We live a block from the temple. We can see the Angel Moroni (although he lost his trumpet in the earthquake that produced the tsunami) from our window and we drive by every day.
It's pineapple season; we eat them daily. They are huge, cheap and the best we've ever tasted.
Most Saturday mornings, we go to the fish market to buy fish. One can purchase about any warm water critter imaginable. We stick with the albacore tuna because it is awesome and very cheap; we did not buy the eel in the foreground.
We also are not fans of crab, especially because we have a Tolman policy against buying things that are still alive. I didn't like watching these things trying to turn over and get away.
There is no Costco, Bashas or WalMart. Most shopping is done at small little shops like this one. This morning, when I went to buy food for the week, I went to four stores plus the market; that's really the only way to do it because the stores sell whatever they happen to have for that week. When we see something we like, we buy a lot of it because we may not see it again for a long time. We took a picture of this store because it's called "Lily's Cakes." Maybe it will inspire Lily to make cakes someday like her Mom. It makes us miss Lily every day!
Apparently, horseback riding is a lot cooler for both horse and rider when done in the ocean at low tide.
On our P-days, the senior couples like to go snorkling; this is the favorite spot. We are not very good at it yet and we get a little creeped out when we encounter piles of dead coral, clothes and household items carried out to sea by the tsunami. Hundreds of different types of fish and other sea life, as well as the companionship of other senior couples, make it worth the trip.
At least when we are tired of snorkeling (we tend to stop sooner than the other couples), there is shade, always worth searching for in Samoa.
Samoans have suddenly fallen in love with golf. Some of our local friends beg us to go golfing frequently; a man in our ward goes every day but Sunday. We have gone a couple of times. The scenery is amazing, the greens are horrible, and we love going with the Samoans; I get to practice my Samoan and Gammy finds much of what happens on the golf course in Samoa funny. We both shot par on this hole.
But not this one.
I love trips to the market. Interacting with the farmers selling their produce is a lot of fun and the food is fresh, cheap and plentiful.
You know us, we always find time to exercise. We found a place where there are no dogs, which was a major accomplishment, so we ride our bikes two mornings a week. As you can see from this first picture, we often ride in the rain. We don't ride in the rain in Arizona, but in Samoa it cools us off nicely, and if we weren't willing to ride in the rain, we wouldn't get to ride very often.
We have become friends, well sort of (they wave to us, smile, stare, and say "good morning"), with a crew of Samoans who keep the grass in this public area trimmed using nothing but machetes.
We are helping our friend Vaifoa, a man we work with on the perpetual education fund, start an English reading program in his village; it's a pilot program he's hoping to take soon to other villages with Church humanitarian funds. Gammy's background teaching reading has been a great help to him and the kids. When the kids all showed up late one day, Vaifoa took us across the street to his home where his family was preparing a traditional Samoan meal and making koko Samoa. These women are roasting and grinding the cacao beans (removed from the pod in the lower left of the picture), which then are brewed to make the pure chocolate drink we love so much and drink almost every day.
We then enjoyed some taro and palusami while trying not to share with the dogs and flies; a genuine Samoan eating experience. The food was great, and I was thrilled watching Gammy have one of her first traditional Samoan village eating experiences.
Vaifoa has become a good friend. Working with people like him makes our lives here fulfilling and wonderful amidst all the challenges.
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