Our day in Pago Pago – and Local Birth Control

As our ship pulled into port, you could see a flurry of activity as local merchants set up tents full of colorful sarongs and local crafts, cabs and buses lined up, and even the post office opened its doors early. I recalled when Courtney, Hannah and I stayed on St. Kitts while Courtney taught a class at St. Kitts’ vet school.  We would watch the last cruise ship pull out of port at the end of the day, and we could feel the whole little Island relax, give a sigh of relief and return to normal. The cruise ships do disrupt island life, but on the other hand they are also a huge source of income for them. We were told 1/3 of the residents here in Pago Pago work in the tourist industry, 1/3 for the government and 1/3 at the Starkist Tuna Cannery. We visited a couple of neighborhood grocery stores (note the level of our entertainment) and were surprised to notice that, sorry Charlie, but they don’t sell your Starkist brand tuna on this island. Hum, they have a huge Starkist cannery here but don’t sell or eat that brand? There must be a story there somewhere or maybe they just know something we should know. The water temp was 90 degrees – cool compared to the heat and humidity we experienced walking around town.  We had a difficult time staying focused on the sites. The air conditioning back at the ship kept beckoning to us. I will say the Island was much prettier than I anticipated  -  a lush, green mountainous landscape with crystal clear water lapping against rocky cliffs. Aside from scenery, we did see one unique little church and a 90 foot, 40 man canoe, that was rather impressive.  As for other excitement and sightseeing opportunities, that gal didn’t lie. We even asked locals what they did for fun here. We were told the churches sometimes held bingo games. The main pastime was American television which is broadcast to even the remotest village.  I am not sure that is such a wonderful thing. Then again, remember I am coming off of the “Leave it to Beaver” marathon that they are still running aboard ship so I may be a little jaded about TV right now. Samoans have very strong family units. In the smaller villages all the extended families live together in what are called fales. There are no public cemeteries, family members are buried beside each family’s fale. Children are held in high esteem and they have a grand celebration for them in October where they are given special gifts.  The attire for men is a knee length wrap around skirt called lava lavas. The women wear the traditional puletasi, which is a tunic and skirt. Many of the older people still wear these while the younger folks have mostly gone to tee shirts and knee length shorts, like most of the rest of the world. Unlike Hawaii, many of the beaches here are privately owned by the local Samoans. One of the popular beaches in Pago Pago,  that is family owned  is “Two Dollar Beach”. The family charges one dollar to use it. Just kidding, they charge two dollars, but it would have made a better story. I did however like their approach to Sex Education and birth control here in American Samoa. They post large signs reading, “Sex often leads to shattered dreams, venereal diseases and babies waking you up at 2 in the morning”. I laughed, but I as I thought about it, it actually might be more effective and to the point than our sex education programs covering a detailed discussion of the fallopian tubes.