Filipo in Happier Times

Filipo is the young man in the CNN video talking about Poutasi. Here are some photos that I took of Filipo scraping the skin off a breadfruit with a tuna can and making freshly squeezed coconut milk for a village celebration.

New Posts to Come

I'm waiting to hear back from Poutasi to see if they would like to rebuild the homework center. The church hall (the homework center was in a former store room in the back of the church hall) is damaged in the front of the building, but the building still stands. If it is structurally sound, I would like to raise funds to restore the computer/homework center and go back to facilitate that happening next year.

It's been an interesting year. A good year with lots of travels - but not in the South Pacific. There is definitely a readjustment process returning home from Peace Corps.

I'll be back in Hawaii soon and will post more about all of the above and more.

TSUNAMI IN SAMOA!!

PART I
By now most everyone has heard about the earthquake and tsunami that hit Samoa and American Samoa on Tuesday, September 29th. The quake, with a magnitude between 8.0 and 8.3, struck at 6.48 am Samoan time on Tuesday and locals said it lasted up to three minutes. According to news reports, eyewitnesses said that over the next 20 minutes there were four giant walls of water, between three and nine meters high.

It's very hard to get news. The phones don't work. But I have heard via email that my village of Poutasi was one of the hardest hit. Initial reports are that it was devastated, flattened. One Peace Corps volunteer in country says that there are possibly 50 dead in Poutasi (in a village of 325 people). I heard by email from the Peace Corps country director that one of my family members was killed. Her body was found washed up in a tree after she tried to help some children get to safety. I don't know yet if the others are safe.

It’s hard to describe to someone who hasn’t had the experience what it means to live in a Samoan village with a Samoan family for 18 months. You’re out of your comfort zone, far away from what you know. They take you in and love you. It was my village, my home, my family. I know everyone in the village and they know me. I was their pisikoa.

I’ve kept in touch with my Samoan family since I came back. The father of the family works for a government ministry and has email at his office. Hemara, the 12-year old daughter, who is very dear to me, sends me letters, and just last week I sent a box of gifts for the children in my family for White Sunday (Children’s Day – the second Sunday in October).

I'm a weeping mess. It will be a very hard day again today. I slept very little. Every time I closed my eyes I could only see my beautiful village as it was, and imagine what must have happened. And I see the children of the village, and know that their lives are changed forever.

PART II

Fa'afetai tele ia le Atua mo le puipuiga o lo'u aiga Samoa. (Thank God for the protection of my Samoan family.)

I was able to contact a Peace Corps volunteer in country who contacted Niu's workplace where someone said that Niu, Saina and the children are safe. Niu, Saina and the kids are the nuclear family in whose home I lived in Poutasi. Tuatagaloa Joe and his wife Tui are cousins who lived in the house next door to us. Joe is the chief of our extended family, and also the high chief of the village and the entire district made up of several villages. Joe is in the hospital in critical condition.

Tui was killed in the tsunami. She and I were good friends. She was close to me in age, of German and Samoan heritage. She was educated in New Zealand and spoke English very well. She had many "Western ways," and yet was thoroughly Samoan. We often sat on her deck overlooking the ocean and had a cup of tea together. She was very well known and respected throughout the islands. If you Google her name you will find much has been published already about her death. Here's an excerpt from one of them:


Former Miss Samoa Tui Annandale, wasn't one of the lucky ones. Annandale and her husband Joe were having morning prayers at home in the village of Poutasi when the earthquake struck. Annandale tried to flee the wave by car, but she was sucked out and drowned.
Tui's funeral, held on Wednesday night, was attended by Samoa's Prime Minister, the head of state and also former rugby player and relative, Peter Fatialofa.
Tui's friend Leiloa was on foot behind the car and miraculously lived. "The wave picked me up and threw me into the church. I held onto the pillar until the water passed," she says.

CNN Video from Poutasi

Home Is Where The Heart Is

Life has often been compared to a journey, and like a journey, we never know what we will find around the next bend in the road. My assignment with Peace Corps in Samoa was scheduled to conclude in the summer of 2009, but I will be leaving a few months early. The primary reason that I’m leaving is to be with my mother in Colorado as she undergoes surgery for a condition in her lower back that is causing her to experience severe pain. For months she has tried cortisone injections, chiropractors, various pain medications, etc. with no relief. Not only will she need someone to be there to help her when she returns home from the hospital, but obviously I want to be there with her during the surgery as well. It’s curious what turns our lives take sometimes. To be honest with you my dear friends and family, lately my thoughts have been turning more and more toward going home. And then my mother’s surgery comes, and it’s time to go home.

