The road less traveled

Roma!

2009-05-28T19:37:00.000-07:00

It's been almost a month since I got back from Rome and still haven't had a chance to update on the trip. It was a whirlwind three days, but absolutely worth it. The only thing I would change is taking a little more time to each lunch. We made it through the days on gelato, which was delicious, but dinner was always so amazing I wish I'd had a few more pasta dishes.

I spent a few minutes jotting down thoughts one afternoon, so I'll copy those into here, but they don't cover everything so I will try to expand.

May 1: Friday night and we are absolutely exhausted. We'd planned to go out tonihgt, but sleep seems like a much better option. It's been an absolute whirlwind day since we landed in Rome at 8am. Thanks to Katelin's magic sleeping pills we'd all slept soundly the entire way and were ready to hit the ground running. And that's exactly what we did. We took a train and a bus to St. Peter's Square where we met up with a college friend who is living and working in Rome. The Sistine Chapel had been our first planned stop, but due to St. Joseph's Feast Day it was closed. With a quick change of plans we regrouped and headed towards the Colusseum and Roman Forum. On the way we climbed one of the Seven Hills to catch a breath taking view of the city. It reminded me a lot of a scene in "The Scarlet & The Black." (hmm...wonder why?) The view was absolutely beautiful. I hadn't realized how green Rome was. Standing in the park at the top of the hill I realized why people fall in love with the city. Students were studying under orange trees, while kids played soccer against an ancient brick wall. A few blocks away, in the River Oaks of Rome, we stood in line to look through the "keyhole." When you peer into the tiny dark hole in the door, you are greeted unexpectedly with a view of St. Peters, perfectly framed by rows of neatly trimmed bushes. I felt like a little kid looking through a kaleidascope at a make believe picture. Continuing our journey, we stopped for pizza at a small pizzaria in the Jewish section of town. Delicious and very much what was needed at the time. As we walked down the street leaving the restaurant, I stopped to refill my water bottle at one of the many public fountains that are sprinkeled througout the city. Two more brief stops before we hit the main attraction- the mouth of truth or "la bocca de veritatas," and the prison where Sts. Peter and Paul were kept. About this point Katelin and Sierra left so that Callye and I could explore the Colusseum and Forum on our own. It's probably a good thing because we were both completely blown away by the Colusseum. It was so cool to be walking through something that old. And the size! I stood on the top level looking down, and could almost hear the roar of the crowd and see the lions pacing below. I could see the fraility of a single human life, alone in the arena, and realized the huge sacrifice, and the strength required to make it, that was the lot of so many early Christians. I've read the history, but until that moment had not realized what a huge structure it was or the number of people who must have crowded in for the games. Even after we left and were walking around the rest of the city, every time we caught a glimpse we stopped to take a picture.

Other things we saw that day and related thoughts:
- Forum: cool, big, old. Not nearly as awesome as the Colusseum.
- Carvagio paintings: real art. Modern paintings do not even come close. How awesome that you can walk into random churches and see these great works of art. They really were meant to lift the mind and heart to God.
- Fountain Trivia: did not realize how big it was! Again, good art = awesome.
- Pantheon: it's a circle? Being Catholic is cool.

Saturday morning started with a visit to Musee Bourghese. We did the audio tour, great investment. There were a few Bernini sculptures, which were among my favorite items in Rome- Apollo and Daphi, and the Rape of Prosperpina. The level of detail, the emotions conveyed, and the manner in which marble was manipulated to look like flesh was beyond description. I can still see parts of the scupltures in my mind, and I don't think they will ever cease to amaze me. That is true craftsmenship.

The details and order of the rest of the trip is already starting to get fuzzy, but other highlights:

- Sistine Chapel: after waiting in line for two hours, we ran through the rest of the Vatican Museum to get to the Sistine Chapel. Wow! I don't even know how to describe seeing those paintings in real life. A room filled with beautiful art. It's almost too much. How do you take it all in? We talk now of an data overload, but walking into that room for the first time must have been much the same. Where do you start? Where do your eyes look first? How do you extract the lessons to be learned from each painting?

- St. Peters: the outside did nothing to prepare me for the size and grandeur inside. It is designed to make you feel insignificant and remind you of your nothingness in the sight of God. I know there is more to religion than the emotional side, but it is still important. While we were standing inside, completely overwhelmed, the organist began practicing for Sumday mass. Wow! For me, music is the piece that ties it all together. More than any other form of art, beautiful music can speak to my soul. Standing there it all makes sense. The composers who wrote beautiful church pieces were writing for cathedrals. They were writing to fill to the brim these enormous and elaborate masterpieces. The Pieta is in a side chapel towards the front, and again so much emotion is captured. How can you not feel sadness with the sorrowing Mother?

We went to the top of St. Peters as well and looked down over the city. Incredible that such a structure could be built with none of the modern tools or technology. Saw some more fountains. I love water, so was very enchanted with them. The four corners fountain by Bernini was one of my favorites.

The other really cool thing was getting to see two of my cousins who were studying at the University of Dallas Rome campus. We went to church together Sunday morning and then walked around for a few hours. It was great to see them and catch up, and they were able to give me some more details on some of the things I'd seen already which was cool. For example, the wooden altar covering in St. Peter's is eight stories high!

I could keep going and going, but instead I'm going to end by saying it was a very worth it three day trip. Rome is the first place I have been to that I would go back in a heartbeat. I've loved every other place I've been and would love to return, but I want to visit other places first. I would not mind going back to Rome again, even if it meant sacrificint another trip.

Snowboarding, etc

2009-02-09T18:28:00.000-08:00

I didn't spend much time on the computer after the first few days, so here's a quick recap of the rest of my trip.

After our whirlwind tour of Tokyo, we settled down to the real business of our trip- snowboarding. Our host had arranged for us to stay at a Japanese resort near the slopes, which was pretty cool. We had a two-room suite. The bottom level was covered with Japanese mats...no chairs, and had the bathroom. A small ladder led to the upstairs, where there were six beds. Breakfast and dinner was served in a small private room off the main cafeteria. We did have a debate over whether it was because they were afraid we would be too loud or out of respect. Considering how loud some of the Japanese guests were, I tend to think it was more a sign of respect. The food was delicious, with our last dinner being two traditional Japanese soups. Who would have known that they have their own version of chicken soup?

The boarding experience was so much fun! Lesson number one- how to stand up took a little while. My younger sister caught on almost immediately and was navigating the bunny slope in no time. I, on the other hand, took a few runs to be able to make it to the bottom standing up- and going backwards. I finally learned how to turn and then the fun could really begin. By the end of the third day I was much more confident and even doing a beginners carve. The second day we went up to the top of the mountain where there was another green slope and a great view of the surrounding mountains. At the end of the highest lift was a small hike to reach the summit. We decided to go up after lunch and ran into a Japanses lady who told us that there was a saying in Japan that said "you have done a good deed if you can see the view from the top on a clear day." I guess we must have done something good because the sky was perfectly clear and we could see the smoke from the volcano that had erupted two days earlier. Much as I love summitting mountains, my favorite part is unquestionably the long run down the mountain I did the last day. Starting at the top, I rode my board to the very bottom. I went alone, enjoying every moment of the ride. The beauty of the mountains, and the stillness of my surroundings was a powerful reminder of God's power and loving care.

After three days, I was sore, bruised, and slightly swollen in parts. I was thouroughly beat, and unfortunately the weather that night left a thick blanket of snow on the ground the next morning. One day later and we would have had beautiful slopes to ride. As it was, we headed out to do some local site-seeing. We stopped first at a temple, which was quite beautiful covered in snow. Again, I wish I understood the history and architecture, but even lacking that I am glad we made the stop. We then stopped by an outdoor foot onsen. This is basically a big tub filled with hot water from an underground spring. Traditional full-sized onsens are basically very hot public baths. To use them you must first shower very well, as neiher dirt nor soap are allowed in the onsens. After the foot onsen, we headed back to the base, stopping for a quick picture of Mt. Fuji on the way.

Our last full day in Japan was spent retracing our steps a little. We went back to the Forbidden Gardens and spent several hours wandering around. Despite the winter cold, there were still several plants in bloom, including a few cherry trees! That was pretty cool and I'll have to post pictures when I get them back from my sister. Typically the cherry trees don't bloom until later in the spring, so it was a very nice treat to see them in early February. Finally, we wrapped up the day with a souvenir shopping trip.

One last comment before I wrap up this ridiculously long post. People ask me about the food. I expected sushi to be absolutely amazing there and to want to eat nothing but sushi the whole time I was there. As it turned out, I only ate it once. It didn't seem to be all that much better than some of the sushi I've had here in the states, and it didn't beat the tuna I had in Samoa. However, what I did really enjoy were the noodle bowls. I could eat those all day! And yes, those I will miss now that I am back.

Spark's Notes: Tokyo Edition

2009-02-01T21:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we did a quick highlights tour of Tokyo. We started out the day by trying to take a tour of the C-130s, but after almost getting thrown into a military prison we decided it might be safer to just avoid the base for a little while. Three trains, a subway, and a half-mile walk later we found Tokyo Tower. I must admit that until yesterday I didn't even know such a place existed. It's taller than the Eiffel Tower by a few feet, and weighs a lot less due to advances in technology. I hadn't really researched much about Japan since I had no planning control over the trip so I might end up having to look up the places we go after I get home. The view from the midpoint observation tower was quite impressive. We could see Mount Fuji in the distance since it was very clear day, and the harbor on the other side. Every side we looked was a huge sprawling city. Houston seems small in comparison. On the way down, we stopped at the kids' carnival and took a bunch of pictures. Traveling with two other girls made is making the picture taking lots of fun. We had no problem pretending to be little kids again. Once we reached the bottom we stopped at a crepe/ice cream stand and availed ourselves of some refreshments. One of the boys in our group ordered octopus balls from another street vendor, but they weren't nearly as good as the crepes.

Next stop was the Sony Tower where the boys had a field day looking at all the beta testing products that have yet to be released. By far the coolest thing in my opinion was the piano staircase. Every step was a different note, so it sounded like a little kid banging on a piano as people went up and down.

Although it was getting late by this point, we took another subway over to the Palace, only to find that it had already closed for the day. We wandered around for a little while, then decided we would try to make it back on Saturday, time permitting.

With darkness moving in, we hopped back to see one of the temples and what is apparently tourist shopping heaven in Tokyo. Unfortunately our tour guide had neglected to tell us to bring lots of money for the day so the souvenir shopping will have to wait until Saturday as well. The temple was cool, but again I don't know much of the culture or history behind it. Next time I'll be sure to do my own research ahead of time. :) There was a big incense pot at the foot of the steps leading up the temple entrance. Apparently you are supposed to "waft" yourself in the insense to keep yourself young. There was also a trough with water to bathe yoursel and remove impurities.

Last item on the agenda was "Tokyo Times Square," a pretty busy crossroads. We sat upstairs in a Starbucks and watched as time after time the street would fill with hundreds of people crossing, and then seemingly just as suddenly the people would disappear. It was amazing how many people live in the city and were congregating on this one block, on a Sunday evening. If there's one thing I took away from yesterday it was that- Tokyo is a huge city with lots of people.

Welcome to Japan

2009-01-31T17:14:00.001-08:00

It's been almost two years since I last posted, but I am re-opening this blog for a week to chronicle my adventures in Japan. I am here visiting a family friend with one of my sisters, two of his brothers, and his sister-in-law. It's a good bunch of people to do a group travel with since we are all like family and very comfortable with each other.

After a fourteen hour direct flight from Houston, we landed at Narita yesterday afternoon and took a bus back to the Yakota airforce base where our friend is stationed. Yesterday was pretty uneventful since we were all completely exhausted from the travels. The one thing we did do was get sushi, where I managed to completely embarrass myself. First, I tried to eat with the chopsticks they used to count the number of sushi you had ordered. Then, as we were leaving, I turned around and missed the step. I slid across the floor, desperately trying to regain my footing, hitting the door, and almost knocking over the waitress and one of the other patrons. I felt so bad, but even worse when the waitress almost started to cry---she was so worried that I had hurt myself. Quite embarrassing!

New blog

2007-02-02T21:14:00.000-08:00

I realize my life is nowhere near as exciting now that I'm back in the States, but if you want to see what's going on go to maiflower1121.blogspot.com

Final post

2007-01-10T12:48:00.000-08:00

I'm back at Rice and beginning my final semester of undergraduate studies, so this will probably be my last post in this blog. Maybe if I feel inspired I'll start another one at some point in this semester. This however will remain as a personal reminder of my semester in Samoa.

Being back has been so much easier than I thought. I do miss some things and many of the people from Samoa, but it is good to be home. I miss the friends I made and the extreme welcomness and friendliness of Samoans as a whole. I miss snorkeling in Palolo Deep. I miss the laid back pace of life.

Over Christmas break, and now being back at school I have had the opportunity to think about what my trip meant to me and how it has changed me. Maybe some of you disagree, but here are my thoughts. Studying and living abroad is like stepping through a door into a whole new world that you never knew existed. Coming back, you cannot just close the door and forget about it. It has become a part of who you are, and I know that it will forever shape who I am in the future. I have become more self-confident and willing to take risks. Not knowing anyone else really forces you to think about who you are and how you define yourself. I have no idea what the future holds for me, but I am no longer afraid of it.

Being in a developing country made me realize how much I take for granted and how much wastefulness goes on around me. It's not so much about becoming a green-fanatic as it is about realizing that we are stewards of God's creation and must treat it with proper care.

Finally, I have come to realize more than ever that God has a reason for everything. I had my own plans when I went abroad, but what happened while I was abroad is exactly what I needed at this point in my life.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this blog. If you haven't already I hope that one day you are able to experience living in a foreign country, even if it's only for a short time.

God bless.

Pictures

2006-12-18T13:51:00.000-08:00

I've started adding more pictures now that I'm back home.

Hawaii

2006-12-18T12:22:00.000-08:00

After spending four very relaxing days in Hawaii I am now officially back in Texas. It's so good to be back, but I still haven't seen most of my family. At first I wasnt looking forward to being in Hawaii, but it turned out to be a very nice break between Samoa and home. I did a little bit of shopping, rode around the island on the busses, went to the beach, watched some surfing, and basically just chilled. It was wonderful, although a tad bit cold.

I came back to Houston on Saturday and have been staying with my sister at Rice until she finishes her finals on Tuesday. It worked out perfectly because this way I've gotten to say hi to all my friends back here before they leave for the holidays. Next semester is going to be so awesome. I've decided however that I really prefer just hanging around with no work, so I think that maybe I should just crash on campus next semester and not take any classes. That would be a lot of fun. However, I dont think my parents would be amused. What a shame!

As for culture shock- there hasnt been much. Wandering Ala Moana mall on Tuesday I kept wanting to speak Samoan, and it took me a little while to realize that I could actually call people on their cell phones, but mainly I'm just glad to be back. Yes it was a wonderful experience, but I'm not ready to give up everything here to move back and live on a tropical island. I realized that I'm not quite who I thought I was. Then again, I suppose that's part of what studying abroad is really about- discovering yourself. Hopefully I managed to do that. I think I have.

Coming home

2006-12-10T17:39:00.000-08:00

Last night was our farewell dinner as we leave tomorrow afternoon. One of the boys left this morning. I can't believe how quickly time has flown. We spent the night at on a small private island Friday night, and I went back to Palolo Deep yesterday with a visiting SIT student. I'm so glad we went because I hadnt seen the giant clams the first time and they were gorgeous. I'm on borrowed internet time at the moment so I cant say much more, but I will be seeing everyone very soon. I have four days in Honolulu due to the flight change so I wont be home as early as I thought, but by this time tomorrow I will be in route. Love you all!

Presentations

2006-12-06T22:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday and today were our final presentations. I wasn't really looking forward to them, but I was very pleasantly surprised. They were all really well done and very interesting. I didn't feel the need to keep looking at my watch the whole time. For better or worse I drew the last time slot. I hadn't realized how nervous and just generally feeling stressed I was until it was over and it was like this huge wave of relief. I'm done!!!! Well, almost. We still have to fill out a few evaluations and write up a one page paper, but that shouldnt take more than thirty minuetes max. Tomorrow we are going to Lotofaga to say good-bye to our home-stay families. Friday is our free day and I'm planning to head up to the Robert Louis Stevenson museum. Saturday we have our final program evaluation and good-bye dinner, and then Sunday evening we get on a plane to head home. Somewhere between now and then I have to pack, which will involve sorting through the mess that is currently my desk, chair, and floor. I'm normally not this messy and disorganized, but with all the craziness thats been going on lately I just havent had a chance to put stuff away. I think I'm going to end up leaving a lot of the stuff I brought with me here- especially the clothes because they've just become stretched from all the hand washing. Plus, there are some stains that are just not ever going to come out. It's really amazing how dirty things become here.

I know I haven't posted pictures in a while. I'll probably go back and add them once I get home, but I'll be honest. I'm feeling a little lazy and just a tad bit burnt out right now. The semester's been incredible but intense. Anyways, I probably should get going...we're planning on going out tonight to celebrate being done. :)

Big day

2006-12-05T20:23:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Robert! I don't think its quite midnight in Texas, but by the time anyone sees this it should be your birthday. I can't to see you and everyone else. I'll be home in one week. I finished my paper last night and will be doing my presentation tomorrow. After that we just have a few more things to do.

Counting down the days

2006-12-05T02:36:00.000-08:00

I will admit it. I am counting. Yes I love being here and I know that I will miss it once I get back home, but I also just cant wait to see my family and friends. Tonight I had dinner with my first Samoan family. I'm glad that I had a chance to see them again. It's hard to believe that its already been three months since I was last at their house. Monday nights are always family nights- something I did not know until it had actually started. Before dinner the entire family- about 20 total including all the young children who live with them while they are in school- sat in the main fale, prayed and sang, and then began the talent portion of the evening. Apparently every Monday of the month is different- lesson, talent, service, and games. Everyone, from the 2 year old to the mother/grandmother got up and had to do something: a song, a dance, a poem, a story. I did my Samoan dance while everyone sang. It was really quite nice. We ate dinner and then I had to come back to campus to start working on my presentation.

I turned in my paper today. It was quite a fiasco trying to get it printed. Jackie wanted double-sided but after an hour of wandering around town I gave up and did it single. I'm glad its done. My goal is to finish the power point tonight so that tomorrow I can hang out with the group that presents tomorrow. My presentation is the very last one on Wednesday...ick. I feel like this week is going to fly by so quickly.

I should probably say something about Manono before too much time passes. The 24 hours that I spent there were very relaxing, restful, and definitely what I needed to take my mind off of the stress that was surrounding me with the paper's deadline looming over everyone. I spent most of the time reading or sleeping in the little cabin. I think I would have enjoyed it much more if I'd had more time or if I'd gone with someone else. As it was, it was a little wierd being pretty much the only girl around the place and feeling like a tourist for the first time in a very long time instead of a guest/family. I walked around the island- it took two hours. No cars, no dogs. Snorkeling was also nice, mainly because it involved going out in a boat to the reef. In terms of the actual underwater scene, Palolo Deep was so much more spectacular. All things told, I'm glad I went but Apolima was about ten times more awesome. :)

Back

2006-12-03T23:16:00.000-08:00

I'm back from Manono, but not feeling all that well so I'll have to tell you more about that later. :)

yawn

2006-12-02T02:51:00.000-08:00

It's almost midnight and I should be in bed but my mind does not want to let my body sleep. I dont really feel stressed but I think that on some level I must be. Last night Michaela, Heather, and I went out for dinner to get away from things for a little bit. It ended up being really nice, and when we got back we sat around in our common room and talked until 2am. Afterwards, instead of going to bed, I stayed up until almost 3:30 working on my paper. I finally crashed only to wake up at 5:30 unable to go back to sleep. I sat on my bed and wrote for the next four hours, knocking out the second half of my paper. I was honestly quite proud of myself. I've spent the past few days staring at a blank screen in the computer lab unable to get motivated so this morning's sudden burst of productivity was quite nice. I am now done with my rough draft and am only missing my bibliography. Tomorrow morning I plan to wake up early and head to Manono for about 24 hours. Hopefully the weather will be nice and I'll be able to hike around the island and do a little snorkeling. Heather and Niko might join me later in the day which would be really nice as it would mean that I wouldnt have to spent the night by myself. Not that I would mind, but company is always fun. When I get back Sunday the plan is to take a second look at my paper and begin work on my presentation. It's hard to believe that my time here is fast drawing to a close. At this point there is barely a week left. I won't lie- I am starting to get excited about going home. :)

What to say

2006-11-30T01:28:00.000-08:00

I apologize if my posts this week are somewhat boring and repetitive. This week is pretty much the writing week. I'm hoping to finish up my rough draft by tomorrow and have Friday and Saturday free. I've decided that I really want to go to Manono. If I do that'll mean that I was able to visit the four inhabited islands of Samoa. How awesome would that be!

