An eye-opening visit to the islands

By Anina Kazaz 08 May 2018, 12:00AM

Samoa is a good place for a family getaway.

Dear Tourist yesterday met grandmother, Kerry Allan, her son Chris and his wife, Laura and the kids, Jack, 6 and Harper, 3. 

They arrived in Samoa on 1st May fom Canada and they are here for a month. 

“Years ago we went to New Zealand and had a stopover on Cook Islands. We loved this Pacific Island,” Laura explained.

“What we read about Samoa is that it is safe to come with kids. So that is why we choose Samoa over Bali or Asia.” 

Chris added: “Compared to the Cook Islands, it is definitely less commercialised here. It is easier to see how the economy works in the village. We have not seen this in Rarotonga or the Cook Islands.”

They were staying at Lalomanu for three night and just came to Apia before they leave for Savaii today.

“Everyone has been so friendly here, it is nice to see that,” Chris said.

“It is easy to get into a conversation with the locals. They are always waving and saying hey.”

“We got a lot of comments like, thank you for coming to Samoa. We feel really safe here too.”

“There are no beggars around. We never got asked for money, which is really nice. If you go to Canada down the street there are people begging, here we have not seen that.”

One thing the family missed while driving around were the street signs.

“They definitely need some street signs because you really do not know where you are, even on a map,” Chris said.

“It is very hard for us to find restaurants. Just the location, with a price range and the kind of food they sell on a map would have helped us.” 

“What we also thought of is in case of emergency was we would not know where to go because there are no signs to the hospitals,” Chris said.

They were also impressed with the family-oriented society in Samoa. 

“In the village we could see the pride they have. They obviously do not have a lot, but they appreciate what they have. That is hard. I think of life differently when I go home. We won’t complain about the Internet is too slow. It absolutely opened my eyes to see this,” Kerri shared.

This trip is also a time for the children to witness what life is like away from the comfort of their city life. 

“We met a family when we were lost, the man and some of the kids came up to help us. They live with six children in the middle of nowhere.” 

“They did not have any clothes, chicken or meat, nothing. They were not asking for anything from us. They were just friendly.”

“We bought them rice and flour. It was nice to see our kids so excited to give the gifts to them,” Laura shared.

“There was a store near by so we got there and bought them a lot of food. Harper picked up lollipops for the other kids.”

“They have been so thankful. This experience is good for all of us. It was my favorite day. The lady said the next time she sees us she will have a gift for us. ” Kerri said.

By Anina Kazaz 08 May 2018, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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