TSUNAMI

As you all know there was an 8.3 magnitude earthquake that triggered a deadly tsunami in Samoa and American Samoa.  The destruction was thorough and complete in the areas that the wave hit.  In some places the tsunami’s wave was over 30 feet high.  In total 34 people from American Samoa and another 119 from Samoa lost their lives.  Needless to say this even impacted the lives of everyone on island.

In an attempt to help groups of us went out and helped remove debris, one truck full at a time, from areas that the the heavy equipment could not reach.  We distributed water, food, clothing, school supplies and generally just gave support to people that needed it.  Additionally, members of the local bar association volunteered to aid individuals with various legal issues.  It is hard for me to express this event in words, so I have included a very limited number of photographs of the devastation caused by this tragic event. A Friend took this photo from his apartment when the wave hit Pago Pago.

Scenes from Pago Pago  

 

The pala in Leone

A Co-worker’s home

Now We Know…

So we went out to Sliding Rock a while back to take a swim in the Tidal pool.  While we were there two boys came to enjoy the pool as well.  The boys also brought there dogs, all 11 of them.  No lie they had 11 adult dogs following them! On the way back to the cars, these boys were running and siding on the rocks, all of us were like, Oh, that’s why it is called Sliding Rock.  We just thought it was because you come close to falling on the slippery rocks with every step you take.  Well here is a video of the fun.  You will notice that the boys had no fear and earned maximum style points.  Us on the other hand….

Sliding Rock

My 27th on the 27th

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This year was my Golden Birthday, turning 27 on September 27th.  Jeremy threw me a beach birthday party at 2 Dollar Beach.  Here rented the fales and cooked a bunch of food for us and our friends.  It was the most beautiful day and it is now one of my favorite birthdays.  The only thing missing were the people I love back at home. 

Raft Regatta and Talk like a Pirate Day

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So to celebrate “Talk Like A Pirate Day 2009”  some genius proposes to have a Raft Regatta.  This genius was Charlie Lee, an attorney in Jeremy’s office.  Teams were created and people gathered their raft supplies.  Jeremy teamed up with Brian Peck, new found fishing friend, to construct and paddle the boat.  They decided to build the boat using nothing but trash picked up around the island.  With a little bit of design help from me and Sue Peck, the raft was constructed and beautified a bit with a a table cloth, “Team Skinny Guys” flag and a mascot.  They tried out this heavy pile of trash and it floated! 

All the teams lined up at the starting point and set off on the race.  Every team made a pit stop at Pala Island, then headed for the finish line.  And Team Skinny Guy won!  Sue and I were so proud of our guys and their paddling skills. 

Then it was off to the “Talk Like A Pirate Party.”

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The Magic Circus of Samoa

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The MAGIC CIRCUS OF SAMOA (said in a very boisterous, circus master type voice) came to American Samoa.  It was here for around 3 weeks and was the talk of the island for that time.  It was actually a very entertaining circus,  with trapeze artists, contortionists, a live band, a little person clown, and the “cage of death”, which had five motorcycles in it at once.  There was also the show stopper, Fountina, the Human Fountain.  This woman could voluntarily regurgitate water like a fountain.  Gross!  It was exciting to have this entertainment on the island, since there is very little live entertainment at all.  The show lasted three hours and only cost $7 or $9 for VIP tickets (VIP seats are so close you can touch the stage). The circus performers did it all.  Each performer was in at least two shows, and when the performers were not working they would sell refreshments. The one disappointment with the circus was that there were no t-shirts to buy.   Everyone really wanted one.