In a Fishbowl

“‘O fea ‘e te alu i ai?” (Where are you going?) is a question I get asked everyday, multiple times a day by people that are complete strangers. “‘Ou te alu i le a’oga” (I’m going to school) or “loku” (church) or “maketi” (market) or “fale’oloa” (store) or “savali” (walk) or “e ta’ele” (to swim) are my typical responses. Other times I hear: “Malo, Lina*” (Hi, Lina) or “Fa, Lina” (Bye, Lina) said by people I swear I’ve never seen before, yet they know my name. My village has about 800 people, and they all know my name. I’m by no means complaining, and I know it’s part of the Samoan culture, but it takes its toll when I can’t walk without someone wanting to know where I’m going. I come from a culture where strangers don’t care where I’m going, so getting asked numerous times each day is a huge adjustment. And I’m not saying that Samoans are bad people because they want to know where I’m going. Samoans are some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met, and they welcome Peace Corps Volunteers with open arms; it’s just something I have to get used to.

If you haven’t realized from this post, or my previous posts, the concept of privacy is non-existent in Samoa. I have my own house, but it has 5 sets of windows. My house is tiny, so the windows pretty much take up the walls. If someone is standing outside of my house, they can hear what’s going on inside: my phone conversations, the music I’m listening to, the shows I’m watching on my laptop; everything can be heard. I was sick last month, and my host family and I were able to have a conversation while I was lying in bed, and they were standing outside of my house. My windows were closed, too. So while I have my own house and space, I still feel like I’m living in a fishbowl.

This is when Apia comes in. Apia is the capital of Samoa. It’s by no means a large city; I wouldn’t even call it a city; it’s a town. But after being in the village for a month, it feels like a whole other world. It's nice to be able to walk the streets without people knowing my name, or without them caring to know where I’m going; it's nice to feel like an ordinary person. I went to Apia on Saturday, to meet up with some PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) and RPCVs (Return Peace Corps Volunteers). We went to see Audiopharmacy play. They’re an American Reggae band, currently touring the South Pacific. If you’ve never heard of them, look them up. They put on a great show! So back to the night: It was nice to speak English, wear clothes I brought from the States (they’re not proper village-attire), eat nachos, have a few drinks, and dance the night away… until midnight that is because that’s the time everything shuts down in Samoa. 

Audiopharmacy 

The guy to my right is a member of Audiopharmacy

I also mentioned drinks. Drinking it not appropriate in the village, especially for females. My host family offers me alcohol every so often, but I politely refuse saying, “leai, fa’afetai” (no thank you). I don’t want to drink in the village because for one: everyone in my village would find out about it, and two: it’s nice to limit drinks to special occasions only.

If you have the impression that I hate village life, then you’re wrong. I actually enjoy being in the village. It’s nice to live in a small community that isn’t always rushed. Life slows down here, compared to life in the States. Samoa is the place to enjoy the sight and sound of the sea, gaze at the stars, or sit down and read, without the feeling/guilt like you should be doing something else, something productive with your free time. But every so often, I need a break from being the center of attention and living in a fishbowl; sometimes I need to feel like the average Joe, and that’s when I escape from village life, even if it’s just for a few hours.

*My Samoan name is Lina. I’m not sure if it’s mentioned in my previous blog posts. 

Dancing, School, & Fitness

Samoans are very talented when it comes to dancing. Below you will find a video I recorded of my students dancing last week. They were dancing, as a farewell gesture to the Year 4 teacher who was leaving the school.

Nothing new is happening in the village. I'm busy with my reading groups. I have 9 groups total. I work with each group twice a week, and I co-teach on Fridays.

Also, there's a fitness competition going on with the PCVs. Each PCV set a personal fitness goal. The individual who comes the closest to completing their goal, by the end of Term 1 will win. I hope I win! So far I'm at 100%!

The First Week of School

The first day of school is meant for the children to clean the classrooms. So that’s all they did the first day. My Peace Corps project is working with Years 2-6, in literacy. I will be co-teaching in all these classes, and working with Years 4-6 in small pullout groups. The first few weeks of school are meant for observations, so I can get a grasp where the children’s English is at.

On the third day of school, I was getting ready to start my observations, when I was asked if I could substitute teach Year 5 for the day because the teacher was absent. I agreed, but made it clear that I’m only trained with English and reading, so that’s what the children were going to do. They played spelling games, I read to them, they read to themselves, and then, they sang and danced for me. It was wonderful. I wish I had my camera handy.

Midweek, a student in Year 7 gave me a beautiful assortment of flowers. She said that her mother put it together for me. It was a nice surprise. I love flowers! They’re so beautiful, and smell heavenly.

Interesting fact: The rain causes the school day to be delayed, as well as an early dismissal. Samoa is currently in the “wet season” so this first school term will be interesting. 

