Back to School?

Last time this year, I was packing up my stuff at the Crackhouse and getting ready to move back down the street to my home at Boston College. Today, I’m sitting in my little beach house in the South Pacific, taking a break after doing a few loads of laundry by hand (mostly ankle-length skirts and formal puletasis), watching my new lizard friend skitter around the living room and hoping the huge crab from the bathroom doesn’t make another appearance, at least until Jackie comes home. Woah. Ok, so my life has changed a lot.

I went from shorts and tanktops, jeans and boots and my fleece and rainboots, to long skirts, puletasis, lavalavas (like a sarong), and nothing but flipflops (even, now, when hiking). I went from being a student for the last 16 years of my life to suddenly being a teacher. People look at me as if I’m a grown up (as if!). My little beach house is gorgeous, right on the beach and in the corner of the jungle, but there’s no TV or internet, and an hour of phone calls back to the states has left me minute-less and cut off from the outside world. It’s Sunday, which, here, is a day of rest. I told a friend that today, saying Sunday’s are boring. He asked, oh, nothing’s open on Sundays? Well, no. “Everything” is open…. It’s just that “everything” is a couple of less-than 7-11 sized stores, and I already spent $10 on mayonnaise and Tabasco sauce yesterday, so I’m cut off for a bit.

I don’t really think I can explain what it’s like living here to anyone… there are so many little, strange, crazy things that I find out every day. At this point, I’m not even shocked anymore. And, mostly, I love it. It’s where I want to be, and it’s what I want to be doing. This, in every way, is the adventure I signed up for, the crazy thing I wanted to do after my 4 amazing years in college. I live on a tiny island in the South Pacific. I’m teaching high school… like, actual high school students, every day, for a year. I’m meeting new people, and learning a million things everyday, about the island, life, and myself. It’s so cool.

But every once in a while, it hits me that I should be heading back to Boston right now. This has been an awesome vacation, but, oops, time to go back! And then I realize that, no, that part of my life is over… I won’t be going back to Boston anymore. I’ll never again go to BC where I lived in a dorm nicknamed “the hotel”, ate cooked to order meals at Lower, and had to walk a total of 5 minutes to see any one of my best friends, the people who, now, are spread out around Boston, New York, Miami, New Jersey, California, Arizona, Europe, and a million other places. And then I miss my old life like crazy.

Even then, though, I don’t really wish I was back in Boston, back in the Gate, back at MA’s (well, ok, maybe back at MA’s…). Mostly, I just wish all my friends were here in my tiny beach house with me, watching the lizard, freaking out about the crab (they move so weirdly! Yech!), and enjoying the view.

Moral of the story: I miss everyone, and love everyone very much. Now, come visit!!! It’s only 4 plane rides away…

Photographic Proof!

The sunset from our front yard.

The cliff and jungle above our house!

Breakfast crackers: Best Purchase Ever!

Our front stoop, with Dakota!

Our little house. So cute!

The yard, complete with fale (if only we had a hammock...)

Second best dinner!!!! 

Jackie and me with the neighbor kids... the boys are so sweet. They brought us flowers!

Talofa (which also means "hello") being her sassy self. Gotta love selfies!

Talofa and I!

Me and Nainoa... such a sweetheart

The kids brought us flowers!!!! (And small trees... with roots...)

Our bouquet.

Welcome to Paradise!

View of our house from my favorite spot across the bay

So beautiful... it's crazy.

Dakota posing on the rocks, and the village in the background (the sandy strip). Me and Jackie's house is at the way far left.

The sun setting over Ofu and Olosega (the far islands)

Tele got nervous... view from the top!

Welcome to Faleasao!!!

Flag Day is the celebration of the day Manu'a ceded to the US. It was in July, so we just missed it ;/

The village teenagers playing volleyball... they're SO good!

PIZZA!!! Delivery pizza!!! Omg.

"Secret beach" Toa, about a 10 minute hike from our house!

So pretty!

Relaxing at the beach (with the dogs, of course!).

First Day of School!

One week (and one day) ago, Matt, Chris, Jackie and I moved to our new homes on the smaller outer island of Ta'u!! Since, then, a lot and not that much has happened. Everything happens on island time in Samoa... in Manu'a, things seem to happen at a speed slower even than that, so that sometimes it seems like time stops. Jackie and I live in an adorable little beach house at the very end of Faleasao, the smallest of the 3 villages on the island, but also the one that happens to have the largest population of palagis (white people). It's absolutely the most beautiful place I have ever lived. Our house is nestled in the edge of the jungle, and the Pacific Ocean doubles as our backyard... this leads to everything being a little moist, and a huge amount of big spiders and ants, but it also means that I go to sleep to the sound of crickets and wake up to the sound of ocean waves.

