On a mission: ITEP, Athletic Day, Waterfall

This week we launched a new ITEP class, and we spend two nights a week with our admin Principal-ship class. It has proven to be fun, at least for us, as they pose administrator-related questions to our vice principal, to Elder Rees, and this week to our current high school principal, and then our Primary School Principal. Wednesday night we had a role play of Ron portraying an antagonistic student in the principal's office for discipline; class members handled a couple of situations. The odd thing was that one of our students informed Ron that the role play actually played out for real in the school office next morning. We are looking forward to some of our class members who have been enrolled in all our admin courses and are ready to fulfill internships to shadow administrators and make observations and a myriad of tasks over the next three-month period. In this class, I gain new insights about my husband's past career and appreciate his experiences and knowledge (and acting ability).

After early outs on Wednesday and Thursday, the Levels 7-13 students participated in track field events. All day Friday was an Athletic Day set aside for the running events on the rugby field. We love watching them run, as many in bare feet as in shoes! It was a hot day with direct rays of sun. Lanes are not chalked but rather the grass is burned. The athletes will now prepare for inter-school competitions later in July.

Students sat by "House" under the canopies.

The finish line---bare feet.

On Saturday after shopping the market and taking care of some household chores, we escaped to the Afu Aau Waterfall again, but this time I loved swimming in the crystal clear pond where the falls dump into it. Like usual, we became engaged in several conversations with other folks there for holiday from New Zealand.

Very clear water

Others took advantage of the perfect setting too.

I swam and sat directly under the waterfall where the water
is a lot deeper; at the edge there are rocks for easy access.

On the way home we drove down this road in the village of Maoto to take a look at a local airport here in Savaii.

That is the runway behind the fence.

Ron dug purple and yellow yams out of his garden. He shared them with neighbors. Their texture was like a potato.

Also growing in the garden with the outside clothesline as the trellis for the soko vines is this vegetable. We've bought soko before at a stand and their texture is also similar to a potato.