Terrific Thursday

All classes were on the schedule Thursday morning, 30 minutes each, with a dismissal scheduled for noon. Went to grab our breakfast from the kitchen. Lately they've been sending us up with a few plates full of food for the 5 of us WorldTeachers. The ladies that say hello to me have started giving us way more fruit than necessary, so I usually end up taking some of that home. I do love my fruit. They also gave us a whole case of milk today, which was absolutely not necessary. Ended up sharing them with students.

For the past few weeks, this is where weekday breakfast has taken place - up in Ms. Hammersmith's room.

 As to be expected no one really showed up for class. Finals all done, but I did have some boys that came and hung out in my room for part of the morning (up until lunch at 10am). They were playing cards, just laying around, and singing. At one point they sang "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". That sure was cool to hear. They did a fine job.

As we had left with our breakfast in the morning, Talita told me if I wanted more oranges or anything to come get them. I stopped by during lunch and just asked for a couple, but she filled me up with a plate of 11. I snacked on one, and then put the rest in my bag to take home. I think we have more than enough to last our remaining days. Hannah is here a few days past me.

The final bell ended up ringing at 11 am, right after the lunch shifts. Hooray! No more having to just sit here to sit here. Time to head to town for $1 Taco Thursday at Evalani's in Pago Pago. Hannah and I had been hoping to get to do this one more time after meeting up with Lilian and Heidi Uele for lunch here one day. So good, only real tacos on island, and cheap! Yeah!

Here we are enjoying our iced tea, and our scrumptious tacos on their plates.

Here's an artsy fun photo I took of some of my toppings that fell off the top and were lying on my plate before I scooped them up with nacho chips.

Our waitress actually happened to be Auntie Tai's niece. When we were with the Te'o family on Monday, we mentioned Taco Thursday. Tai said she was going to tell her family that works there we might be coming. When I asked the waitress if she knew Tai, she said, "Yes, then you're the WorldTeachers." haha

Then, we asked if they had any dessert. I had wondered if fried ice cream was here at all. I always think of fried ice cream when I think of Mexican food. Our waitress said she would go check if they had any fried ice cream. "If you have any, I would love some. :-)" After a while, here she came back with a dish of fried ice cream for us. Absolutely delicious, too! A little different from any fried ice cream I've had before. Almost tasted like a churro surrounding the fried ice cream. A little crunch on the outermost layer, but then some sponginess before hitting the ice cream in the middle. Mmm. Don't even remember the last time I had fried ice cream.

Kicked it in my sneakers today. I knew I was going to be doing some walking, and with it looking ominous out, I didn't want to end up ruining my last pair of flip-flops I want to wear home thanks to muddy water on the ground. Good decision, on my part.

After lunch, I popped into the National Park Visitor Center. I had plans to do this to visit my ranger friends one more time before my flight. Today was my lucky day. The entire Interpretation Division was actually there, a very rare thing. Pa'i had just left to run an errand, but I waited. I told them I didn't mind, and Eymard also said how Pa'i would want to see me. Mutual :-) Ranger Sam is back from Hawaii. He had been finishing his degree. He was the other ranger that had presented the first time I saw a National Park presentation here. I got to chat with him some while we were waiting for Pa'i to return.

Range Pua said some very kind things about how I gave up time to bring even small groups of students to the center and the park itself after school hours. He's actually on a flight off the island for a trip tonight as I write this, meaning had I waited until Friday to make my visit to the office, I would have not gotten to see the whole division

I also was finally formally introduced to Chief Michael. I've seen him when I've been at the office. He thanked me for encouraging so many students to come out. Pa'i then came out with a little pile of "me alofas" for me. Gifts from the National Park. They wanted to thank me. I'm so thankful for them. This was too sweet. Pa'i knew how much I adored the National Park fabric, so she had a National Park i'e for me. I also received a pin that Ranger Pua had suggested and a copy of the "Natural History Guide to American Samoa." So cool of them. I had the biggest smile on my face as I walked back down the road to catch my bus home after that. So glad I made this trip in to see them all, and I can't believe I got to see all of them and meet the chief. One of the guys from maintenance took a photo of me with the whole division, and Eymard promised to send me that one. Soon as he does I'll add it to a post. :-) They've been such great inspirations to me this year. I do hope to grow up and be like them some day. Hope?... how about plan :-)

