savaii

The birthday celebration began on Friday when we all boarded the ferry from Upolu (Samoa's main island) to Savaii (the more rural, largest, most naturally preserved island)...our suitcases were full of sunscreen, bug spray, boxed wine and grapefruit flavored vodka (we thought it sounded refreshing, and semi-tropical...it would do the trick) The ferry ride was about two hours, a perfect time for a nice little power nap curled up on the seats. The view of Savaii from the ferry is vast and amazing. The coastal water is tiffany blue and sparkling,  the volcanos on the mountains are covered in dark green swaying palms and tropical trees and the whole island is scarecly populated (compared to Upolu) so the dinge and grease of the city is no where in sight. We disembarked and headed for Tanu beach fales-where we would celebrate my birthday! We were greeted at the fales with young coconuts- which have a carbonated, delicious flavor. (all of us have become pro's at identifying, opening, drinking and eating good coconuts.... and, i will never want another coconut again after this trip) After we settled into our fales we all got changed for dinner. I was sooo excited to be able to wear palagi  clothes for the weekend (at the fales you are allowed to wear bikinis and shorts...something not allowed on the rest of our trip) we all even put on some makeup! its funny how little things are such a big deal and soo much fun when you go without them for a while- like having clean feet, or wearing makeup, or eating icecream (things we all look forward to when the occasion arises) That night we drank wine, watched the sun set on the beach, ate dinner together then played in the water and looked at the stars. The nights in Samoa are absolutely stunning, the sky is so massive and the stars are so bright you feel like you are inside of a snow globe and the sky seems to curve around you.
Saturday morning: we wanted to maximize the birthday celebration soooooo....we got into our swim suits at 9:00 am and opened some bottles of champaign on the beach and drank a little, swam a little and enjoyed the pleasant morning sunshine. the rest of the day was spent frolicing in the sunshine and doing other activities one does when one turns 21. at night there was a fia fia (a samoan performace/talent show). i was, of course, called up and everyone sang happy birthday and gave me flowers. we all performed in the fia fia, danced and then ate chocolate cake (which was the first time i had eaten chocolate cake since i arrived, AND it was refridgerated!-which is amazing, becuase all of our food is normally served at room temp, including milk...interesting huh?) The day was absolutely wonderful and I couldnt have asked for a more untraditional, exciting way to turn 21!
The rest of the week: we spent the rest of the week exploring Savaii (and doing very little, if any, school work at all...which was a nice little break) We spent our time with Warren, our 80 year old Australian tour guide who spent his life traveling the world and studying geology . On our first day with Warren he casually explained, "today will be relatively easy, in the morning we will eat breakfast and then hike a small volcano..." That set the tone of the week and we were off and exploring!! We went to the lava fields and Warren described the most recent eruptions in Savaii and the impact of the lava on the coast and the villagers. As Warren had promised we also hiked a small volcano (and Warren, at age 80 also made it all the way to the top!) at the top we saw the endangered flying fox (a bat, one of the samoa's 3 native mammal species). It was a gorgous hike, it reminded me a lot of hiking at home...only there was a lot more mosquitos and sweat involved. Later on in the week we did an all day driving tour around the island to see some of Savaii's famous sights. We saw the powerful blow holes and shoot water over 200 feet into the air, the jagged coast line made of lava, huge lava caves and arches that extend into the water, and we also went to Savaii's most western point....the furtherest west you can go and last place the sun sets in the world!
highlights: instead of having language class one day, our language teacher bought us all Vailima (Samoan beer) in honor of my birthday, and we played drinking games in Samoan...so far a GREAT trip....more updates later
buggs