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.

A Year in Samoa

When I first decided to join the Peace Corps, I knew I would be serving 2 years. I thought that 2 years didn’t seem like that much. I did 2 years of graduate school to get my masters, and that was half the time it took me to get my bachelor’s degree. I taught in a NYC public school for 3 years and some of those days can feel like the longest days ever. After all these experiences, I thought, 2 years is totally doable.

And now, I have been in Samoa for 1 year. The last year has been quite the roller coaster ride. There are days when I think, “I’ve already been here a year?” and then other days where I think, “I’ve only been here a year?” That’s what living in another country, far away from friends and family can be like.

In the beginning of my time here in Samoa, everything was new. It was all a novelty. I was intrigued by the language, the food, the clothes, and the customs. Every day was a new experience for me during those first few months. I spent a lot of time not really understanding or knowing what was going on. Now, this culture has become my life. I no longer feel like an outside observer all the time, but rather another Samoan (although I am still sometimes simply an observer still).

So how has Samoa changed me in a year? Well, if you know me, you know how I love lists so here is my list of how I have changed:

·      I am much more comfortable sitting on the floor than on a chair.

·      I no longer cringe at cockroaches, but rather let them co-exist with me.

·      I rinse my dishes before I use them, even though they’ve already been washed, thanks to all the ants in this country.

·      If I feel something small crawling on me, I know it’s an ant and simply find it and kill it.

·      If you ask me what time it is, I will probably have no idea.

·      I feel I have mastered the art of bucket washing my clothes.

·      Having my hair down and my shoulders out is a luxury to me.

·      I accept that flip flops (jandals) are definitely formal wear.

·      I no longer think a bra is necessary, ever.

·      My hands are just as good of utensils to eat with as a spoon or fork, except with soup.

·      I can have a full conversation with someone using just my eyebrows.

·      I appreciate taking at least two showers a day.

·      When I go to a store, I must search every aisle because I never know when something really good might be on a shelf.

·      I accept that I don’t know what is going on about half the time.

·      Sitting and doing nothing is one of my daily activities.

·      When I get sunburned, I know that it will be a tan in a day or two.

·      My day feels strange when I don’t read.

·      Napping outside is appealing to me.

·      I think that below 80 degrees is cold.

·      I enjoy going to the beach and swimming in the ocean.

·      I think a city that has more than 2 streets is too busy for me.

·      I can ration Reese’s peanut butter cups.

·      When I see a dog, my first thought is “how likely is it to attack me?”

·      I can sense when rain is coming. (This may be an exaggeration, but still…)

·      An exciting night for me is when I have a new show to watch.

·      Having a fan is essential to my well-being.

I’m sure there are other ways I have changed, but I’ll let some pictures do the talking for now.

Before:

After:

 

All about that church

Religion is not something that was a large part of my life as a child. My family and I did not go to church. We did not typically discuss it on a normal day in my house. I had friends who were and are religious. I even went to church with some of them when I was younger, but it has never been a large part of my life. I do respect people’s religious views however and believe it to be a part of a person’s culture. 

Knowing this about myself has helped me in Samoa where religion permeates through everyday life. Samoa is a primarily Christian nation where there is no separation of church and state. This is reflected in everyday life here.

First of all, there are churches everywhere in Samoa. It is hard to go even a mile without seeing one. The primary churches that you will find in nearly every village are EFKS (pronounced eh-fa-ka-sa), Methodist, Mormon, and Catholic. That does not mean there are not other churches, but these are the main ones that nearly every volunteer attends in his/her own village. During training, I attended an EFKS church and in my current village I attend a Methodist church.

Church services are held often and regularly. My church in my village has morning and afternoon services on Sundays as well as evening service on Mondays and Wednesdays after the children’s Sunday school at the church hall and an early morning service on Fridays. Not everyone goes to every service. The main service that most community members will attend is the morning service on Sundays. After this service, Samoan families have to’ona’i, which is just a special meal on Sundays after church that consists of traditional Samoan food cooked on the umu (Please refer to my post about food for further explanation on this).

