Moving to Samoa

It started out quite simply.

“I could do some of my hospital placements in Samoa,” he said. Sure, why not. It would offer hands on experience far beyond what he would see here in Australia. With fifteen years under his belt as a paramedic, he was looking for a bit more in his medical degree training than the standard group of students following around a busy resident.

Going on his own was out of the question. A previous short term placement in 2006 had been planned this way, and staying here without him had been challenging for both of us. He struggled with the cultural differences and isolation. I juggled a busy job and two little ones. We missed each other terribly.

Safe in our middle class, inner city life, we let our excitement take over and spent months talking up the possibilities. A holiday including an eight week placement soon became a temporary move to Apia, Samoa for six months. No problem. I found myself applying for long service leave. An English speaking school was booked for our sons aged seven and nine, and accommodation arranged. Visas, banking arrangements, travel insurance and flights – all researched and paid for. We entertained others (and ourselves) with stories of our planned adventure, and politely ignored any doubt on their faces. One or two asked if we were really going to go. Of course we were! One forthright friend described the plan as “exotic, but strange”. Yes, it certainly is.

Planning a move to the small, developing pacific nation became a pleasant diversion from the constant juggle of the working parent. I was taken off line at work in February to undertake a project, which allowed someone else to take over the business unit I had worked within, managed and then directed over eight years. In reality, this was a very sensible and timely transition leading into my extended leave, but that hasn't stopped me from struggling with it. So I have thrown myself into planning our trip, trying to take my mind off the new state of work affairs (not to mention trying to ignore the fact that it was bought about by our own decision to opt out for a while).

My partner has had his own challenges. Working full time in hospital placements since March has well and truly set him on a welcome but steep learning curve. He admirably does his best to maintain the delicate balance of study, work and family (not to mention fitting in the final stages of renovation to set us up to rent our house). We have revelled in late night planning sessions, drinking wine while we googled the culture, accommodation options and storage facilities. Budgeting and planning has been very therapeutic.

Which brings us to where we currently stand. The clock has counted down the months and weeks, and now what was at first a largely theoretical exercise has become very real. A tenant moves into our house in a week. We have spent the last three weekends putting our possessions into boxes and cleaning. I finish work in a fortnight. We fly out in a month. We won't set foot in Australia again until December. We will be living 3942 kilometres away on the beautiful island of Upolu, Samoa.

Samoa has a strong culture and tradition that seems difficult to decipher to outsiders. In some ways it is the complete opposite of what we know here in Australia. While it seems to be moving ahead (cable internet, new shops), the devastation of the tsunami last year is also still visible/felt. One of the first things I did was check to see just how far our new home is from the sea (1 km).

Are we nervous? Definitely. Wondering if we are doing the right thing? Yes, you could say that. Going to miss our families and friends? Without a doubt. But are we excited? You betcha. It is definitely going to be an adventure. And I am so glad we are all doing it together.

In the lead up to this trip, I found Matt Leal’s blog. An American working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Samoa, he has been diligently documenting his experience of the culture over the two years he has been posted in Apia. He’s a talented and witty writer, and it has been an invaluable resource leading in to our time in Samoa. You can read his blog here: diplomatt.blogspot.com

Staring down the barrel of six months without having to work is exhilarating, but I am also actively trying to find some hobbies to keep me occupied. A blog seems like a good idea, though I have seen people start out actively blogging only to fade out after a few weeks. Without making any promises, I will do my best to write up a blog about our experiences of moving to and living in Samoa. Let's hope that, someone finds it half as entertaining and informative as Matt's blog!

I haven't yet worked out how to caption photos, but the photos above are the view of Brisbane city from my office at work, and a hotel where we had lunch on the big Samoan island of Savai'i in 2006. About as different as you can get. Which is the point really.