Apia and More!

It would take me years to write about everything that we saw and did in Apia, Western Samoa. We left in the afternoon on a flight that took about 35 minutes. We got there, went through customs, exchanged money, and went to the hotel. We got a little dressed up for the fiafia night at Aggie Grey's Hotel and Restaurant. This was a buffet dinner with a very traditional Samoan Siva (dance show) with it. We were in the front row and it was great. I tried sea weed and sea urchin. They were both not worth tasting a second time. We had pineapple cheesecake (yum!) for dessert and went back to the hotel full and entertained. When we got back Spongebob Squarepants was on about 4 out of the 8 channels we had, so we went to bed. 

The next morning we got up and had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel consisting of eggs, toast, samoan papaya, fruit, hot tea, french toast, pancakes, muffins, the best bacon in the WORLD and more. (Don't worry, I didn't eat all of that, it was just all there for the taking). Then we got a taxi to the Lolomanu beach on the south side of the island. The view from the taxi was amazing. When we were lead to the houses were were to stay in, a dash of fear entered my heart. It was a hut. Three feet off the ground, suppported by wooden poles, with no walls but just plastic sheeting, roofed by coconut leaves and branches: hut. I told my self it would be okay for just one night, and then was able to enjoy myself. When we got there we chilled in the big fale (like an outdoor lobby/mess hall) and then chilled at the beach. We went snorkeling, had lunch (chips and a Sunkist orange soda) and snorkeled again. We went to dinner and met a really great Kiwi (New Zealand) family. We talked with them and then Marci, Melinda, and I played Uno with them. They called it Uno (pronounced "you know") and they all beat all of us (there were four of them). We talked with them for a long time and learned that things are different but the same in some ways there. It was really fun to find idomatic phrases that didn't make sense to them or us. They call there prom a ball and their school year goes from February to December (southern hemisphere's summer is December-February). They were quite nice and we sat by them the next morning at breakfast. 

We slept peacefully under the mosquito nets they provided and woke up to the cool water and warm sand of a perfect day. But after breakfast, we loaded up and went back to Apia. The drive was absolutely stunning. We showered again when we got there (I hate sand now) and then went to the market that afternoon. I was impressed with my gift buying ability and came in FAR under budget, so I went in again and got myself a purse! That night we ate a Giordano's pizza and had a cool fruit drink (non-alcoholic) and yummy pizza. We played Uno well into the night (til about 9:30) and went to bed. We got up and ate another AMAZING breakfast and went to the Robert Louis Stevenson homestead museum. It was really interesting. The Samoan people really respected him and still do. He installed a fire place in two of the rooms, just to make him feel at home. There is ABSOLUTELY no need for a fire place here...take my word. 

Then we walked around Apia and got more pictures. Then we loaded up and went to the airport for another like 3 hours. We got home right in time for David to play golf. After I unpacked, I was exhausted from a filled week. We watched You've Got Mail (one of my all time favorites) and then I read part of a book, "My Samoan Chief" and went to bed. 

This morning at church I wore my puletasi and the Samoans were delighted. They laughed a little, but I am getting used to that. We talked about self-control in church, but, thanks to some distractions, I didn't feel like I got the lesson across very well. Two of my kids didn't make it to church this morning, but we will see them on Tuesday for our LAST, I can't believe it, activity. Next week is lectureship and the Sunday after that, the missionaries and Marci and Melinda leave island. I am waiting to meet my mom in Hawai'i, so I leave a week later.  But this afternoon we hiked to the most amazing waterfall in the world and got to swim in it. We stayed there for a long time just marveling at the beauty of it, but then some other people came, so we got out and left. 

My vacation to Apia was wonderful and the waterfall was beautiful. These next few weeks will be much busier as we attempt to plan all of the activities and execute them (including the area-wide VBS). Please be in prayer that we are able to reach the kids at VBS so that they will remember what we talk about. 

I hope that everyone is doing good! 

Love from AmSam!