The Treatment of Animals

I cannot take the lack of treatment these dogs receive. I've only seen one cat! There is no vet on the island so dogs simply roam around looking busted and disgusted. The female dogs' stomachs and nipples hang to the ground. Their fur, if they have any is mangled; their legs are all bloody. I see them limping, fighting each other and even humping each other! I see them pooping on concrete, near the bus stops, everywhere! It totally turns my stomach. I saw two dogs take a dump yesterday! Often times, I must look away. Often times, you must be careful because they travel on the roads like they are driving! I was told the Samoans drown the puppies in the ocean to help control the animal population! They really do this! WOW.

I kid you not!

Once a year, some people will come on the island to either treat the stray dogs or kill them! I repeat there is NO VET here....not a one. Even if you decided to become a vet or establish a vet clinic, who is going to see you?, the dogs here are not pets! Thus, it is a wait of time to think on that level.

Well, I woke up this morning at 6am to a nightmare. I dreamt my dog, Rocky was euphonized! In the dream, I was yelling for my dad to come down stairs, where ever he was I don't know it was a dream and we were not at home. But Rocky was chained and bound. He was hollering and barking but he could not because he was gagged. I kept yelling for my dad who took forever to come. By the time he finally arrived it was way too late. Rocky was killed. I woke up crying!!!!!

This place got me all messed up in the head. I cannot stand the way dogs are treated!

COME TO CLASS!

It started with me locking my keys in my car while at the UH office. I needed to make copies before I began yesterday. My cohort is about to begin writing their integrated social studies lesson plan. So I was multi-tasking as usual and I had too much on my mind. I was trying to make copies while tell Paul, a cohort coordinator where/how to retrieve some of my social studies powerpoints from my USB.

In the end, I just got dropped off at work. The rental car place showed up to the office, unlocked my car. A coordinator brought me my car and delivered my keys to me while I was teaching. I actually had everything I needed with me so it was all good. I just felt like I inconvenience everyone in the process. I apologized over and over again!

While teaching cohort #23, I had 7 students absent. I was so upset because this group has quite of few slackers! I cannot believe they are already teachers…like they have a classroom but still need to be certified. I can totally see why! If I had children, I would most definitely not place them in any of my 7 slackers’ classrooms. They really should be ashamed of themselves. I e-mailed their coordinator after class letting her know about their sporadic attendance. I sent her a .pdf list with dates and names of all those who have missed since May 25^th.  I told her she must talk to them. She must set the tone and back me up on this! This is really outrageous! As you can see, I still upset!  You need a “C” or higher in order to pass. HMMMMM` I am shaking my damn head…smdh.

I’m busting my ^&& on this island so they can get certified but they do not come to class. Then when they do show up…eventually, they give me sorry ^&& excuses.  I mean, sure some are genuine.. very few and others are just down right lying. I’ve been doing this way too long. I can totally tell the difference. Please don’t take my youthful face for a joke! Even if I wear lipstick mom…it won’t matter! See she always seems to think I need to wear lipstick! I wear lip-gloss!

Anywho…I’m really hot because the director asked me if I could give make-up work! WHAT? See my syllabus, no make up work will be given, after two absences, your grade is automatically lowered and you cannot turn in work via another person. YES, you should read my syllabus it has all these statements in there in bold! This is an intense 5 week course with a summer lab so everyday is critical! Oh did I mention their Praxis I is June 24^th! See they cannot even passed their Praxis I. That should be completed before you enter ANY teacher education program but because I am teaching in a special accommodation federally grant program…we/UH professors come down during the summers so that these teachers can ultimately pass both Praxis. WTH!!!!!  

You should read their DOE website…to view all the teachers [on blast, mind you.. of those who need to take the Praxis I] Go to   http://www.doe.as/index.htm

IF THEY come to class they could pass.

I HOPE I HAVE A BETTER DAY!!!!

Wanna Fattin' Me Up!

Cohort #21 enters class with all kinds of junk food. You name it! Teddy Grams, Tootsie Rolls, Hot Cheetos, Corn puffs, shrimp puff, chips, salsa w/ Tostitos. They munch on junk food all day. I realize they are coming from their second class and spent their day at work. Therefore, they are hungry! My students who are classroom teachers will officially done this Friday. Perhaps, the junk food will decrease next week. [perhaps...] Again, all American Samoa students were done with school last Friday. All young children are simply just hanging out. Unfortunately, AS has no extra curricular activities for their youth. They simply eat, hang out and eat and eat!

