Faga Village, Home of Our Samoan Families

We left for our homestays in Faga village on Saturday. All of us were curious, and some were a little nervous. After all, living with a family you have never met who does not speak your language is not a situation we often find ourselves in.

The CCSP group was welcomed into the village by the Matai (or chiefs). We took part in an Ava ceremony during which the village talking chiefs made speeches, and everyone was served Kava. Follow the ceremony pairs of students left with their host families. Many were situated in fales along the beach, close enough to share stories and snorkel with each other on occasion.

You might wonder what we spent our homestays doing? Well, here is a small, in no way all-inclusive list.

If you were Kelsey, Gellie (Messiah ’10) and Alyssa (Messiah ’12), you might have learned how to weave sitting mats from your homestay grandmother. You might have tried climbing a coconut tree Samoan-style while visiting your family’s plantation. Or you may have tried (with mixed success) to canoe in fishing canoes. You also might have spent a morning with your homestay sisters at school and been asked to help with homework.

If you were Alex and Caleb you might have been asked by your family to wear nice lavalavas, white shirts and ties to church on Sunday. If you were Caleb you might have discovered the incredible coral reef in the lagoon off shore. If you were Alex you might have tried, and succeeded in climbing a coconut tree. You might also have learned a speech in Samoan to give our last night in the village at the Fia Fia.

During our last few days in Faga the weather deteriorated. The beach fales that had been so nice and cool during much of the week started to seem like they might not hold together in the wind. We woke up on our last morning in Samoa to the news that the ferry between Savaii and Upolu might not be running due to the weather. Thankfully, after leaving in a hurry, waiting at the ferry terminal and praying that we would make it back in time to catch our flight, a ferry came. We piled onboard and spent the next 2 hours holding onto our bags and our lunches until we arrived at the Upolu wharf.

We made it back to Kaikoura two days later, thanks to the International Dateline. The next week was spent readjusting our stomachs to New Zealand food and processing our time in Samoa both through conversations, Mick Duncan’s second week of Sustainable Community Development and a celebration later the next week.