Hospitality the Samoan Way

Samoan hospitality is none like I have ever seen before. When it comes to guests at their house, Samoans treat their guests with the highest of respect and show it in so many ways. It has taken me time to get used to this and my host family has adapted to the way I like things as well.

You may be thinking, “Wait…you are living there for 2 years…you’re not a guest!” Well, that may be technically correct, but Samoans don’t see it that way. I am a guest of their home no matter how long I may be staying. It is typical for Samoans to visit their family overseas for months at a time or for family from overseas to come to Samoa for months at a time. Length of time does not determine if you are a guest or not.

Particularly during training, when I lived with a family for 8 weeks, I was treated like the ultimate guest. This was shown through me literally doing nothing for myself. This was extremely difficult for me given that I am such an independent person. I did my own laundry once and my host father was shocked and appalled that I should do it myself. If I went to sit on the floor, I was given a chair and told to sit in the chair. When I had to wear a puletasi for formal events or practice teaching, my host family provided me with one (or about 8).

Hospitality is partially shown through food. All of my meals were provided by my host family and were large. I was given all kinds of different food and when there was something I couldn’t eat (because of my Celiac), they would rush to figure out something else I could eat. Plus, I was constantly given snacks.  A fat guest means that they were well taken care of.

In training, trainees are treated much more like guests than at site because it is a much shorter period of time. This does not mean, however, that when we become volunteers that we become independent people. Of course how each volunteer is treated depends on the family, the volunteer, and the living situation. I know many volunteers whose families do their laundry and clean their rooms for them. This is simply Samoan hospitality.

I, personally, do not have that, but I am perfectly okay with that. My family has allowed me to be more independent for so many reasons. First of all, I have made it pretty clear that I like it that way. Secondly, I live with a very small family so it is not as though there are several children and teenagers in my house to do my laundry and clean my room. This does not mean, however, that I am exempt from Samoan hospitality, particularly from people in the community.

At school, I have had children bring me food, typically coconuts or fruit. Sometimes, teachers will bring or buy me lunch. When we got a new uniform, a teacher sewed my puletasi for me. I’ve been invited in for tea at a person’s home simply because I was running by and this woman knew another volunteer in a different village. At home, I eat first and am given the food that is considered the best of what we have that night (such as this weird looking lobster).

Once, I even got offered a puppy by my family because they could see how much I liked the puppy. I didn’t take it.

With this hospitality, I feel like part of so many families. Samoans have truly made me feel welcome wherever I go.