Island Hopping

During the July break, I had the opportunity to go and visit American Samoa. It consists of a five islands and an atoll. It is part of the Samoan Islands, but these particular islands are a United States territory. Before I go into my visit there, let’s start with a bit of history about these islands.

The French, British, German and American visited the Samoan islands regularly. They used Pago Pago in what is now American Samoa as a refueling station for coal-fired shipping and whaling in the 1830s. These countries colonized much of the South Pacific. Due to international rivalries in the late 1800s, the 1899 Tripartite Convention was put into place. This partitioned the Samoan Islands into two parts between Germany and the Untied States. The eastern group was taken by the United States for the naval advantage of Pago Pago harbour, which is very deep and cannot be seen from the ocean. Germany ended up taking the western islands, which had greater landmass.

In 1962, (Western) Samoa gained its’ independence, but Eastern Samoa continues to be an American territory. Tuna canneries and the navy are main sources of economic income and development in American Samoa. It is also home to one of the United States’ national parks. They have a sitting representative in the American government to take concerns to the U.S. congress. However, people born in American Samoa are born as American nationals, not citizens, and therefore cannot participate in federal voting.

The fact that people born in American Samoa are born as nationals rather than citizens is a popular choice of its’ citizens. They do not wish to be U.S. citizens. When I asked a native of American Samoa why this was, he responded that many people feel the U.S. government would take away the land and culture of the people so by accepting being nationals, they are able to keep their land and culture how they want it.

The culture is still apparent there despite an American influence. Villages, schools, and houses still have that Samoan look and feel. The presence of the church is obvious just driving around the main island. The matai (chief) system still exists there where the matai make and enforce rules, but the police also enforce laws, which is different than in Samoa. Samoan and English are both spoken throughout the country and signs are in both languages as well. 

Samoa has a beauty, but a lot of it is not protected by laws and some beautiful places in the country end up being destroyed. American Samoa’s nature is protected by the fact that much of it is part of the U.S. National Parks.  While there, I was able to hike a couple of the trails in the National Park. Unfortunately, it had been raining a lot the week prior so many of the trails were closed. It was still easy to see the beauty of the country and park, however. It was so green and lush with many little animals that I never see in Samoa, like frogs. 

The buses in American Samoa were converted from old pickup trucks. They still had the same feel as a Samoan bus with the wooden seats and the Samoan music playing. They also are independently owned so there is no time schedule. This is how it is in Samoa as well and when we were told this, we said, “Oh, we know.” The main difference, however was that the buses were not crowded! Samoan buses sometimes get so packed that everyone has someone sitting on them and there are people standing in the aisle. In American Samoa, there were times we were the only ones on the bus.

And now on to the real excitement of the trip: the American food! American Samoa has some American fast food chains such as McDonald’s, Carl’s Jr, and Pizza Hut. The real excitement, however, was the grocery stores. The best part of these? NO SALES TAX!! We stayed near two amazing stores. First up, KS Mart, which was just like any American grocery store. I got stuff to bake with, gluten free pasta, gluten free frozen dinners, a French press, chips, salsa, queso, etc. There were so many things to choose from! The even better place: Cost U Less, which is essentially Costco minus the need for a membership. Everything in bulk and at a low price. We spent nearly an hour and a half just walking around this story at first. They had things I haven’t seen in two years: CREST TOOTHPASTE! CINNAMON RAISIN GLUTEN FREE BREAD! DELI MEAT! MOZZARELLA STICKS! I think you may be noticing a trend… All I have to say is that most of my money went to food shopping.

Going to American Samoa was worth the tiny little propeller plane we took to get there. The plane fit 8 people and was just a 20-minute flight from Apia to Pago Pago. I’m so happy I got to go there because, like most Americans, I probably never would have visited it otherwise.