Wedding #2

If you’ve been reading my blog, then you’d know that the first week in my permanent village, I went to a Samoan wedding. I went to another wedding last weekend. I was really excited about this one because I was personally invited. I invited my friend Kiri as my “plus 1.” 

The morning of the wedding, she arrived to my house by bus. I made breakfast, and then we got ready. My host parents told us that they weren’t going to the ceremony, only the reception. As we were waiting for them to knock on my house door, to tell us it was time to go, we noticed a line of vehicles driving down the road outside my house. It was obvious that the cars had just left a wedding. A few moments later, the cars were driving in the opposite direction, and parked in the area where my house is located. It turns out there was some kind of wedding event going on at my host grandmother’s house. I’m not sure what it was exactly, so I will say that it was a wedding reception pre-party. It was great fun, filled with ice cream, cookies, fruit salad, music, and dancing, of course! At the pre-party, the bride and groom had their first dance together. Then my host dad told Kiri and me to go outside to siva (dance). We started dancing, and before we knew it, we each had a dance partner: I was dancing with the groom, and Kiri was dancing with a groomsman.

My host cousin Natia and me

The bride and groom's first dance

My host dad lifting the bride

The reception: It was located a few villages from mine. It was very similar to the first wedding reception I attended, except no alcohol was present because the couple is Mormon. Each attendee received a lot of food; there was music and dancing. Then it was time for the wedding party to distribute cake. What I learned/was told from the first wedding reception: In Samoan wedding receptions only important people receive cake. The recipients of cake are the pastors/priests, village leaders, matais, and other special guests. Guess who received cake? If you guessed me, then ding, ding, ding, you’re correct! The announcer was speaking fast, in Samoan the entire time, so I was only able to pick up portions of what he was saying. Then I heard “Pisikoa” (Peace Corps Volunteer), and the next thing I knew, a bridesmaid was heading in my direction, with a giant piece of cake. It was a nice gesture, and definitely made me smile.

Beautiful Maid-of-Honor dress

Cake!

I’ve only been in Savai’i for 5 weeks, and have already been to two weddings. I’m guessing I will be attending plenty more weddings, over the next 22 months. 

Hitchhiking!

I hitched for the first time in my life the other day, and I did it twice that day! The first time I was with my friend Kiri. We wanted to go to a nearby resort, so we flagged down a truck that was heading in our direction. In the States, when you want a ride, you stick up your thumb. Here, you stick your hand out, fingers down, and then move your fingers into your palm. That’s the same way you flag down cabs and buses here, too.

Anyway, the truck stopped for us and dropped us off at the resort. A few hours later, we were on the bus, headed to my house. I needed to grab my belongings because Cyclone Garry was supposed to hit 8 hours later, and we wanted to experience/survive another cyclone together.

The bus dropped us off at my house. We grabbed my bag, and discussed how we were going to get to her village. Then I said, “Lets hitch again!” We started walking on the side of the road, and flagged down the first truck that passed us. The driver stopped, and asked us where we’re headed. Turns out he was going to the same village! So we hopped in his truck, and spent the next 45 minutes talking to a complete stranger.

Forty-five minutes later, he dropped us off at my Kiri’s house. As we were getting out, I handed him a package of cookies—our way of saying “thank you for saving us $50WST on cab fare.”

Apparently hitching is common here. Volunteers from previous groups mentioned that they hitched to get around.

Will I hitch again? I don’t know. I wanted to get the experience out of my system, and I definitely did! 

Cyclone Garry

That’s right, Garry with two r’s!

Cyclone Garry is expected to hit the island of Savai’i in 13 hours. PCVs have been told that it won’t be strong until it reaches Upolu. I’m not sure what to expect because Cyclone Evan wasn’t predicted to be as powerful as it was, and it was quite destructive.

The Peace Corps country director has told Savai’i volunteers to stay with their host families, indoors, away from windows. So, that leaves my house out because it’s covered in windows.

Cyclone Garry will be in Savai’i for about 12 hours and then reach Upolu. Stay tuned…

Bringing a Little Taste of New Mexico to Samoa

Samoa has avocadoes. They’re huge… about the size of a squash!

Being from New Mexico, I relate avocadoes to guacamole. So, I bought an avocado from the market, and placed it in a paper bag so it would ripen. A few days later the avocado was ready.

I added tomatoes, onions, and garlic salt. Normally I add jalapenos. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any peppers at the market, so I added chili spice instead. Back home, I top off guacamole with lemon juice. I couldn’t get a hold of lemons, either, but it’s okay because the guacamole was AMAZING!! I ate the guacamole with salt & vinegar chips… It was a delicious treat!

So delicious

As I was mixing everything together, the smell brought me back home, and for a second it felt like I was in Santa Fe. It was a good moment, but also made me miss my family.

It feels good knowing that I can make guacamole anytime I want, especially during those moments when I’m missing home.  

As I was preparing dinner, the power went out. So I continued to eat the guacamole.... Like my candle holder??