School was supposed to start last Monday, but the Department of Health decided that the schools (mainly the kitchens and bathrooms) weren't clean enough, so it was pushed back a week. This morning, while we waited for our ride to school, Jackie and I were informed that Manu'a schools were actually the only ones reopening today- the other schools all failed again, so the first day was being pushed back another week. The DOH never actually came to do another check in Manu'a, so I have no idea why they think we "passed with flying colors", but I'm not opposed- one extra week was perfect for cleaning, setting up the classroom, and planning ahead a little, but I was excited to actually start teaching!

Today was the first day! I have 4 classes for now: 2 sections of sophomore Earth Science, freshman General Science, and (so far my favorite) senior Life Science. The first day was short- only 35 out of 80 kids were here, and the periods were only 15 minutes long- but a lot of fun! It's going to be a challenging year, but I can't wait!

As always, I miss everyone back home tons and tons! And, as an added bonus, we also had to say goodbye to our Tutuila friends last week, so now I miss them too! Good thing we'll be reunited again at Thanksgiving!

I have pictures for next time, but the bus is leaving soon, so gotta go!

One Month Mark!

Well, it's just a few days shy of the one month mark, but it's a rainy Saturday afternoon and there's not much else to do, so I figured I'd update you all on what's happening here in Samoa! We've been here almost a month now, and that night when we showed up at the airport, exhausted and disoriented, seems like forever ago. Even orientation seems like a lifetime ago now. We've all spent the last week getting ready for the coming year- the Manu'a (smaller islands) people have been stocking up and getting our stuff where it needs to be to meet us on the island, whenever we end up getting out there (more on this later), and the others have been meeting their principals and fellow faculty, setting up classrooms, and getting settled into their new homes!

The official first day of school is August 12th. It is August 10th. I still don't know what subjects I'm teaching. I haven't seen my classroom. I'm not even on the right island. In Samoa, though, that's just kind of how things happen. On the bright side (kind of?), the start of school just got officially pushed back to the 19th... because the cafeterias failed inspection by the department of health. Oops. We were supposed to fly out today, and we were excited to have a full week to get settled now before classes started! However, we woke up this morning to a downpour and a plane that is broken down in Western Samoa and will probably be fixed sometime soon but definitely be fixed eventually. So instead of getting onto a plane to go to my new home, I'm lying on a stack of foam mats in my pajamas, listening to the rain outside, loading the new episode of Switched at Birth, and chatting with some friends. This is how Samoa is. You can let it drive you absolutely crazy, or you can relax and understand that, eventually, everything will happen... but no matter what you do, it will always, always happen on island time.

So. One month. How have I changed so far?

1. I've learned to be A LOT more flexible. Note the above.

2. I am now a morning person (whether this is by choice or not is debatable). Sleeping in is 8am. Waking up at 9am is unimaginable. We went out last, came home around 2, and I woke up promptly at 7:45am. Ugh. I have realized how much you can actually get done before noon, if you happen to be awake, though. And it's good this has started now, since I'll have to be up at 6 every day for school. Thank God everyone lied to me and Samoa TOTALLY has coffee!

3. Bugs don't freak me out (as much) anymore. Ok, so sometimes I still shriek and run away. But when I found a dead cockroach in the bathroom this morning (at 7:45... ughhhh), I just picked it up and threw it outside. So over it. We haven't seen any huge spiders or poisonous centipedes yet, though, so check in with me later on this one...

4. I've gotten used to not having internet at home... and I kinda like it. The house I'm staying in now just got wireless, and it's great! But it was also nice living without it for a week. I know I'll love internet even more when I need to lesson plan, but while the idea bothered me before, I now have no problem having access to internet only at the high school. There's something so freeing about being totally unplugged when at home. And hey, remember those things with the covers and the pages and the stories? Books? Yeah, they're pretty cool, I've remembered recently.

That's all I can think of so far, but it's a good start! Can't wait to see what the next 10 months will bring!

Miss you and love you!

End of orientation!

