Easter Weekend in Samoa

Because Samoa is a religious country, super religious, I had a 4-day weekend. I had Friday off due to Good Friday and Monday off due to Easter Monday. I know in the States, well in Santa Fe anyway, most people get Good Friday off, too, but instead of declaring it “Good Friday,” it is called a “public in-service day,” or something of that sort. Not in Samoa. The days off are for religious purposes.

Anyway, on Good Friday I went to church, slept, ate, had a workout, and spent the evening weeding the family property with my host mother and cousin. My host family finds it hilarious when I tell them “O a’u o le teine samoa” (I’m a Samoan girl), so that’s why I help with the weeding.

Saturday was a beach day, spent in the village of Manase. Let me tell you that this part of the island is absolutely breathtaking, filled with crystal clear waters and white sand beaches. I had a wonderful time hanging out with friends and enjoying the sunshine.

Beach day in Manase

Um, yeah, I live here… No big deal! Truly blessed. 

I love niu (coconut water)!

On Sunday was a typical church day in Samoa. I went to Easter service, and then attended my family’s to’onai (Sunday lunch).

On Monday, I got an unexpected visit from Madi and Kate, fellow PCVs, along with Benj, a RPCV. It was a nice visit. I warmed Italian bread for them, and we chatted as they ate. Then we went for a swim as Benj went spear fishing.

When they left, I finished my laundry, washed my water filter, mopped my floors, exercised, and helped my host cousin with her homework. It was a productive day.

Friday afternoon will be the end of Term 1. What’s so special about it? It’s the end of my first term as a teacher in a Samoan Primary School! I survived! Hallelujah! I’ll have two weeks off. The first week will be spent on beaches, hanging out with PCVs. We are having a big bbq on the beach next week. It’s American themed, so we are all excited about it. I’ll blog about it in a couple of weeks. The second week of break will be in Apia, for Peace Corps training knows as Early Service Conference (ESC). I’m looking forward to the training, seeing the awesome Peace Corps staff, and spending time with the other PCVs.

My Birthday and More

I realize that my last post may have come off negative, or portrayed as if I’m trying to gain pity from my readers. That’s not the case. The purpose of this blog is to document my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Samoa, and the reality of my life is not always sunshine and butterflies. There are some days when I feel like the luckiest person alive, and there are other days when it’s a struggle to get out of bed. But if you only read about my happy days, then you’re not getting the entire picture of my life here, and that’s not fair. So I will continue to blog about the good, the bad, and the ugly times I face, all while being respectful to the Samoan culture, of course. 

So without further ado, I will get into the topic of this blog post: my birthday.

The Pre-Party

The Saturday before my birthday, I met my friend Kiri at Lusia’s, a popular hangout spot in Salelologa, Savai’i. She surprised me with a cake, in honor of my birthday that was approaching. We had lunch and chatted for a bit. Our friend Tui, who works at the hotel, ended up joining us. We ordered kava, and went to the dock, where the lagoon is located. I’ve had kava before, but only during ava ceremonies, so this was my first experience drinking kava for leisure/the experience. In between the kava drinking, I climbed down the ladder and went into the sea. 

Kava! Yep, it tastes just like it looks… like dirty water! 

 First time drinking kava outside an ava ceremony

I see Peace Corps as a once in a lifetime experience. And during this experience I will continue to face my fears and push myself to the limit. A newly adopted motto of mine is: What’s the worst that could happen? Sure, some choices/actions result in consequences, but I’ll never know what those outcomes will be unless I attempt. I don’t want to live my life wishing I’d done certain things, things that will someday be out-of-reach. I’m proud to say that up until this point in my life, I’m living with no regrets.

Now, back to my pre-party.

After Lusia’s we went to Jet Over, a hotel in Salelologa, for drinks. The waiter knew it was a pre-birthday celebration, so he gifted me with two plates full of samosas (one of my favorites!) and spring rolls. We ended the night at EvaEva, a popular dance spot in Savai’i. EvaEva is different than what I’m used to back in the States. We had a fun time, but I don’t think I’ll be going back there often, if at all.

My Birthday

My mother read my last blog post, The Month of March, where I write about my birthday, and how it’s going to be a sad day because I’m alone. She told me some powerful words that stuck with me, and may have been the sole reason why my pity-party attitude was turned around. She told me that I won’t be alone on my birthday; God will be with me, and the smiles and laughter I receive from my students would be my birthday gift. She was right. At 9 a.m., I walked into the Year 4 classroom to get my first group of students. As soon as I walked in, I heard the children whispering “groups, groups!” I replied with “i” (yes). The children responded with excitement, and some even clapped! It was a great moment. 

