04/11/2023
Alofa aku mo oe le uso💙🇦🇸
Not many of my coworkers know that I speak another language, and do so fluently. Probably because of the fact that I live in Oklahoma and work in Texas. Not very many Samoans around who I can speak Samoan to on a daily basis. Other than when I’m on the phone with my family, I really don’t have the opportunity to speak my native tongue.
Well, today, as I was waiting to board my commute flight home, I was approached by a passenger asking if whether I was the pilot that flew the flight in from Kentucky. I responded, no.
He said, “well, that guy looked really young…like 25 years old or something, and he looked like you.”
I kindly responded with a, “thank you sir, I wish I was 25. I’m 32. ”
He replied, “well, you look young for a 32 year old.”
I smiled a little and said, “maybe it’s my Polynesian genes.”
At that point, a baggage handler who was gathering the gate checked bags off to the side, lifts his head and asks me, “what do you know about Polynesians?”
I said, “I AM ONE. I AM SAMOAN.”
He smiles real big, and says, “SOLE! I’M SAMOAN TOO.”
We spent the next 5 minutes speaking to each other and all in Samoan standing in the jetway, talking about home and how we ended up where we are today.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet my new Samoan brother in Houston, Mr. Kema from the village of Onenoa, American Samoa.
