After two weeks in Apia on USP’s campus where we were all finally adjusting, we packed up our things and were sent off to Lotofaga. Lotofaga is one of the 300+ villages in Samoa, on the southern coast of the island where it is very rural. When we arrived, us “palagis” were welcomed with a kava ceremony (a traditional drink) by the village matais (the chiefs). We each introduced ourselves and were welcomed with a lei and a kiss on the cheek by our home stay mothers. I was terrified of spending eight days in the village, on my own for the most part, knowing I would be able to communicate very minimally. I didn’t even want to get out of my Academic Director’s van. Little did I know that I was walking right into one of the most challenging yet rewarding week of my entire life. I was woken up each morning by my 7 year old sister, Rosemary, and my mom, Telesia, telling me to get up and drink my tea. I was served meals first every time, a value that Samoans practice and one that I will never get used to. Each afternoon I was welcomed back home after a day at school by at least 50 of the village boys playing volleyball in my family’s front yard. I played with my sister and little brother, Samasoni, all the while barely being able to communicate but that never mattered. Then, I had to practice my skills of showering in a lava lava while my siblings gave me a shower in front of the outside water tank, dumping buckets and buckets of water on my head. Every night, we all sat on the floor for dinner together in the one room house, as I was told all happy Samoan families do. My family was incredibly generous and accepting of someone coming from a completely different culture and I learned more than I ever could from reading about Samoa’s villages in a book. Thankfully, I will be able to go back and see my family soon for White Sunday, a church holiday dedicated to celebrating all the children.