Pa'i and Eymard both already knew about my dream to work for the Interpretation Division of the National Park somewhere at some point in my life. Now the whole division here knows. They all hope I come back some day and keep in touch. I assured them I would. These are some special people in this special place. Ranger friends, if you are reading this you'll catch my nice phrase there. I've seen your presentation many a times. "A National Park is a special place..." :-) I am going to miss seeing them around and feel so honored to have worked with them on some projects with my students - from my school field trip, to presentations in my classroom, to visits to the Center, to all their kind words. Thank you, all! Also gave and received some big hugs before I walked out their door.

I even posted another thank you on their Facebook page: "Thank you all so much for your kindness today. I am so thankful for getting to work with you on different projects with the students. I really will miss seeing you all around, but I will stay in touch and hope to see you again!" When I came home to work on my blog, I had a response: "Keep in touch Jessica! You'll always have a home here in American Samoa. "

As I was on the bus ride home, it seemed to be slower than usual. I think it seemed this way as I was realizing this may very well be the last time I ride an aiga bus all the way from town home. I was soaking in the mountains, the ocean spray, and smiling most of the way home. Enjoying it, not getting sad about it. Also enjoying the random music that is blared. Only palagi on the bus, and I'm sure some giggled if they could see me singing along and smiling out the window.

Had some time to sit on my computer a bit, check a few things, and then it was time to head to the gym for my last Zumba session with my American Samoa Zumba family. I was ready to crank it up a notch and have the most fun yet! Got there, did a few songs down on the floor, then I decided now was the time to just jump on stage and lead with Peteru. He and the Zumba girls have said before that I should really consider getting my license. Boy, it sure was fun being up there with him. I've learned from some fo the best instructors ever, and I did feel comfortable up there. Sure had to keep my brain focused on going left first instead of right, as I am the mirror of everyone on the floor.

A bunch of the gang down on the floor were smiling when they saw me up there, gave me compliments afterward, including Emma who just recently received her license. I saw her sneaking some photos, and she was thinking when I started coming down after one that, "Girl you should just stay up there." I was for the entire class minus the first two songs and our stretching at the end.

Then, before we began our last number before the cool down stretch, Teru gave a few malo (thank you comments) about how this was my last session with them all, how I had been a WorldTeacher, and wishing me the best. Ah shucks.

This was the sweatiest I had been at a Zumba session ever. I don't know if it was hotter up on stage, if I was just pushing that much, enjoying myself so much, or what. Man almighty. Sweaty hug for Teru and Emma afterward, two of my Zumba mentors and friends :-) It was a really great session, fun being up on stage, testing the waters of what it feels like to be an instructor, sweating up a storm, smiling the whole way through, and ending on a high note. I will miss my Zumba family, as I have said before.

Came home, showered up, and got ready to head to the senior prom. Lucky for us it was taking place at one of the facilities at a church just a few minutes walk from our apartment.  Here are four of us WorldTeachers that went. One did not attend from our school, but it was cool to go see.

Walked around right away finding some of my students and snapping photos. They were finishing up dinner when we arrived. This is Teru's nephew and niece. Lilo on the left was one of my students, and Tepora on the right often helped with check-in at Zumba class.

Here's a shot of the whole dining area and the stage up front. Here they do what they call the "royal procession", where many of the seniors names were called and couples walked down the stage. This took insanely long since there were so many students. Not all of them participated in this part.

Naomi and Tavini were two of my A students in Marine Science, and Angeline on the right was a good friend of theirs I have also come to know.

