The Adventures Continue

Friday's Adventure: Hannah and I took the day off from work. Had a personal day we have not yet used, and I decided I could use the day to ourselves and recuperate a bit more from my cold/sinus infection. Woke up normal time and did my core workout. Then, we headed to the laundromat. I had been putting off my laundry like crazy. I wanted to do it Friday morning, so I literally was wearing my swimsuit under my clothes on Friday as it was one of the few clean things left. hahaha No problems here :-)

The laundromat is supposed to open at 7am, but it is more so whenever the family that runs it decides to show up. We ended up sitting in the Bookworm Internet Cafe for a bit, where I enjoyed a freshly brewed cup of coffee for just 50 cents! Yes, 50 cents. Just one cup, but one was all I needed. Cindy is always an entertaining person to talk to as well; she's the lady that owns the little place. Laundry washed and hung up to dry in our bedrooms and closets, we watched an episode of Big Bang Theory. We hadn't watched them in at least a month, and this weekend seemed like a good time to catch up.

Then, as 9am approached, we grabbed a bus to town and hopped off at DDW Cafe. Have I ever mentioned that DDW stands for "Don't drink the water", as in down in that area it is best to not drink tap water. If you order water to drink at any restaurant on this island, you receive a bottle of water that you have to pay for. That was one thing that took some getting used to - not being able to just order free water to drink when I'm out. Oh well, though. The iced tea and coffee options have worked just fine for the one time I eat out each week or two :-) Anyways, I simply enjoyed a homemade scone and multiple glasses of iced tea. We had a planned stop for a good lunch, so I wanted to keep breakfast light. They have some very delicious scones, though. Real scones :-)

We sat there for a while nibbling on our breakfast, sipping our iced tea, and having many conversations. That's just one of the things we do. Next, we were off on a little walk in town for a few points of interest on our agenda for the day. A few places that are really only open during our normal work hours, so the day off it was :-) First, we popped in the district court as Hannah likes seeing court rooms. She has her JD and practiced health care law for a year and a half before backpacking in Europe and Asia then coming here. We sat in on a hearing for a drunk driving case fot a bit to see the inside. 

Second, we stopped in the National Park Visitor Center. Yes, I had just been in there a week ago, but I didn't get a chance to actually check out all the exhibits and information as I was too busy watching what my students were up to. Yes, I wanted to read every single word on the exhibits. I'm a nerd like that - I love learning, and I love the NPS. I was curious about what information they would choose to display here and how they go about displaying it. After working with kids for a few years now, I found myself noticing the way they worded things and tried to catch the attention of different age groups. For instance, I noticed there was not a single sign that really said "Don't touch the (breakable) coral on display"; instead, I found "Please touch the turtle on this exhibit". Using the positive way. I've learned that technique through my previous work with younger students. Also, we found this cool book about some invasive species on the island that cause problems. They titled the little display "American Samoa's Least Wanted." Then, as we flipped through we found different plants and animals with descriptions about their crime. Very cool :-) We're in our early twenties, and we enjoyed it.

Also, I have to mention this for some of you friends and family back home I know will enjoy this. NPS friends, if you read this, don't judge. My family and friends laughed every time I said something like this after my trip to the Galapagos Islands. Anyways, "This is the biggest boobie I've ever seen."

Chuckle I did as I pointed out my joke to Hannah and why it would be fun to throw it up on my blog. This is a red-footed boobie model to be exact - the bird to the left. Every time I get a glimpse of the boobies I hear I think about the blue-footed ones I saw on the Galapagos. :-)

Eymard came out not long after we arrived, and then I could hear him say "Jessica's here" to Pa'i as they were in a meeting. Pa'i came out and greeted us, and I had mentioned the day before I would probably be stopping by. Always nice to see them :-) Hannah thought I should have a picture by the sign, since this is my thing. We have a picture of her in front of all the court buildings. I have one already with one of the park signs out in the actual park, but this is a nice addition to my collection. ha

