Samoan siva

Speak Samoan-thanks Marcus

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By a former Peace Corp volunteer.

Koreti takes me to church

St. Peters church

This is my dear friend Koreti. She is an employee of LeVasa Resort but we became so close to all of the staff there that they became our family . As I said before, the island is laden with churches, many denominations, most of them elaborately built and decorated by faithful members. It is only logical that such a beautiful place be very spiritual as well. Samoa is after all, a bit of heaven on earth. So I accompanied Koreti on Sunday morning to St. Peters Catholic church, only about a ten minute walk from the resort. Koreti came by to pick me up and we walked, taking shortcuts through yards where she greeted others in Samoan. We dodged the low hanging branches of breadfruit trees heavy with fruit. The morning air was humid and thickly scented with frangipani. We eventually came to the two lane narrow road that goes all around the island. Pickup trucks full of churchgoers passed us, the road was busy with church-going traffic. The church was large and wonderfully appointed; traditionally open-sided for cross ventilation, and beautifully inlaid wood everywhere, an attest to local craftsmanship, simply wonderful. I was initially impressed with the beautiful singing of the choir.(and the most uncomfortable kneelers of any Catholic church I've ever been in!) Samoans have an innate love of music and I think, a dominate gene for tone, key,voice, harmony, etc. They all sing. The harmony was beautifully pleasing and the words all in Samoan but unmistakably full of worship and reverence. I was moved. On the way, Koreti gave me a colorful pandanus leaf fan handcrafted by her sister, and a necklace made from materials from the island, kukui nut I think. The fan came in handy. I have the necklace hanging by my mirror, a constant and cherished reminder of a memorable Sunday morning and a dear friend. The mass was completely in Samoan, although all the parts of the service were recognizable. The homily must have been a good one full of humor and gentle guidance. Taking communion was particulary emotional for me, realizing that my life long dream of returning to Samoa had come true and I was actually sitting in a Samoan church on the island! After the service, Koreti guided me with gentle pokes in the back to a side room where the ladies had laid out several tables with numerous homemade goodies, and........pizza! Delicious. The congregation milled about socializing, and the children played, much like any church in the U.S. I found myself wanting to sing in the choir, and to be able to understand Samoan so I too could chuckle at the humor in the sermon. And I wanted to be one of those ladies who made sweet goodies for the congregation and gathered and arranged the flowers that so beautifully and elaborately adorned the alter and the rest of the church. I guess I just wanted to belong to this wonderful culture to which I had every right and entitlement but had been denied. Maybe I will get to go to church with Koreti again some day. And I will wear a colorful pule tasi as the other women do. And maybe I shall prepare sweet treats for after the service and I will gather great fragrant bunches of teuila and frangipani for the alter. That would be nice.

Just another day in a Pacific island paradise

Think you know sunsets?????

Getting there...

Famous Aggie Grey's hotel in Apia

restaurant and bar at LeVasa Resort

Sunrise upon our arrival. Monono and Savaii

islands in the distance

The flight from LA was long and uncomfortable to say the least. We snoozed, ate, read,watched movies, and dozed. When the plane began its descent, I was strangely overcome with emotion for some reason. I couldn't wait to get off the plane and smell the air....we were welcomed by a chest crushing humidity! Faleolo airport is tiny and old; not busy at all, we were the only plane. Cousin Sonny's driver was waiting there with my name written on a poster (odd seeing that), we signed proper papers and the car was ours for the week. It was 5:30 am pacific time and check in wasn't until 2:00. We were anxious to see the island. The main road from Faleolo airport and Apia is a narrow two lane with the ocean in plain sight the entire length (it's a small island). Samoans start their day before daylight because of the heat so there was much activity at that time. School children everywhere dressed in uniforms. There was a strange familiarity, probably because of things my dad had told me years ago. I didn't think the boys in lava lavas were strange, I recognized breadfruit trees although I'd never seen one in my life, the fales were just as I had imagined, and yes, there really were pigs and chickens everywhere!!And dogs!!! The island is very clean. There are magnificent churches about every mile it seems like, many denominations. Tall coconut palms everywhere. The pink and gold sunrise over the ocean was overwhelming and the lush vegetation and colors of the island were beautiful. Anything that grows out of the ground had a fruit or a blossom on it!!! It was wonderful!!

We drove some 20 minutes from the airport into Apia town and walked around the harbor. It's a busy little city and everyone honks their horn. I thought it rude at first but they do it mostly out of courtesy.("passing now, go ahead, watch out, etc") We had a great breakfast at the famous Aggie Grey's hotel, first time to eat "pane popo" which would prove to be a favorite of everyone. More on the food later. Saw the fale where Marlon Brando stayed. The hotel is very old and full of charm and yes, flowers everywhere. The bathroom had a sign posted with instructions in case of a tsunami. Hmmmmmm. The most disappointing thing was seeing a McDonalds!

We drove back toward the resort, still open-mouthed about all around us, but we were still early so they invited us sit at the open air restaurant or take a look around the grounds. We were about to begin a fabulous and memorable week, and it only took a lifetime to get there!!!

