Back in the Village

Huge news - I am posting this from the comfort of my house. No bus ride to check email this morning. The dial up is slow, but I'm connected!

I got home last night on the last ferry. I don’t recommend the last ferry on a Friday evening. It is very crowded with normal travelers, plus a glut of commuters who live on Savaii on the weekends and work in Apia during the week. There were also a lot of PCVs. Seems a number of them had headed to beach fales on a small island east of Upolu and were now headed to their favorite hotel in Salelologa for a night of partying.

Buying a ticket and getting on the boat involve being in a scrum of hundreds of people. Not familiar with rugby? A scrum is where both teams jam together and try to physically manhandle each other down the field. In this case we were all moving toward the cashier or the door leading to the dock. Fa’aaloalo, which is the respect shown toward elders and palagis goes out the window.

After a ride in some rough seas, I noticed no buses for my village. Rather than join the scrum and race with the too-much crap I’d brought back, I resigned myself to taking a cab. Hated to spend the $20 and don’t like to reinforce the assumption that palagis are spoiled and made of money, but at that point I was willing.

Two minutes into the ride the driver asked if I lived with so and so (names not included to protect my family’s privacy.) “Yes, I do. Are you the one who brings my “mother” home from work in Salelologa some days?” Yes, he was. Small world here in Savaii.

Gazing out at the manicured lawns and well-groomed landscaping of most fales, I contemplated why many people prefer Savaii to Upolu. Along the road to the wharf in Upolu there are more stores, businesses and individual vendors selling fish and produce. There’s also more trash and unkempt buildings and houses. The road around Savaii feels much less commercial, more residential and appears neater and cleaner.

I was surprised when we stopped at the Tuisivi store. One of the advantages of paying for a cab is a direct route, without stopping for errands, as often happens on the bus. Not today. Since we were going to my house, he’d called them and they asked him to pick up something at the store. Several kids and a couple of adults said hello and welcomed me home. I was back on my turf.

As we drove into my family’s compound, a group of kids yelled and waved and the adults smiled and waved. Nice to be home. I dropped my bags and pulled out the treats I’d brought from Apia for the family. I took them to “mom” and we caught up briefly and I complimented her on the new addition to the faleoloa. There’s now a covered porch for customers with seating. A very nice addition, which they’d just put in that day. The only downside was that the trees they’d used for the roof supports were the ones in my front yard that held my clothes line. But this morning my clothes line was put back up, attached to a smaller tree. It’s about half the length now, but will work.

Because I’ve developed a slight obsession with clean floors/feet, I immediately noticed my dirty floor. Since half the house has large holes in the wall where normally windows would be and because I don’t bother to close the windows I do have, sand gets blown in. Sand and dead bugs were littered on the floor. Because it was twilight, there were also a lot of mosquitoes. It was also hot and humid. No air conditioned, insect-free hotel room here.

I was tired but hungry. If I could have, I’d have bought take out food. But that isn’t an option in the village. For a week, try counting how many times you eat food that you didn’t have to prepare. Take out, restaurants, salads or chicken from the grocery store. I’d gotten lazy with the convenience restaurants and Farmer Joe in Apia. I ended up making an egg sandwich with the cheese bread I’d brought from Farmer Joes. Delicious.

After going to bed I listened to my family take showers. A couple before midnight, a couple later. Because the shower is literally a foot from my window and about ten feet from my bed, I know when someone is showering. The person bathing at about 1:30 a.m. seemed happy, since he sang throughout his long shower.
I got up early although I’d planned to sleep in. I’d forgotten about the roosters. Some roost in the tree that hangs over my house so I get to hear them occasionally throughout the night. They really get going around 5:30 when the sky over the lagoon starts to brighten. It was nice to be lazy and lie in bed listening to the waves. I missed that in Apia.

I did a bucket of laundry when I got up. By 7 a.m. I’d hung a load of laundry and was hot and sweaty. I enjoyed the air con in Apia but now have to get used to doing without it again.

My PCV bff came over for the party last night and I invited her to spend a day or two with me before heading back to Upolu. We’ll play cards with some of my family, go snorkeling and eat. I’m teaching her to cook some simple vegetarian dishes that she can make for herself. Last time was chile/mac and spaghetti sauce. This time I’ll be showing her how to make a simple lentil stew, since I found a place to get inexpensive lentils in Apia. I also plan to make a corn/black bean salad with the black beans that my cousins sent from home. Will have to use dried cilantro instead of fresh, but still should be tasty. If they still have alili at the Tuisivi store today I may try to make some fritters with them. I love conch fritters, so should work.

I’ve been listening to the radio as I typed this. No TV reception since I have no outside antenna. The Apia radio station that I’m listening to has been playing stuff by Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones, Peggy Lee and Dean Martin. The song currently playing is sung by the president of my school committee.
I enjoyed the relative luxuries of Apia but am happy to be back in the village, with my family and my own home. I missed the lagoon and the kids. I’m ready to be back in the simple routine of village life.