Senerita's Story: April 2008 Archives

Senerita's Story - A whirlwind tour of the US of A

My head has stopped spinning and I've finally settled down after traveling with Senerita and Senio. After one day in Los Angeles, we were on a plane to Philadelphia for the official launch of the KivaB4B program, (The launch party itself deserves a few pictures of its own, so I'll save that for another post). When we arrived in Philadelphia, we had a few hurdles to get over. For example, the escalator was a bit daunting, although the moving walkway was a treat.

Here's Senio braving the escalator. Senerita chose the steps.

After a dinner with Ami and Darren from Advanta, we set off the next day for a tour of the city with Karil Daniels, the independent filmmaker who was one of the original lenders to Senerita on Kiva. This was actually the first time that a Kiva borrower came to the US and met a Kiva lender. Karil met us for breakfast, camera in hand, documenting the occasion. After spending time talking and getting to know each other, the four of us took a trip up a skyscraper (the tallest building in Samoa is five stories), visited beautiful Rittenhouse Square and then set off on a journey to Fabric Row.

 

Senerita's Story - Senerita and Senio arrive in LA

What a pleasure it was to spend the day with Senerita and her husband Senio. They arrived in LA after an 11 hour flight from Samoa. Senerita's first comment to me was "This country is very, very big." She had heard about the size of the city from the airplane arriving, but I guess that doesn't mean much until you see it for the first time. We headed straight to their hotel in Santa Monica, a very nice place right on the beach. Here's their reaction to the lobby...

After settling into their room, we took a walk on the beach and then up to the 3rd St. Promenade for a little flip-flop shopping (they got matching flip-flops from a surf shop), a latte and some eye-opening stops in places like the Apple Store. There were so many little things that made me realize how different their life is in Samoa. For example, when we stopped at the coffee shop and I asked if they wanted to sit down or walk, they were confused. After a while, they let me know that only people that have 'nothing in their head' walk when they eat or drink. Sitting for a cup of coffee was a bit unusual for me...made me realize that we are accustomed to very different paces. However, as for similarities, they reassured me that they had some drunk people on Samoa too after a crazy guy walked by yelling at imaginary enemies. Here they are on the 3rd St. Promenade.

 
After a nice long walk, we returned to the hotel so they could drop off their old shoes before going out for some dinner. We met my wife at a good fish place and after about ten minutes, they proceeded to give us beautiful gifts from their village. Senerita gave me a traditional Samoan shirt (which will clearly be the hit of any Luau Party) and then proceeded to give my wife a traditional wrap and a handmade necklace. After admiring how nice the necklace looked, she then took off her earrings and gave them to my wife. She then took out her hair thingy (I have no idea what it's called) and gave that to her...and then her ring...It was like she was so enjoying giving these gifts, she didn't want to stop. It was really quite beautiful. 

Tomorrow morning, we're on a plane to Philadelphia. It was interesting explaining to them that they'd be receiving a wake up call and then breakfast delivered to their room before I picked them up.

And to bring it all down to Earth, the first thing they both wanted after arriving at the hotel was a good smoke outside in the fresh air...at least I convinced them to get American Spirits. They did like the idea of a cigarette without chemicals.

Senerita's Story - Senerita arrives tomorrow...and some fun facts about her village and Samoa

Senerita and her husband arrive in Los Angeles from Samoa tomorrow afternoon. "Afio mai i Los Angeles" means "Welcome to Los Angeles" and I hope that I can ease their transition for their first journey abroad.

Their village is called Samalaeulu Leauvaa. It was formed by a group of refugees from a village of the same name "Samalaeulu" on the other island of Savaii. Samoa (formerly Western Samoa) is primarily made up of two islands, Upolu and Savaii. The original settlers to Samalaeulu Leauvaa (best guesses on how to pronounce that!!) fled from their original village 100 years ago (1908) when the Mt. Matavanu volcano erupted and covered most of the village with lava (in fact the lava fields are still visible up to now). The whole village is busy preparing for the celebration of their 100th year anniversary.

Some other fun facts about Samoa. 

-Western Samoa gained its independence in 1962 and changed its name to Samoa in 1997. It was the first nation in the South Pacific to become an independent country.

-Samoa is a member of the University of the South Pacific in Suva (Fiji). Members are the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

-The population is about 175,000, 75% rural.

-Evidence suggests that Samoa has been inhabited for over three thousand years.

-The Tia Seu Ancient Mound on Savaii is the largest ancient structure in Polynesia (12 m tall).

-It has great surfing....some day I look forward to visiting Senerita and her village and enjoying the island.

Senerita's Story - Senerita Lilli will be visiting from Samoa

April 16th is D-Day...the official launch of the the KivaB4B program...and we have a very special guest attending our official launch party. Everyone involved with the KivaB4B program is excited to meet Senerita Lilli, a mother of eight from the island of Samoa. For the launch party on the 16th, Senerita and her husband will be arriving in Philadelphia to meet with Karil Daniels, one of the Kiva lenders who helped Senerita raise the money she needed. You can check out Senerita's profile page here and Karil's lender profile page here. This will be the first time that a Kiva borrower has traveled to the US to meet a Kiva lender.

Senerita and her husband will be traveling outside of Samoa for the first time. In addition to visiting with family in Southern California, she'll have a chance to speak with press about how the Kiva loan helped change her life. We're thrilled to be able to host her travels for two weeks.