The church in the village of Leone.
October 1965
“We go to church in the village of Leone, which is about 8 miles in the other direction from Tafuna. The road is paved and winds through mountains, with palm trees, banana trees and all sorts of interesting green stuff. They have the brightest blue hydrangeas here, assorted colored leaves, hibiscus all over and somebody must have smuggled in some marigolds. The church itself is white cement block, very airy and with horrible wooden kneelers. The women don’t wear hats, or shoes, and the men and women sit on separate sides. We were ushered in one Sunday, Larry trailed by all the females and directed to the men’s side. The man sitting next to me got up and moved . . . I guess he wasn’t going to sit next to some damn women during church. I am hoping Chris can be confirmed here instead of waiting until we get home.”
Jean
Chrissie danced impatiently around the large package as her mother went to find a pair of scissors. Excessive amounts of tape were a Broquet family tradition, and the lengths that had been adhered to a box that had traveled overseas were roughly the equivalent of the distance from Tafuna to Leone. Sometimes special tools were needed to saw through it, but at least it made it off the boat in one piece.
The Samoan Letters 