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.
Showing posts with label samoan cuisine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label samoan cuisine. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
The teacher line the girls from the finnes to da bickus
Me before Samoa:
I don't care if it hurts.
I wanna have control.
I want a perfect body.
I want a perfect soul.
Ok, that's Radiohead. But also "me before Samoa". Obviously, a lot has changed...
(me in the Market on my last day in Samoa)And here are two stories that caused such change:
Story #1:
Once when we were teaching at an elementary school in Lotofaga, we first observed the teacher and how he approached the lesson. The teacher was a young guy, maybe 25 years old from New Zealand (and he was single, according to the school principal's announcement to the eleven of us girls). He was teaching english superlatives, and began by saying "the teacher lined the boys from the smallest to the tallest" and then picked out 3 boys and lined them accordingly in front of the classroom. Then he'd have his students repeat
"The teacher lined the boys from the smallest to the tallest"
"AGAIN"
"THE TEACHER LINE(D) THE BOYS FROM THE SMALLEST TO THE TALLEST!"
"Alright then, have a seat" he said, as he scanned the rest of the classroom. Pointing to one small girl, she came up to stand in front of the seated classroom. Then he scanned over another girl, but when she stood up said "no" while gesturing to sit back down. Then glanced at another and raised his eyebrows. She stood and waited. He hesitated and said "yeah, okay." And finally his gaze went straight toward the biggest girl in the room and called her out by name to come up to the front.
He lined them accordingly...
"The teacher lined the girls from the finnes to the bickus"
The students echoed "The teacher line(d) the girls from the finnes to the bickus!"
"AGAIN""THE TEACHER LINE THE GIRLS FROM THE FINNES TO THE BICKUS!"
Story #2
When I was leaving my Lotofaga family, I was having a serious conversation with Siavea, the 24 year old that I had gotten closest to. It was just the two of us in the cooking fale with the rest of the family only yards away, and yet it was the most intimate moment we had (as mentioned, there isn't much privacy in Samoa). So we are talking, and he looks me in the eye and says "Mandy, I am really going to miss you. My family, they really like you. You make them laugh. You are always smiling. Your heart, it is good. You are a very kind person." Still staring deep into my eyes... into the depths of my soul... he says to me, " and you eat. A LOT. I mean, you eat EVERYTHING."
Commentary:
Going into Samoa, I had read bits and pieces and heard from many people that it was the respectful thing to do to accept anything that was offered to you... ESPECIALLY food. And that the more you eat of the family's food, the more respectful you are. Initially, the way I saw it was that if a guest were to restrain themselves from eating a lot of the host's food, it would almost be saying I don't think you have this kind of money or I refuse to eat what you eat.
Anyway, before I came to Samoa, one of my greatest fears was the thought that I'd put on weight. But after I lived there for a while, I noticed that putting on weight wasn't the end of the world. In fact, I even felt like people liked me more, and would even listen to what I had to say. And that felt good. I got to a point where I even had trouble trying to remember why I was so nervous about putting on weight in the first place. At that point, I thought, how many girls can have this experience... can put on weight and be loved all the more?
But I'm back home. And I am reminded why I was so worried about putting on weight...
I don't care if it hurts.
I wanna have control.
I want a perfect body.
I want a perfect soul.
Ok, that's Radiohead. But also "me before Samoa". Obviously, a lot has changed...
(me in the Market on my last day in Samoa)And here are two stories that caused such change:
Story #1:
Once when we were teaching at an elementary school in Lotofaga, we first observed the teacher and how he approached the lesson. The teacher was a young guy, maybe 25 years old from New Zealand (and he was single, according to the school principal's announcement to the eleven of us girls). He was teaching english superlatives, and began by saying "the teacher lined the boys from the smallest to the tallest" and then picked out 3 boys and lined them accordingly in front of the classroom. Then he'd have his students repeat
"The teacher lined the boys from the smallest to the tallest"
"AGAIN"
"THE TEACHER LINE(D) THE BOYS FROM THE SMALLEST TO THE TALLEST!"
"Alright then, have a seat" he said, as he scanned the rest of the classroom. Pointing to one small girl, she came up to stand in front of the seated classroom. Then he scanned over another girl, but when she stood up said "no" while gesturing to sit back down. Then glanced at another and raised his eyebrows. She stood and waited. He hesitated and said "yeah, okay." And finally his gaze went straight toward the biggest girl in the room and called her out by name to come up to the front.
He lined them accordingly...
"The teacher lined the girls from the finnes to the bickus"
The students echoed "The teacher line(d) the girls from the finnes to the bickus!"
"AGAIN""THE TEACHER LINE THE GIRLS FROM THE FINNES TO THE BICKUS!"
Story #2
When I was leaving my Lotofaga family, I was having a serious conversation with Siavea, the 24 year old that I had gotten closest to. It was just the two of us in the cooking fale with the rest of the family only yards away, and yet it was the most intimate moment we had (as mentioned, there isn't much privacy in Samoa). So we are talking, and he looks me in the eye and says "Mandy, I am really going to miss you. My family, they really like you. You make them laugh. You are always smiling. Your heart, it is good. You are a very kind person." Still staring deep into my eyes... into the depths of my soul... he says to me, " and you eat. A LOT. I mean, you eat EVERYTHING."
Commentary:
Going into Samoa, I had read bits and pieces and heard from many people that it was the respectful thing to do to accept anything that was offered to you... ESPECIALLY food. And that the more you eat of the family's food, the more respectful you are. Initially, the way I saw it was that if a guest were to restrain themselves from eating a lot of the host's food, it would almost be saying I don't think you have this kind of money or I refuse to eat what you eat.