The theme at this prom was gold and white, so all outfits were comprised of some gold and white. Cool to see all the dress designs girls came up with here. One does not just go shopping for a prom dress at the store like I did. One designs her dress and has it custom made here.

A fun little evening. As the "boogie time" was beginning, we teachers decided to head home. Getting close to our bed times anyway. haha 10:15pm as I finish my blog post for the night. Yep, past my bed time. ;-)

Hope you all are having a good week!

Bouncing On Through Wednesday

Had only been in my classroom for about 5 minutes this morning and in walks one of my senior students. She walks right up to me and says "Miss Boschen, can I get a picture with you? I'm going to miss you." Sure. She took one of just me, first; then, one of us together. This is Kimberly. She said she wrote down all my contact information, so I hope she does stay in touch. She's a sweet girl and worked hard this year. A fine student. She hugged me then as she left.

Had my last real class period as a teacher at Tafuna High School in American Samoa. The last final exam time, but as you know I already gave my last test, so we watched a movie today.  Said some good-byes and got one hug. Still may see some of them over the next few days at school.

Spent some time sitting in the classroom after that as one of my fellow volunteers mentioned a lunch our Baptist friends had invited us to join. I decided I might as well. Knew there weren't very many good veggie options for me at the place mentioned, but I decided it would be nice to chat with some of them at least once more.

Ended up just ordering a side of french fries to go with my iced tea. Decent fries, but all that salt and seasoning doesn't taste quite as delicious as maybe it once did. Perhaps that's my healthy body talking. Didn't make me sick or anything, but I kept thinking about some fruits I had at home. haha

Spent most of my time at the lunch chatting with these two - Mandy and Larry. Nice to catch up and discuss how none of us are quite sure where life is taking us next yet. Got a hug from Mandy, Larry, Julie, and Brian. Will probably see some of them at the airport on Monday, as Ethan is on the same flight as me. They all put me in charge of him making sure he gets on at the right time and gets off. hahaha

Came home still a little hungry as I really hadn't eaten much. Not only did I simply have a side of fries for lunch, but breakfast was lacking too. I'm not a big fan of the baked hash browns (you know those frozen ones that are like one big flat tater tot). So, I ate part of one of those and some apples for breakfast. Originally thought I might go out for brunch after class, but plans changed.

Decided to eat some of that fruit I was thinking about as I munched on my fries. Mmm mmm. Enjoyed a little bowl of some orange, apple, and papaya. Also fueled up with a little oatmeal with some decent time before heading to Zumba, as I knew I may not have much time for a dinner after Zumba.

Walked to Zumba class, which usually takes about 20 minutes. Found myself almost already warmed up by the time I made it to the gym. The warm-up song had already begun, and I jumped right in heart already kicking and felt like I was going to hopping around extra crazy today. I jump around more than most to begin with at Zumba class, but I felt extra springy in minutes.

As my body was pushing pushing pushing, I found myself thinking maybe I should leave the session early so I'm not pushing it so close for the awards ceremony. "Yep, this sounds like a good idea," I thought. "I'll even run home to save some time." Yep, literally run. My adrenaline kept going, and this was the hardest I've pushed my Zumba in a while it feels like. I"m always pushing, but had an extra push today.

Bounced out, and running I went. Haven't gone running outside in a while. Ran up the Tafuna road to the main intersection, and as I was on my way I thought to myself maybe I'll snag someone that is turning my way to drop me off. I mean would have only been maybe 5 more minutes of running, but wouldn't hurt anything. "Hi, I don't mean to bother you, but is there any chance you would mind dropping me off next to Manumalo." "Sure," they said. Into the back of their truck I went. I used to be such a shy girl, but now here I am just walking up to people asking for a little favor. Happily agreed upon, of course. haha

Showered off quick, ate an apple, and then out the door we went. The wind sure had picked up so it felt like it might rain. Tried hitching, and then I saw a student go by in a truck. This student actually happens to be the niece of one of my Zumba instructors. A few minutes later they had circled back and picked us up. What timing I tell ya.

