June 20, 2003
Talofa Lava!
Well here I am. A month into what has been the best experience of my life so far. Vic and I are doing well and are glad that we are able to enjoy each others company once again. I am waiting for it to hit me that I am here, to seem real in some way, but maybe it never will. From the moment I got here I knew that I liked it, but riding on the bus (more on that later) one day I said to myself "Man, I love this place." Some days are a test for me, a test of patience and understanding, but everyday is rewarding.
I'll first start with a little background information. I live on the peaceful island of Savai'i in Western Samoa. Western Samoa has two main islands, Upolu and Savai'i. Upolu is the smaller of the two and is home of the capital of Samoa, Apia. Apia is a busy town area, equipped with lots of cars, taxis, buses, stores, a market, and businesses. The huge contrast between Apia and the rest of Samoa will become apparent throughout my entries. I will just say that after spending time in Savai'i and even other villages on Upolu, Apia is almost too busy for me now. It's hard to believe that I lived in Northern VA prior to coming here. To get from Upolu to Savai'i is a small journey. After an hour bus ride to the wharf from Apia, you have the option of taking the fast boat or the slow boat, both are a nice way to relax for 30 or 60 minutes. From there I take a bus to my village for another 25 minutes. I live in the district of Palauli in a decent size village named Vaitoomuli. Our Palagi (foreigner) style house is much different than the Samoan fale (house) in that we have walls, windows, and a lot of personal stuff. Amidst the intricacy of this culture, life is simple here. And the one room Samoan fales, in which the entire family lives together with hardly any possessions at all, the simplicity is evident. Our house is apart of several other houses in a small fenced in compound with dogs, Palagi neighbors and the ocean 30 yards away from our front door. There is a rule in the village which restricts villagers from freely entering the school owned compound. Sometimes this privacy is nice, but most times I don't like living in a place where everyone is not always welcome. This small isolation from the rest of the village and the fact that Vaitoomuli has had Peace Corps now for 20 some years makes this village experience a bit different from others. People stare, talk and are curious, but for the most part let you be. Everyone is friendly here, always smiling and laughing. Vic commented to me one day that one thing the books about Samoa fail to mention about this place is how people are always smiling and laughing. Just a little taste of how small the village is, about a week ago I walked with Vic to school and stopped at a couple of stores (small stores) to see if anyone had bread. I think I actually ended up buying some laundry detergent. Anyway, later in the day I was talking to Mareko, a Peace Corps friend, and he asked me if I bought bread today. His (Samoan) family told him that I was buying bread this morning. His family's house isn't even near the store and I wasn't carrying any bread anyway because no one had any that day. Through every experience, even going to the store, I am able to learn more about life here.
Everyday I feel a little more comfortable, something that is a slow process here I am told. Communication is the biggest struggle for me, even when the person knows some English. I feel bad at times when I am speaking to someone and I can't speak to them in their own language. Language takes a lot of time. Vic says that it's important to get out and try talking everyday. Some days I am timid and don't feel like trying, and some days I don't care how stupid I sound and say what I can. People appreciate you trying and smile and laugh at any attempts. The thing is that when I do manage to mumble a sentence out or two, they think that I know the language and just start talking. "Ahhh man", I say to myself and try to listen. I feel like I have adjusted pretty fast to things, well most things. I took the advice of Vic before I came, about not having any expectations. The only expectation that I did have, was that it was different. And that's seemed to work for me so far. Many words in the Samoan language have more than one meaning, which make learning frustrating sometimes.
