Manu'a Flag Day - Let's Play Sloshball

Friday was Manu'a Flag Day. Meaning that 110 years ago, this was the day that the Manu'a Islands cession to American Samoa and thus the US. Nobody here on Tutuila makes a big deal about it. The Manu'a Islands are pretty small, remote and difficult to get to, only Ta'u is large enough to get commercial flights. Next year we may try and get there for the holdiay and see if the population of 800 people gets up and does anything special to celebrate. The one things that gets anyone's interested in Manu'a Flag Day on our island is the government gets the day off work. With most of the Palagi community off, one of our coworkers hosted a wiffleball sloshball game.

The game was hosted at the other large government housing facility, Lion's Park. We showed up on time, which was about an hour before everyone else. Oh, Island Time. The version of sloshball played here is team pitch wiffleball and is played on a pretty small field. No gloves or cleats are used and pegging a runner gets the fielding team an out. Runners must open a beer at second-base, which conveniently is a cooler. The beer cannot be put down until the runner finishes the beer, this includes after the runner gets out, takes the field or even comes up to bat again, otherwise it's normal softball rules.

We were blessed with some excellent weather. The unprecedented dry spell that's been lingering over the island gave us blue skies and a dry field, other than a pregame squall that rolled over the nearby lagooon. The experienced players had stories about deep mud, rain outs and brutal humidity marring past sloshball games.

We played a little over seven innings. With our team staging a comeback from being down big early in the game before the it was called due to darkness. This was fortunate, since the game was tied when it was called and neither team could claim bragging rights for this competition of skill and beer drinking.

Once the game was done the event turned into a barbecue and party. Most people had a good time hanging out after the game. A few of the World Teach Teachers stopped by after their orientation. Most of them were being prepared to be shipped off to outlying islands in a few weeks. That would make for an interesting experience for a year.

Overall it was an unexpected success. We had a great time hanging out, and outside of some late night antics by some uninvited Samoan guests that ended the evening on a poor note it was a fun time for all. Hopefully we won't have to wait 5 months until someone plans another sloshball game.

Tropical Rain

It's supposed to be the dry season right now in early June. That said, it still rains most every day here. Supposedly the cold air around the volcanic peaks pulls the moisture from the air. One of the peaks overlooking Pago Pago harbor is even called Rainmaker Mountain.

The rain here is unlike the temperate or mediterranean rain that has been predominate in the other places I've lived on the West Coast. Seasonal rains that start in November and continue until spring with rarely a rain outside of those times are the norm I've lived with up until now. The weather usually comes in as a part of large storm fronts carried east by the jet stream from out in the Pacific. These fronts will roll over the region and last from a few hours to a week, but they are predictable and are spotted by meteorologists well ahead of time.

Here in American Samoa, at least since I've been on island, the rain is a whole different beast. Admittedly, I don't have much access to the local media yet, so I can't say whether the weather predictors have much of a handle on how to forecast here. The best indicator for me thus far have been the wind. Right before every rain I've experienced, the wind starts to roar. The palm leaves rustle and shake. This is your warning sign to get inside.

Within 5 minutes the rain starts to move in. If you're outside you can see it sweeping towards you, usually from off the ocean. A wall of water soon passes over you and you;re surrounded by a downpour. It is an onslaught of small raindrops at a greater density than I have ever experienced. The wind almost immediately dies once the rain is upon you and you are left to find shelter or watch the avalanche of water from a window.

I'm also amazed how warm the rain is and how the temperature doesn't fluctuate during a storm. It's such a strong contrast to the rain I've experienced in California and Oregon, which is exclusively cold. I'm amazed that the times I've been caught outside in the rain here in a t-shirt and shorts, I wasn't the least bit bothered. Though it does take awhile for your clothes to dry out after the rain ends.

The rain thus far hasn't lasted longer 5 or 10 minutes at the most. Long enough to saturate the ground and leave rivulets of water draining away. Just as quickly as the rains begin, they die off and move on.

I'm sure my opinion of the rain here will quickly be revised once the wet season hits or a cyclone rolls through.