TaLofA!!
Well everyone… we are in SAMOA!!! Holllla!! The first full day has been full of smiles and sunshine! We have LOVED being here and have learned a lot and will continue to learn as the week goes on. It has been really neat for me (Jaicee) to be here experiencing what my own culture is really like on the BEAUTIFUL island! The people here are so nice and are, literally, always smiling! The culture is one of kind and I as well as C-Fa are proud to have Samoan blood and be able to experience it with all the palagi (white) girls on our team!
Anyways… TODAY… we woke up and had breakfast with our host families. Each of us has been lucky to have incredible families who are willing to feed us and give us a place to stay. After we ate with our families we all came to our meeting place (Uncle Sam Schwenke’s house) to load up in our “limited in leg-room” vans!! We then started our full day off with some shopping!! Coach knows how to please his team… start a day with shopping! We were able to walk around some stores in town and find some TRUE Samoan gear! Most of us bought our stuff at the flea market which was a bunch of locals selling their mostly hand-made items. All of us bought at least one ie lavalava (wrap around skirt) and others (myself particularly) bought lots more than that! Families should be pleased with the souvenirs that will be coming home to them because we have all found items that we felt fit certain friends and family members! The art work here is gorgeous! Samoans weave, carve, paint, sew and basically do it all… we are FULL of talent lol. Although shopping was lots of fun we quickly realized that we were no longer in the crappy weather of Utah! Samoa is HOT and within minutes we all were dripping in sweat… Yet we were thrilled to meet up with some heat and sunshine.
After shopping we were planning on doing a little bit of service but because our container was not cleared yet we couldn’t access the stuff to give and donate to the people. So we, as a team, came back to Sam’s house and sat and enjoyed being here while our coach worked hard to get our container cleared for us. He had to make lots of phone calls and talk with some people to get it cleared… BUT… he was able to do it! (no surprise!)
When he came back…after a successful journey… he told us that our service would be moved to tomorrow and that we were headed to the Sinalei Reef Resort to enjoy the beach, sun, and fresh water springs. We, once again, were thrilled (going from shopping to the beach) and quickly changed to get in the cars and head to our destination.
As we were driving we all were stunned at the exquisite rainforest scenery of Samoa. We each had our turn to stick our camera out the window to see who could catch the best picture of the views without it being blurry from the car ride. We did get some good shots that I’m sure we will share when we come home. We arrived to the resort and once again were very impressed with the beauty. The resort was very well taken care of and had lots of offer… great food, beach, fresh water pool, and gorgeous sites to be seen. Today we only experienced the beach, sites, and pool and the food will come on Friday when we visit the resort again. As you already know, we LOVED the water and the sand! The ocean was warm and salty… just how we like it! The sun was hidden behind some clouds which also brought some rain but that didn’t stop us from enjoying our time there! Girls were jumping off the dock into the fresh water spring, snorkeling, and simply playing in the water as the rain fell. It was said a couple times about how “romantic” the experience of the resort and rain was… yet we were there with a bunch of girls! Haha Parents, boyfriends, and fiance’s… I’m sure you appreciate that! I KNOW mine do! Lol
We wore ourselves out and lots of us took a nice nap on the way back to the houses. When we got home we quickly changed and were on the road again to grab some Chinese food to eat. We were in an air conditioned building for the first time today and loved every second of it! Afterwards, we went our separate ways to spend time with our host families, shower, and go to sleep.
Overall, we had a GREAT first day in Samoa! We each feel so blessed with our individual lives after having seen the way the people here live. It is very humbling and we are excited to get on our feet and be able to serve the people and culture.
We love and miss you all at home and hope that all is well! Keep the people in Samoa in your thoughts and prayers and pray that we can touch their lives as they have already touched ours!
FA’A SAMOA!!! (the Samoan way)
Jaicee Kuresa
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