Went to the Senior Awards Ceremony to watch two of my students receive their Marine Science awards. I mentioned in a previous post how excited I was for them.  I wanted to be there to support them. I encouraged both of them to go in case they received an award. They tied on the exam we gave to pick the top Marine Science students. Can't help but be proud of them. Although I felt like I struggled to teach them enough information in that class, apparently we did some good stuff.

Matane - a beautiful young woman I will miss. She has been an active field trip goer, and has plans to attend the community college this fall. She worked so hard in my class, takes care of her younger siblings at home, always has a contagious smile on her face, and has great ambitions. Gave her a hug as I congratulated her.

Steven - my student with a brain. It was such a joy to have him in class questioning big ideas, turning those gears in his mind, a pretty chill character, and always smiling and loving life. I'm gonna miss seeing him around. He also shared some movies with me throughout the year. I know he's pretty interested in computers but not quite sure what his next plans are. I finally convinced him to take a photo with me. Not one who is too fond of the camera. Gave him a big handshake as I congratulated him. Already embarrassed him enough in front of his friends making him stand up to take a picture with me. haha

As Hannah and I were walking home, we decided tonight would be the night to finish off our last bottle of sparkling cider we had been saving ever since we moved to Malaeimi from Pava'ia'i. Picked up a little chocolate on our way home and opened up an orange to enjoy with it. Fun way to end our evening. Thus ended my bouncing around on Wednesday. Minus the lag time between my class and heading to lunch, I was pretty go go go for the rest of the day. Especially that Zumba session and the run home. "Crazy Jessica," I found myself thinking as I was high on adrenaline. Leading up to that other high moment of being so excited for two of my students who received awards. Another day this week here and gone.

Tuesday Highlights

Time for more being all sentimental. Bound to happen as my remaining days on island wrap up. I really do have a feeling I may post every single day. Sort of bringing my blog full circle. Back during orientation, I posted pretty much every single day. A mighty fine Tuesday here and gone. My last Tuesday before heading back to the Midwest. A few little highlights of my day for you. 

Messages from Students

Last night I was sitting on my Facebook actually signed into the chat / instant messaging portion. I don't do this too often, as too many people may start talking to me at once. I used to be good at multi-tasking really well with those, but lately not so much. Must be some of this slightly slower pace of lifestyle I've become accustomed to.

I've let many of my students add me as a friend on Facebook so that way they can get a hold of me if they ever need anything and simply stay in touch. Many popped up last night asking when I leave. One week I said, and in return I received many sad faces, many thanks, and one student even told me some of the things he has learned. They're all getting sentimental. That was cool of one to remind me he learned that "Science is everything." All about making observations around the world and universe, asking questions, and finding out more information. Yay for remembering one of the big take home messages! He also said "Thanks for teaching me that touch subject of science." haha. Another said he's going to have to give me a big hug at baccalaureate since I won't be at the commencement ceremony. "Best teacher in Tafuna High School," he said. Hahaha, not quite.

A Failing Grade

One of my senior students that missed 35+ days of class this semester did not do any make up work, and I had to put his grade in as an F. I've got on his case before, and I could only push him so much. It was up to him to come ask me for make-up work and not wait until it was too late. I even notified the counselor, and he still did not come in for make-up work until today. First of all, even one week left is not enough time really to make up for all of that. From my understanding, my class was not the only one he was failing either.

Senior grades were due last Friday. He walked into my class today, and immediately I knew what he wanted to ask if he could do make-up work. I had given a list of my failing seniors to the counselor last Friday along with an explanation on how they earned their failing grades. Right away she said too, can't you give the make-up work? No, I can't anymore. The opportunities were there and they did not take advantage of them. It's too late. I'm standing my ground. If administration so chooses to go over my head and change his grade, then that is their decision.