Perhaps this will come as a surprise to some of you because I have tried to keep an optimistic outlook and upbeat attitude during my time here. But damn it’s hard sometimes! Peace Corps life is supposed to be a challenge and it is. But not in the ways that I thought it would be. Of course there are the language and culture challenges, which one expects. However, I would say that the biggest challenge has been the loneliness.

Even though I am surrounded by people who are kind and supportive here in my village, and even though there are other Peace Corps volunteers with whom I interact on a regular basis, it gets lonely. I miss having close friends and family nearby to laugh with, talk about the events of the day, and to share life with. When I was in Hawaii, even though I was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, I had friends and family there. I had occasional visitors from the mainland, and I came back to Colorado to visit. And most of all, I could pick up my cell phone and talk to anyone for however long I wanted. That’s one of the hardest parts about being physically separated from friends and family. I’m lucky that I’m in Samoa at a time when there are internet connections and even cell phones here in country. That makes keeping contact much easier. But it’s prohibitively expensive to talk like we do back home. So I have conversations with my kids and my mother maybe once a month, all the time being aware of the cost and the time, and I try to keep up with others by email. It’s just not the same.

I will have accomplished what I came here to do – travel to new places, have an adventure, and hopefully make a positive contribution. I know that the kids whom I’ve taught in our little computer center will always remember me. Maybe as that funny old lady, but nonetheless, they will remember. And I can’t tell you how exciting and rewarding it is to see a 12-year old kid who had never seen a computer six months ago, walk into the center, turn on the computer, open up the program he wants to use, work on a project, open his file on the computer, save it, and move on to the next thing. Yesterday I had 20 kids there over the space of nearly three hours taking turns on our three computers.

My village of Poutasi is beautiful in many ways. Together we have done some positive things that hopefully will continue to evolve after I leave, but no matter how long I stayed I could never "finish" what I started. There would always be something more to do, even if I stayed here five years.

Mom’s surgery is scheduled for December 3, so I plan to come home by Thanksgiving. I'll continue to post blogs about my remaining time here in Samoa and the challenges as I adjust to life back in the States, which is part of my Peace Corps experience as well.

It will be good to be home.

A Tattoo!

I got a tattoo. There are not many Polynesian words that have entered the English language, but perhaps the most widely used is tattoo. Exactly where and when the word "tattoo" originated is open to debate, but it is certain that it was a corruption of the Polynesian word tatau, picked up by the early European sailors exploring the Southern Ocean.

I suppose that this is a good time to tell you that my tattoo is a small frangipani flower on the back of my right shoulder. It is lovely, but not conspicuous, especially compared to traditional Samoan tattoos. Of course not every Peace Corps volunteer in Samoa gets a tattoo, but a significant number of every group do so. Our Peace Corps Medical Officer even has a particular tattoo shop that she recommends.

Most Peace Corps volunteers opt for something traditional in design, emulating the tattoos that Samoan men and women wear, though somewhat less extensive. And most volunteers get their tattoos using the traditional tattooing implements – pointed metal combs (made of bone in the old days) dipped in ink and tapped into the skin with a wooden mallet.

I had the tattoo artist use his electric instruments because I wanted color which can’t be done with the traditional tools. It’s light red and yellow, just like a frangipani flower, with a black border design. I went in with an idea of what I wanted, and together with the tattooist, we came up with the finished pattern. It took only about a half hour. And yes, it hurt, but more at first. You kind of get used to it as it progresses, and I quickly figured out that it helped to take my mind away from the fact that I was getting punctured with needles to something else more pleasant.

Nearly all Samoan men and women have tattoos. It’s been part of their culture for centuries. Many have smaller tattoos, but the most traditional tattoos for men cover their bodies from their bellies to mid-thigh. The ink coverage is so extensive, and the design so intricate, that on first glance it looks like they are wearing very tight pants. The ships’ logs of many early explorers commented upon the presence of “britches” upon Samoan males. This type of tattoo is called a pe’a (pay´-uh) and needless to say it’s very painful. I’ve watched them do it. The master tattooist is assisted by up to six helpers all of whom wish to become masters themselves. One will be responsible for the mixing of the dyes, another is responsible for wiping away the blood, another for dipping the instruments into the dye and receiving instruments that have been used, another cleans and sharpens the teeth of the metal combs, and another will hold the skin tight. Young women sit by the person being tattooed, holding them down to stop them moving too much and massaging the head. It takes about 40 or 50 hours to do a traditional pe’a in several sessions. And yes, in case you’re wondering, it covers everything.