This morning I spent a few hours attempting to do work at the Kofi House. I think part of me was hoping that it would be something like Starbucks or Barnes and Nobles. Although the ambiance was nice and I did spent a substantial amount of money in the time I was there I dont think they really appreciated me taking up an entire table for three hours. I left around lunch time when it started to get crowded. It made me realize though that there arent really any spots in Apia to just sit and read or work. There are a few scattered picnic tables, but the rain made them out of the question today. And while there is a public library, the one time I was in there it was pretty hot and miserable. The only other time I tried to find someplace in town to do work I ended up at McDonalds. I wonder what that means...

Staring at the computer

2006-11-29T01:02:00.000-08:00

I'm supposed to be working on my paper right now but I just can't get motivated to actually write anything. Maybe its because the room is cold, or maybe its just because I'm tired. Either way, I dont think sitting here is doing me much good so I'm going to go back to my room and try to get at least a little bit of work done there.

Today was a pretty boring day. I sat around and stared at my notes for a while, read a little bit, made a few phone calls, and realized that I really dont want to be doing work. No suprise there though eh? I think the best part of my day was when Heather and I went for a walk after dinner. I think we're going to try and go every night until we leave. It's a nice way to unwind and it gets us off campus for a little bit.

haha and I just found out that I am Lovett's new treasurer. What was I thinking???

Also, I realize that this is a random picture, but it was taken as I was walking through town the other day. This is the Catholic Church in Apia and the place where I usually go to Mass on Sunday.

Solosolo

2006-11-27T20:25:00.000-08:00

The weekend was amazing. I love spending time with families out in the villages. Yes, I want my research paper to be done to the best of my ability, but I don’t want to look back on my time here and regret that I spent more hours in the library than I did seeing Samoa and enjoying my semester abroad. That’s actually been one of my pet peeves. Most of the other students spend so much time freaking out and stressing about their paper. I came here to get away from having to worry about my grades. Let me just give you a little example of what I mean, and please don’t take it the wrong way. I love everyone in the group, but its just frustrating that they are spending so much time worrying about their ISPs. So I turned 21 last week and naturally wanted to go out to celebrate. Almost everyone went to dinner, which was nice, but then everyone but two of the girls decided that they had too much work to do to hang out anymore. Ya know ok that’s fine. I had fun at dinner- but it was just a little annoying that they are putting that high of an emphasis on work. And its been like that for almost everything. It’s so hard to get people to go out and do things because they “always have work.” Their loss not mine though right? And yeah, I might regret this if I get a B instead of an A on my paper but at this point I’m going to say that I have no regrets about the time I’ve spent on things other than work.

Take for example Friday. I went to Palolo Deep to do some of my research. I think I might go back tomorrow as well. Palolo Deep is a marine reserve. Unfortunately it doest have any fales, but it does have some small shelters and a few picnic tables that were really nice for doing work. Oh and its only WS$2 = US$0.70. I spent a few hours sitting in the shade and coming up with my outline, and then decided to put on my mask and go for a swim to investigate what is supposedly some of the best snorkeling in Samoa. I made the mistake of going at low tide so I was pretty much belly dancing over the coral, but it was so worth it. After about ten minutes of fighting the current the bottom suddenly dropped off and I was staring at the most amazingly beautiful and untouched underwater aquarium. The bottom was about twenty feet deep, and completely lined with purple and green coral. Hundreds of tiny fish flitted about in the light streaming down from the surface, and even more swam around the rocks and coral at the bottom and along the side. In the middle were two long eelish looking fish. Were they eels or sea snakes? I don’t know, but they were really cool. One of the rainbow fish, for lack of knowing its actual name, took a liking to me and swam by my side for a little bit. He actually ran into my hand and then swam around behind me and bit my toes. It was so awesome, and for the entire time I was in the water I was completely alone. It was one of those moments when you stare at the scene before you and wonder what you did to deserve to see such beauty and know with absolutely certainty that there has to be an all-knowing God who created it because that cannot be chance.

I came back and was then in a little bit of a rush to make it out to Solosolo where Niko and I spent the weekend with our friend Kareti. We met Kareti our first week here on one of our drop offs. She has wanted us to come visit her family for three months and we finally had the free time to do it this weekend. I spent most of my weekend with her older sister who is 22. It was awesome because they actually didn’t insist on treating us like guests and let us help with the cooking and watching little kids and stuff. Actually, all the little kids loved me. The first night I was there alone since Niko couldn’t make it until Saturday. It was so funny because they couldn’t figure out if I could understand Samoan or not. There were about 6 little kids from the family and neighbors shooting questions at me in Samoan. About half of them I understood and the other half were way over my head but they thought it was hysterical. Oh and then there was Maori dance practice which I took part in, which also cracked them up because come on- a palagi just doesn’t make that face. It was fun. I also said got to pray the Rosary with them- the first time I haven’t had to say it alone since I got here. The only problem was that it was in Samoan and I realized that I didn’t know how to say the Hail Mary in Samoan. I do now! I think the highlight of Saturday was going up into the mountain and picking flowers for the altar for Sunday. That and swimming in the ocean with a small group and taking oh about 100 pictures. Well, I didn’t take them, but that’s about how many were taken. No joke. Sunday was church and to’ona’i. I’m going to miss eating with my fingers when I get home. Seriously! It’s so much more convenient. And I know I’ve already said this but what were the missionaries thinking when they decided that clothes were somehow more appropriate. I was drenched in sweat the entire weekend. It was so hot and humid. I think the only time it wasn’t sweat was when I was in the shower and then the moment I stepped out it came back again. Aside from that however the weekend was awesome. Kareti’s mom works as a seamstress for one of the big hotels. Her dad is a retired boxer and carpenter. Unfortunately he got very sick and had to stop working. They used to have a booth in the market but once that happened they had to close up and that’s when her mom went to work for the hotel. He now stays home with the little kids. About half of her siblings are overseas. One of her sisters works as a secretary for the Minister of Education (the one I hung out with), one of them committed suicide, and the other two are younger than Kareti. Her 19 year old brother also lives at home and helps with the plantation. I was thinking about this over the weekend, but I think it’s the nurturer in me that finds something about these Samoan boys who give up everything to feed the family that is incredibly attractive. Anyways… and then there are the two adopted boys. One of them is actually her older sister’s adopted son. Altogether there are twelve kids, two of which are adopted. Before we left they gave Niko and I some of the wooden handicrafts that her dad had made several years ago. They are beautiful. Oh and they made me a beautiful pulitasi. How do you even begin to repay something like that?

Plans for the day

2006-11-24T12:36:00.000-08:00

This morning I walked about half a mile down the street to one of the small faleoloa's. There's one much closer to campus, but the lady who runs this particular one is really nice. Plus I like her masi popo much better. (Masi popo is a square hard biscuit with just enough sugar to make it addicting.) I'd met and talked to her earlier this week while I was waiting to meet Kareti in the pouring rain. I wanted a package of the masi popo, which costs WS$1, but I only had big bills on me and she didn't have enough change so she gave it to me for free. I've gone back a few times since then to buy more because yes, they are just that good. This morning she also gave me two sandwhiches to try. They weren't bad- grilled tuna with cabbage and pumkpin/squash. I think that if you added cheese it would be pretty unbeatable. That's just pretty much how people are here. One of the boys is studying the faleoloas. Apparently its quite hard to run them successfully because they have such low profit margins and there are so many of them. Plus there isn't really a concept of saving here so when you have cash you spend it. You dont necessarily put it away to buy more inventory.

I'm just finishing up a few things in the computer lab and then I'm going to go down to Palolo Deep Marine Reserve. Hopefully the sun will hold and the tide wont be too low because I would like to do a little snorkeling. I'm also going to have to do some work while I'm there, but if I stay around school I will be too distracted. Later this afternoon I'm heading over to Kareti's house for the weekend with Niko. I'll be back on Monday. :)

Thanksgiving- part II

2006-11-24T01:16:00.000-08:00

Yep that’s right. Two posts in one day. I wish I had my memory stick with me right now and could upload more pictures but unfortunately that is in my room. We just got back from our Thanksgiving dinner. It was surprisingly very good and complete with turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and pig. Unfortunately there was no pecan pie. L I am now stuffed beyond belief and just checking my email quickly before I head to bed where I am sure I will sleep soundly.

Today was quite busy. We had a group meeting to go over logistics for our presentation and paper this morning. That was followed by an interview with the general manager of one of the private energy companies in Samoa. It was actually a really interesting conversation. Most of my interviews have been with people in government, which is all fine, but it was interesting to get the private perspective. Plus, he seemed to be incredibly intelligent and I learned something about LNG. I had a really short phone interview with someone else in the private sector and he told me that kasava, a popular root crop, actually yields more ethanol per hectare than sugar cane so that was interesting as well. After that meeting I walked about a mile down the road to my next interview, stopping along the way at the Samoan National Museum. It’s a three room exhibit in the upstairs of the former government building. It’s not too big and doesn’t have a huge collection but it does have some interesting pictures from a hundred years ago as well as a few items from other countries in the Pacific.

I came back and relaxed for about an hour and then went in search of the Tongan boys to play some tennis but they weren’t around yet so instead I tossed around the Frisbee with a guy from Tokelau and one from the Cook Islands. They are two of the only students still around campus, and they will be flying home soon as well. After about fifteen minutes of that we joined Dan and Jared throwing/kicking the rugby ball. I’ll be honest. I don’t think I’ve ever touched a rugby ball so I had no idea what I was doing. They then decided that it would be a great idea to play a game of touch since a few more people had come out by then. Of course, I had absolutely no idea how the game worked so when they decided that I needed to be the one who scored I was like umm…ok…It was fun however and I think I’ll definitely be out there playing with them come tomorrow. After rugby we showered and headed to dinner- which was delicious, as I mentioned earlier. And now off to bed. Hopefully the centipede that dropped out of my lavalava this morning as I went to get dressed has exited my room because that might be pretty bad otherwise.

Thanksgiving

2006-11-23T12:09:00.000-08:00

I think that this is the first Thanksgiving in a long time that I have spent without my family. I think its one of those holidays that you just take for granted. Unlike Christmas or New Years it's not celebrated around the world...just in America. And actually, its funny. Back home Thanksgiving pretty much marks the beginning of the "Christmas/holiday" season. Sure there are decorations and music and Christmasy goods available for sale beforehand, but it really goes in full-force the day after Thanksgiving. That's when it becomes completely acceptable to go full force, which made it very strange when Christmas carols started playing almost a month ago here. We looked at each in confusion because, well...it wasn't Thanksgiving yet! I'll be honest, right now I miss watching the parade and football and smelling turkey cooking in the oven. Word on the street is that we'll be having our own "American-style Thanksgiving dinner" at one of the hotels. I guess we'll figure out what that means hehe.

Don't get me wrong though. I'm not trying to complain. I do have a lot for which to be thankful and I am going to miss this place like crazy when I have to leave. These next few weeks are going to fly by so quickly and I know there is no way that I'm going to have time to do everything that I want to do. I want to go back to Apolima and Savaii. I want to go to the Robert Louis Stevenson museum. I want to go back and visit some of the friends that I made while I was here. At first 3 1/2 months seemed like such a long time. Now we're down to the last few weeks and I dont know where the time went.

I have to be thankful for- food, shelter, health, ect... but the biggest thing is all my family and friends who have supported and encouraged me and put up with me for the past 21 years. I love you all!!! God bless.

*PS- I am also thankful that the man in this picture lived. Last Friday afternoon after the trip to Apolima I went to watch them set up the wind monitoring tower. Unfortunately there was a cable in the way that was attached to the top of a telephone pole. Since there were no ladders around one of the electricians climbed the telephone pole as though it were a coconut tree. Keep in mind it had been raining all day and there was nothing dry in sight. When he got to the top someone threw him a hacksaw so that he could cut the wire. I was sitting at the bottom thinking "I am going to watch someone die today." When I asked what would happen if he fall the answer was for someone to jump up and down on the thoroughly saturated ground and reply "It's soft- he'll bounce." harhar*

No time

2006-11-22T20:12:00.000-08:00

Well, I was going to post but they are shutting down the computer lab. This is getting to be extremely frustrating. Blech!

I just have to say

2006-11-21T18:36:00.000-08:00

I am now 21!!!!!!

Rainy days

2006-11-20T21:27:00.000-08:00

Welp, the rain has started back up again. Last night the thunderstorms were ridiculous. And now, 24 hours later there is still a steady stream of rain. I keep waiting for the sun to break through the clouds but it doesnt look like that will be happening today. It's rather depressing.

This morning Niko and I walked down the road to the Catholic school to go to the Thanksgiving end of year Mass. Our tour-guide from our second drop-off had invited us to go. She's also invited us to their class picnic on Wednesday but with the amount of work we both have to do it doesnt look like that will happen. However, we are going to be spending the weekend with her family in Solosolo so that should be fun.

And just for fun: you know you are on Pacific Time when you show up an hour late for a meeting and the person you are supposed to be meeting is two hours late and neither of you mind. You then turn around and are thirty minutes late for your next meeting and find that the other party only arrived five minutes before you did. :)

The kindness of strangers

2006-11-19T20:12:00.000-08:00

This morning I went to Church at the Catholic Theological College that is a 15 minute walk from campus. Normally they have an English Mass but today it was in Samoan because there was a different priest. They also apparently have English Mass twice a week at 6:30am. I think I'm going to try to make it on Tuesday. What better way to start a new year? Hopefully I'll be able to make it but I wont know until tomorrow what the plans are for that day. After Mass one of the guys I met several months ago invited me to his families house for breakfast. He's from Tokelau, which has a population of about 1100 people. His dad used to be very involved with politics and the push for independence, but several years ago decided to switch gears and is now a cathecist and a teacher at the Theological College. The Islands are an interesting place. I had a fantastic and quite large meal, but they apologized repeatedly for it not being more because they hadn't known that I was coming. I really feel like these random experiences that I have are the ones that are really making this trip so incredibly rewarding. In Lotofaga I felt like everything was a big show, but not so today.

After breakfast Patriq walked me back to campus. Apparently it was a bit of a shock that I had come alone. I guess I can understand that but what else was I supposed to do? We came back and spent the next four hours talking with his cousin and throwing around a frisbee. It was great. We had a completely random conversation about dating and relationships and life in general here. I also made them sign my disk for me. I think Patriq's comment sums up in many ways the philosophy here "Give and it will come back to you."

On days like this I feel like I could stay here for the rest of my life if it weren't for my family and friends back home. I felt that way quite often in Apolima as well. It's a much simpler life here and at times it has led me to reflect on the purpose of life. So often in America we devote our entire life to making money and stocking up on material goods, but for what? What difference does it make at the end of our life? For that matter what difference does it really make during our life? Money cannot buy happiness. It's something that you can see even here. Those who are not concerned with money are happier, even if they have much less, than those who have more but who are constantly worried about having more. If material goods are what make one happy then is not that happiness relative because it is based on a comparison with others? More than ever I believe that true happiness can only come from peace of mind and is based on love of God. It is not something that can be bought or sold. It comes from within.

Before I sign off I just have to share two random comments that really my week while I was in Apolima. The first one was from my advisor. A group of us were in the truck driving from the wharf to the dam and he turned around and said "It is so nice that you are always smiling. How are you always so happy?" I guess I hadn't realized until that moment but it made my day because at the beginning of the semester I'd had some very downer moments and I feel like in many ways Apolima helped me restore some sort of balance to my life.

The second one is mainly for my parents. One of the consultants from Fiji, before he left told me to give his compliments to my parents. So Mom and Dad- I wouldn't be who I am without you. Thanks for everything!

Apolima

2006-11-18T17:33:00.000-08:00

I just spent the most amazing week on the island of Apolima. I was really excited about the possibility of going last week, but then everything was up in the air and I wasn’t sure, but then last minute Monday morning everything came together and I was able to go. I went with my academic advisor for my project, who also happens to be the head engineer for the power company in Samoa, and two consultants from Fiji. Over the course of the week about four other workers from EPC also showed up to help power up the solar system. It was pretty incredible. This small island of about 100 people went from having diesel generated power for a few hours a night to 24-hour solar power while I was there.

I don’t have a whole lot of time at this moment to talk about Apolima but I’ll give you the five minute spiel. Apolima is located thirty minutes away from Upolu by boat, which means its pretty much between the two main islands. We got to the wharf, got on the boat, and the first thing everyone started to do was bail water. This continued the entire boat ride. Believe me, I was wondering what I was on when I said I wanted to go. Riding over in a small boat watching the islands rise and fall with each wave made me realize that I was in the middle of the ocean in a tiny boat. The middle of the ocean! I really have a hard time fathoming the navigators who first discovered the islands, especially in small canoes. Can you imagine being tossed around by huge waves with nothing but water all around you? Getting into the island is also tricky. It’s completely surrounded by large rocky cliffs, with only a very small opening for boats to enter and exit. I don’t know how they did it before motor boats.

Apolima consists of ten families, about 100 people in total. There is no running water so the villagers catch rainwater and bathe in a small creek. We brought water with us but mainly ended up drinking coconut milk. I love the islands…and coconuts really are the tree of life. They provide food, water, shelter, tools for fishing and cooking, pretty much everything you need. While there we stayed with the chief of the village because his was the only house big enough to accommodate visitors. Only two people spoke English and the chief was not one of them. He actually dropped out of school at a young age. The education level on Apolima is much lower than in the rest of Samoa because it requires a boat ride just to get to school which makes the lifestyle that much more traditional. I had a wonderfully relaxing week. I spent quite a bit of time observing and watching the solar arrays being readied for use, but I also had a substantial amount of time to read and wander around- climb to the lighthouse, go swimming in the sea, visit with the two girls who spoke English. In the evenings after dinner they would crank up the stereo and everyone would dance. It’s so different than the States where most people will only dance when they’ve been drinking. Here everyone dances starting at two and they do it completely sober. I had a lot of fun and I think I’ve decided that I’ve inherited a lot more of the Latino rhythm than I thought I had. The food was also unbelievable. For one there was always so much of it! There was no way any of us could finish more than half of what we were served at any meal. Apparently the chief got upset because we weren’t eating more and was yelling at his kids for not making better food. I don’t know how it could have gotten better. Take for example Thursday- we had four kinds of fish, shark, chicken, pork, breadfruit, bananas, and cocoa Samoa. I couldn’t even try everything let alone finish it. The best part for me was undoubtedly the fish. There was also fresh oka. So so good. They’ve invited me to go back again before I leave for the US and I am going to do everything in my power to make it back.

Students

2006-11-12T20:44:00.000-08:00

Sunday. I went to church in the morning with one of the Fijian girls- Teresia. I love the choirs here. It’s so inspiring. After Mass we got a ride back with a Nigerian professor. His wife, also from Nigeria just got back from Fiji where she is a student at the main USP campus. They have two little kids. On the way back we stopped by McDonalds to get ice cream. I think it must be a Sunday tradition. I’m not going to lie. It’s one that I kinda like.

