So I met this palagi traveler the other day, and in our conversation he said he was going to go hike to this certain monument/thing in the bush here in Savaii that has long 'not' been operating as a tourist site for some time now. In an effort to just prewarn him I told him ins and outs of this- there is no proper access at the moment, it is likely to be overgrown and you can not find it without a guide. Point being...find a guide. Oga sau ai lea ma laga fiapoko ma faimai..e le maga'omia e gaia se guide...ogaia o se kama "hunt i le bush" i giusila bla bla bla. Strike 1. When a local gives you advice about something in the bush/environment etc...you really should listen. After a bit of to and fro-ing. Sau fo'i ma leisi aga fia'poko..."dont the samoans know of how special this place/thing is bla bla. Why isn't there a tar sealed road (with golde rails)leading right up to it....they should do this and this and this" iiii..sa'o...laga ga'o oe lava le kagaka muamua ua intrigued i legei mea. Leai faamolemole, matou te iloa uma lava le significance o legei mea i le makou atunuu faamolemole. Putting a path and rails and parking and a loo etc that you speak of is not as easy at it seems. Not to mention lets just trash right round this sacred place to make it more about pleasing tourists than keeping the wonder that it is left as untouched as possible. NEWAYS
So, the next day, alu si kama i le bush ma laga fagu vai, insect spray ma laga samoa jasons guide...kau leiloa ma koeaikiki a oki i le bush. Oga ma koe meet lea after. WTF. Did you know that there is practically no raod to that thing?? Eventually I had too find a local villager...and when we got there I couldnt even see it!! ( ma legei eyebrows ua maualuga i luga le lagi ma frown pei ua kaufaavalea gaia e seisi) ...yes Indiana Jones...I did tell you so.
Oga koe fa'aauau lea le ma conversation faimai..."you are not Samoan huh?"....hum..yes I am "no u can't be!!!.....hum ok apparently I don't know what I am....hmmmmm...because...apparently..my Igilisi is too good. Ia ...strike 2. Sorry a sole...but some of us speak good english too mate...e le gao kagaka Mai England e Iloa speak English. E ke Iloa foi speak Maori...???
Anyways. The hubby and kids have been away overseas attending a wedding that unfortunately I had
to remain home from, and hold the fort. It has been a little stressful but am so glad to be on the last
stretch ( last week) ...o le mea ouke fiu ai. As much as I do enjoy running our place and trying to give people good holidays...e iai lava isi kagaka e ke fiu ai. Someone wise said...you cant please everyone and thats the truth. The liner that bites me is what a mentor said to me about the type of business we run. He said...look you need to put yourself out there...you are selling yourself..not just a place a bed a room a tour a meal...put your touch your story your point of difference...be brave and wear it...
Which is like the complete opposite of me as I am rather a hermit and hate 'putting myself out there' I guess the fear is if you come across someone that is not impressed and you are out there...how do you not take dissappointment personally ??
So ga iai le kusi ga aumai se kagaka ga gofo i sheraton...uma lea koe sau gofo ia makou , i makou poku piko kaugofie lava ..( ie kai kukusa ma le kau e ke ai iai i macdonalds lol).ae fai mai laga tala...after having come from (sheraton) I was not impressed with your place....bla bla bla....ka fia fai
iai...uhm...like of course. gae ua e sau compare le sevae kosokoso ma le sevae high heel Prada....e
makua ese ese mamaoooooo lava...sa kakau ga e alu e faakai kai seisi place kukusa ma lou prada ga ga e fiafia Iai i upolu...ma fai gi ou conclusions...eh se kailo ia se.
Its hard not to take things personally when you are constantly trying and you think you are giving your best. But peoples expectations vary so much I guess and that is something I am trying to learn not to take personally.:)
...ANYWAYS.
In another world where I perform a different Job...something I have learnt about our people is that the power of GOSSIP is immense here...i guess without a written language - word of mouth is everything. even more important then what a professional might have to say which is freaken frustrating...
