The Joy of Popcorn

01/06/08

Made popcorn tonight,
Was such a delight
For me to see
Smiles of mirth and glee.
A simple treat
That others could eat.
Made me feel
Their love is real.

Gift of Gas

01/04/08

Our host father’s sister and her American husband came to visit from their Hawaiian home last October. In true Samoan fashion, they bought gifts for their relatives, one of which was a stove and large bottle of propane gas. The families had been cooking over wood fires.

When I got home from my New Year’s trip, my own propane bottle was missing. My host mother came over to explain they had borrowed it while I was away. Borrowing without asking is something you just get used to in Samoa, but the borrowing is not the point of this entry. In truth, our host family can not afford to refill the propane tank. This well intentioned gift was given without thought to the continuing resources required for its sustainability.

Gift givers, be they individuals, institutions, or governments, want to see results. There is glamour in opening a package or cutting the ribbon, none for long term support. Gifts soon become junk or drain resources away from where they may more urgently needed.
This pattern of good intentions gone amiss is repeated as aid in the form of computers, telecenters, swimming pools, libraries, and schools deteriorate from lack of funds or training.

Assistance and aid are like having children. There is a moment of ecstasy followed by at least 18 years, 9 months of hard work and support. One can never predict the outcome, but it is a worthwhile endeavor anyway.

Send Money To Loved Ones

01/03/08

“If you can’t be there, your money can”, so reads the heading of a Western Union ad. The ad pictures a Samoan man dressed in shirt and tie looking down on a grinning girl in traditional Samoan garb. In essence, the ad captures what the Samoan economy is all about, people overseas sending money back home. The ad also captures the Fa’asamoa obligation to support your family and to share what you have, combined with good old Christian guilt.

Without the inflow of overseas money, Samoa would be even farther behind the western world than it already is. There is hardly any internal source of income to sustain the population. Samoa’s economy is based on raising children, teaching them English, and sending them overseas. We in the Peace Corps perpetuate this system by teaching English and computer skills or writing proposals to seek foreign aid.

What is happening in Samoa is like hundreds of other developing countries whose subsistence, barter based economies are thrown into the world of cash. The good thing is Samoans are ahead of the curve when it comes to training and sending children overseas for salaried jobs. The bad thing is those going are the best and brightest, never to return again.

The Peace Corps slogan is to “Help People Help Themselves”. I think we are doing that, but not in the way we imagine. Who am I to judge what Samoans do in their own best interest? My job is to help them do what they want me to do. So be it if that is to find ways to send more money back home, get a bigger piece of the aid pie, to support that grinning girl in the ad, and to maintain the man’s yearning for Fa’asamoa.

Why Learn Samoan?

01/04/08

The major emphasis and more than half the time spent during our 13 weeks of Peace Corps training is spend on learning Samoan. Peace Corps trainees are expected to reach the level of low intermediate as determined by international standards. The test is given by a certified independent language tester. The low intermediate level is what I call the “Survival Level”. It allows you to greet people, find out a little about them, buy food, and get around on public transportation. Language training is a period of great stress on trainees. Yet now living in a rural village for the past six months, I have to ask whether all the stress and emphasis placed on language training is really worth it?

Certainly knowing common greetings and customary phrases helps to establish rapport with Samoans. It shows you are making an effort to be a part of their culture, but to do my job as a Peace Corps Volunteer; I have to do it in English.

When Samoans are asked what they want most, they respond, “learning English and computers”. In the book “My Samoan Chief” written over 40 years ago by an American married to a Samoan, when asked the same question, Samoans responded “learning English and typing”. Not much has changed since then.

The entire Samoan educational system is geared to teaching English. If you know English, you get to go on to college, get an office or clerking job in the city of Apia. Government workers speak English. If you want to go to New Zealand, Australia, or the US for a job, you need English. Without knowing English, you are left behind, condemned to your rural village forever.

People in my village want to improve their lives. They want to learn some English so they are not intimidated when they meet a Samoan or foreigner who speaks it. Even those adult Samoans who had English while in school find speaking even a few words daunting.

I am coming to the realization that instead of worrying about my floundering Samoan, I should be helping adults improve their English. If I truly want to be effective in helping with the development of my village and to help them help themselves, it is going to have to be in English. This is my epiphany and gospel for today.

Fa’alavelave

01/03/08

One of the hardest Samoan customs to understand is Fa’alavelave. This is the required gift giving assessed on people for important occasions like funerals, weddings, births, etc. This custom originated when Samoa was a purely agricultural society when locally produced food and crafts were given to honor these special events. The custom has now escalated to almost obscene proportions causing financial hardships on families who can least afford to contribute, many going into debt so as to not lose face. It is the Samoan form of “Keeping up with the Jones” gone mad.

What is puzzling is many Samoans understand what is happening and are resentful of the custom, yet feel trapped in what they consider a deeply Samoan tradition. To a large extent, the influence of wealthier Samoans living overseas keeps pushing the gift giving stakes higher. In this competitive society, no one wants to be outdone.

The family we live with has just given the biggest pig and last boar for the Fa’alavelave of the recently deceased pastor. It is put on a truck collecting slaughtered pigs and cows to be divided among the funeral guests, most of whom are well off and live outside the village. Other people we know gave their last livestock with little hope of replacing them.

The fa’alavelave system almost insures people are unable to save or even think about their future when they may be asked to contribute. Whatever they now have can quickly disappear when called upon to give to the next fa’alavelave.

Searing Hair Off a Boar

Truckload of Animals Going to Fa'alavelave

Miracle Razor

01/02/08

My Miracle Razor

Before coming to Samoa, I belonged to a health club that provided its members with disposable razors. I collected hundreds of them over the years and brought a huge bag of them to Samoa. Over the past seven months, I have been using the same razor. I wonder, “How long can this razor last?”

The scientist in me wants an answer. Is this razor different from others in bag? What is it that keeps its edge? What do I do differently? I lather with face soap, use the cold water from the tap, and am careful not to cut myself. My conclusion with a 94.9% probability is being sweaty all the time keeps my whiskers nice and soft. Maybe now that the humidity in Samoa is at its highest, I should try shaving by just rubbing my face.

New Years 2008

01/01/08

While my wife is plodding through the snows of Minnesota visiting our children and her relatives for the holidays, my New Years is on a beach in Samoa with some other Peace Corps friends. We are just a group of wild a crazy "guys".

Our daily schedule consists of swimming in the sea, talking about movies, with intermittant naps, reading, and cooking our own meals. At night we lay on the beach looking up at the sky and making wishes on shooting stars as Orion looks down on us from overhead. Slightly after midnight, we sleep only to repeat the schedule the next day.

We are the "New Peace Corps" in Samoa. No wild parties, orgies, or alcohol. We wear our bike helmets, eat taro, and shower every day. There are even a few volunteers who like George Bush!

A Wild and Crazy Guy

Doing our Homework

Our New Year's Retreat

Resting to Rest Some More