Here’s to another installment on what the heck we’ve been up to on our little rock in the South Pacific! This post is very picture heavy, since most of the highlight photos haven’t been posted since our New Zealand family holiday in January. Enjoy!
Summer Weather
Since we’re living in the southern hemisphere, we are technically at the end of summer and entering fall. With the American Samoan schools following the US education calendar, school breaks follow the northern hemisphere naming system. The kids are currently on spring break (even though its fall) and will be out of school in June/July for summer break. So we continue the habit of calling the last few months winter, even though it has been summer!
American Samoan summers are characterized as hot! We were warned when we first arrived in August of this infamous heat. While the temperatures don’t change very much, the trade winds disappear for the summer months. Without those constant breezes, you feel every bit of those 87+ degree highs. Some days it really feels like you need to swim through the thick, humid air!
Trade winds generally return sometime in April. We had a few days last week of constant winds, and it reminded us just how cooling those winds are! Until then, we’ve discovered the ideal number of fans in our little house is five! We take advantage of the ocean in our front yard as much as we can, though some days (mainly at low tide) even the ocean feels hot.
Our arsenal of ocean toys has been growing. We are fairly adamant that we’re accumulating as few material possessions as possible while living in American Samoa, but somehow that hasn’t extended to ocean toys. Got to take advantage of our living conditions!
Ocean toys have recently extended to surf boards as well. We were invited to try surfing last month, and Ty was immediately in love.
Tora is more cautious about it, but still really enjoying herself. American Samoa waves aren’t exactly clean and beginner friendly, so the learning to surf process is definitely a showcase of how much Ty and Tora’s swim skills have improved. There has been lots of getting tossed in the white water of waves and quickly recovering!
Feeling Island Settled
After a rough month of February, March feels like we’re really settling in. While I would have said (and likely did say) that we were settled back in October, we have a much better groove now. We were lucky enough to travel off island in October and December/January which definitely disrupted our day to day schedule (though totally worth it!). Getting used to the summer heat and maintaining productivity has been another challenge. Here’s hoping next summer’s adjustment isn’t quite so steep!
Science Fair Results
At the end of 2018, Ty and Tora finished up Science Fair projects and competed in their school wide fair. The territory Department of Education determines how many kids move on to the February Territory Science Fair from each school.
It was a lot of work, but the kids did great! Tora came in runner up in the K-2nd grade category, and was thrilled! Only one student from that age group advanced to the island wide competition. Ty advanced to Island Wide with his project, along with five other students in the 3rd to 8th grade division. His reaction was initial excitement, then a bit of dread knowing he would need to work more on his project!
Territory Science Fair
The Territory Science Fair was quite the experience! I chaperoned from our school, so was able to see the entire process. After a FULL and HOT day of judging, Ty was honored as the winner of the Zoology category for grades 3-5. The winners then stick around to be judged again, to determine the overall winners for each age group. Overall winners are announced later in the week at the awards ceremony along with the high school students.
Ty went on to place 3rd in the 3rd-5th grade category, as well as receive his award for 1st place Zoology. Way to go Ty
Island Sunrises and Sunsets
The sunrises out our front door continue to amaze us. We had a stretch of nearly two weeks mid-February with virtually no color, but generally there is at least some shade of brilliance.
Sunsets aren’t quite as stunning from the house, but if you hop on the paddleboard for an evening paddle, you can generally catch some form of beautiful sunset. Even if it’s not the best color, you’re floating above a beautiful reef and there is always something amazing to see.
Crazy Cat Kids
The kids are slowly developing some crazy cat loving skills.
There are now two neighborhood kittens that come inside to play as they choose (thanks Bill cat for pushing in that door screen) when we’re home. They are definitely entertaining to watch play, and very happy they are not ours. One was neutered before our island vet left, and I’m anxious to see the girl spayed. Fingers crossed the new vet arrives in April as planned. With our luck, she would hide out at our place to birth potential kittens 🙁
A Few More Pictures
One of our favorite beaches on island is a 15 minute walk/hike in. It’s a stunning, small little beach cove with little traffic. It feels just like your own private beach for the afternoon.
American Samoan Culture
Fale is the Samoan word for house, and you see many variations of fale throughout the islands. Traditionally, fales were round or oval open sided buildings.
With modern building materials, many of the fales are now rectangular or square.
Each Matai (village chief) has a large meeting fale like those pictured above. Along our half mile of village road, there are 18 of these large fales! These are not sleeping places, though there is one fale close to us that does seem to host a few young men overnight.
Most homes are now enclosed, and not built in this style. I’m sure there are still some on the outskirts of this island, but we have yet to see them. Over in western Samoa, we have seen smaller fales that are clearly living quarters.
You do frequently see smaller fales along beaches, or other lounging areas. They are a nice size to offer shade and protection from frequent tropical rain showers.
Catch Up
Curious to learn how our journey started, and other tidbits about living in American Samoa? Follow along by reading our Living in American Samoa series.
We hope this post finds you happy and well! For our Northern Hemisphere family and friends, happy Spring!
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