The tattoos applied to women are smaller and more delicate. The traditional ones cover an area wrapping around both thighs about ten inches in length. It’s called a malu.

It’s just one more thing that makes life in Samoa very interesting indeed.

Marine Project Update

I’ve written before about the beautiful ocean just a stone’s throw away from my house here in Poutasi. I spend a huge amount of time sitting by the sea in a small fale (fah´-lay) (a house with a peaked roof, often thatch, which is open on all four sides supported by posts). I read and write there. I talk to the kids who stop by. I watch the fishermen. I look at the always changing sea and clouds, and photograph sunset after sunset. I hardly know what I would do if I didn’t have that lovely place to sit and meditate and restore myself. Even in Samoa, some Peace Corps volunteers don’t have the ocean outside their back door.

It’s difficult to describe it to you adequately, so that you can appreciate how lovely it is. The water is crystal clear, and changes from shades of aquamarine to deep blue, depending on the time of day. I can see fish swimming by while sitting in my chair. The lagoon in front of the village is protected by an an island an a barrier reef. While the ocean waves crash on the reef creating an omnipresent roar of the surf, the water inside the reef is calm and shallow. There is deeper water near the island, but the rest of the lagoon is only about waist deep. Inland there are mangrove marshes where fresh springs feed into the ocean.

Earlier I wrote about receiving funding from the United Nations Development Project, Small Grants Program. Like everything here in Samoa it has been moving along slowly. One of the first things that we did, with the assistance of experts from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, was a baseline survey of the ocean lagoon and mangrove marshes. I went with them tramping through the marshes and snorkeling, taking underwater photos. As the joking saying goes, “A tough job, but someone has to do it!”

The really great news about that survey is that the coral inside the reef is healthy and recovering from previous damage. Much of the damage was from cyclones (hurricanes), but also from fishing with dynamite and poison in years past; that has since been outlawed. It’s great to see new coral polyps growing on the old dead coral. The mangrove marshes are also healthy with young mangrove trees growing naturally. And since coral and mangroves provide safe havens for small fish, it was also gratifying to see many small fish species too.

I won’t go into a lot of detail, but I’ve learned so much about the marine environment that I never knew. Mangroves are amazing trees that are not only part of the cycle of ocean life, but also protect the coastline from erosion and cyclone damage.

The original plan included coral gardening to restore the coral, cement fish houses (a space for the small fish to hide), and a mangrove nursery. Fortunately, we won’t need to do the coral gardening, fish houses, or the mangrove nursery; we just need to protect what we have.

After numerous meetings and delays, we have finally reached the point of marking the marine protected area (in Samoan fa’asao). An area is marked with cement anchors, ropes and floats, and also with upright sticks which are more visible. It is off-limits to fishermen, providing a protected area for the coral and the fish, clams, sea urchins, etc. – essentially a fish nursery. Some of the villagers were reluctant at first, thinking that it would reduce their ability to catch fish. But it was explained to them that the fish don’t know that the boundaries are there, and when they get big they will venture out from the reserved area and then they can catch them (and there will be more of them).

Now we are in the process of drafting a management plan for the project to be adopted by the village chiefs, and hopefully enforced. There will be fines paid to the village council if people fish in the protected area.

We also had a village cleanup this week which is technically part of the project. Poutasi is actually a pretty clean village compared to some others I’ve seen, but inevitably there is rubbish that accumulates. People burn their paper rubbish, but cans and plastics tend to accumulate in piles behind the houses. We provided bags (used 50 pound plastic flour bags) to everyone and told them to put the small items in the bags and put them on the road in front of their houses. Larger items such as old appliances and such could just be moved to the road. Then we had a truck come and pick up everything and take it to the landfill. The plan is for this to be an ongoing village activity once a month. Villagers also walked along the beach picking up rubbish that had accumulated there. We’ll be putting two large cages (about eight feet long and four feet high) on the two main roads in the village to hold recyclable plastic bottles to be picked up periodically.