Students here are not your traditional American students. Many of them are older. Some of them are working on their second degrees. Some of them have families back home that they have left while they finish their education. It makes for a completely different campus dynamic. It’s also interesting because I think they are also given much less freedom than at many schools in the states.

Ok this was another short post. The computer lab closes in twenty minutes and I want to give someone else a shot at the internet. Plus I now have a ton of work left if I want to get stuff done before leaving for Apolima tomorrow. Btw, I’m still super stoked about that…

Sliding Rocks

2006-11-11T21:06:00.000-08:00

A group of us went back to Sliding Rocks today to go explore further up the river. The four guys on the group went, as did two Samoans and two Fijians. Last time most of us had been a little hesitant to slide down the nearly vertical ten foot drop of the highest rock, but today it was viewed as just a means to cool off after the hike up the mountain and before heading up stream. Most tourists and visitors come for the sliding rocks- several deep pools of water fed by small water falls. You sit at the top and *whoosh* the water takes you down into the water below. It’s lots of fun, but we wanted to go up further to another waterfall the Fijians had told us about. We hiked for about 45 minutes, following the river bed and climbing over stones and fallen trees. It was so unlike most hiking where you follow a trail. Here the river was quite literally the trail. At one point we came to a place where the river flowed between two thirty foot cliffs. It looked like a fun place to go bouldering. We reached the next waterfall, not nearly as dramatic, but covering a small cave. We didn’t slide or jump from this waterfall though because there was a rock in the middle of the pool. That’s why you go with people who know the area! There are no warning signs. From this waterfall the path got a little more tricky. The goal was to go as far as possible before it got to the point where it was just not safe to keep going. Mala, one of the Fijians, went to the river’s source last year. He said it was just a trickle, and we got pretty close. We turned back however because it would have required some pretty dangerous moves. The furthest most of us got was ten minutes past the waterfall cave. We pulled a superman climb to get to another big pool and then decided that we didn’t really want to do a climb that required standing on Mala’s back to reach the next foot hold. That’s when we turned around and came back. It was a lot of fun though. Days like this are among my favorite here in Samoa. They are so relaxing!

Ok so now I have to tell a funny story that just happened about two minutes ago. You might not find it as funny as I do, but it had me laughing out loud in the computer lab. I was copying some pictures from Sliding Rock off of Jared’s CD and onto my memory stick. I finished opened the CD drive and turned to put my memory card into my backpack. I looked up a minute later and the drive was empty. I was so confused. I looked at it for a second, looked around me at the desk, opened the CD case. That’s when I hear Dan cracking up next to me. He’d gotten me good. I really had no idea what in the world had happened to that CD!!! Anyways, enough of that.

I’m really excited because the trip to Apolima just might work out. If it does it would be awesome beyond description.

And now I just have to make one little disclaimer. I know I refer to a lot of my friends here by their nationality- Tongan, Fijian, Samoan are the three big ones. This was something we’d actually talked about in class a few weeks ago. Back in the States people are only given the chance to identify themselves as Pacific Islanders, but that really isn’t an accurate description. While its true that there are some similarities between the cultures and uniting gives them more of a voice in international discussions they do not necessarily view themselves as the same. Their islands might not be large by world standards but they have extreme pride in their national identity. And again, even though to an outsider all Pacific Islanders might look similar and indeed it is hard to tell some of them apart due to inter-marriage etc, you don’t really ask someone what country they come from. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked “Cant you tell?” They can see the physical characteristics that set them apart very well. That and I guess there is a difference in language and diction but ya know…

Note: in the time its taken me to finish typing up this entry I just got an email from one of the guys at EPC and it looks like Apolima might be a go!!!! AGHHHHHHH YES YES YES!!!!!! You’re probably wondering what in the world I’m so excited over. Apolima is a really small island between Upolu and Savaii. Only nine families live on the island and its really hard to get to and you have to have special contacts and it costs quite a bit of money to go out there and I’m getting to go with EPC and maybe help them with a project and this is like way super cool.

Short and sweet

2006-11-10T23:39:00.000-08:00

Today was a long day. I spent two hours this morning waiting for the computer lab to open so that I could check my email because I’m trying to set up interviews for my research project. The internet on campus normally only works from 8-10am and from 4-10pm, so not being open for two hours would normally mean that I would have to wait until 4pm to check my email. Fortunately, for some odd reason, the internet was on all day today. Maybe it has something to do with being routed through Fiji where it is now Saturday? I don’t know. I haven’t figured it out.

The only good thing about waiting was that I finished reading The Little Prince. Several of my friends really like it so when I saw it in the SIT office I picked it up to read. I’d skimmed parts of it before but reading the whole thing…there are just so many things that ring true. One of my favorite quotes of all times is from that book: “What is important is invisible to the eye. It is only with the heart that one can see clearly.” Cela, if you’re reading this you should read it and then let me know what you think.

This afternoon I made some more phone calls to try to set up interviews and then went to UNDP to meet with one of the consultants there. I think I’ve said this before but people here are so friendly and eager to help. It’s such a small place that there are very few people who are not accessible.

Afterwards I came back and played tennis with the Tongan guys. I’m not that great but then again neither are most of them and they think its hilarious that a palagi girl is playing with them. Every time I walk by when they’re playing I get an invitation to play with them. It’s good fun.

Buying groceries

2006-11-10T12:46:00.000-08:00

Today most of us went in to Apia to do some grocery shopping so that we didn’t have to live on biscuits and corned beef all weekend. I have a hard time in general grocery shopping for one person, but grocery shopping for one person for one month is going to be quite a challenge for me. As a group I’m sure we’ll end up sharing some things and cooking some meals together, but since we’ll be here and there it was much easier to just be responsible for our own individual selves.

I have to admit that I have not done much food shopping since I’ve been here. There hasn’t really been a need to. There are several places you can go to buy food in Samoa. The first is the small faleoloa. These are everywhere in Samoa. In fact, one of the boys is doing his research on the economics of them. There are at least four of which I am aware in about a five minute walk from the front gate of the USP campus. The same holds true in the villages. They can be right across the street from each other. I don’t understand how they manage to stay in business. The point however is that these faleoloas hold very basic necessities: a few canned goods, biscuits, cold drinks and Vailima, candy, and cigarettes. I think some of the ones in villages further from Apia might also sell frozen chicken and bread. I really haven’t figured out how they decide what to sell in them, but most of us frequent them to buy their biscuits or “pane keke.” They make good snacks. Most of these stores are either part of a house or just a small building and there is no need to enter them at all. You walk up to the counter and pretty much point to the items that you want because they are all arranged along the wall. Basically, they are pretty small.

The next place to buy food is the supermarket. There are a few bigger ones in Apia, and by bigger I mean they are somewhat like the Samoan equivalent of a super Walmart or Target. You can buy food and clothes and some kinds of other supplies in them. The two that I’ve been in are about the size of a big drug store. There are also some smaller supermarkets that just have food and they are more the size of a smaller drug store. I went to one of those today with Mirna and Michaela. We walked through the isles and it was somewhat of a challenge to decide what to buy. They don’t have a lot of things that we take for granted back home and many of the “Western” things they do have are extremely expensive. We decided that we are going to be making lots of stir frys so we bought marinades and spices and rice. We also bought the locally popular cereal- Wheat Bix, which is also the only cereal that costs less than WS$20. Unfortunately they don’t have milk in Samoa so our options are powdered milk in a bag and milk cream that only needs to be refrigerated after it has been opened and has a shelf life of six months.

The third place to buy food is the market. It’s where you can buy all your fresh fruits and vegetables. They really don’t have many in supermarkets except for imported fruits like apples and pears, which are not sold in the market. I enjoy going to the market. It’s fun to walk through and just see table after table lined with tomatoes and papayas and squash/pumpkins and bananas and cabbage and cocoa and green beans and cooked taro with palusami. The fruit/vegetable market is always open and people even sleep there. For some reason it is one of my favorite places in Apia.

Now that I’ve talked about shopping in Samoa maybe I should say a few words about stores in Fiji. First let me just preface that by saying that I only went into two grocery stores and a few other shops so I am by no means an expert but the stores there have a very different and distinct flavor. For one thing they tend to be about five times too small for the amount of stuff they contain. Whether it’s a grocery store or a clothing store they are crammed pretty well. The aisles are narrow; things hang from the ceiling; and there really appears to be no rhyme or reason as to why things are ordered the way they are. They had a much more crowded feel than stores in Apia.

Changing topics for a minute I just want to say a few words about the public library in Samoa. Michaela and I went before we went to the store. It was nothing like libraries back in the states. Total size wise it was probably about the area of the Nederland public library but divided into two levels. Other than that, the two don’t even compare. For one thing it was hot in there. They had a few fans but we were still dripping within minutes of walking into the building. There were computers, but they were all covered for some strange reason so we had to use the card catalog. It’s been a while since I’ve had to do that. Also, as with most stores you are required to check your bags at the door when you enter because there are no security systems. We spent about an hour there because Kalia wanted to look for some books so I wandered around and looked at what they had. Most of the books appear to be from before 1995. They had a huge selection upstairs of UN documents, but again the most recent ones were pretty ancient. There was a random collection of periodicals- everything from several copies of “Seventeen” from 2000 to a 2003 copy of “The Economist” to a huge stack of “Korea and the World” journals. I think the library at USP, while in no way up to par with libraries back home, is at least a little more current on more things. They also have a room packed with books and newspapers called The Pacific Room. If I have to go back to do research that is where I will be because…it has A/C!!!!

On our own

2006-11-08T20:21:00.000-08:00

Today marked the end of our classes and the beginning of our research. We had our final this morning and I’m just glad it’s over. It was all essay questions. Only four of us finished in the allotted time. I just need to vent right now and say that it’s really annoying when people go over time. Ya know, I could have written a lot more but I very purposefully set time limits for myself and followed them. Oh well. It’s over and I’m glad. I’m just a little nervous now about the research. We have a little over three weeks to do some original research and write a 40ish page paper. It’s just a little bit intimidating when you think about it. I’ll probably spend the next two days setting up interviews and developing my outline. Once I have that I know that things will go more smoothly but right now I feel like everything is one jumbled up mess inside my head and I have no idea where I’m going. The hardest part is not knowing what kind of information I’ll be able to obtain or what resources I will be able to access. Aside from that however ISP time should be just another adventure. Breakfast was our last meal here. For the next thirty days we are on our own. We’ve received a meal allowance that would allow us to go out every meal but I think the challenge will be shopping in the market and cooking using the few resources that we have available to us. We are allowed to stay at USP unlike many other SIT programs that require students to find their own housing. I think a few of us will be doing a little traveling/staying with families during ISP time but is seems like most will be sticking fairly close to campus.

One of the boys turned twenty today so we’re planning to go out tonight to celebrate. Most Samoans do not eat out on a regular basis and you can tell that by the small number of restaurants that are open in the evenings and on Sunday. The ones that are almost all cater to palagis/tourists. Our standard place is Italiano’s- which serves pizza and pizza. It’s not bad and its definitely the least greasy pizza parlor but its not deep dish gourmet either. We’ve gone their quite a few times in the past two and a half months, mainly because its convenient and we all know it. Personally my favorite place is a more locally popular restaurant called Seafood Gourmet. They have a really good seafood salad that is absolutely loaded with chunks of crab and other stuff. Mmm.

Cell phones

2006-11-07T20:16:00.000-08:00

I feel like I’ve reached such a road block in terms of what to say. We haven’t covered anything new in class since the test is tomorrow, and there hasn’t been a whole lot of excitement around campus. I’ve been spending most of my time in the computer lab sorting through pages and pages of development reports on energy development and electricity in Samoa and the Pacific in general.

This morning we had to do an audio-visual presentation, which was basically our opportunity to be creative and talk about some aspect of the culture. A lot of people loved it, but I really don’t like having to be creative so I didn’t have as much fun with it. I ended up doing a skit with one of the boys on cell phones. When we were in Hawaii I was talking to one of Jackie’s former students and she said that cell phone coverage in Samoa was about to hit something like 90% by the end of September. Well, they may not have been quite on schedule but this week a new cell phone company has rolled out a huge advertising campaign. Digicel is now the private competition to Samoa Tel, the government run phone company. There was a very critical editorial in the Sunday paper about Digicel because their advertisement targets youth and individualism- a cell phone for everyone, whereas with Samoa Tel their advertisement was geared towards “Family First.” This particular author saw them as attacking the very root of Samoan culture. I didn’t go into Apia yesterday but apparently the advertising was everywhere and people were lining up outside stores to receive their free phones. The town is said to be completely decked in red and white- Digicel’s colors.

Back to my story. Jared and I had actually picked this topic before we even know about Digicel’s new launch. Like I mentioned earlier I knew that cell phones were on the horizon before I even arrived. And its not that people didn’t have cell phones before, but the network coverage was nowhere near as good and apparently Digicel’s price is half what Samoa Tel was charging. Personally I’m not surprised as many government organizations struggle with optimization. Anyways, what sparked my interest in doing cell phones was actually something that happened in Fiji. We were hiking up the mountain in Abaca and our tour guides were texting and chatting on cell phones. Now you’ve got to remember, this is a village that doesn’t even have electricity! And yet they were able to use diesel generators to charge their cell phones to talk while they were hiking up a mountain. In the States most cell phones won’t work in the more rural areas, but then I guess that’s a reflection of Fiji’s small size. Another interesting observation about cell phones here- like everything else they really don’t belong to one specific person. I mean yeah they might, but then again not really. I don’t know how many times I’ve had someone tell me not to call them today because so-and-so has their phone. Or I’ve been in the computer lab and someone answers and says “oh no, I’m using his phone today but I’ll tell him you called.” It’s something I don’t think you would ever see in the US. Part of it is definitely the way cell phones work here. For the most part people can’t afford to have a plan so they buy minutes and its easy enough to pay back minutes but it’s still unusual to see cell phones being passed around so easily. And speaking of ringing in the lab, I don’t think I’ve been in the lab for more than forty-five minutes this entire semester without at least one cell phone ringing. Finally, just one more comment about cell phones- but this one from American Samoa. Texting language is not just used for cell phone conversations. It’s used for emails and myspace messages and pretty much any other form of electronic communication. That was actually how we did our skit. Our entire conversation was a series of signs written out in texting talk. I don’t think the rest of the class appreciated them as much as we did but it was still fun.

One of my favorite presentations was a slideshow on sleeping. People here sleep a lot, and they sleep just about anywhere. One of the girls had taken a bunch of random pictures of random Samoans and of us sleeping in well, random places. There were pictures of us passed out at 2:30am in the airport lobby; pictures of people sleeping in fales by the side of the road; and a picture of the pastor who fell asleep after he’d come to assist at a birth to name just a few. But the one that takes the cake was a picture of our academic director Jackie. Jackie was born in South Dakota but has lived most of her life in Samoa since coming here with the Peace Corps and marrying a Samoan. We often joke with her that she is more Samoan than American and this picture demonstrated that so very well. It was a picture of Jackie asleep on the floor…next to a very comfortable bed. Only a Samoan would do that and so…Jackie must be a Samoan.

To my family and friends back home

2006-11-06T19:11:00.000-08:00

First of all, I just wanted to give a huge shout-out to everyone who’s been reading my blog for the past two and a half months. Thank you for taking the time to be interested in what I’m doing and learning out here in the Pacific. I miss all of you and can't wait to see you in December!

We’re coming to the end of our classroom learning and our independent research projects will be starting soon. I’m a little nervous about it to be honest. I had great plans about how organized and on top of things I was going to be at the beginning of the semester and none of that has happened. It will be interesting to see who stay around campus and who goes off into the villages. I really want to spend at least a few days with some of the different families I’ve met in the past two months. Unfortunately the office phone isn’t working right now so I can’t call any of them.

We’ve spent a lot of time traveling this past month and had so many opportunities to observe and learn. Especially with the trip to Fiji I feel like I suddenly have a lot to process and try to understand. Going to Suva and seeing a modern city that contrasted so sharply with the small village of Abaca we’d just left was such an eye-opener. It brought so clearly to my mind the issues of development and modernization, not just in Fiji but in Samoa as well. Coming back I noticed many things about Samoa that had escaped my attention before Fiji. I noticed that we American students were among the few young girls who consistently wore lavalavas on campus. I noticed that all around me young people were using their cell phones to send and receive text messages. There is a subtle revolution among the youth that I feel like the older generation almost wishes to ignore in the hopes that it will just disappear. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that they are completely throwing off their cultural heritage. They still have the overwhelming hospitality and pride in being Samoan, but I can’t help but wonder if in focusing on what the older generation has defined as being Samoan we are ignoring what the younger generation is now defining as being Samoan. Are they the same? In many regards undoubtedly yes. I think however that there is a danger in ignoring the differences that do exist because they could easily open up into the conflicts and problems that we saw in American Samoa. If the older generation ignores the younger generation then the chances of conflict and misunderstanding will only increase.

I hope I wasn’t speaking in too many riddles. When we first arrived in Suva many of the girls were in a state of mini-culture shock and felt like they were back in America. To the SIT Fiji girls though there was no doubt that they were in Fiji. They could see the aspects that made it similar to America but they could also see the aspects that remained distinctly Fijian. It made me realize that in my attempt to understand Samoa and Apia and the urban areas as Samoan I had ignored the effects and influences of Westernization. I was seeing only how it had not developed and not how it had.

More on Fiji

2006-11-05T19:27:00.000-08:00

We’re back to lots and lots of rain in Samoa. Yesterday morning I did my laundry and then hung it out to dry. Within forty-five minutes it was dry, but I decided to just leave it up for a few more hours while I went to the computer lab. Big mistake! I forgot about it until around 4pm when it started raining. It hasn’t really stopped since then and my clothes, which had been dry, are still sitting in the rain. All I need is another hour or so of sunshine!

I said a little big about Fiji yesterday, but there is really so much more that can be said. Before I came to Samoa deep down I had the misconception that all Pacific Island nations were somewhat similar. That’s not even close to being true. Fiji looks different, sounds different, was formed differently, and has a different history and culture. One of the very unique aspects of Fiji is its huge Indo-Fijian population. I think I talked about it a little bit when I was discussing the coup earlier. It was really amazing to see the two side-by-side in Fiji itself. I also think it is incredibly sad to see the amount of racial tension between the two groups. Seeing it in another country makes you realize just how stupid and pointless it is to judge someone else by the color of their skin or by their ethnic background. Is cultural heritage really that important that it can cause such huge divides?

We had a few afternoons free while we were in Suva so we walked around and did a little window shopping/shopping. Most of the shops were owned by Indo-Fijians and there was an interesting mix of stores with designer labels and stores with ultra-cheap t-shirts. One of my favorite things was the bread shops. I loved walked by and getting a whiff of fresh bread. Mmm. Food is one thing I’m really going to miss from Fiji. I loved all the Indian food. It was everywhere and so cheap.

note: This is my house in Abaca, Fiji.

Fiji

2006-11-04T16:13:00.000-08:00

I am in love. Samoa is beautiful and amazing, but Fiji- well, no wonder it's such a hot spot for tourists. We spent about a week there and I would really like to go back at some point in the future. I'm not really sure how long exactly because it's all so confusing crossing the international date line twice. It was kind of cool. First we didn't have a Saturday, and right now I'm in the middle of my second straight Saturday. I don't know about you but I think it's pretty cool to have a second chance at Saturday...especially since we spent Saturday evening on a bus. Of course, Saturday morning was pretty awesome. We went down a river to an eco-tourist village and then up to a waterfall. The river ride was really pretty. The whole time I kept thinking to myself "This is how I would have imagined a river in China." The tourist village was interesting because we haven't really seen a lot of the commercialization of culture for tourism. We've seen culture manipulated for us when we've been hosted by families, but it was still different from the ceremony that was present in this village. It was nice because they explained some things better, but I am glad that we have been able to experience a little bit more of the "living" culture...the way things are done now.

