Anhialated Assumptions

I just received a shocking reminder of my own stunning ignorance. The morality high-horse I've been flogging to death finally just bucked me off. And how did this occur? I spoke to the man who lives 15m away from me, the one who walks past my windows every day to do some unknown business in the backyard, the one I haven't bothered to speak to because 'ah, it's too hard, he doesn't speak any English...' Well, he speaks better English than me. Literally, since I've adopted this pidgin slang, pretentiously throwing in a 'manuia le aso' or 'fa'amolemole' to show the extent of my cultural awareness. And he's got plenty to say.
Imagine me, being gloriously resourceful and bringing in a Samoan-speaking translator while I mime the actions just in case they don't quite get it, to communicate with this family who have been watching me make racist assumptions about them from the day I trundled in. Imagine my humiliation when they answer, in nicely-accented English, my ridiculously elaborately planned question. Well it's lucky I decided I would risk my comfort zone with a conversation, even if it was only to find that actually me and my housemate have really been blatantly rude to the whole family for nearly 3 weeks. In my defence there was not such an easy opportunity to form a relationship in the beginning but there is no denying that was my responsibility. I guess I'm holding onto my Western values, wanting too much privacy and independence in a culture where interdependence is key. I came here to experience another culture, not to stubbornly and pridefully cling to elements of my own.
By the way, the 'unknown business' in the backyard is the manifestation of information I have been looking for, it was right under my little pointy palagi nose - every night they are cooking traditional food on a coconut shell fire, practicing the ancient methods of a rich, strong culture. And when I asked the much agonised-over question 'Can I do some things in your garden?' the answer was a simple, eloquent OK.

So, first step? MAKE COMPOST! It's time to observe the bats... follow the bats, and steal their guana!
(More on this Mission to come)