Anyway, before I came to Samoa, one of my greatest fears was the thought that I'd put on weight. But after I lived there for a while, I noticed that putting on weight wasn't the end of the world. In fact, I even felt like people liked me more, and would even listen to what I had to say. And that felt good. I got to a point where I even had trouble trying to remember why I was so nervous about putting on weight in the first place. At that point, I thought, how many girls can have this experience... can put on weight and be loved all the more?
But I'm back home. And I am reminded why I was so worried about putting on weight...
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Our first To'ona'i
Every sunday everybody gets up and goes to church, and then comes home to eat the to'ona'i. Samoa is 98% Christian and they take the Sabbath very seriously! Saturday they (now we) get up early and go to the ma'umaga (plantation) to harvest the fruit and veggies, then we go home and build the umu (a stove of rocks) and do various other things to prepare for the meal on Sunday so that the maximum amount of time to rest is available.
So since this was our first To'ona'i, Jackie (our academic director) did all the work. We ate octopus, raw tuna, and many other random things. But it was all delicious! And we had our very own child to fan us. We should get this child-fanning-your-food thing going in the states asap.
Monday, February 25, 2008
I'm alive!
Talofa lava! I have been in Western (Independent) Samoa for about a week now in a village called Alafua where our campus (USP) is located. They just opened the campus "computer lab" (think jr. high-- waiting in line to use one of 5 computers, two of which have had the mouse stolen, and they run at ridiculously low speeds).
I have pictures to post but...
1) the computers are VERY slow... so I'm going to try to post this entry first and then try for some pictures.
2) Almost anywhere I go I have to ask permission (preferably of a Matai/chief) to take pictures. This makes sense though, as I'm sure a lot of palagi* come through taking pictures of people going about their day. Especially cause theres so many things here that you just wouldn't believe if it weren't for the pictures!
I have so much I could write about, but I'm a bit limited (due to slow computer and the fact that I've got a lot of work to do for tomorrow). So I'll do what I can. And I apologize if it's not structured in a very reader-friendly fashion. While my Samoan tongue is really improving, I'm getting worse with English:)
_________________________________________
It's hot. The showers are cold. I shower with centipedes. I have decided that sleeping with lizards is better than sleeping with centipedes.
The busses here are an unreal experience. They are brightly painted and loud music is always blaring. And I cannot describe how crowded they are. When all the seats are taken, people begin to pile in each others' laps. I've even had someone sit in my lap already. Someone handed their BABY to my friend. Unreal.
I ran into a guy that went to Trinity on the first day at the market!!!
I'm sleeping in a closed room (not an open fale). I am still at USP, though. Friday I will go stay with a family in Lotofaga (on the south side of Upolu). But because the Matai's son-in-law is a builder, they have a new house... most likely a closed house that is typically only associated with Palagi*, but we'll see.
I have been snorkeling with some of the most colorful fish I've ever seen, hiking to the top of volcanic mountains, swimming in caves, diving off waterfalls, and sliding down moss covered rocks. Did I mention I LOVE SAMOA?
Our academic director from SIT told us that if we followed the health guidelines from SIT, that we'd all starve and die. That should give you an idea about my diet.
My clothes smell worse after having washed them.
I may or may not elaborate on these things later, depending on what you guys are interested in. I haven't written anyone individually (yet), but I just wanted to tell everyone how much it means to me to receive emails, comments, and those kinds of things from you. This has been a bit of an emotional roller-coaster for me and hearing from people close to my home helps me remember who I am and where I come from.
Peace, love, and le fa'asamoa,
Mandy
*Palagi (puh-LONG-ee) is the Samoan word for white person.
I have pictures to post but...
1) the computers are VERY slow... so I'm going to try to post this entry first and then try for some pictures.
2) Almost anywhere I go I have to ask permission (preferably of a Matai/chief) to take pictures. This makes sense though, as I'm sure a lot of palagi* come through taking pictures of people going about their day. Especially cause theres so many things here that you just wouldn't believe if it weren't for the pictures!
I have so much I could write about, but I'm a bit limited (due to slow computer and the fact that I've got a lot of work to do for tomorrow). So I'll do what I can. And I apologize if it's not structured in a very reader-friendly fashion. While my Samoan tongue is really improving, I'm getting worse with English:)
_________________________________________
It's hot. The showers are cold. I shower with centipedes. I have decided that sleeping with lizards is better than sleeping with centipedes.
The busses here are an unreal experience. They are brightly painted and loud music is always blaring. And I cannot describe how crowded they are. When all the seats are taken, people begin to pile in each others' laps. I've even had someone sit in my lap already. Someone handed their BABY to my friend. Unreal.
I ran into a guy that went to Trinity on the first day at the market!!!
I'm sleeping in a closed room (not an open fale). I am still at USP, though. Friday I will go stay with a family in Lotofaga (on the south side of Upolu). But because the Matai's son-in-law is a builder, they have a new house... most likely a closed house that is typically only associated with Palagi*, but we'll see.
I have been snorkeling with some of the most colorful fish I've ever seen, hiking to the top of volcanic mountains, swimming in caves, diving off waterfalls, and sliding down moss covered rocks. Did I mention I LOVE SAMOA?
Our academic director from SIT told us that if we followed the health guidelines from SIT, that we'd all starve and die. That should give you an idea about my diet.
My clothes smell worse after having washed them.
I may or may not elaborate on these things later, depending on what you guys are interested in. I haven't written anyone individually (yet), but I just wanted to tell everyone how much it means to me to receive emails, comments, and those kinds of things from you. This has been a bit of an emotional roller-coaster for me and hearing from people close to my home helps me remember who I am and where I come from.
Peace, love, and le fa'asamoa,
Mandy
*Palagi (puh-LONG-ee) is the Samoan word for white person.
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