Eileen brought me a drink. I had to decide between a Sprite or a Coke. I chose a Sprite. I think is has less calories. It is their custom to offer food and it is impolite to refuse. Also, it is extremely rude to eat and drink while standing up! I learned this one quickly. I drink water as I teach. oops! So to all the car eaters, you better not do that here!

Cohort #21 feeds me junk! This group is my favorite of the two. Not because they feed me but because they are always prepared for class. My cohort #23 are iffy. Overall, they are descent; however, I have about 8/34 who are just complete slackers and make all kinds of excuses for not having their work! Mind you, they too are classroom teachers. It is actually mind blowing. These 8 would never have my child in their room based on their lack of professionalism. Cohort #23 uses “the family excuses” and often times they are just not telling the truth! They think I am Sally Sausage Head. Hahaha…sorry, you get a zero. I have been doing this way too long. Furthermore, I was once in your shoes…been there, done that! I even forged my mom's signature! My dad's is impossible to do! ;-)

Back to Cohort #21, all ladies mind you, we have fun in this class. I said to them, “You all must think I am skinny?!” They said, “YES!, you really could put on some weight!” Do you eat miss Paula? [they go in and out of saying Miss/Dr. Paula] HAHAHAHA. They were dead serious!

I said, "I knew you all were trying to fattin’ me up"!  

I Feel Awful!

I have a sore throat. I want my mom and my comfortable Greenville bed! I ate a papaya over the weekend. I do not know if I am having a reaction to that or the weather. My students seem to think it is the weather because the air is not very clean. They said, “I was bound to get sick, all the professors do”. I’m trying not to get home sick. This culture is all about family! Geesh I am so not near my family. This island really makes you feel like you are really FAAAAAR AWAY! I do/did not feel like this on the island of Oahu, perhaps because I have my homeboy, Scott, my sorority sisters, my frat brothers and my Oahu friends, Jana, Je’lani and Erin.

Yesterday, I skyped with my parents, it was Memorial Day mind you. So I learned that I missed out on ribs, [I would have eaten the beef!] smoked catfish, baked beans, potato salad and whatever else my dad told me. I kinda tuned it out as I ate…stir-fried veggies and rice…oh joy!  I am also getting tired of eating the same ole thing…wahoo fish, salad and French fries. I am getting tired of french fries! Now dad, you know I am feeling not myself.

I saw my beautiful dog that thinks I kicked him to the curb.  He cannot follow the cpu monitor because he is a dog! I could not go swimming in the pool nor could I go see Sex in the City with everyone! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I’m over the excitement. Let’s make this a teachable moment. See there are four stages to culture shock. Nichelle Boyd, you know the stages.

They are as follows:

ELATION -- When first in a foreign country, one finds it quite stimulating that most things are so unlike back home. However, after several weeks when one has to settle down to everyday life, the differences can turn into annoyances.

RESISTANCE -- Frequent comparisons between home and the host country make everything back home seem so much better.

TRANSFORMATION -- Usually this is about nine months down the road, when individuals feel more familiar with the environment and begin to see the good side of the host country.

INTEGRATION. Cultural barriers are bridged. Individuals finally learn to appreciate both their own heritage and the new way of life.

Thank goodness when I'm teaching. I'm just loving what I do!


So do you see where I am?
Count Down.

Memorial Day

What a peaceful day! As I drove around the island, I saw families gathered outside their homes. I saw people sweeping the graves and decorating their family tombstones. They used fresh flowers and plants. These flowers were from the island of course, so imagine colorful beautiful flowers, i.e. hibiscus, orchids and anthodiums. I took several pictures so no worries. The tombstones were simply adorned with love! See Samoans celebrate their ancestors as oppose to connecting Memorial Day to American wars.

