Career Day 07'

I am part of an NGO called Avanoa Tutusa (Equal Opportunities) a group of Peace Corps volunteers started a few years ago with the aim to hold an annual career day for the students of Samoa. We raised funds through selling funnel cakes during the Teuila Festival (cultural event) and through donations from private companies and from the Ministry of Women division of youth. This year was by far the biggest career day to date and we got a lot of good press for it. We coordinated 1,500 students, 50 businesses, and several ministries. We worked together with the National University of Samoa to hold both the career day and their open day in unison, which showed not only job but also higher education opportunities. The response from students was really encouraging. We wanted to show them that there is a future for them to be successful in Samoa without having to go overseas, which is a commonly held belief.

This is an example of one of the booths. Students seemed to be really attracted to idea of being a Police officer.

Bingo!

One of my latest endeavors has been to build a computer lab in the Primary School not only for the kids and teachers but also for everyone in the village who wants to learn how to use a computer. My initial attempts to motivate the leadership in the village weren’t all that successful. So I used the carrot of two donated computers (my old laptop and a old desktop from my parent’s office, thanks again rents) if they would raise the money to prepare the room. It needs a desk, chairs, surge protector, fan, and needs to be sealed because in Samoa if you don’t have air conditioning the next best thing is to seal the room with cardboard and keep a fan on max speed whenever the computer is on because the humidity does bad voodoo to electronics. That was my offer and suggested that they do some sort of fund-raising to acquire those few things, not that it was a big deal but I was trying to find a way for the community to have ownership of the project.

To my surprise, during the meeting of parents (almost like a PTA) and the school committee they decided to have a Bingo to raise the money. Bingo here is like a national past time. It is played almost bi-weekly by people of all ages. They then debated about how many, what kind of games, what the prizes would be, and which families would be responsible to bring which prizes. I am basically a Bingo virgin. They went on about 4 ons, 6 ons, Specials, Jackpots, Bonuses for over an hour. I was confused the whole time. But it all worked out as you can see from the pictures. Because the school draws kids from my village and the next it was deceptively large. It was during this afternoon that I lost my Bingo virginity.

The normal prizes consist of laundry powder soap, laundry bar soap, body soap, Top Ramen packets, rice, sugar, mosquito coils, etc. And the Specials, Jackpots, Bonuses have the stuff mentioned above plus boxes of cup o noodles, eggs, big bags of rice, and someone was supposed to bring a teapot but they dropped the ball. Exciting stuff.

All in all we raised 850 Samoan tala or about $220. I have to say I was blown away. It’s way more than a few of the things we need cost. To add to that I just got a grant approved from the Australian High Commission for school furniture that I was unsure about. So there has already been some rumors about wanting to buy some other computers and I have a contact through other Peace Corps Volunteers of a computer store owner in New Zealand who will ship us deeply discounted computers. If that happens it would work out better than I ever thought it would.

My plan is to have different classes during the week mostly for school age children but also for kids my age and adults. If anyone is interested in donating any computer related equipment or software it would be much appreciated and well used. Please contact me by email first and I will give you my mailing address here.

Village matais (chiefs) counting the bread. My host-father is on the right. Nothing like Bingo and Pall Mall Menthols.

Pe'a Samoa

So I got a little tatoo the other day... I went to see a tatoo artist named Suluape who is known in international tatoo circles as one of the better traditional style Samoan tatooists. I went out to his house and brought a case of beer with me as a gift before we started (part of the culture and the man likes to drink Vailima), we talked for awhile then went back into an open fale with a couple of his boys, and before I knew it I was laying down with the guys stretching the skin while he tapped a stick with sharpened boars teeth (that he also raises in the back) on the end with another stick to inject the ink in a series of tiny dots.

All in all it took about four hours with one break halfway through. It was a really good experience and to be honest the actual tapping didn't hurt very much. Afterwards I had a fever until I went to sleep but now I feel good. It's really swollen today and sore as you maybe can tell from the pictures.

Going up to his place and seeing him it is hard to believe that he goes around the world to give tatoos. While he works he has kids lite cigarettes for him and he smokes no handed. Dogs were running in and out of the open house, kids playing everywhere, all while I was laying there watching coconut and breadfruit trees sway in the wind; it made it all that more fun and rewarding to have a real Samoan experience. Mom, dad, please don't be mad at me and Mor Fa please don't disown me.

