During our first week of the field season, we started on Saturday by meeting our housemates. The giant spider on the rim of the toilet wasn't nearly as startling as the giant centipede among the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink. I didn't have my glasses on when I got up to make coffee and thought it was an eel at first. Why an eel in the sink? I had no idea what it was and hadn't seen the size of the centipedes yet, but I ultimately recognized it as one of the main motifs in the pe'a tatau I'm studying!

Sunday is the Lord's day in Samoa, and everything is closed for the most part. Apia is a city, so it's a bit different there, but there are many villages in Samoa where even driving through on Sunday would be unwelcome because of the requirement to rest and attend to village and church duties. We took the opportunity to drive around Upolu a bit so Grant could see the sites. We stopped by the waterfall off the Cross-Island, then cruised around the east end of the island, noting the burning of plant trash taking place in every village around 5. We capped the day with a nice meal of something Grant made from this and that. It was nice to have multiple cooks in the apartment for the field season.

​We met a new collaborator during the week. Through my visit back in March, arrangements had been made for Leota Sanele to be our research assistant, interpreter, and cultural liaison. Leota is a tulafale (talking chief) from Savai'i, as well as a linguist in the Centre for Samoan Studies at NUS. In fact, Leota is his chief title, which becomes one's first name upon initiation. Leota is talking chief for the Centre for Samoan Studies and NUS as well, as we discover in a few weeks. More about him later, but the match for this project could not have been better. Together with Leota and Bernie, we revised the freelisting protocol for Samoa and made plans for data collection. Bernie would collect data on campus, Leota would collect data in Savai'i, Grant and I would travel around Upolu and recruit people, and Josh Naseri and the Olaga Project would collect data in Tutuila. 

Once we had the protocol set and paperwork revised (consent document in English and Samoan, data collection sheet in both languages), Grant Pethel (UA undergraduate research assistant) and I went around Apia looking for people to participate in the first step in the project. I began this last summer in Hawaii, when we couldn't travel to Samoa because of COVID-19. The objective was to ask people to write down all the terms that come to mind when thinking of a typical Samoan. We do this among our target group (Samoans in Samoa and the diaspora). In Hawaii, we just asked the questions verbally and gave participants tablets of notebook paper to write down terms. However, in Hawaii it was difficult to identify Samoans from other Polynesian people without weird/awkward profiling. Instead, we went to convenience stores in the known Samoan neighborhoods, to the Samoa Island at the Polynesian Cultural Center and to BYU Hawaii campus.

​Since all the terms we collected in Hawaii are from the Samoan diaspora, we repeated this activity on Upolu and Savai'i (Samoa) and Tutuila (American Samoa). I had planned the same activity in the Manu'a Islands of American Samoa as well, but we did not have time to travel there on this trip. Despite being in the Samoan Islands for 6 weeks, travel among the islands is difficult because of the limited boat and plane options and the advance planning needed to travel among them. Nonetheless, it was apparent that the terms from Samoans who had never been to Samoa were wildly different from Samoans who visited regularly or had migrated from Samoa.

d​Grant and I were most successful at the bus station and around the Cultural Arts Village, both of which are in downtown Apia. The bus station was great because there are hundreds of people waiting for dozens of busses to take them home to various parts of the island. The Cultural Arts Village was great because I have worked there before and know many of the people around there.

We were less successful when we traveled around the island. There was one day when we saw groups of people watching rugby at a school, and we probably could have recruited several people there. However, we were exhausted by that point and couldn't must the energy for another cold approach. I thought we could stop at stores along the way and at a few of the tourist stops around the island, but there were very few people at any of the stores. Furthermore, those people were working, and it seemed rude to impose on them when working (though maybe that was naïve of us). There were many people at their homes in the villages and sitting on church stoops, but without a local Samoan person to advise, I wasn't sure it would be appropriate to approach people in their yards in the villages. Usually, village-based work entails meeting with matai (chiefs) and/or faifeau (minister), which we had not done.

As a last ditch effort, we went to To Sua Trench, which is a collapsed lava tube that is used as a swimming hole and gussied up to make some money off tourists. Again, the only locals were working, so paid our money and went in, but with no one seemingly free to interview, we went swimming in the hole and checked out the other tourist-friendly features. Too bad we didn't have our masks and fins with us though because swimming in the lava tube was way cool, and I would have liked to dive down and explore more.

​By the end of the week, our team had collected terms in Upolu and Savai'i and a few from American Samoa. We finished the American Samoa sample as we transitioned to the next stage and had to go back and confirm some assumptions made because of time constraints. When we had the opportunity to travel to Savai'i the weekend after Leota collected the terms, it would be our only chance to conduct the next phase of research, so we had to proceed even though we had not yet confirmed saturation in Tutuila. Fortunately, when we received more data from Tutuila, there were no new terms that were mentioned with enough frequency to have made it to the next round (the pile-sorting activity, which I'll explain in a future post).

