One of the most talked about topics amongst volunteers here
on our small islands is food. It is important to human existence, but it is
also an integral part of Samoan culture. Every Sunday, families take food to
the pastor and present it to him. They also share food with others both on Sundays,
as well as any day. I have been a part of taking food to the pastor as well as
other members of our village. It is part of life here that people share food.
If you go to someone’s house, you are bound to get tea and at least a little
bit of food. It is a way of showing hospitality. Since it is so prominent, of
course it becomes a large topic of conversation amongst volunteers.
I especially talk and think about about food at least once
every 20 seconds. Almost 3 years ago I was diagnosed with Celiac disease and
had to go on a strict gluten free diet. No wheat, rye, or barley for me. I had
to make some pretty big changes to my life in America due to this, but I then
had to change again when I came to Samoa. Living with a host family and eating
with them, I had to explain my dietary restrictions to them. I can’t really
explain what Celiac is so I simply tell them I have a wheat allergy. This
helps, but I still on occasion am offered saimini (essentially ramen) or some
soup with macaroni in it. I do end up being pretty limited here with what I
eat, but I am (kind of) getting used to it.
One of the things that makes not only my situation
difficult, but any volunteers is that the availability of different foods is
quite limited. Living on an island in the middle of the South Pacific, many
food staples are obviously grown here. Many things are imported, but those
items are limited. Volunteers get excited when we find our favorite candy, or
TORTILLA CHIPS! (That is the ultimate find, although it’s not real tortilla
chips, just “Original Salted Doritos”.) Most volunteers also eat with their
host families for at least one meal each day, which means we stick to a Samoan
diet.
Most traditional Samoan food is made from ingredients grown
on the island, although there are some exports that have become staples in
Samoan homes. Samoan food is
traditionally cooked on the umu, which is essentially an outdoor oven pit made
with heated rocks and coconut shells. Especially on Sundays for to’ana’i (a
traditional meal on Sundays after church) members of the family will get up
early to make the umu and cook the meal.
Some of the common foods one may find on a Samoan table are:
‘Ulu (breadfruit): a type of starch that gets cooked and
tastes bread-like
Talo (taro): another type of starch that is like the potato
of Samoa
Rice: only white rice is available on the island
Fasi Pua’a: pig that they kill and cook on the umu
Pipi: turkey tails imported
Papakiu (barbecue): barbecue here is made with a soy sauce
mix
Sapasui: bean noodles cooked with soy sauce and typically
some kind of meat
Falai elegi: tin fish fried in a skillet with oil and
usually some kind of vegetable
Falai moa: fried chicken
Saimini: ramen, essentially, imported
Falaoa: bread, especially enjoyed with lots of butter or
some canned spaghetti on it
Panikeke: small fried doughnuts essentially
Pe’e Pe’e: coconut cream made from opening the coconut,
shredding the meat and squeezing the cream out of it
Pisupo: imported canned corned beef
Some of my personal favorite Samoan foods are:
Oka: a cold soup made with coconut cream and raw fish
Palusami: baby taro leaves filled with coconut cream and
cooked on the umu
Fa’alifu talo: taro boiled and covered in coconut cream
I’a: fresh fish, especially good with coconut cream on it
(are you sensing a pattern??)
Vai fala: a mixture of coconut, milk, pineapple, and usually
peanuts
Niu: not technically a food, but the water of a delicious
coconut and best when you are given them for free by your students
There are definitely many other foods that Samoans eat, but
these are some of the most common. While Samoan food isn’t all bad, it is
pretty common to end up getting the same thing to eat for dinner for days or
even weeks at a time. This can be draining on anyone. So it is nice when I get
out of my village and go to the capital where I can get gluten free pizza (only
one place to go in the entire country) or perhaps find that a grocery store got
a (magical) shipment of American cereal. And when I do find something I’ve
never seen before and love, I stock up, because there is no guarantee I will
see it again.
