Boyfriends

Boyfriend
That’s all anyone wants to talk to me about. Boyfriends. Why haven’t you picked one yet? “Haven’t you looked around my village, the men there are the best,” I am told from many teachers. The teachers from my school make up 5 villages, and when I go to the kolisi, it makes up many more villages.
Every few weeks my Samoan parents sit me down and ask me about the boyfriend situation. When I begin to explain to them nothing is going on, they stary questioning why. Why aren’t the boys in the village good enough for me. What am I hiding? Can they pick out a suitable boy for me?
I have used many excuses the past many months. First I wanted to learn the culture and language, so that way I knew when boys were being cheeky. It was working for a bit, as some people started being off my case on the subject, but soon everyone thought I spoke the language well enough to have a Samoan friend. My newest excuse is that I didn’t want a “friend” that smokes, since they have yellow teeth, and smelly armpits. (I do not know how to say another kind of smell still.) There are many Samoan males that smoke so that narrows down the available men by quite a bit.
Everyone keeps pressuring me to find a man because I am way too old to not be married. Last week I visited Elisa, and we tried explaining about the power women in America feel being single. Being able to provide for themselves and see the world without difficulties, this is what we looked forward to in life. The people we were talking to didn’t understand how our views were different.
I’ve had nine months of this chatter, and I’m sure it will continue for the next year and a half. In a way it is a comedy, which is the best way to approach it.