Dead Fish

Funny thing here—you have to shake everyone’s when you arrive anywhere or if you are passing though a group. It seems to me that most of the people have what I have diagnosed as a dead fish handshake. You know what I am talking about, the kind where the hand barley moves and they only give you their fingers. Grosse, dead fish.

After church you all shake hands and say Bon Sabot and such things. When you are entering a room full of people socializing you shake hands and say their local greeting of Lapiea and they respond with Lapia-i.e.

Something really funny to do is with the kids and Lapia. Most the kids are very shy and scared of us white people. (Can you really blame them they don’t ever see white people and we have funny hair and faces with colorful eyes.) So when you are passing by them you say Lapeia and stick our your hand, they being respectful kids must come over and respond with Lapeia-i.e and shake your hand. It’s so funny because they are just SO scared sometimes. Then there is often the brave kid who strolls on over because he or she isn’t afraid :0)
Today when I was sitting with my kids outside their gate coloring all the neighbor kids wanted to color and to also look at the strange white girl so of course I made them meet me and worked on not being so afraid of me. I stuck out my hand and said, “Lapeia” and the slowly would come over and shake my hand. But with one I was teasing and would stick out my hand but he was really afraid of me and so as he got close to me I would pull my hand back :o) so he slowly had to get closer to me. It was funny. With another kid when he shook my hand I grabbed him and tickled all the kids giggled and talked saying who knows what :o)