Weekend Wonderfulness: Margaritas, Waterfall, Bowling Alley

Weeks seem so long when teaching troublesome high schoolers in Samoa heat. We’ve found ways to make our time pass more easily. Back in September we established Thursday night dinners, and they are still going. Every Thursday night I meet with the crew at 6pm for dinner at either KoKo Bean or Jade; it’s our coping mechanism for Fridays. We get to talk about our week so far, and we use it to plan our weekend’s adventures. 

Until the end of October we spent every Thursday night at Rubbles, but they raised their prices and our volunteer budgets could no longer afford it. But we decided to head back to Rubbles for our Friday night festivities. Kate, Rosemary, Taylor and I meet for a night of frozen margaritas and air conditioning (it’s a big deal when you are only in it a few hours each week!). After a pitcher of margaritas, the waitress informed us that the next round would be on Nive. I snuck a glance around the restaurant and sure enough my co-worker Nive and her husband Ray (also a co-worker) were waving from a booth across the way. A pitcher of free margaritas with amazing friends definitely left us all feeling much happier than earlier in the day. Eventually we headed over to Koko Bean where we heard a band would be playing. We each grabbed a cup of coffee and sat and listened to the band (which was coincidentally led by one of Kate’s co-workers). Taylor was extremely excited because they were performing some bluegrass. Something other than Samoan tunes are always welcome. It helped us escape from our lives here, and for a moment we were all caught off guard and feeling like we were in the US- bluegrass, lattes, and air conditioning. 

On Saturday we (Kate, Thahn, John, Scott, Taylor and I) decided to head out to the Nu’uuli Falls. I’ve been there several times but none of the crew had, so it was way past due. We all met at the main road and from there it was a 25 minute walk/hike. Because of all the rain we have been receiving, the waterfall was spewing at full force, and the pool at the bottom had a strong current. Everyone was exciting and the waterfall surpassed their expectations. We spent a few hours playing and laying on the rocks. When we first got there a group of high school boys were scaling the rocks. I’ve always watched them do this in awe. They get 30 feet high and plunge back down into the water. Once we got in the water, we took turns trying to climb up. We would get a few feet up (some of the time) and then laugh hysterically as well fell back down. How this kids manage to get up 30 feet on vertical, slippery rocks I will never know. 

After the waterfall, we squished back into the car and headed back to my house. Everyone was going to shower, change, and hang out at my house before the night’s festivities. We went to CJ’s for dinner and then accidentally chased Scott from the house as we turned up the Glee soundtrack and jammed to our favorite tunes for an hour. (There is now photographic evidence of our Glee shenanigans.)

Around 8 we finally headed to Tafuna. It was Matt’s birthday and he had hired an aiga bus to take us around to some of the island’s night time hot spots. We chatted with a bunch of fellow WTers who we hadn’t seen in a while. At 10:45 we realized that the bus driver flaked on us in Samoan fashion, but we kept good spirits and decided to head to Bowling Alley. With an  armada of cabs we rolled up to the dance club and enjoyed a night of laughing and dancing. Eventually all my crew came back to my house and had a Saturday night slumber party.

01.30.2010_Waterfalls

01.30.2010_Friend Silliness

Case of the Missing Kittens

Last night Julia called on her walk home. She needed advice. There were a few kittens next to the road, and she was afraid they were going to get hit. Anyone who knows me well understands my extreme soft spot for anything little and furry. Of course, I told her to bring them home. Thirsty minutes later she arrived with a box of the 3 tiniest kittens. They were cold and wet and ADORABLE. Because we were worried about flees, we couldn’t bring them into the house (ant and termite infestation is enough). We sat outside petting and playing with them. I got a towel and dried each of them off. We knew they were hungry but we didn’t have much in the way off kitten food. We tried skim milk, but apparently kitties are picky and wouldn’t touch the stuff. I found a can of cream of chicken and decided to try that. The kitties were in heaven. They pushed their itty bitty faces into the pile of food and went to town. One, however, preferred to be hand fed, as he liked it when I dipped my finger into the food and then let him lick it off. After letting them eat and playing with them for a while, we wrapped them up in a towel and tucked them into their box. We sent them in the corner of our porch for the night, and thought we were worried about leaving them outside we hoped they would be okay. 

