LA and Staging

Saying goodbye to my father and little sister, then watching my mother and older sister walk away from me at the airport were some of the hardest things that I have ever done. Looking back now, I already know that it was right. I have been in Samoa for two days and I can’t imagine being anywhere else. I just know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be, at exactly the right time, doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing. Here are some thoughts and stories that have occurred somewhere in between my last blog post and paradise. Like I said leaving was hard and the flight to Dallas then on to L.A. weren’t particularly amazing, but ok. We landed in L.A. in the grayest rainiest day that the city has seen in probably a year. People couldn’t stop talking about how strange the weather was for L.A., but I didn’t let it faze me. I marched right through the terminal and found my friends. We drove around town (in a lot of traffic) and eat a fantastic French dip sandwich at Phillipes, which was featured on “Man verses Food” on food network. It lived up to the hype, deeeelicious! This is my second “Man verses Food” restaurant and I’m thinking of starting a tour de food… maybe when I get back. (P.s. I realize that I have been talking about food a lot, and be prepared this post is all about food too). Then it was off to the Hotel. Staging it self was pretty expected, lots of talking and lots of procedures and stuff. All in all the actual staging part was fine but the part of pre-departure that was exceptional was the people. WOW. It’s like a pre-screened, guaranteed compatible group of friends. We all; love kinds, love travel, love culture, believe in service, have the guts to volunteer, and are pretty friendly. It doesn’t seem possible that twenty people could get together and some how all get along marvelously. With in hours we were all laughing and joking, but most importantly ready and confident for our adventure together. I couldn’t ask for a better support system, I feel like I just make nineteen new best friends. The next big thing hit me when we stepped off the plane in Samoa. It was like stepping into a post card. The sun was setting, there were flowers blooming everywhere, the ocean was twenty feet behind us, and the mountains jutted into the sky in front of us.  It was breath taking. I will never forget the smell of the flowers, ocean air and lush plants. It felt so incredibly right. Then I met my first Samoan and found the people were just as extraordinary; beautiful, quick to laugh, and so open. I knew this place would be home very quickly.

Notes-

• They serve Tang here which is what I drank as a kid in Nigeria, definitely brought back memories
• Watched one of my sisters and I favorite movies “Little Princess” on the flight over and cried like a baby in front of everyone.
• Air New Zealand has the funniest security video I have ever seen and also pretty darn good food
• The flight was only nine hours so no one has an excuse not to come visit, its easier then getting to Europe people!!
• They don’t really have cheese here!!!!! OMG this may be a problem! Does Parmesan and sharp cheddar ship well?