My Theory on Samoan Tailgate Riding

Happy Labor Day! I hope you all had a fun and relaxing weekend...how was the land?...anyways, im gonna try to make this the shortest post ever...first, ill tell you about the pics...the top one is of one of the TWO public beaches on the whole darn island...this one is in Pago Pago...its sort of the city beach...it looks nice, and we keep meaning to go but we just havent yet...the other beach is called "2 dollar beach"...near faagutuia...now that one looks like a blast, and we were going to go today but its rainy and chilly out there...it has volleyball courts in the water, and this huge land formation jutting out of the water...its beautiful......this pic is of one of the busses...this is our main source of transportation...this is actually a smaller bus...some are a bit bigger...and most are painted extravagently with wild colors and images...the busses are usually just a truck with benches and a top put on it...each bus is individually owned, so many of the men build and care for their own busses...they always play this loud, happy samoan music...its very tropically moody and energetic...one of the most peaceful things to do on the island is just to drive along the coast (they only have one road here and its along the coast) and look at the ocean as happy-go-lucky samoan music plays in the background...the rides are only 50 cents for most trips...one of the most frusterating things about the island though is that these damn busses dont have schedules and maps of any sort...they just drive around to different villages, and you just have to wait and hope for one to come by you and pick you up...its so different than the states...where people are busy and have places to go at certain times...the people here and their busses are relaxed, chill, and easy-going...which is nice, but at the same time, annoying as all hell...especially when you have somewhere to be or you just wanna go home...patience is the biggest thing ive learned here...cause waiting for these gosh darn busses can be irratating...im an american!...i wanna get things done now!...i guess i have to get used to the idea that im a samoan for the next two years...things can get done tomorrow...oh, and we were talking to a doctor at the hospital one time and he told us that the biggest accident they see here on the island is scalping from the busses...yes, SCALPING...you know, when your scalp is ripped off!!!...well, i guess when theres accidents the bus tops fall off...and so do a few of the passengers' scalps!...
this is a pic of william and i...he's the other english teacher from D.C...he's a cool guy and our good friend...we three vent to eachother wonderfully...anyways, we're in the back of a truck driving down the road...on the night we first got here and we walked out of the airport, i noticed that everyone was getting picked up and going in the back of trucks...its definetly the samoan thing to do...everyone rides in the backs of trucks here...which is always very freeing and exciting...we love to do it...i think this ride was from a random stranger who was taking us to the grocery store...i love to see, in the mornings on our way to school, families driving their kids...the backs of the trucks are filled with children and teenagers all going to school in their uniforms...it is just so refreshing and bouyant to see parents not obsessed with the safety of their children...i know that sounds really bad, but think about it...parents in the states are O.C.D., with safety seats and safety belts and safety airbags and safety SUVs and safety minivans and soccer mom safeness anxiety...samoans are so uninhibited, boundless, and carefree...so daring and bold..and then you see samoan children and teenagers getting rained on as they sit in the back...and you just know that kids and teens in the states would not have any of that (though im sure the parents wouldnt either, with safety and all)...they'd be so "Hell to the NO!"...they'd all be like "Moooooom, im getting like so wet back here...my new American Eagle shirt is soaking...and my hair looks like a rats nest...and im cold and scared...i hate you!" :-)
and then you realize how unspoiled, obedient, and content samoan kids are...sorry, i went off onto a tangent about my theory of riding in the backs of trucks here in samoa...but its all very true in my opinion...

anyways, those are the pics...quickly, ill tell you what i did this weekend...well, friday night we went to william's house...he lives in a different part of town...we drank and played beer pong on his table...it was pretty fun and, like i said, we're the masters at venting our aggravations over this puzzling island's culture...then on saturday we went shopping and out to eat with a friend of ours...oh, and we went to our classrooms to decorate and clean and organize...on sunday, lisa and i went to a movie and went to mcdonalds...it was our "we miss the states" day...we saw talladega nights...i actually thought it was pretty hilarious...but then again, it was literally the first movie ive watched in about a month now...isnt that crazy!?...me, the movie lover, hasnt seen a movie in a month...i actually havent watched tv either...so, who knows...tom and jerry could crack me up...but we were giggling throughout the whole movie...and it made us miss the states a lot...it had applebees...we so miss applebees...you guys should all go and send me back some food :-) even though i think its more of the atmosphere and dinner with friends that we miss...not really the food...anyways, then we went to mcdonalds with a friend of ours...mcdonalds is a big thing here...theres only one of them...theyre not on every corner like in the states...so, its like a mirage in the desert for us...

well, i better get going now...is this the shortest post?...k, ttyl...bye...love ya and miss ya...

-JOE

"In the past, I've visited remote places -- North Korea, Ethiopia, Easter island -- partly as a way to visit remote states of mind, remote parts of myself that I wouldn't ordinarily explore."
-Pico Iyer