I checked on the babies first thing in the morning and they were sound a sleep. By 6 they were up and I fed them right before I left school. Julia checked on them again at around 7:45 when she left. All was good. When I got home from school, though, everything was gone. No box. No towel and water. No kitties. I figured Julia must have taken them with her somewhere. Later when Julia and I saw each other we discovered neither of us had messed with them. We called Kaleo to ask if he had them or knew what happened, and he also said no. So now we are left kitty-less and have no idea what happened to our little cuties. They just disappeared along with everything we left out for them. 

01.28.2010_Case of the Missing Kitties

Rain Day

Rainy season is upon us. For the past few weeks it has been raining non stop. This week has been especially bad with it never seeming to let up. Day and night it rains and it pours. It’s never fun traveling too and from school in the rain but at least it stays cooler. 

This morning I got up and trudged in the rain to get to school. It took 15 minutes to catch a bus that wasn’t too full, so my skirt was soaked by the time I got on. (My shirt was mostly dry because of my rain jacket but the umbrella didn’t stop much else.) I got into my classroom and the sky unloaded. The wind and rain were at full force. It was impossible to hear anything but the roar of the storm. At 7:40 the school bells began to ring, and I figured that school was now cancelled. I ran (literally -to avoid the rain) to the office, and one of the VPs confirmed that school had been cancelled. The rain had been adding up and the morning’s storm was proving to be too much. The high winds weren’t helping, either. Much of the island was starting to flood and there were worries of landslides. 

Because the DOE is silly, teachers were still supposed to report to school and a staff meeting was called at 9 am. This is just because of the “clocking in and out to get your 8 hours” nonsense. The VP, though, told me I could leave. Since I don’t get paid, I am not on the same clocking system. After waiting the rain out for a few minutes in the gym, I managed to get on a bus back home. At 8:45 I arrived at my house, took off my soaked clothes, took a hot shower, and went back to sleep until 1pm. I've heard of snow days or ice days, but never rain days. I guess until you live in the rainforest of Samoa do you realize rain isn't just a hassle but it prevents you from going anywhere. 

Rain days are my new best friend. One a week would make life magnificent. 

Tsunami!? Again.

I woke up at 1:30 to a phone call from Brandi, my field director, and I knew something must be wrong, because she doesn’t usually call just to check-in in the middle of the night. Hmmm. I answered my phone and just heard, “Jessie,” in a sort of worried tone. Then the line went dead. Oh jeez! Was an axe murderer running around outside my house?  What was going on? Then she called again. This time I heard, “Jessie. Tsunami...” The line went dead again. “Oh boy! Not this AGAIN!” I thought to myself. After a third attempt the call finally worked. There was a massive earthquake in Chile and we had a tsunami warning. It was to hit at 8:51. 

(At around 1am, the Sa (village oxygen tank bells) had actually rang as a warning, but I slept through those.)

We actually knew about the earthquake. Rosemary’s friend in Japan heard about it on the news and called to tell her, but we didn’t think that it would travel so far and effect us. 

Since Rosemary and Kate had stayed over, I went and woke everyone up and relayed the news. I live as far inland as you can get and pretty high up, so we were pretty safe. At 6am, though, Kate woke me up. We were going to head further up the mountain and go to Cynthia and John’s house. Some of our other friends that live on the water were already there. 

We walked the 40 minutes to Cyn and John’s, and it looked like the 4th of July. At 6:30 am there were thousands of people lining the streets. Everyone from the coastal villages had come up to safety and had brought blankets and chairs and food to ride out the tsunami.  

We stayed up at Mapusaga Fou until about 9:30 am when we figured it was safe. The radio was not broadcasting anything, but we figured we weren’t hit. 