Upolu, Samoa

Elvis has left the fale.....

We are home! The trip was an incredible experience! Plans for daily posting to the blog went awry as the wireless connections were too slow for photographs if I was even able to pull up the blogsite!! Anyway, we arrived home early this am and we are still recovering from the gruelling flight home. I have lots to put on this site. What I can say now is, if God ever put a little part of his heaven on earth, surely it was Samoa!! Lots of photos and clips to download. Later.......

Not much longer now...

The time grows closer . We will fly Southwestern to LA early April 22 where we will pick up Oceanic flight 815 later that night and fly over small Pacific islands, some of which are very sparsely populated. Perhaps we will meet all the "Losties." Seriously, in LA we will pick ANZ at 11:45 pm and fly for 10 hours and arrive Apia about 5:00 am pacific time. I have my passport clenched in my fist, gazing at it in disbelief. The US passport people are special to say the least. Got mine yesterday after having sent my initial application in December of 07. They requested obscure documentation such as my mother's (or as they referred to her...my alien parent) death certificate which was not convenient to procure. Thanks to the wonderful people at the New Zealand embassy and New Zealand office of vital statistics. Had to send my father's birth certificate, another document not easy to obtain(their original request was that he swear an affidavit as to where he had lived in the US, not an easy thing for him to do, died in 1989.) Thanks to the State people who were able to dredge up this document from 1908. Also had to send his complete military records; the Dept of the US Navy was wonderful. Did I incur any extra expenses for all these documents??? You bet, coupled with lots of overnight postage, some international. But I must compliment those competent US passport people in New Orleans for being on top of important things like making sure they keep terrorists out of Samoa. This extra sharp and hard working group of individuals have made sure that the people of Samoa can rest safely because their island will certainly NOT be terrorized by a certain sixty year old woman returning for a two week visit.

American Idol......Dolly night!!!

Katie sings Twinkle, twinkle little star....

A link to relatives, a fortunate find

I have just discovered a link to all the AhKuois. Seems there is a website and a blog. There is information here on the family tree and things I never knew previously. Coincidental that the discovery occurs just about the time I am leaving to return to Samoa. Karma. I was surprised to see myself and my children listed, although details were not quite accurate, but with so many cousins, I'm not surprised. And that is the purpose of the site, to locate relatives and have them provide accurate details. The site reads like a history lesson. There is a wonderful cousin (her grandfather and my mother were brother and sister) in Christ Church who has made much of this possible to all the aiga, thank you Michelle!! We are scattered world wide, many being in New Zealand and many in Samoa. Some of my mother's sisters are still living and there are many first cousins there. I hope we can contact them all. And thanks also to Celeste for surfing around and Googling the AhKuois.

Jonah laughing

Couldn't resist placing this here even though he doesn't look like a Samoan boy!!

Western Samoa

Not very good maps until I find better. Left is Western Samoa (or just Samoa as it is now called). Includes the islands of Savaii and Upolu. Apia is where we fly into and get between islands by ferry or by air provided by local airlines (shades of "Wings") The map on the left doesn't show much detail. The other map shows the proximity of the islands to North America. The international dateline causes Samoa to be the very last geographical area on the globe in a particular 24 hour day. They got a lot of press because they were last in 1999 before the new millenium. I'll try to find better maps. Meanwhile, view the islnds on Google Earth, it's really fun and you can see a lot of the island detail.

Love Story

An American sailor and an island girl....1947






A handsome sailor!

Roots......

The weather here today is cold, freezing rain,teens tonight. We have booked our flights to Samoa for April 22 with Air New Zealand. Flights from LA to Apia (Western Samoa) occur only once a week. After a bit of confusion with my passport, we seem to be on our way. Since my mother was not a US citizen, I had to prove that my father was, therefore that I am a citizen by the citizenship of one parent. Ironic in a way since I've lived my whole life in the states and my father was in the US Navy for 30 years. I found my original birth certificate (from 1947) in his old papers fortunately. Would have been a task to obtain one from American Samoa since I know nothing about the details of my birth. I was able to obtain a certified copy of his birth certificate (1908) from the state so Samoa here I come!! We still have to book our flight to LA. Total flight time is around 14 hours one way.



We could have flown into Pago Pago, American Samoa on Hawaiian Air but had a layover in Hawaii for a few hours. We plan to spend some time in American Samoa since that is my actual birthplace, and I want to visit the Naval station, or what is left of it. What buildings remain are on the historical register and serve as government buildings or museums. I was born in the village of Leone, so I want to go there too.



The Samoan Islands are unique in that American Samoa and Western Samoa are governed differently although customs and cultures are the same. I'll have more on that later. People of American Samoa are not US citizens but rather, US nationals. They can serve in our armed forces but cannot vote in national elections. Perhaps recently, the Samoan claim to fame is supplying US college and pro football teams with linemen!!! (they are BIG boys!)




This blog is meant to journal my visit back to the islands and not to serve as legally documented info or even entertainment. It will be available to whoever wants to view it as a means of sharing my experience. I tend to be blah, blah, blah on occassion so I'm sorry in advance if you get bored. Parts might be interesting.