Screamingtree

Stays with you forever

Or at least for me.

Its been a while since I’ve been back from my 7 day trip of Pago - but I’d have to say that all memories were happy and good ones.

Upside? - Pago rocks it with the Super-flash Mc Donalds and Drive-through (I tried to jump out of the car to make an order and nearly fell into the ocean, haha..)

- Pago also has a kick ass KFC (Still aint the same kinda taste, but.. good enough) - & Kick-ass Pizza hut (connected to KFC) in Tafuna.

- Pago has mini-buses haha! dang, maybe everyone else knew this, but to see a mini-bus (imagine an Upolu or Savaii bus) and just halve that.. wierd.

- All islands of Samoa are beautiful, but Amanave (where I stayed) took away my breath) and also the kua-backs village of Masefau (where we took hostage of a Beach Fale and went rampant on wierd American beer)

- The Turtle building in Fagatogo and some of the towns architecture was kickass.

- The pieces of the ‘Pacific Arts Festival’ where still around and it was humbling to see the evolution of our Pacific Arts, we had watched some of the activities @ the Fagogo Centre (which is kick ass, and the guy there Brian, was the coolest poet - and if he was any more romantic, I swear, I wouldn’t slapped him) lmfao.

Downside?

- One Continuous Road, I debated whether this was good or not, but in theory, to ’see’ all of Tutuila, you’ve kinda got one choice, from end to end.. City Planning problem? I dunno, but I can imagine what Pago would look like with a few bridges to connect the harbour..

- (deep deep deep down inside my heart, I honestly thought, Pago was more prettier than Upolu) EXCEPT for the white-goods waste on the side of the roads, imagine having a scenic tour and every other corner had unused ovens/fridges/washing machines littering the road.. what is that..

- and yo, wusup wit the Long-Hair and pony-tails, kinda like a style right?

Aight.

I’ma leave that, if any of my pago people have any explanations, I’ll take it all in, but bottom line, Pago Rocks with a different kind of Americana’ type flavour.  If your from Australia or NZ, the culture shock may be bit more intense.. Upolu’s New Zealand influence is more noticeable after visiting Pago - Motu of Fiafiaga.

What happened in Amanave… hmm.. thats a different story

Arghhhhhhhhhh! I’m in Pago @ the Moment, but shux.. I’ll be back to fill you in!

The festive season is still in full swing.  Its now the first day of 2009.

I’m in Lefaga, Savaia - This palagi man has set up an internet cafe next to my dad’s house and if I knew about this place earlier, I would live here.

5 People died in Samoa on Christmas, from Alcohol related causes.

My heart and soul goes out to the families affected.

I decided to have a quiet Christmas drink with my aunty Fam, we’ve figured out that Baileys and Midori feels really good in the heat (since we’ve graduated from the Cold Vailima’s to the Warm ones because we “think” the buzz is kinda better) and the vomiting or the sensation of burping out a bottle of cold vailima was enough deterrant to keep us from plain beer, so we chilled out and listening to Jerome Grey & Lauryn Hill with our “ultra sheek bailey’s (mint)/midori & vailima cocktail” - i felt like a sex-in-the-city character, and when I think about it, thats kinda wrong.

We’ve been addicted to a Korean Soap Drama “Jewel in the Palace”, and ever since Fam decided to quit from Sunrise (Chinese Restaurant) I’ve had the coolest partner to watch this suck-ass soap that’s along the lines of Gulong, Sa Piling Mo etc etc.

I enjoyed X-mas, even thought my heart and soul were with my loved ones back in Melbourne, I was more than happy to have spent x-mas at home with my nana and my aunt.  It couldn’t have been better.

So, on boxing day, my nana was listening to radio and called me over, I went to listen, and Talofa FM spent most of the morning talking about the 5 deceased on X-mas night, while I was drinking and laughing with Aunt.

Kinda sucks, because I felt bad to ask her if I could go out on New Years Eve after she had a long-winded opinion about children ”these days”.

The days in between were a blur, our normal routine.

My dad is here to build a house for his family in Lefaga, and he came to pick me up, I hadn’t seen him in ages and I was still a bit angry at him. (read previous entries of my blog)

My “being” here, speaks more words.

So, here I am, with my father, in Kuabacks. On the first day of 2009.

I’m letting go of any harsh feelings of last year.

(and so, as that part of my dies, we’ll bump up the death toll to 6)