Throughout the day, I was gifted with food that the parents provided. The food was delicious, consisting of an egg sandwich, French toast (syrup-less, but it’s okay), fried chicken, taro, pisupo (corned beef, which is a treat here), spaghetti, sea grapes (something I’d never had before. They're good), koko Samoa, and a niu (coconut water, which is my favorite drink). I’m pretty sure I gained a few pounds from the meals! While no one knew it was by birthday, I still felt like somehow they knew, and made it special for me.

At the end of the school day, I gave a presentation to my fellow teachers and principle. Every two weeks, during the teacher workshop meetings, I introduce and explain the resources I’ve created and use in my groups. I train and encourage the teachers to use them. The whole point is to gear the teachers from a teacher-centered classroom to a student-centered classroom/teaching approach. The presentation ended with me singing a phonics song that I taught my students. My co-workers got a kick out of it, and some even joined in! It was another great moment.

After work, I went home. Since it was my birthday, I did something I enjoyed: I napped! It was wonderful. I woke to a rainstorm that went on for about an hour. Once it stopped, I walked to a store in the next village. As I was walking, the rain started again. Within seconds, I was soaked from head to toe. I didn’t mind because I like the rain. Plus, it’s not everyday I get to take an outdoor shower!

Eventually, I made it to the store. I bought an ice cream cone and chatted with the shop owner. When the rain stopped, I walked across the street to the beach. I pulled out a Nicholas Sparks book from my bag, and read. The sky was cloudy, having a cozy feel to it. The sound and site of the sea, with a good book on my lap, made for a blissful birthday. Before I headed home, I took in my surroundings and had a moment where I realized how blessed I truly am.

My birthday dinner: split red lentil soup and samosas

My slice of my birthday cake, topped with a match as a candle

The day, my special day, was a beautiful one.

The Post-Party

The following evening, my host family was having a party at their house. They always invite me to their parties, which happen every so often. Usually, I agree to go, and end up going to sleep instead. When my host father called my phone twice, I decided the least I could do was go to the party for a few minutes, and then make an excuse to go home.

I walked into my host family’s house and saw familiar faces: two teachers from my school and a teacher from a different village. I took a seat and began chatting with them. I asked my host mother what the occasion was, and she responded with: “It’s my birthday!” I knew it wasn’t her birthday, so I told her jokingly, “Pepelo, oe!” (You liar). I don’t know what possessed me to tell them that my birthday was the previous day, but I did. I explained to them that it was still my birthday in America, so I’ve been in contact with family and friends all day. My host father said that I should have told them about my birthday because they would have roasted a pig for me! So I guess my birthday would have been celebrated after all. The positive in all of this: A pig didn’t get murdered in my honor! Awesome!

They asked my age. I told them I’m now 16 years old. They knew I was joking, but didn’t protest my answer. Then, they sang the Happy Birthday song… In English! I just about cried because I was so happy! My host father ended the song with 16 claps, counting after each clap, to represent my age. I’d never witnessed clapping at the end of the birthday song before, so I’m guessing it’s a Samoan thing. The rest of the party was in my honor. I had a good time, filled with laughter and American music. I’m glad I attended.

Cultural integration at its finest!

Final Thoughts

Bringing in a birthday in Samoa was a blessing. Why? Besides stating the obvious that Samoa is paradise, I’m looking at the bigger picture. I see myself evolving into a person that doesn’t need much anymore, materialistic wise. Sure it’s nice to get showered with gifts on my birthday, but sitting on the beach, on March 27th, made something click. I realized that while my family and closest friends are 6,000 miles away, I know that they love and miss me, and that’s all that matters. I don’t need a party and gifts from them to verify this. I realized that over the next 20 months I will keep missing things back home, special things that will make me sad, but I could do one of two things. One, I can be depressed and act like the world needs to stop for me because of how I’m feeling. Or Two, I can accept it. I choose the latter. Why? Because there’s nothing I can do about it. The world isn’t going to stop and feel sorry for me, and it shouldn’t. Like I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post, life is still happening back home. There’s a lot that I’m missing, but all I can do is accept it. So like I accepted being alone on my birthday, I will accept everything else I will miss.

I know that life in Samoa is not forever. Before I know it, I’ll be back in the States. So until then, I will keep looking at the bigger picture.

The Month of March

This month has been an emotional rollercoaster. I’ll start with the positives.

The Highs:

*My students: They’re great! I mentioned in a previous post that I have 9 groups and I work with each one twice a week, along with co-teaching on Fridays. Right now I’m focusing on alphabet recognition with most of my groups, and phonics with the others. I was brought to tears during a session with a Year 4 group last week. Why? Because I saw how happy and excited my students were, as they were playing a game I created for them. It brought tears to my eyes—a sincerely happy and emotional moment for me, confirming why I’m here. I had to compose myself, though because I didn’t want my students to see me in an emotional state; they would have thought they did something wrong, and trying to explain that the tears were that of joy may have been difficult and confusing for them. So what did I do? I took a deep breath, wiped my eyes, and continued to smile in amazement.

