I promise to return tomorrow (today) and begin shooting immediately. Dealing with the logistics of accommodation have taken up far too much of my time. I haven't shot a single frame of video (except the underwater tests with the stills camera) since arriving. My time here is going to go fast and I just want to get shooting. This morning that is going to happen.
Breakfast is included in the rate here. It's Samoan breakfast. Toast with butter, coffee, papaya and bananas. I like to make a papaya banana sandwich.
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