The children were playing volleyball, soccer and football. The young men were grilling or hanging out at the convenient stores, gas stations or wherever they could sit. The dogs were roaming the streets looking for food. I saw them digging in the trashcans behind McDonalds or dumpsters. I actually saw a group of boys with two dogs on a chain leash! I really felt for those dogs. They still did not look like pets! Again, dogs are not pets here. For some reason, Samoans are afraid of dogs. Oh I finally saw one cat resting underneath a tree. I was beginning to think…where are all the cats? 

I drove all the way to the National Park…deep east side of the island. I gave my little Yaris a test. It managed to climb the steep mountain road to the top! I parked at a scenic lookout and just sat there for about an hour eating hot cheetos and drinking a mountain dew! Oh I stopped at the Korean convenient store in one of the many towns on my way there. I saw so many different kinds of birds that I have never ever seen before in my life! One really struck me; it was a soft gray with yellow tips with a light blue head…just gorgeous! Then I saw something that had me screaming! See I was by myself so it was all right. hahaha I saw daytime bats! YES! Flying Foxes live here. They are fruit bats. The flying foxes are especially distinctive: they are renowned for being large (with a wing span up to 3 feet wide) and active both day and night. I saw them flying, soaring, feeding, or just hanging in trees. My Olympus camera was clicking away. I got some out of this world shots! I was so excited! I was jumping around like WOOOOW BATS! In the daytime! Who is gonna believe me? Well, I have pics!  One picture shows a flying bat with food in his mouth! I think there were at least 5 ugly scary looking bats near the scenic lookout point. Oh the scenic lookout point overlooked the Pago Pago Harbor…the reason why the United States even cared about Samoa in the first place….their harbor. It is one of the deepest harbors that exist! I see a definite pattern…the United States are users and abusers of other islands and countries land formations. Such a shame! 

As I passed the Starkist Tuna plant, I took pictures and held my breath. PEE..EEWWW that place smelled like death! Every time I eat tuna I will think of how over 5,000 employees can and package tuna so that Americans can eat! Furthermore, so that my dad can make his slamming tuna dish and my mom, Chuck and Ruby can replicate it!

On my way back to the hotel, I stopped by a store that had a sale. Did somebody say sale? Did somebody say clothes? I brought one skirt, and two tops for 2 bucks. You should have seen use going through donated clothes boxes. Samoans and I were gently rambling through the boxes while trying to grab the clothes before each other without disrespect or being rude! Hahaha I feel in suit no problem…

I will wear my skirt to work tonight! It has the appropriate length and fit!  Although I did not spend Memorial Day with my fam bam…at least I got to see families spend it well! 

God is Multilingual

I had such a wonderful time praising, dancing and worshiping GOD today. I attended Firm Foundation Church located 3 minutes from my hotel. Last week, I asked my students if there was a Word of Life here. You should have seen their eyes light up as they found out that I am a Christian. They now want me to attend their church! LOL! Nina and Nilla who is a pastor’s wife, really want me to attend church with them. I think I just might.

Before I entered church, I had to take my slippers/flip flops. At that very moment, I said, “oh yeah….this is gonna be good.” I arrived at 8:50am; church began at 9:00am. and we were done at 12:40pm. Hmmm their service length beats a Baptist church service length any day! The church was wide with side open windows so that we could receive a nice cross breeze. The ceiling was extremely high with long white ceiling fans that dropped down. The congregation sat on sturdy white plastic chairs with the name of the church written on the back of each. The choir consisted of 3 women and 3 men who had voices from heaven. Of course, the ladies wore their puletasis and the men actually wore pants….everyone matched. Behind them stood, one bass player, one guitar player, two keyboard players, and one drummer. I think the drummer was the best, perhaps because he was not older than 16! However, the entire choir was truly feeling it. Thus, so was I. All in all, the church was rather plain. No crosses, no Jesus statues or any GOD like images. The church simply represented the house of the Lord. I loved it!

Before the actual message, I stopped counting but I think we sung at least 6 songs. Some were in English and some were in Samoan. Thank goodness for the projector which displayed both languages for me. It was really easy for me to follow and sing in Samoan. You should have seen me! I was most definitely trying! Singing as I do, extremely off key! Every now and then I would get this feeling like WOW…I am in American Samoa! I praised GOD so hard at one point I was truly filled with the Holy Spirit. I even told myself, "gurl, don’t you fall out in here, your gonna scare them”! hahahaha

A wonderful woman by the name of Ann soon came and sat next to me. She wanted to translate what Pastor Osa’a was saying from time to time. Although he too would go in and out of both languages, I truly could tell what he was saying or at least what was going on around me. See GOD is multilingual. If you have a relationship with HIM, HE will assure that his words are understood. I could have cared less if the entire service was in Samoan. I still knew I was in the house of the Lord! This church had really good energy. The spirits around me had great intentions.

