Siva Siva! Pati Pati!

Dance Dance? Clap Clap! (translation of the words in the title) 

Yesterday was a day of blissful relaxation. Not totally though. We got up and chilled for a while and then we picked up the girls Liga and Mausaliga for lunch. We went to KFC and had chicken for lunch. In Samoa there is a very interesting phenomenon about the delivery of food. When a meal is ready, they bring it out. If the food is not ready, they do not bring it out. No matter how many people you are with or how many meals were ordered. They bring it out, meal by meal. I might receive my fish and chips immediately after I order, but you might not receive your ramen noodles for an hour and a half, even though we ordered together. I assume  that this makes a date a really interesting thing. Girls, can you imagine receiving your food an hour before your date's hamburger arrived? I can't. I think that would be really awkward, but at any rate...we stayed at KFC for like two hours because Melinda and Marci's hot wings were not ready yet. While we were waiting though, we had some good conversation about the schools here and the people and such. We told them about our dancing a siva on Friday and they laughed hysterically... I am a little worried. We talked about school fights and how they all box from third grade on. They have weight classes and only 2-3 of their family members are not undefeated. I think they heard the sliding of plastic on tile as I slide my chair back a couple of feet. 

After we dropped them off, we went up and watched Colleen get a tattoo. That is actually a very Samoan thing. Wilson, the tattoo artist, did a very good job on the Samoan tattoo and now I feel as if I have completed a full course in Samoan culture. I hope I get an A! 

After that we ran through (not literally) Mc Donald's and then watched some guys pay cricket for a few minutes. Then we went to the preview thing of the Pacific Arts Festival that is coming to the island after I leave. We watched an elementary school siva and some others. Then there was a taoaluga (special girl dance) and some knife dancing. It was incredible what these girls did with their knifes. The taoaluga was traditionally danced by the high chief's daughter for special ceremonies and now is danced at most any Samoan performance. The girl is wrapped in a fine mat and she dances alone until family members come up and join her. It is a very beautiful dance and it was neat to see a traditional one done. The Samoan people also like sing their own music as they dance and it is quite beautiful. You see a lot of coconut leaves and oil on the guys and it is really an experience. One of the kids in my class, Salvation, was in the elementary school siva and he did really good. It was really cool to see a kid that I know dancing too. 

After that we went up to Lynn and Mara's house to have some homemade ice cream. Lynn makes his ice cream with Samoan coco and instant coffee and calls it "Samocha". It was really good. Then we went downstairs to Danielle's apartment and watched some more Gilmore Girls. 

This morning I taught my Bible class by starting with a little activity. I gave the kids paper and pens and asked them to draw "God's will". They were surprised at the freedom that I gave them to draw whatever they wanted. At the end we had a list, a tree, a house, and a path. We talked about each of them and it was really cool to hear their insights. The list was like a "To Do List"; the tree was so that there are other ways you can go, but they all fit together; the house was to represent that we live in the will of God and stay there; and the path was like a journey of how you find your way to God. They were so great and creative. We talked about how we need to know what God's will is before we can find it and live it. They were great and it was a much bigger success than last week's lessons. 

Today we are going to finish preparations for the VBS and get that underway tomorrow. My teammates have all gone for Sunday afternoon naps and as I am not tired, I think I will print off some coloring sheets and double check my lists for tomorrow. That is all for now, God bless and talk to you all soon!