I had two final exams today. They went well, but they were back to back and the first one was at 8am. It was a little exhausting, and then I still had to drive for an hour and a half to Houston. I stayed the night at my grandmother's so I could go to the airport in the morning. I was so excited that I had trouble sleeping.
I woke up at an hour that seemed far too early in order to make it to the airport on time. I may have slept for a couple hours, but I was just as tired as when I went to bed. The airport waiting area was filled with a mix of people in their Aloha shirts and native Hawaiians. The flight to Honolulu was long, but good. After some confusion as to where to get my ticket from Hawaiian Air, I made it on to my next flight to Pago Pago, American Samoa. The entertainment sucked. So did the food.
At long last, I arrived in Samoa. Mary was able to wait for me at the baggage claim, which was nice. My bag had to be THE last one off the plane. I am so glad that she was able to wait for my bag with me. Otherwise, it would have been very tedious to wait for it knowing that she was just outside ...
As soon as I cleared the customs official Mary gave me a nice flower leis and a big hug. The leis was a nice touch and very sweet. It was such a wonderful feeling to finally meet Mary. It didn't feel like we were meeting for the first time, though. It really felt like I had known her for years and we just hadn't seen each other in a long time. I have never felt some comfortable with someone. Certainly not after having just met them.
After I got my luggage, we stopped off at her house and I met her mom and brother. They were both very nice, and it was good to get a chance to say hi quickly. We didn't stay too long because I was so tired from the flight. The ride to the hotel was interesting. It was dark out, but even in the dead of night it was obvious how badly the roads were in disrepair. After Mary dropped me off at my hotel, I think I slept from about midnight to noon, but I needed it.
Mary had to work today, so I just slept in very late. I must have slept at least 12 hours, until she got off work and was able to come pick me up. Having gotten some sleep, it was nice to see Mary when I was more alive than the night before. Her pictures do not do her justice.
We drove around some and saw the island, but it was a little bit rainy. It was a slow, but wonderful day.
It was rainy outside today so we had kind of a lazy day. We went to breakfast at this nice little cafe, The Deluxe Cafe. It was very reasonable and the food was good. I got a cheese omelet with new potatoes and toast and Mary got some banana pancakes and we kind of traded off food. Everything was good. I especially liked the potatoes and the pancakes.
We also hung out at Mary's house and watched a movie and played scrabble. We made brownies for a staff party for Mary's work. I got to visit with Mary's family some too. They are very laid back. I think that they like me ok so far. I haven't committed any huge social blunders anyway. I even helped carry in the groceries.
At any rate, I've been having a good time. I have seen a bit of Samoa now. The mountains were really beautiful, despite the foul weather. It is very different from most of the places I've been. It is truly a third world, forgotten, and backwards country. Still, it is beautiful and the people I have met so far have been nice enough. I hope to not see the darker side of the island.
I went to the staff party with Mary and her brother. It was a lot of fun even though I didn't really know anyone. We played a game called Catchphrase with everybody. I usually hate games like that, but it wasn't too bad. (You get a word and have to describe it and get your team to guess it ... ).
Today is very sunny and hotter. We went to this place on the beach, Tisa's, and had pina colada's. The drinks were so good, made from fresh ingredients. We sat at a table and enjoyed the view and listened to the waves roll in. It was very relaxing and we got to talk about anything and everything. Just the two of us. It was the most fun I'd had in a long time, and we weren't doing anything special ... just spending time together. Finally.
After the mosquitoes had feasted on my flesh, we went for a walk along the beach. We ran into some of her students and they were very cute. They all ran up to her shouting her name and gave her great big hugs. They even gave me a shell, which was very sweet.
I've never been a beach bum, but walking along the wet sand with her hand in mine ... with the waves rolling in and the most magnificent view ... it was surely a taste of heaven.
I also got to eat dinner with Mary's family. They made a nice white fish and baked potatoes and green beans and bread and fruit and spinach ... everything that I tried was yummy. I think I had everything but the spinach. The fish was good. It was really nice to sit down for a meal with her family. I really felt welcomed.
Afterwards, I played Uno with Mary and her brother and her mom. It was a lot of fun and made for some good laughs. We played 3 rounds, and the last one took forever. I think we went through the deck about 6 or more times. It was just really good to get to spend some time with Mary's family and get to know them. They are very nice. They could not have been more hospitable.