I have not officially started working yet with the Nutrition Center. I will begin in July after some additional "training" in Apia. I am anxious to get started, but am a little timid and at times and question my credentials. The more language I can get under my belt, the more successful I will be I think. I am still unsure of exactly what I'll be doing and I have a feeling that a lot will be left up to me. I do know that I will be working in the hospital with patients and working on the Nutrition Center garden there. The Nutrition Center is part of the Ministry of Health located in Apia. I am currently the only person on this island from the Nutrition Center. My resources are pretty limited here though, so I'll need to be creative. I would like to start a few gardening projects here in several different villages, visit them on a regular basis to ensure sustainability. I would even like to have walking groups in the villages and make physical activity programs available to high risk patients in the hospital. These are big goals I realize, but if I could have one group of women and men walking regularly by the time I leave, I would feel good. The message at the Nutrition Center is to encourage the consumption of traditional and local foods. These foods are healthier, cheaper and in competition with the imported, refined, fatty, canned foods. Mutton flaps, turkey tails, and canned meats are cheap and available everywhere, along with sugary snacks. So through gardens we hope to make vegetables, especially dark green, leafy vegetables and fruits more readily available. How's that for a pitch? Most families have plantations in which they gather and plant taro, bread fruit, bananas, and many other things daily. Heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and gout are common and increasing fast. I have much to learn since most of the local fruits and vegetables are not available or talked about in the U.S. The culture is so finely webbed into everything here that is inescapable. No matter where you are or what you are doing you have to be sensitive of the "rules". This will make my job experience challenging at times because I will be in the villages, away from Apia and government organizations. For instance, in the villages, I will not be working with the government; I will be working with the village matai, women's committee, and schools.
For over 2000 years, every village has been self governing. It was only 1962 when Samoa's independence was gained and a national government was introduced. Even today, outside of Apia, the self governing villages remain. At the very backbone of each village and Samoa itself is the Matai System, a complicated system in which books have been written about. Every family (which are extremely big) has a chief or Matai. The Matai is in charge of the money, land, and all decisions. The Matai of a village make up a sort of "Congress" and set rules for that village. There is a hierarchy within the system which is broken down into two main titles, the Talking Chief (Tulafale) and the High Chief (Ali'i). I will write more about the Matai system later as I gain more knowledge.
Vic took me to visit his Samoan family in the village of Matautu, an hour and half bus ride from Apia, although only about 20 miles away. It was a great experience and I am looking forward to making regular visits. Samoan hospitality is a big part of the culture, treating guests with top priority. They welcomed me with open arms and were absolutely wonderful. I am looking forward to getting to know them more.
We have done some sightseeing, but there's still much, much more for me to see here. We plan to rent a car soon and drive around the island. We have visited the ancient Pulemelei mound (near our house), the largest and oldest in the pacific. We have visited the falls near our house several times and plan to make it a regular adventure.
I wanted to talk about one more thing that I think is worth mentioning. The bus.....I could write an entire entry just on the bus. Well, the buses are rugged and colorful with wooden frames imported truck engines, made to handle heavy loads. Technically a bus is not supposed to have more than 34 people on board, however the buses become crowded with the numbers reaching 60, 70, even 80 people. Laps. It's all about sitting on laps. I have had to sit on Vic's lap many times and we have been on some of the most crowded buses Vic or I have ever seen. It truly is an experience. And although I have been extremely uncomfortable at times, the buses have been great. There's a whole system involved in riding the bus, a hierarchy if you will. Elders, and professionals sit in the front, women with young children come next, followed by women of the village, and in the way back of the bus the untitled men. Children tend to float around a bit. And us Palagi, well Palagi are held in high regard, but we try to sit closer to the back, which is where we would be if we were Samoan. People are very aware of who is about to get on the bus and shift to allow for an open seat before the person even steps foot on the bus. And the shifting is graceful too, even on the most crowded of buses. Some buses blast Samoan and American pop tunes, while others don't; but on any bus talking is not allowed. I'll definitely be writing more about this as well as many other things.
I am going to try to include a little fact about Samoa each time I write. So here we go. Like any culture, Samoa has many ceremonies, and the ceremonial drink is "ava", known to Americans and most of the world as "kava." Kava was a strong export of these Pacific Islands, until a European study showed that it caused liver damage. The problem however, was that people outside of the Pacific where consuming the entire plant, and not just the root as it is done here in the Pacific, and the study researched the consumption of the entire plant. Enormous amounts of ava are consumed on a regular basis, even daily, and liver damage is the least of Samoans' health problems.
Remember we see the same moon. And send me any questions that you have. Thank you for all the letters and emails and keep them coming. I look forward to being able to tell you much more about Samoa next time I write.
Fa Soifua!
Masi
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