He Touched Me and I Loved It

I went to Apia Friday for a meeting.  The meeting was a bust but the rest of the weekend was fabulous.  This was the second time I went to Apia for a meeting with an NGO who wants volunteers to help in villages with their project.  Both times the person I was supposed to meet with wasn’t there.

Oh, are you wondering about the title of this post?  Yes, a man had his hands all over me.  A 25 year old Samoan man.  It was wonderful.  Did I mention he was giving me a massage and it was all very professional?   I love massages and if they happen to come from a young guy, I’m good with that.  One of my sisters is the receptionist at the place where I had the massage so she made sure there was no hanky panky.  I did ask her if I could bring him home with me to Savaii, though.

I ran into Mika, another volunteer, in the PC office Friday.  I rarely see him anymore since he’s on Upolu and I’m in Savaii.  He looks good and told me his mom is coming to visit.  I fly back from New Zealand on June 1^st and am looking forward to spending that evening in Apia with Mika and his mom.

I spent time Friday evening with a former PC employee.  It’s so nice to talk with a woman who’s over 25 and speaks fluent English.  She’s Indian, smart and interesting and I think could be a good friend.  Bummer that we’re geographically challenged.

I did some shopping in town.  I bought gifts for the two youngest members of my family.  I got the baby the kind of seat on wheels with a tray and toys so the kid can roll himself around before he walks.  He’s still a bit young for it, but I figure in another month or so, he’ll be on the move.  I didn’t want my youngest sister to feel left out so I got her a big ball.  She’s coping well but was a bit bummed when the baby was born.  She’s no longer the youngest in the family.  

I went looking for warm clothes at the used clothing store.  I was sweating like a hog and not really in the mood to be looking for jackets or sweaters but know I will need them in May in New Zealand.  Unfortunately, they didn’t have anything that worked.

I got a hair cut at a nice salon.  They only have cold water to wash hair but they give great scalp massages and the cold water is refreshing.  And my hair looks so much better.  The cut should last until I head to New Zealand in May.

I enjoyed eating palagi food over the weekend.  Things we just don’t have on my island.  I had a Big Mac.  I ate pizza.  I had Indian food.  It was lovely.  I was tempted at the grocery store by the imported zucchini.  It is my favorite vegetable.  But at about $10 USD a pound I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.  For half the price I can have fresh, raw tuna.  I went for that, instead.  I will miss the inexpensive tuna sashimi of Samoa.

I stayed at the apartments that have a weekend special deal.  $50 USD a night for a studio with hot water, air con, a couch, a king sized bed and a complete kitchen.  Including an oven and microwave.  Sunday morning the hot water wasn’t working but Saturday I had two hot showers.  The studio apartments are very nice but in some respects are very Samoan.  For example, things appear to be very clean until you look in corners or above or below eye level.  Then the spider webs and dust appear.  The funniest thing, though, was the door between my room and the room next to mine.  It had a peephole, like hotel room doors have.  But the peephole had been removed.  In its place, someone had jammed a wad of toilet paper.  I could have pulled it out to watch the people in the next room or vice versa.  Neither of us did, as far as I know.

Just before I left for the wharf I hit the grocery store.  I bought some chuck steak, hamburger and cheese.  Two pounds of cheese.  I also bought a bag of frozen peas.  I feel rich.  There’s something to be said for not having everything you want all the time.  I appreciate them more when I get them.

It was a great getaway weekend.  I came home on Sunday and cleaned my house and worked on lesson plans for the week ahead.  Back to reality.