People

Me and the principal of the school where we did our teaching practicum.

Before I begin today’s entry, a quick update.  Today the Peace Corps will meet with the man who owns the house I thought I was moving into on Saturday.  Since renovations need to be made and it’s the holiday season, that may take awhile.  So, I heard from the family that I stayed with on my visit to Savaii that I’ll be staying with them for awhile.  Hopefully no more than a month or two, before the house is ready.  Staying with another host family will help me work on my Samoan and also meet more people in the village.  But, as you can imagine, I’m more than ready to be in a home of my own, and not living out of a suitcase.  Hopefully, I’ll be in my own place before school starts on January 31.

Now, onto the blog….

People are people, all over the world.  We laugh and cry.  Get angry and fight.  Mother’s love to be told their babies are beautiful.  But there are some differences.  Today, I’ll focus on the differences I’ve noticed between Samoans and Americans.  

Americans are direct.  Samoans aren’t.

This is so true that we had a class yesterday on dealing with ambiguity.  Samoans don’t like to say no.  Is a bus coming soon?  Maybe. Even if they don’t have a clue or a bus isn’t due for hours.  I think this will be one of my greatest frustrations here.  Here’s an example. 

My first night with my what will now be my new host family in Savaii, they asked what time we should leave for school the next morning.  Since I didn’t know what time school started or how long it would take to get there, I didn’t know when we should leave.  “What time do you think we should leave?”  I asked?  “Whenever you want.”  “What time do we need to be there?”  “Whenever you think is best.”  “When do you usually leave?”  “That doesn’t matter, we’ll go whenever you think is best.”  Thankfully, the man of the house stepped in and in a very un-Samoan way said “We’re leaving at 7.”  Thank goodness.  That discussion could have gone on for days.

Also, if you upset or offend someone, they won’t tell you.  But they will tell everyone else.  So rather than saying “It’s rude to sit with your feet pointed at anyone.”  They’ll tell the village about how rude the new Pisi Koa is and you’ll hear about it from a random five year old who hasn’t learned to be indirect.

Samoans Whistle.

Samoans whistle, really loudly.  I mean earsplitting, hear it in the next village loud.  They use it to get someone’s attention.  Or just for fun.  Like most Americans, I whistle occasionally.  Just a quiet tune.  I’ve also heard Americans do the fingers in the mouth, loud whistle.  But it doesn’t compare with the Samoan whistle.  And no fingers are involved.

Americans are Competetive.  Samoans Not So Much.

Samoa has a collective culture.  They do everything together. And they support each other, in everything.  We’ve learned that will be a bit of a challenge in teaching, since the norm is to copy off the paper of the best student in the class.  It’s not viewed as cheating – just helping to make sure everyone gets the right answer.

On the bus back from Apia one evening I asked the 18 year old sitting in my lap (have I mentioned the busses are crowded?) who the best volleyball player in his village was.  “Volley” as they call it, is a big deal here and they play it every night.  Now, I haven’t talked to a teenager on a bus in the States lately, let alone one sitting on my lap, but I believe if I’d asked an American boy that question the answer would have been “Me!”.  Not the Samoan kid.  His response, with no hesitation, was “We’re all really good.”

I think we could learn a bit from the Samoans on this issue.

Americans Yell.  Samoans Mouth.

When we want to attract someone’s attention and they’re standing away from us, we yell.  I’ve heard entire conversations being yelled across a crowded room, on a plane, in a store, etc.  We don’t care that there are other people around, we just want to get across our message.

Samoans, on the other hand, just mouth the words silently, so as not to disturb all the other people in the vicinity.  I’ve witnessed it on buses, in a store and on the street.

I think we should learn from the Samoans on this issue, too.

Mine vs. Ours.

We’re all about the individual in America.  We use the word “my” a lot.  In Samoa, it’s about “us” and “ours”.  We had a session during training during which we were warned that small items are likely to go missing from our homes and at school.  Pens, cd’s, jewelry, etc.  It’s not considered stealing here or even borrowing.  It’s just the view that stuff isn’t yours or mine, it’s just ours.  And if you happen to have cooler stuff than I do, I’ll be wearing “our” necklace for the forseeable future.  Yes, it’s happened to me.

On this issue, I’m a firm believer in “Mine! Keep your mitts off.”

We Talk.  Samoans Give Speeches.

My personal theory on this is that because of the slow pace of life here, Samoans fill up the time with words.  Not in every conversation, but in more formal settings like ava ceremonies, church and class, Samoans seem to have a habit of turning what could be a two minute statement into a ten minute statement by saying something, then saying it again in a different way and then saying it in yet another way, then telling you what they just told you.  Heaven’s knows I talk a lot.  I have more words to share than I need.  But by Samoan standards, I’m the strong silent type.

I’ll give the nod to the Americans on this one.

Americans are Loud.  Samoans Speak Softly.

It’s usually easy to tell if there’s an American in the room.  They’re the ones who talk louder than everybody else.  I’ve seen it in every country I’ve visited.  In a restaurant there may be a quiet hum of conversation and then the booming voice of the American.  Samoans seem to speak even more softly than most, which makes our loudness even more obvious.

I lost most of the hearing in one ear the week I arrived.  Between that, the Samoan habit of speaking softly and the fact that most words sound very similar, it’s a challenge.

Americans Don’t Talk With Their Eyebrows.  Samoans Do.

Sure, every once in awhile we’ll see or hear something that raises an eyebrow.  In the normal course of conversation, though, Americans don’t use their eyebrows.  Samoans, on the other hand, can communicate without sound by using their eyebrows.  It’s fascinating to watch and an easy habit to pick up.

My first few days here, I thought my language teacher had a tic.  Then I realized that she only “tic’d”  when she was listening to me.  I found out it’s a way of expressing agreement and demonstrating that you’re paying attention.  If they really agree, the eyebrows will be going up and down a lot, really fast. 

No opinion on this one, but I hope you like it, since I’ll be “eyebrow talking” for the next two years and it will be a hard habit to break.

Yes, I actually do teach!

Palusami - young taro leaves wrapped around coconut cream and baked. Not too pretty but really tasty.