At one point, we all had to bow down on our knees while our heads and hands reflect GOD is the Highest as the pastor prayed in Samoan. I know I stayed in this position at least 15 mins.  Eventually, my legs got numb. LOL! All I could say was Fa’a’fa’tai over and over and over again. You see God has blessed me in so many ways. I would not have ever imagined teaching in America Samoa let alone Hawaii let alone South America or China or gosh….let me stop! I really could go on and on. I know in my heart GOD has hand picked me “to do some thangs”. HE is simply using me. For quite some time now, I asked GOD to use me. I prayed to HIM….” Use me as you see fit” Meanwhile, I know what it is that I am here to do….I am here simply to serve yet serve through educating his people. His people are HE and I am HIM. WE are GOD!

I did give an offering. They actually tithe and offering at the same time. The collection bag was really neat. Imagine a Crown Royal bag but green and thicker with a wooden stick [as the handle] on both sides. I think the stick was made out of koa wood. So as you grab the stick and placed your offering/tithe in, the opposite stick is ready to receive from your neighbor. I wanted to take mega pictures; however, I was in church.

We even greeted each other at one point…ya know. Speak, say hello and hug your congregation. I’m telling you, I could not see any difference in this church and a typical Baptist church other than the kneeing on the ground. Baptist churches should add that….but the woman would have a fit. The woman would not want to get on the floor thinking they will get dirty in their decked to a T outfit! Sometimes, I think Baptist churches are fashion shows! Oh yeah the Samoan ladies were looking very nice. Their hair was neatly wrapped up with flowers, their hands were waving woven fans and they were even bopping the children on their heads if they were caught not paying attention! Hahaha! The men were looking just as dapper! 

Speaking of the men, they were the ushers and the deacons. They totally assured that the church ceremony flowed with ease. The ushers had on red wraps with white shirts. The children were neatly dressed while some feel asleep [soon got bopped on the head] ate candy, prayed, sung and danced.

At one point, we all had to dance for GOD. I mean we got down! No inhibitions… We were pumping the air, one hand, two hand. I thought I saw some cabbage-patch going on… I know I saw the two-step! Seriously! We all danced as if we were up in the club! Here are my thoughts…if you can dance in a club surly you can dance for GOD! Sitting being all reserved…well to each his own. WE GOT DOWN.

"Amene" and "Fa'a'fa'tai" GOD is GOOD.

I received waves good bye, and was even told…"Paula,..see you at 5pm".  ;-)

Geography, Culture & Demography

Geography

• The actual island is called Tutuila
• The capital is Pago Pago, (pronounced Pahn-go, Pahn-go)
• receives more than 120 in. of rain each year; majority btw. Nov-Mar.
• The highest peak of Tutuila is Mount Matafao at 2,140 ft. but the most popular and well-known Mount is Mount Pioa, which is 1,847 ft. This Mount is known as the “rainmaker” because of its frequent cloud cover.
• The temperature is pretty constant, low 68 and high 90s [beyond Africa hot!]
• There is always HIGH humidity! Geesh~
• Over 70% of the land area is a forest; grows all over the volcanic mtns [just amazingly beautiful!]
• tall ferns and trees, i.e. barringtonia, & asiatica, the breadfruit tree. Also, the pandanus and coconut trees
• More than 30 species of birds, i.e. parrots, doves, wild duck & the tooth-billed pigeon [only found in American Samoa]. So the animals are well protected
• The National Park of American Samoa protect the area’s tropical rain forest of Tutuila and Tau

Culture

• Famous as sailors and boat builders
• There are many legends and tales.
• Practically all are Christians; 98%
• Their Motto is Samoa Muamua Le Atua, which means “In Samoa, God is First”
• Up to 20 dwellers in their homes at the SAME time; privacy does not exist, everything is done together
• The elders are highly respected. They make all the family decisions.
• The children learn about their culture on their own; “watch and learn." They are never given an explanation of what they did wrong but are expected to figure it out. Thus, the children acquire knowledge of their culture by observation, imitation and  participation; rules and/or perceptual concepts shape their skills and experiences
• The parents work during the week most make siapo [beaten mulberry bark with pictures painted on them]
• 5,000 workers work at the tuna cannery [StarKist]; however, they are about to lay off over 900 workers!
• Rugby Union and Samoan Cricket are the two most popular sports
• There is approx. 30 American NFL players who are Samoans. Wrestling is also a popular. 

