Ma'asina - Round 1

Crab claws.

The coolest man on Planet Earth, Onofia.. the highly respected talking chief.

Well.. I've just returned from Ma'asina round one and I have to say that is was quite an incredible experience. I am staying with a man named Solomona and his wife Ioana as well as their son Osana. We stay in a one room fale pole house with no walls along with the family of Solomona's sister. Also staying at the fale is Togia, who is an 86 year old high chief of the village. My host father, Solomona, is an excellent fisherman who is well known for his spearfishing skills throughout the village. He swims at night in the bay and uses a sling with a spear to catch eel, fish, and enormous (delicious) shellfish. The family doesn't speak much English so I am learning Samoan at a very fast rate due to symbiosis. One night it was pouring rain and I returned to my fale from class. I came across Solomona and he invited me to come swimming, which I promptly agreed to. We sat about waist deep in the middle of the Fagoloa Bay in the pouring rain and stared at the magnificent mountains and water falls surrounding the bay and talked about life for a while. He said to me that when he was a young child he never knew that there was a world outside of Ma'asina and for all he knew, his village was the only place on Earth. I found that so fascinating. He is a very good guy to be friends with. He's only 31 years old and we have alot of good talks and good laughs together. A few days into our village stay we had to leave for on-site training at the places where we will eventually be staying. I traveled all the way across the island to Leulumoega and actually got to see my bedroom and the school I will be teaching at. It is a secondary school that spans from year 6 to 12. I will be teaching computers, music, and art, as well as anything else I can get myself involved in. While I was there I fixed two computers and I soon realized that I could offer alot to this school. My apartment is really cool. I'm allowed to leave whenever I want and bring over whoever I want which typically is a rarity in many Samoan placements. I can leave for the weekend and go surfing or return to Apia for a bit of nightlife and debauchery. Village life is really incredible and I have to admit that I didn't want to come back to Apia. Aparently there was a mild earthquake one night but I slept through it. Earthquakes are not uncommon in Samoa and usually they are nothing more than an enjoyable rumble. It is cyclone season however and the thought is quite scarry. It rained for about 4 days straight when I was in Ma'asina and I hear that there was a cyclone in Tonga and we were feeling the residual effects. The winds were intense and and rain was violent. Some nights I lay in my fale and actually began to examine the possiblity that I will soon experience a cyclone firt hand. It sounds scary and it really is, but nobody here seems to be worried. The other day when driving back from Leulumoega our car was blocked at the top of a mountain due to construction so we hiked back to the village. This walk was incredible and it gave me pleanty of time to talk with Onofia (the man playing guitar in the picture). He is really the coolest guy in the world in so many ways. His name is known all over Samoa and I am really lucky to know him. The food was awesome in the village. Seafood everynight! The family has really grown on me and I have every intention of visiting them often after training. I have also been told that anyone who comes to visit me in Samoa is required to come meet my host family and have dinner/ava with them. This also means you Mom, so prepare for a day in the village.. you'll love it. I spend alot of time in the ocean and this makes me very happy. On Tuesday I am going to embark on a surfing adventure in Savai'i with a volunteer named Kevin who has been here almost two years. Upon returning to Apia our entire team engaged in a wild night of debauchery and we're all hurting this morning. We went to a Halloween party put on by other volunteers at a university and craziness was bestowed upon all. Earlier that day however we put on a party for some Samoan children where they got to experience Halloween for the first time. I helped out with face painting and mask making. I was dressed something like a Euro-trash rocker which was pretty cool in a glam sort of way.

As I may or may not have mentioned, the people here often shout Rasta! to me when I walk by in the streets. I originally thought that this was because of many jam sessions at night when me, my friends, and some of the locals gather and play music. I often play Bob Marley songs and I always figured that was the cause of this, but when I was in Ma'asina I noticed that people shout Rasta! there also even before I had a chance to play. I really don't mind this and it is a nice break from being called Palagi everyday. I asked my friend George, who is a cousin of a family in Ma'asina and he said it is because I have a very laid back attitude and this is a welcome lifestyle around these islands. I have to admit that island life is really really really cool. I remember taking a trip to the Carribean when I was maybe 14. I was privellaged to visit countries like Haiti and Jamaica and I think that doing so had alot to do with me getting it in my head that one day I would like to do something like the Peace Corps. And here I am. On one of a few tiny islands in the middle of a gigantic ocean. I often go walking barefoot in the ocean on my walks and I think about different bodies of water that I've stepped foot in over time. One of them is outside of my temporary cabain up north in Oscoda on the beaches of Lake Huron. I've always loved the beach and it is really nice to have it so close to me at all times. I've written alot of poetry lately and I often sign it under a pen name 'Web-footed Mammal'. These days I feel like I am half monkey half fish, but still 100% Mook. I like what I am becomming. I'm positive about life again whereas I think there was a moment when I was becoming cynical. I am always smiling here and I have learned that positivity is a practice just like anything else and the more you try the better you will be at it. Sometimes I feel like the ocean speaks to me and reminds me that I am just a little fish in an enormous sea. I used to say that those who say it's a small world live in a very small world. In fact, it is HUGE out there. I urge everyone to be bold and discover this first hand because doing so really leads to a great deal of happiness. I've learned that my life's meaning so far is to travel and experience as much of other cultures as I can. This is how we learn about each other as well as ourselves. You'd be suprised what changes will happen in only a relatively short amount of time. I felt this when I was in China and I feel it more than ever here. I like change and I welcome it into my life, but I know that it is also important to hold on to who you are deep inside. Deep inside.. well.. you know me.. I'm just a little fish in a big sea and I'm very happy with that. I'm going to sign off for now and I'll probably write a bit more after my surfing adventure. To all my friends and family back home, I say the same thing that I say to everyone I pass in the street that shouts Rasta! I raise my fist to you and shout 'JAH MON!'

It is beautiful out today so I am going to go adventure by the water. Love to all from a tiny spot in a big ocean :)