A Quiet Aso Sa in Apia

Natalie, Chelsea and Sarah looked beautiful in their new puletasis at church

It’s Sunday (Aso sa) in Apia.  Sundays in Samoa are dedicated to church and rest and I’m taking full advantage.  7 of us went back to the Anglican church this morning.  It was youth day, so the youth group had prepared a special service of song, dances and skits.  They’d also asked us to perform (because we’re “youth”, sorta) five of us sang “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”.  Not sure that Samoa is ready for our version of gospel, but it seemed well received.  We also joined in the fellowship afterwards, and got to meet some people while scarfing down some homemade goodies. 

I realized I was in Samoa when I received communion from a barefoot priest. 

After getting back to the hotel, a gang decided to head out to find an open restaurant.  Very few stores or restaurants on Sunday, because it is a day to attend church, then eat a huge meal with family, then nap away the rest of the day.  I was going to join in the hunt, since I’d only nibbled at the church food, but it started to rain, so I headed next door to KK to buy lunch supplies.  KK is a Chinese/Samoan store that seems to always be open and stocks pretty much everything we need, at reasonable prices.  The fact that it is literally next door makes it even better.

I bought the essentials for a comfort meal:  tuna, noodles, cream of mushroom soup and frozen peas.  I whipped up the casserole and shared with another hungry trainee.  People seemed to be impressed.  I don’t really think much about the varying levels of our life experiences until people start asking how to make tuna casserole.  I thought everybody knew how.  Apparently not.  I wonder if they’ll also be impressed when I make goulash.  Or chile con carne verde?  Of course, I’ll have to sweet talk someone into shipping me green chiles.

After lunch, Chelsea and I did some laundry in our room, then she went out to socialize and I kicked back with my Kindle and the air-conditioning.  Now I’m playing on the computer.  Feeling a little guilty that I’m not studying my Samoan, but there’s always this evening.

In order to continue putting off my Samoan language studies, here are some more observations:

I read a quote today:  “The only animals Samoans like are the ones they eat.”  I don’t know if that’s true, but the concept of pets seems to be very different than in the U.S.  Dogs are used for protection, rather than affection, and there are a lot of them.  I’ve heard in some areas they tend to run in packs.  People commonly throw rocks to keep the dogs away.  In fact, it’s so common that dogs flinch if you just bend over.

So, I found it wildly amusing this morning to see the Animal Protection car drive slowly by this morning, followed closely by a band of dogs of varying sizes.  Were they hoping for protection from the rock throwers?  Hoping for a spay or neuter on the run?  I don’t know, but it’s the first time I’ve seen dogs here run after a car.

I mentioned KK Market earlier.  I’ve been to one other grocery store and they have most of the same types of items.  Because KK is smaller, it just has fewer of them.  Much of what I’d be looking for at a Florida grocery store is there, but there are some exceptions.  At KK, there is a small section (about the size of a school desk) dedicated to vegetables.  Today there were bell peppers, cucumbers and bok choy.  If you want to buy vegetables, they come in large packages, such as 5 giant cucumbers or 8 bell peppers. 

There’s an entire aisle of cookies and crackers.  But with the exception of a couple of giant bags of suckers (known as “lollies” here, due to the New Zealand influence) the only candy is of the penny variety that is on the checkout counter.  And it’s way more than a penny to buy.

Something else I noticed was where they stock the deodorant.  The good news, they sell a small variety of brands/types.  The difference is that they are behind the counter and you have to have a clerk fetch them for you.  Chelsea and I had a brief discussion as to why that is.  Hot item for shoplifting?  People don’t bother to buy it, if left on a regular aisle, they just walk and swipe it on?  Don’t know.

By the way, feel free to send snail mail now.  As of this coming Saturday, I’ll be off the grid for 7 weeks.  No email, no blog.  Sorry, but it’s the Peace Corps way.  I will be taking photos, though and keeping a journal so will fill you in as soon as I can.  Expect exciting stories of cold showers, Samoan language class melt downs and a description of everything I ate.

Now, I should go study vocabulary.  But, studying is work, right?  And working on Sunday goes against the Samoan culture.  I must do what I can to integrate into the culture.  I’ll get up early tomorrow to study.