Glimpses of Day to Day Life in Samoa

When I’m living in a new place, I readily whip out my camera at every new weekend excursion. By now, I have hundreds of landscapes and groups shots from my travels around Samoa. Daily living has been much more difficult to capture. As I’m constantly working to pass from tourist to local, I find it difficult to take my camera out for some of the sights I would most like to remember. Over time, however, I have gradually gathered up a small collection of photos that I can now share with you.

Decorating your home with vibrant, cheerful colors

Manono, a small island off the north-west coast of Upolu, is one of my favorite spots in Samoa. With no cars, bikes, or dogs permitted on the island, it is a very quiet and peaceful place. There is one pedestrian road that goes around the entire island and makes for a beautiful 1.5-2 hour walk. As this is the main road for the island, you’re taken through all of the villages, and I was finally able to take some shots of the brightly colored houses that you will find throughout all the islands of Samoa.

Bright pinks, teals, and yellows are the colors of choice for houses in Samoa. This type of large,
open fale would be used for group gatherings and relaxation – the Samoan living room.

A unique, rainbow mosaic marked the outside walls surrounding this fale.

I am constantly impressed and amazed by the beauty and exactness of landscaping and decorations
in Samoan villages. This shot shows a church that has put out a banner for Mother’s Day,
a national holiday in Samoa.

Walking to church in your Sunday best

Religion is a very important part of daily life in Samoa. With the exception of a small Bahá’í community, essentially the entire population is Christian (of varying denominations, although the Catholic and Mormon churches appear to be particularly prominent). Church services are, therefore, a very important part of Sundays in Samoa, and people take pride in going to Church in their Sunday best. In Samoa, that most often means wearing a special, all white outfit that is set aside for church.

A community in Savaii heading home after Sunday service (perhaps for the second time
that day – some communities will go to church in the morning, head home for Sunday lunch
and post lunch rest and relaxtion, and then return to church for a late afternoon service).

A mother and son walking home from church on the beautiful, pedestrian path
that winds around the island of Manono.

Working through weekly chores

During my first trip to Manono, we had a wonderful demonstration of some of the tasks that make up the rhythm of daily life in Samoa: preparing a traditional Samoan meal and basket weaving.

Making palusami (coconut cream encased in taro leaves) for to’ona’i (Sunday lunch and also
part of the word for Saturday – aso to’ona’i). Preparations for Sunday lunch can be quite
time intensive, and a good portion of Saturday can be dedicated to getting everything ready.

Unpacking the umu (stove) once everything is finished cooking. Food is placed in between
layers of cooking stones until all of the food is covered. Once everything is cooked,
the layers of stones are removed with wooden tongs, and the food is ready to be eaten.

Apa, a staff member at Sunset Fales in Manono, showed us how to weave
a basket using a single palm frond.

The finished basket. My housemates and I place a weekly order for organic produce through Women
in Business Development, Incorporated (an amazing local NGO that connects farmers and handicraft makers
with national and international markets ), and it is always delivered in a beautiful basket like this one.

Watching the chicken (and the pig and the cow) cross the road

One of the most delightful things about driving through towns around Samoa has been spotting little piglets trotting through people’s front yards. I’ve spotted countless groups of piglets now, but I’m still just as excited every time we drive by one of these cuties on the side of the road. With pigs, chickens, cows, and dogs crossing the roads at random and unpredictable times, it’s a good thing there’s a 40 kph speed limit and lots of enormous speed bumps to make sure you roll along at an easy pace.

On a walk through Savaii, I was lucky enough to cross paths with the largest and most
adorable group of piglets I’ve ever seen. They dutifully formed a line behind their
mother as they all crossed the street.

A bull grazing next to a little shop in Savai’i.

What Have I Learned After Six Months in Samoa?

It has been quite a while since my last post. Since writing you last, I made my way to Australia for the first time, and I passed the six month mark for my fellowship. Being off island gave me a bit of time to reflect on my experience so far, and I thought I’d dedicate this post to sharing a few of my thoughts with you.

Life as an Apia expat is a strange mixture of simplicity and opulence.

To live the life of an expat in Apia is to live in a constant series of contradictions.

