One Green Palangi

The first day I arrived in my village the funeral of my host-mother’s father was starting, which in Samoa is a three day ordeal and a fascinating cultural event. There was a service in Apia, a caravan to take the coffin from there, another service, then the coffin is carried into a decorated open fale where the daughters of the village sing around it all night. The whole next day relatives from all over the country arrive and exchange gifts (boxes of food, fine mats, fabrics, slaughtered animals) in a very formal and traditional manner. The preparation for this is an undertaking in itself. I came in the morning before it began and there were around 400 boxes of canned mackerel, canned corn beef, boxes of chicken, and buckets of beef. Then throughout the day there were over 20 heads of cattle slaughtered and about the same number of large pigs. Throughout all of this there are at least a dozen people preparing food, which is passed out to everyone in attendance. I think I ate seven full meals in a 12 hour period. The next day the coffin is moved back into church, another service is had, and finally it is moved to the tomb, which lies directly in from of the house. It was so amazing to see the process from start to finish and really be apart of it. Samoans have really kept so many of their traditions alive to this day.

Swearing In

Taku Paku Maori War Dance

I just arrived fresh from swearing in as a full blown four alarm Peace Corps volunteer to my permanent village of Sapoe and so the two years begins. It has been a mix of emotions as you could imagine. My training group and I got pretty close and it was hard to say goodbye but I think we were all ready to be done with training and start what we came here to do. We had the swearing in ceremony back in our training village with the whole village, Peace Corps staff, a couple members of parliament, and the Charge of Affairs from the US consulate to recite us the oath in English. I gave the speech on behalf of our group afterwards, which was basically listing all the funny and stupid mistakes we had made in the village and a little roasting to our trainers followed by a formal thank you in Samoan. After we cleared the floor there was a presentation from the village of fine mats and seven or eight roasted pigs, we said our final goodbyes to our families, and piled into a chartered city bus.

Two Months

Alright many apologies for the lack of updates but while I’m still in training it’s a structured lifestyle and not much free time to go to the internet cafes. So I just went out to my permanent site for an initial five day visit. The name of the village is Sapo’e and it lies on the south-east coast of the island of Upolu. The way it is situated, about four miles off the main road, it is one of the more isolated villages of any of the current volunteers and is also one of the smallest, only about a hundred people. Most of the villagers lives off the plantation. I’ll be living with the village mayor Afegogo and his family of about nine. I say about nine because it could be as high as fifteen at any given time. The picture above is of two of brothers and two others from the village, left to right they are my brother Oli, Sete, another brother Ma'a, and the "tough guy" flexing is Osi. Everyone is really nice in my family and in the village. Most people have been pretty oblivious as to why there suddenly is a white person (palangi) consistently walking around their little village off the beaten path but I’ve been talking to families and explaining to them that I’m a Peace Corps volunteer and will be living with them for two years. That usually blows them away. The real plus about the area I’m in is that the beach is straight out of a movie. I can walk east on soft sand for about three miles without running into a house or a single person. And there is great surfing all along the reef. I didn’t bring my snorkeling gear when I visited but it looks great. The water inside the reef is that incredible incandescent green and there is always a good breeze to keep you cool and keep the mosquitoes off you. Despite this rosy picture I am painting you right now these initial first days at my permanent site were the hardest I have had. It was such a sharp contrast to the training we’ve been having so far where our days are full, highly organized, and laid out for us. So I was honestly pretty bored and lonely not being able to talk to anyone on any kind of deep level because my language isn’t there yet. I was also worried about keeping busy with projects and mostly just trying to get my head around the fact that after about 18 months of applying, preparing, and training I have seen the spot I’ll be in for two years! I haven’t been anywhere for two years for a long time. So there has been a sort of cabin fever feeling and thinking those thoughts that you have to keep out of your head when your feeling down like OK, what could I be doing right now back in the US? It just makes it harder. But our trainers have been talking to us about the swings we’ll be having and how normal it is. So I’m not worried, just got to buck up and wait for the next upswing.

My group and I are back in Apia for the weekend before we head back for Vaie’e (which is where the picture of me sitting on the canoe is) our training village for our final two weeks of training. We have begun to practice our fiafia dances we’ll be doing at our going away party in Vaie’e. The guys will be doing a traditional Samoan slap dance and a Maori war dance. Both are pretty hilarious. There may have to be a few libations beforehand… So that’s that for now. Hope everyone is back home is doing well. I appreciate all the emails and apologize for not being able to write as much as I like but after August 23^rd when I swear in and officially become a Peace Corps volunteer I’ll have nothing but time…