Samoa

As some of you know, we recently returned from an amazing trip to Samoa where Lily and I met Seuao's parents and most of his family for the first time. This is Lily on her first plane ride (and she wishes her last - temper tantrums and tiny plane cabins in which to fling yourself around in and bump your head on don't mix well...)

We flew from Salt Lake to LA where we spent a few days with Seuao's older sister, Lanu and her family. Our flight from LA was 10 hours direct to Samoa. I have flown overseas before, but for some reason I was nervous this time! Something about turbulence over the Pacific really wasn't giving me warm fuzzies...

We arrived in Samoa early in the morning, and spent a few days adjusting to the heat and humidity! One of the reasons we decided to take our trip now was so we could throw a birthday party for Seuao's mom. She turned 70, and let me tell you, those old Samoan ladies know how to party! I have never seen that many old ladies in a room boogie like they did! It was awesome! That's one thing I love about the Samoan culture - they express every emotion (ok, so that's not always so awesome, but it usually is) - they're not shy and reserved (adjectives that describe me more often than not...) - maybe that's why I respect it so much. I wish I had more of that in me.

This is another old lady that was at the party - I don't know who she is, but I just love this picture - it totally exemplifies the mood of the evening:

When we finished with all of the family stuff, Seuao and I took the next week to tour around the island. We fed sea turtles:
We swam in waterfalls:

Visited beautiful countrysides:

Saw a "fia-fia" (a traditional Samoan dance show) and stayed at the historic Aggie Grey's:

Played at a couple of beaches:

And of course spent treasured time with Seuao's family and friends (this is us with Seuao's mom and dad):

It was a wonderful trip filled with memories I will forever cherish. I am so very grateful we had the opportunity to go. Experiencing the real culture (not just the West Valley version) was something I really needed. I understand so much more about the little funny things my hunny does (i.e. mostly melting his ice cream before he eats it here - over there it's so hot it melts instantly!)

Here is a link to my Picassa page with even more pictures of our trip in case this isn't enough for ya! http://picasaweb.google.com/rniusulu I don't have them all on there yet, but I'll add to it...