MeMooning and living a bit of Fa'a Samoa

First skill to learn on a MeMoon - self photography.

I'm winking here, not having a seizure as it may appear. Don't

worry I got better as the week went on....
These pics are out of order, deal with it, and no thats not me. This guy is from the Ministry of Health and Development and decided to change

into his lavalava (sarong) and get into the fiafia as well, including

taking on the traditional role of the woman. Love the Samoans humor
Just Me and the Moon, how romantic
Lounging in my fale looking at the sea
Enjoying some sun and final peace, after I gave in

to checking my email and lounging at the 5 star resort.

Sad tsunami destruction
The beach and fales at Taufua Beach Fales in

Lalomanu, Upolu, Samoa.
Fiafia at Taufua. A fiafia is a traditional Samoan

dance/musical performance. Basically a group of Samoan

men dancing in scantily clad outfits to traditional Samoan

music. Think Chippendales (although I've never actually been -

you're welcome Mom) but less cheesy. You know I love me a

choreographed dance number so I loved this, but also it was

great to see how happy they were and proud, especially after

the sadness they've been through.

Count me lucky, two fiafias in a row! The fiafia also includes

a fire dance element. This guy was ridiculously good, but after

all his fire eating and flips, I just became worried about how much

he was burning himself. I was also was chosen at this fiafia to

drink the kava - a real honor, don't worry I only had a sip. This fiafia

also began with someone (they were too fast for me to see who)

slipping me a note telling me how much they liked me and their

contact info. Basically if you're needing attention, head to Samoa
Watching the sunrise from my fale deck in Lano, Savaii. No, not after being up all night, from waking up early in the morning. Did it most days on my MeMoon - just so I could spend more time with

myself

Arriving at Laiula Beach Fales in Lano, Savaii, I was surprised

when they showed me to this little fale, since it was the only one

that was enclosed, with a deck, and if you can believe it, a full

refrigerator inside. I told them right away that it was too flash, I

mean it was just ME. But they insisted that it was the only one

that locked and that I should stay in it, and then lowered the

price - reverse bargaining once again. I'm not sure what I was

going to refrigerate since breakfast and dinner were included in

my stay. I also got a lot of jibes from the other guests (all couples)

that I was staying in the penthouse, so I offered up my full size

refrigerator to all of them= MeMoon Sharing
Oh that looks nice, a little ocean cave pool all for me
And there I am enjoying it. And now while I wouldn't ordinarily post pictures of myself in a bathing suit on the internet, I wanted to illustrate me enjoying one of my favorite activities - floating. Haven't I gotten really good at taking pictures of myself? Just kidding, this is courtesy of my MeMoon buddy, Janice.

A lot of people asked me before I came to Samoa, so what are you going to do by yourself the WHOLE time? First, I'd like to mention that spending time by myself is not a new idea, since that's mostly what I do here in New Zealand. But to answer your question - build sand castles. This may not look

impressive, but after battling the tide - I even built a moat and wall to

protect my castle, and rebuilding many times, this is the only picture I

caught semi-done. Some things never change - I've been making the

same model of sand castle my whole life, in the classic style of the

Matterhorn. This tunnel goes all the way through and there are

abominable snowmen inside - no joke.
Just another waterfall and swimming hole to enjoy all for ME

Now I know you might be thinking, isn't a MeMoon a bit self indulgent, Elizabeth? And lets get this out of the way right from the start, yes, yes it is. But before you really start to think I've become totally narcissistic over here - I decided if I was going to go totally indulging myself, then I'd like to do it where I could hopefully spread of bit of my self indulgence to those who may need/benefit from it. So I decided the location of my MeMoon would be in the tsunami affected area of SAmoa (remember the long A, it is not said like the Girl Scout cookie, and yes quite a few of you made that joke).

Now that we have that out of the way.....I decided to take a MeMoon to a Pacific Island because when else will I be so close (in) the Pacific, and frankly I needed a bit of a break from winter after finding all of my clothes moldy and having wet cold towels constantly. Don't worry you tax payers are not paying for this little MeMoon, its courtesy of the IDB. But you could also think of it as a bit of cultural exchange extra credit. After all I only signed up to exchange my culture with one country under the Fulbright, so all you taxpayers and the US government are getting a little freebie out of this....and don't worry I also brought my research and books. I should also say that while I've traveled alone before and lived in another country, I've never taken a vacation or tropical island holiday just for myself - let the MeMoon begin