Sunsets in Fiji are beautiful...as are sunrises. On the flight over we saw the sunrise out the window of the plane. It was so amazing, and really cool to think about as well. I mean, I was leaving Friday and entering Sunday morning in a plane over the ocean watching the sunrise in first place on earth. What more could I ask! We also saw a few sunsets. My favorite by far was the one in Abaca- a small village of 80 people where we spent our first couple nights with host families. There is no electricity and its far removed from pretty much anywhere else. They cooked completely by fire, and at night the houses were lit with kerosene lamps. On the one hand parts of Fiji are extremely developed, but on the other you have this remoteness that is even greater than that of Samoa. The first night we were there we hiked up to a nearby hill and watched the sunset over the ocean from the hilltop. I dont even know how to describe it. As one girl in our group put it "I feel like I've seen Paradise." Sunsets on the beach are amazing, but watching the sunset behind another island on the horizen from 1500 feet is a completely different experience. All I could think of was wow...and God created this for me. How you can not believe in the Almighty after seeing something like that I dont know.

The next day we went up to the top of the second highest mountain on the island at 3600 feet. The hike was pretty intense, I'm not going to lie. Only a few of us went. There were some parts where it pretty much just went up- none of this cutback that you find in so many national parks. Once we got to the top it was another wow. We were so high- I almost felt like I should be able to reach out and touch the clouds. If you're wondering what the view was like go back and watch Lord of the Rings. It wasnt filmed here but the scenary is very similar.

Most of the rest of the time we spent in Suva studying at USP main campus. For many people in my group it was somewhat of a reverse culture shock. I think Suva is something like 79,000 people. It's good sized. It's full of life and motion and cars. Lots of people. I loved it. We met up with SIT Fiji and hung out with them a little. It was nice to have some people who knew the city and where to go and what to do. I've loved Samoa, but part of me wishes I'd gone to Fiji instead. It would have been a very different experience. I guess I'll just have to go back later eh?

I feel like I haven't said a lot, but I feel like thats also because I'm still trying to process all of it. The village life was so different from Samoa. People seem to be more relaxed. There's more of a sense of privacy it seemed, and people actually locked their doors. Guys aren't as agressive which made me happy. They drink more ava, and seem to have more dancing and singing. Suva is huge in comparison to anything in Samoa, so it was interesting to see the direction that development has taken Fiji. Oh, and bartering. I had to try it because in Samoa you don't.

I just realized that I completely forgot to talk about the Halloween party. We were in Fiji and didn't really know our way around at all. SIT Fiji had a lot of work due when we first got there so we were pretty much on our own. Most of us made costumes using what we had. We had a gangsta', "white trash," a bellydancer, a student, and I was a snorkler. However, and this was what made the party- a few of the students had bought superhero costumes in American Samoa. Unforunately they were only available in kids large so three boys were crammed into this much too small for them spandexy like costumes. One of the girls also had one, but it actually fit her and looked cute on her. I wish my pictures had turned out better because they were hilarious. Two of the boys actually went out in their costumes later that night...

New pictures

2006-10-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

I didnt quite succeed in my mission, which was to add photos to all of my posts, but I did manage to get quite a few uploaded. I have to go change now...there is a farewell ball tonight.

The cow jumped over the fence

2006-10-27T12:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was pretty much a continuation of lots and lots of rain. I’m beginning to miss the sun. Apparently last semester there were three solid weeks at the beginning when you never saw the sun at all because it was raining non-stop. No wonder there were so many problems…

To make up for the fact that the rain pretty much kept us in our rooms my roommate and I have begin reading Harry Potter out loud to each other. I’ve never read the books and even now that I am I don’t really see what has caused all the hype. I’m actually quite critical of them and think Harry Potter is a spoiled little brat. I much prefer Artimus Fowl. Reading them has been something to do however when its raining outside and there is no one else around. I don’t remember if I mentioned this or not but the rest of our housemates were moved to other houses last week due to “continued breaking of the rules.” Apparently there were a lot of drunken parties when we weren’t around on weekend, plus there were other issues with rule breakage. I do miss them. All three were from Fiji and it was nice to come back from our travels and know that they would be chilling in the commons watching TV or movies. Now that they are gone our house feels so empty. But back to reading Harry Potter. We sit on the bed, make tea or milo, and eat biscuits while we take turns reading chapters. We’ve about a third of the way through the book.

Last night after reading a few chapters I went back to my room to finish up a few assignments. I was sitting at my desk when I heard a rather loud noise. “Those stupid dogs I thought…boy are they loud tonight.” Next thing I know Kalia was in my room: “Did you just see that cow run by your window?” Yeah I felt just a tad bit stupid. I mean I knew that was a cow noise. I don’t know why I thought it was the dogs. But yep, right outside our door was a huge cowing mooing and groaning and making all sorts of loud noises…at 11:30pm! We debated whether or not to call someone when we saw flashlights approaching in the distance. The security guards tried to move the cow but were successful only in emitting more cow-like noises from the animal. Kalia and I were doubled over in laughter in our house. The whole situation was just so bizarre…especially as it was happening in the rain. I think the security guards heard us because they promptly began laughing at us. I guess that’s the way things go here.

Tomorrow morning, at 2:30am we leave for Fiji. We’ll be gone for a week I believe, but I’m somewhat confused as to the actual time we will spend in Fiji as flying there involves crossing the international date line. We leave Saturday and arrive one hour later on Sunday. I might actually have internet access there since its supposedly more developed but I cant promise anything. Immediately after I finish here I’ll be going to class where each of us will be giving a five-minute presentation on some aspect of Fiji. I’m doing politics and the coup. I’m still trying to figure out how I’ll squeeze that into five minutes as there is quite a bit surrounding that issue. A lot of it has to do with racial tensions between Native Fijians and Indo-Fijians who were moved to Fiji as part of the British colonization of the island to work on the plantations. The other big issue, considered by the Fijians I spoke with to be the biggest issue, involves the land. 80% of the land is currently communal land, with leases that used to last 99 years. As a result of the tension leases have been changed to 30 years, with the result that when many of the Indo-Fijians (who are the ones leasing the land since they cannot own it as non-natives) leases expire the native Fijians are refusing to renew them. Both the Indo-Fijians and the natives recognize this as a problem, at least from an economic standpoint. The Indo-Fijians are the ones who have been developing the land for the past hundred years. As the natives try to move back in, they are finding that they do not know how to get the same amount of yield from the land- whether that is from a lack of experience or a different work ethic depends on who you speak to. But that’s a basic background of the issue. And now off to class.

Culture

2006-10-25T21:36:00.000-07:00

What is culture? How do you define it? Our discussion today focused on changes within the Samoan culture, but reading through the articles I couldn’t help but wonder. What is it that makes one people different from another? Is it even possible to put your finger on the differences? Or can you only see the outward manifestations? How do you map the changes in a culture? I’ve spoken so much about American culture and Western culture and Samoan culture and Catholic culture. But what do those really mean? Culture deals with people- and people are so individual, how do you group them all into one. These are questions that are so hard for me to answer right now. It’s easier to just absorb and do then it is to contemplate and try and understand sometimes.

Speaking of people, I’ve been asked about the other members of my group. As I may or may not have mentioned earlier there are currently eleven of us in the program. They come from around the country and everyone is from a different school. I’m the only economics major. Most of the others are sociology or anthropology majors although there is a linguist and maybe history major as well. You’d think I’d know better but we’ve all been taking the exact same classes for the past two months. The only thing that will be different is our research, but even that will sometimes be hard to tie directly back to what they are studying back home. The topics are also quite varied: effects of Westernization on the language, remittances, waste management, the church, discipline, views on death, composting toilets, small village stores, land tenure, alcohol/clubs, and of course alternative energy. The reasons for coming are also quite varied. Some are here because they have always been interested in Samoan culture or because it provides a really great place for them to do original research in their field. Others are here most because it just seemed like a cool place to go and it fit in with their school schedules. There’s even a guy who came because his ancestors were missionaries in the Pacific. Overall I think we have a really varied and well-rounded group. According to our Academic Director we are also one of the better groups she’s ever had. We’ve told her she should consider retiring after us because we will be impossible to follow. 

Tourism

2006-10-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

Today our discussion focused on tourism. We had to read two articles by Hawaiian authors who were quite passionately against tourism. I don’t know that I would agree with everything they said, but having been to Hawaii and seen Waikiki I can’t help but sympathize with some of their points. Over six million people swarm the Hawaiian Islands every year, far in excess of the total population of the islands. They create such a drain on resources and have had quite a devastating effect on the cultural. I know that I personally had not thought much of the cultural heritage of Hawaiians before this semester.

The discussion of Hawaiian tourism led into a discussion on Samoan tourism. Samoan tourism is much smaller. There were slightly over 100,000 visitors last year, with 40% of them being returning Samoans. Samoa is also one of the few Pacific Islands nations with an almost 100% locally owned and operated tourism industry. I personally think its better that way. If control of the industry remains in the hands of locals it will develop at a sustainable pace and not come into such intense conflict with local culture.

I really liked staying in the tourist hotels in Savaii, especially the beach fales. There was no hot water. We slept on mattresses on the floor. There were no real walls, no fans, no TV, and only communal bathrooms. But there was a sense of community. We met the family who owned the fales. We ate dinner as a group with the other tourists. It was a very different environment and one which I feel a big foreign-owned hotel would not be able to duplicate.

American Samoa

2006-10-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

American Samoa. A much smaller, more mountainous group of islands that is now a US Territory. Back in the day its main asset was the deep and well protected harbor of Tutuila. We spent four short days there, and it is still a challenge to decide what to say about it.

I’ll start with our activities there. We flew out from Upolu at 7:30 on Thursday morning on a little prop plane. My perception of things must be changing because it was actually comfort to know that we were going on the “big” plane as opposed to the 15-passanger plane that we used to fly across the ocean the last time. After breakfast and a tour of Pago Pago we drove to American Samoa Community College, the institution that would be hosting us for the weekend. We met our host students and then had a chance to attend part of their YANA (You Are Not Alone) 3rd year anniversary celebration. YANA is an organization that started after three students committed suicide in one year. More on that later. After lunch we had an art class. I must admit that after sitting in lectures for hours on end painting cloth and making siapo bookmarks was a welcome relief. We spent the evenings with our host families. Friday morning we watched a film on a man who tries to bridge the gap between being a Samoan and an American. The man who produced the film was actually our host so we had a discussion with him afterwards which was very enlightening. Our next lecture was by Sia Figiel, one of the foremost Pacific authors. I think it’s always a great opportunity to be able to meet with authors, especially when they are as entertaining as Sia was. Saturday the entire group, SIT students and hosts, hiked up to the Mt. Alava and then down the other side to the ocean. Let me just say now the view from the top is amazing- even though it was cloudy and rainy. It’s, I believe, the highest point on the island and looking down you can see the wharf and main town areas. It was incredible. The hike was a lot of fun as well, especially the one on the way down where we had to use ladders and the ground was slippery and muddy from the rain. We went in two groups. The first group made it to the top and down in under four hours. We then sat and waited another three hours for the second group to emerge from the mountain literally covered in mud. It was quite a sight to behold. I wish I had more time to describe the hilarity and awesomeness of the hike, but I think that’s one story you’ll just have to ask me about when I get home. Sunday was pretty cut and dried. We went to church, had to’ona’i, did a little shopping, and then headed home. I was exhausted by the time I got back and couldn’t wait to crawl into bed.

Now to the fun part…trying to describe American Samoa. As I mentioned earlier it’s much more mountainous than Western Samoa. It’s also much smaller and the beaches aren’t quite as nice. So much for the description of the land itself. Relatively easy compared to the rest.

Aside from the geography, American Samoa is also very different in other aspects of its physical appearance. For one, it is more developed due to all the aid that comes from the US government. There are more cars, more buildings, a very smelly tuna cannery, a bigger wharf, more American restaurants, nice houses. However, with all of this also comes more junk and more outward appearances of poverty. It’s easy to forget that Samoa is poor because it doesn’t have the same look that is so often associated with poverty in rural America. That is not the case in American Samoa. Another thing that really struck me was all the billboards. They weren’t tall and they didn’t scream out advertisements for everything you could imagine. They were at eye level and had messages about drugs, smoking, teenage pregnancy, and early childhood immunization. Another difference in physical appearances was that of the Samoans themselves. One of my sisters had asked me in an email if Samoans were rather large. My response was not particularly. I mean they aren’t. Most of the younger guys here are actually quite ripped. They might have a little bigger bones and be a little taller but I wouldn’t call the majority of the younger people here overweight by any means. It’s becoming a problem, but I didn’t really see a major difference with the US. That is not the case in American Samoa. There, the Samoans were big. Very big. Why? I’m not quite sure. Maybe its all the processed food, maybe its that they don’t work on the plantations as much as they do here. I don’t know the reason. All I know is what I saw.

Culturally and socially there were also some differences, but this is where I begin to have problems. Some things were the same- the respect, the openness with which my host family received me, the extreme hospitality and generosity, the closeness of family ties, the importance of religion (at least in my family). Those things were the same. Others were different. My first night there I had a long talk with the girl who was hosting me about suicide, and family problems, and life choices that many young people are facing. It was a very heavy conversation and I couldn’t help but think that the issues being faced there today are very similar to those being faced by many inner-city youth today in America. It was not easy and I think that is one reason I have having such a hard time sorting through this in my head. I know some of those issues are being faced here, but to this extent? How much an influence has Westernization had on this culture? How much of it has been good and how much has been negative? How do you solve some of the problems that have been created?

Don’t get me wrong. My experience was amazing. My family did everything they could to show me the differences between the way things used to be and the way they are now. The first two nights I showered outside in the middle of the school yard and ate outside with the parents sitting on the ground. The last two days we used the indoor bathroom and ate at the kitchen table. We watched football and I was actually allowed to help cook- things that never happened in the village in Western Samoa. If I could, I would have stayed another week. I think I could safely say that it has been my favorite home stay to date.

And now I think I’ve rambled enough so I will end this post. I’ll share more later this week. J

Impossible to miss

2006-10-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

Last night as I was talking with some of my fellow SIT students I realized that I had forgotten to tell you about a very important part of our Savaii trip. At 4:30am on Thursday morning we woke up and walked about ½ a mile down the beach. Out in the water we saw what looked like a bunch of big stones. As we approached them they took on human form. We were in the right place! For the next hour we used pieces of mosquito netting strung on a stick to scoop black and brown moving strands of angel hair spaghetti into a big red plastic bucket. Once the sun came up the spaghetti strands began to disintegrate on contact and it was time for us to return back to the fales- but not before we took turns tasting the squiggly things we’d just caught. We took our catch to the kitchen and asked them to prepare it for us for breakfast. Cooked they were a darker green. They still retained some of their salt water taste, but were quite good on toast. For dinner again we ate more, this time prepare with eggs and onions. I liked the dinner version better.

And now you ask- what exactly were you eating? A Samoan delicacy. It is catchable only one night out of the year in the hours right before the sunrise. There are only a few locations where it can be found and people come from around the islands to catch and eat it. The small handful that we caught would probably make WS$30 in the market. It’s called Palolo. What is that? Do you really want to know? It’s the reproductive organs of a certain kind of coral worm. See! I warned you! It’s really not that bad and it was one adventure I was certainly not going to miss. When else would I get another chance to try it?

Academics

2006-10-17T21:57:00.000-07:00

I almost didn't update today. After the excitement of last week not very much happened in the past 24 hours. That and I have a presentation tomorrow so that's kept my pretty busy. So, instead of actually trying to come up with something creative or interesting I decided to copy and paste from an email I just sent a friend from college. Yeah I know- boring but hey...its better than nothing. :)

We had our language exam today. It's a relief to have that out of the way. I've enjoyed learning another language-dont get me wrong but at times it also feels so pointless since so many people speak English. It makes it so much more difficult to learn it on the street. Being done with language means that I only have two classes left. One is a seminar on Pacific culture, and the other is my research project. The seminar class has actually proven to be quite interesting. All of our lecturers have been very knowledgeable in their fields, and we've covered a variety of topics. In the beginning we were learning things about the Samoan way of life, the rule of law, the role of the church, economics, etc. This month we've moved into the traveling part and so it's become more of a comparison of cultures. The lectures in Savaii were mostly geological in nature, and in Fiji I think we'll be looking at the effects of tourism. It's been interesting, but I must admit I wish there wasn't going to be a test at the end. As for my research project- I'm doing that on renewable energy development in Samoa, more specifically the use of solar. It's coming down to the point where I need to actually define my topic and draw up an outline. As of right now I'm thinking of looking first at the philosophy behind electric development because it's really not based on economics. I read through one of the proposals and under the financial analysis it basically said yeah we aren't doing one because it would be pointless. I think it'll also be interesting to research because there is next to nothing in written form about the subject, which means that whatever I do will be based on interviews. For the second part I'll hopefully be working with the electric company to actually look at the feasibility of using solar panels to power one of the few places in the country that is currently not connected to the grid. This would be my opportunity to actually run the numbers and do some economics, plus it would actually benefit the company. In return I think they might be taking me out to visit one of the smaller islands. So that's pretty much where I am now in terms of academics.

Bark cloth

2006-10-16T21:18:00.000-07:00

After using the computer at the internet café in Apia earlier today the snail-like speed of the internet at USP is really frustrating me. I’m finding it impossible to even send an email. As my research project heats up I’ll probably be spending more time there doing using the computers/internet. Before that happens though we have two more trips planned. A short four day visit to American Samoa and a week long visit to Fiji. I’m feeling a little spoiled right now.

I realized on the way into town today that I’d completely neglected to talk about one of the activities that occupied our time in Savaii. On Wednesday morning we made Siapo or bark cloth. Talk about labor intensive! The technique and the tree used both came from China. I don’t remember the name, but it’s a very thin tree, maybe an inch in diameter with few branches. The bark is stripped from the tree, which is easier than it sounds. A small slit is cut at one end and then the bark just peels right off the tree. That’s the easy part. Next, the inner bark is separated from the outer bark. That part is harder than it looks. What you’re left with is a thin, sticky, but long piece of white inner bark. The next step in the process is to remove the glue that holds the bark fibers together. This is done by scraping the bark with a seashell over and over and over again. When the stickiness is gone the pounding commences. What began as two inches wide will become a foot wide due to the repeated pounding of the bark over a piece of hard wood. Once the bark is pounded it is stretched out in the sun to dry without losing its shape. The rest of the process is fairly easy in comparison. Dry pieces are pained and glued together using a starchy paste made from cassava (a root). The paint is made from the die of another tree’s bark and is heightened by the use of red clay. Traditionally the back cloth was used for ceremonial purposes- wedding garments and dance costumes. Today you can buy small pieces in the market to bring home as souvenirs. I got to make my own small piece to bring back. While I didn’t make mine from start to finish I was able to try out the entire process. Trust me, its very labor intensive and time consuming. Hopefully I’ll be able to show you what I made, but as of right now there has been a slight mix up and we aren’t 100% sure of where exactly our siapo is at the moment.

Back from Savaii

2006-10-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

I’m back from Savaii, and what a week it was! It’ll probably go down as one of my favorites of the entire program. It felt almost like we were on vacation except for the few assignments we had due while we were there. We toured around the island with a 75-year geologist from Australia. He reminded me a little bit of my grandfather, and I know that if he had been there they would have had some pretty intense rock discussions. I think Warren, our guide, was a little disappointed that none of us knew anything about rocks.

We visited the largest ancient known Polynesian rock mound. They have some idea of when it was build, but no clue as to why. Perhaps human sacrifice? Maybe for pigeon hunting? They just don’t know. A short hike away was a 45ftish tall waterfall with a beautiful clear water hole that was used as a swimming hole. Jumping through a waterfall is a lot of fun! We also visited some blowholes, did a cliff walk, hiked a mile through lava fields, and saw some other random touristy things.

Thursday we moved from the hotel where we’d been staying to some fales on the northern side of the island. Talk about amazing! We were right on a beautiful sandy beach, but without the swarms of tourists that we see so often in the states. It took thirty seconds to go from my fale to the water. Needless to say I spent quite a bit of my spare time snorkeling or just relaxing under a palm tree.

