Things I have learnt about Samoa so far No.2.......

"Sports" lavalava at the Flea Market.

Harley riding along waterfront- quite possibly the only one in Samoa. Two minutes after taking this photo, he was pulled up for not wearing a helmet. Looked cool though.

Man wearing hot pink lavalava, one of many.

The view of Apia harbour from behind the government building looking back to Aggie Greys.

1. Samoan men are partial to a pink lavalava. Lavalavas are the sarong style “skirt” (for want of a better word) that are worn by both men and women, though often with different methods of tying. Paul and I have seen men wearing several pink lavalavas in the last few days, ranging from pale to hot pink.
2. My favourite lavalavas are those with backgrounds of samoan prints and an overlaid sports brand logo- often puma or adidas. Screen prints are done using old Xray films. In my mind they are "sports" lavalavas. I have images of locals putting on their sports lavalava and running shoes to go for a jog. Actually it would probably be running with thongs- yesterday we watched a group of boys playing rugby in front of Lepea village, all decked out in their full length compression tights, rugby shorts and thongs. Priceless. I will try to get some photos of the samoan village cricket competition on this week as they play wearing colourful team lavalavas and headbands.
3. · With time on my hands, I am enjoying reading the paper every day, not just quickly scanning internet stories in between meetings or while sitting at my desk throwing down my lunch. While small (the population of the various islands that make up Samoa is about 180,000, with more people of Samoan background living elsewhere than here), the stories are still very revealing of the culture here. Many stories involve some hint of corruption or misuse of authority, whether it be the Red Cross, a village Matai (or chief), an MP or the President of the Samoan Volleyball Association. The stories will run for several days, with claims and counter claims, and often a printed retraction or “now we are friends” style resolution that does not always seem authentic. It is very entertaining and interesting how often the Prime Minister himself has stepped in to play a conciliatory role. By the way, I saw him at the Gym on Thursday, only one minder and a low slung cap to keep a low profile. Bizarre.
4. · The other series of stories in the paper everyday are those reporting local crimes. One of the senior staff at the medical school is an ex-policeman and he had already quizzed me as to what I thought the most common offence would be here. I guessed alcohol related violence. Nope, stealing as a servant, and everyday the paper shows this is true. Sadly, it is most often women. Sums of money are taken to put towards some item for the family- a car, medical bills, food. Almost always first time offenders, the courts are lenient, but it shows some of the challenges that come with balancing family expectations, culture, the law and the developing economy.
5. Another story which caught my eye was the traditional ifoga (ifonga) or apology. A few weeks back in American samoa, a man who has just gotten off a charge in court, pulled a gun and fatally shot a police officer, apparently over another unrelated situation. The offenders family, including his mother and the village matai, went to the victim's house early one morning, and knelt in front of their fale, completely covered by one of their best fine mats. They would be obliged to stay that way until the family accepted the apology, which in this case happened within ten minutes. Gifts also exchanged hands as further tokens of their regret and grief. Absolutely amazing story, with the ceremony designed to allow both families to move on and process what has happened. As with all things in samoa, both families referenced their strong faith as elements of their coping and survival.
6. On a lighter note, there are clearly some western products which while you can buy them here are infrequently used by Samoan people. I bought some cockroach baits to deal with a small cockroach problem- with the open style housing here, we live with ants, wasps, milipedes etc on a daily basis. While sitting here typing this, one of the girls who cleans our unit has picked them up off the floor under a cupboard and put it on the kitchen bench, something she does every times she cleans. I don’t have the heart to tell her what they are for but will shove it under the fridge instead to avoid a repeat.
7. · My final lesson for this week- you can't judge anything here (or anywhere for that matter) against the norms of another culture. Based on the last few weeks experiences: The man with the dirty lavalava and no shoes runs a fire wood business that grosses $300,000 a year (an absolute fortune here). The subservient woman fanning you while you are eating at her father’s house is a post graduate qualified accountant and senior auditor for a government department, her father both expecting her to play this role while proudly lauding and displaying her academic achievements on the walls of his fale. The boy with the gang hair and tattoos is a devoted lover of Jesus Christ, proudly proclaimed on his T-shirt and Hat. The group of men drinking beer and sitting on the corner under a tree are singing hymns. And they will all smile and wave hello.

This week in Samoa is the Teuila Festival (Tee- weela, the samoan name for the ginger flower) which is the major cultural festival of the year. Fire dancing competitions, cultural singing, umu demonstration (cooking on coals- I love the samoan word for the "device" they use to cook in- umu kuka), wood carving, markets and last night, a Jazz night are all on the agenda. I hope to post some great photos over the coming week.

Hope everyone is well.