In the Village

Pictures from our trip to the beach.









Well I survived my two weeks in the village and most of this post will be excerpts from my journal. If you aren’t really interested in the gory details feel free to skip over the boring parts. I don’t have pictures from the village yet because I didn’t take my camera this trip. When we go back next week I am taking it as well as my laptop.

I am posting the pictures from our trip to the beach on the 11^th. It was a really pretty day when we got there and the water is a brilliant aquamarine blue with the sun shining on it. It began to rain after a while but we were already wet so we didn’t care. The kitty cat belongs to the family that owns the place where we went but was just so sweet I had to take a picture.

So, to the village we go.

Day 1

We arrived in the village of Vaiee today to begin our two week stay in host family homes. First we were greeted by the village men for a traditional ava ceremony of greeting, then when it was over we were called out one by one to meet our new families and were then led away - feeling much like pigs to the slaughter house.

My house is a nice looking fale (house) of the closed wall construction type that is becoming more prevalent here as opposed to open construction – NO WALLS, believe it or not. I was shown to my room which is about 10' x 12', a corner room with lots of louver windows so it should catch a good breeze from both directions. There are brand new curtains on the windows and the linoleum floors are covered with a rug and woven mats. I have a double bed with mosquito netting and, so far, only one cockroach. So, the main fale is one very large room and 2 small rooms - one of which is my bedroom. The other has a refrigerator and possibly sleeping area. Behind the main fale is the dining fale attached to the cooking fale and to the left is the clothes drying fale. Behind these fales a very short distance is the lagoon with a path down to the water. The shower and toilet are in a separate little building with two rooms - one for the toilet and one for the shower. It's a cold water only shower that comes out of a pipe - no shower head- but of course it is not really very cold. I'd say about lukewarm and very refreshing. The adults seem to prefer sitting on what we might describe as patio style furniture--wooden seat, back, and arms with cushions on them - all with brand new covers but they do sit on the floor for evening meal.

My family consists of Father L, age 50 who works on the plantation, mother M age 47, brother La age 23, home from a 1 year stint as a merchant marine, brother Ta age 17, sister Lan age 11, and brother P age 8 who is cute as a button.

There is a 6:30pm curfew in the village when everyone has to be indoors in their homes for a 15 minute family prayer time. First they sing, and boy can these people sing!! and then it is followed by a 15 minute prayer - I kid you not. One prayer - 15 minutes straight. At 8:00 I went with my father and brother to choir practice and I’m here to tell you the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has nothing on 60 Samoan. Their music is hauntingly beautiful and the harmony is amazing. AT 9:00 it was back home and "Would you like a sandwich and tea?" So I had a peanut butter sandwich and a boiled egg - thanked them for the food and excused myself to go to bed.

Day 2 - morning

I woke this morning at 6:30 am to the sound of roosters crowing. there are chickens and pigs running around everywhere. One sow has some foot long piglets that are too cute for words, and we have some new little chicks as well. It is actually pretty cool this time of day - maybe 70-75 degrees but still very humid. Everything seems damp to the touch. It is just getting light, but within 1/2 hour it will be full daylight, and there are pink clouds rising in the sky across the lagoon. Breakfast was at 7:30am - toast and peanut butter and 2 fried eggs. It is difficult for Samoans to cook for us because they don't eat eggs or veggies or fruit much.

Before breakfast L and the boys were busy in the umu (above ground open fire oven) hut roasting a pig and making coconut cream wrapped in papaya leaves which are then also cooked in the fire. I should comment that the idyllic paradise I woke up to soon disappeared in a fog of smoke from all the umus being fired up to cook the pigs in honor of the Pisikoa's arrival. That’s us. Anyway, lunch was wonderful. Any stories you have heard about their food are true--it's just that they only eat like that for special occasions. The rest of the time it is heavy into plain taro.

Dinner tonight was coconut cream and taro, potato salad that was really quite god, chunks of tuna from a can and coffee that looked like tea. I was impressed though because most coffee here is instant and this was ground so the thought was definitely there.