Part of going to church is also looking the part. Sundays are the days that you will find Samoans looking their best. Some churches have their parishioners wearing white every Sunday. This includes the Methodist church. In an EFKS church, many parishioners typically wear white, but it is not necessarily a requirement. The women often wear their nicest hats and their dresses or puletasis adorned with sequins. 

Part of church services in Samoa is reading the offerings that each family has given to the church/pastor. Pastors (faifeau) are held in very high esteem in Samoa. They are considered the closest to God and the one who speaks to him directly. Therefore, Samoans believe the pastor should be given much for this great service. Much of a Samoan family’s money will go to the church, which pays for the pastor’s living expenses. On Sundays, and sometimes other days, Samoan family’s will also take over food for the pastor and his family as part of their offering to him.

While there are a lot of church services, Sunday school sessions, and church choir practices, that is not the only way in which religion is a part of the Samoan culture. Every evening, at sundown, a bell or horn will go off in nearly every village throughout Samoa. This is the signal for evening lotu or Sa. This is the evening prayer time in which all families go inside their homes, typically sing a hymn, and do a prayer. While this does not necessarily happen in every village or every home, it is very common throughout the country. Depending on the village, you may even get fined for being out on the street during this time. In my village, we have one bell to tell people to go inside (ulufale), then one bell to begin Sa. After Sa has begun, a horn will blow and the matais (chiefs) of the village who stand on the street to make sure people have gone inside will go to our community faletele to have their Sa.

Prayer is also part of every mealtime. There is a prayer before eating each meal. In my house, I am usually the one who says the prayer before eating. I stick with the one the children say at school since it is simple. It goes: Fa’afetai Iesu foa’i mai mea’ai tausi ai le matou le fa’anau. Amene. Translation: Thank you Lord for the food we eat. Amen. Even though I am not religious, this has become second nature to me since living here.

Prayers and religion also make their way into schools on a daily basis. In America, I would never dream of even bringing up religion in school, except when discussing history of cultures. In Samoa, religion is an essential part of the school day. Every day, either the whole school or individual classes will sing a hymn and/or give a prayer to start the day. At lunchtime, classes will pray prior to going to eat.

There is no way to separate Samoan culture from religion. It really is an integral part of their culture. A common question they will pose to an outsider is what church you go to. This was something I got regularly at the beginning and I had to be careful about how I answered since religion is so important to them. I merely answered with, “I didn’t grow up going to church.” I have come to appreciate some of the ways in which church affects life here and continue to learn about its significance for the Samoan people. 

Let's talk about...FOOD!!

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.

Bugs, bugs, bugs

When I lived in New York City, I got used to rats and cockroaches being a part of life. In school, bed bugs and lice would sometimes invade as well. I thought this would prepare me for the bugs I would have to deal with in Samoa, but was I wrong?

The cockroaches. First of all, every single cockroach I see here is at least two inches long. It’s like there are no baby or teenage cockroaches. They all just sprout to adulthood immediately. Also, they fly like their life depends on it. I knew cockroaches flew, but these ones fly far, which kind of freaks me out.

The spiders. Along the same lines of the cockroaches, the spiders here seem to be of super-human size. Sure, I see small ones that I have no issues killing with my hand or foot, but then I see ones that are the size of my hand. For example, the picture below is a spider in my bathroom one night whose body alone was nearly the size of my palm.

The ants. While these are actually normal size, they are EVERYWHERE. I find ants in my books, on my arms, in my clothes, on my table, in my bed. You get the idea. I just can’t seem to get rid of them.

The crabs. Now, these are pretty cute and not really a bug. I don’t mind them, but when they show up in your hotel room or your house, they can be a little scarier. Like the one below, which we found in our hotel room before heading to a Peace Corps training.

The lizards. Also, not really a bug, but they are everywhere. Again, these guys are pretty cute, except when they poop all over your clothes: not as cute.

The centipedes. Now, I have been saving this for toward the end of the list because these things terrify me. Just like most of the bugs in Samoa, they are huge. I have been lucky to have never been bit by one because I hear it really hurts, but I have encountered a few at home as well as another volunteer’s house. The one below was probably close to seven inches long and tried to cuddle with some of us when we were sleeping.

