The Mom Adventure: Pretty In Pink (Written 5/5/07)

So today started out kind of slow because it was a weekend, which meant we didn't have to run around to get a lot of things done today. So we got a late wakeup – I woke up around 7am and mom woke up at around 8am and we had breakfast with Vivienne's mom (Jewell) and aunt (Gale). It was the biggest breakfast I've had in a long time here because usually I only eat oatmeal or cereal for breakfast – they had papaya's, egg, toast, soap – basically the works. It was a nice time for the ladies just to get together and have a nice chat about things. But the one thing I did notice about Saturday morning, which I didn't know because I don't have a TV at my place, is that the Saturday morning cartoons come on at around 5am-6am on Saturday! So when the kids turned on the TV at 7am there was nothing on for them to watch – I was really kind of surprised. Unfortunately, it also began to rain at this point in the day (and would continue to rain for moments through out the day – it wasn't a completely rainy day, though). So we finally left from Paul/Viv's place at around 9am for our little sightseeing trip for the day. 

The first place we went to was the Robert Louis Stevenson museum which is located along the Cross-Island Road and is a very big tourist attraction (and since I'm a local now that means I've never actually gone to visit it before). It cost $15WST per adult – so it was a little high priced but it was a nice little tour. We got to see the house the R.L. stayed in for the four years that he lived in Samoa which was nice. The guided tour was helpful in giving us the history of every room in the house and we also took some videos and pics of the place as well. Unfortunately, we found out that the house that represents the museum today is not exactly like the house that R.L. stayed in while he was alive, they have changed it quite a bit. But at one point the Prime Minister of Samoa lived in the house, so it was kind of like taking a tour of Camp David or something. While we were doing our tour of the museum, the sky decided to clear up and mom got her blue sky (it didn't last long, the ran came back about an hour later).

After the museum, I took mom to visit the local university – The National University of Samoa – just so she could see what local university life is like. When we arrived, they were having some special function there so there were a lot more people there then I expected, but other then that it was a good site. Once we left the university, we rolled down to visit two NZ friend of mine – Lorna and Fila (two folks I talked about on my trip in NZ). I knew mom would meet them at church on Sunday, but an avalanche of people were also going to be introduced at the same time so I was trying to get her to meet a lot of people before hand. So we visited and chat with Lorna and Fila for about an hour – the requisite embarrassment of Marques was included for free on this visit. Mom was also told that Lorna is a big Earth, Wind and Fire fan like my mom – so they hit it off from the very beginning. 

We left Fila and Lorna's place and drove along the sea wall until we ran into the Parliament House. The parliament house is just a really big Samoan Fale with a golden roof – but the unique thing about it is that you can actually see the roof from my house at Chanel College. So she saw this place from miles away and today got to see it up close. We got a picture of her in front of the Parliament House and in front of the statue that states Samoa is based on God (two pictures I have taken already, but now include mom in the shot). We then headed to the end of peninsula we were driving along (Malinu'u Peninsula) where we got out and walked along the sea wall. It was at this point that I realized that with the visit to the peninsula and the visit to the university, I basically took mom on the same sight seeing tour I got when I first arrived in country. In fact, the peninsula we were walking along is the very first 'beach' top spot we (Group 75) went to on our first day in the country. So that was a cool realization. Mom also realized that sometimes the pictures that I post don't really match the reality of what the place looks like – the pictures are an idealized version of the reality (now don't get me wrong, I don't photoshop any of my pictures but I do try to get the best shot possible).

As we were driving back into town, we decided to stop at the Yacht club for lunch but they were closed and only serve dinner at 5pm, so that was a bit of a bummer. But while we were there we ran into Charles (Group 75), Beth (Group 73) and Karen (Group 74) who were there teaching kids how to sail. So mom had a little chat with Charles for a bit before meeting Alec, another who attends Peace Chapel. He owns a pizza place in town called "Giordano's" and invited mom and I to eat at his place later on that night. So of course I said yes – I have only eaten there once and it's really good pizza. 

So we went back to my place and cooked the chicken that we had bought the previous day and made some Fried Chicken and hash browns. It was kind of funny to realize that I know my mom never in her life thought that she would be cooking in a third world country – my how our lives just take unexpected turns! While it wasn't the most ideal situation to be cooking in, the chicken and hash browns turned out good and it felt like a home cooked meal but now mom understands the hoops and ladders I have to go through in order to put a decent meal together (without a car and no 'local'/walking distance store), so it was a good eye opener.

After we ate the meal, we rolled back into town to pick up mom's puletasi (Samoan dress). It's a hot pink color with a black Samoan design around the edges – don't worry, I have pictures of it. The dress was made by a woman called Rowina (Row-ween-uh) who also attends Peace Chapel. The dress was made without a pattern and in only 4 days (Vivienne took mom to get the fabric and have the fitting on the Wednesday she arrived), which is quite impressive. Rowina said that mom looked 'Pretty In Pink' which is where the title of this post comes from. I was quite impressed by the look and quality of the dress and in such a short period of time as well (the Samoan print on the dress was also done by Rowina as well).  The total cost for the dress was $150WST (about $65-$75US) for a custom made dress with no pattern – Mom said that was a very good deal. She's going to wear it to church tomorrow (Sunday). She also got to meet Tim who is an Australian surfer who attends Peace Chapel as well – he's part of the Adult Youth ministry at the church called 'Next Generation' (I'm in the same group) and he invited us to just drop by the Next Gen event for that night which was a Cinco De Mayo gathering (without the drinking). 

After the dress fitting and pickup, we went to the sea wall near the government building and I showed mom where I use to look at during my training days in order to see home (the states are always NE of Samoa). Fortunately, I've gotten over that homesickness but it's always good to remember which direction home is. We stayed out there for about 30 minutes just enjoying the cool breeze and not having to rush around anywhere. At around 6:30pm we went to a hotel called Insel Fermahn where they were having the Cinco De May activity. There she got to meet Sara (Group 75), Robyn (Group 74) and Janita, who is not a Peace Corps but is a kiwi (she's from NZ) who's working in Samoa – she also goes to Peace Chapel. I told mom that when I was in Christchurch and I called mom from there, I was staying at Janita's parents place. So the whole MJ adventure was just coming to life in front of her! We only stayed for about 15 minutes and then headed over to Giordano's – which was right across the street. Alec met us there and gave us a good seat and price on the meal, so it was just a great blessing to have run into him. Mom commented that the restaurant felt like a place you might see in downtown Chicago – so it definitely had a comfortable, relaxing atmosphere for just chilling. So we had a pizza and some good conversation – we were done by about 8:30pm. Alec said we hardly had anything but we were both stuff which is always a good thing. 

After dinner, we headed back to Paul/Viv's for the night and were konked out by about 10pm. Tomorrow, the traveling out of Apia part of the adventure begins. We'll go to church in the morning, then have brunch with the Pastor of Peace Chapel and then we're off to the beach fales! See you when we get back! L8r.