*English Club: We had our first meeting last Thursday. Out of the 108 students registered at my school, 40 students were in attendance. It was a success, and I’m pretty sure I had the most fun! I look forward to our weekly meetings. I’ll go into more detail about the club in a later post.

*Understanding Samoan! My host mother was talking to me the other day, in Samoan, and I understood in its entirety. It was an awesome moment! There’s still a lot of Samoan I don’t understand, but this moment gave me hope that I will come close to fluency by the time my two years of service is up.

*One of my favorite things to do is surprise people. As I was hanging my clothes on Saturday, my host mother asked me how I made the soup I shared with them last week. Turns out they loved it! So I skipped Sunday service to make soup for the to’onai (Sunday lunch). The soup I made contained split peas, pearl barley, lentils, carrots, onion, garlic, pasta, and eggplant. Eggplant is my obsession these days. Anyway, my host family loved the soup, and was appreciative of the gesture.

Now, the Lows:

The month of March is special to me because it’s my birth month, as well as my mother’s and three close friends. Last year, I spent the entire month celebrating my birthday (actually, I do that every year), and getting ready for my Coachella trip, which has a few weeks after my birthday. The year before, I took a Spring break trip in March; my cousin and I celebrated our birthdays—a late celebration for her, an early celebration for me. In addition to the trips that I take around my birthday, there comes the celebration with my family; it’s a huge deal. There’s always a dinner, along with cake (topped with candles, of course), and gifts galore. My family goes out of their way to make sure that each birthday is a special one. Then there’s the celebration with friends, consisting of dinner and dancing, usually the weekend before or after my birthday. Yes, this all sounds wonderful, so you may be asking why it’s in the “lows” part of the post. The reason why is because I’ll be celebrating my birthday alone this year. Several weeks ago, I mentioned to my host mother that my birthday is coming up. I learned during PST (Pre-Service Training) that birthdays aren’t celebrated in Samoa, unless it’s a 1st birthday, 21st birthday, and another year that I can’t remember. I won’t remind my host family on March 27th that it’s my birthday because I don’t want them to feel like they have to do anything special for me; I don’t want to put that burden on them, so I’d rather keep quiet.

Now that I think about it, this year’s birthday will be like the start of last year’s birthday. I was volunteering at a homeless shelter on my birthday last year. Not a single person at the shelter knew it was my special day, so that morning felt like an ordinary one, until I got home—breakfast was waiting for me from my favorite restaurant, and flowers were delivered to me from my favorite flower shop. That evening was spent with my family, a close friend, and her family, consisting of dinner, cake, and gifts, as described above, then I spent some time with a special person; it was a beautiful birthday.

What will this year’s birthday be like? I don’t know. It’s on a Wednesday, which means I’ll be teaching for a majority of the day. I spend some Wednesday afternoons washing clothes. Maybe I’ll skip laundry that day; bucket washing on my birthday sounds like a horrible idea. I’ll probably walk to the store in the next village and treat myself to ice cream, sit on the beach, and ponder on life, while trying to answer some questions that have been floating around in my head; questions relating to my personal and professional life.

This year will be my first solo birthday, without family and friends by my side, and it’s sad to think about. It reminds me of John Mayer’s song titled “St. Patrick’s Day.” One line says: “No one wants to be alone at Christmas time.” He should have added: “and for their birthday” because in my opinion, it’s equally as sad. Yes, I’m aware that I’m feeling sorry for myself, but every time I think about it, and it’s been a lot lately, in addition to thinking about missing my mother’s 50th birthday celebration, I can’t help but feel sadness, and I think most people in my situation would feel the same way. Being a Peace Corps Volunteer is filled with many highs and lows. I’ve only been here for five months, and have experienced some of the happiest and saddest moments of my life; it’s been emotional whiplash, to say the least. But it’s all part of the ride, and I’m growing with every experience I’ve encountered, whether it has been a positive or negative one.

And there is a positive to this: eventually, my birthday will be celebrated. Originally, my birthday was going to be celebrated with some PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) on March 29&30, in Apia, but that’s Easter weekend, and I hear that Samoa shuts down for the holiday. So my birthday celebration will be postponed until early April, during Term 1 break from school. I look forward that.

I know that spending time on the beach, on March 27, will help the sadness I’ll feel on that day. After all, not many people can say that they’ve celebrated a birthday on a tropical island, in one of the most beautiful countries in the entire world. 

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.