Samoa

Okay so maybe it is paradise…

                So day three was just as good as day two! I am so grateful we met Tina! We would have been lost without her! Anyway, so this morning we woke up kind of early and took a stroll into town. We decided it was time that we should check in with our families, and also get an internet card so we could skype with them on Sunday. It’s pretty important to make sure they know where we are and what the plans are for when we fly in!

                Anyway after we had gotten our internet cards, we went and walked through the markets. I’ve decided I’m just not a market person. They are really dirty, and I just don’t trust them. Give me Nordstrom and Buckle and all the other great stores I shop at, and I just love them so much more! Anyway, we walked around the market, and we saw the flax bags and fans, and heaps of lava lavas! It was really pretty fun just to walk around the market place. Some of the girls that a fan, but I already had one from my birthday party in New Zealand, so I didn’t feel the need to get a flax fan, but it was really fun to walk around! The other good news, is we finally have our bearings of where we are in relation to other things and it feels so good not to be lost in the middle of nowhere! Yeah for finding our way!
                We made it back to the hotel, just in time for Tina to come and get us! She picked us up, and today was our touring of this island! I must say it really is gorgeous! You get outside of the dirty city, and it’s just palm trees, and beach everywhere! It’s incredible! She took us first to the white sand beach! There was absolutely no one there! We had the entire beach to ourselves! We could swim about 100 km out into the ocean and still be able to touch, and there weren’t any strong currents or anything. It was so great! We spent so much time there swimming! My favorite thing is just floating out on my back in the middle of the waves, and then getting a little bit of a suntan while I am floating! Yes! It was amazing! We tried to body surf for a little bit. We did alright, but it wasn’t really the best waves for body surfing, but it was still so much fun! Plus it was gorgeous! Right across from the beach was just a huge hill (they call it a mountain) of trees and greenery. All palm trees and other bush! It was incredible!

                We finished up our swim, and then we were off for the next adventure! We kept driving along the coast (the only road around the island), and kept seeing the amazing gorgeous view of the ocean and the greenery. Then we came and we went to see the falls! There was a big waterfall she took us to! We walked in through the bush and trees. In the bush was my favorite plant/flower. I’m not sure what they are called, but I love them.

Then we got down to the bottom of the little trail and there is a waterfall! It was so pretty! It was just fresh water and then trees all around! There was a cute little hut there too! It would have been such a fun place to pack a picnic lunch!  Good news though! Tina had already thought about this, so she had gotten us a traditional Samoan barbeque lunch! It was so good! I’m going to be honest at first I was a little bit nervous seeing how I didn’t know where it was cooked, and we aren’t suppose to drink the water over here, so I was a little scared. We figured it would be okay though so we ate it. We had pretty much an entire chicken that was barbeque, and then rice and chop soy. It was so good! Why have I been eating at McDonald’s when we could have been having the barbeque for cheaper! It was really good! It was a nice little place for a picnic!

Anyway after our picnic, it was time to relax and spend the rest of the day swimming and tanning! Tina next took us up to the cave pools! These were incredible! It’s just a little closed off area of fresh water. Then the fresh water goes into a cave! Don’t worry there were definitely  heaps of fish in the water with us! For some reason this scared me a little. It’s stupid that it did, because whenever I  am in the ocean I am swimming with fish too, but I guess then I can’t see them, so I don’t feel like I am swimming with them! Anyway, I jumped in, and we were able to swim over and then swim through the cave and explore the cave! It was so much fun! It felt so good to go take a swim, then go layout and dry off and get hot, then go jump in a fresh lake of water! It was so much fun! Not only was in fun, but it was gorgeous! It over looked the ocean, and then the greenery over hanging the cave, it was so pretty! It was also nice, because we were the only ones there too! We spent the rest of the day there!

I am so grateful that we met Tina! If we wouldn’t have met Tina we would have been lost! Because of her, we love Samoa! It’s such a pretty place, and it has so much to offer! I am so glad I was able to come! Something else I love is that I understand my students in room 3 more! Now that I better understand their culture, I understand why they thought some of the things they thought! I am so grateful for all I have! I am so grateful for the day we had, and the fun adventures we are having! I am loving Samoa!