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| Beach in Manu'a |
The Manu’a islands are a
group of smaller islands that are part of American Samoa that lie to the southeast
of the main island, Tutuila (where I’m located). We have 10 volunteers working
on the Manu’a islands and, since September, the plan had been to visit them
over the Thanksgiving break.
Manu’a is NOT the easiest
place to get to. Being so remote and having a population of roughly 800,
constant transport is not a necessity and, therefore, practically non-existent.
However, there are two ways to get to Manu’a: an 8 hour boat ride or a half
hour plane flight. The boat leaves the main island every other week on either
Friday or Saturday around 5am and arrives in Manu’a a little after 1pm. It
delivers its load and then leaves early the next day. The plane, on the other
hand, flies out in the late morning Sunday-Wednesday (although, the schedule
changes weekly) and returns about an hour later. While the plane might seem the
obvious choice, it is the more expensive one ($165 round trip vs. $60 round
trip). Also, it is often grounded for maintenance. In fact, it was grounded for
the entire first half of November because it was waiting for a part to be
delivered. Since the part wasn’t going to arrive until Monday, the 19th
(two days before we wanted to leave), we were forced to consider all options,
including 16 hours on a boat.
Although it took a lot of
planning, an extremely long e-mail chain and hitting a couple of “brick walls”,
a small group of us managed to snag reservations on the plane (I might have,
unknowingly, taken someone else’s seat…WHOOPS!). Although many volunteers from
the main island were planning on going, in the end, there were only six of us.
While Mike and Jessica took the Tuesday flight, Melanie, Andrea, Josh S and I managed
to get seats on the highly desired Wednesday flight (the last flight that would
provide a reasonable amount of vacation time).
Around 10:30 Wednesday
morning, I arrived at Pago Pago Airport to check in for my 12 pm departure. At
check-in, I waited no more than 10 minutes, had my checked luggage
hand-searched, received a boarding pass that was filled out by hand, and was
weighed along with my carry-on to determine my seat assignment. Going through
“security” consisted of an employee (not a TSA officer…of which, I saw none)
taking a quick look through my bag. There was no emptying my pockets, no need
to remove my shoes, and no full-body scan. It was, by far, the easiest and most
relaxed airport security I thought I would ever go through. It wasn’t until I
saw the plane that I really understood why.
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| On the plane to Manu'a |
The plane to Manu’a is a
Dornier 228-212 (basically, a ridiculously small plane). It has a seat on
either side of the aisle (everybody gets a window AND an aisle…score!) and 8
rows. It seats a total of 16 passengers and two pilots who are in no way
separate from the passengers. The plane has cargo holds in both its nose and
the rear of the plane and can hold a little over an hour’s worth of fuel. In
essence, out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, it is of very little use to a
terrorist. Hence, the lack of security.
In total, the flight took
no more than 25 minutes. There were no complimentary drinks or flight
attendants, for that matter, but the journey did include an amazing aerial view
of Tutuila, and the Manu’a Islands: Ofu, Olosega and Ta’u.
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| Manu'a Airport |
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| "Check In" |
When we landed on Ta’u
(again, no security in sight), we were greeted by Jason, one of the volunteers
on Manu’a. Jason had procured a ride for us from “The Rev” (Jason’s landlord,
village reverend, and superintendent).
Clearly, a jack of all trades. Since the
airport is on the opposite side of the island from Jason, Diana and Jacquie’s
place in Faleasao (where we were staying for weekend), we got a great tour of
the island. We drove through all three villages on Ta’u - Fiti’uta, Ta’u and
Faleasao; we got a personal tour of Manu’a High School (where Jason and some of
the other volunteers make up a majority of the staff); and we got an amazing
view of Mt. Lata (3,170 ft – highest point in American Samoa) and the National
Park.
During our four days on Ta’u, we did a lot
swimming in some of the most beautiful, cleanest water I think I have ever
seen, we explored the villages, but, most importantly, we got to spend some
quality time with some amazing people. After all, that is what Thanksgiving and
this trip was all about. Ok, maybe the trip was also about getting away from my
students for a little while but it was more of an added bonus.
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| Thanksgiving Dinner |
Having not seen the
Manu’a volunteers in months, we spent Wednesday evening catching up on each
other’s lives (aka: school). The next day, we celebrated Thanksgiving and,
believe me, we did it right. We didn’t let the fact that we were on a remote
island in the middle of the Pacific stop us. Nope, those of us who lived on the
main island stuffed our suitcases with as much food as we possibly could. We
had green bean casserole, bread, potatoes, gravy, stuffing and, yes, we even
had an entire turkey. It was absolutely delicious.