Today we got a late start. We went to breakfast at a place called Mom's. The service was definately not like in America, but the food was good. Even just doing something as banal as going to breakfast with Mary is exciting to me. I have fun no matter what when I am with her.
We mostly just hung out around her house today. We did drive around some, and I got to see the paddlers out on the water. It was cool to see what Mary does several days a week. I don't think I would last very long paddling. I couldn't believe how far they paddle some days.
We made her family's famous chocolate cake with fudge icing today. It was sooo good. I got to help make it and she let me lick the bowl. It was very very yummy. She might be worth keeping around just for the cake.
Today we went to Sliding Rock. It is this tidal pool where the ocean waves crash in every once in a while. It was a bit of a hike to get to, but it was well worth it. I enjoyed hiking there and deciding with Mary what the best path to take was. A couple places we had to climb down some slippery lava rocks and then climb back up. I enjoy things like that. It's a good thing I'm reasonably sure footed.
The tidal pool was just amazing. It is about 11 feet deep at its deepest point. It gets very shallow at points as well. I got tired of swimming at one point, so I stood on this little ledge on the side of the pool. All of a sudden I felt something on my foot. I looked down and stared for a moment ... and then I saw this little fish about 6-10 inches long attack my foot. I guess I was too close to its home for its comfort.
There were also a lot of crabs and we picked up some to play with them. This one type of crab had electric blue on it and some very bright orange as well. It was cute.
It kept threatening to rain on us, but luckily it held off until we were done swimming. I had so much fun. I really can't remember the last time I did anything like that. Well, never. I don't think I've ever been anyplace quite like it. Some of the beaches in Portugal are probably the closest I can think of. There is no one else I could have had as much fun with, either.
For dinner we went and had Chinese food. I didn't like mine as much as I thought I would, but it was a nice quiet meal with just the two of us. That made up for it all. We split a fried banana with ice cream, which was very very good.
When we got back to her house from dinner, her family had already eaten. Her mom had made a delicious peach dump cake, though, and so we tried a piece of that. Her family makes really good food and even better desserts. Lucky for me, as I have more than a bit of a sweet tooth.
Tonight we went to Fia Fia night at Sadie's. We had a buffet first, which was not my favorite. They did have a really good German Chocolate cake. After dinner we went outside where they had set up chairs for the entertainment. Until the show started, this older Samoan man sang to us. He even sang Margarittaville which was a treat.
The show included Polynesian Dancing and Fire Knife Dancing. I have some videos but they are all in MOV format and very large (100mb+). If anyone has good conversion software maybe I could put them up somewhere.
The show was really cool and I enjoyed it. Even more so, though, I enjoyed the company. We bumped into another one of her students and it was really cute. Her students adore her. Just not as much as I do. :)
Mary dressed up for the evening, and she looked incredibly beautiful in her red dress. (As seen in the pictures she sent, though it doesn't do her justice). I'm sure the other patrons of the restaurant wondered what on earth she was doing with ME.
Today is the day I leave. It is the day that I have been dreading, the one I hoped would never come to pass. After such a wonderful and life altering trip, it did not seem fair to have to leave. It came much too soon.
As a present from her family, I got a lavalava. It was so very thoughtful of them to include me. I decided to wear it and me and Mary went to Vaitogi beach. We walked in the sand for a little while and took a picture or two. It was beautiful. I think we both were acutely aware of what day it was.
For my last meal on island, we had a nice quiet dinner with Mary's family. I had lemon pepper chicken and mashed potatoes and corn and green beans and it was all delicious. I think I was already getting kind of quiet and somber. For dessert, I bought her family a frozen Mrs. Smith pie. I wanted to make some kind of gesture to them, even if it wasn't much. My imminent departure was the only drawback to the evening.
After dinner we moped around some until it came time to take me to the airport. The line to check luggage took forever. It was frustrating to spend some of my last time with Mary just waiting in line ... but still, just having her there at all was very nice.
It was so very hard to say goodbye. I did not want to leave, and she did not want to let me leave. It was getting very close to boarding time when I finally got in the security line. Shortly after I did, the head of TSA for the island announced that no one else could get in line. I had barely made it.
I have never had more difficulty saying goodbye to anyone. I never thought it would be so hard to leave. I was not prepared at all for the emotions that it evoked. Mary stayed to the very end. As I walked to the stairs of the plane, I could see her waving to me. I waved back. From the very last step to the plane, I took one last look ... I waved, I blew her a kiss, and like that ... she was gone from sight as I entered the plane. That may well have been the most difficult step I ever took.