Goodbye Barbecue and Games

A frequent social gathering for the palagi community here on American Samoa is for goodbyes. With almost all the of community being contract workers, there is almost always someone whose contract is coming to a close and is making to depart the island. One of the Department of Marine Wildlife Resources staffers had her going away party over the weekend. Her Aussie neighbors took it upon themselves to build some entertainment for the party. Always looking for an excuse to play with power tools, I let a hand. We built a set of cornhole board and a pair of washer toss boards. Basically any game that lets you hold a beer in one hand and participate with the other. The games were a big hit, though the numerous children around did do some damage to our home made bean bags. Those will need some repair prior to their next go around. We also barbecued.

Being the attorney for DMWR was also interesting, since many of the attendees to the barbecue were the Samoan employees for the agency. I got drafted to participate in a conference on fisheries management and village level oversight. Sometimes work and leisure intersect in interesting ways.