As it turns out, we did get the effects for the quake. Our harbor emptied and filled 7 times (just like when our 9/29/2009 tsunami hit).  (Note: This is really creepy to watch. Literally almost all of the water is sucked out to the deepest areas and the reef becomes completely exposed. It’s like a vacuum sucking out the ocean’s water before it slowly refills.)  The force of the water, however, was just not strong enough after traveling for 4,000 miles to make huge waves. After finding that out, it was definitely a good idea for all of the island to move to high ground. Just a bit more force and we could have had another disaster on our hands.

We Are Gleeks

Hi my name is Jessie, and I have a problem. I have an addiction to Glee. 

Ethan brought the first season of Glee (the new musical TV series) for me on his visit. While he was here we watched the entires season (within 2 days). I was in love. When Kate got back from her Christmas break back in the States we realized we were both obsessed. We gave the episodes to both Taylor and Cynthia, and they, too, finished the entire season within a few days. 

Since I am such a Glee nerd, I wikipediaed the show and found out that we are called “Gleeks” (Glee Geeks). We literally quote Glee in every part of lives, and mention a quote at least once every hour. We also constantly sing our favorite songs from the series. “You’re Havin’ My Baby” is our absolute favorite song, as we perform it for each other each night we hang out. Cynthia, Kate, and I even devised a “baby” dance for the song. 

I’m sure at some point there will be pictures and videos of all of our crazy Glee reenactment. Until then, if you have not watched Glee, WATCH IT and fall in love. Because the next time you see me I will be quoting it religiously and will probably want to discuss it with you for hours on end. 

Craving for the US

P.s. My time out of school and laying in bed brought me the closest I’ve been to feeling like I want to pack up and move back to the good ‘ole USA. This past week I had an unhealthy craving for 1) a car, 2) AC, 3) a house without bugs and 4) Whole Foods. 

I would have given anything to crawl from an air condition house that made my fever less miserable in MY car, drive myself to Whole Foods, and buy some pre-washed, pre-cut fruit and healthy food. Ohhh the luxury!  

It's the Dengue

Yup, I got the dengue fever. 

After getting back home from the hike I slept from noon until 7:30 the next morning when I called sick into work. I went back to bed and slept until noon. After 24 hours of sleep I was still feeling awful. I still had the 102 fever, and I felt dizzy, nauseous, tired, had an incredible headache, and my bones ached like nothing I had ever felt. It got up and it took me a full 5 minutes to walk to the kitchen (20 steps away) and back. Every bone felt like it weighed a ton, and my back and shoulders ached (not like a muscle ache but in the bones). Unfortunately everything was feeling a lot like what I knew of Degue to be. So I opened up my computer to research it online. Check. Check. Check. I said to myself as read down the list of symptoms. I then talked to Taylor who had it last year to ask her about how she felt when she had gotten it.  The thing that separates Dengue from other diseases is the “backing breaking, bone breaking” feeling, and Taylor confirmed my suspicions. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do for Dengue. Lots and lots of rest and fluids are the cure. 

After talking with Taylor and my parents, I knew that I had to take the week of from school. I’m so hesitant to miss a day, but I wouldn’t be able to physically move to even get there. Later in the day I called work back. Julie answered the office phone. All I said was “Hi,” and she immediately heard my voice and said, “Oh my God! You awful. I’m patching you through to Principal Simon now!” When Simon answered he had a similar response and could tell from my voice that I wasn’t pulling a no-show so common with the Samoan teachers. He was amazingly understanding, and he urged me to take off as much time as I needed. (I’m so grateful for having a supportive administration-- not something that is very common here.) 

So I spent a good part of a week in bed doing nothing since it hurt to move. I couldn’t even read- that took too much energy. I just slept and watched movies. I’m going back to school tomorrow since my kids won’t be learning anything if I’m not there. I think it will take a while to feel 100% better, but I feel well enough to be able to tough it out. (My students would probably love it if I stayed out longer - since they just hang out for that period when a teacher is absent (we don’t have substitute teachers in Samoa). But I won’t let them get that satisfaction ;)

(Rosemary and I after the hike)

Palagis Conquer Mt. Alava. Sort of.

