I can't believe it is already September! My rotation in American Samoa was supposed to end on September 1 (hence the title of my blog) but a number of different factors delayed my study this summer and my rotation has been extended to November 2. I feel really fortunate to have the opportunity to spend more time in American Samoa because I am really enjoying my work here and gaining some really valuable experience.
The last three have been a total whirlwind of activity. Kelsey's last week here on the island overlapped with survey week! Survey week started with a training class for the four volunteers from the American Samoa Community College who would be helping me with survey distribution. After reviewing the survey and going through various scenarios the volunteers divided up the survey villages were ready to go. For the next seven days the volunteers visited households in the villages adjacent to Fagatele Bay and distributed surveys. I was a little apprehensive about people's willingness to respond to the survey but it turned out my concerns were completely unnecessary. The response rate was nearly 100% and in seven days the girls were able to collect nearly 500 surveys! I met with the volunteers throughout the week to discuss their experiences and so I knew that things were going well but I was overwhelmed by the response considering I was only hoping to collect 120 surveys. I suppose the high response rate may have been in part due to the fact that we gave out free pens to anyone who completed a survey. According to one of my volunteers, word got out that we were distributing pens people were tracking her down on her cell phone to ask if they could participate in the study! On Thursday when I went to Cost U Less (American Samoa's take on Cosco) to buy more pens the cashier commmented "Oh are you from the group that is handing out pens in Vaitogi [one of my survey villages]? My mom was talking about you guys. Do you think you could come to my house?"
The only downside of collecting so many surveys is that we now have to enter all the data into a database for analysis! I considered using several programs for data analysis including SPSS and Excel but at the end of the day I settled on Survey Pro, a software program often used for social science research that is frequently used in American Samoa. It is extremely simple to enter data and most of the analysis is done automatically which is very time efficient. I have enlisted the help of Noel, the summer intern, for data entry and I have given her the task of entering all the Samoan surveys, not an easy task since many more people completed the survey in Samoan than in English. She is a total rock star however and I have every confidence in her ability to get them done!
Last week I headed to Kona for the Coral Reef Task Force Meeting, a bi-annual event held to bring together people from different organizations who work on coral reef conservation and management in the United States and in US Territories. Ten people from American Samoa attended the conference including the Governor and his wife, the Director and the Deputy Director of the Department of Commerce, the Superintendant of Fagatele Bay (my boss), and several staff from the Coral Reef Advisory Group (CRAG) and the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR). Also in attendance was the Governor of Guam and the President of Yap and the President of Palau. The conference was a great opportunity to meet with people from other islands to learn about their experiences. I am very inspired by the work that is being done and I hope to have the opportunity to visit some of their sites.
I returned to American Samoa on Sunday and fortunately Monday was a holiday so I had an opportunity to rest before returning to the wonderful world of data entry. I am trying to get as much done as possible this week because tomorrow I am leaving for Fiji for a 6-day training on Marine Protected Area (MPA) capacity building. The course is being help by NOAA and the University of the South Pacific and focuses on coral reef management in the Pacific Islands Region. I will be attending the course with two people from the Coral Reef Advisory Group (CRAG) which is housed in my building in American Samoa. I feel extremely fortunate to have this opportunity to participate in this extraordinary course in such a beautiful location. The training ends on Saturday evening but due to the flight schedule we will not be returning to American Samoa until the following Tuesday. My plan is to rent a car and drive around the island as much as I can. Then it's back to more data entry...
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Adventures with Kelsey
My friend Kelsey is visiting from California for two weeks. We went to undergrad at UCLA together and now she lives in Pismo Beach. Next fall she is going back to school to get her masters in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism so she thought it would be great to get some real world experience before she started school. In addition to helping me with the Fagatele Bay tours, she is also going to be doing marine surveys with a friend who works for the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources.
Yesterday Kelsey, Jeremy and I went on an adventure to Palagi Beach. The beach is located at the western most point of American Samoa. Barbara pointed out that it is also the western most point of the United States. Although there are other territories that are located further west, they are located on the other side of the the international date line so technically they don't count.
To get to Palagi Beach you either have to hike along some precarious cliffs or wade through the ocean. Since it is only possible to go the water route at low tide and the water was still pretty high when we got there, we took the cliff route on the way to the beach and the water route on the way back. Kelsey and Jeremy took the following pictures at the beach.
Yesterday Kelsey, Jeremy and I went on an adventure to Palagi Beach. The beach is located at the western most point of American Samoa. Barbara pointed out that it is also the western most point of the United States. Although there are other territories that are located further west, they are located on the other side of the the international date line so technically they don't count.