So, all morning I found my stinking cheap flip flops to rolling under my foot as I walked. Felt like I was an incapable walker for the morning. Man, not cool. Sure, I'm a little clumsy.... but, here's the funny part... see these scrapes here:

Yeah, those were not a result of me tripping in my cheap flip flops for the day. Rather, I slipped in some mossy water that was running across the sidewalk ever so graciously. hahaha Lucky I sorta caught myself and did not get my dress all wet. Learned my lesson that I should always carry a few band-aids and some triple antibiotic ointment in my purse. As we were still right by the National Park Visitor Center as this happened, I decided I might as well just go back up there and borrow a few supplies from my friends. Normally, I would just go with this. Not a big deal and just clean it out well and put the stuff on at home - that's what I did the day I cut my knee good hiking a while back. Still, since I had friends right next door with things I could use, I walked back up the steps and took care of it. Pa'i dug out the first aid kit for me. :-) Then, my leg looked like what you see below, which Hannah found rather entertaining. haha

Then, back to our little schedule we were. Up next heading to Tisa's in Alega for lunch. Grabbed a Tula bus and headed that way. After my little fall and first aid trip, we only sat at the bus stop for maybe a minute or two before the bus came. Good timing ;-)

I had told Hannah how the banana fries they make are yummy, and we could get a nice green salad with them. Pretty much their lunch menu without the big piece of whatever fish they had caught for the day. Look how yummy this delightful little lunch is. Mmm :-)

Plus, it was partly cloudy out on that East side of the island, so it was a nice afternoon to sit there and chat for a while as we enjoyed our lunch. I was prepared to go sit on the beach if I wanted to, but I was quite content staying up on the patio at our table as we enjoyed the ocean, the mountains, and our food.

We decided to head back into town and head to Matai Restaurant to enjoy some beverages, continue chatting, and maybe a little desert. I enjoyed my $1 refillable coffee. I had 3 or 4 big cups, and I tried a piece of their cheesecake. Don't even remember the last time I had cheesecake. Good stuff. Oh, and I actually ate the cherry on top. For some reason I didn't think I really liked them and usually would hand them off to a friend, but today felt like a good gay to give it a whirl. Yum. Why didn't I think I liked these? Perhaps certain canned versions aren't as delicious. haha. Sorry, Karena. Looks like I won't be sharing my cherry as much now if we are ever out  and have cherries on top :-)

On to my last "First Friday" at the market we went. We went to First Friday for the first time back in August - the night before my birthday. This was the night the Manila brothers sang "Happy Birthday" to me in the back of their mom's pickup truck as we had hitched a ride with them. I was starting to get tired, but I had been thinking about getting myself a bag of Samoan panikeke all day. $1 for six balls. Had to wait a few minutes, but that meant mine were fresh. Booyaaaa :-) It was cool to watch her making them and see the giant mixing bowl full of batter. I asked if I could take a few pictures, and the lady said sure. A palagi lady next to me said, "All year I've been wanting to take a photo of this. Wish I had the courage to just ask like you did." Cool moment.

They give them to you in a brown paper bag like this. Check out the grease seaping through the bag. Cringe a little if you wish; I do. haha. I told myself this would be the last Samoan panikeke I would have. Yes, often in the office in the morning someone has a bag or two they have picked up from one of the gas stations and offers it, and I've taken them from time to time. No more, though. Want to end my panikeke experience on this really good note, with my favorite ones on island. These right here from the place in the Fagatago Market.

