Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily...

aye, aye!...mateys...hows it goin in your neck of the woods?...im doin good here...the weekend went by fast...i was pretty busy...alotta hangin out with friends...i didnt get any of my errands done...so now i feel guilty...anyways, this blog entry isnt really gonna have a complex island issue that im going to discuss...i literally have nothing to write about...and i dont feel like bitchin about the island tonight...i know, sounds shocking..."joe doesnt want to complain about american samoa?!...what?!"...i guess i need a break from the deep, philosophical discussions about the culture of the island...besides, im also outta ideas...im drained...so, until i get a muse to inspire me, this is the blog youre gonna get...some lists, embarassing stories, and explanations of the images...lets begin...

on saturday, i went to pago pago yacht club to watch the boat races...well, actually they were just practicing for flag day...the big day for the boat races...everyone was out in the harbor...sailing, paddling, and rowing...i didnt go paddling this time because im not very good and i didnt wanna screw them up...even though they did need somebody and like begged me to go out...i really wanted to (although its hella tiring, i love being out on the waves), but, as i said, i didnt wanna mess up their practice...i should start going again...its excellent exercise, especially for your arms, and its a superb view...but pago pago is about 30 minutes away from my village...and its just a hassle to get out there...at any rate, i dig the top pic because of the rainbow...its kinda small and in the pic below you can see it better...i hate how rainbows have become the symbol for gay pride...cause if you think about it, rainbows are pretty damn amazing...a lovely strip of colors in the middle of the sky...a spectacular natural illusion...but now its only considered a gay entity...darn gay people!...

okay, i was ponderin the other day that i dont think i give myself enough credit for stickin with this whole american samoa thing...i mean, i wont go into the reasons, but i really feel like i dont realize how difficult it is to live here...my two friends (who will remain anonymous) are leaving after this year...so i might be here alone next year...its gonna be even harder...however, even after spending about a year here on this god forsaken island, ive gotta start being more proud of myself...ive felt lonely (missin my family), ive been extremely bored (nuthin to do on island), ive been very angry (sole, this island is annoying), ive been tired (workin with samoan students isnt always the easiest thing to do), and ive been confused (am i wasting my time/life here?)...my emotions and experiences here have been like a wild roller coaster...and i really think i should start realizing my bravery and patience and dedication...the following list are just some of the powerfully inspiring quotes that have uplifted me in times of hardship since being on this island...

My 5 Most Inspiring (American Samoa) Quotes:

5. "It's where we go, and what we do when we get there, that tells us who we are." (Joyce Carol Oates) = ive obviously learned so much about myself since being here...what kind of person i am and how i deal with the world...ive also learned a lot about what kind of teacher i want to be...i dont think ive lost myself on the island...i didnt let the island turn me into something i didnt want to be...and im proud of myself for that...

4. "The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck." (Ralph Waldo Emerson) = i love the image of the world as the inside of a piano...and its just waiting for me to pluck a string and enjoy the sound it makes...

3. "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." (Helen Keller) = i dont know if this is completely true, but the quote has definetly convinced me to stay many times...i see the island as a "daring adventure"...and going home and settling as "nothing"...

2. "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness...Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's life." (Mark Twain) = i just think this is very true...im learning about the world and human beings everyday...and i dont think that could happen if i was just at home...with the same people and in the same place ive been since i was born...

1. "When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable." (Clifton Fadiman) = wow, this single quote has been my rock since moving to this island and experiencing the sometimes irritatingly bewildering culture...whenever i get pissed off and annoyed with the samoan people and their lifestyle and their beliefs, i remind myself of this enlightening, inspiring quote...instead of getting angry and wondering why the culture cant be more like mine in the states, i think of this quote...and realize their culture is different because theyre different...and its not supposed to make me content and comfortable...its supposed to make them content and comfortable...and then the fury and aggravation drifts from my shoulders...and i can breathe calmly...

Shawn's Embarassing Story:

alright, its shawn's turn...i usually dont have to worry about her cause she's always excellent at leaving messages and interacting with my blog...but, oops, she didnt leave one last time...so now its her turn...i actually have two stories i could tell...here they are...