My life in Apia has been marked by a simplicity that I have greatly appreciated. Freed from the constant buzz and frenetic consumption that settled like a fog over my previous daily routines, I have found the space to think and grow. With less access to certain goods and services, I have learned to make do, adapt, and innovate. I learned that many things I took for granted as assumed parts of day-to-day life are not as essential as I once thought. If a house isn't equipped with hot water, I take a cold shower. If the internet is too slow to use in the early evenings, I wait to send messages and Skype friends and family until just before bed. And life moves on.

While life in Apia has removed a great deal of the noise and excess from my day-to-day life, I am still able to enjoy certain luxuries that most Samoans would rarely enjoy – if at all. I would have a hard time living off my monthly stipend in the US, but I am able to live quite comfortably in Samoa and am earning more than a lot of average Samoans.

How do I reconcile these two opposing parts of my Fulbright experience?

Fully exploring a new country and culture means discovering the full range of day-to-day life experiences – pros and cons, good and bad, awe-inspiring and deeply frustrating.

Through both this and previous experiences abroad, I have come to appreciate more fully what at first seems rather obvious: no country is perfect. When we’re on vacation, it’s very easy to expect to only live through the neatly packaged Kodak moments that we flip through to remember our trips. And how could an extended period of time abroad not be equally as idyllic? But really, while the actual routine may differ, day-to-day life is day-to-day life everywhere. The peaks and valleys of daily living are just a bit more extreme when you’re living abroad.
   
This realization gradually came to me as I studied and worked in France. As a teenager, France was my dream destination, a perfect place that would magically fix any frustrations I had with how things were done at home. So I studied abroad in the Loire Valley for a semester of undergrad, and with half a year of freedom to explore without any real responsibility, these expectations were largely confirmed. I returned to France a few years later to complete my Master’s, confident that my experience would be the same.
   
I soon discovered that life in France as an independent adult was not just an extended Erasmus experience. While there are countless things about French life and culture that I love, I also began to gradually discover things that frustrated or confused me. And, much to my surprise, I began to find things that I preferred about home.
   
My experience in Samoa has been very similar. People at work and around town have been wonderfully kind and welcoming. And every time I make a weekend trip to the beach or even walk home from work, I am taken away by the beauty of this place. But even life in paradise has its down sides. I would love to go to one grocery store for all my shopping and find a range of fresh fruits and veggies the way I could at home. I wish that I didn't have to think about protecting myself from territorial dogs as I made my way through the neighborhoods around town.

And I have been confronted by more serious challenges and issues. I have heard several stories about children being beaten or intimidated through threats of violence both at home and at school. Domestic violence rates are incredibly high. I see the high levels of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease because of limited access to affordable, healthy food. It is very easy to become overwhelmed. But what is my point of comparison? My vision of home is marked by the unjust deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Freddie Gray. The widening gap between rich and poor. Equally alarming, high rates of obesity and heart disease. The longer you stay in a place, the more you uncover the layers upon layers that combine to make up life in that country.

In a new place, I see the first step as observing, learning, and exploring in order to peel away those layers. With only ten months in Samoa, I will have only begun to work my way through this first step. Over time, as a place becomes a home, we can then work on finding ways to take the beautiful parts of that home and use them constructively to pick away at the challenges people face from day to day.

My Life in Samoa: The Picture Edition (II)

This post features more of my favorite pictures from my travels around Upolu, from exploring Samoa's famous ocean trench, to climbing on Upolu's main hiking trail, to hanging out at a few of my favorite beaches (among other things). I hope you enjoy them, and next picture post, I should be able to give you a glimpse of Savai'i, Samoa's other main island.

Exploring Samoa's most famous tourist destination

To Sua (literally “big hole”) has made it on BuzzFeed lists of hidden wonders of the world for a reason. I have truly seen nothing else like it, and swimming inside is equally unique. You can’t really tell from this picture, but the climb down to the deck is not for those with a fear of heights. The ladder is quite steep, and while the steps are large and solid, it can still be a little slippery, so I definitely took my time climbing down and up. Once you jump into the water, swimming in To Sua gives you what I imagine is the closest possible experience to being in a washing machine. The water feeding in from the ocean fluctuates quite quickly. We swum to the inside edges of the cave, and in the course of a minute, the water rose from my knees to my waist. As the water levels rise and fall, you are pulled from one side of the pool to the other. And so you bob, up and down, left and right.

