Hey Y'all

I thought I would take a break from writing about specific things that happen here in American Samoa to generally talk about the experience so far.

Thanksgiving break is almost upon us. I cannot believe it. We are just a few three short weeks away from our Christmas break. At that point, we will be at our midway point of our time here in American Samoa.



I think I've learned so much about myself and what I want to do next but sometimes it is hard to put into words. I can say for sure that I want to work in the field of Education. But I don't want to be a regular teacher. I want to be different. Partly because I think I am different. I would really love to continue teaching in foreign places to help educate those who don't have access to education and to be able to offer them whatever I can.

But part of me doesn't think that I would be okay with that lifestyle. I like to establish roots. I like to build a community. And frankly, I want to be in love. All of those things would be hard to have, if I kept moving from place to place teaching the children of the world.



So what does that mean? Am I done traveling? Probably not, my latest vision has me going to a country in South America and teaching Spanish speakers the English language. Something about that excites me. The idea of teaching someone a language that they want to learn. Teaching a class where the students want to be there seems like a foreign concept but I know it exists.

That was one of my favorite things from my volunteer experience in New Jersey before I left. These adults from all over the world who now reside in Jersey City, New Jersey came to this ESL class because they WANTED to learn the language to improve their lives in the States.



Going off on a little tangent here, but I was recently asked if I miss the theatre. Of course I do. Theatre will always be in my blood. But I will continue to say that it doesn't mean that I have to work in the industry. I recently started working with my students on our version of a Theatre Festival. Last Friday, I was working with a girl on a monologue from Fences. (You should see/hear this Samoan girl give it her all on an August Wilson piece. It's kinda awesome.) It felt really good to work with her on the monologue but as I was working with her, I realized that that was the part of theatre that I missed the most. And honestly when you break it down, it was because I was teaching her.

I like teaching. I like standing in front of 25 students. Who would have thought?

JROTC

JROTC, otherwise known as Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, is the bain of my existence.

That might be over doing it but it is definitely something that I struggle with on a daily basis.

JROTC is offered as a class for high school students in American Samoa and the mainland, so I've been told, I just never had any experience with it until now. From my limited understanding, it is basically a class to prepare young people for the world of the Armed Forces.

Joining the Armed Forces is one of a few options for young people here in American Samoa to earn money for their family, to get off island and to allow themselves the possibility to receive higher education. That means that a lot of my students are enrolled in the JROTC program at my school.



For example, one day a couple of weeks ago the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) Test was being administered to the 11th graders. During my fourth period class which normally has 25 students, only 8 came to my class because the rest were taking the test.

Now, I will digress. I don't hate the Army or the Armed Forces, I just hate war and everything that comes with it. Fighting, guns, battle and killing other people are things that I do not understand and would never want to be a part of. So I have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that kids 14-18 years of age are enrolled in a class that will one day lead them down the path of joining a division of the Armed Forces.



The reason I write this post is because on a daily basis I hear excuses from my students on why they must miss my class, be excused early from my class, why they must take my test/quiz early, why they have to do one of the previously mentioned things or else they will be demoted due to their JROTC CLASS!!!!!

It is my understanding that anyone who wants to join the Armed Forces must receive their High School diploma or GED equivalent to enroll. It is also my understanding that they must pass my 11th grade English class to receive their high school diploma. So why does their JROTC cadet meeting or flag raising ceremony practice become more important than their English class in which they are learning a language that is not their primary language which also happens to be the primary language that is used in the Armed Forces.

Call me confused. But I do not like JROTC one bit.

Some of these pictures are students dressed in their JROTC uniforms which they typically wear on Wednesday or Thursday of every week. I can't tell you why though.

School Uniforms

As promised, this blog will be about the school uniform for students.

Unlike in the States where typically only private schools have uniforms, every school in American Samoa has a uniform. Each high school has their own school colors. Leone's colors are Green and Gold. Every student wears a green ie faitaga with the Leone High School emblem on it accompanied by a white top.

For girls they must wear a white puletasi top which is a traditional Samoan article of clothing. The puletasi must go over the top of their ie. As you will notice a girl must wear her ie to her ankles.



Guys are a bit more lucky as they can wear a white polo shirt or button down and their ie should be worn just below their knees. Only in Samoa would a mens skirt be shorter than a girls. Their top should be tucked into their ie.



There are mixed opinions from the students regarding the uniform. Some seem to enjoy the fact that it makes everyone look the same and gives them a feeling of school pride and unity. Others hate it because it can be hot to wear and feels too traditional.