Ok. So last weekend we decided to climb Mt. Alava. I hiked it in October, but since none of the crew had, I decided to give it another go. The hike is a strenuous 3.6 mile hike up to the top of Mt. Alava. The trail is formed by the remnants of an old road. Over time it’s been worn away but the clearing still exists and is maintained by the National Park. 

As Kate would say, “being the crazy palagis we are, we decided that it wasn't good enough to just hike up the mountain, so we chose to camp overnight in the faleo'o on top.” (A faleo’o is the traditional style house/hut. No walls, just a roof on some posts.)

On Sunday afternoon a group of us (10 in all: Me, Scott, Taylor, Kate, Thahn, Cynthia, John, Julia, Rosemary, Jess) met at the trail. We were loaded down with spare clothes, food, water, bug spray, blankets, and everything else necessary for the day, night, and morning ahead. 

The hike started out good, but soon were were dripping with sweat. If you want to sweat more than you ever thought possible, come hike in the Samoan rainforest. Mid way through the hike many of us looked like we just got out of a swimming pool (except for Kate... she doesn’t sweat... because she is abnormal). Along the way we would stop and “gaze at the nature” or “take pictures,” so we could take breaks. None of us were going to fake like we were olympians and could make it to the top without stopping. Going up the mountain was definitely hard work. Along the way you find yourself asking, “now why did I agree to do this?” After several hours of trucking it up the mountain, we saw the towers which signaled the end. Success. Most of us stopped to look out at the view just before the last steep incline but a few went on up ahead. When we got within sight they began cheering and made a finish line for us to plow through. It was cute!

Once at the top, we all sat upon an old wooden platform and admired the view of the harbor. You can see half the island from that point. North and south. East and west. 

Once we got to our camp site, the boys tried to make fire, but it was just too wet and windy. Good thing we all brought flash lights. So we re-enacted our middle school slumber parties; we sat in a circle, told some ghost stories, ate some cold s’mores (thanks CynCyn!), and played a few rounds of Mafia. 

Everything was great until that point. I have a love-hate relationship with camping. I love it in theory, but in reality I like to sleep without bugs, be able to take a nice shower, and feel clean before bed. 

Sleep did not come easy for me... actually it was nearly non existent. I was jealous of the group members who feel straight asleep. The bugs, itchy-ness, heat and who-knows-else-what kept me wide awake. I could tell several other people were having the same problem as we would take turn sitting up, glancing around, and then sighing as we laid back down in boredom and discomfort. 

Around midnight Jess got sick and began throwing up. But it seemed like she felt better rather quickly and went to bed. I counted the hours as I lay there burning up with heat. 

(Graphic warning!)

Just before 3 am I managed to dose off when all of a sudden I woke up and began puking my guts out. I felt sick to my stomach. Burning up with heat, I walked back to where the old platform sits and laid down trying to find an area with more of a breeze. I called Ethan and made him talk to me as I continued to feel extremely sick. All night long I continued to throw up, and I just wanted off the stupid mountain. When 5 o’clock rolled around a huge storm set in, and it rained solid for an hour and a half. At 6:30 I finally manage to fall asleep and woke up at 7:30 to the rest of the group moving about. I was not in good shape and didn’t know how I was going to manage a 3.5 mile hike back down. I was dizzy, nauseous, and my head was throbbing. 

I started the hike back down strong. I just wanted to get the heck down off that mountain and into a bed. Half way through the hike, though, the extreme dizziness and fatigue hit me. John insisted that he carry my bag and wouldn’t take no for an answer (I can’t thank him enough for doing that!). That last half, Jess (the other girl who had gotten sick) and I trailed the pack. It took every bit of concentration to put one foot in front of the other because I was so dizzy. With the help of Julia and John (who both helped carry my bag) we finally made it back to the base. Taylor and Scott drove me home. I was still burning up so I took my temperature. 102. I took a shower and got in bed. I slept from noon until 7:30 am straight. 

Mt. Alava (Round 2) kicked my butt. 

