There is no Tomorrow

We sailed from American Samoa to Samoa. Samoa is on the other side of the date line. Thursday night we skipped “tomorrow” and went directly to Saturday. Samoa is quite similar to American Samoa politically. The families, chiefs, and land management are all quite similar. The major difference is that Samoa is not a protectorate. It is an independent country. A second important difference is that Samoa is much more focused on the East. Their major trading partner is Australia. They even switched from right hand drive to left hand drive to follow what Australia does. A third difference is that it was a colony of Germany. Surprisingly, other than a few families with German surnames and some buildings the Germans built, there is little that can be considered German in Samoa. The languages are Samoan and English. German is not spoken.

We took an excursion in Samoa. We had comfortable, air conditioned busses, which were a gift from Japan. While touring, out guide pointed out several major buildings, two of which were gifts from China. One of the China-built buildings is now abandoned because it needs major repairs.

One can’t visit a Polynesian country without visiting the market. The Samoa market is large, crowded, and colorful. I’m not comfortable in crowds. I took a quick tour. One stand had some kid of fresh bread. They continuously waved cloth flags to keep the bugs off. Saturday is the biggest day for shopping, but the market is open 6 days a week. The only thing open Sunday is the supermarket, which is open from 6 AM to 9 AM. Church service starts at 10. Everybody has to go to Church on Sunday. Nobody works. So said our guide. In response to a question, she said the younger generation accepts the practice.

We stopped to see the new cathedral. The original was destroyed by a storm. The new was opened in 2014. It nice, but one wonders at the wisdom of spending $14 Million on a building for a country where the average wage is $1.50 per hour. The church imported special wood, stained glass windows, and even an Italian architect. The inside is beautiful, but one doesn’t have to look very hard to see areas that are badly in need of repair. They will be paying the mortgage for a very long time.

The main attraction in Samoa is Robert Lewis Stevenson’s house. Stevenson is a big name in Samoa because he was a leader in the “Free Samoa” movement. Stevenson was very ill most of his life. But he was wealthy enough to buy a very large plot of land and put an amazing house right in the middle of it. The grounds and the house are immaculately maintained. Here’s a pic of the tropical plants, along with a hint of the rain that makes these plants possible.