Lotofaga Part 2

My time in Lotofaga was only 8 nights but felt eons longer than that. Every day was jam packed with things to do. I would walk to school with the kids in the morning and they would drop me off at Jackie's house (my teacher and Academic Director). We would do our language courses in the morning, have a traditional samoan snack (papaya and pankekas were my favorite!) and then in the afternoon do an activity like cooking, weaving or a field trip like hiking up to the taro plantation in the mountains.

 Jackie's Daughter as she teaches us how to weave a traditional fine mat made from cooked and dried banana leaves.

I took a turn, i don't think I'm cut our for it though. they can take upwards of a month to make.

I would walk home with my fellow volunteers and either do my chores with Valelia and Lole or on a good day we would go to the beach. Most days we did both. As we walked down to the beach we would pick up neighborhood kids along the way. The water was crystal blue and green. The rocks were the perfect diving block and the waves, a perfect way to cool down. The beaches were lined with white sand and perfect shells and coral. the fun thing about Samoa is that it is surrounded by a coral reef and the waves crash on the reef, about 50 yards from shore so it makes for perfect swimming conditions.

 

 Me and a few of the awesome friends I made.

We got to go on a few fun adventures in Lotofaga like a hike to a waterfall. It just so happened that when we went a rainbow was literally coming out of the waterfall. It was a quick hike but from the top of the waterfall you could see miles down river. There aren't really any safety guidelines so we could get as close to we wanted to the ledge, it was honestly an insane feeling to have the water rushing by you in that moment. Being the adventurous group that we are, the bamboo children (as we were so appropriately named) decided to find the end of the river. We drove down the road and went for a swim in a few of it's natural pools.

it's wildly beautiful in this country as you can tell 

The view's pretty nice from up top. 

SIT Samoa Spring 2013

having fun in the river

Possibly my favorite part of Lotofaga was the day I got to teach in the Primary school. Walking hand in hand with Valelia and Lole, I was shocked as I entered the schoolyard. The quality of the structure was clearly not high and it got worse the more I looked around. The classrooms didn't have desks, just fine mats for the children to sit on so they weren't directly on the concrete. The walls had minimal decoration and were dark and dingy. I couldn't find any books no matter how hard I tried. Blackboards were cramp with information that the teachers couldn't erase because they were serving as an aid like we would use a worksheet. There was no art visible in the primary school and no materials to even use for our lesson besides the broken fragments of chalk lying sadly next to the board. The rooms were uncomfortably hot and many had pillars in the middle of them, leaving an awkward obstacle to work around. 

I taught class with my friend and roommate Mickey. We had the 2nd grade class, which happened to be Valelia's class. We decided to teach the alphabet and alphabet song. I brought "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" with me which worked out nicely. We read the children the story after being introduced and had them join in for the repeated title phrase with hand motions. All of the kids were so enthusiastic and wanted to take part and show us what they could do. After the story we gave them all a slip of paper with a letter on it and we would race to put everyone in alphabetical order. We sang the song upon completion and then would repeat. The kids seemingly loved this activity but were excited for the other games we had planned. On the bank, in the creek, Red light Green Light, and Down By the Banks were some of their favorites. Teaching was so rewarding there because it provided great instant gratification because the kids had such a desire to work with us. 

Le Aiga: Lotofaga Part 1

I'm super sorry it's taken me this long to write you guys a new update! So much has happened it's almost overwhelming to get it all on here. We'll take it one day at a time I guess.

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to live in a traditional Samoan village named Lotofaga. It's on the other side of the island from Apia where I go to school. I was beyond nervous when I got there but can honestly say that it was the most wonderful week I've had here and was a life changing event. I lived in a family of 4 with my mom Temu, her children Lole (10) and Valelia (7) , and her youngest brother Junior (17). We lived in one of the nicer houses in town by Samoan Standards and I had my own room to myself with a bed (very rare). My house wasn't as strict as most other families, most likely because I lived with a young single mother. We had a handful of dogs and cats running around along with chickens and pigs. The best part may have been the puppy I named Lolia.

    Afternoon snack after school with Lole, Junior and Valelia in the Fale

The Crew

 The Ladies 

We were fairly well of in Samoan terms and I got to live in an actual house (a lot of the fales in Samoa don't have side walls). I even got my own bed and bedroom which is really rare. My family all slept on the ground in the main room on traditional sleeping mats. There is no kitchen, just the cooking umu out back which is essentially a structure to build a fire in and cook. All eating was done outside and then the dishes were washed in another hut-like structure with buckets of water we fetched. 