01.17.2010_Mt. Alava Climb

Three Day Weekend Extravaganza Begins

We have tomorrow, Monday, off for Martin Luther King day and have been using our 3 day weekend to the fullest. On Friday night everyone came over for a relaxing dinner at my house. Then yesterday I met everyone in town for a day at Sadies. (Sadies is the nice palagi hotel across from my school. It has a restaurant, pool, and a small sandy beach.) Thahn and I got their first. We ordered drinks but felt bad for using the area and not ordering more so we felt compelled to order some dessert. Kate joined us next followed by Rosemary. Thahn was there to get work done, so she eventually moved to a far away table to get away from the chatting. Over the course of the day John and Cynthia and Julia all arrived. Some of us just chatted or read, while others worked on grad school applications. Night eventually came and we ate a delicious dinner. Julia, Rosemary, and I hitched a ride home. It was a beautiful night and there were more stars out than I had ever seen before. I was excited to end it with a ride in the back of a pick up. 

Today we have plans to hike Mt. Alava and camp at the top. I think Kate and Taylor came up with the idea last weekend and I can’t say I’m overly excited. The rest of the group was feeling something new an outdoorsy. I’m the only one who has already done it before, and after having a cold all last week, I’m not ready to face the mountain’s steepness. 

We leave at 2 and I have to figure out how to pack all the water, food, and everything for the night into a bag that won’t kill me on the hike! Wish us luck!

Ethan Comes to Samoa! Highlights of his Visit!

While Ethan was here I didn’t make the time to blog, but I thought I would give you one long re-cap post about our adventures together. 

First off, having Ethan here for 3 weeks was amazing and just what I needed to help me get through this time so far away from family and old friends. I picked him up from the airport on December 20th at around 10:30pm, and he was able to stay until January 10th!

The following are some random memories from our 3 weeks:

WEEK 1: Exploring Tutilia

• His first days on island we spent moseying around my neck of the woods and I gave him tours of Utulei (where my school is) and the Fagatogo area. 
• Ethan and I were walking through Leone when all of a sudden we heard a man calling out to us from a faleo’o. Ethan starts laughing as he recognizes the man; it was someone he made friends with on the flight from Honolulu. Tutuila is such a small place that random meetings like this are known to happen, and it was exciting for Ethan to introduce me to a friend of his own. The man introduced us to his brother and made sure we took some water before we headed back out on our journey. 
• On our trip out to Scott and Taylor’s in the far away village of Fa’ilolo, we were walking west with the hope of catching a ride along the way. Traffic was scarce, but a little beat up pick up truck stopped and offered us a ride. The catch?? It was a tiny pick up with 9 people (I’m not exaggerating!) already in the back! We kind of looked at the guy like he was crazy before the people in back started shifting around trying to make room for us. I was mortified when I realized that there was no bumper to step up on and I was wearing a skirt! (Sorry to whoever I flashed!) It was probably the most uncomfortable 15 minutes of our life, but, eh, it was a fun island experience!
• We rented a car for a few days so we could thoroughly explore the island. Taylor and Scott we AMAZINGLY generous and let us house-sit for them while they were vacationing back in the US. Like I’ve said many times before, their house is a dream. A house with a private beach and western amenities was a perfect place to relax on our brake. On the days before Christmas we made it to every part of the island - from the west to the east. 
• We spent an afternoon at Taylor and Scott’s exploring the cove they live in. We climbed up the rocks and through parts of the forest. We each got a bit scuffed up from  small falls and coral run-ins, but it was a memorable afternoon. (I felt a bit like Beargrills from Man v Wild).
• In Vatia we hiked to the tip of the bay and saw the amazing view of the smaller island that is one of Tutuila’s northern most parts. 
• At the top of the ridge to Fagasa we staged an elaborate and silly photo shoot with the rainforest, ocean, and beautiful sky behind us.
• On Christmas Eve we spent the afternoon at Tisa’s Barefoot Bar in Alega. Tisa’s is one of the best spots on the island: sandy beach, outdoor deck, and amazing view. The guy working whipped us up a delicious lunch, and we drank pina coladas while admiring our breathtaking surroundings. While relaxing on the deck we met an odd couple. The woman was a bit nutty; she was probably 60+ but has spent the last 10 years of her life traveling randomly around the world. Crazily enough, her daughter is living in Lebanon in a town right next door to where Ethan’s grandparents live! Such a small world. The man was also quite a character. He was working for FEMA and just taking the day off to relax. I think he had a few too many drinks and kept giving Ethan and I inspirational speeches about life. “The world is your oyster. Go conquer it!” he told Ethan. A bit cheesy,  but very friendly none the less. We definitely enjoyed meeting and talking to the quirky pair- a good memory for sure. Before leaving Tisa’s we decided to try snorkeling. The tide was low, but Ethan had never gone before so we thought it would be fun! No way Jose! The water was so low that there was only about a foot or 2 of water about the reef. Ethan got in several fights with the coral and came away with some nasty little cuts. 
• Christmas day felt a bit weird with the heat and no family. We were cooking out at Scott and Taylor’s when Ethan added to his list of injuries. He had become an expert at husking coconuts and was trying to scrape the meat of the coconut out with a knife when....SLIP. He puncturing his palm pretty deep and blood went everywhere. Once we got that under control, we headed back to my house for Christmas presents. My parents, and his, had sent some goodies that allowed us to have a bit of real Christmas.  Mom had sent me a small tree to put on my coffee table so we sat around it and opened out Christmas surprises. 

