Not a typical December

When I have traveled in the past to tropical islands I had always wondered why island people used to move at a slower pace than what I was used to. In the states we live a fast paced life. It feels like we are always in a hurry to get someplace and we are constantly on the go. On tropical islands it is quite the opposite they move at a slower pace in no rush to get anywhere. After this past week on the island I completely understand why they move at slower pace than people in the states. I remember reading in blogs before coming here that the winter months are a little hot. In my mind I was thinking, “ Ehhhh it can’t get that hot outside.” Jokes on me.

            I would like to say in the past week I think I have sweated more than I do in a whole year in the states. For instance this past week I was not feeling very well and after school everyday we all three had taken like two-hour naps. We would all be trying to stay awake but it was so hot that it would just put us right to sleep. We then would all wake up just dripping in sweat. Making supper is also one of the hotter tasks we have to do here. Its usually a win in our book if we don’t sweat while preparing or eating our food. I remember at one point this week I had looked over at Virginia while we were eating our meal and could just see beads of sweat dripping down her face. I soon had gotten up only to see that I was equally as sweaty from eating my meal.

            After these few incidences we came to the realization that the hot months in the Pacific are upon us. As I am chatting with people from back home they are talking about how cold it is outside and I can’t even remember the last time that I was actually cold. I have feeling when we go to New Zealand that might change a little. I can’t believe in a little over two weeks we will be heading to New Zealand for our Christmas break. I am a little sad that we will be missing out on whatever the island does for Christmas but I can’t wait to explore another island.

            This week we have finally seen what a Samoan firework looks like. We have heard from multiple people that around the holidays they have fireworks that go off. These fireworks are a little different from what we have in the states. They take the large cans of fruit and stack them all together somehow. I haven’t really looked at the firework to closely due to the fact that our students were the ones walking around with them. All I know is that it makes a very loud boom when they set the fuse and goes off. All I know is that we saw our students carrying around this homemade firework and we decided it was in our best interest to keep a safe distance from them for the time being.

            This week was pretty laid back otherwise! Hope everyone back home is having fun preparing for the Christmas holiday! It sure doesn’t feel like Christmas because we don’t have any snow here!