Saturday was possibly one of my favorite days. In the morning a small group of us hiked up to the dwarves cave. It’s a huge lava tube of undetermined length, but legend has it that a group of small people once inhabited it. A man found them while hunting and in return for keeping their location a secret granted him all his wished and made him a wealthy man. Unfortunately he did not keep his secret forever and several years later shared the location. When others from his village went to investigated they found no one there, and when they returned to the village all the man’s possessions have disappeared. Perhaps the magical dwarves are still down there, far far underground where no one else has explored. Going through this cave was something else! There was a very small, maybe 4 ft in diameter opening, but then once you got inside it was easily 9 ft high and fairly wide. We had three lights between the five of us and our guide so you can imagine how dark it was. We had no idea where we were going. At one point the path dropped into a pool of water and our guide told us we would be going down and then swimming across to get to the other side. We looked at each other and just went ummm…. It was unreal. You would never get to do something like that in the states. There would be all sorts of warnings and handrails and protections in place. But it was so much fun! We spent a few hours with our guide and afterwards he climbed a coconut tree and got us something to drink. The craziest part is that at the very end after we’d been invited to come back and spend a few days with his family we found out that he was our language teacher’s brother.

Later that evening, right before sunset I managed to get two of the people who hadn’t come on the hike to go kayaking in the ocean with me. Everyone else was too tired. Me? I was so pumped. We were out in the water for about an hour and let me just say that riding those waves was a blast! I would love to go again! I’ll admit I took a few tumbles and lost my kayak at one point but catching some of those bigger waves was such an adrenaline rush!

Sunday we came back to Alafua. This time the hour long ferry ride was full of people coming back for work and school on Monday. Samoans are generally laid back until it comes to transportation. I’ve never seen such a mad dash for a small opening. As several others mentioned- its worse than the subways of NYC if you can believe that. I’ll have to leave the full description of the ferry for later however as I have class very soon.

Making my day

2006-10-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the hospital and visiting Kati. It’s pretty much official. She’ll be leaving to go home next week. It’s hard to believe. A small cut and now she’s looking at having to get skin grafts to repair some of the damage caused by the bursting blisters. The culture came back today as a staph infection. Apparently 90% of Samoans are carriers of the bacteria which explains why it was so puzzling to us. I’m planning to go into Apia tomorrow to do some gift shopping for Kati since she won’t be able to now.

I think I’ve mentioned the incredibly friendliness of Samoans, but I have two more examples. After leaving the hospital I began walking back down towards Apia. I figured that if I had to wait for the bus I might as well get some exercise at the same time. Several minutes later a taxi pulled up beside me and the woman in the passenger seat asked me where I was headed. I replied Apia and she offered to let me ride with them. Turns out the lady works at Med Cen (the private hospital where Kati is staying) and she and her husband were on their way into town to do laundry. She’d been working last night and I guess recognized me.

The second example involves my research. Last fall one of the boys on the program had worked with someone at SPREP on a project involving climate change. Jackie recommended that I contact him to see if he couple at least help point me in the right direction. Despite the fact that alternative energy is not his field at all he has done so much to help me. He has provided me with names and contact information, and invited me to come by his office anytime. Since it’s only a five minute walk from the hospital I scheduled a meeting for today. We talked for about an hour and he gave me all sorts of tips and pointers, offered to dig up some reports for me that I would probably not have access to otherwise, gave me some more names, showed me around the office, and then drove me by the store to pick up some of the most delicious apples I’ve ever had (they were for Kati but I bought one for myself as well), and then to the hospital. He went out of his way so much. I was amazed. He has to be busy, but he was so willing to help a student. I think back in America it would be incredibly hard to get the kind of access that is, I fear, going to become second nature to me before I leave.

Tonight is the talent show. Wish us luck! We have to perform our dance again.

Laziness

2006-10-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

I have no real excuse for not updating yesterday except for that I was feeling rather lazy. I spent a lot of time in the computer lab yesterday because we had our first paper due today. Yeah no big deal, but most people in the group seemed to be stressing a little bit too much about it. I did mine on solar power in Samoa and some of the challenges that face small island nations. For example, even though it is good in theory the technical expertise to service projects is not always available. Also, even though villagers want the services provided they do not always provide the necessary maintenance to ensure long-term project success. I don’t think this is something that is completely unique to Pacific Island countries, it just so happens that the resources and funds to designate someone else to care for the project are not available as they are in other countries. The second part of my paper focused very briefly on the solar project on the island of Apolima.

I spent last night at the hospital with Kati. We’ve been taking turns sleeping there so she isn’t there alone and last night I volunteered since my paper was almost finished. It’s so bizarre. The doctor is not completely sure what it is- possible an infection right below her skin. It had looked so much better when I went to visit her two days ago, but last night the redness was back. There was talk last night of med-evacing her to the United States because it might be a prolonged recovery. That way she would at least be with her family. Jackie is obviously disturbed by the suggestion. This is the first time in ten years anything like this has ever happened. I think it’s confusing a lot of people right now. I hope she gets better. We all miss her.

Also, another heads up. Saturday morning we leave for Lotofaga for White Sunday. We come back Sunday afternoon but turn around Monday and go to Savaii for a week. Once again, internet might be non-existent so don’t panic if you don’t hear from me for a little while. I will return!

Education in Samoa

2006-10-05T00:32:00.000-07:00

Today was very long. I spent last night with one of the Samoan students at her sister’s house so we had to wake up at 6am to catch the bus to Apia and then another bus from Apia to Alafua. Instead of meeting at 8am as on most mornings we were meeting at 7:30 because we were going to visit several schools and wanted to see assembly for the first one.

Our first school was Don Bosco, an all-boys vocational school located about a mile away from the USP campus. It is run by the Salasian Priests and has a current enrollment of around 250. The boys range in age from 16-21. I’ll be honest. Visiting did a lot to restore my faith in religion here in Samoa. I’ve spent the last couple weeks seeing a lot of the financial corruption of religion here and it had left me wondering- where are the Catholic priests? What happened to the missionary spirit that so inspired me when I read the stories of the Jesuits who came to North America? Do people actually believe what they are preaching here? What I saw today convinced me that yes, the Catholic Church is still very much alive here and interested in helping the people of Samoa. I’m sure you know the story of Don Bosco. He founded an oratory to help trouble boys; to give them something to do and take them off the streets. This school fulfills much of the same purpose. In the 1980’s the Catholic Church did a survey in the country to see what needs were not being met and they realized that large numbers of boys were dropping out of secondary school which was really limiting their ability to get a job. In 1989 (?) Don Bosco Vocational school was opened to train young men and give them the technical skills necessary to obtain jobs. I finally saw what I wanted to see here in religion. A place where ability to pay is not an issue. Term tuition is WS$130 or approximately US$50, but even that is too much of a financial burden for some students. Rather than turn the away the boys work for a few hours on Saturdays at the school to earn their tuition. As a side note, all of the other religious groups in Samoa have followed the Catholic’s lead and now have technical schools of their own. We spent about an hour and a half at the school. The first half was spent observing assembly. They sang for us which was great because they won the Teuila Festival competition so many years in a row they have been dis-invited. In other words, they are pretty darn good. Father also gave a speech in which he thanked us for coming, especially since we brought so many girls. I don’t think everyone else in the group found it as amusing as I did. After the assembly we toured the workshops- a mechanic shop, work working, and metal.

After Don Bosco we went back towards Apia to visit a special needs school. They mainly deal with deaf students, but there are also some other physically handicapped students. Once again, most of the money for the school comes from private or overseas sponsorship. Another interesting thing to note is that there is no Samoan sign language so they use Australia’s. That means that in order to translate they must first go from Samoan to English to sign. Very complicated. Also, sign language was not introduced into the country until the 1980’s. Most people still communicate using their own personal language. Jackie also mentioned that there seems to be a disproportionate number of deaf people in Samoa. Is there a reason for that?

Our final visit of the morning was to NUS- National University of Samoa where we had a lecture on education in Samoa. I wish I hadn’t been so tired because I might have gotten more out of it. I was just wishing that the next door neighbor’s baby had cried all night. :-P

The afternoon was spent doing research. I went back by EPC and talked to the head engineer. I have a very good chance of being able to go to the island of Apolima in November. I really hope it works out because it’s a very hard island to access. I think I also have a much better idea as to what my research will cover- which is always a good thing. My meeting at EPC finished early so I had about an hour to kill before the research center at SPREP opened. I knew it was straight up the road but wasn’t sure how far away it was so I decided to start walking and catch the first Vailima bus that I saw. Many busses passed by, but not a single one said Vailima. I walked for just under an hour and still no bus. By that time though it didn’t matter because I was where I wanted to be. My best guess is that I walked about four miles. Nice little walk. On the way back I caught the bus, but not before stopping by the hospital to say hi to Kate (whose foot is looking ever so much better) and leaving my nalgene at a corner store (that makes me very sad.)

And now, off to do some more research.

In search of the perfect cone

2006-10-05T00:02:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday after another ice cream cone from McDonald’s I decided to make it my mission to find the best ice cream in Apia. I tried two places today- a little road side stand, and Lily’s Cakes and Cones. I think Lily’s might be my favorite so far, and after being disappointed in the road side stand I think I might very well stick with Lily’s and this grocery store stand that also has some pretty decent ice cream. In other words, my quest didn’t last too long.

Classes today were pretty short. We finished up our presentations on the village, did a short language activity, and then visited BEN’s School of Art. BEN stands for Beautiful Expressions of Nature and is one of the few art schools in the country. Traditional art forms such as singing and dancing are very much alive; but some of the other forms such as sculpture and painting are almost non-existent. The owner of the school has made it his mission in live to give visual art a more prominent place in Samoan culture. He’s working almost single-handedly which I found incredible. Since the government of Samoa does not really have funds set aside for projects such as his he depends on oversees grants and small projects that he and his students make for churches. One of his carvings was displayed at the Atlanta Olympics and is now in Las Vegas. Another is part of a just completed Chinese sculpture garden. To me the most amazing part was his workshop. His current goal is to turn part of his workshop into a museum with the hopes that it will become the first national museum of Samoa. In the middle of the workshop is a huge hollowed out tree trunk, probably 10x15 feet on which are the beginnings of a new carving. All around are other smaller logs which will soon become sculptures themselves. The completed sculptures which fill up the first half of the room are equally impressive. How do you take a cylinder and turn it into a three-dimensional picture? I think that is something that will always amaze me.

As I was walking around Apia this afternoon in the heat I realized that I’d forgotten another village story and this one I just have to share with you. There are lots of stray dogs or maybe just dogs in general in Apia. It’s one of the few complaints tourists make. One of the first days we were here we were told that they have a tendency to walk along beside you and then all of a sudden they’ll just turn and bite you. One afternoon in the village I was walking with Mirna, RaEsa, and RaEsa’s Samoan mom. We were going down to the little shop to buy something- I don’t remember what exactly. As we were walking along the side of the road we heard a car coming so we moved over into the grass and watched it pass. I turned back around to see this pretty ugly grey dog standing next to me. It looked almost like a greyhound but I knew it wasn’t. The first thing that came to my mind was the warning about dogs that like to sneak up on people. I searched my memory for the correct word to yell at the dog but before I had a chance to open my mouth that “mangy mutt” to steal my grandfather’s term bit me! I was so mad. I couldn’t believe it! That stupid dog actually bit me! On my leg! All I wanted to do was punch him in the nose but I think he knew it was coming and took off running across the yard. I mean serious! What had I ever done to it! Mira and Esa of course were almost crying from laughing so hard. I was so angry. That didn’t help. They thought that seeing me ready to beat that darn dog was the best part. Thinking about it I’m still angry and I can guarantee you that if that dog ever comes near me again he wont be biting any more innocent pass-bys. The End. (Side note- he didn’t draw blood and they don’t have rabies. It was more just a lot of hurt pride and a small bruise…but still! The nerve!)

Samoan humor

2006-10-02T21:01:00.000-07:00

In Samoa you laugh at everything; even things that aren’t funny like a little kid getting beaten. However you are also allowed to laugh at things that would be considered funny in American/Western humor. Last night before dinner we all had to share one funny moment and one moment that really stood out from our trip. Going around the table I realized that I had neglected to mention some of the funny stories from the village so I’ll try to share a couple of those now.

Tuesday, after we made the umu, we went back to Jackie’s house to play a language game. Let me first describe the layout of the “compound” for lack of a better word. The school building/Jackie’s house is in a circle with four other houses and a store. A little further back is a fifth house, the Samoan kitchen where the umu was made, the chicken coop, and several other storage type buildings. This little area is where most of Jackie’s family lives. But back to the game. The game that day was a scavenger hunt with the clues given in Samoan. We were told that it was a race and that there was a nice prize to be given to the winning team. My team was composed of three people: Mira, Rachel, and myself. We were given the first clue which said something about the “falemoa” or chicken house. We looked at each other and ran out the door not stopping to put on our shoes. This turned out to be somewhat of a mistake since the muddy ground was strewn with rocks and coral. We quickly picked our way across the courtyard until we came to the house that was removed from the rest and called out to the group sitting inside “falemoa?” They looked at us and pointed to the right. Off we went. We must have made a funny site holding our language books and lifting our knees high in reaction to the sharp path. I reached the coop first and grabbed the pink paper which said something about the book “Mary Mary.” “That’s on the bookshelf,” Rasela called so we turned to go back. As we quickly started picking our way back across the yard I realized that something didn’t feel right. I looked down to see my lavalava undone in front and threatening to fall off completely. All I could think of at this critical moment was Jackie telling us to “Pick it up and twirl it around” if it were ever to fall off in public. Trust me if it had I very well might have.

Another funny story that wasn’t quite so funny at the time happened one evening after dinner. Although the family I stayed with had electricity the bathroom (which as I mentioned earlier was slightly removed from the house) did not have a light in it. Not really that big of a deal right? Usually the light from the room from the upstairs room filtering in through the slot above the door was enough to allow you to see all that was necessary. Since dinner was normally eaten around 7pm the sun had already gone down and darkness was only broken by a few street lights and the lights from the few nearby houses. We were sitting in the Samoan fale when suddenly there came a screaming from somewhere across the yard. I knew at once that it was the four-year old but I had no idea where she could possible be. Had she fallen down and gotten stuck somewhere? Vaiula and I ran across the yard to try to locate her. It was then that we realized that she was in the bathroom- stuck. Let me say another word about the bathroom. It was build out of wood with a metal roof and concrete floor, and was just big enough to hold a toilet and a person. It could be closed from the inside by a sliding latch and the outside by a wooden bar that slid across to hold the door closed when it was not in use. One of the first things I’d noticed about the sliding latch (similar to the ones in bathroom stalls across America) was that the metal part which stuck out a bit had a tendency to fall out and get lost on the floor. This meant that if you wanted to leave the bathroom you had to search on the ground for it. Easy enough during the day but at night? You’d better hope that you could find it by the light reflecting off of it. Once we knew where the source of the sound was we knew what had happened. She’d lost the pull and couldn’t get out. Her grandfather came running across the yard and proceeded to try to yank the door from its hinges. No luck. Whoever had attached it had done a great job. At this point I was torn between feeling bad for the poor little girl and laughing hysterically like the rest of the family. I mean- she was stuck in the bathroom! But then again- she was stuck in the bathroom because the latch didn’t work but why replace something when it can still do the job? Finally, the grandfather picked up the ten year old and stuck him through the twelve inch gap next to the ceiling. For a ten year old boy it was fairly simple to find the missing piece, insert it in the correct place (also rather tricky even in the daytime), and open the door to free the still terrified little girl.

That’s all for now folks! Today was rather uneventful. After starting class at 10am (yay for the free morning) we had to give presentations on some aspect of the village that we’d been assigned before we left. After lunch we divvied up the gifts from the village. Some people went into Apia while I set up a few research meetings for later in the week and then headed back for a pretty fantastic two hour nap.

Ten days in Lotofaga

2006-10-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

I’m BACCKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ten days in the village and I’m still alive and kicking. Maybe it wasn’t that bad after all. There were some times when it was a little hairy, but overall I must say it was a very good experience and I’m glad that I did it.

I stayed with a family of six. My host mother, Sipili, is a Grade 1 teacher and the assistant principle of the local primary school. Her husband Tuaitau is a planter. They have five children- four boys and one girl. The oldest boy, P.S.A, lives at home with his wife Conzuela and their two children Laisene (who is almost 4) and Edweena (who is three months.) Sipili’s two youngest children, a fifteen year old girl named Talia and her ten year old brother Viula also live at home. The other two boys work and live in Apia and I never met them.

They live in a rather nice palagi house. It’s two stories with a connected bathroom and shower. I was one of the lucky ones who had an actual bathroom to shower so I didn’t have to use the bucket by the road. They also had a fale Samoa which is where the parents slept and spent most of their time during the day since it’s cool and gets a nice breeze. The other two buildings on their piece of land were the kitchen and the Samoan kitchen which is where the umu is built.

About half of my time was spent in class at Jackie’s house, which was nice because I think I might have gone crazy otherwise. Don’t get me wrong. Some of the members of my family were very nice. I loved my sister-in-law and her two kids. Without Zuela I probably would have gone crazy. She’s twenty-six, very pretty, and also I think a bit lonely. She comes from another village and moved here to live with her husband’s family. Her own village is a fifteen minute drive or so, and her family owns some beach fales which are popular with the tourists. I could be wrong in this, but it seems like most of the work around a house is done by the in-laws. Zuela did all of the cooking and most of the housework in my family. At one point I asked Talia if she liked her sister-in-law and her response was “oh yes, because she does all my chores for me. I just go to school and play volleyball. Zuela does all the rest.” The same was true for the family across the street where Mira stayed. Most of the plantation work was done by the son-in-law, not the sons who still lived at home and spent most of their time laying around and playing volleyball.

In general life is very relaxed. Unless a person has a paying job they don’t really do a whole of anything during the day other than getting and preparing food, and relaxing. Don’t get me wrong- it’s not that easy when it means picking or fishing or killing every meal you eat, but there is still an awful lot of sleep and down-time. It was quite strange, especially for us girls who then had very little to do since most of the work, including the cooking, is done by the men. It was a little different in my family since Zuela cooked most of the meals, but even then it was nothing like what we were expecting.

Going to the beach isn’t that popular either. It’s a ten minute walk to a beautiful sandy beach on a reef, but most adults never go unless they are fishing. I took my snorkeling set out several times. It’s so easy to get lost in the underwater world. The little boys also loved my set so it was hard to go for very long. They monitored my time usage pretty closely and made sure to tell me when my time was up.

It would be hard for me to go through a day-by-day play of what I did so I’m going to copy and paste bits and pieces from my own personal journal, and use that to build on for the rest.

9/21/06
“I find that part of me begins to agree with Kalia. I’m only five years older than Talia. She does not have to be my slave.” One of the hardest things for most of us to get used to was the almost stifling service. The first thing my host mom did when we got back to the house after the welcome ava ceremony was sit down and tell me that I was her daughter and that we were family. She then proceeded to not allow me to do anything on my own. We all wanted to fit in and be part of the family but it was not something we were really allowed to do. Or at least some of us weren’t. I ate with the parents, was served by my supposed sister, got food no one else got to eat, and was not allowed to really help with anything when Sipili was around. One of the nice things about Zuela is that she would let me cook and eat in the kitchen with her and help her with her chores. I was able to experience some of the actual work that went on. I also just really wanted to eat what everyone else was eating. It’s hard to eat much when you know the little kids are eyeing your food and just wishing that they could have a bite. Looking back the first couple days were very much days of hostility. We went in being told to try as much as possible to become part of the family but looking back that is a rather unrealistic expectation. Once I gave up trying to do that fell into a more comfortable “long-term guest” role I was able to enjoy myself much more. Some people were going to treat me a certain way and I left it at that. Sipili was going to insist on cutting my taro every evening at dinner. There was nothing I could do about that and so getting frustrated was pointless. On the other hand, since they insisted on treating me as a guest I had more freedom to wander around with some of the other students.

