pics

my repertoire... (for spear fishing)

my new spear. a fraction of the price and twice the distance as the three-prong pole spear. works like a sling-shot. still not easy to hunt with though. i feel like an underwater rambo with this thing.

this is the can crusher that was part of the recycling program. its bad ass if i may say so. not as easy to build as u may think. especially in a resource scarce area.

here is a catholic church in falealupo-tai that was destroyed by the hurricanes in the early 90s. very interesting inside, but my camera batteries died. theres also an open crypt full of human skulls and bones across the street because lots of graves were washed out and human bones washed up everywhere so they threw them all in this one place.

4th of july softball

plain and simple we kicked navy's ass...

waiting an eternity for the ball to get there...

nice little 4th of july at the rl stevenson museum. the us navy is here doing medical clinics and we had a softball game, cookout, and dancing.

Dr. Niko and the diabetes workshop

the troopers. nick did all of the diabetes testing, and spencer did most all of the blood pressure checking. couldnt have asked for more diligent workers. i weighed people, filled out their cards, and led them to the educational posters. Nick also preferred me to break the bad news to some of the patients who tested high on blood pressure or sugar.

the kids are playing on the scale in the background. Nick and I went the extra mile a the Mormon church.

this is me giving some diet tips to some Neiafu-Tai women. education is the key right?

this was actually back in april but i dont think i ever posted it. nick came with all his testing equipment and spencer came from Faleolupo village next door to help out with the testing. overall we tested about 150 people ages 20 to early 80s. the results were staggering, but i will not post them here.

Delilah's wedding

Ever heard the Samoan version of the "Three Little Pigs?"

Presenting fine mats, cows and pigs at the Mormon church in Neiafu. Weird thing is most of the stuff was given to pastors and leaders of both villages instead of the two wedding families.

Mr. and Mrs. To'o. Yes those are "ulas" with money. American money actually. Somebody wanted to show off...

The wedding party in front of the Mormon Temple in Apia. The village ceremony was held the next day back in Neiafu.

My host sister got married last week to a young man from a few villages over. A wedding in Samoa turns out to be an affair for the whole village, not just the families involved. For me it was a chance to witness "fa'alavelave" at its greatest. (meaning any big deal or something out of the ordinary i.e. wedding, funeral, car accident, emergency) I can't count the number of cows and pigs that were slaughtered, and boy to i have some good video footage to show u guys when i get back home. To'o now lives with us in Neiafu.

Neiafu Recycles!

aside from its obvious use, this is definately a trophy piece. no other village on the island has a bin like this.

it says. "Make/keep Neiafu beautiful." "empty cans" "empty bottles" "Other kinds of rubbish are forbidden."

I can hardly believe it myself. With some leftover fence material we were able to weld together this recycling bin here. Our goal is to stop throwing tin cans and plastic bottles behind our houses or near the sea. To kick things off we are having all the grade levels at the primary school compete to bring in the most recyclables. I have promised an ice cream party for the class who brings in the most by the conclusion of the competition. I have no idea how this is going to turn out. Will the kids lose interest once ice cream is no longer at stake? Will the collection agency honor their verbal agreement to pick up the recyclables? Will one large box of ice cream be enough? These answers and more next time. It is a considerable success that we have even gotten this far.

compost toilet hunt

this was what i was searching for... not exactly what i had in mind. it was beneficial to see the design though.

on the boat ride over, this palagi baby would just lock up with this samoan baby for minutes at a time. just hugging. it was one of the cutest things ive ever seen.

well with nothing much going on since the school fence was finished i finally took the time to travel to manono island to check out a compost toilet that was built there sometime in this young century. my contact number was not working, so i just decided to wing it and find someone on the island to point me in the right direction. through a bit of jungle we come to a clearing where a lady tells me an old school used to be but it burnt down a few years ago. the compost toilet i was supposed to research reamains standing, but obviously not in working order. i wonder how this will help our compost toilet proposal sent in to the EU.

pics

the Neiafu Mormon Church

all the mothers being honores with "ulas" (candy necklaces) on mothers day at the mormon church.

women (mostly mothers) doing their church plays on mothers day at the methodist church.

finishing up an amazing mother's day lunch with some ice cream. a real treat for our side of the island.

a Samoan standing fan. Im downloading Metallica's latest album to my ipod. yes im on a small island at the end of the earth.

me and koko, one of the few kids in the village whos not afraid of me. actually sometimes she wont leave me alone. isnt she adorable!