The tatoo is actually the upper portion of the Samoan naval to knees tatoo that men get when they finish puberty. The star-like symbol sitting by itself on the front of my bicep is where the bellybutton would be and the back of my arm would be the lower back. It had to be stretched a little differently because my arm isn't exactly in proportion to a waist. All the lines of symbols mean different things but Suluape isn't much of a talker so I'll ask someone else who knows.

My host-family's reaction has been entertaining. They of course love it, as Samoans are into tatoos in general. They couldn't believe that I had it done the traditional way and not with a gun. My host-father has been showing me how to take care of it. He gave me a fofo which is like a heavy massage on it. It hurt like hell but is good because the ink tends to bleed if you don't work it out because I'm told that with the tapping technique it gets under the plasma when a normal tatoo does not. When I tried to go to sleep with a bandage around it so that the ink didn't bleed all over my sheets my host-parents about freaked out. Apparently your not supposed to do that. They kept telling me "no, no, you'll get sores, you'll get sores!" So I just threw down a lavalava on my bed and let it run. I am going to go with local knowledge with this one.

Garden Update

Alright so the garden is beoming half way respectable. It took a lot of work constructing a fence that can keep the zoo of chickens and pigs from coming in and feasting on my little seedlings. My host brothers and I collected coconut frawns that had fallen down and dried and stuck them in the ground vertically. Chickens being the highly intelligent animals that they are don't try to get in if they can't see what is inside. I am also using coconut husks around the small plants to keep the soil in place during heavy rain and to keep weeds down. So the current crops are pole beans, tomatoes, chinese cabbage, head cabbage, carrots, cucumber, corn, melons, lemon grass, lau pele, kang kong, mint, basil, sweet potato, and a couple little experiments. We'll see what can survive the insects, floods, locusts, fire and brimstone that will probably conspire against me. The whole village has been coming behind my house to have a look so the buzz has been good. The women's committee is setting up their own fence and now the next village wants to make a cabbage garden.

A day in the life

Me learning how to weave a coconut palm around a fish so that it can be put in an umu (hot rock oven).

Typical meal after church on Sunday. That's palusami, breadfruit, taro, beef, chicken, and cream soup. My host-mother said she is trying to get me fat. Me playing Samoan cricket. The bat is like a primitive club. MORE TO COME!

Baby Tana!

This last weekend I went back to our training village of Vaie'e to visit my host family and to visit the new baby my host-parents had. They chose to name him Tana (my Samoan name). Me with the new bundle of joy.

Garden Party

As part of a secondary project that I am trying to pursue I asked my host-father Afegogo, who is also the village mayor, if I could start a garden. At first he and the rest of my host-family were a little skeptical. They told me that I wouldn’t want to do that because I would get dirty. They tend to have a specific idea on how Westerners are. After reassuring them my host-brother Ma’anima and I went into the jungle, machetes in hand to cut us down some trees to make fence posts. Even at the tender age of 14 Ma’anima can embarrass me with machete wielding technique. When the rest of the family saw us, hands dirtied, they assumed that I was serious and really got into it. The next day I saw Afegogo back on the proposed area chopping down everything he could make posts out of and cutting off branches to let in more light. He told me that we will grow lots of cabbage and other assorted vegetable, we will make it big, and it will be an example for the whole village. So this has got me excited with the possibility of getting other families to start gardens and hopefully getting the school involved with one complemented by nutrition classes. Also, I’m looking forward to eating some vegetables myself.

I thought it would be fun to have a quarterly garden report for the blog with a photo to show progress and set backs. So here is the first one. I know currently it may not yet be a garden party so much as a small gathering of friends but give it time and we’ll see in three months.

