One Week Anniversary

My first week has been absolutely incredible. It would take me entirely too long to recount everything that I have done so for now I'll leave you with this. SeeSeei and I have been exploring the island and visiting sites to gain a better understanding of the coastal areas. On wednesday we were returning from the east end of the island and stopped by her brother's high school graduation party. This past week was "graduation week" in American Samoa and all of the schools hosted extremely elaborate ceremonies. Most of the graduations were broadcasted on television and the governor spoke at all of the events. The "graduation party" was a BBQ on the beach with her entire extended family. I was a little startled when I was handed a plate with 2 jumbo sized hotdogs, 4 large pieces of chicken, 2 very large pieces of turkey, 2 pieces of fried pork fat, fried rice with an egg on top, rice noodles with pork, 2 slices of pizza hut pizza, and an enormous serving of rice! I couldn't believe my eyes. The whole graduation party was watching me enthusiastically to ensure that I enjoyed every bite and so as not to disappoint, I proceeded to eat my entire plate of food. This wasn't actually that difficult since everything tasted phenomenal! However just as I was eating my last bite, SeeSeei's mother put another piece of chicken on my plate. At this point I completely panicked and SeeSeei must have seen the fear in my eyes because she took the opportunity to tell me that it was ok to take the food home. Apparently it is customary to send people home with food that they can give to their families. Turns out I was never expected to finish my first portion and they were only giving me more food to make sure I had enough to bring home!! Needless to say I felt a little silly!