The next major step is a five-day workshop in the village presented by a local non-profit, Small Business Enterprise Corporation. The main purpose of the workshop is to teach villagers how to set up and operate a small business in anticipation of some ecotourism projects in the village. This village has so much to offer. I visualize tourists in a hand-made outrigger canoe, paddled by a local guide who is telling them about this intricate beautiful ecosystem, silently slipping through the myriad channels of water with mangroves and giant ferns on all sides, hearing only the birds chirping and warbling. Then a trip to the uninhabited island with pristine beach and lush tropical foliage, where they can drink the water from a freshly picked coconut, eat a picnic lunch, swim and snorkel. Returning to the village they can be offered locally hand-made crafts to purchase. To the east and west of the village are popular tourist beaches and resorts. Nearly every tourist who rents a car drives down the road which intersects with the road into the village.

There are other aspects of the project yet to be completed – planting more native trees along the waterfront at the ocean and the natural springs to reduce erosion, and repairing a small water reservoir at one of the natural springs that no longer holds water.

Of course the plan is for all of this to continue long after I leave the village. I’m hopeful that it will not only create a source of viable income, but also help preserve and protect this wonderful place for future generations.

Time and Space

One of the many challenges of being in Peace Corps is that you don’t have your own space. You don’t realize it until you don’t have it, but a lot of what we do on a daily basis involves that space. When you own or rent a house or an apartment, which you are making your home for however long, you have that space to inhabit. You paint, decorate and redecorate, rearrange the furniture, plant flowers, mow the grass, buy stuff, have friends over for dinner or to watch the football game, have a pet, work on your hobbies, watch TV at night. When you don’t do any of those things, it leaves a lot of time to fill.

It differs for each volunteer – a few have their own apartments or houses – but most of us are in someone else’s home, and for every volunteer it’s always temporary. You know you’ll be going back with the two suitcases you came with and little else. In my case, I have a room in the house of a wonderful and kind family, but it’s not my space, and there’s only 290 square feet of it. That means that I have a lot of time and very little space.

G'Day Mate!

Four days after I got back from American Samoa I went to Australia. I was only there for eight days, which wasn’t nearly long enough, but I’ll just have to go back again someday. I met my friend Rosi, from Colorado, in Brisbane and we explored together.

The first thing one is aware of on any trip flying easterly to Australia is the International Dateline. Such a weird thing – all of a sudden, poof! Yesterday never existed! Samoa is the last country before the dateline, so we have the last sunset on the planet here each day.

The first evening in my hotel room I took a hot shower, and that felt so good that I filled the bathtub and took a long, hot bath. Hot water will definitely be one of the things on my list of the things that I missed most while in Peace Corps! Then I got to watch the TODAY show, which came on at 4:00 am local time, which is when I awoke since it’s a three-hour time difference from Samoa. I know that showers and TV aren’t normally the highlights of one’s vacation, but when you don’t have either, they are appreciated!

The first day, Rosi and I drove north toward Noosa. Driving is really a challenge in Australia, not only because you’re driving on the “wrong side” of the road, but because they have roundabouts instead of stoplights. You are concentrating on watching traffic, and trying to stay in the correct lane, and then you have to look for a sign and make your way through the roundabout, and hopefully get on the right road. A couple of times we didn’t execute that entire process and had to back track, but ultimately we managed to get where we wanted to go and back again.

On a whim, we stopped at Mount Beerburrum and decided to walk the trail to the top. The sign said: “Steep Path.” Believe the signs in Australia! It was a paved trail, but it was nearly a 45º angle all the way to the top with no steps. Just like this: ∕ . All the way. It’s “only” 280 meters high and the hike is “only” 700 meters long, but it was tough. Our hearts were thumping and our lungs were pumping. It was one of those times when you wanted to go back, but you’d come so far that you didn’t want to go back. I wish I could say that the view from the top was worth it. It was a lovely 360º view of the surrounding farmland, the Glass House mountains, and the far away sea, but we needed more than “lovely” at that point. “Stupendous,” “magnificent,” maybe. But no. Nonetheless, we can say we climbed Mount Beerburrum and that was no small feat!

On our way to Noosa we also stopped at the iconic Australia Zoo, Steve Irwin’s legacy to Australia. It was fun. Australia’s animals are amazing of course! Although it was a treat to be able to walk amongst the kangaroos and even feed them out of your hand at the zoo, we also saw kangaroos grazing in the fields as we drove and even spotted a koala in a eucalyptus tree in one of the national parks.

