Around the Office

I thought I would give you a virtual tour of the PiCED office and introduce you to some of the people you might meet.

"Hi I'm Jessie! You're friendly Program Manager! Check out my newest puletasi!"

I'm trying to get Ethan to get more aloha shirts made. Ain't he cute in them?! 

 "Hello! What can I help you with? College Counseling? Or want to take my awesome Mac class?"

 Lori & Ethan

 Nape will great you with this smile when you come to PiCED

Christine is our AMAZING intern! She rocks!

Nomenta & Moe of our PIRC Staff

Dora of our PIRC Staff

Samoan Attire 401

It's time for the Puletasi Look of the Day!

Taaa dah! 

Licensed

About a month and a half ago, Ethan and I went to change over our drivers' licenses. If you plan to drive in Samoa for more than 30 days, they required you to get an AS license. Since the cops seem to enjoy pulling of palagi, we figured we should be on the safe side and follow the rules. 


We were both ridiculously excited about our new licenses that will one day make great souvenirs of our time on the Rock. I admit.. for the first few weeks I got a goofy grin when I was asked to show my license for things. It's the simple things in life.....

Yes, I photoshoped all the "good" info out, but I thought I would show you my new license!

(I'm probably one of the shortest people to get a Samoan license....Only the elementary schoolers are 5'1" here!)

Just "Hanging" Out

This is what Goober Doober and I do on weekends.....chill in the hammock. 
Well.....I hang in the hammock and he tries to snuggle and lick his way in. 

Vote 4 Ethan

It’s political campaign time in Samoa, and the campaign process is not like the US. Wooden signs have sprung up all over the island with names to re-elect. Because the island is so small, the candidates even add a personal touch by standing on busy corners waving with one had and holding their “vote for me” sign in the other. 

As we were driving to work on Monday, we were coming up on a guy waving to us. Ethan slowed down thinking he wanted a ride, as I yelled for him to keep on going. Because he was watching the road for pot holes, coconuts, dogs, small children, and the other usual obstacles, Ethan failed to see the new “billboard” right behind the waving man. He wasn’t waving for a ride, but just to say “Hi. I’m friendly vote for me!”

(His outfit even matched the one he was wearing in his billboard picture!) 

On Tuesday, the man was there again..... this time he not only waved to say hi but waved for us to pull over. Confused about this whole campaigning on the side of the road situation, Ethan drove 50 feet past the man before realizing the subtleties in hand gesture that indicated he wanted to talk to us. Indecisive, Ethan put on the breaks, then decided to go. I had puzzled Ethan further by explaining to him the day before that they just want to wave at you. They aren’t going to ask you to stop. Whoops! 

On Wednesday, the politician was at it again. Except we had no time to stop and chat,we were running a bit late this time. A bit later in the morning I was sitting at my desk we who do I spot across the office!? Mr. Politician who waves in front of a billboard with a life size picture of himself! 

That’s right! He tracked us down..... Not that that is hard to do on a small island when we drive a car with the PiCED logo plastered across the front door. After my half day meeting, I went to check in with Ethan who was excited to fill me in on the rest of the story. Mr. Politician had tracked us down to find out if we were scared of him....he just wanted to talk. Ethan used the excuse that we are just “silly palagi without a clue,” and it seemed to satisfy just fine. As it turns out, Mr. Politician is the only other Ethan on island, Ethan Lake to be exact. It turns out that they bonded over this, and Ethan Lake had given us a few “Vote 4 Ethan” arm bands. (Fancy!) 

Because he took the time to find us at PiCED, I’d definitely vote for Ethan (to bad I’m not eligible here!)

SAT

I just got done teaching the Writing Section our first SAT Prep Class of the fall. The SAT Prep course is one of PiCED’s most in demand courses. Registration fills up on the first day, and there is always a line of people waiting to enroll next. I’ve been working hard to update the class, and I was excited to get back in the classroom. Our prep course runs after school for the 4-5 weeks prior to each SAT test date and gives the kids the practice they need before taking the actual test. I’ve been so impressed by the kids who have enrolled. They come to PiCED everyday after school for 2 hours of lessons and practice sections. Teaching again has brought back the frustrations of the school system. In 4 weeks we can’t teach the writing, reading, and math content, they need to perform well. All we can do is teach them test taking skills, prepare them for the type of questions that will be asked, and make them as comfortable with the test as possible. It’s hard to see high schoolers struggling with simple math and basic writing skills, but it has further encouraged me to continue working on a new PiCED program that will, hopefully, begin to bridge the gap. 