Taking a dip in To Sua is a definite dose of adventure – from making your way down the steep ladder,
to jumping off the deck into the waters below, to bobbing up and down with the circling tide.

Looking up from inside the To Sua cave.

Climbing Mount Vaea – or finding Robert Louis Stevenson on his real life Treasure Island

I was quite happy to discover when I arrived in Samoa that the main trail in Upolu is not too far out of central Apia, with the path winding up the hill behind the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum. Going up the trail, you have the choice of taking a fairly steep, 0.8 km path or taking a more windy, 2km hike. Either way, you definitely get a good workout. When you arrive sweaty and triumphant at the top, you are rewarded with a beautiful view and a visit with Samoa’s most famous and beloved expatriate: Robert Louis Stevenson himself! Standing beside RLS's tombstone after my first trek up Vaea, I couldn't help but be in awe of where I was and what I was given the opportunity to do. Who would have guessed when I was begrudgingly making my way through Treasure Island in middle school that I would some day get to see it for myself?

Samoa’s most beloved expatriate was honored with a spectacularly beautiful resting place.

The tombstone for Robert Louis Stevenson is nestled at the peak of the main hiking trail in Upolu.

Discovering a few beaches off the beaten path

Having spent my entire life in landlocked cities, it is quite new for me to have regular access to so many spectacular beaches. And now that I've beach hopped enough, I even find myself noting the pros and cons of different ones. Considering how beautiful they all are, this does strike me as a rather silly exercise. Even so, I still thought I would share my three favorite with you. What they all have in common is that they are just beach. No cafés, restaurants, hotels, or fales - just you, the ocean, white sand beaches, and beautiful blue skies.

After about 20-30 minutes of trekking through overgrown paths and fields, we came across this secluded oasis.

Vavau has to be my favorite beach. It’s a beautiful spot, and somehow you often have it entirely
to yourself. With nice shady spots to relax with a book, clear areas to swim, and places with coral where
you can snorkel and look at some stunning electric blue fish, it has everything that I love about the beach.

Virgin Cove is a lovely beach on the Southwestern side of Upolu. We were able to enjoy a couple hours
of great weather before we were hit by the storm you see looming in the back of this picture.

A close-up of one of the coolest mushrooms I have ever seen. It almost looks like a miniature fale!
(It’s also in the picture of Virgin Cove - look for the tree stump on the far right.)

Visiting one of six Bahai temples in the world

A trip up the central hill in Upolu will take you past a very unique spot – one of only eight Bahá’í temples in the world. Founded by Bahá’u’lláh in 19th century Persia, the Bahá’í faith is built around a central belief in the spiritual unity of humankind. At weekly services, people gather to read and listen to scriptures from all religions. The temple is surrounded by beautiful gardens, and both the temple and gardens are open throughout the week for visitors to come for quiet reflection and meditation.

Each Bahá’í Temple has its own unique character and style. What unites them is
the nine-sided, circular shape that makes up the core of each temple’s design.

The gardens around the temple are immaculately kept and open every day for public use.
They are a perfect spot for quiet reflection and a peaceful walk.

Enjoying more beautiful island sunsets

It seems appropriate to wrap up my second picture post with a few more sunset shots. I still can’t believe how often I am able to enjoy such truly spectacular sunsets. Luckily, I don’t think they could ever become commonplace.

Tofa soifua (or "fa" for short)!
Goodbye and good health!

I was able to enjoy this perfect sunset during a weekend stay in the beautiful, secluded island of Namua.

I witnessed this gorgeous sunset while having dinner at Return to Paradise,
a resort named after the 1953 movie filmed on this beach.

My Life in Samoa: The Picture Edition

Upon arriving in Samoa and unpacking my suitcase, I quickly realized that I had forgotten the cord to plug my new camera into my computer. Last week, I finally got my act together and bought a SIM card reader. To celebrate finally being able to upload my pictures, I am going to dedicate this post (and a few others, I imagine!) to sharing some of my favorites with you. With the exception of the first picture, these shots are all from my travels around Upolu over the past two and a half months.