She sent him to talk to me today, he had said. When the student showed up today, I explained I can't change it. I just can't. It wouldn't be fair to the other students, and honestly I don't even know where to begin with make-up work for all of that at this point. In addition to all the absences, many days he would just sit in my classroom. I got on his case at the beginning of the semester, but him actually doing his work only lasted for a few days. I wish I could help, but I can't. The system here has to learn it is not okay just to pass a student. Maybe I did fail him? Maybe I should have pestered him more and more, but that's rather hard to do when he's not even present. I gave the opportunities, and that was even me being nicer than necessary. Second chances can exist, but those have long gone at this point. Sorry, student. You have to learn. What's done is done.

He listened to what I had to say, hung his head a bit, but walked back out of my room peacefully. No storming off, stomping, or throwing a fit. I do feel sorry for him. He has a good heart in there, but he has to learn. As does part of the system. Make-up work is not that simple, at least not in my class. I hope the student and I aren't on the worst of terms.

Last Week in the AS Classroom Photoss

Took some fun photos with a few of my classes today. My last class time with 2nd period and 6th period. Took a group photo with 2nd period last week. The students were having some fun with it. They know how much I like pictures. Most of these kids go crazy for pictures, too. 

Part of my third period class. I still have one more class time with them. They were one class that went on the official school field trip to the National Park.

Two great girls from my third period class - Annette and Florence.

Another photo with third period, a few more students joined in this one.

Next, part of my sixth period group. That sixth period was one that would like to test me. They've shown much improvement, though. This was our last class time together. I have left my island phone with Noelle, the student way on the right side of this photo. She is one that has spent many a afternoon talking with me after school. I have also shared many books with her. She loves the sci-fi and fantasy stuff just like me. Such a sweet girl. She's heading on the boat to the outer island this Thursday, where her family is originally from - the island of Ofu to be exact.

Now that I look at this photo a bit more, I see that it almost looks like Miss Boschen is lifting up her students. Lifting up this sixth period that may have driven her a little crazy many many times. We've made some connections though, and we all learned something. I can't help but smile when I look at this. All the headaches forgotten :-) There also is a handful of genuine sweethearts and good-hearted people in this class. Been fun to watch them grow.

There is just something about this photo. I'm not always so photogenic. I think another thing I really like about it is how I am wearing the seashell ula that Howard gave me, and he is standing on my right (your left).

My Manila Brothers

I made plans with my Manila brothers, the boys that sang to me on my birthday way back in August, to meet up for a little ice cream and hang out. Wanted to make sure I hung out with them at least once more. I caught Nicholas on chat last night. He and Christopher both came. Their awesome mom Vicky dropped them off.  Whenever these guys make some visits to the states, we are going to try and meet up. We chatted about all sorts of things, and I don't think there was much time where I wasn't sitting their smiling. Spent an hour and a half with them before I had to go get ready for Zumba. Good to see them again, and they tell me they'll see me at the airport on Monday. Am I really going to be that blessed to have a send-off crew as well as my welcoming crew waiting for me in Nebraska?

Zumba Family

Headed off to begin what will be my last full-time week with my awesome Zumba family in American Samoa. I got a bunch of the ladies to take a photo with me before we started. They are all so friendly.

Here is Tutuila and me. She has been my Zumba buddy all year long. The only two Tafuna staff to keep going to the classes in the afternoon regularly.

Finally, here I am with my awesome Zumba instructors - Mariana, Peteru, and Erica. Gonna miss them, their energy, and our shared love of a fitness lifestyle. They've been great friends. One more session with the ladies and Teru, one with Teru, and then I'll see the ladies at the airport as they work check-ins for Hawaiian Airlines (that's why they won't be at Thursday class).