With so much to do between 8:00 am and 3:00pm, the SAT class has thoroughly worn me out. Students begin to arrive at 3:00, and I teach from 3:30-5:30. I don’t have time to grade during work, so each night I go home with a huge stack of papers in tow. Yay for 13 hour work days! On Saturday we had our first simulation exam. The students came in at 7:45, and I administered a full length exam. The simulations give the students great experience, but  they give me a ton of grading! I graded the SAT multiple choice questions by hand (+ the essays). After 9 hours of grading, I was finally done! Whew....Until next time! 

I’ve been watching the students scores slowly increase, and it’s been a real reward. Several days into the class, their writing practice scores nearly doubled! I can’t wait to see how much progress they make after spending a few more weeks on the math section with Ethan and the reading section with Lori!

Check out our new (and MUCH improved classroom)! 

The staff helped with the painting and I found some good stuff at a little teacher store here on island.)

Samoan Attire 301

Today I model for you a modern yet traditional look. 
A short puletasi top worn with a black pencil skirt (yet still made at the local sewing shop) is an updated way to rock the Samoan classic. This look is part of a PiCED "uniform" that employees wear for special functions!   

Goober and Princess as accessories to the look. 

Ethan models the trendy aloha shirt. He even picked out the fancy shamncy fabric that has gold glitter in the flowers!

Baby Got Mac!

 Ethan recently finished teaching PiCED's first ever Intro to Mac class. His first group consisted of 6 adults ready to get computer savvy. While a challenge, Ethan enjoyed sharing his love of Macs. This semester the Mac classes are in the mornings, so they are only open for adults. But next semester he will hold a few afternoon classes for the students! They are sure to love it! 

some of the Mac course graduates

Ethan + Asalemo

a student + Mac computers

Aunu’u ... Has a Bowflex

To celebrate our Monday holiday (yes, we get Colobus Day off in Samoa!), a small group of us made the trek to Aunu’u. Alison, Rosa, Veronica and Mark climbed aboard the pick up, and we headed east. The wharf to get to Aunu’u island is on the far east side of the island- about an 1.5-2 hour drive. It was a gorgeous day and a perfect time for the boat to the little island just off American Samoa’s main island of Tutuila. I decided I could make a hobby out of riding back and forth between the the two. The ocean wasn’t rough but a few good waves cooled us off. Veronica teaches on Aunu’u, so she showed us to her house and the elementary school. We decided to do the hike around the island. We past a big taro plantation and made our way to some gorgeous cliffs. By that time we were tempted to jump in and cool off... too bad the currents and waves would bang you up before dragging you out to see. We stopped long enough at the cliffs  to begin the shoot for our Aunu’u calendar.... if models can take pictures at remote locations so can we...look for copies soon... only $12.99 :) We then found the arch that has been formed out of the rocks, but the tide was too high to go into the cave I learned about last year. The quicksand lake that I had never stopped at before was unimpressive. Rain has formed a water layer over the quicksand, so it looks just like a lake to the naked eye. Throwing in a rock will splash up the muddy quick sand, but that’s about all. 

We complete our hike around the island (taking only about 3-4 hours in all). We discovered a bow flex weight machine on islands. How the heck did they get that there!? (Refer to the pictures below to see how tiny the Aunu’u boat is!) Alison also found a dreamy man to stare at....we think he uses the bowflex ...a lot.

Once we got back to the other side, we debated about taking a swim. Such a good choice we made. The water was awesomely refreshing, as we marveled at our buoyancy in the extremely salty water. A Snickers milk shake at Samu’s completed the afternoon! What a perfect Monday off from work! 

 taro Farm

(calendar preview)

Aunu'u Warf

Samoan Attire 201

Now that we are all officially briefed on the puletasi, our Samoan Attire class will go a little more advanced, as I model for you various looks of the traditional wear! Fancy (I know)!


Usually puletasis have the same pattern on top and bottom with some solid accents in trim, border, or fancy-skirt-border (this is the technical term, by the way!).


The other option is to have a patterned top with a solid skirt with the patterned accents. 


Most people do not usually put the print on bottom and keep it solid up top.....so I'm definitely fashion forward and a little rebellious with this next number! :)

Ethan wanted in on the photo shoot.....this is him as a tiger! Raawr!

