Samoa (cont.)

During this part of the trip, we had a rental car for a few days. This time we stopped by another bank to cash in some more money. While in line, Kuso looks over and sees yet another classmate.Then outside, he looks over and sees another classmate and "ex-girlfriend." After song practice, Kuso's mom decided to join in the volleyball. This lady amazes me with how active and strong she is. She is in her 60's and she does not sit still the entire day. She works at the house, in the yard, at the plantation, does all her church involvements, cooks, cleans, takes care of dad, takes care of the kids, laundry, and the list goes on. I guess I can see what we have to look forward to with Kuso's energy level.

Below: Keli and Imi. Imi is Kuso's cousin/close friend. My last two trips down there we have spent a lot of time with him, so it was a friendly face for me to be reunited with. These two were just married a couple weeks before we got there. They are hoping to be able to move to Utah in a few years.

In the village next to Kuso's, there is a swimming pool. It is fresh water that has been somewhat blocked off from the ocean. The ocean water still merges with this water, but the water is more fresh. Not so salty and tight on your skin when you get out. We weren't there very long because that village had started their sa'a (?) - this is when everyone is supposed to go home to have family prayer and quiet time with their families. When the bell rings, you head for home. When the bell rings a while later, you can go back out. During that time, you need to be in the house and quiet. No walking or messing around. We thought we would be okay since we weren't splashing around and making noise, but the man knew we were there so he came and asked us to leave.

Below: Taken from the side of the swimming pool toward the ocean. I love how calm and peaceful sunsets can be.

Grandma with her two youngest granddaughters.

Samoa (cont.)

Almost every day, we went to the church so Kuso could play volleyball. I actually enjoyed going because Leila could run around and play with other kids. Also, the way their church was designed, where I sat offered a slight breeze and it was so refreshing. You can't see it from this picture, but the back part of the church has 2 levels. If I sat right next to the railing, on the volleyball court side, there was a nice breeze, plus I could see where Leila was playing and see the volleyball. We seriously went to the church for volleyball nearly every day we were there.Every LDS church in Samoa is white, with blue trim. Very classy looking.This is the volleyball/basketball court. Just to the side of the chapel. It is concrete, but much nicer than anywhere else they have to play. On Monday's, this is overrun with missionary's for their Prep-Day. It was fun(ny) to see the white Elders from the states put their gym clothes on because then their tan lines from their white shirts were VERY prominent. This wall leads up to the gates of the volleyball court. Behind it is the chapel. Leila thought it was really fun to walk up and down this wall. It freaked me out a little, but Kuso kept a close watch. I took this picture from my second floor perch. This is looking away from the chapel, toward Kuso's house (well, the road leading to Kuso's house.) I just thought it was pretty with the coconut trees, the ocean, and the rainbow.
This is Kuso's auntie/uncles house. It is considered a nice house here, but for over there, man, this thing is NICE. I would love to see the inside, but it is just nice. Everyone always comments about how nice this house is. It is right next to the volleyball court.This is the yard to that nice house. This is the yard between that last picture and right in front of that nice house. You can kind of see the rainbow in this shot too. Kuso's house is basically straight behind those trees. If you were to walk right in the middle of this picture and go straight, you would be at his house (mostly.)

These two pictures were taken directly across the street from the chapel. I took about 4 steps off the side of the road to take these pictures. Plus the sun was starting to set, so the lighting makes it that much prettier.All of these flower pictures were taken at Kuso's uncles (?) house that lives right next to the street, right down the small road from Kuso's house. These are all wild plants that just grow there. Awesome.

Kuso got this coconut from the trees along the shoreline. Basically, the trees directly in front of your family property are your family's. So anyone from that property can get the coconuts. But if you go down the street where it's not your property anymore, you should not be getting any coconuts from the trees. This coconut was brought down by throwing rocks. That kind of amazes me because when I picked that one off the small tree in front of the house, it was kind of hard to get off. So just by throwing rocks and having this coconut fall was awesome. (speaking of throwing rocks...one of the first nights we were there, Kuso and his brothers ate a bat. YES. A bat! They just kill it with a sling shot. I'm not sure if that one had been in the freezer, or if it was fresh, but he showed it to me and that was way too much...gross, but true.)

