Ta'lofa

Ta’lofa! This means hello in Samoan! Last night we flew into the Samoa got settled into the school that we will be living in for a week. I can honestly say that I have never been so happy to get rid of all my bags and finally unpack them and not have to worry about the weight of them.

After living in Okoboji all summer this is quite the adjustment. I have like a 2-inch foam mattress for my bed. We are sleeping in a classroom and in my room we have five other girls. It almost feels like we are at camp again. We also have nightly chores that each person has to do to make sure that we keep the school clean. We also got places into groups and each group is in charge of preparing a meal for everyone. There is also no laundry at the school so we get to hand wash our laundry in the sink. (This could be real interesting.) This also reminds me somewhat of Haiti because I am back to cold showers and not drinking the water in the sinks.

Today was our first day of orientation and we spent most of the day sitting in the classroom learning about the culture we are soon going to be immersed in.  We got a little information about our upcoming school year. My first day of school will be on August 29 and I will be moving into my house on the outer island next Friday! I am so excited to see where I will be living and start meeting the people. The few encounters I have had with Samoans they seem super nice. They all know who we are and say welcome to our little island!

Tonight we had our first official Samoan meal and it was so good! We had chicken, goulash, rice, and fresh salad. It was so good and I absolutely love island food and missed it so much. Tonight I also got the opportunity to take in the views around us while the sun was setting. Pictures do this place no justice it is absolutely beautiful and I can’t wait to admire it for the next ten months.