The terms collected at our various sites each had some distinctive terms, making the objective of saturation problematic. The concept of saturation means that eventually additional interviews don't elicit new terms. However, by including the diaspora as part of our target group, we realized saturation was impossible, as every place that Samoans live (e.g., Samoa, American Samoa, Hawaii, New Zealand, mainland US, etc.) has a few new terms. Saturation among native Samoans in the Samoan Islands, on the other hand, was reached pretty quickly, and there was considerable overlap in the terms people provided us, as opposed to the list of terms we gave them to choose from.

In Samoa we collected the "free lists" differently. My collaborators were concerned that asking Samoans to simply write down terms associated with typical Samoanness would be difficult for a number of reasons. Bernie was born in Samoa but raised in New Zealand, and she understands both the Western and the Samoan mind. She could do this method in New Zealand as I did in Hawaii but not in Samoa. Leota was born and raised in Samoa and has only traveled out of Samoa once, to visit family in New Zealand; and he agreed completely with Bernie. The issues were language and custom. For Samoans, writing is not a custom, considering they were a preliterate society until ~200 years ago. They do not see the point in writing about their culture when they live it daily. Moreover, Samoans main ethos (and this came out of our research and from Bernie and Leota) is hospitality, so they are generally eager to please. Thus, they are also likely seek to write what think researchers are looking for and not much else.

Instead, we gave them a partial list of terms that typifies Samoans according to the literature from which to choose. We drew on previous research by Dr. Samau, as well as unpublished work by Leota Sanele. Both have explored similar topics in their work, making these terms theoretically and culturally relevant. We compiled a short list of terms and added several blank lines after the list. We asked participants to circle each term they identify with typical Samoanness and to write down at least six additional terms not on our list. The lists were translated by Leota and checked by Bernie, and bilingual participants indicated to us that the consent and survey made sense to them in both languages.

All good stuff, right?

Undergraduate research assistant Grant Pethel and I were supposed to arrive in Apia, Samoa on Thursday, and on Friday we were going to meet with collaborator Dr. Bernadette Samau from the National University of Samoa. We were in a bit of a time crunch because Bernie was leaving the following week for her own summer research trips, and we needed to finalize our research methods for this summer. More on that later. But because of our flight delays, we didn't arrive until Friday afternoon, so we just kind of took the weekend to get settled (and find clothes--see previous post). And I always try to fit in a weekly cultural excursion when I'm doing fieldwork, especially with students.

One of the main Baha'i Temples in the world is in Samoa, which we learned by visiting it. I'd seen it on previous trips, as it's a giant temple overlooking Apia that is clearly visible when crossing the Cross-Island road, and tourists see it on the way up to the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum. This is my fourth time in Samoa but first time visiting the Bahai'i Temple. Grant and I wandered the meditative grounds, read about the architectural design of the temple, which resembles a Samoan fale. And we visited the grave of one of the Persian founders of the Baha'i Temple here, who comes from where Baha'i originates. I'm a little murky on the history now, and I lost the brochures we picked up. We mostly grabbed them to read the English to Samoan translations so we could work on our Samoan language skills, but I got caught up in the fascinating history of Baha'i, and the temple here in Samoa. Here is a link to the temple in Samoa, which contains the history of this temple and a bit on the history of Baha'i which I guess I can look up on the internet too, so here is a link to a reputable source on Bahai.

We finished the day by assembling our makeshift kitchen to make some chicken stir-fry. Adjusting to local spices and food availability is interesting. 

Not the album, that was Back from Samoa. I've never known why Metal Mike Saunders named his band The Angry Samoans, but it's only slightly weird that I started my adult life playing in a band that did a cover of "You Stupid Asshole" by the Angry Samoans, and now I work in Samoa, where people seem pretty chill. The only reason I mention any of that is because the album title jumped into my brain when I wrote this title, and in a former life I was a punk rock music journalist, musician, and music distribution salesperson. Honestly, it trickles into my mind and throughout my thinking about anthropology all the time

This first post from the field will probably be short because we just got here. And it should be titled, "hold your temper" or something like that. A big part of doing "fieldwork" is simply being in the field for extended periods and seeing how one handles it and also how one's colleagues handle it. I always assumed all anthropologists are pretty chill because we'd have to be to handle all the bullshit, right? Nope. Lots of anthropologists I know get pretty bunched up when shit gets hard or inconvenient, just like other disciplines. I may be one of them. I think it was good to have had Grant Pethel with me so I didn't blow a gasket.

Our very first flight out of Birmingham ended up getting delayed over an hour. So in Houston, we asked about our connection. The United worker told me Air New Zealand were holding the flight for us so hurry over. We barely missed a Skytram and had to wait 90 minutes, which ended up costing us. We ran from the Skytram to the gate, but they said they said they'd held it 10 minutes for us but just let push away from the gate. I noted that it was only 1 minute after the scheduled departure time. They said, well, we were ready early and then waited 10 minutes. Here is where I about lost my shit. Grant said, "well, thank you for your help" in a tone that sounded genuine, and I thought, I can't not be angry, but I can't give in that quickly. So I glowered. Pretty sure someone is pissed off at the poor airline people every 5 minutes.

