The Swiss Army Knife

When I came to Samoa the first time, I was a quite stupid guy and did not know a lot of things. For example I did not know, that a bunch of Samoan Girls would like to marry me, that Corned Beef is the main food item, that all shops are most of the time closed and – that’s the point of this story: that it is completely impossible, to buy a Swiss Army Knife in the whole Samoans.
What happened before
Well, not long before this time I owned a nice, handy Swiss Knife. It was quite fat, with countless useful tools under its red cover. Like a little scissors, a file, can-opener and even a saw. That knife was not more than a cheap copy although, which I bought a long time ago in a big store in Germany for just 10 Deutschmark (something about 15 Tala), while the real once go up to the tenth of that amount. Although not an original, it served me well for many years, and in Bali, where I use to live the biggest part of the year, I cut hundreds of Bamboo-piles with the saw, building furniture. Yes, it was a good knife, and I loved it truly…

And than I came to New Zealand, and made the mistake, to keep the knife in my hand luggage, when I intended to board the plane to Apia. But the guys over there are well trained and have sharp eyes and they seem to find everything, which is not supposed to go in the passenger-cabin: „YOU HAVE A KNIFE IN THAT BAG THERE!” a serious looking female officer said to me in a sharp voice. I guess, she was expecting me to deny it, but I just said: Yes, and what is the problem? „It will go into the bin!” she said. And I replied: No way!
Well, we had a short discussion and than they gave me a
receipt, to let pick up the knife later by someone of the airline and take it in the plane as a security item. In fact, I found a nice girl from the ground stuff, who picked up the knife for me and gave it to her colleagues. „It will come out later in Apia at the baggage-claim in an envelope”, she said. And there I stood and waited. My bag came, everybody else’s bags came, but an envelope with a knife did not appear. I asked somebody, waited again, left then the airport as the last passenger, jumped on a bus, which was just about to leave and arrived in Apia at about 3 o’clock in the morning. A man without a knife and even without a caps-lifter.
The Search
Since its invention a hundred and ten years ago, the Swiss Army Knife is the omnipresent and ultimate tool for everybody, who is leaving his well-equipped household for a many-thousand-miles journey around the world. It´s a kitchen-drawer and toolbox in a just 9 centimeter long and – depending on the variety of tools – about 2 centimeter thick body. Especially in remote areas, where things are rare and the environment is rough, the brilliant knife is a MUST in every travel bag. So in the pacific. And Eugene Burdick, a great writer of South See-Stories told in his shortstory „The Black and the White” (from 1961) about this incident with a Swiss Army Knife: „I return to my hut to find Kaoko rifling my sea chest. He had ignored the bundle of franc notes, but held in his hand an American box camera and a large Swiss pocketknife with a variety of screwdrivers, blades, and other gadgets sunk in his thick handle. „I was borrowing these,” Kaoko said without the slightest embarrassment.
„Would you have brought them back?” I said in anger. „No, probably not,” Kaoko replied. „I intended to borrow them permanently.”
That nice episode made me feel, that also someone must have borrowed my knife at the airport – permanently. On the other hand it showed me, that the locals very well appreciate the quality of that universal tool. So it must be possible, to get an adequate replacement for the lost thing on the Islands of Samoa – I thought.
I was tired after the early morning arrival and when I came to my guesthouse, went to my room and had a nap. I woke up at about 11 a.m., it was a Saturday. So freshly arrived, avoiding any stress, I did not hurry to get up, get dressed and head for the city. I had some food, took a shower and then went to a small company next door, to hire a bicycle. So prepared, I drove slowly in the direction of the beach promenade and the harbor. There must be shops; there must be plenty of stuff to buy. Yes, there must be everything: this is a harbor-town, the ships are coming in will all there goods, gadgets and, of course: Swiss knifes!
Well I found a quite impressive supermarket then (so it looked from outside) with a Chinese name near the Town Clock. The right place, I thought. Just, when I tried to enter the shop, I found out, that it closed a few minutes ago. It was about 12.30 by now. Coming straight from Asia, where most shops are open at least 18 hours every day, seven days a week, I felt a little surprised, in fact. I rubbed my stunned eyes, climbed on the bike and drove further, along the promenade.