Demography

• The islands of the western Pacific are generally divided into 3 groups – Micronesia, meaning “small island”, Polynesia, meaning “many islands” and Melanesia, meaning “dark islands.” Together, these 3 groups are known as the Pacific Islands. [Neat! I did not realize this! Did you?
• Micronesia lies almost entirely north of the equator.
• Melanesia and Polynesia lie on both side of the equator.
• American Samoa and the Hawaiian Islands are in Polynesia.
• United States possessions also include Johnston and Palmyra Atolls, Kingman Reef and Howland, Baker and Jarvis Islands. [yeah…you might need a map at this point, I did!]

Here Comes the Graduates

Ok so it is graduation time, and the district of Tafuna is representing. I learned today, if I plan on leaving the hotel I should leave before lunchtime! Boy oh boy there was traffic on the roads. Between the roaming dogs, which travel in packs and the pick up trucks full of Samoans, the roads were heavily congested.

High-schoolers and middle-schoolers are in the process of graduating. Thus, several families were out and about celebrating. Now let me tell you how they celebrate…they eat! Hahaha. I bet you already knew that. However, the restaurants have family package meals titled, “Happy Deluxe”, priced at $198 “Family Deluxe”, priced at $250, etc. In other words, this packaged meal can easily feed up to 20 people. Well, that is just how deep the families travel. I counted a group today it only had 9 members. I said, aaa that is a small family. When I ate with Deb on Tuesday at the Hong Kong House, there was a family of about 18 people. That did not include the little ones. Only during my family Thanksgivings are we maybe that deep, average 12 IF everyone is in attendance.

By the way, this island does not have traffic lights only a few stop signs here and there. However, it does have KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonalds! The roads make the potholes in Detroit to be merely speed bumps. The speed limit is 25MPH! Really! Do you know how hard it is for me to drive 25MPH? Check my record…However, when in Roman, do what?.... I just let my car cruise; I rarely touch the gas. At least everyone is courteous because with no traffic lights you could find yourself waiting for hours just to make a left/right turn. Well, you get allowed into the oncoming traffic.

So these young beautiful graduates wore candy leis, flower leis, and most of all they received huge balloons in the shape of hearts, stars and cool cartoon characters. Some families set up large tents with chairs so they could congregate, celebrate and eat. The high-school dropout rate is incredibly high. Could this be one of the reasons why they place so much emphasis on this? I am not sure. Perhaps, once again, the family simply celebrates their members' achievements. Things that make you say....HMMMMM 

The Dead Lives

It is extremely common to see the families’ ancestors buried on their land/property. Located in front of their homes or directly off to the side, you will see several graves.  Some families seemed to stack their graves as well. These graves are above the ground coffins made out of marble. Several are adorned with flowers, leis, and anything that may represent that person. It is just breathe taking to see, especially when you respect and understand death.

It took me being with my Grandma Besseye who literally died in my arms to understand death. There is not a day or hour that I don’t think about how we held hands until she went on. I could feel her losing grip within mine. I saw her spirit leave her body. [for a minute, she was talking to one of her sisters] Often times when I am at my parents’ house, I can smell her.  Especially when I am in the room she died in. Although, I usually keep this to myself, I’ll go in there just to smell her. In the year of 2000, I heard her voice say “you get it” as I walked down the hall to my car after I turned in my thesis. She passed away in 1998. No one was in the hall mind you but me! I recognized the voice and immediately cried! It was my Grandma Besseye.

