Samoa circa 1976
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When I landed on the island of Tutuila, American Samoa in November of 1976, I had only a cursory knowledge of the language, life, and culture. I had read as much as I could prior to leaving LA, but I really had no idea of the culture shock I was in for upon my arrival. The climate hit me first: stifling humidity, sudden thunderstorms without any reduction in temperature. Constant heat endured during these “summer” months. The people were friendly, more so than I expected. However, there was a general malaise, and I wasn’t sure of the reason. I was a high energy 28 year old from the large metropolitan area of Los Angeles, and now I was living on a small island with 30,000 people. I didn’t know anyone except my immediate family (wife and daughter). We met people rather quickly, both Samoans and palagis (non Samoans). I realized rather quickly that anything I knew about Psychology or Counseling needed to be radically adapted to this population. I knew some words and phrases, but was nowhere near fluent in Samoan. There was one main road between the community college where I worked and the main town of Pago Pago. We didn’t have a car, so we rode the multi-colored aiga buses that were run by the families in the various villages, with 8-tracks of Samoan music playing along the way. I noticed some interesting things. For example, the men carried quarters in their ears because they didn’t have pockets in their wraparound lavalavas. There were often live chickens on the buses. I would be talking to people and noticed that they would raise their eyebrows during conversation. I learned that raised eyebrows meant “Yes.” Most of the people were heavy. The woman with the best legs on the island was named Sheree, but she was really a transvestite with the given name of Elmer Ripley (believe it or not that’s true). It took awhile, but before I knew it I was drinking beer with my buddies Pulu and Eneliko to the expression “Suck em up.” I got used to the food and the limited cuisine, and finally bought a used car to go into town. I observed that fa’a Samoa, or the Samoan way, was a culture dominated by family, religion, respect, and obedience. Life was much more about the group than the individual. I began to consider doing research for my doctoral dissertation on the effects of these cultural factors on academic and career success and advancement. I will discuss this evolution in future entries.