The scorpions. Last, but not least are the scorpions. Now when we got to country, we were told there were no scorpions in Samoa. However, one volunteer found one live one as well as a couple of small dead ones in her house. I’m pretty lucky that I have not actually encountered one and I hope I can go the next year and a half without having to.

While there are a lot of bugs in Samoa, I have two things to help me. 1. My cat who is slowly getting big enough to actually take on some of these unwanted bugs. 2. Mortein. Mortein is a magical bug spray that kills these bugs pretty quick. I don’t know why it doesn’t exist in America.

Wait…you really just want to say hi??

Having lived in New York City for the past 9 years, I got used to certain things. Don’t smile at strangers—it may give them the wrong idea. Definitely don’t wave at strangers. A car honking means that you need to move. And finally, if a stranger wants to talk to you, it’s probably not just to say hey.

In Samoa, all of those things are pretty much not true. It took me the past 9 months to really get used to this idea.

First, if you don’t smile at a Samoan, they assume that you are rude and may not really like you. They all smile, practically all the time. As such, smiling at people you don’t know is perfectly normal.

Along those same lines, Samoans love to wave to people who they don’t know. I constantly have people saying hello or goodbye to me with a wave and I have no idea who they are. The best thing to do? Just wave back.

Car honking is like a wave in Samoa. It is not to be rude, it is not to get the next car to go or for a person to get out of the way. It is like a hello. This was definitely the biggest thing for me to remember as I walked down the street. Even just the other day I was walking and had about 10 cars and a bus honk at me to say hi (the driver also waved).

As far as a stranger talking to you as you walk down the street, it could mean that it is a guy hitting on you, but more likely in Samoa, that isn’t the case. People will regularly ask passersby where they are going. This isn’t because they really want to know though; it’s just small talk in Samoa. People just want to be friendly and talk to anyone, even if they don’t know him or her.

 Now, I am not saying that people in New York City are rude, I actually think true New Yorkers can be quite friendly, but Samoans are just extra friendly and nice.

Tattoos

In America, tattoos have slowly become more and more mainstream. Most young people have at least one tattoo now. In Samoa, however, tattoos have always been a large part of their culture. It is rare to find a Samoan who doesn’t have a tattoo.

Tattoos traditionally have been given to Samoans who earn a chief title. Families give titles to those members of the family who have shown service to their family. This means they have to earn their title by taking care of the family. Once a person receives a title, they traditionally get a tattoo as well. The male tattoo is called the malofie. It starts at the waist and goes down to the knees and includes everything in between, and I mean everything. It typically takes 2 weeks of tattooing every day to complete. The female tattoo for a chief title is called the malu. This is much less invasive and not nearly as time consuming. It is on both legs and begins at the thigh and continues down just below the knees. As Samoa has changed, there are people who get these tattoos who do not have chief titles, but merely want the tattoo.

Even though the malu and malofie are the most traditional of Samoan tattoos, plenty of Samoans (and non-Samoans) get Samoan style tattoos. There are several patterns that have different meanings in Samoa. The spear, for example, is a symbol of death during war times and a symbol for life during times of peace. The shark symbolizes guile and royalty. The turtle symbolizes wisdom and leadership. There are several symbols with different meanings that become incorporated into a Samoan style tattoo.

Not only do Samoan tattoos hold meaning, but it is also one of the few places on Earth where a person can get a traditionally done tattoo. In America, you go to a tattoo shop and they use a tattoo gun to give you your tattoo. Tattooing in Samoa has been around since before tattoo guns and this practice continue today. Traditionally, tattoos are done with tap tap. This is representative of the sound made in the process. One stick has one to several small needles attached to it, while the artist taps it into your skin with another stick. The tap tap process is how Samoans get traditional chief tattoos.

Since being in Samoa, I have gotten two tattoos. One done the traditional tap tap way. The symbol comes from the malu and means protection. The other tattoo I got using a gun. It is a wristband of spearheads. Regardless of if you would want a tattoo or not, it is an experience to get one (or at least see one done) in Samoa.

                       

Special shout out to the culture center in Samoa for my tap tap tattoo and Manamea Art Studios for my wristband tattoo.