It was also the first
Thanksgiving I’ve ever had without my family. I will admit that that was a
little tough. Being away at college made being away from home for long periods
of time pretty easy. However, being so close, I never had to miss a major
holiday. Holidays, for me, have always been about being with family. So, they
just aren’t the same without them. Of course, part of this adventure was to
have new experiences and I guess that includes holidays away from home. Plus,
if you can’t celebrate with family, the next best thing is friends.
We had a great afternoon
of eating and catching up and, to burn off all the extra calories, we walked to
the boat dock in Ta’u and went swimming. I couldn’t have asked for a more
perfect first Thanksgiving away from home.
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| At the Siva |
On Friday, we spend the
day doing a little more relaxing and a little more swimming. That night, however,
we danced! To our surprise, Friday was the village’s first siva (a gathering
where people dance. Siva is also the name of the actual dance that they do).
Apparently, the minute we landed on Manu’a, it became mandatory that we attend.
For two days, everyone we met made sure to remind us about it.
The purpose of the siva
was to raise money for the church. In order to raise the money, members of each
family put on a performance and, in typical Samoan fashion, the audience threw
money at them. Of course, there were also opportunities for everyone to dance
and, when the first group song came on, I was the first pa’alagi to be asked to
dance. I’ve seen a few people dancing siva and I’ve been told that all of the
moves have meanings but I had no idea what I was doing up there. I tried to
copy the moves of my dance partner and I’m sure I still looked like a fool but
it didn’t seem to matter. I think she just appreciated that I was trying.
As much as I enjoyed
dancing, the real fun started when I brought out my camera. I know they have
all seen cameras before but, the minute I started taking pictures, every little
kid in the village wanted to try. While probably over 100 pictures were
attempted that night, I kept forgetting to tell them to wait for the flash so
only about 50 were actually taken and only about 20 were actually of
something/someone. Of course, the kids didn’t mind at all. For them, it was
more about the experience than the product.
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| The boat arrives! |
After a long night of
dancing, Saturday morning was pretty slow…until the boat came! The boat comes
to Manu’a every other week and brings everything you could possibly imagine. It
is like the Wells Fargo Wagon of American Samoa. People flock from all over the
island to get their shipments off them island. Stores get their stock, families
get their furniture, and volunteers get their groceries. To say that Manu’a is
dependent upon this boat is an understatement. Case in point, while we were
there, the island was completely out of gasoline and the only way to get it is
from the boat. Unfortunately, the boat didn’t bring gas so they weren’t going
to see any gasoline for AT LEAST another two weeks. While Ta’u is a small
island, it is still a half hour walk up and down the mountainside from Faleasao
to Ta’u and somewhere between an hour and a half to two hours to Fitiuta (that
is estimated. We want to try it but never got around to it)
Luckily, it seems that
the locals are pretty aware and prepared for the shortage so we were able to
get a ride over to Fitiuta that afternoon. That night, we hung out with Madeline
and Jessie, the volunteers in that village and, the next morning, we hopped on
our 30 minute flight home.
Going to Manu’a was a
much needed break. It was also an amazing experience. Life in Manu’a is simple.
For one, people are very confined to their villages and live off of what they
can grow or catch (it is a real effort for volunteers on Manu’a to see each
other. On a big island like Tutuila, we can have a bus take us wherever we want
to go. On a small island like Ta’u, it is hitch or walk and most cars aren’t
going very far.) Also, the natural landscape is absolutely beautiful and
unobstructed by government buildings and McDonalds (like on Tutuila), the
waters are pristine, and the weather is perfect (apparently, we were there
during one of the few Saturdays where it didn’t downpour).
To be honest, Manu’a is
much more of what I imagined all of American Samoa would be like. I was very
surprised by the level of Americanization on Tutuila. Of course, there are days
when I really do love that American influence. Despite the beauty of Manu'a, I have to give those volunteers
some props. As nice as the simple life was, I don’t believe I could do it for
more than a long weekend. Even living where I do, I find I need the occasional “American
escape”. The things to do on Manu’a are limited, the American things to do are
nonexistent. It is a lifestyle choice and the volunteers over there
absolutely love it and I loved getting a chance to see them for the first time in a long
time.