 

Fruit

Ended up with five little apples to take home after breakfast. Those kitchen ladies have been super kind lately giving me extra fruit. Then, at lunch. They sent me home with at least 8 oranges. Oh boy! I'm being a good girl and sharing the oranges with Hannah. I'm gonna miss saying hello to the kitchen ladies (and guys) every day. They all know my name now, and say hello with such big smiles on their face, which I always return. Some times, I will beat them by saying hello first, and there is always a "have a good day". :-)

I made myself another fruit and veggie salad for dinner. That is my latest craze! A little different every time in terms of ingredient combination. All freshly sliced with no seasoning or dressing, just straight up fresh goodness. Mmmm mmm. Sliced up an orange, some of the papaya from Katie, a little more cucumber, some tomato, and some banana I had picked up yesterday near the laundromat. 

Samoan Family Brunch and Daku Sibling Photo Shoot

There was a potential hike to take place Monday morning with some of my friends from Zumba, but I had not heard anything official from any of them. Shot one of them a message Sunday afternoon and heard back after evening church that they wouldn't be able to come. No worries. Now I had found myself with a whole open Monday up until 4pm. What to do... what to do... Idea strook me. Let's see if any of our Samoan family would be interested in meeting up for brunch. This was something Auntie Tai had sort of mentioned one day as she was giving us a ride to school. I sent her a message and she said that sounded good, and I asked her to see who else would like to come.

9:30am Monday morning after sleeping in a bit and relaxing, Hannah and I walked the 10 minutes to catch a bus to The Deluxe Cafe. Arrived about 9:55am, as we had agreed upon 10am. Some times these guys are pretty punctual, and other times we just have no idea. Pretty standard for Samoans to be late, though. haha Tai called me about 10:15am saying she was on her way, picking up Nina, and that Segi was on her way. Yay, a whole bunch of them were joining. Surprised to also see Isa and Tasi pull in first. She said she just found out like 10 minutes ago that we were doing this. Apparently Tai waited to call everyone until 10am Monday morning. haha Maybe she thought I was going to contact more of them. Oh well, it worked out fabulously!

Tasi and Isa, Tai and her daughter Angel (we had not met her yet), Segi, Nina, Hannah, and me. This is the Samoan family we joined for Christmas. I call them my Samoan family. We sat at a large table, ordered some food, and enjoyed one another's company.

My cute little coffee cup. Good stuff. Black coffee.

From left to right you can see Hannah, Ninia, and Angel here. Deluxe Cafe is a nice spot.

Here are Isa and Tai.

My beautiful side of fruit :-)

My short stack of pancakes with the side of fruit in the back. Tasi thought it was a bit odd that I ate my pancakes without butter or syrup. haha Yeah, I know I know...

Here's the whole group. We spent about an hour and half sitting there, enjoying our brunch, and chatting it up. I'm really glad this worked out. There are some plans to spend more time with them later this week. Perhaps another lunch, some of them want to join me out to the National Park Saturday morning. They had seen my photos with my students swimming in the tide pool and jumping in out there, and they really want to go. They figure once Hannah and I are gone they will never actually go there themselves. We also have plans to join them for lunch at Tasi and Isa's house Sunday after baccalaureate. So glad we did this on Monday though, and sure glad I tossed that line out there and ended up with a catch. :-) Segi even paid for our brunch, which was unexpected. Then, again not really. She is one kind lady. That's how we ended up becoming part of this family. Segi picked up Hannah and I one day hitching on the road, invited us over, and then right away told us I could tell my parents I had a Samoan family now.

Tai gave us a ride home, and as we were heading she asked if we wanted to stop at the store or anything. Didn't really need anything, then I did have one thought. I had thought about doing my laundry on Monday, but I was not sure if it would be open or not. Really didn't want to walk with my laundry to find it closed, so I asked Tai if she would mind swinging by quick so I could check. Of course, she said. We found it to be open, and then she so kindly let me grab my laundry and then dropped me off over there. She is so sweet and has gone out of her way for us numerous times. Ran my laundry through the wash, and walked about halfway home when somebody offered to drop me off. Boy, I sure was being showered by kindness on Monday. Smile for Samoan hospitality.