After learning how to snorkel, beach visits will never be the same.

On one of my first weekends in Samoa, a group of us took a bus down to the south side of Upolu for lunch and snorkeling at Lafuga Bay (for more on buses in Samoa, see my earlier blog post). 
   
Now my first attempt at snorkeling – just the weekend before – was very brief and involved lots of spluttering and inhaled water. If any of you have seen the episode of Parks and Rec where they have to design a new, spoutless water fountain for Pawnee (Season 4, Episode 17 – “Campaign Shake-Up"), you will have an excellent visual for why my first attempts at snorkeling failed. Luckily, after a few helpful tips (i.e. don’t put your mouth over the entire mouth piece) and a couple mask adjustments, I was on my way. And it was incredible.
   
After a short swim, we were able to see a group of giant clams very similar to the ones in the photo below. As I swam above the clams, watching their shells open and close and streams of bubbles float to the ocean surface, it finally hit me. I am on an island. I am going to get to see amazing marine life like this whenever I want for the next ten months. This is awesome.

These Giant Clams are very similar to the ones I saw while snorkeling at Lafuga Bay.
Source: http://www.earthrangers.com/wildwire/omg_animals/the-giant-clam%E2%80%99s-home/

Samoa is impressively beautiful inside and out.

Traveling to the south side of the island via the Le Mafa Pass or Cross Island Road, I quickly discovered that Samoa’s interior landscape is as impressive and breathtaking as its coastal views. A drive across Upolu includes green vistas straight out of Jurassic Park and side trips to a number of beautiful lakes and waterfalls.
   
After first moving into my house in Vaivase-Tai (one of the residential areas around Apia), my housemates and I made the trek up a rather bumpy road to arrive at Sauniatu Falls. Because we visited on a Sunday, we were not able to swim. While it was rather miserable to sweat over our picnic lunch and not be able to dive into the beautiful blue water, at least I was able to get this people-free shot. A group of us went back to swim several weeks later, and there was quite a number of people also enjoying a swim by the waterfall. And a few of the more intrepid – or perhaps crazy? – members of our group decided to make the over sixty foot jump from the cliff into the water below.

It took all of my restraint to not immediately dive into the cool water by the beautiful Sauniatu Falls.

A view of the Samoan wilderness from up “on the hill” (i.e. the large hill you drive over when taking Cross Island Road).

Staying in a Samoan Fale means actually falling asleep to the sound of the ocean.

Upon arriving in Samoa, I was immediately told that I would not have the full Samoan beach experience until I had stayed in a traditional Samoan fale. Numerous beach resorts across the island offer their visitors the option of spending the night in one of these simple, thatched roofs huts. When I stayed, the cost was as low as USD 28 per person. And the view is much better than the bunk beds you’d be staring at inside a European hostel of similar price.

These circular huts are completely open, with panels or a tarp that you can lower if you end up at the beach on a rainy day. This makes it a very cool place to sleep whenever an ocean breeze rolls through, but it definitely takes some getting used to. I have stayed in two different fales now, and despite the soothing, steady sounds of the ocean, it took me quite some time to drift off to sleep. I think it will take a few more fale experiences before my body is fully accustomed to this very new sleeping arrangement. On the plus side, my light sleeping meant that I woke up in time to step out and watch a beautiful sunrise (before heading back to the fale for a few more hours of sleep).

I also particularly enjoyed the fales at Lalomanu Beach (the first picture below) because of the open shady space underneath. I could still enjoy drying off on the beach while hiding in some nice shade – the perfect set up for my super fair skin!

I spent a lovely weekend in this colorful fale at Lalomanu Beach, a very popular tourist destination on the south side of Upolu.

The inside of a fale at Hideaway Beach Resort. In most fales, the mattresses are just placed on the floor,
so we were surprised to find these cute little beds.

A beach sunset truly never gets old.

