So I realize I have been awful! awful! awful! about writing in my blog recently! This first month of school has been exhausting both mentally and physically. But I thought I would catch you up in a series of posts. Hopefully you’ll enjoy and get a little insight into the Fa’asamoa.
My Daily Routine.....
I have developed more or less of a daily routine. I wake up by 5:30 each morning (sometimes as early as 4 am), get ready, and head out to wait for one of the aiga buses. Sometimes the buses are ridiculously crowded. The seats “hold” 2 people, but only fit one Samoan comfortably....let’s just say things can be a tad squished. (The buses have their own rules and etiquette system. Every time someone gets on or off there is a whole reshuffling system. The men move to the back to make room for women, and anyone younger moves to the back to make empty seats for their elders people. Kids can take up a whole seat until it gets crowded, then they are expected to move on someone’s lap.) I always try and snag a seat on the right side of the bus. Over half my ride is on the scenic highway (the road right next to the ocean), so I can just sit and stare at the ocean and waves. It’s such a peaceful start to the day. I have never lived close to water, but now that I am around it everyday I can’t imagine going back.
I get to school by 6:30 and put in a solid 2 hours of work before the school day starts. Often times I am the first teacher on campus. Classes begin at 8:30 and are started with devotion. One student stands at the front of the class, chooses, then leads the song and prayer. The boys and girls each know their separate parts, and Samoans have such naturally beautiful voices so the songs are breathtaking.
I teach 3 to 4 classes a day. We are on block schedule, so I see each class 3 times in one week and for an hour and thirty minutes at a time. Mondays and Wednesdays we have assembly or homeroom, so 1 class period is taken up by those. I have also taken over a business class. We had several teachers never show up for school (a very common occurrence), so I had to take over an extra class. My department only has 2 people when it should have 6....So we have been a little overwhelmed. New teachers, however, should be coming soon.....Hopefully I can get back my much needed prep period. After school ends at 3 pm, I generally stay after for about 30 minutes for detention or kids who need to make up work. Then, Max, Matt, and I usually go do something for a little while. It’s a much needed distraction after such exhausting days. Sometimes we go to Samu’s (the best ice cream/milkshake place that is run out of a gas station) or we run errands together. Generally, I’m home by 5 or 5:30 pm, and have my daily skype session with Ethan! After skyping and dinner, I put in a few more hours of planning or grading before bed. It’s not unusual to do 13 hours of school/school work a day. (Geez this whole working gig is tough! ;)
I do meet up with the other volunteers regularly and that’s always a necessity. I see Matt and Max everyday, Cynthia and John (a super cute sweet married couple) come over on Sundays or Wednesdays for weekly dinners, and a large group of us meet at Rubbles (a restaurant/bar) every Thursday at 6. Our house has a washer and dryer so we also get visits from other groups to do laundry and have dinner.
Our WT crew also gets together on the weekends to go to the Bowling Alley (a dance club and bar), Maliu Mai (beach front bar), or someone’s house to spend time catching up and recapping our weeks. Sundays are my designated work days, and I spend all day at home lesson planning, organizing, and grading.
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