9/23/06
“Riding to the plantation today was pretty sweet, but I wish they’d let me ride the horse by myself. It would have been so much more fun! I know- I’m complaining.” As I mentioned earlier my host dad was a planter and they had two plantations. One was right next to the house and the other was a fifteen minute walk. The plantations mainly hold coconut trees and taro, and someone from the family goes almost every day to collect the food for the evening meal. That would be one of the hard parts of life. Many of the families who worked the plantations also had horses to haul back the food. Horses also served as lawn mowers I was told. Families who don’t have horses still cut the grass the old fashioned way- with a machete. Sounds like fun right? Since I’d expressed a desire to ride the horse when I arrived on Thursday they told me that they would let me ride it on Saturday. I felt like such an Indian. We used a rope for a bridle and leaves for a saddle. It was pretty amazing.

9/24/06
“Thoughts on the day- they just drag by so slowly. We don’t do much besides eat and sleep. The heat kills all desire to move around and be active. Wow ok and the wind just changed directions- not the best smell. The pace is so different from the States. I haven’t really figured out what people do here. But more on that later- I’m going to go help my ‘sister’ with an assignment.” The assignment was an English assignment. I helped her with several during the week and they were pretty tough. I don’t know where they get them from but I’m not really sure how they expect them to come up with the answers.

9/25/06
“Last night I had so much hostility. Waking up to find gum all over my clothes- I waws so angry with Talia.” I shared a queen size bed with my Samoan sister and she went to bed with gum in her mouth. I woke up to find my arm in the gum and it all over the back of my shirt. Needless to say I was not so happy, especially since I’m not sure how accidental it was. The evening before she’d wanted to go get pancakes = doughnut holes. We spent two hours waiting for them. Or rather, I spent two hours sitting around and she spent the time flirting with her boyfriend. When she was finally ready to leave it was time for our evening check-in so we went straight to Jackies. Neither of us had eaten dinner and since I hadn’t eaten she couldn’t go home because she would have gotten in trouble. So, while we were in class she sat outside with her boyfriend. We ended up having snacks and stuff so I was fine, but she ended up not eating and I think she was a little upset at me. It was definitely not my fault. I was almost in tears by the time we’d gotten to Jackie’s house. I was hungry, tired, frustrated, and feeling very used by this fifteen year old. Oh that and she didn’t want to give me back my change after I’d paid for the doughnut holes. Jackie assured me that she’d done it before and had probably stolen $100 American from the last SIT girl. I’m glad she told me that because it helped me realize that I didn’t have to be quite so nice. Sunday evening was probably the low point of our trip. Talking to Jackie that night the light bulb went off in my head and things got much better. “I think things will be ok. It was rough for a little while, but I think they might be changing for the better.”

9/26/06
“Watching the sun rise from my bed this morning was so beautiful and so random because it only lasted for a minute or so. Looking past the mosquito net and glass and screen it was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes. The green and yellow foliage of the tree tops and the dark green of the coconut trees met the pale blue sky, and in that space the white clouds became a swirling mystery of colors. Was it purple? Or a darker blue? Now it was golden. Nor was it the entire sky- just the little piece framed by two tall coconuts and partially hidden by ever-green trees. This was the beauty that has captured the hearts and souls of so many sailors and poets. A breathtaking moment and a glimpse of paradise.”

“Things I learned today/did today:
- learned how to build an umu ( a Samoan oven), from lighting the fire and heating the stones to covering the food with leaves
- scraped taro with part of a tin can to remove the dirt and purplish inner skin
- peeled green bananas with a sharpened sick and got sticky goo all over my hands
- scraped the inside of a coconut. As with everything else it was much harder than it looked
- wrapped the palusami in its many layers of leaves; yes there is a trick to it
- husked a coconut despite the fact that the husk really liked being where it was
- made an eating plate/bowl out of the leaves of a coconut tree
- saw a pig killed and gutted
- realized that big lung is quite delicious when cooked well
- ate some delicious octopus
- watched a deaf man climb a coconut tree with a knife between his teeth
- watched cocoa being made
- learned how to sasa, a dance done sitting. It mainly involves a lot of clapping and knee slapping
- blew the conch for sa. This was one of the highlights for two reasons: it took me about ten minutes to figure out how to place my lips; and because my Samoan mother told me at dinner that Mira and I were the first girls to blow the conch in Lotofaga because it was a boy’s job
Oh and I saw an awesome shooting star last night. I think it might have been my first one ever.” Tuesday was one of the coolest days because spent it in hands on learning.

9/27/06
“When I woke up this morning I helped Zuela make cocoa rice. Tuaitau had already done the cocoa but we still had to husk the coconuts, scrape them, and squeeze the milk from the shavings. It was delicious, but it made me appreciate how hard they have to work for food. When they are happy living at a basically subsistence level there is no need to do much more. You spent the time you need preparing food but after its all over you are free to rest. Tuaitau didn’t leave the Samoan fale for hours. Several of the girls were complaining about not having anything to do- but that’s exactly what they do everyday- nothing. We are just so used to the rat race of everyday life and the mentality that being busy makes you important that we cannot accept that ‘doing nothing’ or ‘malolo’ is a perfectly acceptable way to spend the day.” Wednesday we had no classes so that we could spend another day with our families observing life. It was nice to have another break in the middle of the week when we’d gotten a little more accepted into our families and were actually allowed to help with some things and not relegated completely to the “guest on the side-line” role.

9/28/06
“Today was a very long day in terms of hours and things done. We spent the morning observing and teaching in the Primary School of Lotofaga. Niko, Cheryl, and I had Level 7. We went over food groups with them and then played hangman. Question: what kind of food is a breadfruit? How about taro?
In the afternoon we all went to a beautiful and quite stunning water fall. With all of the rain we’ve had lately it was roaring. The power was quite impressive. The roar, the white mist, the dense green all around. It must have been 70 feet tall. What would it be like to be the first explorer to see that? To hear it and know it was out there somewhere? What would it be like to be hiking through the rainforest? It makes me really want to go to South America.
Later in the afternoon I went to the blowholes with Zuela and PSA. It was somewhat of an ordeal because my mom wasn’t sure if she wanted to let me go. The mothers are convinced part or maybe all of Kati’s sickness is caused by the spirits and they are afraid it is because of her visit yesterday to the blowholes. Since she got hurt on Tuesday though that’s not possible. The whole spirit thing is interesting however. Even Jackie believes it. How do you reconcile that with Catholicism? I don’t think I know enough about their beliefs. Poor Kati though. She seems pretty sick and last night with the healing/Samoan medicine must have been pretty painful. But back to the blowholes- the tide wasn’t right so there was nothing but air. However the lava formation itself was worth the 10 minute walk and 2 tala. I would have regretted it if I hadn’t gone- esp since I was so close. I’m glad I went with PSA because he knew it well and I felt safe following him out. It was also nice because Zuela has never been to that side of it. We even saw a small shark in one of the little coves. The coral was also pretty intense in one part. Other highlights: waiting 10 minutes to get a picture of the wave action behind PSA; going down to check out the underneath water flow; the huge cave; getting a fish and shellfish from the fishermen in the sandy beach on the opposite side.” I don’t know what else to say about this day. We were going all day, but I was able to see some of the natural beauties of the area.

9/29/06
“The fiafia was tonight and despite my fears that it was just another annoyance it was a lot of fun. Time to just relax and let it all hang loose. Some of the mothers were absolutely hilarious and almost dirty dancing if such a thing is possible in Samoa. Others, like my mom were more formal and serious in their dances. Both groups did several numbers. I feel like our dances went very smoothly if I may say so myself. The boys totally stole their show though with their play. The audience went wild with laughter the first time one of the boys said he “wanted some milk.” When it came to the free-style dancing Niko really stole the show.
The bad part about the fiafia was the pulitasi I got as a figt. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I saw it. It was absolutely hideous. Black background with bright big flowers all over it. I don’t know where they got the fabric but I doubt they could have picked an uglier one. Kalia says I’ll laugh about it later and I’m sure I will.” Memo: I’m laughing now. I’m sure you will too when you see the pictures. :-P

“Poor Katie is still pretty bad. Jackie missed the fiafia because she took her to Apia. This morning when we got to school the healer was there working on her. You could tell that Kati was in so much pain from her crying. It did not help however. Jackie seems convinced that it’s the spirits and that she’s not getting better because she doesn’t believe in them or the healer. I’m not so sure about that. I think the problem is more that Kati was not doing anything to help herself. Not only was she not eating, but more seriously she was not drinking much at all. She was getting very dehydrated and that I feel is the main reason that Jackie decided she needed to go to the hospital- to get an IV.” Kati is doing so much better now. It was probably a combination of several things- a sprained ankle, an infected coral cut, and dehydration. She’s going to with us to get pizza tonight so that’s a very good sign. Except for her taped ankle she looks almost as good as new.

An ice cream cone

2006-09-19T21:37:00.000-07:00

After classes today I went to town to run a few errands with several of the girls. When we were finished we decided to get some ice cream. Anyone who knows me knows that ice cream and chocolate are two of my biggest weak spots. If I’m having a bad day and you want to cheer me up- that’s the way to go. And of course, on a hot day, nothing beats cold, creamy deliciousness. We bought our cones for $1.80 which translates to roughly $0.60 in American dollars. Not much right? But when you think about it, that’s almost the amount the average Samoan makes in an hour. Two tala per hour is the average wage. At that rate a McDonald’s worker would have to work for four hours just to be able to buy a BigMac here. Crazy eh? It makes you really appreciate what you have.

I know I’ve talked a lot about going into town, but I don’t think I’ve really described it. I still couldn’t draw you an accurate map, but maybe I can at least give you an idea of what it is like. First of all, I’m not really sure how many people live in town as I am very bad with numbers. What I can tell you however is that it is not very big at all. The center of town, where most of the shops and buildings are located, can’t be much bigger than a square mile. I can walk from almost any two points in under twenty minutes. There are two many markets in town- one that is mainly food and the other that has lots of handy crafts and lavalava’s etc. There are several big buildings with the two most prominent ones being the national bank and the government building. The tallest building is six stories tall. (I think) Think small town America but without any big town around. This is the biggest town in the island. It is the center of commerce. The movie theater is here. All busses go through Apia. There is a fish market here. Some of the big hotels are here. (Apparently the others are on the other side of the island near the good surfing spots.) The first time I walked into Apia I thought of downtown Nederland times two.

Also just as a warning…Thursday morning we are leaving for the village of Lotofaga for ten days. I can tell you positively for a fact right now that there will not be internet access there so I will not be able to update until I get back. Don’t give up on me though! I will be back and I’m sure I will have many things to share.

A word about transportation

2006-09-18T22:19:00.000-07:00

I am now going to say a word about transportation in Samoa. In the US there are many ways to get places. Of course most importantly is the fact that almost everyone has their own car. Not so here. While I am by no means an expert on transportation in Samoa I feel as though I can at least provide some insight.

I’ll start with the bus. The bus is the basic means of transportation on the island. They are cheap and run everywhere. They have no schedules and there are no bus stops. If you want to ride one you either go to the market or you wave one down. When you are ready to disembark you pull the cord attached to the little horn by the driver’s ear and he will stop the bus. It’s a very informal system. The older busses, which comprise the majority of the busses here are old Chevy frames that have been built up and have seats on the inside. They are very colorfully painted on the outside, and all of them have their own unique name. Unfortunately Chevy has stopped making the frames so they are now switching to more conventional looking busses. Busses also have no passenger limit. And by that I mean if all the seats are taken find a lap. Any lap will do, but preferably one at the back so that its easier for people to get on and off of the bus. I rode in at least two busses this weekend that easily had fifty people crammed on them. I’ve been on crowded busses before but normally I’m on board before they get full and towards the front so I just sit and laugh inside as more people climb aboard. Saturday morning however we were two of the last people on board the full bus headed to town. I knew it was coming the moment I got on the bus. And of course it had to be 99% male. I walk towards the back. I knew theoretically how the “sit on someone’s lap” worked but had never had to actually do it. Of course by this point all the guys are laughing at me. There are probably two women on the entire bus and they’re at the front. Whose lap was I going to choose?

Next in popularity is probably the taxi. Most people do not own cars so it’s cheap and convenient to take a taxi. Also, busses don’t run after 6pm so if you need to get anywhere your best bet is to call for a taxi. As far as taxis go they are relatively uninteresting. They aren’t much different from the ones in the states except for there are no fares posted so you’d better know how much you should be paying because many of them will try to rip off palagis.

Finally, there is always private transportation. Not many families own cars as they are very expensive. Most of the cars were sent from oversees which adds another interesting dimension. Due to American influence during WWII- we built the roads still used today- people drive on the right side of the road. However, many of the cars come from Australia or New Zealand so the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. Or the wrong side of the car depending on how you look at it. They tried to pass a law forbidding the importation of right-sided steering wheeled cars but I don’t think its going to work. Also, as far as I can tell the theory that applies to busses also applied to car- pack in as many people as possible. Driving home on Friday we had ten people plus luggage in a little jeep. With no AC. Quite a common occurrence I was assured.

My weekend

2006-09-18T22:09:00.000-07:00

I had a very interesting weekend. Some of the Samoan students here at USP had volunteered to host us for a couple days to let us experience life with a Samoan family before our ten-day long village stay which begins later this week. I went home with a girl named Luki who lived in Vaitele. She is one of thirteen children, most of whom are already married and living elsewhere. Two are actually married to American’s. As far as I could tell there were about twenty people living in her house. Or maybe it was eighteen plus her eldest brother and his wife who lived in the shack ten feet away. Her parents are separated so her dad lives in Savaii. Her mom is the village doctor.

How was the weekend? Overall it was very good. Before I left this morning they told me that I was to consider them my Samoan family and the mother started crying. It is absolutely incredible how welcoming the people are here. They may not have had much, but everything they had was mine the moment that I arrived. They lived in Vaitele, which is free-hold land so they actually owned their property unlike the majority of Samoans who still live on community land. The village was also interesting in that most people lived in palagi houses with fences. Luki’s family did not because her mother preferred the open fale, which I think I’ve described earlier. A fale is open on all four sides with a roof. They were also unique in that their shower was enclosed in metal as opposed to being completely open like many of the other students. Still not much however when you realize that its just a pipe hanging out of the wall about six feet off the ground. You also change completely in the open so I was very glad our teacher had given us a brief lesson on how to change and shower modestly in the open. By the end of the second day they’d gotten used to me so it wasn’t a big deal but when I first got their the little kids watched every movement I made. You try getting dressed under that kind of scrutiny!

Friday afternoon I went to my first rugby game. It was between USP and the NUS- National University of Samoa. We got our butts kicked royally. After the game we went to the Institute to pick up Luki’s sister Kanesa who leads one of the Bible studies there. Kanesa spent four years studying at Brigham Young University in Hawaii and I really enjoyed spending time with her. We went to Apia and were going to see a movie but there was only one left and they’d already seen that so we ended up just walking around, getting some BBQ and sitting under a tree in “downtown Apia” and chatting for a while. They seemed to know everyone! I guess it really is an island eh? We knew that most of the bars had been closed down for a couple months so I didn’t really know what to expect as far as a night-life, but apparently it consists in cruising around or walking around downtown, eating BBQ and perhaps having a couple Vailima (Samoan brewed beers) and just relaxing.

Saturday was how-to-put this…fun looking back but a little rough at the time. I didn’t sleep very well Friday night because it was my first time to be in that environment. I slept on the “bed” which was basically a mat raised up so that there was storage underneath. There is only one room in a fale so everyone sleeps together. I grew up sleeping in the same room as little kids but its been a while since I’ve heard crying babies in the middle of the night so I woke up several times. I also woke up at 4am when the roosters began crowing, and then again at 6am since Luki had a volleyball tournament in the morning. Two of the boys were staying with some of her friends from the same town and we planned to meet them at one of the beaches later that day. At around 10am they showed up at the tournament and picked me up since we were still waiting for the rest of her team to show up so that they could play. I haven’t figured out if there is such a thing as a forfeit there. The boys picked me up with beers in their hand so I figured that they relaxing day was going to include a little bit of alcohol. Yeah it was a little early, but I figured ehh…it’s Saturday. If I’d only known I would have run the other way. Also, before I go any further let me just state for the record that I am not a big fan of beer and that over the course of the day I had probably a grand total of one beer. And just how long was the day? They started drinking at 10am. They were drinking until midnight when they finally ran out of case number 6? There were about ten guys and four girls because one of the other SIT girls showed up with her host. None of the girls drank so that beer was divided up among the boys. It was basically an excuse for them to be drunk the whole day. I’m sorry if I’m offending some of the people reading this, but it is the dark truth about drinking here. They drink to get drunk and they drink an obscene amount of it. Although before you get the wrong idea I should probably add its more like a heavy buzz and not the drunkenness of American’s because they really do want to prolong the “happy state” or whatever. I dunno. I think it’s stupid. I am a firm believer that moderation in all things is good. Oh, and they don’t eat while they are drinking so even though we begged numerous times for food they never brought back anything besides a few cokes and some chips. I probably had 4 liters of coke that day. It was one of those nightmarish situations when you just wonder when and how is this going to end? I didn’t realize this at the time but one of the reasons we were stuck in the situation for so long was that both the girls who were hosting had given them all the money they had even though none of us were drinking. I’m still trying to figure out why she did that and my only guess is that they were trying to make everyone happy and that they’d never been in a situation like that. To me it’s just common sense- if you aren’t drinking why contribute to the pot? Anyways, that was the annoying part of the day and the part that seemingly would never end. It wasn’t all bad however. The beach was beautiful and it was for the most part a very relaxing day. I didn’t start getting frustrated until around 6pm when I hadn’t eaten all day. We swam about ¼ mile to and from this other side of the reef. I joined in with one of the Samoan teams racing practices. They are apparently practicing for the South Pacific Games so it was a lot of fun. Not as easy as it looked either to be completely in sync with five other people. I also had a great time hanging out with everyone. It was fun. Very chill. We sat around and talked. People have such different experiences here. It’s a very laid back life.

Sunday was also just a great day. After church they we had to’ona’i and then slept all afternoon. In the evening some more of their cousins came over and we went for a walk and laughed and talked and had a great time. I’d been very tempted to go back to school at 6pm with the boys, but I’m glad I stuck it out because otherwise I would have missed out on the evening. After getting home at midnight the day before and knowing that everyone in the family was worried I was feeling a bit like I was imposing and wanted to completely remove myself from the situation, but staying was very much the right thing to do. Those extra couple of hours turned the whole weekend on its head.

Thursday ramblings

2006-09-14T23:42:00.000-07:00

Last night I ate with my Fijian roommates. Normally the SIT students eat with whoever else is eating in the dining hall, but yesterday I decided to try something new and “packed” my dinner to bring back to the room. Most of them bring plastic containers and carry their food back to the room to eat together. They also bring food for those who are busy but who want to eat later. Let me just say a word about the food system here on campus. Breakfast consists of either tea or Milo, four pieces of toast, two pieces of butter, a piece of fruit, and an item that changes daily. It might be eggs, tuna sandwiches, baked beans, or cereal. Everyone gets the same thing. For lunch we are on our own and can pay for each individual item. Dinner consists of tea or mile, either cooked bananas, taro, or rice along with another hot dish, perhaps a salad of sorts, and dessert of some kind. Everyone gets served the same amount which means that we all get huge portions. I have yet to be able to finish one which means that I always have leftovers that go to waste. Last night I discovered what to do with them. Anything that is not eaten by the girls in the house gets left on the table. Invariably there is someone who missed dinner or who is hungry at 1am and they wander from house to house looking for leftover food. It’s such a communal system. Nothing goes to waste. I have discovered the solution to my problem.

