Well it’s been awhile since my last update and its been fairly exciting here. My folks and sister came for a visit after Christmas. My mom and sister were here for two weeks before having to get back to school but my dad was able to take advantage of his retirement and stay nearly a month. The first two weeks were kind of a whirlwind that allowed me to see a lot of the places I had heard about but had yet to get to visit and play tourist a little bit. We spent New Years Eve in Falealupo which is at the extreme west end of Savai’i to watch an amazing sunset. It was a pretty chill couple days hanging out with most of the other volunteers in country. We spent 4 nights at my site so my two families could all meet and get to know each other. We drove around both main islands and stayed a few different places which has definitely allowed me to decide which places are worth heading back to. After my mom and sister headed back my dad and I headed back to the village for about a week of village life. Ray and Jan two other volunteers from my group came up for a night and had a nice visit. Then to wrap up my dad’s trip we headed out to Manono a small island between Savai’i and Upolu for 2 nights. It is a very traditional island with no dogs, cars or even bikes. We were able to go snorkeling for a bit on the reef which is always exciting. Right before my dad left our post ended up going on stand fast because there was a storm that could become cyclone off the west coast of Savai’i. He got off fine and the storm ended up tracking to the north so everything went fine. Hope this finds everyone well. Enjoy the pics below.
peace
tim

The beach fales we stayed in at Falealupo.

The group hanging out on New Years Eve waiting for sunset.

The last sunset of 2006.

The folks at the fiafia the place put on for us at new years.

The women’s committees of each village show the fine mats they have been weaving one each year. Sarah from my group joined her committee in the parade.