Come island hop with me through the Samoas to Fiji, Tonga, and Niue - and on to the many French Pacific possessions including remote Wallis and Futuna. I have found after almost 40 years of travel through these islands that a great sense of pride and acceptance of newcomers continues to be expressed by the local populations to those who make the effort to become a part of their beautiful world. The expats who live here continue to work in lands they no longer call foreign. Many marry locals, most drink in the downtown bars, and they all tell their stories. Yes, their stories - hilarious, heart-breaking, or thought-provoking - it is difficult to know where fact ends and fiction begins, but all are unforgettable and all are true to the raconteur.