For Example-Today started with my first headache inducing patient) a man...who came in with his wife...to spend 30minutes explaining how his whole life, he had this thing - which did not debilitate him,..but he thought hed better come check out..that hed seen all the fofos in the world for..but had not cured....though he was actually absolutely fine..he could plant his taro, carry his popo..go to church..go to town..in actual fact there was nothing to worry about because he was as fit as a fiddle....but he just thought hed double check (they story went round like that for a while - and as you can see...15 minutes into it and I still dont know WTF the actual complaint is) and in the usual Im the king of the village manner..me trying to interject to ask for a symptom, was quickly spoken over with further explanations of failed cures. In the end. A swollen testicle. Actually, a chronically on/.off swollen testicle that got bigger sometimes and smaller other times...long story short...a thing called a hydrocele (which is where a man accumulates fluid in his testicle and is NOT the result of an infection) ...anyways...Going on to trying to explain the cause (ie..its just poor plumbing and sorry mate..you were probably born with it) was interjected many times with - I dont need an operation but You must give me that "fualaa'au" for fula-polos that everyone takes. I just need the tablets doc. So using diagrams I tried to explain how this was not curable with any sort of fualaaus but is a result of plumbing mishaps which eventually if gets worse (ie swelling gets worse) you need repaired surgically...but still...furrowed eyebrows and more "why dont you want to give me the fualaau fula polos that everyone else takes....who the F* is everyone ??? I tried to explain other things that can cause fula polos like STDs might be amenable to antibiotic fualaaus but this is not a general 'for all fula polos" just for pus discharging penus'es, and his non discharging polos were perfectly fine...that he may not need an operation even, if it never got much bigger, but if it did- that would be what needed to be done. Ends with....so you're saying.....you're not gonna give me the fualaau polos that people in the village said I need?...far the farg out man...who are these people in the village that seem to know everything and would they be willing to stand in a court of law if their treatments failed???I want to swipe someone...anyways...thankyou "word of mouth" in the village..for making my job more about persuasion and not about fact, and for making my job ever so difficult. In the end I had to talk to the wife....if it gets bigger and painful..please take him to the surgical clinic. Thanks. Uma loa iiga.
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Wednesday, April 01, 2015
Savaii Living
I realise that a long time ago, my blogs had a different tone to them. At the beginning, they were a place for me to tell my stories. My happy my sad my remarkable. What did,what became, what happened and what was great about life. It was a place I could excercise writing (not that I think I am anywhere near being a 'good' writer- punctuation much??!) but it was more of a . revelations and share corner. Looking back at the last year or few years, I realise they have become more a rant and rave. I guess this sort of summarises my life lately. Getting older, taking on more roles, stretching myself because of where I am and how life just is at the moment has meant that I have had few places to steam and vent. Dont get me wrong my husband is a dear, but dare I say even hes probably had enough of my oestrogen ramblings and at times I can even see this written on his face when Im having my exclamation mark moment of the day.....so Ive kind of taken the hint and wound things down as I think even he has alot on his plate and I sure dont hear him ranting on to me ..(though that may very well just be a 'guy' thing)
Anyways, I feel like Ive become a bit of a b*tch and moan about my life-er and feel the need now to share...my more appreciated moments.
In Savaii, there are few people that I "automatically" get along with. Ive always been a tad shy (though some of my friends may disagree) but I really felt I needed to 'suss' people out first before allowing them in. Counting my immediate family out. There are few young women of my age with a similar background and upbrining and stories to share and sympathise and understand with, that I can hang with and just be me. For a while this meant that I felt pretty friend-less on this island and really cherished time to go to Apia and just hang 'with my people' or friends that had known me for yonks and just got right along with. No judgement, no awkwardness over my weird moments or thoughts. However, Life can not go on forever in that little circle of insecurities and lack of people to hang and share thoughts and laugh with. And so, life has forced me , a tad bit of a hermit, to get to know people of all walks of life...and now, the hubby and I have a close circle of friends from quite vastly different backgrounds. The Age range of my regular people now differs by 20-30yrs....and yes, I am sort of almost the youngest!haha! But, what I have realised is...similarities and differences aside, at the end of the day...its amazing how despite our big differences, these people are really an awesome group of friends. Ive found that even the oldest of the lot, have little kids in them. Youngsters at heart that crack dirty jokes and pull pranks and from time to time get so drunk they are dancing on tables. They are old enough to really be a source of awesome advice and the fact that we all live on this big island in the middle of nowhere means that we are sympathetic to each others hardships as that in itself is a similarity. I have found now that with age , or should I say "growing up" I have become more tolerant and less judgmental of people...and feel that this is the same way I am treated and received by people here....its like with life experience you learn to just let the shit slide and live life for what its worth , and that is by the relationships you make with those around you and the experiences you are privileged to enjoy. I am truly grateful for the opportunity in my life that has allowed me to do this :)
Earlier today , Id come across a post of a friend of a friends' who was telling a story about a life growing up on her own without family around. It was pretty remarkable as she was really a testament of hard work and success and has done quite well. But this made me think of how much we take our families for granted here. Ive almost never (apart from a little when I went to school in NZ) felt like I was alone. Family, my immediate and extended have always been a huge part of my life. Part of my upbringing, my learning my influence and opinions were all formed on the back of family. This year, a very close part of my family piped up that they may 'change' their current life situation which may mean they move a little further away Im not sure, but this had a bit of effect on me. It was weird because I am supposedly an adult (!) haha...but I immediately felt a little tug at my heart like the part of this person was moving away from me and thats I feeling Ive never had to think of before. It has always been that, Nanas there and mums there, and that aunty and uncle are always there. The kids can hang out at that house and that house and go to their place on the weekend. I feel alittle sad now with this future change as you know how there are objects in your life that have sentimental value? well the regularity and normality of my family being in abundance around me is something close to my heart that I truly appreciate and am sure I dont tell people enough. I remember at medcshool doing a tutorial on death and dying and each student had to share with the group their experience of someone close to them dying. So many of my classmates stood and said their grandparent/s had died 'but they didnt really know them' because they lived in a different city (still in NZ) I was shock horrified by this....I had to share- oh my grandfather died and it was the end of the world as he was the big kahuna that kept the family together and ran it like a well oiled engine, his funeral lasted days and we all cried just as many and I had a seat at the top of his coffin my job was to fan him while everyone came to pay their respects and it was so sad- when he died a little part of me died too...I was 5. There were many more experiences to share but my point was, each lost person to me was huge...and it was really weird that these people did not have similar experiences.
Anyways, often when I am seeing a patient at the busy hot sticky ED of the hospital, if its an old lady, she will almost always sit there and fan me. yes, the sick old patient will always fan me. This is a part of Savaii living (or Samoa) that I love,....our pure and unawkward ability to just share a little love for that person sitting across from you. It always touches me but I do hope doesnt change.
So, 3 things about my current life that just make it a little bit awesome. Despite my rants and raves...you know I love it secretly.
Happy Easter everyone!
Anyways, I feel like Ive become a bit of a b*tch and moan about my life-er and feel the need now to share...my more appreciated moments.
In Savaii, there are few people that I "automatically" get along with. Ive always been a tad shy (though some of my friends may disagree) but I really felt I needed to 'suss' people out first before allowing them in. Counting my immediate family out. There are few young women of my age with a similar background and upbrining and stories to share and sympathise and understand with, that I can hang with and just be me. For a while this meant that I felt pretty friend-less on this island and really cherished time to go to Apia and just hang 'with my people' or friends that had known me for yonks and just got right along with. No judgement, no awkwardness over my weird moments or thoughts. However, Life can not go on forever in that little circle of insecurities and lack of people to hang and share thoughts and laugh with. And so, life has forced me , a tad bit of a hermit, to get to know people of all walks of life...and now, the hubby and I have a close circle of friends from quite vastly different backgrounds. The Age range of my regular people now differs by 20-30yrs....and yes, I am sort of almost the youngest!haha! But, what I have realised is...similarities and differences aside, at the end of the day...its amazing how despite our big differences, these people are really an awesome group of friends. Ive found that even the oldest of the lot, have little kids in them. Youngsters at heart that crack dirty jokes and pull pranks and from time to time get so drunk they are dancing on tables. They are old enough to really be a source of awesome advice and the fact that we all live on this big island in the middle of nowhere means that we are sympathetic to each others hardships as that in itself is a similarity. I have found now that with age , or should I say "growing up" I have become more tolerant and less judgmental of people...and feel that this is the same way I am treated and received by people here....its like with life experience you learn to just let the shit slide and live life for what its worth , and that is by the relationships you make with those around you and the experiences you are privileged to enjoy. I am truly grateful for the opportunity in my life that has allowed me to do this :)
Earlier today , Id come across a post of a friend of a friends' who was telling a story about a life growing up on her own without family around. It was pretty remarkable as she was really a testament of hard work and success and has done quite well. But this made me think of how much we take our families for granted here. Ive almost never (apart from a little when I went to school in NZ) felt like I was alone. Family, my immediate and extended have always been a huge part of my life. Part of my upbringing, my learning my influence and opinions were all formed on the back of family. This year, a very close part of my family piped up that they may 'change' their current life situation which may mean they move a little further away Im not sure, but this had a bit of effect on me. It was weird because I am supposedly an adult (!) haha...but I immediately felt a little tug at my heart like the part of this person was moving away from me and thats I feeling Ive never had to think of before. It has always been that, Nanas there and mums there, and that aunty and uncle are always there. The kids can hang out at that house and that house and go to their place on the weekend. I feel alittle sad now with this future change as you know how there are objects in your life that have sentimental value? well the regularity and normality of my family being in abundance around me is something close to my heart that I truly appreciate and am sure I dont tell people enough. I remember at medcshool doing a tutorial on death and dying and each student had to share with the group their experience of someone close to them dying. So many of my classmates stood and said their grandparent/s had died 'but they didnt really know them' because they lived in a different city (still in NZ) I was shock horrified by this....I had to share- oh my grandfather died and it was the end of the world as he was the big kahuna that kept the family together and ran it like a well oiled engine, his funeral lasted days and we all cried just as many and I had a seat at the top of his coffin my job was to fan him while everyone came to pay their respects and it was so sad- when he died a little part of me died too...I was 5. There were many more experiences to share but my point was, each lost person to me was huge...and it was really weird that these people did not have similar experiences.
Anyways, often when I am seeing a patient at the busy hot sticky ED of the hospital, if its an old lady, she will almost always sit there and fan me. yes, the sick old patient will always fan me. This is a part of Savaii living (or Samoa) that I love,....our pure and unawkward ability to just share a little love for that person sitting across from you. It always touches me but I do hope doesnt change.
So, 3 things about my current life that just make it a little bit awesome. Despite my rants and raves...you know I love it secretly.
Happy Easter everyone!
Wednesday, March 04, 2015
This is your brain...overheated!!
I am giving myself exactly 15 minutes to blog....basically because I need it:) lately, my life has felt like a chaotic ball of buzzing wires. I feel like I am just all over the place. Whats amazing is that I still get people asking "how do you do it" meanwhile...I feel like I am not doing 'it' or 'anything' really......" It"- has got to be the most palafu, chaotic, disorganised farce of a something, resembling a life that is mines....and I couldnt possibly recommend that anyone ever look at me to find any sort of answers. Infact, I am almost positive that when you look at me better under a miscroscope, you will see that I am just a walking mass of a trillion different bacteria..or whatever that represents,.....you get my drift.
