Instead of going to work today, we were told to stand in matching clothing on the street to form a “guard of honor” for the cardinal who just passed away. All the Catholic school children were to dress up in their uniforms and stand as well. We went there about 10:30 in the morning and the “parade” (if you will) came by with the body of the cardinal at about noon. The cardinal was in a glass casket and after he passed by, we followed the procession to the cathedral. We got to the church and they had a service that included songs and prayers. After the first service, a second one occurred in which the students sang songs and led the church in prayer. I went home with the sisters and arrived home about 3 PM. It was a long day and hard to get through because I didn’t understand any of the service, as it was all in Samoan.
Tonight I went to the movie theater with two of the teachers (one of which is my roommate) and then we went to McDonalds (can you believe this is my first time going to the American restaurant?). We saw "Fun with Dick and Jane" and I ran into Ryan who was there with one of the brothers from St. Joseph's.
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Would you know if there is a way for me to receive your blog postings in my email?
You are alone in the middle of a crowd. And somebody tries to hit you up for money.
Afio mai i Samoa!
If you learn more Samoan you will likely discover that you are missing little by not understanding, but at least you will know that, and it will give you some peace. Work at the language every day.
If you give money, you will likely not get it back, but receive a basket of taro or a case of tinned fish or some other fa'alavelave item in return. It is very hard saying no but you were right to refuse. Wait for a few months until you discover who people are; and then regard the loans you give as gifts to very good friends.
Do what you must to do to get through this time. It is very hard on everyone. Your situation is more difficult than most. But the rewards of living within the culture can be great in the long run. It is just the difficult road of the many that you can take.
Good luck, and soifua.
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