French woman, Laura Carniato, has been travelling around the world for much of this year.

But for the last month she has been living in Tafitoala, Safata, on the south coast of Upolu.

Ms. Carniato arrived in Samoa last month after traversing the globe. 

“I am doing a lot of travelling around the world," she said, speaking to the Samoa Observer at the Teuila Festival.

"I left France in March and then went to South Africa, but I want to cross the Pacific so I come to Samoa"

Ms. Carniato, who is 32 years old, said she spent her first few days in Apia before she went to Tafitoala where she spent her one month living with a Samoa Family.

“I [was] experiencing the Samoa way of life with them, and also the culture,” she added.

There she says she found an "amazing" way of life completely different to what she has been used to in France. 

“Just the way they live, [while] the kids go to school, the father goes to work at a plantation and the mother and I cook some coco Samoan tea,” she said.

 Mrs. Carniato said she was also struck by the unique position of the church in Samoan life. 

“The most interest[ing] [thing] is the important of church in the family but not only the family in Tafitoala I stayed also the whole Samoa families,” she added.

Worshipping in a country with a large portion of Catholics, she said, was a blessed experience.

But her experience is not coming to an end.

After living with a local family, Ms. Carniato will now continue her Samoa experience with her own family. 

"My parents just arrived in Samoa yesterday morning and now we are staying together," she said. 

"We are spending two weeks here in Samoa before we travel to other country as a family."