T.I.S (This is Samoa)

T.I.S is a phrase that volunteers in past years and now in my cohort have gotten to know quite well. When things that wouldn't happen back at home happen...T.I.S. Our internet has been down for just over a week which is why we have been M.I.A. This post was actually written last Monday. Enjoy! :)

Aso Gafua in American Samoa.

We made it through our first full week here in AmSam and I have very little to complain about. We’re getting into a routine and lord knows I love consistency. We get up and meet each other around 7am, have breakfast, go to our WT classes, go on a walk, shower and then watch True Blood, Dexter, Ray Donovan and Luther. While this might sound mundane, it’s actually quite fabulous and we’re just about as comfortable as we can be living at a school! J

Our weekend was pretty great too. It actually felt like a weekend; imagine that! On Saturday the majority of the group hiked up to Nu’uuli Falls. It was about a half hour hike both ways, so really more of a walk. However, the waterfall was just gorgeous!! It had rained for something like three days before the hike so it was massive. We were hoping we could swim in the falls but the water pressure was just too much. It was beautiful to look at though! It kind of made us all pinch ourselves and realize this is really our home for the next year. Amazing.  After our hike we jumped on a bus and headed east to Tisa’s Barefoot Bar and Grill. This is more of a “tourist” spot than the vast majority of places in AmSam. I put quotations only because it’s still wonderfully rustic and owned by a Samoan woman. It’s a tourist spot because it’s one of the few places in American Samoa where you can drink a beer on the beach in your bikini. We all had a great time relaxing and drinking the Western Samoa beer, Vailima. We also hear they have great pina colodas! Needless to say, we’ll be back.

On Sunday, Saul and I relaxed all day with the exception of a couple hours of classes. During our break we went on a walk down to Steven and Sons with the intention of getting dinner. We were happily surprised to find that there were a plethora of pastries just out of the oven.  We looked in the case and picked one at random. Little did we know we picked what is arguably the best thing we’ve had in Samoa yet. Pani Popo. WOW!!!  Sweet buns that are baked in coconut cream that taste something like a tropical bread pudding. $1 for two; I’m pretty sure we’ll be back every time these delicious buns of joy are available.

We had classes pretty much all day today: a panel with local teachers, language with Api and Remari which is always lots of fun and a bunch of teacher training with Isaac, our head teacher.  It was also our turn to cook for the group tonight. Saul, Alex and I made chicken enchiladas, refried beans and Mexican rice. Kind of tasted like our old house just because we made the same thing all the time there; nom nom worthy for sure. Mexican food is pretty easy to find here on island! There’s this great place called Cost-U-Less that is a 5ish minute bus ride away from where we are now. It’s pretty much an exact rip-off of Costco, Kirkland brand and all and carries pretty much any ingredients you could find on the mainland. It’s going to make this year too easy! ;-)

 Well, writing this blog is definitely cutting into the Ray Donovan portion of our schedule so Malo, until next time.

-C

Cute calico baby pig on the way to the falls.

And not so cute frogs.



 

 

 

 

We made it to Nu'uuli Falls!! :)

 

Tisa's Barefoot Bar

 

 

Vailima

 

 

Hitch Hiking Back from Tisa's

This is seriously our home for the next year. :)