We stayed for the next couple of days at Sunshine Beach at our “holiday apartment,” which is Australian for condo. We had an ocean view and rainbow lorikeets landing on the tree beside our balcony. They are incredibly beautiful birds with vivid red, green, blue, and orange feathers.

While I was there I had to buy a couple of long-sleeved shirts and a pair of canvas shoes, which I didn’t have in Samoa to bring with me. It’s late winter in Australia, but Brisbane is far enough north that the weather was mild. It was between 70º and 75º, but cooler at night than I’m used to.

We took a short flight to Lady Elliot Island, which is the only island in the Great Barrier Reef with a landing strip. We spent the day there and went out on a small boat. I was finally able to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef – one of the things on my “Bucket List.” (In case you haven’t heard that term – the things to do before I “kick the bucket.”) It was awesome!

There I was, floating in the Coral Sea, on the Tropic of Capricorn, blue sky above, crystal clear water below. I was in water about 20 meters deep, clearly able to see to the sunlit sand beneath. Vividly colorful fish were everywhere – yellow, orange, blue, striped, spotted, all of the above. I’ve snorkeled in Hawaii and Samoa, but this was special!

Other highlights – Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, a Picasso exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art, forest walks listening to marvelous birds, great food, fun shopping!

I go to New Zealand in October – how lucky I am!

The Other Samoa

Part I – American Samoa: A Little History

One of the many benefits of serving in the Peace Corps is being able to visit other countries nearby. In July I went to Pago Pago [pronounced Pango Pango, with an “a” like in mama] in American Samoa for three days.

Many people thought I was going to the Peace Corps in American Samoa, since, if they had heard of the islands at all, it was probably American Samoa that they knew about. (American Samoa is an American territory and Peace Corps doesn’t send volunteers to American territories.) To explain the difference between the two Samoas and to set the stage for my visit, I’ll give you a brief history lesson.

During the days of colonization by western powers all over the world, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States all had interests in Samoa which was then one nation of 11 islands. In the 1850’s and 60’s, German merchants established thriving businesses exporting coconut oil and cotton. They developed many large coconut plantations, where coconut trees were planted in perfectly straight lines with proper separation between them to insure maximum yield. Cotton was planted between the rows of coconut trees. One of the families in my village has the surname of Wolfe. Their great-grandfather Wolfe, who married a local Samoan woman, built a western-style house in the village which has many typical European design touches. (They, however, live mostly in the traditional Samoan fale (a house that is open on all four sides with a thatched roof) that they’ve built next to it.)

In the 1830’s missionaries from the London Missionary Society came to Samoa. By the 1870’s, both Australia and New Zealand had become important British colonial outposts in the Pacific. Local British businessmen and government leaders in New Zealand were concerned about the expanding German influence in Samoa.

Meanwhile, although Americans had established some small businesses in Samoa, it was the United States Navy which took a larger interest. The major problems facing the steamers of the day were limited fuel capacity and lack of coaling stations along their routes. In 1871, Captain Wakeman reported that “Pago Pago was the best harbor in the South Pacific” and that the harbor was about to fall into German hands due to a lack of US interest in the Samoan Islands.

During this time, there was also a civil war on one of the main islands. The Germans seized the opportunity they saw and began trading guns for land.

In 1878, threatened by German authority and facing rebellion by rival factions, the Samoan leaders decided that continuance of their government could only be found under the protection of either the US or Great Britain. Samoan delegates were sent to Fiji and Washington, DC. The delegates were warmly received in Fiji, but the Great Britain representatives there could give the Samoans nothing but personal support for their government. The delegate to Washington fared much better. The result of his visit was a treaty between the US and Samoa providing peace and friendship between the two countries for ten years and it included these important provisions: 1) it was renewable, and 2) it confirmed the right of the US to establish a naval station at Pago Pago.

Fast forward to 1899. German interests in Samoa were too big – and too important – to be allowed to fall under British or American influence. After years of conflict and civil war, which were complicated by support of various local factions by the three foreign powers, in 1899 a decision was agreed upon between all three nations. The US accepted the seven small islands of “Eastern” Samoa; the remaining four islands were to come under German control; and Great Britain relinquished all official claims and accepted in return Germany’s rights in Tonga, the Solomon Islands, and West Africa. The Samoans of these eastern islands, to be known as American Samoa, who had asked over 20 years before to be a protectorate of the US, responded with a Deed of Cession.

