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