The flight from NZ to Samoa is only 3.5 hours, but you gain a full day going there and lose a full day coming back as it is right over the date line. I've never been so happy upon landing to hear the pilot say "And the current temperature is 34 degrees". But mind you I was still dressed in my winter apparel from Wellington, including boots, leggings, and about five layers. Customs and baggage was a breeze, and I had done some reading beforehand and grabbed the cheap airport shuttle into Apia, where I planned to catch the local bus out to the East Coast where I would be staying the first couple days. I should first say that I'm pretty sure whoever is writing Lonely Planet for Samoa these days, may have been a wee bit generous with the kava, if you know what I mean. According to Lonely Planet, the local bus is a "must do" cultural experience, AND the local roads are a "dream" to drive on. After arriving at the local bus terminal and being told that it would be two hours till the bus was even leaving - I decided the local bus would not be a must do for me, and instead I'd try out driving on these roads that are a dream, because frankly sweating in a packed local bus just wasn't how I pictured starting my MeMoon. Lonely Planet had also warned that SAmoans don't do bargaining (hmmm, sounds a little like how Kiwis don't do celebrity). When I arrived at the car rental agency, we had a nice little convo in broken English and Samoan (of which I can understand/speak very little thanks to Maori - see it does come in handy), where I asked for a rental car and she showed me a huge SUV, then I asked for something smaller, she told me thats the smallest they had and it was 140 tala per day. Resigned, due to being tired (flight left at 6am) and sweaty, I said fine. Imagine my surprise when she rang me up and it all of a sudden was 90 tala a day. Now this is the kind of reverse bargaining I can get down with....

So I was ready to begin my MeMoon, peel off my winter clothes, and hit the tropical dream roads out to my fale (beach hut). Just to test my alacrity with left hand road driving, my huge SUV was also a left hand drive with mph instead of kms. Samoa switched to the left hand side of the road (right hand drive) about two years ago so that they could import used cars from New Zealand. Apparently my old hunker, was hanging around from the ol left hand drive import from America days. Well at least now I know what a mailman feels like - check that off my before 30 to do list.

Let's just say the MeMoon hasn't quite taken off in Samoa yet. Everywhere I went, from the rental car agency (maybe this is why I got a discount) to the gas station I stopped at, to arriving at my beach fale - everyone kept asking me where my husband was. "Nope its just ME (smile)", followed by looks of surprise and a wee bit of sadness for me, "Maybe we find you Samoan boyfriend? (wink)", "Umm, no, its just a trip for ME, isn't that great?", followed by looks of confusion. No bother, I was off on the open road - which I quickly realized was not a dream as y jaw rattled, and was now understanding why the SUV.

Anyway I eventually arrived, safe and sound at my first place - Taufua Beach Fales. They lost the most people in the tsunami, but have rebuilt about 25 fales right back on the beach. The devastation is still obvious all around them, where the trees have been swept away and buildings are just concrete slabs. Also sad, was the total destruction of the reef just off the beach, including childrens clothes still littered about. All of the staff are very open to talking about their experience, and very happy about rebuilding and tourists coming back. I was very glad that I was staying there even though it was very sad.

Met a nice staff member of the Fales, named Otele (tattooed on his arm just in case I forgot), who was very friendly about relaying to me his stories and telling me about the area, including offering to take me to see the local village rugby match and to go running on the beach. This quickly turned again to questions about where my husband was and if I was going to find a Samoan boyfriend and not leaving me alone for the rest of the evening - and I was wondering a bit when my peaceful book reading MeMoon was going to start. At dinner the first night (everyone eats together at a big table), I met Janice - another MeMooner! Finally someone who got it, although she wasn't aware she was on a MeMoon until I informed her. Janice, is from Ireland, but living in Australia and we shared some nice stories of living away from home in the Southern Hemisphere. She's also 29, and frankly I love Irish accents so much that even if she wasn't awesome, I would have probably hung out with her anyway just to listen to her talk. Janice was leaving the next day to go to another lodge, so I offered to drive her since I had my huge SUV so she didn't have to take a taxi and you know us MeMooners need to stick together. Ended my first day with a moonlight float in the ocean...There were three security guards for the fales, that all happened to sit in a little circle directly under/outside my fale - appreciate the thought, but not sure I need that much guarding. (Although I know my Mom is smiling right now)

Over the next couple days, I enjoyed a lot of sun and sand, floating, snorkeling, learning to play the conch shell, reading and you know general MeMooning, and got to know people staying at/around the fales. Although I was having trouble finding time for myself on this MeMoon since people (mostly local males) kept talking to me, from 7am to 10pm. While all the attention was nice for the ego, it started to get a bit much, so I decided one day that I would drive a bit down away from my fales so I could lay on the beach alone without being constantly chatted to. Found a nice little deserted stretch of sand, and not five minutes had gone by before 2 men were waving and coming out of the trees to talk to me. I was starting to think - what does it take for a girl to MeMoon in peace? So I did the next best thing, started hanging out with couples and old people, two things I have quite a bit of experience with.