Well, hurrah, just a few hundred meters to the east, there was another shop, and this was open! At the cashier stood a beautiful young girl with fantastic big brown eyes, wearing a yellow shirt and jeans. I looked into her deep eyes and asked her: „Do you have a knife?” Slowly she slanted her head and looked at me, from the feet to the top. She seemed to be a bit confused or offended by my question. Then a smile appeared on her face, she looked at me with the sweetest smile, which I got in my whole Samoan experience and said: „You mean: Do we sell knifes?” Obviously there must have been something wrong with my funny german-english question, which made her think, she must run in the kitchen to bring a knife and borrow it to me. „Yes, do you sell knifes?” I said. „No”, she smiled, „sorry, we don’t have.” „A can opener?” „No”, she said regretfully, but she gave me a glance and a smile as if she would like to take me by the hand, bring me to her house and open my cans for me.
I looked around: It was a food shop, with a lot of cans and other stuff. Spaghetti in the can, canned Tuna and other fish, and the unbelievable monster-boxes with corned beef, some fruits, bread, cold drink. Well, I traveled a lot in my life, and everywhere in the world a foodshop with a variety of goods like that, would also sell some matches, a can opener, and, probably, a sort of knife. Not so in Samoa. Only cans, cans, cans, but nothing to open them. I got on the bike again.
To make it short: A few other attempts later I found out that the shops, that probably could sell a knife or even something as a pocket knife already had closed at noon. The only open shops (some of them until 3 p.m.!) where food shops with absolutely no idea why they should sell a knife or a can-opener, or even more complicated: a knife, which you can use as a can-opener.
Slowly I began to understand: It was afternoon now, on a Saturday, and I would have to quit my idea, to get an elegant, handy, super-useful Swiss Army Knife in the hustling and bustling South-Sea Metropolis of Apia. Not today and not (no way!) tomorrow, on a Sunday. On the next morning I got a bus to Savai´i – a man without a knife and even without a caps-lifter.
The Travelling
Savai´i was beautiful, but even more remote, as I expected. I stayed in Beach Fales, enjoyed the quietness and traveled around the island. Since there are not many busses – you are lucky, if there is one bus once a day – I walked a lot, and also got some lifts on cars and pickups of friendly Samoans. The accommodation in the fales comes mostly together with breakfast and dinner, actually there was no need for me, to open a can or cut a fruit or whatever by myself for the first days. And I learned that a life without a Swiss Knife is possible. I passed a shop, and a big sign said: „If we don’t have it, you don’t need it.” I made the trial and asked for a knife. „Sorry, my friend, we don’t sell knifes”, the voluminous man at the counter told me. Well, I thought than, obviously I don’t need one!
So I spent my days in Savai´i, letting the well prepared and more than sufficient food straight into my open mouth. Just a few days later, strolling along the beach, I found a nice piece of wood, and at once I imagined, to carve something out of it, sitting in the shade, having a drink, whistling, and let the days pass by. And sadly I missed my knife again, realizing, that I won’t need it, to safe me from starving, but only for fun and pastime.
No, you won’t starve, when you travel in Samoa. Once I traveled on a bus in the Western part of Savai´i and the nice lady behind me, asked me, where I’m going. I said, straight on, along the cost around the island. „Make a break”, she said, „this bus is stopping here, and the continuing one is only coming in about two hours.” At the next stop, she stood up and took me by the hand. „Come on”, she said, „you wait in my house.”
Her name was Pekina and she told me to sit down in the fale in front of her „Pelagi-House” and have a rest. I really was tired and laid down on the mats, using my bag as a pillow. She went away and everything was quiet. I closed my eyes and relaxed. When I opened my eyes, there stood, on different plates, a big meal besides me, and Pekina was sitting there, guarding everything, and waiting, until I awake and have a meal. There was a plate with Spaghetti, another one with Corned beef, plenty of bread, a plate with fruits like papaya and coconut. Also a phantastic „paste”, made out of coconut – sadly I forgot the name. And the beautiful fresh and self-made lemonade, made from the fruits of Pekinas garden.
