sturdy Toa Samoa

in the pics...
Whitesunbanner: this is the banner that I guess gets made every year for white Sunday. They lined the church rafters. Shortly after, there was a “disagreement” and my village doesn’t attend that church anymore. I’m sad.
Whitesundaypokagirls: it’s not so much the actual program that samoans like taking pictures of. It’s the after party where everyone poses for the camera. I thought this was a good picture. I usually just give the camera to someone in my family and tell them to get some pictures.
Whitesundayprogram: a picture of all the kids doing their white Sunday program.


11/15
A good game of ultimate Frisbee yesterday. I just wish we had a Frisbee that glowed in the dark. We were playing at dusk and it got so dark I couldn’t see the white Frisbee touch my hand when I was in the goal zone…ahhhhhh…!
Waking up to the sound of waves on the beach is nice. I’m at Tafatafa—some beach fales right at the water. It was a good party for Peace Corps volunteers who are leaving Samoa soon..they are done done DONE! I have one more year.

Sturdy. Hardy. Durable. I was talking to a Samoan friend. She is very “type A” personality—always busy doing heavy work in her yard—cutting grass with machete, moving dirt, setting posts in the ground, making lists, thinks ahead. We were talking about palagis (white people), not being as “sturdy” as Samoans. That wasn’t the word she used, but that’s what came to my mind…probably because it’s a Finnish word (and I’m Finnish). Finnish people are sturdy. But it sounds better if you say it with the Finnish accent. And I remember a play called “Shangheid in Astoria” where they talk about being sturdy. That’s the town my mom lives in.

I’m always saying how great is the Internet—find all this information, change your life kind of great. And then I find out that it’s better to wait until I get to NZ to get a camper van—don’t rent on over the internet. Same for reserving Beach fales in Samoa on the internet. Come here in person first—you’ll get a better price. I heard one fale’s internet prices are triple.


11/11
New samoan words
Fa’amama fa’i means clean banana trees
La’u palapala means move dirt
Fa’aputu mai means pile rocks
This is what I did at New Year’s house. I always want to work (hard physical work), because teaching is not hard work physically.


There are different names for the Samoan sports teams:
Toa Samoa – rugby league
Manu samoa – rugby union
Manu sina – ladies rugby (I didn’t know there was organized ladies rugby. It’s not happening at my school).
Manu mea – samoan soccer