Day 3

I woke with the roosters again - not much choice there since they are right outside my window. While we were eating breakfast I saw M’s nephew out spear fishing and for lunch I had fried fish - very yummy. It's raining tonight for the first time and I have an infected blister from my flip flops that hurts a lot.

Day 4 -

I slept in this morning until 7:00 am, possibly because I only slept a total of 4 hours last night. It wasn't even terribly hot. I just couldn't sleep. Actually the temp and humidity haven't bothered me as much the last couple of days. As long as I sit where there is a slight breeze I'm OK. Today it rained all day - much like Oregon but of course a lot warmer, but it was pleasant for me - a little bit of home.

Day 5 -

Last night it rained really hard all night long. I had to time my nightly pee breaks to fall between the torrential downpours. It was still raining hard this morning when I walked to class. With standing water everywhere it was a very sloppy walk - thank goodness for my expensive sandals. Anyone who thinks living in Samoa is a picnic should be with me as I trudge through the muck and pig poop. Great fun!!

Today my language class was a lot better. We learned time and I found it fairly easy as I have with numbers. It must be my analytical mind. Also another one of my “sisters” arrived last night from "Amerika" for a visit so the house was full of guests last night and there was visiting going on until nearly 12:00. Tonight they are going to play bingo at the church.

Day 6 -

Bad night last night sleep wise. The bingo girls got home at 11:30 and chatted until 2:00 am catching up on 3 years worth of news I suppose but it did keep me awake. My language teacher told me my accent is superb and that I sound just like a Samoan. Now if I only knew what I was saying! I got gifts from the family today. A fan!!!, 3 lavalavas (wrap skirts) and a large umbrella. My little fold up jobbie just doesn't cut it for either rain or sun.

My sister made chicken curry for lunch today and it was delicious. Unfortunately my system reacted the same way it always does anytime I eat spicy food, but it's OK tonight.

Day 7 -

One week in the village. One to go. Today we have class 1/2 day only. It is clear this morning so I suppose it will be a hotter day again. It's OK unless there is no breeze then it's really sapping.

Today I get to go in a dugout canoe to an island out in the lagoon to go swimming with my brother. I am really looking forward to that.

Later -

I just got back from the most wonderful excursion with my brother La. We took a dugout canoe ride across the lagoon to the island that sits between the shoreline and the open ocean so we could swim. The water near shore is all polluted from the trash and waste water of the houses so no one swims near shore. The island is truly a pristine south sea tropical paradise with beautiful clean beaches. As the canoe reached shore I saw dozens of little crabs - about 3" scuttling sideways across the sand. All along the beach are 8-10" tall mounds of sand next to a hole that is their home. We walked around the corner of the island to the side facing the ocean and all along the beach were hundreds of star fish in the sand - again about 3" to 4" across and a kind of brown color. Apparently my village was on the island until 1955 when they were forced to move it to the mainland because of encroaching seas, but when they left they took it all with them except for any cement pads or foundations. So today it is completely overgrown and you see nothing but the tropical vegetation. We walked back to the canoe and swam and talked for about an hour - oh, and drank a nui (juice from a young coconut). While we were sitting there I saw tropical fish swimming in the water. They were silver and black zebra fish - really neat. I also saw this fish that jumps out of the water and goes skipping across the surface 5 or 6 times before submerging again. I can hardly wait to get to the PC Office library to look at a book and see what all these things are.

Day 8

This evening after the rain and before the evening prayer time M and I went for a walk to the edge of the next village. It was trashy all along the sides of the road with unkempt weed covered "lots". There was almost a visible line of demarcation between the two villages. As we walked back home I realized what a special little village I am living in. Every single house has neat and trimmed lawns and plants. - some "mowing" is done by weed eater but the majority is done by horse. They just tie them out and move them around from house to house. We don't really have grass as we know it back home. It's more of a low growing ground cover but still needs cutting now and then.

That reminds me. As we traveled from Apia over the mountains to the village I wondered about the fact that the shoulders of the road appeared to have been mowed, but I did see a few horses so thought perhaps they had done it. The only thing was, the entire road was that way - probably 20 miles worth- and up in the mountains there really aren't any people living to tend the horses. Well, the mowing crew came thru the village a couple of days ago. Eight guys with weed eaters fanned out along the shoulders working in conjunction with government truck that hauls their gear and fuel. And, get this - as hot as it was they were all decked out in full protective gear. Now that’s a Dirty Job.