In my blog last night I omitted to mention the lecture we’d had that day on agriculture economics. Being the economics nerd that I am I found it very interesting because we talked about the problems facing developing island nations whose main asset is agriculture. Coming from a capitalistic background where markets are driven by supply and demand I found it very interesting. It tied in very well with what I learned later that day visiting the EPC during my drop-off. In general agricultural based economies face different problems from industrialized nations due to things such as the large time lag, greater exposure to natural disasters, etc. Small island nations are even more vulnerable because the limited land that they have and the terrain normally means that they cannot use the equipment used in more developed countries and farming must be done mainly by hand. They also have a harder time setting up factories because of the economies of scale. So what is the solution? Given the problems they face and their inability to replicate Western processes…what do they do? We were offered several possible solutions. Most importantly was that the islands need to work together to be able to have an impact on the world market. They also need to try to find their own solutions and develop their own equipment that is better suited to their terrain. Finally, due to the fact that many farmers here have never even heard of pesticides or fertilizers they hold in their hands the key to the growing demand for completely organic food. There are some obstacles they have to overcome such as developing a grading system and working out transportation issues etc, but I really appreciated being offered at least some sort of solution instead of just being told there are all these problems but no possible solution.

Finally, I have to say that I went to McDonald’s today to get an ice cream cone. It was so hot outside and we’d already agreed to meet there so it was a no brainer. And I can now say I have been to the most popular restaurant in Samoa.

A problem with the water

2006-09-14T23:40:00.000-07:00

The one health advisory we were told we should actually heed is the one about drinking the water. Small quantities are ok, but we should avoid drinking it if we can. To that end there was a bubbler in one of the common rooms where we could get fresh cold water. A couple days ago they removed in and installed another sink with a water purifying system of sorts. The problem is that the water coming out of it tastes like PVC glue. We now have the choice of drinking straight tap water or what one of the girls has termed “poison water.” Unfortunately neither of them particularly agrees with me.

Yesterday was our final drop-off in Samoa. We were able to choose a government or NGO office to visit and gather information. The purpose was to discover what government and private agencies there were, the services they provided, and what would happen if you just dropped in on one of them. I chose the NMREM since they were one of the agencies listed in a paper I’d read on alternative energy development- which is the topic of my research. Unfortunately I chose a branch that had several offices. I ended up visiting two since the first one was the wrong one for my purpose. The other one was as well, but at least they were more helpful and friendly. It was really quite amazing. Picture your typical federal government office. Nice building, big desk, at least the appearance of organization. Both NMREM offices that I visited looked like just another house. They was A/C which was very nice considering the heat and humidity outside, but aside from that very little luxury. The woman in the water division with whom I spoke had a very large office on the second floor. That was about the only perk however. There was a desk with a computer and phone, and one small set of shelves. For the most part the room was empty except for stacks of paper on the floor and in binders along one wall. Talk about different.

As I still had some time left after that visit I decided to head over to EPC- Electric Power Corporation- the sole provider of electricity in Samoa. I wound up talking to the head engineer. There are only two in the entire company. He has a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Australia and spoke very good English. Unfortunately he was on his way to Apulima in the afternoon so we didn’t have much time. However, I am planning to go back to visit with him later and he agreed to help me with some of my research. In the short time that I had to talk with him I was able to learn some interesting things. For example: Apulima has ten families living on it right now. Their electric needs are currently being met by a diesel generator. EPC has just finished installing some solar panels on the island and the reason he was flying back out was to ensure they were hooked up correctly before switching over the power. They are making this switch to be able to allow the families to receive power 24/7 even though it is not economical. Currently the diesel generator provides electricity for only 18 hours or so per day. The same goes for the other alternative energy projects currently being researched. The money for feasibility studies comes from the UN and other organizations, but when it comes to implementation the EPC is on its own even in cases where it is not economically sound. I think this project will be an interesting one for me because there is a different mentality in place here when it comes to making decisions. He told me “we do what is best for Samoans.”

After we returned from our drop-offs all of the girls in the group got together for a short dance lesson. We actually have another one this afternoon. Our teacher is our academic director’s daughter, who is a member of a teachers’ association dance group that has performed in China and Taiwan. When we do our long village stay in several weeks we have to perform for the villagers. I think we are also planning to do a line dance to add a little bit of American flavor to it. We shall see. Watching the dancing on TV they make it look so easy. Let me just say that making your feet work that way is much harder than it looks.

This afternoon was another interesting bit of Samoan culture. We had an ava or welcome ceremony with the Samoan students at lunch time. I’m still struggling to describe it since it was part of our experiential learning and we weren’t told much about it before hand. You pretty much sit around cross legged while the talking chiefs give speeches. Of course they did it in Samoan so I have no idea what they were saying. All I know is that girls knees have to be covered while they are sitting and since my lavalava was a little too restrictive for me to sit comfortably cross-legged while they did (I was having issues with it staying on right before the ceremony began) I spent the entire time hoping they would hurry up because my foot had completely fallen asleep. After the speeches are done someone yells something and the brings around the ava cup. How do describe ava? Drinking enough of it will make you drunk, but apparently in a very different sort of way. We’ve been told that it mellows out Pacific Islanders whereas alcohol makes them argumentative. As far as taste and appearance goes it is brown and has a very earthy taste. I think it’s made out of a root. I really should do some more research on it…

Another interesting culture note. Last night I walked into the house and one of my housemates was watching Pirates of the Caribbean on TV. Loving the movie as much as I do I sat down to watch it with her. I asked her if she’d seen the second one and she said “yes but it was very scary to me.” It’s not the first time I’ve heard that comment from students around here. They have TV, they watch movies, they’ve begun to assimilate some of culture but there is still a divide at least in terms of what we consider scary. I think it’s beginning to change but there is still a marked preference for drama over action. It’s also an age thing. We take roller coasters and amusement parks for granted in the United States. Even though they may be quite a few adults who would not under pain of death ride one I don’t think it’s the same fear that even many twenty to thirty year old’s have here. One of the first days that I was here one of the Fijian students in his mid-twenties was commenting about a time when he’d seen a Ferris wheel. It had frightened him and he would not ride it, but he was amazed because there were little kids who really wanted to ride it and who were so excited by it. I guess it’s all a matter of exposure.

Day of remembrance

2006-09-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

So I originally wasn’t planning to update because nothing terribly exciting has happened since yesterday but I got an email from my mom and it started me thinking. She’d asked me if I remembered that today was the anniversary of 9/11 and even though I’d written the date several times in class it hadn’t clicked. There are several people here from around New York but none of them had mentioned it either. I think it’s just now hitting me that I am in a very different place right now. Everyone around me speaks English. They watch American movies and TV shows, listen to American music, and even at times dress like Americans. Yes there are many things that are different but there are so many similarities that it was easy to forget some of the cultural differences.

This morning during breakfast the Australian news was playing and the headline was the death of the king of Tonga. There are several students here on campus from Tonga and so that news hit very close to home for them. Given the situation I’m sure that his death also made news around the world including the US but how much so does other news here reach Americans? How much do we really know about what is going on in the rest of the world? How much do we care?

Over lunch I was visiting with one of the Fijian students. I realized that I know absolutely nothing about their history, their culture, the struggles they face. It’s as though we live in our own little bubble. The sad thing is that even though they do learn a lot more about our history and culture than we do of theirs, a lot of it comes from movies and TV. It’s a scary thought.

Another interesting note about culture. People have asked me about the food here. It’s ok. It’s not the most amazing food I’ve eaten in my life but neither is it unbearable. It’s got a pretty good mix in my view. I love the fresh fruit- mangoes, papayas, little bananas, coconuts. To’ona’i was also quite delicious. I’m told that the fish is also very good but I haven’t had much of a chance to try any. Most of the food on campus is Indian to cater to the on campus students who mainly hail from Fiji. People here don’t eat out much since it tends to be expensive so many of the restaurants serve most Western or Asian style foods. There is also a McDonald’s in Apia, the main town in Upolu. We were trying to decide where to go for dinner on the weekend and asked some of the students what their favorite restaurant in town was. The almost universal response? McDonalds! All of us laugh because if given the choice of fast-food restaurants I don’t think McDonald’s is the top on any of our lists. Another interesting tidbit about McDonald’s. I met a girl in the village of Solosolo last week who went to American Samoa for a while for the sole purpose of working in the McDonald’s there. It’s the little things that really force you to think. Is it the food they like or the association?

To'ona'i

2006-09-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

Most Samoan’s attend church on Sunday which is then followed by the Sunday meal called the to’ona’i. Since this is our first Sunday in Samoa Jackie, our academic director picked us up and took us to her church and house. She happens to be Catholic, which was nice for me. Her church also happens to house the only home for the aged in Samoa which is run by an order of nuns by I don’t remember which order at this moment. Interestingly enough they do still wear the habits. When we were in Hawaii someone had told me that they still did services in Latin so I was really excited about that but he was mistaken and they are actually done in Samoan. When I was in France one of the nicest things was that I could go to Mass and it was exactly the same. It was truly universal. Even if I understood nothing else the Mass was the same. Not so when each country prays in their own language. Especially in a day and age were globalization is the theme, how sad is it that the prayers of the Mass are no longer understandable by all travelers. On the other hand however the choir was beautiful. Everyone sings and everyone sings in harmony. No books. People just know their parts. I don’t think churches could have walls because the sound could not have been contained. It was really incredible.

To’ona’i was also an interesting experience. The matai, elderly, and visitors eat first. You eat an open fale, seated cross legged on the floor off of mats with your hands. It is not a culture were leaving food on your plate is seen as food. Anything that guests do not eat is eaten by those who prepared the meal. Oh and get this. The men serve the food. They cook, they serve, they clean. No wonder so many American girls like Samoan men. I mean seriously! I could get used to this. Women traditionally were important because they were the ones who created wealth in the form of fine mats. They were also important because through marriage they would bring more wealth and honor to their family. But back to the meal. Let me just say- there was a lot of food: breadfruit, taro, palusami (which is coconut prepared in some very tasty way and wrapped in taro leaves), squid, tuna, salad, potato salad, squash, some other meat, some kind of noodles, and something else that was soupy and good but I don’t remember what it was. Oh and after that came dessert- pudding cake, ice cream, and cocoa Samoa. It was literally a feast. The men get up at 6am to prepare the umu which is the big oven made of stones where most of the food is cooked. It was an experience. Supposedly we’ll be learning how to prepare an umu when we do our village stays so I’m really looking forward to that.

The definition of beauty

2006-09-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

Friday morning we went to the Floral Parade in Apia before classes. As I understand it the culmination of the Teuila Festival is the Miss Samoa pageant on Saturday night and the parade was a chance for the contestants to drive through the town on their floats. The floats were quite interesting. They were sponsored by different villages that were also responsible for decorating them. All of them were very beautiful, and were decorated with greenery and flowers. Most of them also had some aspect of Samoan culture incorporated in them. For example one of them had a hut where a man was actually being tattooed during the parade. Many of the floats were also decorated with turtles since this year is dedicated to the turtles. One of the floats was actually shaped as a turtle. I think the thing that really surprised me the most was that all of the girls were very tall and skinny. We watched some of the pageant on TV last night and they weren’t all models but they definitely seemed to confirm more to the American standard of “beauty.”

Later that afternoon, after our classes were finished we took a driving tour of Apia and stopped by the Bahai Temple. Apparently there are only seven or eight in the entire world so it’s interesting that they have chosen to build one here. The grounds were beautifully kept. Even though people say that this is a very religious place I almost feel like it’s more of a habit than a conviction. Perhaps though I’m over-generalizing or assuming incorrectly based on cultural differences.

Saturday all of us plus a few other students and some friends we’ve made here in the past week went up to Sliding Rocks, which was about a mile away. It’s a series of small waterfalls that double as a natural water park. The smallest one is probably two feet tall and surprisingly enough is the most painful. Another one was about ten feet and had a bump at the end that sent you flying through the air before landing in the water. The tallest one was probably around fifteen to twenty feet high and was much steeper and faster than the others. I was surprised because everyone in the group went off all of them. Honestly I think the hardest part was figuring a way to climb up the slippery rocks to go down again.

Comments

2006-09-07T21:41:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I'd turned off the comment feature but that should be fixed now...I hope.

South of the equator

2006-09-07T21:05:00.000-07:00

There comes a moment when you realize that was probably a reason for the way things were done “in the old days.” I mean really- why wear so many clothes? And why sleep in buildings with walls? Clothes and walls are just one more barrier between you and the breeze…just one more thing to trap in the sweat and humidity and heat. In terms of actual temperature Texas might be hotter, but in terms of humidity and lack of A/C Samoa definitely has us beat. The A/C or lack of it is probably one of the biggest things. I wake up every night drenched. And the heat really wears on you too. We had this afternoon completely free so I went to take a nap. I easily slept for a good three hours.

But enough about the heat. This morning most of us woke up at 5am to go to Apia to watch the Fautasi (long boat) races. They happen twice a year so we had to go. I didn’t count exactly how many rowers there are to a boat but my guess would be two rows of twenty-five boys or fifty total. Unfortunately it wasn’t a very close race so it wasn’t that exciting but it was still something to see fifty people working together as a team. If one person is off the whole team suffers. Watching that was pretty cool, as was watching the sun rise over Apia and the water because we were there so early! Although the race started at 6am it was five miles long so watching the end meant they didn’t come around the bend until 6:45. Think of all that extra sleep…

Our lecture today focused on religion and culture. Coming in I’d heard nothing but positive things about Christianity and Samoa, but I’m hearing a must different side of things here. The first missionaries here were from England- the LMS or London Missionary Society. They were soon followed by the EMMS or Evangelical Methodist Missionary Society and the SM or Society of Marists, the Catholics. Apparently one of the big issues for the natives is that they feel like Christianity eliminated some of their cultural heritage without ever becoming something that they felt was their own and no

Fa'asamoa

2006-09-06T23:33:00.003-07:00

One of the aspects of Samoa that appeals to so many anthropologists is that despite the influence of European cultures Samoans have managed to maintain much of their traditional lifestyle. Now that we are here we are starting to examine what the “fa’asamoa” is and how it has reacted to Western influences.

There are three important things in the lives of most Samoans: family (aiga), village (nu’u), and church (lotu) and in that order. A person’s family can easily include twenty to thirty people when one considers that it includes parents, grandparents, nieces, nephews, etc. The traditional male/female roles that we associate with in America are also different but I’ll get to that in a minute. The next in importance is one’s village. The village council was responsible for the governance of the village as a whole, and decisions made were final. The one aspect that has changed with Westernization is the church. It now also plays a very important role in Samoan life but has been Samoanized in many regards. Until recently villages all adhered to the same sect and even now dissenters can be thrown out of the village. This does cause some conflict with the national government especially as Samoa attempts to become a member of different international organizations. “Human rights” are expected at a national level but are not always easy to enforce at the village level given the traditional Samoan way of dealing with things.

Back to the different roles. The central role in village and family life is that of the matai- or chief. Each family can have several different matai titles to distribute. They can be held by male or female, old or young, those living here or abroad. Their election must be unanimous and because of this can take several years after the death of a former matai. Since Samoa does not have private land ownership the matai is responsible for looking after all other members of the family and for distributing resources. The culture is very much based upon giving which is completely in contradiction with the capitalist way of doing things. Many other Pacific Island nations have similar cultures and this causes conflict when Western ways of doing things are introduced. Traditionally they would prefer to lead a very relaxed life producing only what it is needed. Those who work harder and create a surplus will be besieged by relatives who do not have as much. It’s always been a give and take. You give when you have and you take when you need. How do you reconcile that with the Western notion of working hard, saving for a rainy day, accumulating wealth, etc. They don’t mesh. One of the two must give way. So far the Samoan’s have been able to retain much of their cultural identity in the villages but there are some changes being made. The next group in importance after the matai are the aualuma- or the daughters and sisters of the village. These are the girls born in the village who are not yet married. They are responsible for hospitality. They also are the producers of wealth in the form of fine mats; care for the children; and serve as peacemakers. Unlike many other societies women were actually seen as equals but fulfilling different roles. The untitled men, or aumaga, were the strength of the village. They were the hunters, planters, cookers, and enforces of curfew. Next are the faletua and tausi, or wives of the chiefs. Finally there are the children or tamaiti. Samoan children have much more responsibility, and there is no set age limit or “right of passage” for when they move from one category to another. Instead it is based on education. When they finish school they become either a aualuma or an aumaga. Just thought that was kind of cool.

So, what has happened with the introduction of Western ideals? Closer to towns you find more Western style buildings, but in many places fa’asamoa is still very strong. For example, four of the five bars in Apia closed down for six months because the villagers complained. Where else would that happen? I think things are beginning to change. You can have matai who live in California or New Zealand but they still fill the same roles. So far they have managed to adapt without losing their own unique identity. Perhaps one of the biggest threats to the traditional way of life is the introduction of universal suffrage mere decades ago. No longer are the chiefs and village council responsible for all decisions made- no question. Now there can be disagreement at least at the national level. How conflicts between the village and national governments play out will undoubtedly be one of the forces that shapes Samoa tomorrow.

But enough of me thinking out loud. A lot of this is me trying to learn the material so that I don’t have to spend as much time studying for the tests. :-P

Today was basically a repeat of yesterday. Breakfast, discussion, language, lecture, lunch. After lunch some of us tossed around a Frisbee. I think that’s going to be what I do when I get homesick. I just felt like I was back at Rice. We tried to get some of the Samoan or Fijian students to play with us but were only able to attract one. We’ll have to get a game going at some point to show them what its all about. They’ve only seen Frisbees thrown to dogs. I think it’s time for the next great revolution here- the introduction of the game of Ultimate. The rest of the afternoon was spent in Apia walking around and doing some shopping. I bought another lavalava and some t-shirts at a thrift store. I’ll probably end up doing a lot of my own laundry so it’ll be better to have some shirts and clothes that are easy to wash and I don’t mind losing at the end. :-P

Day two in Samoa

2006-09-05T23:51:00.000-07:00

Day two in Samoa. Once again I’m typing this up in Word not sure when the internet will work and I’ll be able to upload. I feel like this will be a long semester at least in terms of internet connectivity. I want to be able to check my email but I also know that it’s probably a good thing because if I had a good connection I might be tempted to talk to some people who I really shouldn’t be at this point in time. How I react to that will be interesting. There is such a wide range of emotions there for me. But you probably don’t want to know about that so on to the interesting stuff.

What did I do today? Once again the day began with a brief check-in. We went over what would be required of us this semester in terms of written assignments and oral presentations. It is actually quite a bit. We will be covering a lot of material.

The next two hours were devoted to more language study. I’m going to be honest. After an hour and a half my brain was just not working anymore. I think I’d reached saturation level in terms of classroom instruction. What I need now is to go back to my room and just memorize the vocabulary. It’s hard for me to learn new words under that kind of pressure.

After lunch we went on our second Samoan drop-off. The one was a little different though. We were taken to the market place in Apia and told to take a bus out, ride it for thirty to forty-five minutes, get off and spend an hour in whatever village we happened to be in, and then find our way back to USP. Very broad instructions, and just a little intimidating when you realize that we’ve only been here for a day and a half. Part of our job was to compare and contrast villages further from Apia with those that are closer. I decided before we even got on the bus that I was going to avoid talking to men and just stick with girls. I didn’t want to end up in another awkward situation.

I got on the bus and started talking to a girl named Kareti. She was in her senior year of high school and spoke very good English. I told her that I was here studying and trying to learn Samoan. When we got to her village she got off with me and started taking me around to introduce me to the other families in the village. We ran into one of the other guys on the program (Niko) and he joined us. It was really quite amazing. It’s a little hard to describe what the villages are like but I’ll try. I don’t want to take pictures at this time because I feel like that would make me too much of a tourist and I’m trying to learn about and understand the culture. I will before I leave, but only once I’ve gotten to know some of the people.

