The "new" ferry - Lady Samoa III takes 1 hour to travel from Upolu to Savaii. It's very comfortable.
Written on Sunday, December 19, 2010
I had a great night’s sleep last night. The mosquito net worked well and the mattress was excellent. Only thing that happened was about 3:00 a.m. I was sound asleep and heard what I thought was someone scratching at the open window. Woke up with my heart pounding and realized it was a really loud bird in the branch just outside my window.
The last week in Apia I missed the village sounds. Roosters, pigs, dogs, children singing and church bells. They’re back now, and since I don’t live next door to the minister, the sound of the bells to announce prayer time, curfew and church can be heard but don’t sound like they’re ringing inside my head.
We ate dinner late last night, as seems to be the custom here. They made tuna sandwiches with cucumber, which were mostly for me. They also had fish, taro and some other dishes, but I was full after a sandwich.
As I left the main fale to walk the 10 yards or so to my fale, I passed six dogs, waiting for scraps from dinner. Wait, those aren’t dogs! Ok, four were dogs, two were pigs. All were friendly. In this family only the dogs have names. Pigs are just pigs. One seems to be interested in me. It’s the same one who woke me up last time I was here by sniffing me. Maybe it thinks Palagis will be more generous with scraps, or maybe I smell like pig food.
After a leisurely shower, I had a light breakfast of biscuits (sweetish crackers, in the US) and water. I’ll be eating most meals on my own, hopefully. A couple of reasons for that. One, I don’t want to impose on the family. I don’t want them to feel obligated to make special meals for me or go to extra effort or expense. I know they will anyway, but if I can limit it, that would be good. I also want a bit of control over what and when I eat.
I really appreciated that Fa got up each morning to make me hot tea or Koko Samoa and fried eggs or pancakes, but I’m used to a just a bowl of oatmeal or some fruit, and I can easily do that on my own. I’m also happy with just a salad, some steamed veggies or a stir fry, rather than a big meal every evening. Even with the all the great meals that Fa provided, the extra exercise helped me drop a few pounds in the training village. I figure if I can control my diet and since the increased exercise will continue, my goal of leaving smaller than when I arrived might come true. Hey, if the Samoan brothers on Biggest Loser can do it, so can the Palagi in Savaii.
We went to church this morning in the next village. The family is very involved in the Assembly of God church, as was Fa. There was a 9 piece band, with vocalists. The church itself was large, with perhaps 50-75 in the congregation. They were friendly and made me feel welcome. During one prayer, the pastor asked Atua to protect me during my stay in here. Several people came over and greeted me after the service and seemed both surprised and pleased at my efforts to speak Samoan. Granted, I was only saying who I was, where I was from, that I worked for the Peace Corps and that I’d be teaching here for 2 years but one woman said I spoke excellent Samoan. I liked her a lot.
We drove home along the island’s main road. In Faga that means along an incredibly beautiful lagoon. The color of the water is hard to describe. It’s various shades of blue with a sort of luminescence. Apparently there’s silica or something in the water in this village that gives the water it’s unique and beautiful color. I wonder how long it will be before I don’t notice the water and enjoy the sounds of the surf crashing on the reef. I hope never.
My new host “mom”, who I’ll call K for confidentiality reasons, pointed out some fruit trees as we drove into the family compound. Yes, that’s a star fruit tree over there. And beyond is a Vi tree. And next to it, a huge mango tree. All within yards of my fale. LG, the 18 year old walked me over for a closer look.
When I was 8 my family drove from our home in Arizona to Ohio for a funeral. My aunt told me I could pick some cherries from the tree in her backyard. When I brought a handful into the house I asked where I paid for them. I couldn’t grasp the concept of having something so wonderful and expensive just hanging there for free. It was like her pointing out the Snickers tree and telling me to help myself.
I felt like that this morning. The star fruit and vi trees were covered in ripe fruit. “May I have some?” I asked LG. She gave me a peculiar look. “I mean, just help myself?” I continued, like an American moron. “Of course, but you can’t have any mango.” Not because they were restricting the fruit, just because the mango season has just ended.
Vi, by the way, I tried for the first time in the host village. Sia’s family made her a vi salad, which is sort of like an apple slaw. Very tasty and refreshing. She also brought some just sliced, which was also a sweet/tart crunchy treat. I’m also a big fan of star fruit, so will be enjoying that too. Vi, by the way, is pronounced “vee”.
We enjoyed to’ona’i after church. That’s the traditional feast, made every Sunday in the outdoor oven or umu. Think of a Hawaiian luau and that’s close. It’s a ton of work to do and they do it every week. Ours didn’t include a roasted pig today but did include excellent fried chicken, roasted green bananas and taro, oka (raw fish with chilis, lime, coconut cream and cucumber). We had orange Sprim to drink (like Kool-Aid).