I think I'll try to go to sleep now while it is still raining (again!). Can we say "If this is the dry season what must the rainy season be like?" The seasons (2 of them) are really screwed up. Right now it is the cool "dry” season. Come October starts the hot rainy season. I thought it was supposed to be dry in the hot season! Ah well.!

Day 9

Just when I thought the language pool was clearing it got all muddy again! It seems to be never ending confusion!

Day 10

No rain today. I stuck my pillow in the window and it dried out some. When I came home for lunch there were 15 or so bees flying around in my room - looking for a new home by all appearances. I told L and they went to the store and got some bug killer - good for cockroaches too! and sprayed while I was gone this afternoon. No more bees when I got home. Yesterday and today the house that PC uses for some of the classes and for coffee breaks has had no water so we have had to bucket flush. We were lucky at home until this afternoon when our water went out also, so no shower for me tonight. They have public bathing pools scattered throughout the village that are used by those without running water so I'll be off to it early in the morning. Before we came here we had a lesson on how to bathe in public so we'll see how well that goes! You keep a lava wrapped around you all the time you are washing. Tricky! It seems a main water line broke somewhere up the mountain and since the infrastructure here is all government owned we are at their mercy to get it fixed.

Day 11 -

Today was a great day culture wise. I think I have mentioned the plantation before, but if not it is, as far as I can tell, land that is collectively owned by the extended family and farmed by everyone. They do raise some cattle that are either grazing cleared land under the coconut trees behind barbwire fences, or are in a group where one or two animals are tied up and the others are free roaming. These groups are grazing in the undergrowth where there are patches of edible plants. There really isn't much in the way of cultivation except for the patches of taro. Mostly it is just wild wacky tropical vegetation. There are some banana trees, and some kind of "yam" that grows a vine, which they tie up to trees. It was really beautiful. The plantation runs up the side of the mountain behind the village. I was lucky to get to go there because women usually don't at all but one of the PC staff loaded us in the van and drove us up so we could see it. Since my "father" works on the plantation I was glad to get the opportunity to see what that consisted of.

So, about my public bathing experience - I was fortunate in that no one was there but my "sister and my "auntie" so I wasn't as stressed about it as I could have been. My lavalava stayed on, I got clean, and the water was divine. It is nice cool spring water and very refreshing after a hot walk home. All in all I would say it was a success.

Day 12 -

Another day of class. Pretty much the same routine as always. Speaking of which I guess I haven't written that down yet so here is an average day. Wake up at 6:30 when the sun comes up and roosters are crowing and hens cackling. Get dressed and have breakfast. Be at class at 8:00am. Lunch is 12 to 1:30, then back to class until 5:00. Go back home and "rest" which means hide in my room, until 6:30 lotu (evening prayer). We eat after that then I take a shower, study, and go to bed about 9:00pm. We average 4 1/2 hours of language class a day with other programs on medical, safety, and cultural issues mixed in.

Today I went back to the pool even though we have water again. I and V, the married couple in the group, have none at their house and were interested in experiencing the culture so I took them. We shared the pool with one young boy who lives at their house for a while then he left and we just sat in the water relaxing and chatting. There are little crabs that live around the pool and one of them decided to check out my finder. It startled me at first until I realized what it was and then we all had a good laugh.

Day 13-

Last full day at the village for this trip. It has been a truly wonderful experience and although I will be grateful for a nice cool room and a cold beer after class I will really miss the pastoral life here in the village. Yes, it's dirty and yes we haven't had running water except occasionally for the last few days, and yes my clothes and bedding are damp all the time from the humidity, but where else can you live where you can walk down the road and absolutely everyone say "Hello Lili" including the children. Even the toddlers at one house on my way to class yell out "FA!" (goodbye) and wave at me when I go by. And where else would I get tan lines on my feet from my sandals because I wear them all day every day. And, yes I'm getting a good tan, although it is limited to my lower legs and arms and face.

Keep the emails coming. It’s great to hear from all of you.