What's interesting is that everyone wears a pair of shorts under their ie faitaga. Most wear sport shorts so that when school is over they can take off their ie and have something comfortable on to wear. But it certainly must add to the heat factor which under the Samoan sun can be quite brutal.

Luckily teachers do not have to wear this uniform. But that's for another post.

My Address

So technically when you send me mail, my address is PO Box 5411, Pago Pago, AS 96799.

Yes it's in the US postal system so it costs the same to mail things from Florida to Indiana as it does from Georgia to American Samoa..hint hint. Just kidding.

But that is not actually where I live. See we only have one post office here, so everyone has a PO Box and must go into "town" to pick up their mail and packages.

Now, my actual address if you were telling a cab or anyone else where I live you would say...

"The first white house on the road going up the hill after the community college before the Mormon church."

To which someone will say, "right beside the graveyard?"

As Michelle Tanner would you, "You got it dude!"

And somehow that person will find it.

It doesn't help that American Samoa does not use street names or numbered houses, so you just have to describe what village, what big landmark, or convenience store you live near. Its all about the description.

Spirit Week

Last week was spirit week at Leone High School. It pretty much felt like your standard spirit week in an American high school. Each day had a theme. There were games during lunch that classes competed in and then Friday was a big assembly with skits and so much more.

Here's a breakdown of the themed days:

Monday - Bob Marley Day. (Yes, this gave kids an excuse to wear marijuana paraphernalia.)



Tuesday - Elementary School Day (I should preface this by saying, all schools have school uniforms here. I shall write a post about that one day. So this day was all about reliving your childhood and wearing your [or your cousins] elementary school uniform.)



Wednesday - International Day (Each class was assigned an island in the South Pacific to dress up in traditional outfits.)

Thursday - Support your Troops Day (A lot of American Samoans join the military to help subsidize their education, provide a stable income for their families and to get off this island, so naturally a day to show their support was in order.)

Friday - Black or White Day a la Michael Jackson (Self Explanatory)

I apologize for not having any pictures for the rest of the week. I "lost" my camera so I wasn't able to take any.

Needless to say. It was hard to get a lot of instructional time in last week because of the energy throughout the whole school.

So, Friday we had an assembly. All the classes prepared Halloween skits. The teachers had to prepare skits to Michael Jackson's Thriller. Naturally, my fellow teachers chose me to portray Michael Jackson. But there were no rehearsals. So I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Friday comes along and another teacher and I speak briefly about a plan. And then we hit the stage.

Basically, my dramatic self took over. My nerves dropped and I just strutted around the stage trying to dance like Michael Jackson. The kids cheered, laughed and enjoyed the fact that I was making a fool of myself. I'm glad I did it, except the kids are STILL calling me Michael Jackson in class and in the hallways. Oy vey.

Rain Day?

We are in the middle of Spirit Week at Leone High School. Today's fun activity was class football games. During lunch break classes played each other to find out who had the toughest flag football playing kids. The juniors were knocked out by the freshmen in the first round so I can't say for sure who won.

Anyway, it started to POUR at the end of lunch. Since a lot of kids were out on the grass playing or watching football many of the kids were getting soaked. But of course they didn't move. Then the power went out. Which isn't too abnormal as it goes out enough for it not to be a big deal here. But then there was talk of canceling the rest of the day and letting kids go home.

Nope. The end of lunch bell rang and we were all set back to class. Well, then 5-7 minutes later the bell rang again, so ALL the kids and most of the teachers assumed that school was canceled and everyone could go home. Really. School gets canceled because of rain!?! Is this American Samoa's version of a Snow or Hurricane day?!!?

Of course, I could not be so lucky, as 5 minutes later all the kids returned to my class saying that the second bell was just a tardy bell and that classes were continuing.

So, I decided to give my kids a vocab quiz. I know, I'm so mean.

In the end, school was let out 15 minutes early. Why? Because it was raining again.

Mid Terms

Very important news coming in from Leone High School in American Samoa.

Midterms that were previously scheduled for this week were postponed until the first week of November. How come they weren't moved to next week you ask? Well next week is "Spirit" week at school and there is just no way that midterms could be held during all of that mayhem.

WHY were they postponed to begin with you ask?? Well our ONE AND ONLY xerox machine is out of TONER and our school does not have the money to replace it. Sad but true.

Yes you read that right, our midterms were postponed because we do not have any toner to print our tests.

Mind you, this is after I worked all weekend on creating my tests, coming up with multiple versions so my students wouldn't be able to cheat. After planning the first part of my week around review sessions. All of that went out the window at 745am this morning when I learned of the news. Good thing I had some back up lesson plans ready to go today.

Another truly Samoan experience.