Jungle hands learn to pray holding samoan tea
in the pics: the green bananas...a staple (boiled) in samoa. i eat them a lot; giant clams from the fa'asau (marine protected area) at the event where villagers show off their best fruits/veggies (and I forgot the fa'asamoa for that word...)
1/20
I’m at my training family in a village called Lalomauga. I’ve been helping to cut the grass, and clear land for a plantation. I’m swinging a three foot long knife. I’m reminded of a long time ago when our family went to a beach house, that was kind of in the beach “jungle.” I would take a stick or piece of bamboo and whack and whack and thwack the bushes. Only now I have a real knife, and an unlimited amount of jungle to keep me happy. My hands usually get blisters before I’m tired or out of jungle. After about an hour or so of hard work, its time for rest (coma), and jumping in the river to float down to the deep part and play throw my samoan sister in the water. The cool water feels so nice after dripping sweat. Drinking coconut juice isn’t so bad e
ither.
Why are two tiapula leaves bad?
Aisea e leaga ail au tiapula lua?
We want all the taros to grow the same size.
Fia fai taros ituaiga tasi.
Why are three or four tiapulas good?
Aisea e lelei ail au tiapula tolu po’o fa?
Because all the tiapulas will be the same size, and will be mania in the mouth;)
I have to give two thumbs down to computer programs that require an internet connection to access the HELP feature eg. Google’s Picasa. Most people in Samoa do not have internet. So if one of you smarter-than-me people knows how to get picasa help without internet, please shout in my ear.
It was also hard for me to figure out picasa—I’m a windows explorer kind of person. Yes I subscribe to the Microsoft machine. This was in an ubuntu (yeah open source) environment…which I’m not familiar with at all.
I’m still trying to learn samoan prayers.
Iesu fa’afetai mea ai foai mai tausi ai matou, amene.
That was pretty easy. Here is a harder one:
Iesu fa’afetai mo fua o le tino ua e foai mai tausi ai lou matou ola. I lou suafa Iesu, amene
1/15
Hmmm..the last two days I’ve been working in the plantation. Sa ou futifuti taamu (I cleaned the taamu)..the mushy stuff off the root/taro part of the plant. The next day we toto (plant) the stalks to create new food and make the plantation bigger. I didn’t take a shower after the first day and after the second day I have red bumps on my arm and sunburns in random spots—well I guess wherever I didn’t put sunblock. We (me and mona—the family member who works in the plantation) go in the morning—about 7am, so the sun isn’t as strong as in the afternoon. I just swam in the ocean and took a shower. I feel better. Tonight’s dinner was taro and cut cucumber with mackerel.
I could increase my sugar consumption by 100% if I had the Samoan tea every night with dinner. Let’s just say my family likes their sugar and other sweet things.
Movie: Dreamer. A little girl with spunk and determination gets her dream—her horse racing, and winning the Breeders Cup. It’s amazing how things change when you give a young person ownership. Little girl got ownership.
When you ran the earth shook
And thunder rang clear
A space was made
For squeezing the win
(I don’t remember the exact words to the poem in the movie…)
I’m at my training family in a village called Lalomauga. I’ve been helping to cut the grass, and clear land for a plantation. I’m swinging a three foot long knife. I’m reminded of a long time ago when our family went to a beach house, that was kind of in the beach “jungle.” I would take a stick or piece of bamboo and whack and whack and thwack the bushes. Only now I have a real knife, and an unlimited amount of jungle to keep me happy. My hands usually get blisters before I’m tired or out of jungle. After about an hour or so of hard work, its time for rest (coma), and jumping in the river to float down to the deep part and play throw my samoan sister in the water. The cool water feels so nice after dripping sweat. Drinking coconut juice isn’t so bad e
ither.Why are two tiapula leaves bad?
Aisea e leaga ail au tiapula lua?
We want all the taros to grow the same size.
Fia fai taros ituaiga tasi.
Why are three or four tiapulas good?
Aisea e lelei ail au tiapula tolu po’o fa?
Because all the tiapulas will be the same size, and will be mania in the mouth;)
I have to give two thumbs down to computer programs that require an internet connection to access the HELP feature eg. Google’s Picasa. Most people in Samoa do not have internet. So if one of you smarter-than-me people knows how to get picasa help without internet, please shout in my ear.
It was also hard for me to figure out picasa—I’m a windows explorer kind of person. Yes I subscribe to the Microsoft machine. This was in an ubuntu (yeah open source) environment…which I’m not familiar with at all.
I’m still trying to learn samoan prayers.
Iesu fa’afetai mea ai foai mai tausi ai matou, amene.
That was pretty easy. Here is a harder one:
Iesu fa’afetai mo fua o le tino ua e foai mai tausi ai lou matou ola. I lou suafa Iesu, amene
1/15
Hmmm..the last two days I’ve been working in the plantation. Sa ou futifuti taamu (I cleaned the taamu)..the mushy stuff off the root/taro part of the plant. The next day we toto (plant) the stalks to create new food and make the plantation bigger. I didn’t take a shower after the first day and after the second day I have red bumps on my arm and sunburns in random spots—well I guess wherever I didn’t put sunblock. We (me and mona—the family member who works in the plantation) go in the morning—about 7am, so the sun isn’t as strong as in the afternoon. I just swam in the ocean and took a shower. I feel better. Tonight’s dinner was taro and cut cucumber with mackerel.
I could increase my sugar consumption by 100% if I had the Samoan tea every night with dinner. Let’s just say my family likes their sugar and other sweet things.
Movie: Dreamer. A little girl with spunk and determination gets her dream—her horse racing, and winning the Breeders Cup. It’s amazing how things change when you give a young person ownership. Little girl got ownership.
When you ran the earth shook
And thunder rang clear
A space was made
For squeezing the win
(I don’t remember the exact words to the poem in the movie…)
posted by bigchainring at 3:04 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home