Meat.

If you were to ask any Samoan on this island what their favorite food is, I bet you $500 that they would say some kind of meat. Samoans love meat more than the average person. No meal is complete without it. Vegetables? What are those?

In this post, I am going to explain to you how much meat is loved on this island. (Sorry if you’re a vegetarian!)

My very first meat experience that I remember is on the day that I first moved to Leone. Our landlords were having a party with their church and as Abby, Amber, and I sat down amongst a fale Samoa full of Samoans, we were each handed a gigantic plate of…meat. Okay, there might have been some rice, but the plate almost fell out of my hands because it was so heavy. Barbecued chicken, sausage, and other mysterious types of meat surrounded a small round of rice. I can remember thinking, where am I?

From there on out, getting handed plates of meat didn’t surprise me as much. It’s just what Samoans eat and what they love.

Only in American Samoa do trucks drive by you with a cooked pig in the bed. As Abby and I were walking to do laundry once, that is literally what happened. A small truck drove by with two men sitting in the back holding a gigantic cooked pig. Abby and I just busted out laughing which made the Samoans laugh too.

Only in Samoa do they pick pigs out by size. Just yesterday, I asked a friend a completely normal question: “What size pig did you have?” He responded, “Size two.” Of course.

Only in Samoa does the freezer section of grocery stores have a ridiculous amount of meat. I’m talkin’ freezer after freezer of it. Just about every kind of cut/slice/chop/section/part you could possibly want.

Only in Samoa do kids crack up laughing when someone mentions sausage. They start hyena laughing and then the jokes start. They also call each other the Samoan word for sausage to poke fun. Yep.

Only in Samoa am I randomly handed two gigantic hot dogs in the middle of class. Thank you? I handed them off to a couple students and within 10 seconds, there was no sign that hot dogs ever entered my classroom.

Only in Samoa do they have a type of meat called a turkey tail. Um, it just sounds gross, doesn’t it? Actually, it is more than gross. It is extremely unhealthy due to its very high fat content. Interestingly enough, Western Samoa banned the importation of American turkey tails but recently lifted the ban last November so they could be admitted to the World Trade Organization. What the?

Read this if you are interested: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/6062457/Samoa-rewarded-for-turkey-tail-turnaround  It makes me so sad that the United States has such a big part of the obesity, diabetes, and general health problems of the Pacific Islanders.

And now for a few pictures (you must understand that this blog would not be complete without them...)

Abby and I walked into a grocery store and this was in the freezer section. That would be a pig, barely wrapped, unsanitary, just chillin there. [See what I did there? Hehehe]

The fish section.

What is luncheon loaf? I probably don't want to know.

This time we've got luncheon meat. Pork and Chicken. Yum, just what I want for tonight's dinner.

Potted? Really? That makes it sound ten times worse. Sick.

This is our neighbor boy's favorite. What a treat...especially the lite option!

Samoans buy these and eat them on-the-go. Delish.

I hate the word corned. Just sounds nasty, doesn't it? Especially when you combine it with the word mutton. 

Mmm corned beef, a South Pacific delicacy. Samoans make a dish called pisupo. Open the can, pour the contents into a skillet with oil, add some onions. Delicious combination of fat, sketchy meat, and oil.

Gag.

[As you can see, I'm not the biggest fan of pisupo.]

No comment.

I'm sure if I was Samoan, my favorite food would be fried chicken or sausage. Meat is normal here and no meal is complete without it!

Okay now I’m starting to get grossed out thinking about meat this much. Ha. This post is uma (finished).