16 Cool, Surprising, And Fascinating Things I Learned On My First Trip To Samoa (My Ancestral Homeland)
Hi, I'm Morgan! I'm a 29-year-old Samoan woman, and this month, I visited Samoa for the first time.
Some of my family from Australia and New Zealand joined my mom and me in the motherland, and we made so many memories I'll treasure forever. But there were a bunch of things I didn't know or expect about Samoa, so I thought I'd share some of the things I learned:
1.I didn't realize how emotional it would make me just to look around and see other Samoans.
Since I moved to Austin a year ago, I haven't seen a SINGLE Pacific Islander. I've even asked in Facebook groups, with no response! TBH, it's kind of isolating.
As soon as I stepped off the plane in Samoa, I felt pretty emotional. It was the first time in my life — outside of family functions — that I looked around, and the majority of people were Samoan. There was something unexpectedly comforting in that, like a feeling of coming home.
2.There's SO much natural beauty.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that a lot of the land isn't developed and remains untouched. There's something magical about seeing everything as it's been for thousands of years. I visited the island of Upolu, and there were endless rainforests, breathtaking coasts, and no crowds.
In my opinion, the most beautiful area was this swimming hole named To Sua Ocean Trench. It was formed by an ancient lava eruption, and the pool is connected to the ocean through an underwater cave.
I'll be honest: Climbing down that steep, slippery ladder was the most terrifying thing I've done in a long time. There are no harnesses, lifeguards, etc., so you better hold on tight!
But jumping in the water made it all worth it. I seriously felt as if I was in another world: The foliage at the top tumbles down, fish swim by, and there's a huge cave you can explore (but I was too scared because the current was INTENSE). To Sua is amazing, and the pics don't do it justice.
3.People bury their family members in their front yards.
This might sound weird to Americans, but Samoans have a unique relationship with the land. As I understand it, about 80% is called customary land, meaning it's owned by families, within villages, and the matais (chiefs) have authority over the land. Customary land cannot be bought or sold, but it can be leased. There's also freehold land, which can be bought and sold, but only by Samoan citizens, unless you get permission from the head of state.
So you wouldn't decide to just pick up and move to a new neighborhood, like in the US. And the reason you bury your relatives in the front yard rather than the backyard is so that you don't turn your back on the dead.
4.You have to pay to visit the beaches.
Unlike in the US, beaches are considered the private property of families/villages. When you park at the beach, someone usually pops up and collects a small fee from each visitor. I believe the money goes toward maintaining the grounds; everything was so clean and well cared for.
We went to Lalomanu Beach, which was absolutely STUNNING. The water was like 80 degrees and unbelievably clear. And there are fales (open-air houses with no walls) painted in cute colors right on the sand.
5.I learned how to weave coconut tree leaves into a plate for my lunch.
At the Samoa Cultural Village, they offer two-and-a-half-hour experiences where you can dive into different aspects of Samoan culture. I was stoked to weave these fronds into a plate that I later ate off. In the markets around town, I noticed that sellers carried their wares in similarly woven baskets, so it's still a common thing today.
6.I also learned how to cook in a traditional umu (an aboveground oven).
The hosts placed our fish, kalo (taro), palusami (taro leaves and coconut milk), and fa'i (green bananas) in a bed of heated rocks. Then they covered it all up with banana leaves to trap the heat. I'd never seen cooking with the umu before, so it was really exciting to witness the process. And the food was delicious!
7.I got to watch two men get their traditional pe'a tattoos.
The hosts took us to a fale where two men were being tattooed. I learned that only two families in Samoa could give these tattoos, and the knowledge has been passed down for generations. It's a huge honor to receive the pe'a (or the malu, for women) because it represents your family, signifies your dedication to the culture, and demonstrates your commitment to serving your community. The pe'a covers the body from the middle of the back to the knees, and each symbol has an important meaning.
8.Visiting my grandparents' villages was even cooler than I imagined.
I spent so long looking forward to this trip — not just because I've always wanted to visit Samoa but because my nana would be going too. She moved to New Zealand a long time ago, but it was awesome hearing her stories about growing up in Samoa. For example, she was really proud of the fact that she was the only woman working in the post office back in the day.
We only briefly stopped by my papa's village (Fusi) to see the graves, but at my nana's village (Leulumoega), we got to explore more. I spent some time at my auntie's house and fell in love with the fale beside it.
