Samoa

Their culture is super respectful. It's a lot like here, respect your elders and just, and the way they speak to people, depending on who that person is, whether they're a chief of the village or whether they're like an older woman or an older person. They treat them very respectfully and very, very lovingly. It's a very patriarchal society, so you really expect the man, especially the chief, if you give a lot of respect to the chief and how you speak to them, there's special words in the language that you would speak to them. And so make sure you just listen and watch how the Native people treat those who have authority and those of high status and the elderly as well.

Samoan people love their culture and so they celebrate anybody who is Samoan and who is doing really well, mostly in athletics. Like for example, there was a boxer from close to Apia, I think it was Apenga maybe, his name was Joseph Parker, and so they called him Joseph Paka. He was a boxer who lived in New Zealand and he was Samoan so they loved him. Another one was when I was there, David Lemme, he was a rugby player playing in Europe so I remember driving by his poster in the village, I think it was Malie. Obviously they love Troy Palomalu from the Pittsburgh Steelers, he's an inspirational character. Yeah, I mean they love their culture.

Culture tips is making sure that you show your love and respect to each other. Also, as for me, I call the mothers as mum, my own mum, and the fathers as my own dad, and also their kids as my own siblings. And also, like, when you pronounce words, show that you can show respect by doing things the right way, as the culture stands, and also and the rules of the village too. So, whatever they tell you to do, do it with a willing heart and a loving heart.

Samoans, we don't wear our shoes in the house. That's another sign of respect when you remove your shoes before you enter somebody's home. So yeah, and I know there are a lot of Western families that do the same thing, but it's definitely something in Samoans to remove your shoes before you enter. When you eat, sit down. When you drink, sit down. And when you're speaking to somebody who is seated, especially if you're in their home, make sure that you're at the same level as them or lower, especially if they're an older person. They just call that which in English translates to respect. It's one of the main concepts of Samoan culture. When you're in somebody's home and you're walking past them in close proximity, you would usually go low, not too low, but you would maybe bow your head and walk past them and say, too low.

The Samoan culture is weird to some people, but it's actually unique and it's something that I treasure. For instance, if you pass by in front of somebody's house, you're just walking to go to the store, go somewhere, usually we'll call you to come eat or come drink cuckoo or come hang out with us. To us, it's really rude if you turn the offer down. So if we say, hey, Tom, come, we're having breakfast now, come. So it's rude to us if you say no, you have to blah, blah, blah, go somewhere. No, it's rude. But if you say, yeah, I'll come. To us, you're appreciating our offer and you're humbly coming to enjoy the meal with us or enjoy cuckoo Samoan with us. Another tip, cultural tip is always to say thank you.

Have a thick skin and always, always, always be prepared to laugh. They are some of the most jovial and jolly people in the whole world and they love to laugh and sometimes they love to tease and if you don't have a thick skin sometimes you can take offense to it but they mean no harm by it. So that's one of my cultural tips is to have a thick skin and laugh a lot.