Also, most people don't know that coconuts come in a shell that has to be taken off before you get to the actual coconut that we all know. And yes, there is still another shell (the furry one) that you have to get through to get the fruit and/or milk. These things are pretty big.

Samoa (cont.)

This day we made a trip into Apia to do some shopping and get Leila something good to eat (ie McDonald's.) :)

To get to town, we just walk out the door, wait by the side of the road, and wait for a bus to come by. We get on the bus, ride into town, and pay on your way off the bus. When the buses get full, children sit on parents laps, people stand, or they might just sit on your lap. But it's fun to watch the young kids know to get up and sit on their parents to give someone else a seat. If an older person or a woman comes on the bus, the teens and younger people in the bus give up their seats to let them sit. Very nice.

These pictures are the view from the street in front of Kuso's house waiting for the bus.

Above: Looking slightly to the left (toward the airport)

Below: Looking slightly to the right (toward Apia)Above: Looking just slightly around the side of the road to the right. I love seeing these little tiny fishing boats head out into the huge ocean. It freaks me out, but it amazes me too.

Below: The Bus - kind of like a short bus in the states.At the market in Apia, all the taxi's and buses go to the drop off point. It is crazy busy there. The buses just park in a line and wait til they get full, then they leave. There is no bus schedule. You just have to wait for it. And make sure you are getting on a bus that will go past the village you are trying to get to. Old wooden benches. No air conditioning. But it's kind of fun. (all the taxi's in Samoa are white.) Most of the taxi's and the buses have fake fur dash covers and extra mirrors and all types of things hanging from the top of the car to decorate and make it look cool.

While in town, we went to a bank to trade some more money from U.S. dollars to Samoan tala. During this trip, the conversion rate was $2.30 tala for each $1 US dollar. At the bank, Kuso ran into an old classmate.

Yes, we ate at McDonald's. Yes, it tastes the exact same as it does in the states. No, it is not the same price. Kuso ate a meal, his mom ate a meal, and Leila and I shared a meal...it came to $50 tala. That is almost $22 US. Still, that's a lot of money. While we were there, Kuso saw some more classmates.

Samoa (cont.)

When I tell people that in Samoa, most of the showers are outside and that there is only one temperature of water (meaning no hot water), most of them can't believe it. Well, here are the pics to prove it! As you can see it is just PVC pipe and it comes out whatever temperature it is at in the ground. Kind of like the hose water in the summer. That first little bit is kind of warm, but after that, basically chilly.

In my past trips and the first couple days of this trip, I used the indoor shower. It's just made of cement so it's kind of dark and gloomy. A few years ago I took an outdoor shower at a girl's camp in the middle of the day. It was AMAZING. Ever since then, I've wanted an outdoor shower at my house just for those hot summer days. So I decided I wanted to try the outdoor shower in Samoa since the weather definitely warrants having an outdoor shower. BUT, my first experience with an outdoor shower was basically like the indoor showers in Samoa...just made of cinder block and had a shower curtain, just open to the top. But not in Samoa...there it is ALL open. So...I decided my first experience better be at night time so in case something went wrong, I wasn't COMPLETELY out in the open, literally.

So, you just wrap an ie lava lava around you and go at it. Just bring an arm inside with your soap and wash away. When you wash your hair, the ie is wet so it just clings to you. And yes, I even shaved this way. After you are done, you have to be tricky to wrap a towel around you, then drop the wet ie without dropping your towel. I was getting pretty good at it by the time we left, but that was always the most awkward part. It was so nice and refreshing, and truthfully, your time in the shower is the only time you feel that way. Once you turn the water off and get back inside to get dressed, you are hot and sticky again. Kuso was so proud that I was acting even more Samoan that he had to take pictures of me in the shower....nice. But it's great. Truly great. Probably my favorite part of spending time in Samoa.

Samoa (cont.)