1. during a family dinner, everyone was sitting around the table eating some of mom's yummy food...well, shawn goes to lift a pot (of green bean casserrole, i think), and she musta had a brain glitch or something because her whole nervous system kinda shut down...she lost complete control of her senses!...when she had the pot in her hand, she says, "oh, its hot!"...and she puts the dish down...but then a millisecond later (literally, shorter than the blink of an eye!) she picks it up again and says, "no its not"...what'd she lose her sense of touch?...or did she just freak out cause she thought the pot was hot?...and then realized instantly that it was not?...and was her dr. suess-like rhyming on purpose?...either way, next time you see shawn, say, "its hot, no its not!"...she'll appreciate it...

2. this other time at ma's house (i think it was christmas or shawn's birthday or something), her and chad pulled up on the road in the truck...it was nighttime, i think, when shawn burst outta the vehicle, excited to be at mom's house, and she ran right into a fire hydrant...i guess the hydrant was so little that she didnt realize it was right outside her car door...so, she tripped over it and hurt her leg...that was hilarious...one second she's in pure happiness at being at grandma's house...and the next second she's beng tackled by a little red fire hydrant...those fire hydrants can be so sneaky...what a nerd...

My Top Five Obsessions of the Week:

5. Edward Scissorhands: The Ballet = well, i guess its sorta like a ballet...more like a musical play without words...anyways, i wish i could go see this stage adaptation of one of my most beloved movies of all time...it looks magical and imaginative and dark and sad and funny...just like the movie about an innocent soul forced to find his way in a world that doesnt accept him...sounds like me!...without the scissors for hands...the tour ends before i come home...so, i think, the fact that i cant go and see it makes me even more obsessed with it...

http://www.edwardscissorhandstour.com/

4. Children of Men = this intense, gripping film about the future is exhilirating...and horrifyingly smart...though i was stressed out during many of the scenes (pulling my hair out and closing my eyes and grinding my teeth in some), the movie is spine-tinglingly thrilling...and its made beautifully...the dark and dismal future never looked so realistic and alive and forceful...(there's a long tracking shot towards the end in a shot-up, violence-riddled building thats truly awesome)...there's even a birth of a baby thats tensely mesmerizing...rent this flick!...itll make you think AND take your breath away...

3. The Alanis Morissette "My Humps" Video = this is not only a hilarious mocking of the black eyed peas classic, but its also a brave jab at her own music...alanis is couragous and humble enough to make fun of herself...and while she does this, she also makes fun of the outragously silly and ludicrous lyrics of this hip-hop, pop, ferigilicious dance track..."whatcha gonna do with all them breasts?...all them breasts inside that shirt?"...that lyric sounded funny in the original...just wait til you hear the angsty alanis sing it...this shoulda been a skit on SNL...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W91sqAs-_-g

2. The University of the Virgin Islands = i know my family and friends may be worried to hear this, but ive been thinkin about getting my masters here after im done in american samoa...i mean, i mostly want to go home after im done with the south pacific...but after seeing this school on the show college hill, i sorta fell in love with it...the islands are like a caribbean haiti...or a mini-brazil...or lil' puerto rico...yet still wonderfully american...the people seem gorgeous and the island, especially its night life, seems tropically rousing...who knows...maybe in a couple of years, instead of samoa joe, youll be reading a blog called virgin joe...oh, that doesnt sound too good, does it?...

http://www.uvi.edu/pub-relations/uvi/home.html

1. Mayo = yup, i do mean the condiment...mayonaise has become my new obsession...man, this shiznit is tasty...ive always known it was good...but now i have authentically grasped the splendor of this creamy, delicious delight...ive been putting it on everything...i dip my fries in it, spread it on my hot dog bun, and pile it on my sandwiches...and thats just a sampling of my fixation on the heavenly mayo...its magnificent on everything...shoot, i could probably put it on my ice cream...i know, its totally fattening...probably a million points on weight watchers...and i wont even mention the clogged arteries...but, hell, you only live once, right?...and if this lovely white stuff makes me happy while im on this island, then screw the clogged arteries!...oh snap!...that doesnt sound too good either...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayonaise

i just took a picture of these samoan guys cause they were hot...pathetic, youre right...but you gotta admit...theyre kinda hunky...

okay, y'all...sorry for the boring post...but try to respond to it...what'd ya think of the quotes?...any quotes that have gotten you through the hard times?...how about my obsessions?...you have any mayo recipes?...and have you ever picked up a pot and said, "its hot no its not"?...do you have any questions about the culture on the island?...and is life but a dream?...love ya and miss ya...

-JOE

"The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are."

-Samuel Johnson