These were nice and light brown, nice crunch on the outside, and delightful softness and chewiness inside. Some even had some banana in them. Yep, ended my panikeke experience well :-)

I convinced Hannah to try one of the Samoan banana "smoothies" for $1. This is what Richard had bought for us that one night we swung by the market after Youth. I didn't have my camera that first night, but I snagged a photo of the smoothie - mostly just mushed up bananas, perhaps some coconut milk, and some peanuts served in a styrofoam cup that was scooped out of a cooler. ha

I was really getting tired around 6pm. We knew some other people were planning on stopping by, but I decided I should probably head home and rest up. Had some plans for Saturday that I wanted to be ready for, and you can't fight being tired. We caught a bus home around 6:30pm, watched another few episodes of Big Bang Theory (fully caught up now) and went to bed early.

Saturday's Adventure: Time for a Saturday field trip with some students. Yes, I voluntarily agreed to lead a little fun education on one of my Saturdays. Making up for those field trips that fell through for some students that really care and wanted to go :-)

I woke up earlier than necessary. Had already made the decision I wanted to wait and do my core workout for the day after returning from the day's adventure. Instead, I decided to watch a few episodes of DC Cupcakes online. Just something to pass the time. I've watched plenty of shows like that, and actually a few of this particular series on TV before. I didn't have enough time to watch a movie, so a few little episodes of cupcake making it was. Ate myself a bowl of oatmeal, and then I was out the door at 8am to catch a bus into town as I wanted to run one quick errand before meeting up with my students at 9am.

I knew there was going to be a cruise ship on the island this particular Saturday as Pa'i was telling me about it, allowing the National Park Visitor Center to actually be open on a Saturday. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been open and I would not have been able to make the stop there with my students on Saturday. Lucky for us in one way. Unlucky it can make transportation a bit more difficult. I was surprised I caught a bus so quickly. Many of the buses end up getting hired to do some tours for the foreigners. Anyways, after running my errand I was walking down the street to McDonald's - the place I told the interested students I would meet them.

Good gracious! I had no idea cruise ships were so large. This was the first time I had seen one in person that I really recall. The ship must have just pulled in shortly before I was walking that way as people were just coming out onto the street. A few were asking me where this and this was. I said good morning to many - saw some families, old couples, young couples, friends traveling together, Australians - the whole cabootle :)

Whenever a cruise ship stops in American Samoa, it only stays here for one day. Seriously, though... Look at the size of that thing.

I knew telling the students "be ready and meet me at 9am" meant we would more likely leave around 9:30am. Yeah, that was about right. Eight of my senior students joined me for this little Saturday "field trip" to the National Park with Miss Boschen. I was excited about the group I had turn up - some good students, some that have been very friendly, and I respect each and every one of them. Two boys, six girls, and one palagi teacher... Off we went - Filipo, Tavini, Tautala, Faitafa, Christina, Sarah, Chardine, Carmel, and I.

We walked to the National Park Visitor Center, which was about a 1/2 mile walk from McDonald's. Along the way, and as we were waiting at McDonald's I was saying "good morning" to many of the tourists. One of the boys asked me, "Is that how you meet so many people?" Sure, I guess that's one way. I'm just being friendly and welcoming them to the island. :-) Also, I was so proud that not a single one of them complained about walking. That's usually one of the first things I heard on my official field trip last week. That, and "It's so hot." No, it's not. Yay for my great seniors :-)

Here are some of them peeking around the visitor center. They walked up the steps first as I followed, an then there is Eymard saying, "Oh, is this a group of yours? I was expecting all foreigners today, and then here come some Samoans up the steps. haha" Haha, yep. I explained what I was up to and told him our plans. "How are you getting there?", he wondered. Told him I would get us a ride in the back of someone's truck :-)

I'm glad they got to explore the visitor center a bit; there's some good stuff in there. Eymard even took a group picture (which I haven't gotten my hands on yet). As we were leaving, he told my students to take care of me and listen to me. Ah thanks :-) They all smiled, and off we went on our adventure.

