Kelly's Trip to Samoa, August, 2006

Fire Demo 2	Fono at his bar	Fono	Kel and Fono
Kim	Langi and Ana	Retreat 2	Samoa Staff
Training	Village ladies dancing 2	Village ladies dancing	kids of the village
retreat location	soon to be vols	vols dancing 2	vols dancing

Kelly's Trip to Samoa, September, 2004

Up

I was blessed to spend 5 weeks in the Polynesia island of Samoa. The country consists of the two large volcanic islands, Upolu and Savai'i, and seven small islets located about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand in the Polynesian region of the South Pacific. Samoa has a population of approximately 180,000 gentle kind people.

The coast is dotted with swaying palm trees and white sand beaches. The water is crystal clear and the waves are perfectI can see why all the surfers come here. The interior of the country has lush forest of evergreens, vines and ferns. The banyan trees dominate the landscape at the higher elevations.

The Samoan culture is very strong with close-knit family, steeped in tradition with respected village chiefs and church on Sundays. Dancing, singing and music play a big part in Samoan culture. Many males at age 12 go to a tattooist and get tattooed from the waist to knee. Intricate tattooing is one of the hallmarks of traditional Samoan culture.

I was fortunate to arrive during the biggest weeklong cultural festival of the year (the Teuila Festival). There was choir singing, fire-knife dancing, longboat racing and plenty of food. What a way to begin my visit!

I am home for just a short stint before I head off to the cold weather and wild lands of Mongolia.

All my love,

Kelly

Aggies	Aggies daughter	Apia night	Fono
Horn blower	Theresa family	church	dancing ladies
fire dancing	me pool	seashore	singing ladies
tatoo man	tatoo man2