May 17, 2013 - Making A Garden

Making a Garden 05/13/13 Our small little house begins to feel more like a home every day. We have added small personal touches like pictures, and curtains. We enjoy spending our free time baking and cooking together. Josh has mastered brownies that use the fresh roasted cocoa called koko Samoa. He is getting famous for his amazing cooking abilities, and he had several orders coming in for Cocoa Samoa brownies for Mother’s Day. I have become the bread maker. I specialize in baking bagels, and tortillas. We love to cook with fresh...

May 14, 2013 - Samoa

07.05-20.05 07.05 ich komme abends um 21.30 Uhr in Apia an. maenner in Sarongs spielen Musik. Mein Taxifahrer findet mit Hilfe durch Korrespondenz mit Ash mein Couchsurfing haus. Hier leben 3 personen; Ash (Englander mit Australischem Pass, Emma von brisbane, Sarah von Italien (zieht gerade aus und Sieche wieder ein(Australieren mit srilankanischem hintergrund) begruesst werde ich von Halloween, dem adopierten welpen. Ash kommt 5 min nachdem der taxifahrer wegfuhr. er ist total nett, genauso wie die anderen. es ist ein eigner kreis von...

May 12, 2013 - When the Church Bells Ring

When the Church Bells Ring… 05/12/13 Jump to full entry

Mar 8, 2013 - What it takes to build a house

What It Takes To Build A House 03/8/13 We realize that quite a bit of time has gone by since our last post. In our last post we mentioned that we were waiting for a home to be built for us. It has be a challenging time for us because we have been dealing with problems regarding our housing. We are finally ready to share the story of our housing dilemma. The first thing you should know about the Samoan lifestyle is there is no such thing as privacy. Samoans live with their extended family. They often all sleep in the same room. Many of the...

Oct 11, 2012 - Our first week in Samoa

We landed in Samoa Sunday afternoon, after an incredibly long flight. Our group was the last to get off the plane, and we were greeted by Peace Corps staff holding a banner. As we walked across the tarmac, we were instantly struck by the heat, but we quickly forgot about it as each Peace Corps staff person greeted us with a lei and a hug, as if they had know us forever. In addition to staff being there was also press coverage and other current Peace corps Volunteers waiting to welcome us to Samoa outside the airport. Monday morning we began...

Feb 21, 2012 - Mardi Gras

Tonight we participate in the extraordinary Mardi Gras Afloat celebration. The Amsterdam team has transformed the Lido Deck into a New Orleans neighborhood. A New Orleans-style paddle boat has been created over the swimming pool. We wander past French Quarter wrought iron balconies, socialize around Bourbon Street lamps and “catch a throw” while watching the Mardi Gras parade. We feast on good old Southern dishes: fried catfish, creole shrimp, collard greens, red beans ‘n rice and cornbread. We listen to the sounds of a traditional New...

Feb 20, 2012 - What Happened to this Day?

Last night, we crossed the International Date Line, the imaginary line on the Earth that separates two consecutive calendar days. The date in the Eastern hemisphere (to the left of the line) is always one day ahead of the date in the Western hemisphere. So we lost the 20th of February. We were in American Samoa 12 hours ago and it was Sunday (Feb 19). This morning we woke up and it is Tuesday (Feb 21). It is very confusing to do this by sea. Our dinner tablemates and we discussed it for two nights and totally confused ourselves every time....

Feb 19, 2012 - Pago Pago, American Samoa

Talofa – that is hello from American Samoa. We sail into Pago Pago Harbor early in the morning. The Pilot arrives on his tugboat with arms open wide and a loud “welcome to Pago Pago”. Pago Pago is on the largest island in the archipelago of Samoan Islands called Tutuila. Since American Samoa is a U.S. territory, one expects it to seem familiar. But the tropical breeze and f’asamoa (‘Samoan way’) lifestyle soon informs us that we have arrived at a serene paradise. There are no five star hotels here or fancy name retail outlets. There is...

Jan 22, 2011 - Samoa and Wilma

Robert Louis Stevenson had long since written the 'Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' and most notably the archetypal 'Treasure Island', before he decided to settle on the remote and isolate island of Samoa in the midst of the Pacific. It is 1890 and Stevenson has been ailing from tuberculosis all his 40 years but feels that the climate on the island is good for him; a thought not easy to follow since considered best to cure the disease was the dry crisp mountain air of the Alps, rather than the hot humid one on this tropical island...

Feb 21, 2010 - Samoa - Feb 18-21

February 18, 2010 (again!) I’m not sure what day to call this! For the first time in my life I will be crossing the date line. I should get used to it as we will be crossing it five times once this trip is done. Even my watch can’t cope with the date differential! Just to explain – Samoa is almost directly north of NZ so the time is actually the same. However, due to the way the date line meanders around some of the Pacific Islands, Samoa is actually in the Eastern hemisphere rather than the Western. Our flight takes off from Auckland at...

Feb 13, 2010 - Updates From The Pacific

Thursday/Friday 11/12th February – Day 33/34 Well now we have been a day underway from the Christmas Island and this is our second day at sea, the weather is not kind to us here, so no more jokes about it being better here than at home, perhaps then we will get better weather! The sea is very rough and we feel as though we have been in the washer, terrible stormy seas Force 9/10 trying to avoid a cyclone. Our visit to Apia was cancelled (only a short stop to drop off some passengers, pick up NZ Immigration people and Clare Sweeney......!)...

Nov 21, 2009 - Day 3

Our first full day at the resort. Barb is in 7th heaven. We found out that the resort was used by Survivor Samoa. They booked the entire resort for May, June, July and August. The shooting was done on the opposite side of the island. After breakfast we took the shuttle into Apia. It was a 40 minute drive to go 20 km. The speed limit was 40kph on the road. Out in the country it zooms up to 35kph! We wandered through a flea market and got some souvenirs. We met a New Zealand couple, Ken and Shirley, and tagged around together. We took a taxi...