To get to Palagi Beach you either have to hike along some precarious cliffs or wade through the ocean. Since it is only possible to go the water route at low tide and the water was still pretty high when we got there, we took the cliff route on the way to the beach and the water route on the way back. Kelsey and Jeremy took the following pictures at the beach.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Fagatele Bay Tours
During the Pacific Arts Festival, the National Marine Sanctuaries Office offered guided tours of Fagatele Bay. We take groups of about twenty people on a 4km hike along the ridge above Fagatele Bay and we visit one of the beaches along the bay. If the group decides, we can also arrange for snorkeling after the tour. Last week I led a group of tourists from Maui, Australia, New Zealand, and Austria. This week Kelsey and I led a delegation from Hawaii who were performing in a play for the festival. Tomorrow we are taking out the dancers from the Hawaii delegation. Here are some pictures from the hikes:
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Better than Bryant Park
[For those of you who have never lived in NY, or seen the Sex and the City movie, Project Runway, the Real Housewives of New York, Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane, or anything else on E!, Bryant Park is the location of New York Fashion Week. Oh and it is the best spot in NY for Sunday Brunch!]
Last Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday, the Pacific Arts Festival held Fashion Shows at the auditorium to showcase clothing from different islands in the South Pacific. I missed Saturday but all anyone was talking about the next day was that the Tahitian woman displayed "pre-colonial" clothing that consisted of a grass skirt and little else. So come Monday I decided I had to check this event out for myself. We went early and got seats right up front. Monday's show included Norfolk Islands, Samoa, Palau, and Taiwan. Each island nation interpreted "fashion show" very differently.
Norfolk Islands displayed dresses dyed using natural vegetation for prints:
Samoa put on quite a display, showcasing everything from pre-colonial wear to modern clothing.
Even Celine Dion made an appearance!!
Some girls from Palau performed a traditional dance in modern outfits.
And finally Taiwan...
Last Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday, the Pacific Arts Festival held Fashion Shows at the auditorium to showcase clothing from different islands in the South Pacific. I missed Saturday but all anyone was talking about the next day was that the Tahitian woman displayed "pre-colonial" clothing that consisted of a grass skirt and little else. So come Monday I decided I had to check this event out for myself. We went early and got seats right up front. Monday's show included Norfolk Islands, Samoa, Palau, and Taiwan. Each island nation interpreted "fashion show" very differently.
Norfolk Islands displayed dresses dyed using natural vegetation for prints:
Samoa put on quite a display, showcasing everything from pre-colonial wear to modern clothing.
Even Celine Dion made an appearance!!
Some girls from Palau performed a traditional dance in modern outfits.
And finally Taiwan...
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Night Time Events
Every evening during the Festival there are performances held all over the island. We've been trying to go to a different venue every night to get a taste of all the different activities going on. Here's a sampling...
On Tuesday night we went to the Tradewinds hotel to watch a band from Rape Nui. Here are Danny, April, and Naomi dancing on the lawn at the show.
On Wednesday Night we went to the Pavillion to see the Solomon Islands, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Rapa Nui, Taiwan, American Samoa, and Kiribati.
Papua New Guinea has 820 indigenous languages and hundreds of different culture groups. I think about 10 different culture groups are being represented at the festival. They all wear very different clothes and perform entirely different dances. Here are Sarah and I with one of the culture groups from PNG.
There are nearly 1000 islands in the Solomon Islands and the residents speak 74 different languages. This information would have been impressive under any other circumstances but unfortunately the Solomon Islands followed PNG and the crowd was still trying to figure out how the PNG government actually managed to function with over ten times that many languages! Here are some dancers from the Solomon Islands.
On Thursday we went to see a play about a Maori soldier fighting in WWII. It managed to be both humorous and really serious and touched upon a lot of important historical events. Unfortunately cameras were not allowed in the auditorium.
On Friday we went to see the show at the stadium. There were dancers from French Polynesia, Fiji, American Samoa, and Papua New Guinea. However the highlight was the World Fire Knife Dance Competition that took place after performances.
On Tuesday night we went to the Tradewinds hotel to watch a band from Rape Nui. Here are Danny, April, and Naomi dancing on the lawn at the show.
On Wednesday Night we went to the Pavillion to see the Solomon Islands, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Rapa Nui, Taiwan, American Samoa, and Kiribati.
Papua New Guinea has 820 indigenous languages and hundreds of different culture groups. I think about 10 different culture groups are being represented at the festival. They all wear very different clothes and perform entirely different dances. Here are Sarah and I with one of the culture groups from PNG.
There are nearly 1000 islands in the Solomon Islands and the residents speak 74 different languages. This information would have been impressive under any other circumstances but unfortunately the Solomon Islands followed PNG and the crowd was still trying to figure out how the PNG government actually managed to function with over ten times that many languages! Here are some dancers from the Solomon Islands.
On Thursday we went to see a play about a Maori soldier fighting in WWII. It managed to be both humorous and really serious and touched upon a lot of important historical events. Unfortunately cameras were not allowed in the auditorium.
On Friday we went to see the show at the stadium. There were dancers from French Polynesia, Fiji, American Samoa, and Papua New Guinea. However the highlight was the World Fire Knife Dance Competition that took place after performances.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Day Time Activities
The Pacific Arts Festival has been unbelievable. The main festival village is located right outside my office building so every day at lunch I go watch dance performances on the beach and negotiate with the nice man from Papua New Guinea to sell me this beautiful woven basket (large enough for me to fit into comfortably) at a quarter of his asking price...
