As a part of every SIT study abroad program, students must complete an Independent Study Project, or ISP. Usually the ISP has something related to the overall theme of the program and consists of a 20-30 page paper (depending on the program), and an oral presentation on your topic. This SIT Samoa program is about …
Tag Archives: Japanese
The Problem With Dogs
I really have enjoyed my semester abroad in Samoa. It is a fascinating place, and a unique travel destination. I happily recommend it to anyone willing to get a bit “off the beaten track.” That said, this semester I feel like I would like to acknowledge something that has troubled me this semester. After all, …
Fiji
This past week I went on my last SIT excursion. We spent one full week on the main island of Viti Levu in Fiji. What an experience that was. We arrived on October 25, which happened to be a big holiday in Fiji, the Hindu festival of lights called Diwali. Fiji’s population is divided roughly …
American Samoa
Last week we had an outing to the other Samoa, American Samoa. The Samoan islands were divided by the Germans and the Americans in 1899 after a few brief skirmishes. The Germans took Western, or what is now Independent Samoa made up of Savaii and Upolu, while the US took the islands of Tutuila and …
White Sunday
October 12th was one of Samoa’s biggest holidays–White Sunday. White Sunday originated with the arrival of the London Missionary Society in 1830. It always falls on the second Sunday of October, and it is a church service in honor of the children (in Samoan it is known as “Lotu Tamaiti,” or “The Children’s Service”). My …
Savaii
This past week I went on an excursion with my class to Savaii. The country of Samoa is made up of two big islands, and a few smaller ones. For the past month, I have been living on Upolu, the smaller but more populated island. Savaii is the big island to the northwest, with the small …
Lotofaga Village Visit
This past week I had a 10 day home stay in the rural village of Lotofaga on the south side of Upolu. This was an incredible experience. My host family consisted of 11 people, which was a very average family size for the village. I had a host mother and father, four host sisters, a …
University of the South Pacific
I am currently taking classes at the University of the South Pacific in Apia, Samoa. The USP is a fascinating and extremely unique organization. Because the islands of the South Pacific are scattered throughout thousands of miles, and many of the islands are extremely small, there had been difficulty throughout the years in establishing a …
Samoa: First Impressions
I have now been in Samoa for one week, and it is quite an adventure. We arrived in Apia, the capital, early in the morning after a 6 hour red-eye flight from Honolulu, and went straight to the University of the South Pacific, our new home. After checking into our rooms, we left for downtown …
Ancient Polynesia in Hawaii
Aloha from Hawaii! I cannot believe that week one has already drawn to a close, and even though I have not yet gone abroad to Samoa, (I am in Hawaii right now for a pre-departure orientation), I have already had a wonderful taste of Polynesian culture. On Saturday, my group and I took a tour of …
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