One of the best parts about staying the night in a beachside fale is that you have a front row seat to some of the most incredible sunsets and sunrises I have ever seen. No picture can really do justice to the total peace and calm of those moments. Listening to the waves lap on the beach. Watching the sun radiate across and slowly be enveloped by the ocean. Seeing the sky flush with changing shades of yellow, orange, pink. It was truly magical.

    The sun began to set while we were having dinner by this beautiful beach, but I ran back to the fale
and managed to nab my camera in time to get this shot.

    While at Lalomanu Beach, I was able to sit on a deck and enjoy both this sunset and an incredible sunrise the next morning.

These beautiful sunsets seem like a good place to end this post. I will definitely be sharing more pictures in the future, so stay tuned!

Here is another dose of introductory Samoan:
‘O ai lou suafa? (What’s your name?)
‘O lo’u igoa o Marie-Claire. (My name is Marie-Claire.)

Aloha!: Passing through Honolulu and Crossing the Day Line

Having successfully made it through my first week and a half in Samoa, I thought it was time to write another post with some highlights from my experiences so far. This week, I’ll focus on my day layover in Hawaii and my flight over to Samoa.

  

After a solid sixteen hours of flights and layovers, I was so happy that I decided to have a day layover in Hawaii before heading to Samoa! And on top of that, I had a friend that I was able to visit who could show me around. Part of my day in Hawaii was a hike into the hills outside of Honolulu that lead to a truly breathtaking overlook of the island. The picture above doesn't fully do the view justice, but at least you can get the general idea.

   

I really enjoyed seeing the different trees, terrain, and wildlife, and I also couldn’t help but chuckle at the none-too-subtle disclaimer signs that floated around the trail. To start our hiking experience, we read a lovely sign that kindly warned us that we could be crushed and killed by falling rocks on this trail. After a fairly intense hour and a half of up hill hiking, we reached another sign, letting us know that the trail ended RIGHT before the amazing panorama that I had just hiked up a mountain to see. And in case you proceeded past the “end point” for the trail, there was another sign on the lookout point, letting you know that you could fall and die. Despite these doomsday warnings, I survived to tell the tale!

I also had some really amazing food. For any sashimi (i.e. slices of raw fish) fans out there, I had the Hawaiian equivalent: poke! They marinate the fish to give it the most incredible flavor. I was excited to learn that they also have poke in Samoa! I haven’t tried it yet, but I did try oka, which is fish soaked in coconut milk. Very fresh and tasty!

   

Going back to my day in Hawaii, we had dinner at a really great Japanese restaurant that specialized in yakimono (i.e. a variety of grilled meats and veggies on skewers). You order items à la carte, and I wish I had written down everything we ate, because it was all so delicious! After dinner, we finished off at an ice cream shop that specialized in mochi (dough balls with an ice cream filling). It was fun to be able to eat ice cream with your hands without it melting everywhere, but at the end of the day, I think I still prefer a good ole fashioned bowl of ice cream.

   

After a day filled with hiking and culinary adventures, I headed back to the airport to tackle the last leg of my trip: a 4:20am flight to Samoa. As a traveller who has lived through a spectrum of missed and cancelled flights, I always head to the airport early to prepare for the unpredictable. In this case, that was definitely a mistake.

   

The check in area at the Hawaii Airport is completely open with very little seating, no bathrooms or cafés, nothing. I ended up sitting on the ledge of a row of plants and bushes as I waited for the check-in desk to open. About halfway through waiting, the sprinklers went on. Of course. Luckily, they switched back off rather quickly, and I was able to sit back down.

   

As we were all uncomfortably waiting outside, I noticed that people were placing their luggage in a line and then sitting down somewhere to wait. I only fully figured out that they were holding their places in the check-in line after a lot of people had already left their luggage, but at least I wasn’t at the very back.

   

Once we finally did check-in, we had to walk the length of the airport to find the one open security check point, wait a while longer before we could go into a pre-boarding waiting room, and then wait in line to board. All of this after 2am. Now I know where the writer of Warm Bodies got his inspiration for the scenes of the zombies wandering around the airport.

   

Needless to say, I was very happy when the flight was over, and I had safely arrived in Samoa. As this post is already on the long side, I will finish here and devote next week’s post to life in Samoa – stay tuned!