WEEK 2: Western Samoa

Ethan and I took a 5 day trip to Western Samoa that was absolutely amazing! 

• We hadn’t booked a car before leaving Am Sam, as I didn’t think it would be a big deal.... boy was I wrong. Since we arrived on Sunday most rental places were closed and many were out of cars. We were so LUCKY to find the most awesome cab driver on the island. He refused to let us walk away without a rental car and drove us all around Apia in search of a reasonably priced car. Around place #8 we scored! 
• With our car we spent the afternoon exploring Apia. We were starving, but couldn’t find anyplace to eat since it was Sunday. Eventually we found a little hotel cafe. We had great food as we looked out at the ocean. We walked along the coast for a while before heading out to our fale.
• Ethan and I decided to stay at Virgin Cove (the same place I stayed with mom), and it was a great choice. Once we arrived at Virgin Cove, I was determined to go swimming.  Literally as we hit the water, though, the sky opened up and pelted us with rain bullets. I didn’t care and managed to convince Ethan to stay in for about 15 minutes or so.
• After my trip with Mom, one of my favorite things about Western Samoa was Apia’s flea market. Ethan and I went back and were like kids in a candy store. He loved it as much as I did, and we spent a whole afternoon picked out souvenirs and gifts for people back at home. We “ewww-ed and ahhh-ed” over all the local treasures: kava bowls, coconut shell jewelry, and carved pigs (Ethan’s fascination)! After the flea market we went to the fruit market where Ethan marveled over all the amazing fruit and vegetable varieties. Before leaving I bought a bunch of bananas -about 14 banana for 2 tala (about 70 cents!) Amazing! Western Samoa rocks!
• Sliding Rock: Ethan and I had a great time at the sliding rock just outside of Apia. There are some natural waterfalls that are smooth and are okay to slide down (as the name hints). The first waterfall is the big daddy at about 30 ft, and then there are 2 more smaller falls at about 10 and 20 foot drops. We took turns sliding down and plunging into the icy water. Such fun.
• Togitogiga Falls: On one of our last days in Western, I was feeling a bit sick but I took Ethan to the national park falls so he could make the awesome jumps. Due to a combination of my poor video skills and his love of the falls, he probably made the pair of jumps about 5 times!
• Piggies: Western Samoa has a ton of pigs that just roam the yards, and I am obsessed with them! A good portion of my time was spent making plans on how to steal a pig, get it through the airport, and back to my island. Ethan bought me a carved  piggy to commemorate my love for these adorable creatures! 
• During our time on Upolu I think we nearly had a head on collision with every animal known to man: a dog, a horse (who leapt out in the middle of the road), a herd of cattle (just chilling at the top of the hill), pigs of every size and color. Animals run free and don’t look both ways before crossing the street and jumping into the middle of the road.
• The great loss: On our last night on island, Ethan and I decided to change it up for dinner (we had been eating at Virgin Cove’s cozy little restaurant) and make the hour drive to Apia for an extra special dinner. We finally settled on Paddles and enjoyed a great meal! Once we left the restaurant, though, I reached for my camera......and it was GONE! I am 100% sure I had it in the car on the drive to Apia. Somewhere between the car (parked 20 steps from the restaurant) and the end of dinner, my camera was lost/stolen. We searched the street, the car, the restaurant... but no camera. I was crushed and proceeded to sob for hours. TWO WEEKS WORTH OF PICTURES (EASILY 1000) AND VIDEOS WERE GONE. Since Ethan and I had been separated for 6 months, we had been so good about taking pictures of the 2 of us. Hundreds of super cute couple pictures in front of waterfalls and beaches were gone, as were pictures and videos from jumping off various waterfalls. Thus, we have no proof of our fabulous vacation together. It’s terribly depressing and I will still burst into tears if I think about it too much, but as one of our friends put it, “At least you have the memories!”  
  