The majority of homes have a fale nearby. They're used as meeting houses for family/village discussions as well as spaces for hanging out, celebrating, and relaxing.
I also got to see the schools my nana attended growing up, as well as several other family homes. It was so fun imagining how all the oldies were when they were little! Surreal to walk down the same paths they did so many years ago.
9.There were SO many stray dogs and cats.
As a dog mom, this made my heart ache! At nearly every restaurant patio we went to, a stray animal came up to us. You'll also see them when you're driving around town, going shopping, etc. It's probably a complex issue, and I'm not familiar enough with the situation to offer any solutions beyond hoping that more people get their fur babies fixed. But I wish someone had warned me, because it was tough to see.
10.The fruit was out of this world.
While I was out shopping, I had to go the bathroom really badly. I recalled a sign up the road for a French café and entered a small building, thinking it must be the restaurant. An older woman came up to me and asked if I needed help. I asked her if this was the café, and she said, "No, this is my home."
I was MORTIFIED and rushed out, but she followed me and struck up a conversation. There was a ginormous guava tree outside her house, and she cut up some fruit for me and my cousins. I couldn't believe this lady was kind enough to feed me after I'd barged into her house! And once I took a bite of the guava, OMG. To die for. It reminded me a bit of a feijoa (my favorite fruit!), but a lot of people think guava tastes like a cross between a strawberry and pear.
I also got to try star fruit for the first time! Because of the unique shape, the pieces look like cute little stars when you slice it.
The star fruit was slightly sweet and sooo yummy. The taste was really hard for me to pin down. I googled what other people thought, and some people find it's a combination of pineapple and citrus fruits like orange and lemon, while other folks think it's more like a cross between an apple and a pear, with a hint of lemon.
11.My hotel room key was attached to a plastic key that turned on the electricity.
I'm not sure if this is common in any other countries, but I was taken aback by it. When you unlock the door to your hotel room, there's a little slot on the wall where you slide in the plastic key to turn on the electricity. For the first few days, I kept forgetting about this and left my phone on the charger while I went to breakfast, only to come back to my battery at the same level.
My best guess is the hotels do this to ensure that people don't blast the AC while they're gone all day, but I'm not sure. It definitely forces people to conserve energy!
12.Speaking of the hotel, it was so much better than I expected.
We stayed at Amanaki Hotel, which is in a great location because we could walk into town. The rooms were super spacious, each with a view of the pool and the ocean in the distance. Including me, there were 11 of us staying there, and we all LOVED the restaurant, where they keep reserved seating for hotel guests. I don't usually eat much seafood, but that poke was on another level. I could eat it every day!
But the best part about Amanaki was definitely the people. They were so kind, welcoming, and warm. We became friends with a front desk worker, Anna, who even asked for pics before we left and posted a sweet message about us on social media.
13.Apparently, Robert Louis Stevenson brought pineapples to Samoa.
I visited the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum, which is actually the home where he lived and died. During the tour, I learned that the writer — whom you might remember as the author of Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — journeyed across the South Pacific and fell in love with Samoa. During the 1880s and '90s, Germany, Britain, and the US fought over who could colonize the islands, which led to several wars. Stevenson became passionate about Samoan independence and spoke on behalf of the people. He also traded stories with the locals, and they gave him the name Tusitala (teller of tales/storyteller).
But the thing that really stuck out to me was that pineapples are not native to Samoa. The tour guide told us that Stevenson had them brought over, which blew my mind!
14.You shouldn't drink the tap water.
Just a PSA in case anyone wants to visit, since I had no idea! We bought cases of bottled water and were totally fine. There was also a kettle in our hotel room, so we boiled the tap water a few times before making coffee to make sure it was all good.
15.The taxi drivers often decorate the insides of their cars.
I loved how creative people were with their taxis! This one had a Bob Marley lavalava (sarong) pinned to the roof of the car, and a few others were decorated with traditional Samoan designs.
16.And finally, I had no idea how reconnected I'd feel by the end of my trip.
Even though I love my culture, I grew up mixed and in the US. Like many members of the diaspora, I don't speak fluent Samoan, and I'm not knowledgeable about all of our customs and traditions. So I'm incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to connect with my roots and learn more about where I come from. I left Samoa with so much pride in my heritage and peace in my heart!