On August 6, 1914, German Samoa’s governor learned via wireless that war had begun in Europe. He and his administration decided not to resist an invasion by British forces, as he knew Samoan loyalty to the German interests was doubtful. That same day a telegram was sent to New Zealand’s governor to seize Samoa. British and French battle cruisers entered Apia harbor on August 29th. Not a single shot was fired by either side. In a matter of hours German Samoa ceased to exist.

Until 1962, when it became an independent nation, Western Samoa was a protectorate of New Zealand. In 1997, the name of the country was officially changed from Western Samoa to Samoa. But as many of you have found when you tried to send mail to me, you often still need to use the designation “Western Samoa.”

Up until WWII, life in American Samoa continued with little change from previous times. Some of your fathers or grandfathers may have been to Pago Pago if they served in the Pacific during WWII. Fortunately there was only one Japanese submarine attack on American Samoa which did little damage and no lives were lost. (The Japanese battle plans did include a full-scale invasion of the Samoan Islands on their way to Australia and New Zealand, but they were stopped in other South Pacific battles before they reached that far south.) However, the US Naval Station became a major military establishment and the Samoan Islands formed a strategic base for Allied operations in the Pacific. The Marine Corps and Naval personnel stationed there outnumbered the Samoan population.

The sheer numbers of men and materiel dramatically upset the ancient rhythms of American Samoa. Thousands of men were filing through on their way to Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and other battles. The US Naval Hospital had 65 buildings with wards for 140 beds. When wounded sailors from the battle at Guadalcanal began arriving, the facilities were overwhelmed. Seabees began constructing 45 additional Quonset huts. Working ten hours a day, seven days a week, they barely kept up with the arrival of casualties.

From the beginning of the military buildup in American Samoa in 1941, the local population welcomed the presence of the Navy and Marine Corps with open arms. As USMC units were stationed in remote villages, those villages treated the Marines as special guests. Individual families would house and feed small groups of Marines, wash their clothes, and tend to their housekeeping. Deep and sincere friendships developed between the Marines and the villagers. Samoans taught young men from Iowa or Vermont how to fish with nets or spears, how to climb coconut trees and husk the nuts. Many gave military gear and clothing to their Samoan families and friends – canteens, k-rations, hats, as well as those special treats loved by everyone: candy and chocolate.

When the time came for Marine units to ship out, there was heartfelt sadness by both Samoans and Marines. Of course many sailors had become romantically involved with beautiful young island women. The end result, after nearly five years of military presence, were the births of a number of children whose Navy and Marine Corps fathers were fighting in faraway battles, many of them never to return.

There is now only a military and civilian ship depot; the naval station was closed in 1951. However, there is a new US army reserve center in American Samoa.

WWII had a tremendous – and nearly incalculable – social and economic impact on American Samoa. Like most of the other South Pacific Island groups which served as military bases for the US, American Samoa inherited material assets and wants far beyond the territory’s ability to support and maintain. The Marines brought roads, electric power, and telephones. The military provided wage-paying jobs, highly preferable to young Samoans who otherwise would be working taro or banana plantations. When the majority of jobs left with the military, young Samoans were reluctant to return to the seemingly drab work of fishing or farming.

The military also introduced the younger Samoan generation to the tastes of America: ice cream, movies, ready-made clothing, accessible transportation, even shoes. The military had departed, but the people of American Samoa had experienced new American ways and they were eager to maintain them. Life in American Samoa would never be the same.

One particular lasting impact of the military presence in American Samoa was the enlistment of young Samoan men and women in the military. This tradition continues today with many young men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, nine of whom have lost their lives there.

Things really began to change in American Samoa in the 1960’s. An American magazine published an article entitled, “America’s Shame in the South Seas,” which examined the simple subsistence lifestyle enjoyed by the American Samoans and determined it to be poverty by US standards. In response, Congress appropriated large amounts and, almost overnight, American Samoa became a Great Society construction project. Development was fast-tracked – new roads were built and western style homes replaced traditional Samoan houses, along with water projects, harbor facilities, an international airport, a new hospital, and tuna canneries.

In 1970 American Samoans elected their first “delegate-at-large” to Washington, DC, but it was not until 1981 that the territory was represented with a nonvoting member in the US House of Representatives. Ironically, American Samoans can vote for the party nominees for the presidential race, but cannot vote in the election itself. They are not US citizens, but US nationals and are free to move to Hawaii, Alaska or the US mainland, which many have done and continue to do.

