American Samoa

Sundays look completely different in American Samoa, since most activities pause for church, rest, and family. The islands sit roughly halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, a central position that gave rise to the nickname “Heart of Polynesia.”

Fa’a Samoa, “The Samoan Way,” is a real, lived system of respect for elders and community, not a historical tradition, and villages are led by chiefs called matai who make decisions together in open-air meeting houses called fale.

The National Park of American Samoa protects rare rainforest and coral reefs south of the equator, and Tutuila, the largest island, holds the capital, Pago Pago.