American Samoa, May 30-31, 2009
Before I left San Diego, my colleague, Steve, said “They’ll probably have a party for you.” I thought, “How nice.” I thought back to when I taught in Ireland. When the class was over, my students took me to the pub and supplied me pint after pint. Just like in movies, there was Irish singing and poetry, and after last call, the bartender locked the door of the pub, and we continued to party. That’s the Irish way.
The Samoan meaning of party is something quite different. Last night, we were wrapping up our final class. Students had been working all week and in class every evening for five consecutive days, and, I must say, I did work them hard. As I closed, I complimented the class on their engagement and diligence and ended by saying “You’ve worked really hard and it’s Friday night. Have a wonderful evening and I hope I can come back and work with you again.” Then, someone yelled out, “Not so fast!”
Out came food and more food. Someone put a chair in the middle of the circle of chairs and said, “Sit down. We have something for you.” Each class member came and brought me something, fabric, lavalavas, towels, mugs, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, hair clips, a lovely print, and a case of wahoo tuna (which I am assured is the best in the world). People kept coming and gifts kept piling up. At one point I had four lava-lavas around my waist and I nearly passed out from the heat. The gift giving was so fast and furious that I had no idea what had come from whom. Give and give…Samoan people seems to get such joy out of it. Someone had my camera and captured some of the faces during this gifting ritual.
I don’t believe in being falsely humble. I have enough flaws and enough wisdom to be naturally humble at the right times. I do, however, know one thing: I am a very good teacher. I know my stuff and I am enough of an entertainer to make class time relatively painless. However, I also know that my colleagues are equally skilled, and that the Samoan students throw a lavish party for each and every one of their visiting professors. Everyone else who has taught in Samoa before me has kept this a secret, but I am letting the coconut out of the bag. Fellow professors: be prepared and bring extra luggage!
On to Saturday: I flew from Pago Pago (actually pronounced Pongo Pongo) to Apia (AH-pia) today and got to see American Samoa from the air. You have seen the towering mountains carpeted in green rain forest in my pictures. You’ll have to imagine how spectacular the view from above was, because I was so entranced that I couldn’t tear myself away to get the camera. What a place!
I also saw big sea turtles from the plane, hundreds of them. At first I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. The pattern of light and shadow in the waves would break in unexpected ways. Then I saw—a big head and the clear shape of a turtle, and another, and another, as far as the eye could see. It was hard to determine their size from the plane, but they seemed to be maybe two or three feet in diameter. Such magic!
I wonder what kind of sea turtles were, and whether they were coming in to the beach to lay eggs or something. Maybe they were just hanging out enjoying their turtle day, oblivious to their wonder. I’ll try to remember to Google so that I can tell you what kind of sea turtle hangs around the shallow waters of American Samoa in late May, and why.
Seeing the water teaming with giant sea turtles was an experience I will never, ever forget. I guess as the planet shrinks, our imaginations about animals are becoming zoo-sized to match. We might see a half dozen of something penned up huthat might normally travel hundreds of miles in groups counting in the thousands. To be taken by surprise by such a spectacle in the wild—a species thriving in its natural habitat—was a gift beyond imagination. This must be my time for receiving gifts.
Before I left San Diego, my colleague, Steve, said “They’ll probably have a party for you.” I thought, “How nice.” I thought back to when I taught in Ireland. When the class was over, my students took me to the pub and supplied me pint after pint. Just like in movies, there was Irish singing and poetry, and after last call, the bartender locked the door of the pub, and we continued to party. That’s the Irish way.
The Samoan meaning of party is something quite different. Last night, we were wrapping up our final class. Students had been working all week and in class every evening for five consecutive days, and, I must say, I did work them hard. As I closed, I complimented the class on their engagement and diligence and ended by saying “You’ve worked really hard and it’s Friday night. Have a wonderful evening and I hope I can come back and work with you again.” Then, someone yelled out, “Not so fast!”
Out came food and more food. Someone put a chair in the middle of the circle of chairs and said, “Sit down. We have something for you.” Each class member came and brought me something, fabric, lavalavas, towels, mugs, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, hair clips, a lovely print, and a case of wahoo tuna (which I am assured is the best in the world). People kept coming and gifts kept piling up. At one point I had four lava-lavas around my waist and I nearly passed out from the heat. The gift giving was so fast and furious that I had no idea what had come from whom. Give and give…Samoan people seems to get such joy out of it. Someone had my camera and captured some of the faces during this gifting ritual.
I don’t believe in being falsely humble. I have enough flaws and enough wisdom to be naturally humble at the right times. I do, however, know one thing: I am a very good teacher. I know my stuff and I am enough of an entertainer to make class time relatively painless. However, I also know that my colleagues are equally skilled, and that the Samoan students throw a lavish party for each and every one of their visiting professors. Everyone else who has taught in Samoa before me has kept this a secret, but I am letting the coconut out of the bag. Fellow professors: be prepared and bring extra luggage!
On to Saturday: I flew from Pago Pago (actually pronounced Pongo Pongo) to Apia (AH-pia) today and got to see American Samoa from the air. You have seen the towering mountains carpeted in green rain forest in my pictures. You’ll have to imagine how spectacular the view from above was, because I was so entranced that I couldn’t tear myself away to get the camera. What a place!
I also saw big sea turtles from the plane, hundreds of them. At first I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. The pattern of light and shadow in the waves would break in unexpected ways. Then I saw—a big head and the clear shape of a turtle, and another, and another, as far as the eye could see. It was hard to determine their size from the plane, but they seemed to be maybe two or three feet in diameter. Such magic!
I wonder what kind of sea turtles were, and whether they were coming in to the beach to lay eggs or something. Maybe they were just hanging out enjoying their turtle day, oblivious to their wonder. I’ll try to remember to Google so that I can tell you what kind of sea turtle hangs around the shallow waters of American Samoa in late May, and why.
Seeing the water teaming with giant sea turtles was an experience I will never, ever forget. I guess as the planet shrinks, our imaginations about animals are becoming zoo-sized to match. We might see a half dozen of something penned up huthat might normally travel hundreds of miles in groups counting in the thousands. To be taken by surprise by such a spectacle in the wild—a species thriving in its natural habitat—was a gift beyond imagination. This must be my time for receiving gifts.
Wow! We loved the description of the gifting ceremony!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this blog, I really enjoyed reading your post.
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