Part II – My Visit

American Samoa is very American and very Samoan. I was reminded of some of the rural areas of Hawaii. Yet, and this is true of both Samoa and American Samoa, more than any other Polynesian people, Samoans have maintained their traditional way of life and still follow customs established long before the arrival of Europeans or Americans.

“One family, one culture, one country – two different forms of government.” This statement was made by one of the speakers at an event that I attended during my visit. Despite the American influence and official status as a US territory, it is still Samoa. Everyone speaks English, but Samoan is the everyday language. People were surprised and pleased when I was able to converse in Samoan.

The timing for my visit to American Samoa was to see the Festival of Pacific Arts (more about that later). When I asked my Samoan family in Poutasi what would be a good place to stay when I went to the festival, they said, “Oh, you can stay with cousin Rosana!” So I stayed with a family there who were extraordinarily kind to me. They picked me up and dropped me off at the airport, took me to the venue of the festival where I spent two fabulous days, provided a comfy bed and hot shower, and took me sightseeing the third day.

All of American Samoa is only 76 square miles. The main island of Tutuila, where Pago Pago is located, is breathtakingly beautiful. The population of American Samoa is only about 60,000 with nearly everyone living on Tutuila. There are two tuna canneries which employ 5,000 workers (and when the wind is right give the whole area a decidedly fishy smell I’ve been told, but fortunately not when I was there), and except for a relatively small number of employees in service industries, almost everyone else is employed directly or indirectly by the government. A small population serviced by an enormous bureaucracy is a common South Pacific phenomenon.

Back to the Festival of Pacific Arts, which was the impetus for my visit . . . . This was the 10th festival which is hosted every four years by one of the island nations in the Pacific. I was lucky that it was close enough this year for me to see it. (American Samoa is only 70 miles away - $145 round trip airfare.)

People from 22 island groups attended the festival from islands that most of you have never heard of like Nauru and Palau, to Australia and New Zealand, and Hawaii. There were numerous arts and crafts activities, demonstrations, and workshops going on for ten days. I couldn’t go for the whole time so I opted to go for the last two days, which included the closing ceremony, and I had one day for sightseeing.

There were canoe makers, tattoo artists, tapa (bark cloth) artists, and many similar activities which were all fascinating and enjoyable. Each country had set up a fale in the festival village in a large grassy area where they were selling handicrafts and doing demonstrations. I met a Samoan woman who told me that the land where the festival village was built was given to the United States by her family for the naval hospital during the war. It’s now the playing field for American Samoa Community College.

I love to watch dance, and I did a lot of it. Both days there I watched hours and hours of native dancers from Tahiti, Wallis & Futuna, Hawaii, New Caledonia, Guam, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, American Samoa, the Cook Islands, and the Solomon Islands. In their picturesque native costumes, the dancers told stories with swaying hips and expressive hands of long ago battles won, lovers reunited, or the feats of the ancient gods

There was a big public discussion before the festival, which was covered thoroughly by the media here in Samoa, about whether women dancers who traditionally dance topless should be allowed to do so. Since both Samoa and American Samoa are deeply conservative, religious countries, it was quite an issue. Some years ago when the festival was held in Samoa, a woman dancer from Papua New Guinea was slapped by a Samoan man because of her “nakedness.” The discussions were very one-sided as is often the case on issues of gender. No one seemed to care that the handsome young men from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) danced with the male version of a g-string. In the end, everyone was allowed to dance their traditional dances in whatever manner they wanted. Women from the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea were indeed topless. All of the dancing was magnificent, moving, and very entertaining. At the closing ceremony, there were 50 Samoan fire knife dancers performing all together.

The day after the festival, we drove the one main road along the south side of the island (Route 1). I’ve already mentioned the magnificent harbor at Pago Pago – a bowl of water dotted with ships and yachts, surrounded by towering peaks and sheer cliffs. Along the coast there are bays with aquamarine water, bleached sand, or rock-stubbled foreshores, nodding palms, and snoozing villages. Forested mountains rise up behind it all to converge on a jagged central ridge.

We drove across the middle of the island to the small village of Fagasa. My hosts told me how they villagers fish for mackerel (akule). When they see the fish in the clear water of the shallow bay, everyone – men, women and children – goes into the water with palm fronds. They beat the water and herd the fish into waiting nets. It’s forbidden to sell the fish; they are shared in the village or given away.

It was a great trip!