Passover at Lili's

Lili threw a Passover party at her house for all who wanted to come. Rachel had met some Jewish students who were studying for a semester at University of South Pacific in Apia and invited them to come. We had fun making as many Passover dishes as we could with what limited ingredients were at Frankie’s (the Savaii grocery store). Most of us had little or no experience conducting the Passover rituals, but we had a guidebook to help us! We made the sader plate, complete with horseradish. And as we read through the book, we dipped our fingers in the wine for each plague that passed over Egypt, asked the four questions to Hallie, who was the youngest, and when we had leaned left and right several times, we ate. To make the celebrations complete, we watched The Big Lebowski.

Trip to Apolima-Tai

We took a little trip to Apolima-Tai, a small island between Upolu and Savaii, a few weeks ago and it was the first time a lot of us from both islands had gotten together since New Years. It was nice to see everyone and hear news from their villages. Casey organized the trip. We met in Apolima-Uta, Casey’s village, and hired a small skiff to take us to the island. Just in case you are confused about the two Apolimas, “tai” means seaward, seaside or just near the sea and “uta” means inland.

Once we had loaded up the skiff, we were on our way propelling across the waves with the owner of the small boat manning the motor. His young son was hard at work the entire one hour trip, scooping out the water, that was rushing into the boat through the cracks and holes, with what looked like a red gas can with the top half cut off. If the leaking boat wasn’t enough to make us nervous, when we reached the entrance to the island, the boat’s engine stopped and we were all told to get inside the boat. Some of us had climbed on top of the roof and were basking in the sun during the trip. “This is the hardest part” said our captain. “See those two rocks?” and he pointed to two spans of rocks and a narrow path between them where water was crashing through. “We are going through that narrow space and I need you all inside in case we hit a rock and the boat lurches”. We looked at each other uneasily as we clambered back inside. It was clear that the man was waiting for the waves to settle before attempting the pass. Suddenly, the engine roared to life and we were speeding towards the pass. Water splashed up on both sides of the boat and soaked us as we cheered. We were through!

We went for a hike through the jungle to a lighthouse and enjoyed the breathtaking view of the island below, we were served a fish, taro and coconut lunch by the captain’s family and on the way back to Apolima-Uta the boat dropped anchor to let us swim in the warm turquoise ocean for a little while.

i. 

Drink it Down, Down, Down

Kava, called Ava in Samoa, is a Polynesian shrub that has clusters of small flowers and belongs to the pepper family from the roots of which, a narcotic drink can be made. Ava, in powder form, used to be exported from Samoa and was a big money generator but has since been made illegal. We made some a little while back to sell at the market for eight tala per small bag.

Ava ceremonies are an integral part of Samoan culture and drinking Ava, as unappetizing as it is, is something that boys look forward to doing as adults. Traditionally, ava is reserved for men only, unless a woman is being served during a ceremony as a guest or if she is one of the rare females with a matai (chief) title. The taupo (like a virgin princess), traditionally prepares the ava during the ceremony. Don’t feel too bad for girls not getting to drink the stuff because ava powder, mixed with water tastes like dirty water. It numbs the lips and tongue and eventually will make a person quite relaxed and soporific if you drink enough. You can find men sitting around a large carved wooden bowl and scooping the murky liquid with coconut shells in the market, smoking rolled Samoan tobacco and enjoying some in the evening after a hard days work in the plantation or being formally served it during a matai council meeting.

During an ava ceremony honored guests are announced by the orator in loud booming voices before being presented with a coconut shell full of the drink by the tau tu ava. The tau tu ava is responsible for properly delivering the ava to each guest, as they are named, without spilling a drop. The tau tu ava faces the guest from across the fale and holds the cup above his head respectfully. He then jogs to the receiver, places his left hand behind his back while bending at the waist and scooping the cup of ava in an upside down arc to the receiver with his right hand. The cup is taken by the guest, a drop or two is spilled on the ground as “Lau ava lea le atua, soifua”  (“This is Ava for the God, Good Health”)  is recited. The contents are then drunk and the cup can be either handed or thrown back to the tau tu ava.

How To Make Ava

1.     Dig up kava roots and wash them in water until all dirt is removed.

2.     Dry cleaned ava roots in the sun.

3.     Pound ava roots into ava powder.

4.     Sift ava powder into fine ava powder.

5.     Serve in various strengths

Rockin Host Family

I am so grateful for my incredible host family. We get along so well! We’re always laughing and joking around. The kids all love musicals and we watch High School Musical 3 and Sweeney Todd non-stop. They can’t get enough of Hayao Miyazaki’s anime movies, which are also my favorite. We even named the new puppy “Ponyo” after a movie character they like.

My host mom Talava is incredibly thoughtful and generous. She does my laundry and won’t hear it if I insist on doing it myself. She makes two bowls of soup, one with regular chicken with fat and bones and one for me, with fat and bones cut out. She pours me a cup of Cocoa Samoa first before she loads it with sugar because she knows I like it o’ona (bitter, like coffee). Mei and Sevai go into my room and feed my cat and tidy up when I go to town. Sevai loves to sit behind me and brush my hair. My brothers and I wrestle, tickle each other and pillow fight in the living room. Telefoni is usually gone doing some contract construction job, but when he’s home on the weekends he plays guitar (which reminds me how much I miss Dad) and sings beautiful harmonies with Talava while the children siva Samoa (do Samoan dances). Life is good.

Sevai, Ponyo and Sailiga

My youngest brother Sailiga, who is five, refuses to go to school. He went the first day and never went again. When Telefoni asked him why he didn’t want to go, he said that he didn’t like the Year One teacher Peka and that he was too busy at home doing the feau (chores) anyway. When Telefoni laughed and asked what feau he was doing, Sailiga said that he was making the saka (peeling and cooking taro and plantains) everyday and doing laundry. This is not quite true because all he does is chase Ponyo around and climb trees. Which is probably why all of his shorts have rips and tears in them. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in shorts without a gigantic hole in the back. When we joke around about his bottom sticking out, he folds his arms and glares at us indignantly.

Sailiga and Moga Get a Little Over Enthusiastic with the Pig Slaughtering

Ponyo is our new addition to the family after the unfortunate murder of Reno and Fletcher. Well, at least that’s what Telefoni thinks. Our two dogs died, coughing up blood, within two days of each other last month. Telefoni, who was away in Apia building houses for tsunami victims, suspected foul play and urged extra vigilance when locking up at night. He thinks that by poisoning the dogs, the perpetrator(s) intended to decrease security around the house and make it easier to approach at night. An idea that became a little more believable when the back porch light bulb was stolen a few days later. Extra caution is being taken at night with new front and back of house lights and reinforced locks, so not to worry! Ponyo takes his job of barking at everything very seriously

Sorry for the wait!

Wow, it's been quite a while. Last post...February 6th! Sorry everyone. I've been neglecting blogger and have sent out newsletters to friends and family for the past four months, but I'm in Apia for the week and have a fast internet connection, well comparatively fast anyway. So I'll update you on the latest and greatest.