My Family

What does family mean to you? Most people would say that family means everything to them. Well I would agree but it's so much more than just everything. Family in my culture includes little things like sharing food, music, stories, fellowship, prayers, dances, art, and traditions, to putting everyone else before ourselves whether they are family or not, making sure that there is always a sense of community or family within the area we live in, and having God be the center of everything we do. Religion plays a huge role in our culture and everything we live to do evolves around the practices of Christianity. There are a lot of forms of Christianity but when it comes down to the root, we all believe in one God and we all view each other as one under Him. Some common practices in the islands include going to church every Sunday no matter what, praying after a certain time in the evenings after a big bell is rang within a village, and always honoring our pastors by providing them with food after the church service. These are common practices in the islands that has been a tradition for a while and it is still being practiced until this day.
It's almost as if everyone is related because we treat each other like family and that's exactly what I miss most about living there. You mattered to each family as if you were their own. Whether it be joining in on a jam session, or being involved in a prayer loop, or simply playing volleyball outside in the front yard like most kids do for fun. Family meant all of this plus more. One place where anyone would feel at home no matter what the circumstance is, is the church. Yes it's the same here in America but coming from the islands, it's different in most cases. But I think what makes it so different is that in the islands, it is much more smaller and you know practically everyone living around you. We all go to the same restaurants, markets, beaches, movie theaters, etc. And I think that is what also brings us all together outside of our homes and also our church.

This is an image of the beach I would go to with my siblings, cousins, and friends to swim on a daily basis. Its called Utulei beach. The coconut huts are for meetings, hanging out, or for prayer.

Hyperlinks

http://www.amsamoatourism.com/culture.htm

http://www.safaritheglobe.com/culture_samoa.aspx  

Differences in Discipline

In America, a parent or teacher's way of discipline is to have a child stand in the corner which is what they call time-out, or take something away from them that they love to play with or simply just lecture them and tell them to go to their room and stay there. Well it is very much different from where I grew up at and is very common til this day. I have a story that I would never forget because it was the first time it's ever happened to me as an older child. Second grade wasn't that old but I remember it clearly because it was embarrasssing and painful. One day, I was sitting and playing with a friend using pencils and I happened to toss one into the air and came down landing on my friend's head. The teacher witnesssed what happened and didn't mention a thing about it until class was over. My friend was completely fine and said that it didn't hurt at all. So once the bell rang, the teacher called out my name and told me to stay behind with my friend. I was confused as to why she had us stay after the bell but we waited til the room was cleared out. Once everyone was gone, she told us that we both had detention because we weren't doing classwork and instead played with pencils. But that was not only it. As soon as she was done, she looked to me with anger in her eyes and told me to hold still. She put one had on my cheek and used her other hand to slap me as hard and as fast as she could before I even blinked. I wasn't expecting this at all from her because I've never seen her do it to anyone and no teacher has ever done it to me. Tears immediately ran down my face as I grabbed my cheek in surprise and confusion. She stared at me and asked me angrily if I knew why she did that. I looked at her afraid that she would do it again and said no. She yelled at me and told me to never throw a pencil into the air ever again because it could've landed on my friends eyes and not her head. We looked at each other and went to sit down at our desks to spend the rest of our detention time in silence. I've always heard stories from my older brothers about kids getting hit or beat by their teachers during a class for misbehaving but I've never seen it nor have it happen to me. I was always a quiet student and behaved during class but I didn't realize how much damage a pencil coud've done if it were to land in her eye. From then on, I never once tossed a pencil into the air and I can say that I did learn my lesson. Discipline here in America is very different to discipline in Samoa as you can see and they both have their pros and cons. Although pain was hard to take, speaking for me and my older brothers, I thought it was well worth it because we've learned so much from it. Things such as respecting our elders no matter what, whether they are right or wrong, never talking back to our parents, and knowing what to do and what to say at the right time. From living here for the past years, kids talk back to their parents all the time or even curse at them and that is something that a kid would never get away with in Samoa. It all comes down to respecting your elders no matter what the situation is.

Hyperlinks

http://www.empoweringparents.com/Teenagers-Talking-Back-How-to-Manage-It-Effectively.php#

http://www.thetwincoach.com/2011/08/discipline-is-not-same-as-punishment.html

A most common question I hear almost everyday outside of my student life is, "Where are you from?". Usually I would say what city I grew up in, but never really mention where I was born and raised. Well to answer that question truthfully, I was born and raised on the island of Tutuila, American Samoa. People are always shocked when they hear this answer because they "never expected it" or "I don't look like I'm from the islands" or simply because "my English is normal compared to those who have just come from the islands". Well all of these assumptions are clearly wrong and I am glad to say that I am proud of where I came from and how I've grown up to be the person I am today. Growing up, I felt more free than anything and anyone. My siblings and I would spend majority of our days outside whether it was sunny or rainy. The best days were the rainy ones because the water was very warm and we never got sick from running around getting wet. Whereas in America, kids would get sick right away if they spent time outside being cold and wet. But that wasn't the only fun part about growing up on this rock. Some things I loved about living there were the traditional events we attended almost every weekend or special holidays, the boat races right in front of the hill we lived on, and the huge feasts we would always prepare for every Sunday morning. It was a tradition to wake up at 4 am on a Sunday morning to cook for a big feast each of our families would have later on that day after church. And being the oldest of the girls, I was the one to take a plate of food to our neighbors and they too will bring us a plate in return as a sign of respect. These little chores that I took part in at a very young age has taught me much more than just being a kid. In our culture, respect plays a huge role in our everyday lives and if there was ever an issue, there would always be a consequence. A huge and most common example is when walking in front of people who are sitting down. You either have to go around or simply walk in front but always say, "tulou", which means "excuse me". It is considered absolutely disrespectful if this isn't done. I know that its very different here in America and it wouldn't be that big of a deal but these little manners I brought with me from the islands has helped me come along way.

Hyperlinks

http://ameriquinnsamoa.blogspot.com/

http://meganelizabeth11.blogspot.com/