Arrived Apia harbor
We got the anchor down in Apia harbor by noon and Mark went ashore to check in with the the multiple checkpoints. While he was at the harbor master's office, the health department and the plants & animals quarantine officials came to the boat. After their inspection, they told us we could take down the quarantine flag. Until that is done, officially only the captain can go on shore. When Mark came back he told us that we would all have to go to the immigration office with our passports to check in. This required a taxi ride to the other side of Apia. This was the most time consuming entry process we have encountered. By the time we were finished it was late afternoon so we rounded up our friends from Liahona and all went for a pizza dinner.
As the meal ended, Andy declared that he wanted to catch up with old friends and would see us when he could. Since Andy had spent two years here in the Peace Corps, he has many friends including his host Samoan family. In Samoa, there is a structure of ruling families and their chiefs with a hierarchy of lesser chiefs. Altogether, there are four layers of chiefs descending from the one at the top. The village structure is still very strong and when a village chief gives you his protection, you can be pretty sure you will be safe from almost anything except Mother Nature. All of the Peace Corps workers are volunteers. They are paid almost nothing but are provided food, housing and a chief to watch over them. They spend some time learning Samoan so they can communicate, at least at the rudimentary level. Many of them, like Andy, are teachers so they are also respected for that profession. Others work to improve the villages and we heard of one case where a husband and wife team were made honorary chiefs for the work they did. Samoans feel that the Peace Corps workers are their guests and should be treated as such. No wonder Andy was so impacted by the two years he spent here.
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