Aunu'u Island

American Samoa is made up of 5 islands and 2 atolls. We, along with 96% of the country's population, live on the island of Tutuila. Just off our coast is the tiny island of Aunu'u. For almost a year now, we have seen Aunu'u off in the distance, but have been saving a trip there until we really needed to get off our island.

Seeing as this week was Emma's Spring Break from school, we decided it was a good time to check out the island of Aunu'u. Paul took the day off of work and we headed out. It is over an hour drive to go the 15 miles to the boat dock on the far east side of the island.

We arrived at the dock and promptly caught the ferry boat. In this case, the ferry is a little island fishing boat. The fee is only $1 to get to the island. After a quick 5 minute boat ride we arrived in the village of Aunu'u. It is the only village on the island and has less than 500 residents.

One of my favorite things about Aunu'u is that it has no cars on it. Traffic on the one main road around Tutuila can be just as bad as any big-city rush hour traffic. It was such a nice change to get away from all the cars and buses with loud music!

We walked through the village and found the trail that loops around the western half of the island. After a liberal dousing of bug spray, we started out. The trail lies between the ocean and the rain forest. After a short walk, we came to a side trail to Pala Lake. It is one of 2 freshwater lakes on Aunu'u. We walked through a swampy area and saw a heron as we came out to the lake's edge.

We continued on and arrived at a beach with a natural rock arch on it. It was too rough for any snorkeling so we spent some time looking for shells. Unfortunately, all the good shells were home to hermit crabs. In fact, there were so many hermit crabs that Emma declared, "This is hermit crab mania!"

After the beach, the trail headed inland, deeper into the rain forest. We spent over an hour tramping through the rain forest. Along the way Paul made friends with a toad and also decided that we need a houseplant. The same plant (a Hoya) that we once bought at Target was now ours just by pulling a vine from a tree along the trail.

We headed to the east side of the island to a beautiful spot called Ma'ama'a Cove. Here we ate our lunch and relaxed before making the trek back to the boat dock.

The American Samoa Science Fair

Emma decided to participate in her school's science fair, even though it was not required for grades below fifth grade. She worked very hard coming up with an idea, conducting an experiment, writing a paper, and creating a display board. Her project was "What are Ants Attracted To?" She tested many different solutions (sugar, salt, juice, soap, etc.) by setting out soaked pieces of bread on the porch and counting how many crazy ants visited each one (Yes, one of our 68 kinds of ants here is called the crazy ant! They run around really fast, zigzaging all over.)

Emma's project was judged by three judges at her school, along with dozens of other projects. Most of the other projects were from the junior and senior high school. She was one of three winners from her school! The next step in the science fair was for the three winners to compete against kids from the whole island, in the territorial science fair.

Emma spent a very long day, waiting and getting judged at the territorial science fair. There were 100 students competing at the elementary level (8th grade and below). She spoke to many judges and each time had to explain her project and answer their questions. Emma made it to the final round that day, but then we had to wait for three days until the award ceremony to find out the results.

Well, Emma won 1st Place in the Zoology catergory and 2nd Place Overall for the whole country!!! We are so proud! She received 2 trophies, a medal, and many gifts. The gifts included school supplies, a t-shirt, and in typical Samoan style: a case of canned Wahoo (basically fancy tuna fish!).