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My sisters posing with a piece of bread.
Me and my sister who lives in America.
Family picture we took when Jen and Cammi came to visit.
Sharlene off to work!
My brother cooking in the kitchen.
family reunions
My family in Samoa had a family reunion, and I have only been to a handful of reunions in the past. A lot of the bigger family reunions here have people from overseas come. They rent busses and go resort hopping, it looks like a fun time, as I once hitched a ride with one of these busses, and have seen them a few times around. They get matching t-shirts and have a great time.
My family was going to have a much more low key reunion, and I was looking forward to it being like that. It was full of family from all over Samoa. The event was to take place one evening, two villages away from my house.
When everyone had arrived, we all gathered in one room, and one member of the family thanked everyone for being there, while giving a roll call of who was there and what they were doing in their life, while mentioning those that were unable to attend.
Next, the local pastor had arrived and did a mini service and prayer for the family. It was comical to me because he kept calling me by, “the girl who always runs”. He called me that several times before his wife corrected him. It makes me laugh because that might be the name several people in my area know me as.
Mea a’lofa (gifts) were then presented to the pastor and his wife for coming, while we had tea and pie. After they departed, there were a few more speeches, followed by one of my favorite parts of the day, feasting. After we ate, I hung out in the kitchen with the “servers” while they ate.
Meals at the reunion were done how they traditionally are done in the Samoan houses where the highest ranking members of the house eat first with the guests, and afterwards the children, those who cooked, and those who served the food eat.
We joked around a lot, and one person had a camera, so we took a lot of funny pictures. What I have noticed over the past year is Samoans don’t like being in a picture by themselves. They will choose to take a picture with a car, or pick up an object to have it be in the picture with them. (The opposite of what we normally do in America.) So pictures had gigantic bowls of food, forks, pots, tea kettle, and much, much more.
It was a good family reunion, and I was happy to be a part of it.
My family in Samoa had a family reunion, and I have only been to a handful of reunions in the past. A lot of the bigger family reunions here have people from overseas come. They rent busses and go resort hopping, it looks like a fun time, as I once hitched a ride with one of these busses, and have seen them a few times around. They get matching t-shirts and have a great time.
My family was going to have a much more low key reunion, and I was looking forward to it being like that. It was full of family from all over Samoa. The event was to take place one evening, two villages away from my house.
When everyone had arrived, we all gathered in one room, and one member of the family thanked everyone for being there, while giving a roll call of who was there and what they were doing in their life, while mentioning those that were unable to attend.
Next, the local pastor had arrived and did a mini service and prayer for the family. It was comical to me because he kept calling me by, “the girl who always runs”. He called me that several times before his wife corrected him. It makes me laugh because that might be the name several people in my area know me as.
Mea a’lofa (gifts) were then presented to the pastor and his wife for coming, while we had tea and pie. After they departed, there were a few more speeches, followed by one of my favorite parts of the day, feasting. After we ate, I hung out in the kitchen with the “servers” while they ate.
Meals at the reunion were done how they traditionally are done in the Samoan houses where the highest ranking members of the house eat first with the guests, and afterwards the children, those who cooked, and those who served the food eat.
We joked around a lot, and one person had a camera, so we took a lot of funny pictures. What I have noticed over the past year is Samoans don’t like being in a picture by themselves. They will choose to take a picture with a car, or pick up an object to have it be in the picture with them. (The opposite of what we normally do in America.) So pictures had gigantic bowls of food, forks, pots, tea kettle, and much, much more.
It was a good family reunion, and I was happy to be a part of it.
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