This past December of my sophomore year, I was selected to represent the United States along with 21 other high school students and 5 adults (including French/Spanish teacher Mrs. Alexis Savas) to experience a three week cultural exchange program in Samoa, a small five island nation a few hundred miles northeast of Fiji.
“Hey, Aso.”
“Hello, Thomas.
“Would you like some water?”
“No thanks.”
“Are you hungry?”
“No, I’m fine, thanks.”
“Then you must rest?”
“Aso, really, I’m not tired.”
(Pause)…“I will get you some water.”
It might seem like a comedy skit, but early in my trip I learned that this reoccurring conversation with my host brother was simply the “fa’asamoa,” or the Samoan way.
Mrs. Savas suggested that I apply for this foreign exchange program through AYLP, American Youth leadership Program. I completed an application process including multiple essays and a face-to-face interview before I was finally chosen to attend this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Although much of the trip was focused on the cultural aspects of Samoa, there was a side focus on nutrition and diet. Since Samoa has one of the highest overweight and obesity rates in the world, currently at 80.4 percent, part of the trip was centered on understanding why that was happening.
The first week was spent in the capital of Samoa, Apia. Even though every morning we went to see different attractions, the best parts of that week were the whole group relaxing outside a local convenience store before going to sleep.
My experience continued for another week and a half staying with my host family in their village of Satapuala. Since the whole village was preparing for a Christmas celebration/dance, every night all the children and teenagers would meet up at the church to practice. Those few hours were basically a non-stop meet and greet with the youth of Satapuala.
The end of my journey wrapped up on the second major island of Savai’i. After an exhausting day of travel, the second we checked into our hotel the whole group practically sprinted into the water and stayed there for a couple of hours until dinner was ready.
Another day the whole group was able to go on a canopy walk for about an hour. After a few tense minutes of waiting on a very shaky staircase, I was able to walk across the bridge and make it to the other side. Despite being one of the scariest parts of the trip, the views afterward were worth it.
Although the whole trip was a remarkable experience, probably my favorite part was the host-stay in Satapuala, just because of all the fond moments with my family. Definitely one of the greatest moments was when I gave my 7-year-old host brother some modeling clay and later that afternoon caught his 24 year older brother playing with it, completely enthralled.
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