Fire Dancers in Samoa!

Hello again! Now we're in Samoa - Independent Samoa - on the Island of U'polu. We are headed for Suva'i tonight at 1800hrs. We arrived on Thursday afternoon, and I was able to spend a few hours on land before dinner, just walking into the town, going to the bank to exchange currency, dropped of some laundry, and went to the grocery store to get some snacks (nuts) and ice cold water! Our boat is docked at the farthest most possible spot from the town, so it allows us all to get some great exercise in walking to and from the town every day, often multiple times a day! Friday (yesterday) was spent mostly shopping for food with Gillian. We took 2-3 trips to and from the grocer's and market in taxis, carting food to the boat, loading it on, and stowing it all away. I had to leave Gillian at the market early because I needed to be back to the boat to make dinner (Judy, I made your famous chili again, with my own incorporation of chick peas, black beans, corn, and some extra spices, and cornbread)! But I didn't eat at the boat. Gillian and I used the showers near the boat after a long, hot, sweaty day of shopping and stowing down below with the oven on, washed off all the grime of the day's work, and then went out with Karen, Jordan, and some other trainees to a buffet dinner and a fire-dancing show! It was awesome! The guys were the fire dancers, and really amazing entertainers! It was great! At the end of the show, one of our trainees kissed "the godfather" (the name of the biggest firedancer) and then she got up to dance with the dancers on stage, and many of us got up there as well! (I was taking pictures and laughing at our table). It was great fun! And after all our dance practices in the Marquesas, Tuamotus, and Cook Islands, it was really fun watching everyone bust out their South Pacific moves! Later, we all went to "Vbar" for some more dancing, but we were the only ones dancing. It was fun! Dancing to songs like 500 Miles, and other recognizable tunes (Matt, you would have loved it - I imagined you there dancing with us)! It was very hot there, though, so I was happy when we finally decided to go back to the boat. It was an incredibly hot day, but Gillian and I were able to do some laundry, and get all the food put away, so I'm happy!
Today, Gillian, Karen, Jose and I all went up to Robert Louis Stevenson's House (which is now a Museum) and got a tour of his place. IT was incredible! (R.L. Stevenson, for those who don't know, wrote many books and poems, the most famous being "Treasure Island", "Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde", and "Kidnapped"). His house was really quite amazing, with all original furniture, artwork, pictures, instruments, original copies of his first books, and so forth all there. I learned a lot about his life, and his time spent in Samoa, and then we hiked up the hill to where his and his wife's gravesites are (at the top of a hill overlooking the town and ocean - just magnificent)! Jose took a video of us up there, so when I get his website I will add it to my links so you can all take a look! He has many great pictures and videos of the trip so far, and I think it would be very beneficial to check those out! I will get that as soon as possible! After the hike, we went to a cute little cafe for lunch and fruit drinks, and now, here I sit in the internet cafe, just finished listening to Usher.

We are leaving soon, so I just want to say a big Hello to everyone and that I miss you all a ton (especially you, Matt!) By the way, my camera stopped working, and my Ipod and charger got stolen on Palmerston Island (the last Cook Island we went to), so I am really upset and sad at this loss of technology. I am hoping to get Mom to maybe get me a new digital camera and Amy to get another IPOD (both for good deals) and download all the music onto it and send it to the SALTS office within the next couple of weeks, so it can come out with the next group of trainees, who are meeting us in FIJI on October 10th. Loren Hagerty (SALTS's executive director) as well as Sarah Brizan (the Watch Officer) and Gillian Hoyer's Dad are all coming to Fiji, so one of them can bring them out. Of course, I will pay you back, but I am just really upset about no camera or IPOD (You can't imagine how necessary those items are on a trip like this!) and I would SO LOVE to take pictures and listen to music - that's all i need! That, and Matt's hugs and machine gun kisses from MOm~hee hee~

I love you all! Take care, and I will see you all soon (in my dreams)!

Love always, Katie