The Crazy Events of Samoa’s Independence Day

Yesterday was one of the coolest days I have had in Samoa.  All of the PCVs travelled to Apia this weekend on Friday for some events that were taking place on Saturday.  The trip over was by far the worst that any of us had experienced so far.  There was a big storm so the sea was terribly rough, which meant a lot of sea sickness for most of us.  Luckily I didn’t throw up, but part of that was because there was so much rain outside and the seats were all taken so a lot of people were just standing under the little covering outside.  The thought of throwing up over the edge in the pouring rain while all those people were watching me greatly deterred me I think, but it was still an hour and half of torture nonetheless.  So we came to Apia Friday, did a little business in the office, and then after having Pizza, we went to a Faafafine show.  Faafafines are this really interesting concept in a lot of South Pacific Island(and maybe other places too).  They are boys that are raised like girls.  So generally they dress, talk, walk, and act very feminine.  You could write a book on the whole concept so I won’t try to explain them in this blog, just to say we would compare them to Drag Queens, but they aren’t really like that at all because it’s more of a lifestyle they have from childhood.  So anyways, we went to this pageant (kind of like a drag queen show) and it was pretty funny.  The Samoans were laughing so hard and screaming about everything so it was pretty funny to see them get so excited about everything.  So we came back pretty late on Friday….which leads me to Saturday….

We woke up at 6:30 on Saturday morning, 30 minutes later than what we had planned but my phone died so we missed the alarm.  We were supposed to be at the parade at 7:30, the paper technically said between 7 and 8 but our Country Director said 7:30.  The paper also said we would start walking sometime between 9 and 10.  So when we left the hotel at 7:30 we weren’t too worried because, Hello, it’s Samoa and nothing in the history of this country has EVER ran early!!!  So the taxi guy can only take us so far because of the traffic, so then we get out of the taxi at 7:40 and start walking.  We finally get to the parade sight at 7:55 and then across the field from where we are, we see the American Flag and realize that is where we need to be.  So we start walking over there.  At this point I must insert that it had been hurricane sized rain the day before so the field was obviously just a big mud pond that we are walking through, which means it’s  a lot trickier because your sandals sink in at every step and then you flick a little mud every time you pick up your feet.  As we get about half way to the other side we realize (well becca and kate realize because I’m too busy looking at the ground trying to pick the least muddy spots) that the Flag is moving and our group has started walking. Oh, another thing I must insert is that this “parade” isn’t at all what we think of when we think of parades.  Each group only walks about the length of a football field (maybe a little smaller).  There is this big awning that all the VIPs sit under and the news crew is under and that is where you walk.  So when the girls saw that they were walking, they started running, realizing we were about to miss the main reason we came to Apia this weekend.   Well I’m still focusing on getting the least amount of mud on my pants as possible, when I suddenly look up and realize the girls are about100 yards in front of me splashing mud all around them.  So then I say “Are we running now?”  and decided to jump on the band wagon.  It was at that moment that I see our group is almost right under the awning.  We were splashing mud on all of the people we were running past and the people were saying “Hey! Watch out!”  It was pretty embarrassing. So they get there you know like 15 seconds before me and then I finally run into the group literally right in front of a camera man almost knocking him and a fellow PCV, who happens to be a 72 year old woman, down to the ground.   So that was probably the most embarrassing moment of my life.  Ever. One of the other PCVs said her host family called and said they saw us running. So that’s just fabulous. 

We walk for about 5 seconds, do this little clap/knee slap thing, and say “Manuia lau aso  fua” or “happy independence day.” Then walk for another 15 seconds and then we were done. It was  super short and a lot of work for 30 minutes in the spotlight! Haha. But I was glad we made it, even if it was very last minute.   It was a neat experience and really cool to see what our version of the 4^th of July is like in Samoa. 

That evening we were invited to go to the Opening Ceremony of the Pacific Partnership.   I can’t really tell you a lot about the Pacific Partnership except to say that it involves tons of NGOs, US Government programs, the US Navy, possibly the French Navy somehow, and they are working with Pacific islands to develop sustainable programs and humanitarian aid where needed.  There were 700 people on the ship that arrived yesterday, but there were already a lot of people and navy guys that came earlier to start working on developing hospital resources and putting water tanks in school.  It’s a pretty fabulous program. 

None of us realized how big of a deal the ceremony was until the American and French Ambassadors were there from New Zealand (don’t ask me why they live in NZ, I get confused. I think they are ambassadors to all South Pacific Islands, but it’s confusing), the governor from American Samoa, the Prime Minister of Samoa, and a lot of other really important looking people.  Not to mention the hundreds of Navy people in their really nice uniforms.  The ceremony itself was pretty short but it was really neat.  They did the raising of the flags and the navy band played the Samoan National Anthem as well as the USA’s.  They played Samoa’s first and I immediately thought of my kids and how they sing it with so much pride and gusto every Monday and Friday morning during our prayer meeting at school.  I thought of how cool it is that this song has meaning to me and that I can sing some of the words to it and really be able to understand them.  And then they played the US national anthem and I got a little teary eyed.  I realized how proud I really am of where I come from and what the US represents-freedom and bravery and so many good things.  I really had one of those I AM proud to be an American moments.  I am proud to be working for the US government in Samoa as  a Peace Corps Volunteer.  I’m proud of the US government for being involved internationally and working with other countries to help them meet their needs and develop more where needed through programs like the Peace Corps and the Pacific Partnership.  It really is excellent.  I just thought it’s so cool that I get to be a part of this.  It’s amazing to me the things I’m learning in Samoa and trying to do here and how much love I’m developing for this country and these people.   The Samoan Flag really does have a special place in my heart now.  And I feel overwhelmed with gratitude thinking how I get to have this experience of serving in Samoa, while working for the US government.   We really are working together.  The Ambassador quoted Oprah saying, “We all have friends that want to ride in the Limo with us.  What we need is friends that will take the bus with us when they limo breaks down.”  Words of wisdom from one of my personal Heroes.