The Beverly Hills of American Samoa (yeah, right!)

Yo, yo, yo! My peeps! Sup? This is gonna be a really short post...i know i always say that, but really...this time it is...im only going to say 3 things!

1. These are pics of my house again...well, the area around my house...the first pic is of the ocean that i tell you guys so much about...it puts me to sleep every night....thats not the greatest pic...i have one really cool one where the waves are crashing against the rocks...but i thought that one showed a lot...and i dont have high speed yet so i have to be smart with what pics i choose...the middle one just shows you the other houses surrounding ours...its, like ive said, a sort of circle of houses surrounding a swimming pool...lots of families live in the area...and kids are always playing outside...we've even met some friends...our long labor day weekend is actually filled up with fun stuff...anyways, the last pic is of the pool...we haven't swam in it yet...we're sort of afraid of it...but the kids swim in it, so im sure we will one of these days...once again, we live in Freddy's Beach Government Housing...near maliu mai beach...and in the village of fogogo...they pronounce their "g" with a "ing"...so, its really fo-ngo-ngo...same with the capital here, pago pago...

2. next, we went to the beach the other night and put our feet in the ocean for the first time...isnt that crazy?...we're on a small island in the south pacific and we havent touched the ocean in the month we've been here...but its hard to do so because we dont have time or transportation...and many of the families own the shores, so we were afraid to just go swimming...also, as pretty as the ocean is, it also can be a very scary thing...sharks, coral reefs, waves, jellyfish, ginormous turtles, etc...you know what i mean...we also had some samoan ice cream...it was the first time we've had ice cream since being here...it was soooooo good...it was homemade and delicious...i had banana with sumu chocolate...i guess thats a traditional samoan way of making chocolate...yummy...and i thought this island life would make me lose weight...ha, think again...our friend jon took us...we've really met a lot of people now...i actually have friends here!...its amazing...and they actually like us bitchy Americans :-)

3. its labor day weekend, and im gonna really miss being with everyone...though i have all these samoan friends and adventures...nothing compares to being with all of you guys...i really love all of you, and im so glad that many of you look at my blog and wonder about how im doing...thanks for all the love and support...i dedicated this post's quote to all my friends and family who havent forgot about me...oh, thanks mom for sending that stuff...i was soooo happy that i got my magazine...now i dont feel so out of touch with the real world...and a special shout out to Robyn and grandma B for leaving me such nice messages of encouragment...sometimes when i come home from a long day of teaching here on this lonely, confusing, and frusterating island, i really need those little sparks of inspiration...and thanks to shawn and dana, too...for actually reading this mess of a blog, and for reminding your kids not to forget about me. :-)
by the way, shawn, i remember before i left you saying that they worship something like the sun or moon or trees or something...no, they actually are all very devout christians...some are mormans...some our 7th day adventists (is that what they're called?)...many are latter day saints...but almost all are christains in some way...yes, they worship jesus and are obsessed with the bible...i try to connect the bible in many of my lectures and instruction, just so they have something to connect with and admire...but, as we've learned while being here, like many american christians...or really like any human being...they still have their problems with alcohol, drugs, infidelity, gossip, etc...they think they're pious, God's people...but there's a lot they keep secret...but i wont go into that here...another post...though i should be careful with what i put on this blog...anyone could read, you know...anyways, like i was saying...thanks to all my friends and family who have supported me in this crazy decision to come to this crazy island...and still loving me for it!...

k, well, thats it...im outie...ttyl...i love ya and miss ya, and have a drink for me at the land...scream my name at the top of the bluff...maybe ill hear ya...

-JOE

p.s. i recently got some books from amazon...i say mom, shawn, and suzy should either order them too, or maybe i can just send them to you guys after im done...what'd ya guys think?...the books are : "A Sight for Sore Eyes" by Ruth Rendell, and "The Kid" by Dan Savage...i also got harry potter, but im sure that y'all (besides sue) wont wanna read that...

p.s.s. could you guys start putting addresses of people on this blog...for example, i dont have grandma b's, the siem's, carla's, julaine's, grandma krumree's, and many, many more...if you guys have that info for random family members, that'd be great...k bye...i love you guys so, so much!...faafatai...(thank you, in samoan)...

"The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson