Screamingtree

Yesterday was the sunniest day we’ve had to the prior eight days, i’m not sure when the wet season begins.. but I guess its started.

The rain, smells nice. Tt has this smell of boiling coconut juice and a umu.

The thick humidity of air welcomes the presence of a cool wash-down by the gods.

My cousin Ieremia, from Leulumoega, and his brother Metuli, played rugby in the rain, the driveway waterfall at home looked eerily beautiful.

My nana screamed out “Eh! Omai i kogoku ke’i ua pe se maka a se kamaikiki”, she’s like that though, the exaggeration and making mountains out of anthills is how she rolls.  My nana’s guide to survival is the over exposre to everything from the A.C to Candles and eating too much carrots. To which I am so thankful for, she makes me smile, I love her so much. Especially, the “too many carrots” part.

I went to see Matareva, I’ve found myself in the habit of mindless driving - its so much more beautiful (and expensive) to do my personal thinking time here in Samoa.  I have a Samoa Tourist map of Upolu stuck to my wall in my room, after studying the main roads, I’ve marked and conquered every street - except for the road to Fagaloa (the origins of Nafanua) which I’ll save until I get enough petrol money (p.s it costs $195 Tala to fill the tank of a Toyota Hilux Double Cab ute, the reduced petrol prices havent hit us yet).

Ok, to the point of Matareva. I actually feel like an idiot.

Matareva is in the district of Lefaga, the place where my dad was born and bred.

Its also the setting of the “famous” Return to Paradise.  I thought that I had watched the orignal (the one with Mila Jovovich), but I was wrong, I had watched a totally different movie.

Dvd Kingz in Vaitele Fou had the 1930 something dvd, I watched it with my nana.

Morgan Tane, the white guy, washed up to an island being run by another white guy (pastor), this island being Matareva, he’s the outsider who falls in love with the beautiful samoan local - Meiava - who has his baby girl, dies while giving birth, morgan can’t face the pain so he runs away, the baby grows up and then it gets emo-emotional.

To me, the love story sucked, Morgan Tane was a prick.

The real character, was Matareva.

I’m not one to take the movie literally, the hollywood take of Samoa and Matareva displays our people as slaves (under the white pastor) and continues to disregard the village system and how our people lived in those days.  (oh before I forget, the Samoan Actors in the movie have good english! better than some today, cool eh?)

For me, the opening scenes were beautiful - it shows the whole island of Upolu, and the oldskool layout of the “village”, Samoans living in Faleo’o’s, kids laughing, men working, women weaving baskets, fishing & church.  A distant world to modern day Samoa.

So, again.. eh! to the point.

I went to Matareva, paid my $10 tala to the village matai’s collecting the fee’s, sat in a faleo’o, it was empty.  Had my smoke & finished my vailima (yeah, I drink and drive.. shh - just like everyone else)

and then I left.

Sandi Thom was right “I was born too late, in a world that doesn’t care”

They have put a ban on the subwoofed - amped - nightclub on wheels we all once knew as the “bus”.

They’ve also taken away sound systems from taxi’s and most cars are now being fined if they are in possesion of a “loud” in-car sound system.  It doesn’t stop local retailers from heavily promoting the “NEW JBL SPEAKERS FROM THE U.S.A! GET IT, FOR YOUR CAR NOW AND SHOW OFF TO YOUR FAMILY FROM OVERSEAS” thats no joke, thats the ad in its entirety. *smiles*

I miss the noise, I agree that some of the buses were loud and my ear drums were so sore they started to cry, but in respect to the elderly who used to catch the bus with the volumes that we were accustomed to, its a welcome relief.

I still miss it though, Music. In all its variety, all in one place at both markets in Apia.

A sad loss.

*goes for a smoke, and moment of silence*

MWAH*

• Family. (and my family photo album)
• Jazz/Blues/Soul/Techno Music. (you feel me?) lol.
• Kebabs/Souvlaki’s/Felafels
• Laptop
• A working Camera
• Dvd’s (dammit!)
• Moisturising Cream (I know, kinda gay..but you need it)
• The wire that connects headphones to stereo’s
• My Planner (i finally have things to put in it) lol.

Driving from Leulumoega Tuai towards Vaitele, my nana and I picked up a hitch-hiker, after we stopped the car, we were asked politely if it was o.k for us to take him and his little cousin to Saleimoa for a fofo (massage), his little cousin, who looked like a normal smiley faced Samoan village kid had fallen of a Niu and his bones where broken in who-knows how many different areas of his fragile body.

As we drove, we were told that his parents are now in New Zealand and had come to Samoa to “leave” him, a love child of his cheating father.

My nana continued her “kalofae i si mea”, I could feel her heart breaking to see this boy in pain.

We pulled up in Saleimoa, and the man jumped out and offered to give us the little amount of money he had, 70 Cents (Sene).  To which we could never accept.

In this small country, whose issues of RHD change and Political banter of Assholes, there is the majority of our people still living the standard of life that 10 years had not eroded.

My heart broke as he lifted his cousin out of the car.  Frustrated and pissed off I continued to drive homeward bound.

A lady in red, no shoes, sun-blackened skin, walked casually into the middle of the road, I was about 20 metres in front of her, driving 60k’s an hour, as she walked towards us.   As I swerved, she looked directly at us, her face was half burnt and her skin had covered most of her eyelids.

“Pei a e ma’i” my nana mumbled as she grabbed a hold of her seat bealt.

To all the promotion of Health and Wellbeing in Samoa, for some unsurprising reason, not much has changed.  It may seem like an isolated issue, but to someone who had to wait for 5 hours for a simple blood test, I beg to differ.

Looking into a needle box that was being sanitised (boiled on a 3 burner stove) and waiting for my donation of blood, I have a right to say, our Health System sucks big time ass.

Its been nearly 3 weeks since I arrived, the mirage of a wonderful and idyllic polynesian getaway that is Samoa, has now turned into a total opposite.

Don’t get sick in Samoa, the health system probably can’t help you.

It was a shock to listen to radio today - Talofa FM had a discussion about Womens Rights, there were callers (mainly women) calling in to say that it’s not fair that it’s “ok for husbands to hit thier wives” I asked around, and sadly, its true.

I hate violence against women, and its so damn sad that this fucked up shit is still “allowed”.

I don’t have much more to say, I don’t know the law - even though some laws are overlooked.

To all my samoan sisters, mothers, grand-mothers.  Please stay strong.

Change will come.