Someone put this up on their facebook post
And I just loved it. Right there, he said it. Womens brains are just a ball of wires all firing off at the same time, meanwhile...men have boxes. I WANT BOXES TOO DAMMIT> Boxes sound organised, clean, time adjusted....thats what I want, but I feel like no matter how much I try or how good intentions I may have, my desk will always end up with some of my patients things, some invoices for the hotel..something the accountant is chasing up from 5 yrs ago...my mums crazy texts to "please ring me when you have time"s...like 100 postix of reminders to do things like pick up kids, drop off car, get this fixed, pay rent, go to hospital ...and radi radi ra....and at the end of the day I feel like I havent done half of it all. BUGGER.
Dont ask me how I do it coz honestly, I dont. It might look like I do...or maybe Im just in a "position" to do lots of sh*t...but what needs doing and what gets done is a crazy tornado of momentum but not much aim and achievement I feel.
Which brings me back to men and women. I loved that guys little lecture (above) I really do...but what I find hard is....getting men to listen to that sort of stuff. Ive read a book with similar explanations and teachings and both I found really enlightening. But trying to repeat that to the hubby just doesnt come out with the same flare and then ends up sounding dumb and like a bunch of rant rant radi ra...typical women over-anylysing everything crap..... to which my husband does not respond with the same excitement over revelations as I did. CRAP.
So anyways, we are going on a 4 day break next week and I cant wait. I just want to go and switch OFF> Sure I dread leaving my kids and am worried about the businesses left behind...but I really need to go recharge somewhere...the hubby has semibugged me to "look stuff up to do" while we are on break...but to be honest...If I just sat on a chair within close proximity to food drink and a bathroom and just slept and read a book....that would be enough. Like I have read a book other then a bloomin text book for the last 10 yrs...nope , havent . Im sure he could sleep the entire 4 days as well with the rate he is always needing sleep so that might be the summary of what happened on our 4 day getaway right thur!!lol! looking forward to it ANYWAYS!!
Someone put this up on their facebook post
And I just loved it. Right there, he said it. Womens brains are just a ball of wires all firing off at the same time, meanwhile...men have boxes. I WANT BOXES TOO DAMMIT> Boxes sound organised, clean, time adjusted....thats what I want, but I feel like no matter how much I try or how good intentions I may have, my desk will always end up with some of my patients things, some invoices for the hotel..something the accountant is chasing up from 5 yrs ago...my mums crazy texts to "please ring me when you have time"s...like 100 postix of reminders to do things like pick up kids, drop off car, get this fixed, pay rent, go to hospital ...and radi radi ra....and at the end of the day I feel like I havent done half of it all. BUGGER.
Dont ask me how I do it coz honestly, I dont. It might look like I do...or maybe Im just in a "position" to do lots of sh*t...but what needs doing and what gets done is a crazy tornado of momentum but not much aim and achievement I feel.
Which brings me back to men and women. I loved that guys little lecture (above) I really do...but what I find hard is....getting men to listen to that sort of stuff. Ive read a book with similar explanations and teachings and both I found really enlightening. But trying to repeat that to the hubby just doesnt come out with the same flare and then ends up sounding dumb and like a bunch of rant rant radi ra...typical women over-anylysing everything crap..... to which my husband does not respond with the same excitement over revelations as I did. CRAP.
So anyways, we are going on a 4 day break next week and I cant wait. I just want to go and switch OFF> Sure I dread leaving my kids and am worried about the businesses left behind...but I really need to go recharge somewhere...the hubby has semibugged me to "look stuff up to do" while we are on break...but to be honest...If I just sat on a chair within close proximity to food drink and a bathroom and just slept and read a book....that would be enough. Like I have read a book other then a bloomin text book for the last 10 yrs...nope , havent . Im sure he could sleep the entire 4 days as well with the rate he is always needing sleep so that might be the summary of what happened on our 4 day getaway right thur!!lol! looking forward to it ANYWAYS!!
