A Little of This & That

Last Sunday we picked a breadfruit off a tree to give it a go.  It was an experience.  White sticky goo continued to ooze and drip out the top from where it was detached.  We were able to peel it, cut it in half, and boiled it.  The pot had a sticky residue; however, once cooked, it was just fine.  In the future we might try baking it. We ate it with butter and salt & pepper.  We made some of the leftovers into a potato salad, substituting the breadfruit for potato which gives you an idea of the consistency.   Not really flavorful but preferred it over taro.  A few girls came by in the evening and we offered them some leftovers as we would never consume all of it.  They were genuinely excited and said they eat it plain.

Boiled Breadfruit

 In our "Multiculturalism and Culturally Responsive Teaching through Sheltered Instruction" class (don't you love titles?), we try to make it a little fun by focusing on aspects of culture each week like dress, music, foods, etc.  I brought samples of German Pancakes that are part of my dad's Swiss heritage.

After one day in the office I walked home to find children congregated outside our place.  They had picked different flowers and leaves and were picking them apart to see what they looked like inside.  One little girl even had a plastic knife to cut open the buds.  Love these kids and glad they are curious.

Clayton and Bele

While Samoa does not have a Halloween holiday, it is instituted here at Vaiola.  Enough Samoans have visited the U.S. or served stateside missions to be exposed to our Halloween traditions.  Saturday was a Primary activity for the little kids who landed at our doorstep in a swoop all decked out in their costumes including princesses, Spiderman, etc.  Previously that afternoon it rained for two hours and stopped right at 7:00 p.m. just in time for the activity.  We taped Halloween pictures on our sliding front door and hung a yellow/orange lava lava outside.  Ron was creative in drawing faces on our squashes.  Below, he is touching up the cutouts.

Today, Sunday, was the annual children's Primary program and the theme was "Choose the Right".  Most of their Primary songs were sung in English; the memorized parts were delivered some in English and some in Samoan.  It was a typical program with children timid at the mike and others anxious to use the mike.  They were sweet.