After lunch is rest time. I asked if I could walk to the beach fale to rest. I also wanted to call home. They agreed, of course. Two minutes after I got there, one of the daughters along with a six year old cousin arrived to keep me company. They stayed for a few minutes, quietly listening to my phone call, then left when the others arrived to head to church for youth group practice.
I continued to enjoy the phone call and view and wondering what PC volunteers in cold or dry countries were doing. Yes, this is a sacrifice in a lot of ways. There are aspects of the experience that have been really hard. I am so lucky, though, to have that offset by living in a place that is stunningly beautiful. Imagine every travel magazine you’ve ever seen that show blue waters, lush green jungles with orchids and fruit trees growing wild and you’ve got my new home, Savaii.
The lack of sandy beach is the only issue. Seems there used to be a long, wide stretch of white sand on the beach. Then the village put in a sea wall along the entire lagoon. The small waves have washed away all the sand, leaving coral and lava rocks exposed during low tide, instead of beach. A shame, but as strong as the waves against the sea wall are, a good idea.
After more resting, we headed back to church for the evening service. This service was longer than in the morning. About 2 hours, followed by 30 minutes of a meeting of the adults of the church. I mostly enjoy the singing, although because of the amplifiers that most churches use, it tends to be loud.
My experience with the two Assembly of God churches in Samoa is they take the gospel of making a joyful noise unto the Lord very seriously. Because of the problem with my ear, it’s painful for me. Frankly, I was praying for silence. So, I felt a bit guilty when suddenly the lights flickered and went out, along with the electric guitars, organ and amplifiers. The musical group didn’t hesitate. They just kept singing, while the drummers drummed. Much more enjoyable without amplification, from my view. After about an hour, the power came back on and the decibels were back up.
I heard a couple of references to Pisi Koa and Palagi during the service. I don’t want to sound paranoid, and assume you can imagine how it feels to stand out in a crowd. I’m 5’10”, have blonde/silver hair and really white skin. The Samoans are mostly brown skinned with black hair. Plus, they’ve all known each all their lives. They pretty much know who will be in church, along with what they’ll be wearing and where they’ll be sitting. Having a foreigner stroll in draws attention.
Anyway, at one point during the service, the man at the pulpit (not the minister, he doesn’t preach at night) mentioned Palagi and looked at me, along with everyone in the room. I had no idea what he was saying and just smiled and laughed when everyone else did. Awkward, but a situation I’ve run into here a lot. After church I asked my family what he said and they said that he was just welcoming everybody, especially any newcomers. And, that they all could tell who was new since I was the only Palagi in the crowd. That’s what got a laugh.
After church, all six of us hopped into the cab of the pickup. I thought we’d head for home, but we turned in the opposite direction. One of Group 83 dubbed this the “happy dog” experience, where you’re told to get in the car but have no idea where you’re headed. Best to just put on a smile and enjoy the ride. I’ve found rides like this frequently involve ice cream.
In this case, it was a detour to check out the damage to a new church under construction. Seems someone was speeding and hit the metal/cement wall around the church. He also hit the power pole and broke it in two. That’s what caused the power outage. After parking at the side of the road for a bit to survey the damage and discuss it, we headed home. Any news in the village is big news, which explains why some kids swimming in the ocean yelled “Hello, Pisi Koa!” Word has spread that I’ve arrived.
I changed clothes after evening service and sat at the computer in the open fale to do some writing. A few minutes later K brought over a plate of fresh, cold pineapple. A few minutes after that LG brought over a snack. A plate of six sandwiches, for my dinner. I asked if the rest of the family was eating and she said they were, in the main fale, but since I was working on my computer, they brought my dinner to me. This is the kind of boundary walking we’re all exploring. I think they wanted to make me feel comfortable, so they brought me Palagi sandwiches and didn’t expect me to join them for more Samoan food. It also allowed them to have dinner alone without trying to make conversation the foreigner could understand. They had the TV on and seemed to enjoy time without the guest.
I enjoyed a sandwich made with some type of canned meat, very popular here and New Zealand, apparently. The older girls and the six year old cousin joined me and helped polish off the rest of the food. We watched the video I’d taped of the youth group performing at church, then they helped me play a couple of computer games.
I said goodnight to everyone about 10, thanking them for such a lovely day and all the great food. I retreated to my bedroom, only to discover that I’d locked myself out. What an idiot. Luckily, there was a spare key, on the key chain used for the pickup, which the eldest son had just driven away. They called him and he came back. Within 3 minutes, all solved, but I felt like an idiot. They just laughed and used the phrase in Samoan that I’ve heard a lot. Aua le popole. “Don’t worry.” After all, they cut us Palagis miles of slack because they know we’re a little different.
This is a photo of Mika from culture day. He was making palusami in this photo. I'll be adding old photos with every new entry.
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