Apolima

I just spent the most amazing week on the island of Apolima. I was really excited about the possibility of going last week, but then everything was up in the air and I wasn’t sure, but then last minute Monday morning everything came together and I was able to go. I went with my academic advisor for my project, who also happens to be the head engineer for the power company in Samoa, and two consultants from Fiji. Over the course of the week about four other workers from EPC also showed up to help power up the solar system. It was pretty incredible. This small island of about 100 people went from having diesel generated power for a few hours a night to 24-hour solar power while I was there.

I don’t have a whole lot of time at this moment to talk about Apolima but I’ll give you the five minute spiel. Apolima is located thirty minutes away from Upolu by boat, which means its pretty much between the two main islands. We got to the wharf, got on the boat, and the first thing everyone started to do was bail water. This continued the entire boat ride. Believe me, I was wondering what I was on when I said I wanted to go. Riding over in a small boat watching the islands rise and fall with each wave made me realize that I was in the middle of the ocean in a tiny boat. The middle of the ocean! I really have a hard time fathoming the navigators who first discovered the islands, especially in small canoes. Can you imagine being tossed around by huge waves with nothing but water all around you? Getting into the island is also tricky. It’s completely surrounded by large rocky cliffs, with only a very small opening for boats to enter and exit. I don’t know how they did it before motor boats.

Apolima consists of ten families, about 100 people in total. There is no running water so the villagers catch rainwater and bathe in a small creek. We brought water with us but mainly ended up drinking coconut milk. I love the islands…and coconuts really are the tree of life. They provide food, water, shelter, tools for fishing and cooking, pretty much everything you need. While there we stayed with the chief of the village because his was the only house big enough to accommodate visitors. Only two people spoke English and the chief was not one of them. He actually dropped out of school at a young age. The education level on Apolima is much lower than in the rest of Samoa because it requires a boat ride just to get to school which makes the lifestyle that much more traditional. I had a wonderfully relaxing week. I spent quite a bit of time observing and watching the solar arrays being readied for use, but I also had a substantial amount of time to read and wander around- climb to the lighthouse, go swimming in the sea, visit with the two girls who spoke English. In the evenings after dinner they would crank up the stereo and everyone would dance. It’s so different than the States where most people will only dance when they’ve been drinking. Here everyone dances starting at two and they do it completely sober. I had a lot of fun and I think I’ve decided that I’ve inherited a lot more of the Latino rhythm than I thought I had. The food was also unbelievable. For one there was always so much of it! There was no way any of us could finish more than half of what we were served at any meal. Apparently the chief got upset because we weren’t eating more and was yelling at his kids for not making better food. I don’t know how it could have gotten better. Take for example Thursday- we had four kinds of fish, shark, chicken, pork, breadfruit, bananas, and cocoa Samoa. I couldn’t even try everything let alone finish it. The best part for me was undoubtedly the fish. There was also fresh oka. So so good. They’ve invited me to go back again before I leave for the US and I am going to do everything in my power to make it back.