Steve Gallon (ATTC) arrived this week to do training in Clinical Supervision. We visited Tisa’s Barefoot Bar for a traditional Samoan Fia Fia (feast/party).
The uncovering of the umu (an above ground “oven” that cooks the food in layers with hot rocks…generally takes three hours and is served on Sundays for the locals to feast and rest after a long week. Food included octopus, chicken, turkey, pork, beef ribs, ulu (breadfruit), taro, papaya, and squash…eaten with our fingers…yum.
Steve’s training group – note the traditional pule tasi’s (worn by the women…including yours truly)
the table at La Felapule where I hosted a dinner party
Steve and I got in on a deal to go to Western Samoa with the mental health “gang.” What a hoot…a beautiful country, more traditionally Samoan
Toufa (supervisor of community mental health) and Masele (supervisor of substance abuse treatment)
the pool at Kitano’s where we stayed in Western Samoa
Sinalei (an amazing resort in Western Samoa – they were preparing for a wedding, the bride was arriving in a canoe)
The grounds of Vailima (the plantation where Robert Louis Stevenson spent the last five years of his life – he is buried on the mountain side above the plantation
The harbor in Apia (only city in Western Samoa). A huge seawall with a walking path that runs around it and spills into various parks along the way. On Sundays the town shuts down and you can hear the beautiful harmonies of the Samoans as you pass along the way enjoying their church time.
