Reminiscing about the good old days

By Sarafina Sanerivi 12 November 2016, 12:00AM

Lealofi Tuaoi Maalii, from the village of Tufulele, is a contented woman. 

Aged 80, she knows that life has changed a lot since her younger days but she doesn’t mind.

She believes that the challenges of today are part and parcel of living. In fact, she says her days were not without challenges.

She explains that back in the days, money wasn’t easy to come by but things were a lot simpler. 

 “Thinking back to the old days, it was very simple,” Lealofi told the Village Voice.

“Yes it was harder to find money back then; even just looking for $10 took a lot of effort and work. But we never really needed money to live in the first place.

“We were happy with how simple things were; we were happy with the food on the land and sea, we were happy with what we had, no matter how little it was. Life back then was just more joyful.

“Now you can get money from anything. You can sell anything and make money from it. That’s the difference; both have their perks.”

Lealofi also mentioned that another change was an increase in trouble around Samoa.

“Another change I have noticed is that there are lot more problems going on in Samoa,” she said.

“Back in the days there weren’t many problems with the village and if there were, it was dealt with quickly. Nowadays I would sit here and see police cars go past all the time.

“I don’t go around a lot so I always just wait and receive the news of what problems happened up the road.

“That’s what I have noticed while living here with my children,”

Asked how life in general was, Lealofi said that life is alright and she really looks forward to her children’s visits.

“Right now my children are all over the place,” she said.

“Some are in American Samoa and others have their own lives and families to take care of. It’s just me and my child who just left for town.

“I just stay here at home and just wait for my other children to visit every now and then.”

All in all, despite her old age, Lealofi still remains as strong as ever.

“No matter how old and sick I get, I am still strong,” she said.

“I still weed the grass, walk around cleaning this and that. I want to live my life strong and not sit around and get even sicker.

“I can’t walk but I still try and do things around the house.”

By Sarafina Sanerivi 12 November 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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