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Friday, May 04, 2007

The Mom Adventure: Culture Day (Written 5/4/07)

So before we get into today's activity, let's flashback to what happened last night…

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Alright, last night we went to the fiafia night at the Hotel Kitano which is located close to Hotel Elisa. Now every beach fale we're going to has a fiafia night, but mom won't be there on the nights they have them so I had to make sure she saw one before she left. Now almost all fiafia's are alike to me, but it's a required thing for any visitor to Samoa to experience. So we got there at about 7pm and the first thing they did was serve us a Buffet meal (the meal and show cost $60WST/person). This was mom's first encounter with a lot of the traditional Samoan foods such as Sushimi (raw fish dipped in sauce), Oka (raw fish in coconut cream), Taro, Breadfruit and Palusami (coconut cream wrapped in taro leaves). Fortunately, mom was feeling a little bit adventurous so she tried the Taro, Breadfruit and Palusami (the raw fish was a little bit too risky, although I like all of it). So we sat down to eat and one of the first things I realized is how slow mom eats compared to me and I was thinking 'Man, am I that hungry now?' but then it hit me that it's been a while since I've had a person from the states to compare myself to (especially someone I know really well). It wasn't that I was extremely hungry, it was the fact that I'm use to eating in the Samoan culture where I try to eat fast so that the kids can eat as soon as possible (in some families, the kids eat after the adults). I also began to realize that before I came to this country, I probably would have been just like mom – not really wanting to be too adventuresome but now I know that I've become a lot more integrated into this culture then even I realized which is kind of strange. It has been a very subtle change in my personality/mindset over the past year and a half. I'm more Samoan then even I realized!

Anyway, back to the fiafia night. After the dinner buffet (in which we ran into yet another person that I know – this time for Peace Chapel who's name is Kirsten), was the actual fiafia show. They performed a few traditional Samoan dances and song which were quite interesting to watch and I know mom appreciated finally being able to hear Samoan songs in person. The highlight of the night was the Fire Knife dance (Siva Afi) and this was the first time that I had seen a performance that used 4 different fire dancers in one show (usually there are no more then 2). We were sitting in the very first row, so when the fire dancers (who were only kids and teenagers) dropped their torches on the ground a few times that really freaked out mom. The best performance came when all 4 of them were twirling their fire sticks at the same time on stage – it was quite a sight and one I had never seen before. Overall, I would have to say that it was a very good experience. Oh yeah and there was a part in the show in which the lead guy for the Samoan performance asked the audience to participate in the fiafia. At one point, he started messing with me and asked where I was from – I said I was from Samoa! That got a good laugh and he didn't know how to respond to that – hey, I've been here over a year and a half and try as I might I'm becoming a little bit Samoan.

The dinner ended at around 9pm and we headed over to Paul/Viv's house for the night. I ended up spending the night at their house with mom just to make it easier for traveling to school in the morning for culture day. So it was kind of weird sleeping away from home when I wasn't more then 25 minutes away from it (usually when I sleep away from home, I'm hours away from home).

The next morning, mom and I woke up early so that we wouldn't have to compete with the kids in terms of getting ready for school. It was so strange seeing these kids (Jewell, Grace, Matilda and Jorrim) who are so lively in the afternoon being subdued in the morning and just starting to wake up. After the Paul took the kids to school, we stayed and chatted with Vivienne for a bit before heading to school for the culture day.

Unlike last year where there was a ton of dancing for the culture day, this day was devoted entirely to cooking a traditional Samoan meal which meant making an umu. So while mom didn't get to see the dances from last year, she did get to see how they make the umu, Samoan baskets, how the kill the pigs and the chickens for the umu. I did the same thing during our cooking day while we were in training, so this was a chance for her to get to see what we did up close and personal. And she took a different perspective on eating the chicken after seeing the kids not only kill the chickens but pluck off all their feathers as well – I'm kind of desensitized to it now. So the better part of the day, we were just sitting around watching the kids make this oven to cook their meal on – so it wasn't the most exciting culture day ever. After the meals had been cooked and the points given out, the kids served their meal to the family members who showed up for the day. Two of my year 12 students – Annastasha and Londy – asked Kevin if they could be introduced to my mom. You should have seen the look on these kids faces – they were so excited to meet my mom. I guess it made me a little more human to them and a lot less foreign – I dunno but they were absolutely beaming and giggling when they shook her hand (and I took the requisite picture). Then two of my year 13 students – Logotaeao and Delta – offered her some of the Samoan food to eat. She tasted just a little bit but was being very cautious with it (and again, I took the requisite picture to show this moment).

Once the culture day was all done with, Mom and I headed into town for lunch. Today we had lunch at a place called "Skippy's" which is kind of like a sit down version of McDonald's (except a lot cheaper then the real McDonald's that's in Samoa). After we were done with lunch, we did a little shopping for the meal that Mom and I will cook at my house tomorrow evening (so she can get a good idea of how it feels to cook at my place). As we were shopping I reminded her to just picture me doing all of this shopping (including traveling to Apia in order to shop) with no car – she totally understood the lengths we (Peace Corps) go through in order to stay and survive in a foreign land. It's definitely not a walk in the park but you get stretched in ways you wouldn't be stretched back home. As we were walking around town we ran into Emilio (Group 76), Amanda (Group 76) and Dianne (Group 75) – so it just goes to show that even when you have a car and can move around fast, this place is still small!

With the shopping out of the way, we headed back to my place for a little rest before heading back out for dinner. Mom took her first shower in my shower – which is very different from the shower we have at home. But you gotta make do with what you got right? The good thing was since she took the shower in the afternoon, the water was still warm so it was a lukewarm refreshing shower (instead of an ice cold, blood curtling shower). As for our plans for tonight, we're going out with Paul and Viv to Seafood Gourmet – so Mom will get to experience the Samoan nightlife! What stories shall come out of this little trip? Stay tuned!

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