Blogs from Apia, Upolu, Samoa, Oceania - page 4

Papeete, Tahiti We spent a pleasant day in Tahiti visiting James Norman Hall’s home, Point Venus which is the site where Capt. Cook recorded the passage of Venus across the face of the sun in 1769, a local market, and later, watched people congregating near the ship where vendors set up stands selling all kinds of food. James Norman Hall wrote the Mutiny on the Bounty series. We learned that not only was he a writer, but also quite an army pilot, serving in three armies - French, Spanish, and American (with Eddie Rickenbacker). There is a room full of medals and military memorabilia. His son was famous in his own right as a cinematographer, winning Oscars for such films as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Road to Perdition. James Hall knew Zane Grey, ... read more

This was my first trip to Samoa and I was determined to make the most of it. I was rapidly realising that even though I lived in the Pacific, visiting the many hundreds of islands in it within the next year was going to be tricky, so every opportunity had to be grabbed by the horns (so to speak). Samoa for me conjured up images of fierce warriors, tribal tattoos and, more recently, a pretty decent rugby team in the World Cup. I had this image of the ultimate Pacific experience, a quite undefined and vague concept and yet I was not disappointed; Samoa more than delivered on my vague day dreams. Before I get into the nitty gritty, maybe a little background is worthwhile to set the scene. Samoa gained its independence from New Zealand ... read more

On Tuesday I decided to go buy a mango. They are incredible and they are just coming into season. So I went to the market. Samoa is riddled with tiny stores (faleoloa) that sell snacks like Twisties (comparable to cheese puffs) or loaves of fresh white bread or sugar, tea, matches, tuna, crackers, oil, onions, ice cakes, and any number of things, differing greatly from store to store, of course, but very few if any will have fresh fruit or vegetables. So instead of going to one of the 4 faleoloa in the 10-minute walk between my house and my school, I go to the market. To get to the market, I take the bus. Not just any bus. The Green Machine. I like this bus. It is the only green bus that comes to my ... read more

I came to Samoa in October 2006 to work as a music teacher and Peace Corps volunteer. They gave me a Samoan name, Moli. It means orange. Samoa is an amazing country, without hunger or homeless, that takes great pride in its culture. In my classes, I've had the opportunity to ask my students what they think the most important thing about being Samoan is, and I've had answers that range from God to family to having fun, but most people say it's the culture. I'm still learning what that means. It's not simply the ceremonies or the legends or being able to husk a coconut in 3 seconds (which they do). It has more to do with community, family, lifestyle, opportunities. I can't try to explain it. I'm not Samoan. I never will be. I ... read more

SAMOA - Apia After 10 days Tonga we arrived in Samoa. The first day we spent in Apia, de capital, beautifully located at a bay. Here you can make a walk along the bay, visit the Robert Louis Stevenson museum and there is even real good snorkeling! Willem en ik mochten allebei een Pacific eilandje uitkiezen. Willem koos Tonga en ik wilde heel graag naar Samoa (vanwege margaret mead, de grootmoeder van de antropologie). En het stelde me niet teleur, zelfs niet toen ik al vrij snel hoorde dat het onderzoek van MM niet op Independent samoa maar op Amerikaans samoa plaats had gevonden. Het is een prachtige eilandengroep met nog veel traditioneel leven en vriendelijke mensen. Qua duiken komt het niet in de buurt van Tonga, maar de groene regenwouden, idyllische lagoons en watervallen ... read more