So, I mentioned that I had something happening at 4. What, you may wonder. I had a photo shoot scheduled with the Daku family. Katie (Pastor Scot's wife) was finally taking me up on my offer to take some nice photos of the kids. I had mentioned this the one day I had babysat for the boys and took those cute ones of baby Andrew. She had said she would love that, and we were finally making it happen. They had posted some of the photos I had taken on Facebook and made a little collage they sent to their family including photos I had taken over at their house while babysitting and a few I took on Family Sunday.

I was a bit excited to try this out, too. I had been thinking about how I could get the kids to naturally smile. I know when you tell them to smile and look nice, you usually don't get what you want. It was quite the experience and a whole lot of fun trying to bring out those natural smiles and their personalities. I was working with a 4 year old, a 1 year old, and a 3.5 month old. An hour or so, patience, some creativity, and snapping a couple hundred photos.

I would talk to them, make them think we were playing games, and went with the flow. Really cool for me. I've never done an official sibling photo shoot with little ones like this. Katie and I went through them on my computer afterward. We went through and any she liked I copied into a folder for her. Ended up copying over about 50. She has lots to choose from, and she had such a big smile on her face. It was fun to see her light up and hear her say "ahhh" and "I love that" so many times. This was a fun gift I could give to their family after all they have done for me this year. Pastor was not around Monday, as he went over to Independent Samoa to help with a few things. I may go back later this week to take a few more photos of the whole family. I will share some of my favorites from the day below. Too many to choose from. Man, I good work. hahahaha

Scot Jeffrey with a nice Samoa horizon.

The three munchkins sitting in their red wagon. Jeffrey likes to goof around, Jenna was quite stubborn for a while, and Andrew was just hanging out :-)

She did agree to kiss her baby brother on the head for me a few times.

Jenna Faith did not want to get out of the baby swing, but I finally convinced her to try the big girl swing after I put her little doll in the baby swing. Here she is climbing in, and it's just a fun one.

There's that beautiful and lively smile I knew she had.

Took a few minutes before the two of them timed their kisses right, but it turned out mighty cute if I do say so myself.

Let them just play around a bit up on the porch.

I really wanted one of these two holding hands, and Jenna wanted nothing to do with holding her brother's hand each time I would try. Then, Auntie Jessica decided to make it a game and we were going to walk holding hands all the way to the tree, and we couldn't let go. Got it!

A cute thing I enjoy about this one is how you can see they are just enjoying themselves, and you can see mom out of focus in the background watching them go.

Here's Andrew Paul actually looking right at the camera. He was confused by the flash. haha

I put a monkey in front of him to give him something to focus on, and I found this one to be pretty cute.

Once again I had fun doing this, and hope the photos bring their family lots of joy.

Came home and enjoyed myself another fruit and veggie salad. Katie had sent home some fresh papaya with me. I enjoyed every bite of my cucumber, tomato, banana, papaya, corn, and nut salad. Felt like a little something more. There wasn't any bread that I was hoping for at the store, and I decided to treat myself to a little Magnum bar. Splurge, but hey lunch was free, and I ate mighty healthily all day. I tried the Magnum white bar, today.  White chocoalte surrounding smooth ice cream. Yum. Delightful, and this really is a treat. Will only enjoy something like this on very few occasions.

Her'es me being the dork that I am. :-)

I feel like I have so much going on this week, but that's sort of to be expected I guess as this is my last week on the island. Lots of people I want to try to see at least one more time, a few more classes, finish cleaning up my room, school functions, etc. etc. Should be a busy week but a great week! Monday sure was off to a good start :-) Have a good week everyone. If I have enough energy, I have a feeling I might post a bit more frequently this week, as I may be up to lots of things. Tofa soifua ma manuia le po. (Good bye and good night.)