Two weeks ago, Jackie went running after school and was
stopped by a neighbor. “You need to be at the church tomorrow. 4:30.” Hm.
Jackie came home and relayed the message. I was doubtful. The next day, though,
the message was repeated: “The church. 4:30.” We asked why. “Practice.” Hm. I
was still doubtful. The principal explained a bit more: every few months, the
village churches of the island all come together for a big joint service and
program, where each church puts on a show (the last one happened in November,
but Jackie was sick and I was quite busy hammocking so we ended up missing it).
Most of the village joins in the performance, and the practices are held at the
church starting a few weeks before the big day.
Ok. So. Everyone who knows me knows I don’t dance (except in
very special circumstances) and I never, ever, ever sing (not even karaoke).
Also, I don’t really go to church (the amount I spent in church so far in
Samoa, even before this program thing, was probably more time than I’d ever
spent in church before combined). Probably the last thing I would ever normally
do, then, is join a church choir.
And yet. At 4:30 that day, Jackie and I showed up at church,
dressed in puletasis (the very hot, semi-uncomfortable formal Samoan clothing
we were told to wear). The church was empty except for a few kids running
around (which was lucky, since, before their help we had settled down in the
old man section of the choir seating). The rest of the congregation got there
sometime between 5 and 5:15, and only the kids were wearing puletasis. Hm. Ok.
Practice started. The songs, for which we were given the lyrics, were all in
Samoan. The instruction, too, was all in Samoan (it took me 3 days to figure
out that we were seated according to whether we were altos, sopranos, tenors,
or basses). Practice that first day lasted for an hour, for the entirety of
which I tried to puzzle out the pronunciation of the words on the page (because
Samoans don’t use consonants) and sometimes mouthed words when it seemed like I
was supposed to. It was probably one of my most awkward and frustrating
experiences in Samoa so far. Finally, after what seemed like 3 separate
speeches from 3 separate old men, we were free to go. Jackie and I wandered
home, wondering aloud whether this wasn’t one of our worst ideas so far.
But, the next day, we were back. This time, we got to the
church at 5. Everyone else wandered in around 5:30. Ugh. And… we were dancing!
Ugh! Like I said, I don’t sing. I don’t dance. And I certainly don’t sing in
Samoan while trying to do Samoan siva moves on a church altar. But I did, and
the Samoans giggled, and at the end of the day we got a special thank you from
the choir leader (both for joining them AND for being the only people on
time…).
So we kept going back, and, with every day, practice got
less awkward, less frustrating, and more fun. I met new people from the
village, got to see my students in a new light, and I really got to feel the
spirit of the community, and become a part of it for just a little while.
People talked and laughed and teased, complained about the heat, fanned
themselves and each other, shared candy and snacks, braided hair. Toddlers
raced up and down the aisles and in and out of church giggling, eating candy,
and every once in a while stopping for a hug and a kiss from someone in the
choir. Teenagers giggled and flirted, took selfies, chewed gum, made jokes…
and, for once, it wasn’t my problem. Many of the students also had leadership
roles in the performance, which was wonderful to see!
Last Sunday, a week before the performance, we were invited
to sit with the choir during the church service. This meant that we had to wear
all white and I couldn’t read Harry Potter, but during the service the choir
director made a special point to thank us for joining them and made me feel
like a real part of the community which was very cool.
And then there was last week. We practiced every day for at
least 2 hours. This meant that I got home around 4, went to practice at 5, and
came home sometime between 7 and 8, with just enough time to shower and grab a
quick dinner before bed (because, you know, we still had to be up at 6 to
teach…). The first week, we practiced 3 songs and 1 dance. Last week, we added
5 more songs and 2 dances, and 2 of the songs and one dance were added 2 days
before the performance. Um… But, really, it was a lot of fun, even though I
spent the week exhausted AND missed half of the Olympics Opening Ceremony :/ .
Sunday was the performance. We were told the bus would leave
our church at 8am to travel to the neighboring village where church would be
held. Honestly, I have no idea why Jackie and I actually bothered showing up at
the church at 8… I guess we’re slow learners. We ended up hanging out at our
friends’ house until almost 9, when the bus finally arrived. At the Ta’u
church, we were served a huge breakfast and told the program would start soon…
once the church leader meeting was done. 2 hours later, we finally started.
I think we finally got home around 3pm that day, after which
I promptly showered and fell asleep. The last few weeks have been exhausting,
and I’m glad to have the afternoons back to my own devices. However, no matter
how awkward it was at first, and how much I sometimes regretted signing up for
this (remember how I don’t sing or dance?) it has turned out the be one of my
favorite things I have done since coming to Samoa. So much of life here
revolves around the church that I think I would have really been missing out if
I hadn’t participated. I know the village appreciated our attempt to become
more a part of the community, and all my students appreciated the chance to see
me make a fool of myself on stage in front of all their friends and family.
A year ago, I would never have imagined joining a church
choir (no matter how temporarily). A year ago, I also would not have seen
myself sitting in a hot classroom with a sleeping kitten in my lap, helping a
girl apply for an NIH summer research job as two other girls used my room to
blast music and practice their hula dance for the talent show. But hey. TIS.
*I was going to try to post a video of the performance, but
just the one from our village was almost an hour long!!! So I guess you’ll just
have to take my word for it!