 This is normal Ethan, as he models the non-Samoan but very appropriate business work wear for men. 

Button Down + Khaki Shorts = Business Professional = Samoa!  

WT Slumber Party & Island Drive

We finally were able to invite the WorldTeach crew out to our house for a slumber party! Ethan and I left work at 1pm on Friday to buy groceries and prepare our taco feast. A group of 14 friends made it out for a chill night at the Fa’ilolo Fale. The highlights of the evening were some scrumptious tacos and brownies (courtesy of Rosa), a few rounds of Catch Phrase on the beach, and watching the boys slave over a fire for 2 hours.... between the wind and wet wood, the bonfire was not a huge success. Most everyone stayed over as we converted the house into a little hotel. Beds, cots, or foam mats for all! Alision and Rosa cooked up some french toast with cinnamon apples for breakfast. I love having people around who know how to cook! 

After a delightfully sunny morning of swimming, hammock hanging, or hiking, the crew packed up and headed for a WT softball game at Leone High School. Ethan and I decided to enjoy the beautiful weather by taking an island drive. Sunny skies and blue water made for some excellent pictures. We also stopped by a fruit stand for a cold coconut and mini-bananas before heading up the mountain to the village of Aoloau (Oww- low-oww), aka Alaska. We found an amazing burned down/abandon house with a perfect look out point on the edge of the mountain. All that remained was the foundation and arched windows! Spectacular view! We drove through the village with its noticeably cooler air, and received “hellos” and shouts of “palagi! palagi!” You don’t drive through Aoloau by accident, so strangers (especially white strangers) are easy to pick out. 

French toast + sunny day drive = perfect Saturday! 

at the top of Aoloau

 taken from the village of Amaluia 

 just minutes from our house - west side of Tutuila

Lettuce $9.56

We went shopping at KS Mart today, and we were excited by how packed the veggie isle was!  Lettuce, cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and carrots! And not the wilted-at-the-end-of-their-life kind of stuff! It was all FRESH! (If you can’t tell, this is a big deal on our little island.) But we pay for freshness here. A good sized head of lettuce was $9.56!! $9.56 for lettuce!? Since we are bargain shoppers, we bought one of the cheaper heads for $8.60, a real steal :) 

Samoana Mr & Mrs. Pageant

Each high school throws a pageant to find their Mr & Mrs, so I brought Ethan to the annual Mr & Mrs Samoana Pageant this Thursday night.  Couples competed in several events: traditional costume & siva dance, talent, island sarong, formal wear & interview. Each couple competed together but was judged separately. At the end of the night, the individual girl and boy with the highest score were crowned the school’s Mr & Mrs. 

I was excited to see my old students and for Ethan to see some traditional performances. It turned out that I knew 3 of the 6 contestants well, and I was happy to cheer them on. 

The talent competition was exciting as 1 couple created a dance routine that incorporated styles throughout the decades. My favorite couple, Maelynn and Karl, created a Zumba dance/workout routine that was hilarious. 

One of the best performances of the night was a lip sync by a fa’fafine. We had seen her perform at the fa’fafine pageant, and she brought her a-game to Samoana. Her attitude packed routine brought the crowd to a roar. Ethan might have shed a few tears of laughter. 

At the end of the night and after a close vote, my favorite couple was crowned the Mr and Mrs. Congratulations Maelynn and Karl! 

 Couple #2: Milton & Lauren

Couple # 3: Maelynn & Karl 

Tsunami Remembrance

The one year anniversary of the 09.29.2009 tsunami just past. The 29th fell on a Wednesday and was honored as a local holiday, Tsunami Remembrance Day. Most everything shut down and people flocked to their churches for remembrance services. Ethan and I spent the day at PiCED with a few staff members to repaint our main classroom. In Utulei the government held a big memorial service and a small earthquake shook the ground. One year later, another quake. It wasn’t big, though; we didn’t even feel it on the west side. Other than a few remembrance posters scattered along the main road nothing felt different. We are reminded of the tsunami’s effect everyday as we drive through some hard hit villages. Seetaga is just 2 villages away and still looks like shanty town. People live in make-shift shacks without electricity, and I get the impression that things for them will be that way for along time. 

It seems crazy to think that this time last year, I was taking cover on a mountain and rallying support back in the States for my Tsunami Relief Fund. The resilience of the Samoan people, who so quickly move on emotionally, make the effects of the tsunami seem like a thing of the past. 

houses just a few minutes drive from ours .... one year later