Everyone in the village lives in a fale. These are completely open structures built about two feet off the ground. Behind the house is the kitchen and other work structures. Aside from the kitchen most of them are built off the ground as well- probably to get more of a breeze. Since the cooking is done on the ground the kitchen is the one building that is level. Many of the families we visited were resting or relaxing. Walking through the last thing you would expect to find is a TV and stereo system but they’re there. It presents quite a sharp contrast. As one of the other girls said, you walk in and they’re watching music videos. That’s the impression they have of the United States. It’s a little sad. Some of the other families were cooking. In Samoa the women cook the soup and the men cook most of the rest of the meal so we saw boys preparing bananas and coconuts. The one woman we saw cooking was roasting Samoan cocoa.

Kareti was absolutely invaluable. As we went from house to house meeting people she would sit behind me and tell me what to say in Samoan. Sometimes I would say something completely wrong and everyone would start laughing. I have no idea what I was saying at those moments but it made me realize just how little I know of the language and how much further I have to go. It’s very hard to hold a conversation or get to know someone when you only know five phrases. Almost everyone asked when were coming back to the village and invited us back to their houses when we did come back. Kareti will be meeting us on Saturday to hang out with us some more. After a couple hours we caught the bus back to Apia and then finally back to USP.

I guess now just some observations on the day in general. The people are incredibly friendly and welcoming. They live a simple life with no pretense. Clothes and money mean nothing. I would feel so out of place if I were wearing makeup or dressed in designer clothes. In some ways I felt very comfortable because I did not have to worry about what I was wearing or how I looked. The concept of family is also very different. It can include aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, grandparents. Twenty people can live together in the same household. Kareti is the eighth of eleven. One of her older sisters has died and some of her older brothers are abroad in New Zealand and Australia. Even though she would like to go and have a better future she said that she has to take care of her parents since her dad is sick. The way they deal with death is also very different. Family members are buried in the front yard.

I think this semester will really force me to stop and think about what’s important. I’m not saying that this way of life is perfect, but there is much to be learned from them.

Oh and on another random note- the scenery here is very pretty. Solosolo has a black sand beach. It’s the first one I’ve ever seen. I almost feel like I’m stepping into a storybook. Lush green foliage, deep blue seas. It is a tropical island, but it is also a very poor island and the hardships many Samoans face are just are real as the natural beauty by which they are surrounded.

Welcome to Samoa

2006-09-05T23:38:00.000-07:00

I’m typing this up in MS Word but I’m not sure when I’ll actually be able to post it. Internet here is very slow. I’m also trying to post some more pictures, but bear with me because it might be a while.

I talked very briefly about our “Tour of Oahu” with Jack that we did on Saturday. I have some pictures that I’ll post at some point, but I wanted to explain a little bit more about what we did that day.

We started out at the Hostel, drove through Waikiki and past Diamond Head. I really want to hike it, but that’s going to have to wait. Maybe in December when I have my twelve hour layover… We continued to follow the coastline. It was such a nice view with the beach on one side and green mountain on the other. For being such a small island there is a remarkable difference in rainfall. At one point you could see a distinct line where the green and brown met due to rainfall in one place but not in the other. After rounding the southern tip of the island we stopped at a blowhole. Unfortunately there were not enough waves to be able to see the effect, but we should be able to see one in Samoa. All along the coast are fortifications built during WWII by the US military in case of a land attack. I don’t think I would have noticed some of them if our guide had not been pointing them out to us. We saw one of them at Manana Island- our next stop. We also saw some paragliders. Apparently it’s a very good place to catch some wind. Our next stop was Waimanalo Beach where we saw a sea turtle in the water. It’s also the scene of a very famous kissing scene but I don’t remember which movie. After the beach we turned inland and visited a Hawaiian Heiau. Basically it’s a pagan temple where they might have had human sacrifices to the god of war. We also got a little botany lesson here. I wish I could remember more of what we were told. There was this nut that had all sorts of uses but I don’t remember the name. It did give me a lot of respect for people who used to do things without all of our modern technology. Think of how long it must have taken to discover and perfect some of their techniques! Further inland we came to Pali Lookout- the site of a famous battle. The losing warriors were forced to the edge of a cliff and either jumped off or were pushed to their deaths. If you go down the cliff a couple feet there is a pretty cool wind effect. For about five feet the wind is incredibly strong. Our clothes were blowing, our hair was in our faces, people were losing hats. But walk another foot and there’s nothing but calm. Back in the van we drove for about thirty minutes back towards the west coast and then up to Waimea Bay where we saw several sea turtles basking in the sun. Don’t touch them though as there are endangered and disturbing them is punishable by a large fine. Our final stop of the day was Sunset Beach. Blue water, sandy beach, palm trees. Fewer people. More of a postcard location than Waikiki. We threw on the beach for a little while and then swam in the ocean before enjoying some very fresh pineapple. I wish we could have stayed to watch the sun set but we had a prior commitment so we headed back to the van and drove home.

And that was basically the end of our time in Hawaii. Well, that and snorkeling the next morning but I’ve already told you about that. Now I get to talk about Samoa. We had a five hour flight to American Samoa on a big plane. The kind that have7 seats in an aisle. Sorry but I don’t know what kind those are. We got to American Samoa and walked down the stairs and crossed the runway to the airport which was about twice the size of the plane. From there we grabbed our luggage and crossed our fingers- hoping that the plane that would take us to Samoa was actually coming. We had to weigh ourselves and our luggage so that they could make sure the plane was evened out. Turns out, half of the luggage had to be left behind. People are still waiting for it. I was one of the lucky few who managed to get all of it when we landed. Let me just say for the record that flying in a little prop plane over the ocean might have just been a little bit more intimidating than jumping out of a little prop plane (probably the same size) earlier in the summer. I’ll have to get used to it though because we do it several more times before the end of the semester. Everything turned out fine, and people have been doing it for years so I’m sure its very safe, but it is rather incredible to think of that tiny plane in that huge body of water.

Most of us are in separate rooms here at USP- the University of the South Pacific. I’m living with one other girl on the program and three girls from Fiji. They were awake when we got here at 1:30am and very friendly. I have a single which is surprisingly large. It has a bed, desk, shelves, and closet. It’s probably a little bit larger than the singles at Lovett College.

Now the fun part. I feel like I’ve been typing for a while, but I’d rather type than write it in a journal so I hope I’m not boring anyone. Our morning started at 9:30am with a brief check-in. “How did everyone sleep?” “Are you ready for the day?” “Here’s where to find things.” This was followed by two hours of language instruction- reviewing how to greet people, introduce ourselves, ask for directions. After lunch we loaded up the bus and went on our first Samoan drop-off. Hawaii was nothing compared to this. Each of us were dropped off in a different village and given the following tasks: find out what the name of the village is, discover something about it, get on a bus, go to Apia, buy something, and meet in front of the Fale Tourism. Sounds easy right? And in some regards it was, but you have to remember we’ve only been here for twelve hours and had absolutely no idea what to do. I was dropped off in a tiny village called Faaioga. (I think that’s how you spell it.) I met a really nice lady at a covered bus stop and she told me where I was. She also said, or I understood her to say, that there was a golf course up the road so I took off to see if I could find it. Half a mile down the road it began pouring. I took shelter under a tree for about ten minutes but when it began to let up I headed back to a little roadside stand I’d passed. I bought some candy and chatted with the man who owned it and the pool “hall” in the village. It was the only shelter nearby so I spent about 30 minutes chatting with this man who was trying to set me up with his 40 year old son. He was very nice and friendly but the moment the rain let up I was on my way out the door and back towards Apia. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. People here are incredibly friendly and willing to talk. And of course the Samoan guys all love the “palagi” girls. What can I say? It’ll be an interesting semester.

An exercise in creative writing

2006-09-04T12:59:00.000-07:00

The alarm on my phone began ringing at 6:30am. I rolled over, tempted to turn it off and get some more sleep but then I remembered why I'd set it in the first place. I climbed out of bed, threw on my bathing suit, grabbed my bag and a piece of cold pizza and headed out the door. Where were the boys?

By 7 the four of us were walking uphill in the drizzling rain. "Are you sure you know where the bus stop is?" someone asked. No, I wasnt sure, but the people in Hawaii were so friendly I'm sure someone would be able to help us. An hour later we were standing in front of a shopping center facing the task of walking uphill about a mile. I really hoped this was worth it.

I was excited. This was the only free morning we had in Hawaii and from day one I'd known exactly what I wanted to do with it. I was going to go snorkeling in Hanauma Bay. The weather wasn't perfect today, but I would live.

We caught our first glimpse on the way downhill after the orientation video. The beautiful blue water contrasted nicely with the sandy beach and green vegetation. From above you could see the difference in color- darker shades of blue almost becoming green where the reef was close to the surface.

We sat on the beach struggling to put on our snorkeling gear. Michaela and I had never been before so it was an adventure trying to put on the mask and fins- and then walk in them but we figured it out. Close to shore all we could see was the sand being kicked up by the other swimmers, but then... Imagine stepping into the pages of a National Geographic magazine. I always thought the pictures had to be edited somehow. The was no way the colors could be so vibrant, so rich. But they were. You could reach out and touch fish that were bright yellow and orange, blue, white, black. Rainbow fish. Fish of all shapes and colors. I was in awe. The only thing that disappointed me was the reef. So many people have stepped on it that it was dying and in most places it was nothing more than a big grey blob. If we went out further though there was a little more color because less people had been that far. It wasnt easy. Between the reef and the surface of the water was about a foot in which to swim. Tricky, but definately worth it.

And I'm running out of time so I've got to go. I am in Samoa now though and I'll tell you all about it later. :)

Tour of Oahu

2006-09-03T01:15:00.000-07:00

I didnt get a chance to update yesterday so I'll try and give you the highlights of both days right now. I think definately the best part of yesterday was the private tour I got of the USS Reuben James. One of the former SIT Samoa students is the chief engineer and he took me on a tour of the ship to show me how electricity was made. Definately very awesome. We also had some more language classes (Talofa= hello) and spent the evening with some students from American Samoa.

Today was pretty awesome. We got a tour of Oahu. I wasnt too impressed with Honolulu or Waikiki, but there are some parts of this island that are absolutely beautiful. We got to see some sea turtles, a pineapple plantation, a blowhole, some beautiful rainbows, and absolutely gorgeous beaches. I wish I had more time to tell you about them but I'm borrowing someone else's computer and there's a line. I'll also post some pictures when I get a chance.

Also, just as a warning I leave for Samoa tomorrow afternoon so it might be a day or so before I'm able to update. Dont give up on me though. I will be back. Promise.

Finally, please keep a special intention of mine in your prayers. I'll let you know more later. Thanks! :)

First Contact

2006-09-01T10:53:00.000-07:00

In the 1930's a group of gold diggers decided to venture into the interior of Papua New Guinea to search for gold. It was believed to be completely uninhabited. Much was their surprise when they found close to a million people living there. Nobody had known about them before that time. The amazing part is that they actually had a black and white camera with them and were able to record that first contact. The film was placed on a shelf somewhere until the 1970's when it was rediscovered and interviews conducted with the natives and the people in the exploration party. We watched it yesterday during our lunch break. Very very interesting.

Yesterday we had a lecture by Albert Wendt, one of the leading Pacific Island authors. We had to read one of his books before we came to it was interesting to hear him speak. We also had a lecture on social issues and changes which is something that really interests me.

In the afternoon we went to a taro filed on the UH campus and learned about how taro- which was once a staple- was grown. They are trying to preserve a part of their culture which was very close to being lost by teaching students and others the traditional ways of doing things.

In the evening we watched a Pacific Island film called "The Land Has Eyes." The producer and director spoke to us after the film and will be coming again today.

I'm running out of time so I have to run but I was able to upload some of my pictures. You can check them out here: http://s88.photobucket.com/albums/k182/maex1121/

I'm supposed to eat that?

2006-08-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

Let me just start by saying that I've never considered myself a picky eater. I'll try just about anything once, and there are very few things that I haven't liked. Or at least that's what I thought until yesterday evening. Yesterday was our first "drop-off" day. Basically what that means is we are given a task, driven around the city and dropped off in random locations, and told to report back to a certain place at a certain time. The task yesterday was to bring back something we'd never seen before. We were to meet in the International Food Court in Waikiki. Well, 6:30 came and we all gathered with an assortment of food- almost all of it from China Town. I'll be honest, there were some tasty things. Ok so maybe two. The rest...I just couldn't do it. Maybe it was the barrage of different tastes, or maybe it was the way they looked. I dont know. I tasted all of them. Most of them I could not finish. I ate Mexican that night for dinner. Yes I know...Mexican in Hawaii? It wasn't spectacular but it was something I knew.

Let me back up now and talk about the rest of the day. The lectures yesterday focused on the Hawaii sovereignty movement. In high school I'd written a paper on the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani so I had some idea of the issues involved, but I had not known that many Hawaiian's were so passionate about the issue still. Basically after the missionaries came to Hawaii they also turned to agriculture and commerce and succeeded in becoming very rich and influencial. Some of them became key advisors to the king and were able to direct public policy. Land ownership went from communal to private with missionaries and foreigners owning large chunks of prime real-estate. Over the course of several decades the political intrigues continued, many Hawaiian's were becoming unhappy with the constitution as it stood, and when Queen Liliuokalani attempted to change it the captain of one of the U.S. naval ships brought his men onshore and demanded her surrender to avoid bloodshed. Ok, so it's not exactly everything that happened but its a very general and brief overview. It's been a while since I wrote the paper. What you should take out of this is that the Queen was forced at gunpoint to surrended. She went to Washington to appeal. Nothing was really done. Things just happened and before anyone realized Hawaii was a state. The issue that the soverignty movement has is that Hawaii was an internationally recognized country that became a state and land was taken over by the US government but there was no treaty ever signed. Technicalities perhaps, but also quite big issues when you now consider that many native Hawaiian's have no land. Land for most Pacific Islanders is a huge issue. They see the land almsot as part of themselves. It is a valuable resource because there is so little of it. It is something that must be cared for if it is to in turn provide the resources that will allow them to survive. So yesterday was devoted to lectures on that issue. One of the nice aspects of SIT is that it brings in experts in the different fields so our speakers are lecturing to us on things about which they are very passionate.

After the lectures we went to the Bishop's Museum which houses many cultural items from around the Pacific. It's quite interesting to see the similarities but also the differences across the various islands. It's also just absolutely amazing to see some of the things they made. One of the things that absolutely fascinated me was the way they take the coconut fibers and are able to get them to a point were they can weave mats and nets. Think of the amount of time that would take!!!

From the Bishop's Museum we all left for our drop-off. It was a little different in that we all left from the same place and were just told to go do our own thing. I took the bus to China Town and wandered around there for a little while. Even though I didnt really care for some of the foods that came from there, it was a very interesting place to walk through- especially the food market. The fruits and vegetables they have, the fish, the whole chicken, the randomness of some of the items. It is definately a very different culture. If you've never been to a Chinease market and have a chance to do so- do it. It's interesting. From there I took a bus to King Kamehameha's statue and walked the 5-6 (?) miles back to Waikiki. The weather was perfect for a walk and it was nice to just have the time alone to think. When I got to Ala Moana I turned towards the beach and walked along the water for a little while. All in all, yesterday was a good but long day.

Nothing but a trickle

2006-08-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up at 6am to run. My goal is to run at least three days a week. It really helps me clear my mind and release a lot of tension.

Yesterday was another full day. We're slowly learning the Samoan language. I must say I really like the simplicity of their grammar structure. I'm sure they'll start throwing exceptions at us soon enough, but so far its very uncomplicated.

One of the things we did yesterday was talk about our proposed independent study projects. I feel ike I'm the black sheep of the group. I'm not looking at dancing or music or singing or any of the traditional cultural aspects. The more I've read about Samoa and the more Samoan novels I've read the more I'm glad that I picked the topic I did. We've gone in and "Westernized" many countries with very little regard for the implications. Yes, electricity is great and I dont think anyone who has ever used it would willing part with it, but how do you find a balance. These small islands do not have the same facilities that we do to deal with waste. And its more than just an issue of how things look...they live off of the land. The water supplies them with food. Polluting or destroying either means destroying their means of support. There are many things that we take for granted living in the United States. We have so many resources that people in other parts of the world do not have.

After classes several of us took a bus up to Manoa Falls. From the trail head to the waterfall is about a 3/4 mile hike. Absolutely beautiful. I have pictures, but again- no way to unload them at the moment. Hopefully next week... The hike was beautiful. It is so green and lush. Before setting out we'd planned to jump in when we got to the top but halfway up some Australians informed us that "It's nothing but a trickle and there are parasites in the water." So much for the swimming idea. And trickle? Surely they meant that it just wasnt gushing. Fifteen minutes later we were standing next to a small pool of water surrounded by rocks and looking up at well- a trickle. I guess they were right after all.

I realized I haven't said much about the rest of the group. There are a total of twelve of us- eight girls and four boys. Suprisingly enough most of us are seniors. Everyone comes from a different school and from different parts of the country. There are so many different experiences that I think it'll be a very good group. I hope so because apparently the past year was a rather rocky one for SIT Samoa and they managed to damage the program reputation a little bit. I think Jackie, our Academic Director, is hoping that we will be quite the opposite. Oh, and let me just add, the boys are awesome. So far they have cooked dinner for us twice. I could get used to that. :)

Flowers

2006-08-29T11:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of actual classes. We spent all morning going over program rules, expectations, agenda, etc. The afternoon was devoted to a brief introduction to the Samoan language. It's going to be very different from French. It's been a while since I've learned a language from the very beginning so it'll be a challenge, but one that I am looking forward to- at the moment at least.

After classes were over most of us headed down to Waikiki beach for the rest of the afternoon/evening. The water is so much bluer than that at home, but the bottom is coral rocks and at least a few people ended up with small cuts on their feet. The bus system here is pretty good, which is nice when you want to get around town.

Off to class now. I'll post some pictures when I can find a way to download them off my computer. Apparently I dont have the correct permissions on this one.

Restless soul

2006-08-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

Last night I was so excited I could barely sleep. I must have woken up three or four times during the night to check the time. Finally, at 5am I rolled out of bed and started getting ready. I was glad that my 6am flight had been moved to an 8:25. As anxious as I was to begin this adventure, sitting in the Phoenix airport for four hours did not sound very appealing. For that matter, sitting in an airplane for 7 hours from Phoenix to Honolulu wasn't all that exciting either, but at least I wasn't alone. I'd met up with two other girls from the program in Phoenix and we were able to move seats around to be next to each other. I also slept most of the way so that helped.

Right now I am sitting in the UH library. I have another hour and a half or so before orientation begins and have met most of the other students. We took a shuttle from the airport. It was driven by an Iranian/Persian. I think one of the best parts about travelling is the people you get to meet. This guy, Nate, moved to the US when he was 14 1/2, has lived in numerous places around the country but Hawaii for the past 33 years. He's held numerous jobs including working as a buyer for Saks, owning his own import specialty stores, has a CD of his own music, owned his own magazine, done tours...you name it he's probably done it. I feel like there is so much you can learn from people like him. He has two daughters- one is an anthropology professor and the other is a financial advisor for another college in California. So often at school or in life you end up surrounded by people who lives, while different, are at the same time also so similar. It's the accepted journey- college, work. You tend to associate with people who are similar to you and so miss out on hearing the adventures of so many other people.

I met another guy at the hostel. 24. Never finished college. Day job is a financial planner. He works at the hostel so that he can live there for free. Spends his free time surfing and meeting people who come through the hostel. There's more to learning then just books. Everyone you meet has a story. Something to share with you if you'll only take the time to listen.

Countdown

2006-08-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe but I'll be leaving in about 36 hours. I am actually quite excited. I need to get away from things for a little while and I think this will be a great way to do it. Life will be much simpler there. No cell phones, no laptop. Back to the basics.

I fly out Sunday and orientation begins in Hawaii at 6pm. I'll be there for a week learning about Pacific Island issues. Throughout the course of the semester we will be visiting other islands, including American Samoa and Fiji. What a life eh?

First post

2006-08-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

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