Wednesday, November 05, 2014
1st of November
Its that time of the year again. The first of November arrived and passed and suddenly, there is a whirlwind of anxiety?? in the air. Before you know it...Christmas is here. New years is here and then another year is here OMG. On the 1st of November, the things that always run through my mind are
1) Cyclone season.
This year, cyclone season (or the 1st of November) actually started off (in Savaii anyways) with wind and gusts and torrential rain. To put it ironically, I was actually sh$%*ing my pants that a cyclone was actually going to hit. What the!! So I dont like that. I dont like living a boat ride away from my parents and family..ie a boat that could stop sailing, the port could get damaged the reef could get battered and even a sailing ship could not leave!!OMG..those are all the thoughts in my head. PLease let all the digicel posts stay up so we can keep in touch by phone with everyone!!
2) Insurance
Why the hell did we not just go on and get the darned insurance (bar the too expensive too complicated excuses ) ....now I really should just go and get it. And then get a loan too as well.
3) Flying. I might have to go to NZ for a short trip and as much as that is woop di doo- get some shopping- type thrill, I would hate to fly through bad weather. On the news today, Air NZ pilot suffers an aneurysm moments after landing in Auckland....OMG. That and the weather is enough to put me off. Eh se kao ia se. Pala'ai kele.
4) Christmas.
Every year we make the family oriented decision to close our business down for Christmas, both to give all our staff the priveledge of this family oriented holiday and to Celebrate Christmas itself, and because its our Daughters birthday on the 23rd. And then we never really get around to planning something great. We might have a BBQ here..a dinner there...but sometimes we are left thinking...well we could have actually done that and kept our business open. Last year we went to a beach resort on the other side of Upolu. And it was shit. To put it bluntly. Big white elephant of a resort with crap service and crap food...is just what people who run a hotel/bar and restaurant DONT want to be faced with on their one break a year. Thanks much Samoa Hide..........resort. Lets just leave it there shall we. Now , scratching my head over ideas of something fun/great/fantastic to do that I wont get an earful for the rest of the year from my hubby for!
5) New years resolutions?
nah..I dont actually think about that. What is the use of making up a resolution which is basically something you've wanted already all along and just not had the will power to do/achieve/go out and get- what difference does announcing it on the 1st of Jan actually do to motivate you?? I would rather watch Dr Phil or listen to TOny Robinson and try to get an inch more motivated then I am now..realistically might do better then me saying this silently in my head (lose weight this year bla bla)
6) Getting Old.
Well, This season doesnt make me feel like I am getting old but after talking about the above 5.. I do suddenly realise that these cycles happen every year and I am definitely not getting any younger. Some days, I worry about what the heck I am doing with my life or we are doing with our lives. When did this become part of our future plan? But then I look at my father in law. The English man from England, who many centuries ago actually caught a ship to the southern hemisphere met his wife and moved to Samoa. And now has been here yonks. Had dedicated his whole life to this island living, and in Savaii too. And I think well here is a person who gave up everything for them. His wife, their future, their land, their place in the village the aiga. And I wonder whether I am doing that or whether I am being selfish thinking about me all the time?
On a side note..this morning I watched while a over-testosteroned male was yelling at one of our aigas staff members, and my father in law stepped in to calm things down and explain the situation. Then this dickhead of a local man got louder and even almost got out of his car pe fia fusu ea while my father in law was being his quiet pleasant old self speaking slowly and clearing about what had happened(as it was, it was just a small error with change which had been corrected) and I had to hold myself back from geting involved- just about walked over to bring out the mufasa in me. (called the men in my family instead to "come to the shop now" and be around..ie this old man is like 50kg and the demented guy is like 200kg !) I dont know what it is but sometimes, I think when locals have a palagi intervene on something, they get over inflatted egos and then go fluffing their feathers and flexing their muscles...calm the dick down mate. Ke vaai aku a o le palagi paee e le kaikai lava ga fia fusu ma oe..ae fia faa-aliali a lou temper/power ki'o. Koeaikiki ou aluaku kui oe se antipsychotic.