We weren't getting lucky with a ride there in town, they were all making fun of my hitchiker thumb, and they finally convinced me to take an Aua bus which would get us to the base of the mountain on the road that we needed to go up and over (a ways still), but at least you know the vehicles are actually heading your way at this point. On the little bus we crawled, got off, and then started walking a bit. The boys thought they'd be all athletic and start jogging up the mountain. Boys, we got a ways to go. haha I get a pickup to pull over, and the driver says I can sit up front, most of my girls hop in the back, but then a few don't fit or something as he already had some people in the back. Off we went, and I've only got four students with me. "Well, this should be interesting." No worries, though. 

The driver introduced himself, asked where we were going, and what we were up to. I explained I was a teacher and was taking these students to the National Park Trail between Afono and Vatia. He actually lives in Afono and was planning on stopping there, but being the nice dad that he is he drove us all the way to the trail. I kept thinking the whole time, "those kids should be smart enough to get themselves a ride, and it will be a good experience for them." Made it to the trail with four of my girls, and I enlist them to call the others. One of the boys had a phone as did one of the girls. Those with me explained where we were, and then we got updates as they got rides. :-) Good work, you guys. They actually got themselves dropped off in Afona, but then luck should have it the kind guy that gave us a lift, saw them, figured they were more of my students, and brought them the rest of the way. I recognized his truck as he pulled in, and I shook his hand again saying, "Thank you so much, John."

As I was patiently waiting at the trailhead with the other girls, I decided it was a great opportunity to just enjoy some of my favorite views on the island. One of which is that of Pola Island from this spot. I mentioned that in my other field trip post. I played a little with my photographs, and here is one example.

Christina, one of my students, also kindly took a photo of me with this beautiful background. Vai'ava Strait is one of the picturesque photos you can find when you search American Samoa online, and one of the well advertised photos through the National Park for obvious reasons.

The girls spotted a fruit bat hanging in this tree and called me over right away. "Miss Boschen. Miss Boschen, there's a bat!"

Good work girls. He's the black triangle shape you can see in the center of the photo just above the big branch.

By noon, all of us had made it to the trailhead. They learned a little about hitching rides here in American Samoa (something none of them had done), spent some time along the road in a new area on their island (none of them had ever been out this way), and they worked together to explain to one another where we were. Looks like we're going to have learnt a lot more than I ever imagined we would on this little adventure.

Down the Lower Sauma Trail we went. A few of them were a bit tired after walking a bit on the road, but they persevered. I shared some water and snacks, and down we went to this really cool spot. The boys ran ahead, of course, but I explained a few things as we went to the girls that were close to me. The Lower Sauma Trail takes us down through the rainforest past some archaeology sites, through some shrubbery, down some lava rock, to a beautiful tide pool along the ocean. There is also this great view of Vatia village and the mountains.

Here is Chardine with part of that awesome scenery :-) I love this photo.

The boys were so excited about swimming. I actually ran into a guy I had met a while back on a hiking trip I had done down in Vatia, and he told me that this particular Saturday was a great day to go swimming in the tide pool. Awesome! Tavini and Filipo are actually two of the football boys that I met on my first day of school. You remember, some of those that ended up signing into my Marine Science class cause I seemed pretty awesome. haha ;-)

Here's some of the girls making their way down the large rocks, almost to the bottom - Tautala, Christina, Faitafa, and Chardine.

Sarah made herself a little camp over in some shade a little ways back behind the pool, and there she stayed most of the time we were down there. We ended up spending about an hour down here, which was nice.

Here you can see Pola Island and Vai'ava Strait in the distance. Had some nice clouds to add dimension to all the photos today, as well. Always a nice thing for a photographer, even though I'm no professional :-)

It was relaxing and fun to swim around in the beautiful tide pool. All of us but two of the students ended up getting wet. I took this photo with my camera down at water level, which is fun.

Like I said, a beautiful spot, right? This was my first time all the way at the bottom. I had sorta peeked around the corner a bit the day Hannah and I came down the trail most of the way when we had the car, and I knew some friends that had come swimming and jumping into this tide pool. It was great to finally experience it for myself :-) The big tide pool we were swimming in is at the bottom of this photo (only part of it seen).