This last week of orientation has been the oh-so-dreaded and despised Practicuum Week, in which we have all been required to write and teach 5 high school appropriate lessons to a class of (volunteer) high school students, teachers, and each other. Since the practicuum starts at 8am, and it is summer vacation, even an end of the week pizza party was not enough incentive to drag more than 4 students out of bed, so most days we've been teaching to two teacher friends and each other. What I learned from that is A. You get over stage fright pretty quickly and B. friends make the worst students, especially when they're pretending to be Samoan teenagers and chucking markers at each other. We have been taking turns teaching for the actual students and Isaac, the head teacher, though, and Steevee, one of the other science teachers and I went on Wednesday. Our lessons tied into each other, and both had to do with evolution: Steevee did natural selection, and I did migration, mutation, and non-random mating. At the beginning of the lesson, all of the kids said they didn't like science, that it was hard and they didn't think it was interesting. But at the end, all of them said our lessons were fun and they learned a lot! They all said they felt like they actually "got it" and they felt smart, which didn't usually happen during science lessons. One girl, who said she hated math and science and loved english, said at the end of my lesson that this was the first time she felt like she was good at science! I had been so nervous to teach before, but my lesson going well has made me more excited and more confident!

The last day of orientation is tomorrow, and on Saturday we all move out. Since the Manu'a Four won't be heading out to the island until at least next week (we have Department of Education Orientation all of next week, where we meet our principals, hopefully find out what subjects we're teaching, and maybe what size beds we have (because the principal is handily also me and Jackie's landlord, and I need to buy sheets!!!)), Jackie and I are moving into the house in town, and the boys are moving out to the burbs for a while. DOE orientation will be next week, during which time we Manu'a kids have to basically decide what we will need for the next 5 months and purchase it, since getting things in Manu'a is much harder and more expensive. The official first day of school is on the 12th, but most likely we'll still be off-island. While I'm really, really excited to get to my island of Ta'u, it will be kind fun to have a few extra days off to explore Tutuila and hit up some new hiking places and beaches. Then, off to our new home! Hopefully sometime the week of the 12th...

Tomorrow, we're having our last Practicuum (and getting to act like obnoxious students to our Head Teacher, which I think we're all looking forward to), cleaning up and packing, and then heading off to our last dinner together at Sadie's By The Sea (a fancy restaurant in town) and then hitting up the market for First Friday, which we've heard is something like a festival that happens every Friday, but especially the first of the month, at the Marketi. It's also Caroline's birthday, so it will be fun to be celebrating so many things at once! And then, Saturday morning, we're all done and off on our own! Orientation has been great in so many ways, but it all still doesn't quite feel real yet... I can't wait to get to our little house at the end of the village on my tiny island to really start this adventure!!!

Disclaimer: Since we're moving on Saturday, I'm not sure when I'll have internet again. I'll talk to everyone as soon as I can! I love and miss you all!

Internet Apocalypse #1

#1 because I'm assuming this is only the first of many times this year that this will happen... We, here at Chez WorldTeach, have been without Wifi for the last week or so. The Wifi at the school broke down, got fixed, the password got lost, etc. etc. etc.... This time, I can't even say TIS because I'm pretty sure this is just all internet providers ever everywhere. We tried all the local venues- McDonalds, Carls Jr, Starbucks (oh, wait, THERE IS NO STARBUCKS ON THIS ISLAND)- but none had (free) Wifi. Instead, we had to entertain ourselves with games, movies, snorkeling, and several hikes around the island, so it's kind of hard to complain. But so you all know- I'm not dead! I was not kidnapped by Samoan (Somalian?) pirates! I did not marry a Matai and disappear from civilization! All is well.

A lot has happened this past week, and I could probably write a novel on it, but instead I think everyone would rather have a brief summary followed by some pictures (because pictures say a thousand words!) (and I love parentheses!).

This last week I: planned and taught my first real(ish) lesson! Opened a bank account! Actually swam in Nu'uuli Falls! Got adopted (and, thank God, unadopted) by two puppies! Went to a Samoan church followed by a (semi)traditional (Chinese) feast! Hiked to Fagatele Bay (the first marine sanctuary on the island... there are now 5 more)! Met with some awesome fa'afafines who were equal parts informative and sassy (don't know what a fa'afafine is? Look it up. You'll be intrigued, I promise)! Went snorkeling! And probably did a lot more things I don't remember right now. But anyway. On to the photographic proof!

Manu'a love while riding in the back of a pick-up 

Underwater starfish! The unanimous favorite of all the snorkelers.

Underwater reflection! (None of the underwater photos are mine, but I was there! I promise! This photographic genius is thanks to Miss Steevee!)

Possibly my favorite picture of us ever... hiking to the waterfall.