The person who helped us figure out what to do next didn't think we'd be able to get to Samoa for several days because he couldn't find another connection into Samoa that was open. Finally, he found one the next day that took us via San Francisco, Brisbane, Australia, then Apia. So they put us up in a hotel. The first one they'd overbooked, so we had to go back to United to have them rebook our hotel. The hotel was clearly where people came to have major drug and hooker parties, as it was rocking, but my room was fine. The Lyft driver who picked us up the next day told us it was the highest crime rate neighborhood in Houston, and she was covered by jailhouse style tats, so I consider her credible.

We were told that we'd have to go back and pick up our bags, then check them back in with us. But when we arrived, everyone told us they'd be routed to our new destination. We checked on this repeatedly. Everyone but the first guy assured us they'd be routed to our new destination. Guess what? After a decidedly uncomfortable redeye from San Fran to Brisbane, another 4 hour layer, then another 5 hour flight to Samoa, the bags had not been rerouted. However, if they weren't rerouted, they should have beat us to Samoa, but where were they? (That mystery will not be solved in this post)

​Usually I pack a spare set of clothes in my travel bag, but I never use them, so I got lazy this time. Fortunately, I was mindful to keep my toiletries, medications, and charging devices and cords with me. So we'd been wearing the same clothes since Tuesday and were told it might take a few days before our suitcases arrive. I'm not sure why, since they should have either arrived before us or be sent over on one of the daily New Zealand flights to Samoa. But, again, the theme here should be not getting angry. It does no good. It doesn't motivate people to help you, regardless of how justified you are. That first first set of people I glowered at deserved that shit because they'd made the choice to push to the plane away when we were clearly on a late domestic flight and had tried running all the way there. I don't regret that one. But I'm glad Grant's presence checked me because it embarrasses me to lose my temper.

I should also know to bring more cash. Samoa is a cash country. However, universities want us to use their purchasing cards so we don't have to spend money out of our own accounts, but they have so many rules and policies on those cards that they're their own personal hell. I get cut off and put in p-card jail regularly. Then they make me take an online class on how to use a p-card after getting cut off several times. It's super infantilizing and difficult to navigate. I met a family a few years ago through AirBnB that have built several places, and are great at taking care of folks while they're here. They drive us around on errands and help us connect with whatever we need. So they found us a good car rental deal, but we get there and their credit card machine is broken. So I go all over town trying to get cash withdraws on my p-card and personal cards to get this car at this low price. I ended up taking cash out on all of my own cards and pushing them to their limits because the p-card doesn't allow me to withdraw any cash. I couldn't get enough, but the rental place decided to give me the low rate and let us take the car away. We are supposed to return Monday with the balance, and we have to go to the Land Authority to get temporary drivers' licenses. In the meantime, well, don't look...

Now we at least have a car, so we can get some shit done. We go to the water store and get a big container of water because we need to purchase potable water in Samoa. The AirBnB has been fixed up since last time I stayed here. It has wifi now, though I have to be at the other end of the place to use it. We have a house phone we can use too. And we have AC in our rooms, which is kind of a big deal. We also have a refrigerator and share a washing machine with the other apartments in this building, but they still haven't installed a stove/oven or microwave, so cooking is a bit dicey. It's all electric skillet and water kettle action in there.

Right before or after that we went and got a phone and phone number. I finally committed after avoiding this big expense for several years. I had to drop $500 tala to get an Android and Samoan phone number. But at least I now have internet access wherever I go.

Still soaking in our own juices, so we went to Ross to get some clothes, while we wait for our suitcases. Ross is not the department store in the States I was expecting (I was wondering, why does Samoa have a Ross when our hosts told us?) but their local secondhand store. I love thrifting, so this was kind of cool except that it wasn't. It was not a particularly impressive thrift store, and for the basic shit we need, it's not really what I had in mind. Nevertheless, we each got a couple pair of shorts, a couple shirts, and--gulp--a couple pair of boxer shorts. But, I have to be admit my bourgeois sensibilities make it hard for me to wear used underwear. So we popped over to one of the thousands of vaguely named Chinese stores around here and got some flip flops and underwear. I had to look up the underwear conversion--apparently, we subtract three sizes of New Zealand clothes to compare to US sizes. The more you know. We should've bought flip flops for $2 tala downtown at Frankie's Plaza, but I was irritated that they didn't have anything else, so we left that good deal behind and ended up buying the exact same flip-flops with Samoa designs for $25 tala! Grr.

And in doing this shopping, my credit cards kept getting declined, so I'm using roaming charges all over the place to call these banks to find out what the fuck. My main bank put me down as traveling in American Samoa, so they were declining charges from Samoa.