Each time we step foot into a country for the first time, we are filled with anticipation and, for the most part, we really aren't sure what to expect. We set out in a sponge-like manner ready to absorb every detail and take everything in. From the start, it has proven very difficult to soak up the culture, integrate with locals as we usually do, and really get to know and understand Samoa.
In our experience, the vast majority of locals have been unhospitable and downright rude, outside of the resorts and Apia. We are still not sure why this is - perhaps it is resentment? A lot of people here seem perfectly okay with doing absolutely nothing all day, everyday, something that we just cannot comprehend. It appears to us that most locals are extremely unenterprising, lazy people. As we heard more than once from foreigners living here, most of the locals don't work but try to have lots of children with the intent on sending them abroad to Australia, New Zealand, and the US to make money to send back to them to support their lifestyle. How they fund this, we don't know.
For the first time we are chosing to reside in resort bubbles removed from most of the Samoan culture and lifestyle. Outside of the resorts and Apia, we have felt most unwelcome, eventhough we are respectful of local customs and conservative attire. Smiles and greetings are nearly never returned unless someone is trying to sell us something. We have also found that outside of Apia and the resorts, we are constantly started at and scrutinized and watched constantly as if we are on display all while no one will so much as crack a smile -makes for a quite uncomfortable experience. On Manono Island, we were especially appauled by village behaviour - mainly involving children; outright mocking us and calling names, trying to grab things from us, attempting to shake our hands only to pull a ring off, asking over and over, "Haven't you got no cash?", and even throwing knives at us. It seems their behaviour is completely acceptable as we have yet to witness an adult intervening in the children's antics.
In our opinion, respect and consideration towards others is severely lacking in this culture. One painfull example of this was a taxi ride we and another couple shared on Savaii which literally made us feel sick. The driver maintained incredibly high speeds through rural villages, which throughout the 45 minute ride, resulted in a string of near misses on pigs, dogs, and school children. From all indications, this behaviour was not out of the ordinary as not a single person we whizzed by so much as turned or looked up to acknowledge the taxi speeding by. It really was a miracle that no one was hit. Another example occurred when we and 2 other travellers were trying to negotiate a taxi fare in Apia. One of the many taxi's we were standing by that that was sitting unoccupied abruptly started and immediately pulled back running into Niels' pack and nearly hitting him as well. This resulted in roaring laughter from everyone around. We felt so sad and really couldn't believe the number of people reacting in that way. On a basic, human level - how can people be so cruel?
Other than the time we have spent inside a resort or in Apia, our time in Samoa has been riddled with experiences similar to the aformentioned, which has resulted in a very strange, sad, dissillusioning experience. If we had not happened to cross paths with another travelling couple on Savaii during our first week here, we would have long given up and flown out. Meeting them and following their advice to head to Lalomanu led us to an entirely different experience.
The tone of this post is one we do not intend to frequently repeat and of course there is always something good that comes out of a situation, which you can read about in the next post. However, as travellers, we think it is our duty to record and document all experiences, including the bad ones so that other travellers have access to first hand information through our site, as we would much appreciate ourselves. The bottom line: if someone asked if we would recommend a visit to Samoa, we would be inclined to say, "Give it a miss".