Things like that happened many times to me and showed me, that the Samoans are people with a big heart and a great hospitality, which you probably nowhere in the world can find like that. Just, what’s remarkable: It’s always the people, who are not involved in the tourist business, away from the crowds. On the other hand: As soon as the people start, to make money out of the fact, that there are visitors, run beach-fales or doing other tourist-orientated activities, they can get quite rude and rough. And many times if you want something – even if it´s clear that you will pay for it – you simply would hear a „No!”
So, I met many friendly and a few not so friendly people on my tour around the island, and at least came back to Salelologa, surviving the trip even without survival knife. But you know, I’m I quite stubborn person, so I decided to buy a Swiss Knife the next day in Apia, even if it’s not so essential around here, and even if you cannot open coconuts with it. So I arrived in Apia for my next stopover on the next morning, and I had a full day for shopping.
Back in Apia
It was Friday in the morning and I had plenty of time to shop around. I rented my bike again and made my way to the harbor-promenade. First I dropped into that Chinese-named-Supermarket, Chan Mow it was, I remember now. I found an incredible variety of canned foods, also plenty of pots and “Tupperware”. Some T-shirts and souvenirs as well. I run around and a strange feeling came over me. „Do you have a sort of pocket knife”, I asked a girl, „like a Swiss Knife?” She wagged her head. „No, very sorry, we don’t have those. What about this?” And she showed me a knife-set of eight best quality German kitchen-knifes in different sizes. „Only 35 Tala”, she said. Well, a nice offer. But honestly, eight kitchen-knifes, that was not, was I wanted to carry around with me on my travelling. I asked for a can-opener. „No”, she said, „we don’t sell those.”
The Samoans are amazing people. They eat masses of food like nobody else in the world. And from the things they eat, they love nothing more than canned food, especially the omnipresent Corned Beef in wheel-sized super-cans. But, how the hell do they open those cans? Well, I know, they use to open bottles with their teeth. But do they manage to do the same with cans? Artistic!
Next stop was Molesi. And here I made the very same experience. Tons of canned food, friendly staff that looked at me like an Alien because I asked for something weird as a Swiss PocketKnife. I left Molesi and had the feeling, I must rethink my idea of the hustling and bustling South-See-Metropolis, where everything a man ever needs in his life – e.g. a Swiss Army Knife – would be available.
I took a break and had an incredible load of fish and chips in a snack bar. Somebody talked to me, where I’m from, what I’m doing in Apia and so on. I said, I try to buy a Swiss Knife. He made big eyes, looked at me from feet to top, slanted his head and said: „Try Carruthers, they have it!”
I was grateful for the hint, and made my way to that shop named „Carruthers”. In fact, they had a variety of useful things inside, which I didn’t see in the other places. But no pocket knife. I talked to a lady – the owner I realized later – and asked her: „I am looking for a pocketknife. Do you sell something?” The ancestors of that lady had come from Scotland some 80 years ago, and I’m sure, her Grand-grandfather had a pocketknife in his luggage. But she said: „No, we don’t sell those!” And I, already a bit desperate, asked „Why not?” And then she gave me the final explanation and made me at least understand: „Because we go for the size!” she said, grabbed a 20-inch bushknife and waved it in front of me. That was the moment, when I stopped, to ask for a pocketknife. And I promise: I never will ask you again.
Postscript
Finally, I continued my travelling, not without buying a well-sized kitchen knife as well as a combined can-opener/caps-lifter (which I luckily found at Carruthers). I had some more beautiful days at the beach at the south coast of Upolu and explored the wild inner parts of the island. My Samoan experience will be unforgettable. I found people, living peaceful and quiet in the nature, eating the fruits from their garden, sliding down rocks in the middle of wild rivers, getting enormous wheels of pizza in the pizza-takeaway, always having some maxi-sized cans of Corned Beef as a backup in the store. Yes, it´s a true paradise, and if you fool really think, you cannot exist in that heaven without a Swiss Knife, you better bring your own and watch out not to loose it!
April 2002
Veröffentlicht in der Samoanischen Zeitung “newsline“
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