In the evenings Junior would cook dinner and I would be served before everyone else. Valelia would fan me while I ate in the first few days but by the end of my stay I got the family to all eat together. My goal was to be treated as one of the family by the end of my stay and not as a guest. I would do the chores like wash the clothes and help prepare the food. In the afternoons Valelia and I would collect the rubbage from the front yard and then all the kids from our area would come over and we'd play Lakapi (Rugby). I would shower and then we'd eat dinner before doing our homework. 

Playing with Deborah (8) and Joey (3) from across the street

I just had to put another one of him because he's so stinkin cute!

It's a fun environment with music always playing and dance is always encouraged. This is a far cry from the traditional Samoan family but I think it worked out perfectly for me. There were certain things that took some getting used to like showering from a bucket or the fact that privacy and space aren't really a thing here. By the end of the week I was exhausted. The kids kept me busy most of the time.

My mother was the youngest in the group and since she was single we spent a lot of time together. We would go on walks at night to her friends houses and chit chat. She showed me a lot of affection with hugs and held my hand as we walked. This is common in Samoa for guests but strange to me because mothers aren't outwardly affectionate towards their kids. During my day off from class Temu and I cooked together, danced the Samoan Siva and sewed new pillow cases for the kids. She had me straighten her hair and teach her some american songs, again showing just how relaxed she was compared to the normal samoan family. 

Towards the end of the week my grandfather, Olo, came back to Lotofaga to visit (he now lives in American Samoa). This changed the atmosphere of the home. He is the family matai (chief). and so things became a lot more formal. I went back to eating first with him and was not to think about doing any of the chores. When I gave my gifts to the family, Olo recollected them until he decide which ones he wanted for himself. He was also a hilarious man who would have me sit with him for hours in the afternoon as he laughed at my attempts of speaking to him in Samoan. (actually the whole family did that..... every day). 

 

an afternoon with Olo 

By the end of the week I really felt like part of the family. I had grown accustomed to the weird spaghetti sandwhiches I ate for breakfast and throwing the meat bones at my feet as I ate for the animals. I wasn't going to miss watching Junior kill the chickens for dinner but definitely the evenings spent in the umu with my uncle. Lole and Valelia and really become my new siblings. Walking with them to the faleoloas (small neighborhood shops) and to school in the mornings are some of my fondest memories of the trip to date. We couldn't really speak that well to each other but we managed to have a good time and connect. The end of the week brought a lot of tears from all of us. I'm looking forward to my trip back to Lotofaga in a few weeks to spend more time with my new Samoan family. 

living with teenage boys was highly entertaining

Playing some Dress up for the Fiafia with my brothers

Teaching the kiddos the magic of a jumping shot. 

My Beautiful Samoan Home! I slept with my nuclear family on the left. Extended family sleeps on the right

Again, this is very upscale for Samoa, I was very lucky.

 

Saying Goodbye was rough, I couldn't get anyone to fake a smile for our last photo

Lotofaga came at the perfect time for me. I was overwhelmed with life in Apia and felt no real center. Having a Samoan family who really took me in was the perfect solution. I had tasks to do and felt a part of daily life in Samoa. Before this trip I felt like an intruder or even worse.... a tourist. I learned so much more about the language and the culture by really experiencing it and developed a love for the country. Being grounded gave me the luxury of feeling safe to explore finally. I was ready after my trip to find what else Samoa could offer me. This week alone was worth this entire trip. It was rewarding to a point of no words. I was placed by chance with the perfect family for me. 

When we're not in class......

I know I just told you how academically demanding it is here but I left out the fact that we have gone to some of the worlds most beautiful places. One of my favorites was a natural swimming hole right off the coast and connected to a cave. It was nice to be in fresh water again (lake girl at heart). It was undoubtedly one of the most amazing places I've ever been to. It's located at the Theological college. We had an amazing lecture about Samoan religion and the influence of Colonialism. Christianity is essentially the only religion here. Europeans also brought Samoan written language. There's still a strong foundation in oral story telling though. The only book you could read for a long time was the bible. This played a large part in education as well because the schools were missionary schools so if you wanted an education it meant that you have to be a christian. It's really an interesting balance here. But after that lecture (that we had in a fale on the beach) we go to swim!

i was trying to be a mermaid........ it was worth a shot

everything's just so ugly here.

the colors are unreal. When you swim into the cave your bodie glows a bright blue.

school can just be so hard. This is meg and quinn!