We are strong because we conquered The Rock (in the middle of the waterfall)!

On the way to Fagatele Bay... where I apparently decided I didn't want to take photos... 

Me and Caroline modeling at the waterfall... yeahhhh

There's probably more, but this seems like enough for now. I will now leave you all with something that can't possibly not make you smile and say "AWWW":

If you don't like these puppies, I don't like you. ... Just kidding... kinda. I love you and miss you all, as always! Alofa from AmSam!

Day off!!!

Sorry, this is gonna be a long one… but with pictures!

Yesterday was our first real day off in Samoa! It had rained straight for the last 3 days, which was a nice break from the heat, but wasn’t great for swimming or seeing the island. Yesterday, though, it didn’t rain at all. Why? Because TIS. Because it was Matt’s birthday. Because life is wonderful!

We got up early in the morning and hiked to Nu’uuli Falls. This is supposed to be a very easy hike with a gorgeous view, and it’s a close walk to where we are staying, so we thought it would be the perfect morning excursion. What we didn’t anticipate is that, since it had been raining for the past 3 days or so, the trek would be a little harder than we expected… At certain points, we literally ended up fording river rapids, which was a little scary but also added to the adventure! The waterfall itself was gorgeous! People swim in it sometimes, but because the water was so high the waterfall was too wild for that. We got soaked just standing near it taking pictures, although some of us did hike a little through the water to get to a smaller falls nearby. One of the funniest things about Nu’uuli Falls is that it was so beautiful, but all the Samoans we have talked to have said they’ve never been: Samoans aren’t huge on hiking, I guess.

Going off into the jungle!

The group hiking to the waterfall.

Rapids!!!

Me being a dork, Nu'uuli Falls in the background.

After Nu’uuli Falls we caught a bus at the road and went down to the Marketi (market) to catch a bus to the East side of the island (we live in the Midwest). There aren’t as many buses that go East, so we had to wait a while. We did meet some very nice ladies that “adopted us” and tried to help us out, rounding up West side bus drivers who would agree to take us to the East for $3-$5 a person (not bad, but a normal bus ride is $1). The women were so kind and helpful, and basically the epitome of all of the Samoans we have met… the people here are absolutely amazing! We did finally find an Aoa bus, which would take us where we needed to go… which was… Tisa’s Barefoot Bar! Samoa is very modest, so most beaches require that all people (including girls) wear knee-length shorts and t-shirts or tank tops. However, Tisa’s is one of the only places on island that allows bikinis (and also serves beer and umbrella drinks!), so it’s very popular with the palagis (white people). After a long morning, we were happy to hang out in the water, relax in our bikinis, and have a few beers and the best pina coladas we had ever had! We also had a lot of fun talking to Candy Man, Tisa’s partner from New Zealand who has been in AmSam for 25 years now. He made us fresh caught fish for dinner and it was awesome! They also have kittens! And a dog named Palagi that is so friendly and clean, compared to the island’s stray dogs.

Tisa's!!!

The bar!!! (We loved it. Obviously.)

View of the beach from Tisa's balcony.

Jackie and Steevee enjoying the Biggest Beer Ever. (Strongest, too)

Kittens! On a beach!!! Beach kittens! Playing! I never wanted to leave.

Amazing.

After spending all afternoon at Tisa’s we caught a ride on the back of a truck with a man called Tonka Man, who was nice enough to take us past the Marketi all the way home!

Riding home in the truck! Absolutely the best way to travel, though it lacks the Aiga Bus soundtrack.

 That night, we were invited over to a Samoan friend’s house to hang out. He introduced us to some of his friends, and we drank a couple beers and just chilled, getting to know some new people and just relaxing. The guys were all really great, and it was a lot of fun to get out for the night! Some of them didn’t speak great English so they were a little shier, but all of them were so nice, and really funny! I have yet to meet a Samoan I don’t like. Michael, the guy whose house it was, offered to take us all dancing, but we were exhausted, so we stayed for a while and then he walked us back home (because he said the dogs get worse at night, though we haven’t had any problems yet). He also promised to take us to a great snorkeling beach sometime this week.

So far, this was my favorite day on the island… we got to explore, swim, and meet new people. I’m really starting to love Samoa, and every time I see something like the Nu’uuli Falls or the view from the balcony of Tisa’s I can’t believe how lucky I am to call this island home (at least for a while).

Alofa ia te oi (love you!), and miss you all! 

I leave you with the tiniest lizard I have ever seen.