Safua Culture Day


During our stay at Safua we had a day dedicated to learning about Fa'a Samoa (the Samoan Way). The students learned about the UMU (a feast prepared on Sunday) and how to prepare it, how to make a Tapa, weave a basket, and other various nuggets of Samoan Culture. Chris, one of the owners of Safua, shared with us his journey in experiencing the tattoo process along with his appreciation and love for the Samoan culture. We all had a chance to take our try at opening a coconute, making coconut cream, shaving a tarro root, or carving the inside of the coconut. I stand amazed at how the culture continues to be a visible and real part of their way of life today. I think we all wish that we could climb a coconut tree and chop down a coconut to drink when thirsty or weave a basket in 5 minutes to hold all your groceries!

Lindsey is busy shaving a tarro-- nice job!

Faga Homestay


Part of our Sustainable Community Development course is to partake in a homestay in one of the Savaiin villages in Samoa. CCSP has been revisiting this village for the past couple of years and has been surprised each time by their hospitality. Faga village (pronounced: FANGA) holds the location of the one of the most beautiful beaches on Savaii, and the students can now call it their home with a family waiting to accomodate them! We celebrated another student's birthday, Ryan Newton, with a mini fia fia (dance party), cake, and a beautiful dance done by one of the local girls of the village. On the last night of our stay we participated in a village wide Fia Fia where we presented our own humble songs and were blown away by Samoan dance and songs. Students danced with the old and young and presented their own dances taught to them by new family members. The local high school boys and girls shared with us a few pacific island dances they performed in a previous competition-- it was a special treat that has made this fia fia one of the best yet. All in all, the time spent in Faga was challenging and memorable-- we thank the people for opening up their homes and hearts to us time and time again.


Some of the local girls perform a Tahitian dance for us at the Fia Fia-- beautiful!

SAFUA HOTEL TOURS

During out stay at Safua Hotel on the big island of Savaii, we enjoyed ecological tours with the local geologist, Warren. Everyday was a new adventure, whether be walking on lava fields, seeing flying foxes, or swimming in enchanted waterfall pools. Warren always has something informative to say about seemingly mysterious landmarks throughout the island. Samoa's beauty seems to never end as we moved from one spot to the next-- pristine beaches and thick green forests abound!

SAMOA

Pololo Deep

Our first couple of days in Samoa were spent in the city of Apia, capital of Samoa. During out short time there we got the opportunity to hear from Cherelle, daughter of Safua Hotel's owner, about some of the current environmental issues Samoa struggles with today. Afterwards the students had their first test of snorkel gear at Pololo Deep Marine reserve-- only a few leaky masks were uncovered.

Marae Stay and Kaleb's Birthday


During our orientation we spent a couple of days at a beautiful Marae in the Port Hills. It was a relaxing couple of days filled with Moari culture, frisbee games, slacklining, and pirate parties. Happy Birthday Kaleb-- big 20!

STREAM ECOLOGY

The students accomplished their first week of class! It was an excting week with professor Kristel Van Houte- Howes, looking at fresh water streams and seeing microinvertebrates through a microscope. We assessed various streams including our own stream here at Living Springs and some further out into the mountains near Craigeburn. There were cold times and there were sunny warm times, but each day was a new experience. Each stream had new and exciting specimens to show us. Thanks Kristel for showing us some of your work and sharing the importance of keeping fresh water streams healthy and sustainable!

ORIENTATION!!
All 19 of our wonderful new students arrived, after much anticipation. We spent most of our orientation week familiarizing ourselves with Living Springs-- our new home for the next 4 months, and getting to know one another. However, we did get to enjoy a roudy and exciting Kiwi game of Rugby-- Canterbury vs. OOOOTTTAAAGGGGO! Otago has the best cheer, but our team (Canterbury) won! The students also spent sometime getting to know our closest city, Christchurch, and did a bit of reflecting on the differences and similarites between New Zealand and the US. All in all, it's been a busy and satisfying first week together and we look forward to the new adventures that God leads us into!

pictures: 1- Tyler and Meghan getting ready for the Rugby game.
2-- the students getting a lesson from director Chris Elisara on how to play the game.

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