Anyhow here are some highlights from the festival:
Some dancers from Papua New Guinea before they went on stage. The women are all topless and there was some concern about crowd response. Apparently when the festival was held in Western Samoa 8 years ago some people threw rocks and trash on stage to protest the nudity. Since both Western Samoa and American Samoa are very religious, festival organizers anticipated the same would happen here and ran a radio campaign for a month before the festival reminding people to respect other cultures. It seemed to work because everyone was very respectful!
Barbara, Eric, and Melissa taking a break from work to enjoy the festival.
Posing with some of the guys from fiji.
The guys from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) are definitely a crowd favorite. The guy on the right told me I was very beautiful and asked me if I would marry him and move back to easter island. If you don't hear from me for a while...there is a good chance you can find me there!
Anyhow here are some highlights from the festival:
Some dancers from Papua New Guinea before they went on stage. The women are all topless and there was some concern about crowd response. Apparently when the festival was held in Western Samoa 8 years ago some people threw rocks and trash on stage to protest the nudity. Since both Western Samoa and American Samoa are very religious, festival organizers anticipated the same would happen here and ran a radio campaign for a month before the festival reminding people to respect other cultures. It seemed to work because everyone was very respectful!
Barbara, Eric, and Melissa taking a break from work to enjoy the festival.
Posing with some of the guys from fiji.
The guys from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) are definitely a crowd favorite. The guy on the right told me I was very beautiful and asked me if I would marry him and move back to easter island. If you don't hear from me for a while...there is a good chance you can find me there!
Pacific Arts Festival (Part 1 of 4,321,042)
The Pacific Arts Festival has officially begun! The Pacific Arts Festival is an event held every four years to celebrate artists in the South Pacific. Islands in the South Pacific take turns hosting the event and so it is a huge honor that American Samoa was selected this year. In addition to "National Clean Up Day" people all over the island have been going out of their way to beautify the island. And I have to give everyone credit because it really does look better!
The festivities kicked off with an incredible "Olympic Style" March of Nations. I went with Barbara and some of the Archeology interns on island and somehow we managed to find ourselves sitting in the VIP section three rows behind the Governor!!! Definitely some of the best seats in the house! To our right was a delegate from New Zealand and right in front of us was a delegate from Papua New Guinea. The ceremony began with a speech from the Governor and the Festival Coordinator.
The highlight was the following quote from the governor:
"If God is the Michelangelo, then the Pacific Islands are his Mona Lisa."
Perhaps funnier than the actual quote however were the reactions of the people around me. The Italian to my right just shook her head and looked dumbfounded. The American archeologist to my right paused, thought about it, and then with a little hesitation said "Wait I thought it was that Da Vinci guy." Meanwhile everyone else around us just nodded their heads approvingly. Classic island moment.
After that came the parade. As each of the countries delegations passed by they performed a traditional song and dance and presented a gift to the Governor's wife. Here are some highlights (pictures courtesy of Barbara):
Waiting for the Parade to start
The Tahitian dancers were phenomenal
The Samoan delegation played conch shells
The women from New Zealand had great tops. The mens costumes (mainly body paint and feathers) were great too but unfortunately they moved around too much to get a good picture.
Unfortunately the delegation from Hawaii did not perform up to our expectations.
Barbara's future husband
Even Jesus made an appearance! If you can't see it the sign in front of Jesus reads "Architecture."
The festivities kicked off with an incredible "Olympic Style" March of Nations. I went with Barbara and some of the Archeology interns on island and somehow we managed to find ourselves sitting in the VIP section three rows behind the Governor!!! Definitely some of the best seats in the house! To our right was a delegate from New Zealand and right in front of us was a delegate from Papua New Guinea. The ceremony began with a speech from the Governor and the Festival Coordinator.
The highlight was the following quote from the governor:
"If God is the Michelangelo, then the Pacific Islands are his Mona Lisa."
Perhaps funnier than the actual quote however were the reactions of the people around me. The Italian to my right just shook her head and looked dumbfounded. The American archeologist to my right paused, thought about it, and then with a little hesitation said "Wait I thought it was that Da Vinci guy." Meanwhile everyone else around us just nodded their heads approvingly. Classic island moment.
After that came the parade. As each of the countries delegations passed by they performed a traditional song and dance and presented a gift to the Governor's wife. Here are some highlights (pictures courtesy of Barbara):
Waiting for the Parade to start
The Tahitian dancers were phenomenal
The Samoan delegation played conch shells
The women from New Zealand had great tops. The mens costumes (mainly body paint and feathers) were great too but unfortunately they moved around too much to get a good picture.
Unfortunately the delegation from Hawaii did not perform up to our expectations.
Barbara's future husband
Even Jesus made an appearance! If you can't see it the sign in front of Jesus reads "Architecture."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