I spent the second half of my MeMoon on another island in Samoa, Savai'i. Its about an hour ferry ride, but seems quite a bit different in that it seems to have even more happy villagers/children running around and an even slower pace of life. The place I stayed (see above) had just three couples staying there, besides me, all Kiwis. I packed them all in my SUV the next day to drive to another nearby beach, and one couple and I continued on to the most Western spot on earth (camera died so Kiwi couple has those pics). Spent my last night in Samoa huddled with the rest of the guests and all the villagers, around a small tv to watch the All Blacks take down the Wallabies (AUS). The Samoans were all rooting for the All Blacks, since half the team are Samoans anyway. Had a bit of a rough trip back starting with my flight leaving at 2am in the morning, then being squeezed next to two large Samoans, including one kid who was double my size and raised the arm rest between us and kept putting his leg in my area. His Mom had what looked like a very comfy upper arm, so I thought about offering to trade spots with him, but wasn't sure she would let me snuggle up. Landed in Wellington at 8am and had to jump right back into reality and head to class.....

A few general impressions of Samoa:

-So glad that it hasn't been ruined by massive tourism. There are very few big resorts ( I did go to one that was US$500 a night, to check my email and enjoy some unapproached beach time), most places are small locally owned beach fales. This makes it much nicer. I mean who doesn't want to stay in an open hut directly on the beach for less than $50 US a night. Also it brings you into contact with "real" Samoa (no I'm not an expert, I was only there 6 days, but more real than a Marriott would). Each beach fale, at least that I stayed at, employed all people from the local village. The other thing I love about the tourism "infrastructure" in Samoa is that lets say you read about a picturesque waterfall or cave pool or sliding rock area that you wanted to go see - instead of there being a big Western cheesy set-up, there's just an old Samoan dude sitting there who will ask you for 5/10/20 tala. Frankly I'd much rather give 20 tala to an old Samoan dude to see the Western most spot on Earth and swim in the little ocean cave pool, than have a resort pop up there. Also said old dude, decided after us that he was all set for the day and asked me for a ride back to his village, on the ride (all open windows) he reached in his briefcase and got out his fan :)

-Driving around Samoa in one way is a dream (not the road condition necessarily a la Lonely Planet, although Savai'i roads are much better than Upolu) because as you drive along there are always people walking along/in the road and EVERYONE smiles and waves. It makes you feel like you're in a parade where everyone is so glad to see you and you're so glad to wave at everyone. Although I'm not sure when the kids are actually in school since they're constantly meandering about. The biggest road hazard in Samoa that I encountered were pigs, just snorting around, crossing the road whenever they wanted = Awesome

-Working - Its not evident that anyone actually works in Samoa, other than at the fales, although people seem to be working really hard on manicuring/landscaping their property. People are just meandering about at all hours. I quickly started to understand why, by the end of the week I was like - turn the next page in my novel, nah can't be bothered, I think I'll just float some more or stare into the horizon. Although I was throwing around business cards left and right, and then after a few strange looks, stopped and thought, ok this is weird, I'm on a beach - but hey its handy and I was making friends/connections (wink).

-Katy Perry is alive and well in Samoa, thanks to American Samoa. Its weird to be driving around a tropical island and hearing U.S. accents (hot) on the radio and U.S. news (all caught up now). I did not go to American Samoa, but via rental radio, I got a little taste

-So to recap - my MeMoon amounted to 0 sunburns (I've learned so well from the ozone hole in NZ to apply sunscreen constantly), 1 incidence of sea something embedded in my ear (rectified, don't worry), only 4 mosquito bites, 12 new friends, 6 marriage proposals, 3 offers of land to buy in Samoa, 4 places to stay in New Zealand, a job offer for my old roommate Reba, 6 sunrises, 1 sunset in the Western most part of the world, 4 servings of oka (awesome samoan ceviche), a few Vailima (local beer), 4 books read, and the ultimate score - a free copy of The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest, which I've been waiting for from the library for 3 months and I happened to find in a little trade in coffee shop in Savai'i. In sum - PARADISE. I would highly/strongly recommend, and on flights to NZ you can do a stopover in Samoa for only $100 extra - get on it, before Marriott does.