Sunday, December 11, 2005

Tofa Soifua (Good-bye)

I have one more day left in Samoa and then it's back to America via Air New Zealand. I'm feeling a little anxious and unsettled at the moment. It kind of like someone is pushing me out of the country and I'm not quite ready to go. Time has just gone too fast this last week, with farewell after farewell. It's emotionally draining. I'm so exicted to see my family as two years is a long time to be away from them but, there is someone here that I will greatly miss. I wish American Visas were easy to come by or that he could shrink and fit in my suitcase, but alas, I'm pretty sure nothing has changed in the last two years to make either one of these things happen.

To all the my family and friends who sent me lots of letters and packages full of crystal light, lotions, deodorent, chocolate, newspaper clippings, sports shoes, eyeglasses, batteries, music, and countless other luxuries....Fa'afetai tele lava (Thank you very much!) You made getting through the challenging times that much easier. Thank you for supporting me.
Thank you so much to my friends Kristen and Todd for helping me manage this website, and for developing and posting my pictures. I can't wait to meet up with you guys when I get home.

My itinerary home is a week long stop in Phoenix, 2 weeks (maybe 3) in Las Vegas, followed maybe by a 1 week stop in San Francisco, and then back to Kalamazoo. As hard as it is to say good-bye to my life here in Samoa and to all the dear friends I've made I really am happy to re-connect with all my friends and family back home, not to mention hot showers, and washing machines. I may try and post a few more pictures when I get home but other than that this is the end of my story of my journey in Samoa. Tofa Soifua.