Yep, some of us jumped in to from a little ways up. So much fun! Filipo had already done it before I even made it all the way down. I originally didn't plan on swimming today, so I just had the one set of clothes with me. I completely forgot being told about this nice place to jump in, and I didn't want to now pass that opportunity up. My first experience like this was in the Chihuahan Desert of Texas on my May Term with Dr. Stroh last year. Good grief, that's an entire year ago already now. Wow....

Back to the Samoa story... so, first thing after snapping a few photos, I took off my shoes, walked over to the spot, and jumped on in. Deep enough there. I'm responsible, don't worry :-) Me jumping in encouraged a few of the girls to give it a whirl. One was a bit nervous, so I went with her the first time. Then, later she went alone. Filipo was great about helping some move the few feet to the edge if they needed it. We got Tavini to do it, too. I said now's your chance when I'm here and you have some great friends here, too. This was cool to see them helping each other - a team building and encouraging experience :-) Proud moment again. Yay for some good students. We had so much fun and were safe the whole time! By the way, I also had my first aid kit, and Chardine brought one, too. In case you were wondering ;-)

I finally decided it was time to stop the fun and head back up so we could find a ride back to town. I snapped this photo of six members of the group for the day. It was hard to get them all to stand still for just one group photo. Maybe they were having too much fun. Nah, no such thing ;-)

Back up the trail we went.

Then, at the top we ran into Ranger Pa'i with her group of foreigners for a little National Park tour for some of the people from the cruise ship. I had never seen this Vatia bus before, and I had to take a photo. I mean, come on... it says "National Park" on it and has some cool photos. :-)

Pa'i knew I was bringing some students out today and said we might run into each other. She took a group photo of us, as well (which I also don't have my hands on yet). She mentioned to the tourists that I was a teacher that had brought some field trips out here. A few of them asked how we were going to get back. "We're going to hopefully catch a ride in someone's pickup truck," I said. Pa'i added, "Jessica is super nice, and I'm sure she'll find her way back down." Yep, no problem.

We started walking just because I needed to actually be on the road to flag someone down, and there was some shade. The boys started walking faster of course, but I said "This time we are all going to get in the same truck, or I'm not getting you ice cream in town." ;-) Just a minute though, and here comes a pickup. The first says he's just stopping in Afono. About to get in and go that far, when another pickup comes down the hill. I ask her quick where she's going, and she says town. "Would you mind letting us ride with you?" "Of course," she says. I explain I have a few more students that were walking ahead and ask if she will pick them up, as well. Yay! We are all in one pickup and heading all the way back to town. "That's how it's done, kids." haha

Four of the drier ones rode up front in the cab, and then four girls and myself were in the back. Drying off with the breeze as we meandered our way around, back up, and down the mountain. The girls said it was fun to hitch a ride, as it was something they had never done before. Here's a few of us in the back of the truck.

She dropped us off in Pago Pago, and right away I walked into a store and bought us all a bottle of water. I lucked out and got some for 50 cents each, worth every penny. Many of them had run out, and I wanted to make sure they were hydrated. Plus, I could use another one myself, as I had given one of mine away earlier. Then, we walked to McDonald's, where I bought us all ice cream cones. Yep, I may not really make any money, but it's still fun to do this for them. Nice way to end our adventure for the day before parting ways to head home. We made it back to McDonald's about 2:45pm.

Here's a cute photo I snagged of Sarah and Christina walking down the street with an i'e above their heads to protect from the sun. This is a pretty common sight down here, students walking or sitting in with an i'e (the piece of fabric) over their heads. Also, the kids were telling me how much they enjoyed our field trip on our walk. Good; I really enjoyed it, too.

