To William, Nick, and Kyle Mantzel

Always remember there was nothing worth sharing like the love that let us share our name.

Random story?

I've spent most of my time daydreaming about Samoa since I've been back, and last night I got this wicked craving for some pagi popo (Samoan dish- coconut bread) after I watched an episode of "Bizarre Foods" on the Travel Channel.


So I whipped some up.

This morning I got up, half-awake wandered into the kitchen, and just as I got there my mom breezed past me with with a plate of the pani popo yelling behind her "I've made a new friend for you!"

Still half-asleep, still confused, I take out my retainer, pat down my hair, and follow her into the living room to find an unmistakably Polynesian man eating the pani popo.
"Talofa lava," he said. I tried to carry on with him in Samoan, but then realized he was Tongan. I felt stupid, but I had just woken up, alright? Anyway, after we talked for a while about our experiences eating pig, who's nicer between Samoans and Tongans, and other various topics, we reached the conclusion that I need to go stay with his Mom in Tonga.

So I guess he was next door at the neighbor's house... and my mom saw him and invited him over? I'm still confused. Inviting a total stranger into your house to feed and then introduce to your daughter- makes me think my mom might be more culturally Samoan than I am.

On living at home...

"As a general rule, we detest what resembles ourself, and our own faults when observed in another person infuriate us....It is because the similarity is too great that, in spite of family affection, and sometimes all the more the greater the affection is, families are divided." - Marcel Proust, The Captive.

Yeah.

Vacationing with the Mantzels (and you thought Samoa had a culture to be studied)

For all those who have been "sooOoOo jealous" that I got to study abroad in Samoa... and secretly (or openly) thought that I was on vacation for the past 4 months, now is the time for me to clarify what a "vacation" means to a Mantzel.

My dad is the kind of guy who will pour water into a milk carton with mere drops left in the bottom and then drink it just so no milk is wasted. He is the kind of guy who will barter with the cashier at Taco Cabana to try to trade in our unnecessary "kiddie toys" for an extra side of pinto beans.

When we travel, we're a cheap bunch. Some people might liken our style to a college road trip. We drive mainly at night to save gas during the day. We've piled 5 and a golden retriever into a Saturn. We usually go camping. First, because we like the outdoors, but second because it's cheaper. Our only beach vacation was when we went to Galveston because he had a college buddy that offered his sailboat to us for the weekend. I didn't think his buddy expected for us to sleep on it, but that's exactly what we did.

This time around, we decided to do our vacationing in Central Texas. We had our way with Enchanted Rock, Pedernales Falls, Hamilton Pool, Lake Travis, and the Guadalupe.
Family bonding @ Enchanted Rock


We wanted to go tubing in San Marcos, but as the price for a tube rental was a bit steep (7 bucks per), we rented one that we could all share and take turns on while the rest of us snorkeled around.

Initially, my dad thought he had a friend we could stay with in Austin, but when that fell through and not having enough tents to camp with, we were forced to get a hotel. That's right, a hotel. One room. Four full grown men + me. Luckily, I had prepared bedding so that I wouldn't be forced to share a bed with anyone. I can count on one hand (or even 3 fingers) how many times I saw the shower being used by someone other than myself over the course of the week. But in defense of my stinky brothers and dad, we were in water (lakes ponds rivers and rain) most of the time-- and that's good enough for a Mantzel. Maybe they weren't showering because they were too busy photoshopping our youngest brother's face onto gay pornography... or because there were just too many GI Joe PSA's to watch on youtube:



Either way, if it weren't for the quirks of my family, I wouldn't have much to blog about. As much as I complain about our unique traveling style, it should be obvious by now how much I love it all.

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Kum ba yah in the Comfort Inn Parking Lot...


What else do you do when your bumper keeps trying to fall off?


Here's Nick (the photographer) messing around with his camera in the dark while I'm driving


The photographed subject always reveals the photographer's opinion/bias towards subject...


This photo was completely unsynchronized... Nick has given himself breasts... Kyle uses the backlight of his cell phone to create an unrealistically large penis for himself... and yet because they are so predictable, I knew what they were up to

This one's for the parents

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P3231184, originally uploaded by mandy.mantzel.

Look at me! I'm at church!! On Easter!!

It's not always sunny in Samoa

During my 2nd "drop-off", I jumped on a bus to Solosolo (because that's where I heard the experts go to surf). On my way there, I met a girl around the age of 13 who was heading to Salesa, but told me she'd help me get to where I needed to go-- and told me to follow another girl on the bus named Susannah. We kept talking and were having a great conversation, and when we got to Solosolo she ended up getting off the bus as well. Susannah was so excited and told me to come to talk to her mom, and kept insisting that I stay with them. But then Telesa kept insisting that I keep walking with her to her village.

So, for most SIT programs, "drop-offs" typically last for only a few hours at the most. But in Samoa, the busses only make their last round to Apia around 4, so anyone in the village without a car is stranded (or has to take a taxi-- which is NOT safe to do alone) and will typically just stay with a family. As it was already 3:30 and I hadn't really gotten to see much of Solosolo, I seriously started to consider staying the night out in a village, and not returning to check in with our group until the morning. But then, Telesa pulled me aside and said "you REALLY don't want to stay here in Solosolo!" And then she started speaking Samoan really fast and I didn't understand... but I caught her say "last month" and "the girl" and "her parents" and "that tree" and "in Solosolo!" while she was making gestures of someone getting hung and stabbing their side. "Pule i le ola!" she said over, and over. I had her write it down so that I could ask my AD when I returned. After attempting to decipher her gestures, I assumed that a girl got hung or something, and although I'm an adventurous kinda gal, I really didn't want to risk anything on my first night.

When I returned to meet with the group, I showed our Academic Director the note, and she said that "pule i le ola" literally means "to take control of ones own life"-- meaning suicide. This was my first brush with understanding how Samoans view life and death. In America, individualism reigns, and it's considered a good thing to be self-interested and "take control of your own life". But in Samoa, it seems like that's nearly impossible. The family structures have just seemed so rigid, that no matter what you do, you will always be defined by a larger group.

Suicide rates have been a concern in Samoa, and I was interested in that before I came. In Sia Figiel's Girl in the Moon Circle, she says that suicide in Samoa is about breaking ties with or dis-associating yourself from your family. Usually when someone dies in Samoa, their body is encased in an elaborate monument looking thing in their family's front yard. The family is constantly reminded of this person and openly meditates on them. Those who pule i le ola don't get any of this, and they are said to just be "forgotten"... but this little girl didn't seem to forget.

The family that plays together stays together

P2090307, originally uploaded by mandy.mantzel.

I was wandering around looking for breakfast on the North Shore and I heard music coming from a shop and thought "WOW those are great speakers!" So I wandered in, and it was Ron and his family recording a new album. On the far left was the bassist, then the short guy was wandering around (but I'm sure he plays something) then Ron (or Papa, as he told me to call him) was on the Keyboard and was singing. the next shorter guy was on the timpani and bongos, then on lead guitar was the next guy, then the two girls were on keyboard as well, and while they were recording his wife talked to me about what they do. It was a saturday morning and they were all so happy to be playing together. They'd look over and smile at each other, and at the end they'd talk to each other saying "oh man I really liked what you did with that riff there" and complimenting each other. I saw on their logo "A family that plays together stays together". Talking to them, and especially Vicky (Ron's wife) about what they do made me really emotional. I wish I had the time to put into words exactly how they made me feel, but I will leave it at that. I left their house feeling totally inspired and optimistic about the world.

A necessary thank-you note

, originally uploaded by mandy.mantzel.