The clouds approaching
My cousin and sister in the water
I had a wonderful day at the village today. It started as business as usual sleep to nine, which is really late by Samoan standards. Get up and eat the breakfast that had been laid out for me and was hence cold. They family are all going about their business and Im the last to stir. I usually have toast and fresh fruit with a cup of tea. Then I wash my face brush my teeth and get ready for my day. Which at times seems redundant, as I may not leave the house depending on how busy my family is. I’m not really allowed to do anything on my own yet so I really only get to explore when my sisters chores are done and she can escort me. Then I come into my room make my bed and tidy up before settling down with my laptop and right my blog for the day. Then I usually come out and socialize or if I’m lucky go for a walk, after that its usually reading till lunchtime. After lunch its malolo time which means either a nap or more reading. Then in the afternoons stuff really gets exciting. Some days I go play volleyball or other days I go for a swim in the ocean, and sometimes I get to go for a evening walk which is always lovely as the sun is going down and is gorgeous. I have been trying to help out more during the day but my tasks are pretty limited they will let me watch then work and sometimes if Im sneaky or really insist they let me do some things. I have so far been about to fold about ten shirts, wash maybe five dishes and take down half a load of laundry. They usually catch me mid task and then insist that I sit down and I take over. I figure if I keep up the pestering they will eventually let me do more. It’s a bit embarrassing for a guest to be seen doing chores so I try not to push too hard or when others are watching. Today was different though we finished lunch and my host uncle told me to go put on my bathing suit, we were driving across the mountain to go to the nice beach. It had been raining heavily and this meant that the mountain streams would be swollen and rushing to meet the sea. The very best place to play on the beach is where the stream merges. We took the gorgeous drive over the mountain crossing several roads that were flooded until we reached one that the water was so deep we couldn’t cross, so it was back over the mountain to go to one of the beaches on our side. It turned out to be a wonderful change of plan. We picked a little peninsula jutting out of the cover a couple towns over from Samatau. It’s a little beach fale area and the beach had a little lava rock sea wall. My host uncle my older sister and my cousin and I were quick to jump in. The water was lovely, not cold and not hot just right. We could see all the way around the side of the island. Before swam for a while then we saw the clouds approaching. You could see the thick blanket of rain hitting the sea from where we were miles away. I though we would leave but looking around it seemed everyone was pretty calm about this huge storm speeding our way. So I laid back and waited for the dark to descend. Oh and it did. It was a torrential down pour with fat raindrops that hit you like pellets. I could only see about ten feet in front me but the water was only three feet deep and no waves get past the reefs surrounding my side of the island so we were pretty safe. This is when my uncle decided it was time I learn how to play rugby. So here I was playing touch rugby with a flip flop in the middle of the ocean with a huge storm raging, it was spectacular. After a couple rounds we collapsed in the water from exhaustion and floated for a wile. Then the most wonderful thing happened. From this new attack of rain somewhere down the coast some river must have gotten a new burst of life because all of a sudden there was a flow of very cold water streaming down right by the beach. It was fantastic; it had little leaves and twigs in it tell the story of it’s journey down the mountain. The freezing fresh water floated on the surface of the sea water, so if you sat just right you could have your body in warm sea water and the cold water streaming over the back of your neck and catching it with your fingers and toes. I could have sat there for hours. I just kept closing my ears and thinking of all the times I have swam in the North Sea in Scotland. The water from the stream felt just like it. In my head I was half way across the world but I was soon called back to reality as my sister had gotten us a coconut and it was time for a snack. It was a wonderful day and I can’t wait for people to come visit me so I can share these little day to day miracles with them.
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