Grabbed myself a bus back toward home, stopping at a store on the way to grab a few things. I found some cans of V8 juice. Ah yes! I love vegetable juice, so I enjoyed one after my awesome core workout. The workout was so great. I'm glad I saved it for this time of the day. Sweating with salty water on your skin is an interesting feeling, though. Here's my V8 :-)

I was mighty hungry by the time I finally had dinner then. After my bowl of oatmeal in the morning, I had only munched on some almonds while we were out, and had my ice cream cone at Mickey D's. Correction, I had two cones. Not on purpose. The guy sort of made us an extra, and I couldn't just pick one student to give it to, so I ended up enjoying it. Ooops. No biggie. I love ice cream, and I had plenty of room that day.

I had been thinking about the following pancake experiment for a while. The last of my Bisquick mix in a bowl already stirred up with water, I threw in some peanut butter and grape jelly. That's right... PB&J pancakes. Mmmm. Check out the batter for yourself:

Then, as I sat down to enjoy my little pancakes that really weren't too shabby, I was graced with this beautiful sunset out my window. What a nice evening after a great day with some of my seniors out on an adventure. Showing them you can get around the island without the bus or your own car, experiencing the national park, seeing some new places, learning life skills, and having fun :-)

Sunday's Adventure: Woke up at stinking 5:20am even though I didn't want to. I honestly could have slept in a bit more I think if it weren't for the roosters I could hear crowing. I decided to watch Captain America - a pretty decent movie actually. Then, I enjoyed a bowl of oatmeal before heading to church. After church, one of the ladies asked the van to stop at the store, and the driver's cutting his turn into a spot a bit close with this big green machine... and... yeah... contact was made. "Looks like we'll be sitting here a while," I thought. Yep. Been there and done that, though. Pretty standard procedure. Sure, not the funnest thing to sit in a parking lot when I could be at home by now, but hey I got to chat with some of the youth I haven't as much. That was nice.

Made it home about 1:30pm. I'm usually home before 12:30pm on a Sunday. I had proposed that Hannah and I walk the little trip to the Lucky Dragon for a little Chinese food. We ordered one thing of vegetable fried rice, and one was definitely the way to go. Ginormous plate! I mean I knew their menu was sorta set up to run the thing family style, but still. Wowza. Ginormous. We maybe ate a little less than half the plate between the two of us for our late lunch. Had some great glasses of iced tea with it, and then shared a little bowl of some pineapple ice cream. Came back home, and it was already 3:30pm. Time sure does fly some times when we get a chatting and are nibbling on some food and sipping on some iced tea. haha

I made a batch of chocolate no-bake cookies (no peanut butter this time) as Hannah and I wanted to give some to our administration on Monday. I decided to make a little powdered sugar icing to drizzle over them to add a little color and use up some of our supply. Looking good, and they tasted good too. I had a few crumbs ;-)

All day I had been looking forward to this bottle here. A bottle of some brewed root beer. Yes, I really don't drink soda anymore, but root beer will be my one exception from time to time. Especially authentic root beer like this. I had picked up a case of four bottles at the store on Saturday to treat myself. I figure I could have one each weekend, and then the last weekend Hannah and I will be sharing our last bottle of sparkling apple cider we have.

This is some pretty good stuff. I also looked up their website, and it was fun to read about the company and how they are about the natural stuff here. I did notice on the bottle that it was low sodium and gluten free. No added sugars. Good stuff, and it was fun to read up on some of the other products. Good ole root beer. A favorite that brings back lots of family memories. Last time I had a bottle of root beer was on my holiday vacation in Independent Samoa, and that was actually a sarsaparilla.

I've already received some nice thank you's from my students that joined me Saturday thanks to the Internet, and one of my NPS friends - Eymard, also commented about the trip. I had a great weekend. Different adventures and I got eight more students out and about on the island. A good group, too. This is the kind of education I'm really passionate about :-) More informal, hands-on, experiential, and outdoors.

Hope you all had a nice weekend and have a good week!