Work luncheon...samoan style

Not long after I started working for the American Samoa Coastal Management Program, which is housed within the AS Department of Commerce, a co-worker's father passed away. The following day, a checklist was passed around the office. The checklist had three columns, the first column had every employees name, the second had a few $ amounts written down, and the third had a couple scribbles of PAID. In Samoa, it is customary to contribute money or food to a family when someone in the family dies. This checklist was going around to collect money for our co-workers family, and it was passed around for everyone to see how generous, or not, their fellow employees were. I didn't even know the guy, but felt coerced by this checklist to give something. I think I gave $5. Since then, in support of this custom, the Department of Commerce has adopted a policy that all employees must contribute $20, all managers $30, when a co-worker experiences a death in the family. Just recently this tragically occurred again to one of our new employees. When she returned from the funeral in Washington state she wanted to show her appreciation by providing lunch for the entire department. This wasn't any ordinary work lunch. No casserole and cake, or sandwiches and salads. This lunch included two pigs, a size 2 and a size 4, cooked in an umu. An umu is the traditional Samoan way of cooking, which basically involves heated rocks in an underground oven with I believe taro leaves stuffed inside the pig. A size 2 pig is the usual size used for family gatherings. I believe it is an adolescent pig. The size 4 is the largest I have seen at an event, this pig was huge! You can't use a regular knife to cut up a pig like that...you need to bust out the machete. The attached photos are of our lunch in the DOC Conference Room with our trusted employee Tau, hacking up the size 4 pig. Watch out for flying pig pieces as he whacks that pig with the machete! Deeeeeelish! Don't eat the pink parts though cuz those aren't quite cooked all the way through and you may get some unknown tropical disease. And be sure and fill a styrofoam box with leftovers to take home...grab a whole ham hock, there's plenty to go around!

After we had been enjoying our lunch for a little while, the two building security guards were eyeing our event through the conference room windows. After a few minutes they were invited in and went to town on the remaining pork. These two had certainly eaten their share of pork in the past, they knew how to put it away and had plenty of belly room to do so. Some of the photos show baskets made of coconut palm fronds, which is what the pigs were delivered in, another basket was full of breadfruit and taro, which are popular vegetables here. All in a days work here on the rock!