  12.29.2009_WesternSamoaTrip

Week 3: Back on Tutuila, Back to School

• After many failed planned visits, we finally made it out to sliding rock (the area on the west coast formed by black volcanic lava rock). We climbed the rocks and hung out at a little perch for a while while watching the waves and some kids play.  
  

  01.02.2010_SlidingRock

• I took Ethan to one of the island’s hidden secrets, the Nu’uuli waterfalls. A bunch of high school kids were already there playing, and we watched in awe as they scaled the rocks 30 feet up. Ethan was impressed by how ripped some of these kids get from just their daily life (football, outdoor chores, and climbing waterfalls in their spare time).  The water was so refreshing as it is always freezing cold.
• For the last week of Ethan’s visit I was back in school, so he came to many of my classes and sat in on the craziness of teaching in Am Sam.  
  

  01.05.2010_Classroom Fun

• Ethan made a CRAZY trek on Thursday. He walked from my school to Pago, then from Aua to Alega, THEN from Alega all the way back to my school in Utulei. The boy is crazy. If you look on a map of Samoa he walk a decent part of the island’s southern coast! Impressive! (Although he paid for the journey in his very sore muscles.) 
  

  01.05.2010_Around The Island

• Thursday night Ethan was FINALLY able to meet all my friends. Everyone had been gone for their Christmas vacations, but he was finally able to put faces to the names of my awesome Samoan family that I talk about all the time. 
• On Friday we (Ethan and I + my clan) stopped by a party/art showing for a man named JR. His house was full of his latest paintings, and we toured around looking at all his art. We spent a good portion of the night out on the porch chatting and eating great food (JR had convinced his grandchildren to play waiter/waitresses for the evening, and they did an impressive job!) Taylor, Scott, Kate, Thahn, Ethan, and I rounded out the night with a trip to Maliu Mai (the beach bar). It was totally dead (not a pay day Friday) but we enjoyed the company none the less. 
  

  01.09.20010_JR's + Maliu Mai

• I was bummed that we had our Mid Service WT conference on Ethan’s last weekend, but it turned out to be not so bad. He came with me and sat in on all of our official business (mostly swapping various experiences from 1st semester). After the paperwork was done, we all headed up to Blunt’s Point for a picnic. It was a tiring but quick hike up to the point, but the view was spectacular! The point is maintained by the  National Park and houses 2 enormous military cannons. Ethan and I finally left Gaitaivai and enjoyed a few hours laying around next to the water in Lion’s Park. Eventually, we went to our favorite Chinese food place and met the whole group for a delicious meal.  

  01.09.2010_Inservice&LionsPark

• Saying goodbye to Ethan was unbelievably hard. As you can imagine there were lots and lots of tear, but I guess it’s down hill from here. 5.5 more months!