Anyways...theres my rant for the day.
ciao
1) Cyclone season.
This year, cyclone season (or the 1st of November) actually started off (in Savaii anyways) with wind and gusts and torrential rain. To put it ironically, I was actually sh$%*ing my pants that a cyclone was actually going to hit. What the!! So I dont like that. I dont like living a boat ride away from my parents and family..ie a boat that could stop sailing, the port could get damaged the reef could get battered and even a sailing ship could not leave!!OMG..those are all the thoughts in my head. PLease let all the digicel posts stay up so we can keep in touch by phone with everyone!!
2) Insurance
Why the hell did we not just go on and get the darned insurance (bar the too expensive too complicated excuses ) ....now I really should just go and get it. And then get a loan too as well.
3) Flying. I might have to go to NZ for a short trip and as much as that is woop di doo- get some shopping- type thrill, I would hate to fly through bad weather. On the news today, Air NZ pilot suffers an aneurysm moments after landing in Auckland....OMG. That and the weather is enough to put me off. Eh se kao ia se. Pala'ai kele.
4) Christmas.
Every year we make the family oriented decision to close our business down for Christmas, both to give all our staff the priveledge of this family oriented holiday and to Celebrate Christmas itself, and because its our Daughters birthday on the 23rd. And then we never really get around to planning something great. We might have a BBQ here..a dinner there...but sometimes we are left thinking...well we could have actually done that and kept our business open. Last year we went to a beach resort on the other side of Upolu. And it was shit. To put it bluntly. Big white elephant of a resort with crap service and crap food...is just what people who run a hotel/bar and restaurant DONT want to be faced with on their one break a year. Thanks much Samoa Hide..........resort. Lets just leave it there shall we. Now , scratching my head over ideas of something fun/great/fantastic to do that I wont get an earful for the rest of the year from my hubby for!
5) New years resolutions?
nah..I dont actually think about that. What is the use of making up a resolution which is basically something you've wanted already all along and just not had the will power to do/achieve/go out and get- what difference does announcing it on the 1st of Jan actually do to motivate you?? I would rather watch Dr Phil or listen to TOny Robinson and try to get an inch more motivated then I am now..realistically might do better then me saying this silently in my head (lose weight this year bla bla)
6) Getting Old.
Well, This season doesnt make me feel like I am getting old but after talking about the above 5.. I do suddenly realise that these cycles happen every year and I am definitely not getting any younger. Some days, I worry about what the heck I am doing with my life or we are doing with our lives. When did this become part of our future plan? But then I look at my father in law. The English man from England, who many centuries ago actually caught a ship to the southern hemisphere met his wife and moved to Samoa. And now has been here yonks. Had dedicated his whole life to this island living, and in Savaii too. And I think well here is a person who gave up everything for them. His wife, their future, their land, their place in the village the aiga. And I wonder whether I am doing that or whether I am being selfish thinking about me all the time?
On a side note..this morning I watched while a over-testosteroned male was yelling at one of our aigas staff members, and my father in law stepped in to calm things down and explain the situation. Then this dickhead of a local man got louder and even almost got out of his car pe fia fusu ea while my father in law was being his quiet pleasant old self speaking slowly and clearing about what had happened(as it was, it was just a small error with change which had been corrected) and I had to hold myself back from geting involved- just about walked over to bring out the mufasa in me. (called the men in my family instead to "come to the shop now" and be around..ie this old man is like 50kg and the demented guy is like 200kg !) I dont know what it is but sometimes, I think when locals have a palagi intervene on something, they get over inflatted egos and then go fluffing their feathers and flexing their muscles...calm the dick down mate. Ke vaai aku a o le palagi paee e le kaikai lava ga fia fusu ma oe..ae fia faa-aliali a lou temper/power ki'o. Koeaikiki ou aluaku kui oe se antipsychotic.
Anyways...theres my rant for the day.
ciao
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