Our real Fa'a Samoa Experience (Photos coming soon...rush rush)

Well what a busy week we have been having, firstly we are legally aloud to stay in Samoa until December, we have our extension on our visitors visa, but don’t panic we won’t be here until December, we will be home in October!! The interesting thing was that Emile is our sponsor to allow us to stay hence he is deemed a citizen, which is an interesting immigration policy ha!! We are not complaining though. We have also bought a car in order to get us around a lot easier, “Have wheel will travel!” Not that we haven’t been getting around but we won’t have to rely on taxi and buses. We also got invited out to dinner by some people from church that owns a restaurant Giordano’s Pizza. We went their in our first few days on the Island, GREAT restaurant and we had a wonderful night getting to know Jill and Alex. I’ve also started helping out at a local souvenir shop that make clothes and print their own fabric in the hope that I will be able to learn some of the local skills in this area. It isn’t deemed work as such just a welcome break for the teacher and an opportunity for me to have some adult company while Emile gets some Father /Daughter time with his girls, hopefully I’ll have some wonderful gifts to bring home. So as if that wasn’t enough for our week we also got invited to a funeral at the family village, which was to take place on Wednesday however it was postponed. (would only happen in Samoa you can put off a funeral!)Anyway the funeral took place today, so we where up with the roosters and on our way in our new car to the village to prepare for the day. What an eye opener it was for me and the girls. As Emile says we won’t get a more Fa’a Samoa experience than what we have had today, so far. It is just a shame that a father of 4 and only 54 years old had to die for us to achieve this. What a privilege to be involved. We started by preparing morning tea for 300 people which consisted of sandwich making, then placing 2 muffins, 3 sandwiches and an apple (NZ of course!) into plastic food contains, similar to what we would get our Chinese takeaways in, after packing 300 of these container the body had arrived and the family gathered in the front room of the fale for their final goodbyes before the funeral service which took place at 12.00. Everyone was given their morning tea containers and they were delivered around the village to members not attending the funeral, but of significance within the village. Meanwhile other family members and groups bringing gifts of fine mats, lafo (money) and flowers arrived. The casket was carried to the church 2 doors down and the Mass began, completely in Samoan but formal Samoan that even Emile had difficulty following the service. The procession then continued up the road, to the deceased’s family home within the village, stopping the main highway around Samoa. He was laid to rest in a typical Samoan tomb in front of the family home. The procession then returned for yet another meal which was provided in polystyrene container once again all 300 disappeared. The final proceeding was the distribution of gifts to the Fai feau’ (ministers all 3) received a pig each plus tinned fish, fine mats money and corn beef. Then the next most important received gifts of food mainly boxes of tinned fish. Emile believes over 200 boxes of tined fish where given to those attending. This is all taking place in front of the deceased’s wife and children there is no food or money directly given to them and she is expected to provide for her family of 4 with no benefit or assistance. All in all it was a lot to comprehend all being carried out in Samoan but I just felt for the women and her children, deciding in Samoa it is better to stay alive!! Emile ‘under the table’ gave our gift directly to the wife, knowing that no one else will have a say over it. She beamed back knowing full well why we had done it that way. All this and this was a small funeral in Samoan terms of an untitled fisherman. But that is the Fa’a Samoan way, which a number of them complained about but it is just what is expected and it doesn’t seem like that will change in any great hurry. On the negative side those plastic and polystyrene boxes along with the possibly 500 water bottles will most likely end up in that island of rubbish floating in the Pacific, as it was while he was being buried 3 containers floated down the river beside the house and I wouldn’t even consider myself a “greeny.” As Emile said in the old days it would of all be done with natural weaved baskets. I hate to think what the final tally of the day would cost the family but it would be huge. The girls also had an opportunity to find lovely shells on our own beach which they are most excited about, we’ve travelled the island trying to find them, but the tide was out further today and they found some lovely ones. They have coped remarkably well with the entire day and gained new understanding of the Samoan way of life. What will be our next adventure???? Emile’s Bit…..It was great helping out and getting back to what I could only understand as being the only way and for many it is, even with the changing times and debates on what should and shouldn’t be, I was proud that day to be a Samoa!! I felt guilty about all the plastic waste and lack of understanding of the impact on the environment when down at the beach, but I know the day will come when It will change! I just have to pick some of it up and put it in the rubbish! To my cuzzy Pene in PNG….all my love!