Samoan Maliu (Funeral)

I went to my second Samoan wedding last week in the neighboring village of Utulaelae. Actually, I went to the last day of the multi-day affair. On this day the family of the deceased who was an older matai (village chief) began cooking in the early morning hours in preparation of the several hundred meals consumed throughout the day by family, relatives, and fellow villagers on site, as well as, taken by visitors to their own villages to be given out to their families and friends. As part of the customs this day relatives from outside the village come to exchange gifts. This exchange (usually fine mats, boxes of tin fish and corned beef, slaughtered pigs and cattle, cash, or any combination of these that you can imagine) I think is a real hallmark of the Samoan culture. I just now have enough understanding of the language and culture to comprehend the ins and outs of this highly formalized affair. For example, the deceased’s cousin from a village across the island comes with thirty boxes of canned corned beef and five fine mats, usually presented like the picture above. They all sit in a group at the very front of the yard with the orator (a specific kind of high chief) standing in front with his staff and whisk. The orator then presents their gifts to a similar group of the deceased’s family also lead by an orator. This is very formal respectful language that I sometimes don’t understand. The gifts are accepted then the orator (to continue my above example) may give back the equivalent of %120 to 150 of the amount received, such as a cow, pig, six different fine mats, and 200 Samoan tala. Of course this can very widely but just to give an idea. Throughout the day many groups of relatives may come by to show their respects depending on the size of the family and if you do the math this can be a large burden on the family. From what I’ve been told, funerals are a common time for relatives to send financial help from abroad (usually New Zealand, Australia, and the U.S.) and/or make the trip back themselves.

The day I attended there is much more than just an exchange of gifts. The entire day the ‘daughters if the village’ (girls born in the village) sit around the body in an open fale and sing together. Matais of the village come in a formal offering of palms (pictured above). Around a dozen people are cooking food in huge pots and pans constantly. There is really no somber feelings the whole day like I imagine an American funeral. People are laughing and joking around, visiting with friends and above all eating a lot. *Footnote on the last comment, the time I did see solemn faces was when the proceedings are done and the body is moved from the house to the grave in front (pictured below).

Samoans love to talk to me about the differences between the palangi life and the fa’asamoa life. It’s interesting to hear how some people react when I tell them that American funerals last maybe an afternoon and it is a relatively straightforward ordeal. I can tell that some of them are a little envious of the simplicity we have but some just act nonchalant and say “well this is just our culture.” I’m glad that they have kept their old ways even in the light of Western influence and Christianity.

First Samoan Wedding

I went to my first bona-fide Samoan wedding last weekend in a village called Salani, only two away from mine but seperated by a river without a bridge. I planned ahead and wore swimming shorts underneath my formal lavalava so when I came to river I held my clothes over my head as I swam the fifty feet or so to the other side. The wedding itself isn't too much different from the States because it is a Christian wedding but there are a few subtle differences. To begin the church procession the groom sat in the front of the church all by his lonesome looking straight ahead for a good ten minutes. I was thinking that if you had second thoughts it would be a long ten minutes. The other amusing aspect was the consumating kiss, which I was waiting for because I had yet to see two Samoans kiss in public as it is a taboo. So when they exchanged a quick and very awkward peck I could tell it was one of those Western rituals that still hasn't quite caught up to the Samoan way. Afterward it was like a typical Samoan fa'alavelave, lots of eating, singing, and dancing. Of course, everyone there extended the most cordial hospitality you could imagine to me. Samoans never cease to amaze me with their kindness.

Integration, etc.

Well four months in country, one in my new village. I’ve been integrating into my village, practicing the language, doing family visits, and participating in the various cultural events. I have posted the picture above from a fiafia organized by the Methodist churches in my district. To begin the festivities there was a parade of decorated pickup trucks with a dressed up male on the back of each with the villagers walking in tow. I was put up in the traditional garb of a fine mat wrapped around, orator’s staff, and whip while my fellow villagers urged me to dance and call out to the spectators. Not the easiest thing to do at 6 am. When we reached our destination the dancing and singing presentations from the six participating villages ensued. So I changed clothes and did our Samoan dance. It’s a little intimidating knowing that every eye in the audience is most likely trained right on the only white person but I would say that I am getting used to dancing and singing in front of hundreds of people.

The environment around my village is amazing. Whenever I feel the need to relax or have some privacy I can go for a bike ride up the mountain through the jungle, snorkel around the reef, surfing, walking the miles of uninhabited beach, it is really limitless.