The swimming hole was on the ocean so we got to swim in both.

trying to rock the lavalava dress

We've been a few other cool places too. On an off afternoon a bunch of us went to sliding rocks. Its exactly what it sounds like,a river with small waterfalls you can ride like waterslides. It's so removed from other things and is like a small sanctuary. it's awesome. I was too chicken to slide but I had a great time!

not too shabby eh?

the internet is starting to slow down so i'm going to stop while i'm ahead but i hope you guys like samoa so far! i sure do. :)

MASSIVE UPDATE!!!!!

It's finally happened! I can get Internet access that let's me put up photos!

This is my room at USP! Mickey moved in since this was taken. and it's a lot messier now.... but that was to be expected. fun fact. lizards and cockroaches fit under the door...... we've also added two fans which is nice.

Simple but comfortable!

These are the SIT dorms at USP. we share them with some girls from Fiji which is really fun.

This is the rest of campus essentially. the "workout facilities" to the right,

dining hall some mens dorms and academic buildings behind that. There's a lot more student housing and a few offices in the front but everythings open like this.

Proof we actually do homwork. This is Elsa, Takili (cook Islands) and Catarina.

This is the ocean right off of Apia. Since the cyclone it's been pretty brown I guess. They expect that it'll be tourquoise again before we leave!

I hope you got a good taste of schoo life here! i cant say it's that bad I guess! Usually what we do is have language class for 2 hours a day with Rona and Jackie (our directors/ teachers. Then we do lunch and have a guest lecture in the afternoon for an hour or more. They cover all Samoan topics like education (my favorite thus far) religion, health etc. We get some amazing people to come in who are very influential here. It's really an amazing opportunity. The work is hard. It's not the spring break we all had in mind. We had our first research paper due last week. It wasn't hard in the sense that it was unbelieveably long. We had to use books. Internet wasn't working and all we had was the library. You might laugh but here the library opens at 8, closes and 6 and isn't open on the weekends. This was hard for us to adjust to. It's so far from what research is like at Skidmore. It really showed me how lucky I am to have the academic resources Skidmore provides and the easy accessability of my life at home. But that being said, I did manage to finish a paper with no internet! Who knew it was possible....

Easy as..........

Talofa! internets been freaking out lately and i can't get any on my laptop so right now that still means no pictures :( but i thought I'd update you guys anyway!

It's been a lot of fun getting to know students from so many different places. My school (University of the South Pacific) pulls from so many different islands, each with their own culture. Tongans, Fijans and Cook Islanders are just a few of the kids I get to hang out with on a daily basis. It's really interesting how some nations are still so superstitious. I've heard ghost tales and home remedies using the moon along with bravery rituals and witch doctors. We've learned a fijan dance and a Samoan dance as well. Here's a link to the dance we learned in Hawaii..... i guess I have trouble picking up on other peoples choreography :)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PKalRom8HC0



It's a lot of fun seeing how their cultures differ in ways of friendships. We learned it makes some people uncomfortable when we hug because it's a sign of friendship they don't use. That being said, these are friendships I'm so glad to have now!

Update

Looks like I'm not going to be able to get internet for a while but If anything's really important or exciting you can comment on here! I'll let you know if anything changes. Also, facebook is blocked at the school for the majority of the day but I'll check that periodically too.

SAMOA at last!

Talofa!
     I've gotten to Samoa safely and am having a blast! Culture shock has definitely been tough but I'm slowly becoming more accustomed to Apia. The toughest part by far is the heat and humidity. and the cockroaches. They're definitely the worst part. The people here are very generous and amused by our attempts at learning the language. I've made a few friends in town and have been able to figure my way around pretty well. I've tried fish a few times already and the local bread fruit and taro. None of which I like.... but I'll get used to it. Produce is expensive and hard to find because of the Cyclone/ Tsunami that hit in December but everyone says things are looking up. During the day we spend the majority of our time learning the language and then spend the afternoons exploring by ourselves and discussing what we find at night. It's a great way to see the island through other peoples eyes.
     On Sunday we went to a Catholic church with our director in her village. Afterwards she took us home where we met her entire family and took part in the traditional sunday meal cooked in an ulu. It's and open fire stove and banana leaves used to cook and cover. It was a great way to see what daily lives are like here.
     It's strange to think that I'll be here for 3 more months. The adjustment is hard but also exciting. There are so many people to meet and so much to learn here. I don't have any pictures uploaded yet but I promise I'll get around to it soon.
Love you guys!
Fa Soifua
     Amy

Even Samoans love this song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RxFO8DV-9A