Kuso's brother Atonio has a daughter, Lupe, that is 3 weeks younger (Sept 14-Oct 8) than Leila. Lupe spends a lot of time at her mom's parents house, so we didn't get to see her for the first few days we were there. This is the day when Lupe came to stay with her parents for a while. I thought with Leila being half but bigger and Lupe being full blooded they would be close to the same size. Not. Leila is a monster next to Lupe. Above: Lupe, Semi, Nuga, Leila

Below: Look how big Leila is next to Lupe. This is a little distorted because Lupe is leaning, but look how skinny Lupe is and how much taller Leila is. Side Note: This cement that we are sitting on in these pictures is the graves of Kuso's grandparents. When I first learned about this, it was very weird to me that they would have family members buried in their yard. This is right next to the house. Kuso said that when they were young, him and his siblings would sleep on them with their mom when they were being missed. Kind of weird for those of us that don't do things that way, but kind of awesome to know that they are always near by. This kiss looks a little forced, but truly, it wasn't. They actually would just walk up to each other and wave and kiss throughout the week. They also learned to fight with each other. One particular time, they were both walking toward each other, they bumped into each other and Lupe fell down. Leila pointed at her. I think Leila was pointing because Lupe was crying. Uncle Levi aka "crazy" kept laughing that Leila was pointing at Lupe because "Lupe did it. It wasn't me." Either way, it WAS kind of funny.

Samoa (cont.)

Sunday02/27/11 Nati's "friend?" came to visit. This is Theresa. She was really nice, and later in the trip brought us some gifts. She also drove us around Apia one day to get Leila some juice and snacks and to just get out of the house.Sunday afternoon we decided to take a quick swim in the ocean. This would be Leila's first experience in non-bath or non-swimming pool water. She LOVED it. The water is so warm there how could you not? Plus she loved to lick the salt off her hands. Also notice the Bongo (chip) on her finger. She loves to eat them now so she can put them on her fingers first. So funny. Doesn't she look so cute in her swimming suit without a diaper? (Remember how we sent the box with all of her swimming diapers in them? Oh well.)This ramp into the ocean is a straight walk down from Kuso's parents house. Not too far, but down a small hill. The best way to get in is to just sit on your butt and slide down the moss. Otherwise, you are going to fall in.Leila loves the ocean. As along as the water doesn't get too close to her face.

(This is the day I noticed that the dates on the camera were wrong, so the rest of the pictures should have accurate dates on them.)

Samoa (cont.)

My little Samoan girl. Seriously, her Samoan blood is so strong. Besides looking like a full blooded Samoan girl, she loves the food, the mosquitoes (mostly) leave her alone (not like me...), she sings, she dances, she is ridiculously strong...she just plays the roll. Kuso LOVES to hear when people say that she looks like a Samoan baby.

The third night we were there (02/26/11), Leila decided to venture out a little. This picture below is the step from the "open" part of the house where the beds, couches, TV, and table are, to the back part of the house. Before this night, she stopped right there and waited for someone to take her. It was a big step and she didn't like going down it. Well, this night she decided to go down it. Again, it was a BIG step, and she fell...right on her head. We were all sitting in the back of the house, heard the thud (yes, her head on concrete) and I went running. She screamed and screamed for maybe 2 minutes. Then she calmed down. It wasn't until a while later that I noticed her head. Check out the pictures....These pictures were taken AFTER she had continued playing and being silly, so I wasn't too concerned about a concusion or anything. There have been several other times that Leila has taken a pretty bad fall and we were SURE that she is going to have a bump or bruise, but it never shows up. So for this bump to be this big, she hit HARD. This next picture was taken just for Leslie. When Kuso realized that there was a big bump on her head, he came back with yes, Vicks Vapor rub. For some reason, these Samoan men think that rubbing that on a bump will make it go away. Well, the bump was still there in the morning, but it definitely didn't hurt it any.

Leila thought the mosquitoe nets were fun.

Just FYI...the bump was STILL there when we got back to Utah a week and a half later. That was a HARD fall. She is so dang tough.