My Pop Pop and Grandma Susie prepared me to get saved! All of those years of dragging me to church so I thought paid off! My bible that is literally losing pages was given to me during my grandpa's funeral. Grandma Susie said, “here Pop Pop told me to give this to you.”  It was not until then that I knew he would be with me. I had felt he died so quickly. Within the same year he was diagnosed with bone cancer, he soon died months later. I had a hard time with that! I had to hop back on the train to D.C from Philly and be a sophomore again at Howard. Boy, did I cry my sophomore year at Howard! Homecoming was not enjoyable that year to say the least. He died 2 weeks before it.

With Memorial Day approaching, my students are starting to wear buttons with their deceased love ones on them. The button has the deceased picture with the sunrise and sunset set date. For example, Sofai, one of the UH cohort coordinators, is currently wearing her father on her chest. He rose June 23^rd and moved on Aug. 7^th. I noticed my student Pelema had a button on in class last night. I get it…I often times wear grandma Susie’s pearls and Grandma Besseye’s wedding ring, and I treat my bible with the upmost respect because it is Deacon Paul Mathis Sr. but I gotta get some buttons made! I want their picture not just in my heart but outwardly visible for others to see. I want to show them off! They are the reason why I am able to do so much. They are the ones who instilled in me love, respect, prayer, and achievement...and props to my parents who were able to carry it out. 

I’m Going to Explode!

I’m going to explode if Mene Tauaa and Paul Tauiliili think I can keep up with them in eating. They took Deb and I to Sadie Thompson Restaurant in Fagatogo today! I had grilled swordfish, homemade mash potatoes and fresh-steamed veggies. Oh yeah…and vegetable soup! Oh yeah… and about three homemade dinner rolls.

Paul, Deb and I all had the same meal. Mene had beef curry. I secretly cut some of my fish and put it on Mene’s plate. [family style, you share…] Mene and Paul could not stop talking about Sadie’s dinner rolls. Our table had two basket orders [8 rolls per order…GONE] I thought I was going to roll out of the restaurant. Now you know…I am with two Samoan men. Do you think they were full? Not in the least bit. They ordered a third basket to go! True story, I wouldn’t lie…this is a blog people!

Guess what? The eating did not stop at Sadie’s. We stopped at Sumu to have homemade ice-cream. Sumu is a gas station/tire repair shop. Hmmmm doesn’t the ice-cream sound good? Ay caramba! I had almond, coffee crunch on a cone. Needless to say, I found room right on the left side of my stomach!

I cannot do this…I will explode.

Two-Way Learning

I teach two different cohort groups, #21 and #23. My schedule is 4:30pm-6:30pm and 6:45pm.-8:30pm. I actually teach cohort #23 first. There are thirty-one pure Samoans in this class were as in the other class, there are eighteen pure Samoans.

The ladies pretty much all wear colorful two-piece long dresses called puletasi. I do not know if their one piece has a different name. However I will say…probably. The men wear a wrap…now this is so cool! Their attire is called “ie faitaga”. I am so curious to know what if anything is under their ie faitaga…like boxers, briefs, shorts or nada! No worries I won’t ask them. Haha The men’s shirt usually has some kind of print as well…sometimes it matches their wrap, or it is an aloha shirt. All in all my students definitely represent their culture well through their attire.

Cohort #21 is my chatty group because they know each other outside their cohort. I have two sisters who sit next to each other. [that says a lot]  Some of students went to grade school with each other. Some of them work together at the same school. All of this to say….I get to practice my classroom management when this group arrives! Oh This group is ALL women. Ya know women can be chatter boxes..[was that bias to say?] Boy this group talks, talks, talks! At least it pertains to the subject at hand. However, they joke a lot, a lot of side bar comments. I’m in Am. Samoa, so I recognize their culture does center around talking/oral. [like S. Americans] So they are still listening and following the major topic at hand although they are quietly running their mouths with their neighbor or when they are shouting across the room. Hahaha

Cohort #23 has approx. nine men. The most I have ever had in one class [collegiately]! I was internally happy about that because we need more males in elementary education. I also think one of them will soon need to be put in his place. Today I got a wink from him while I was across the room. He did it on the sly. GOSH~ Can we just all learn please? Bad Tone, Tone. Overall, this group is more reserved than #21. They are more intense yet still lovable to teach. My men are so soft spoken. To be so large, physical, Samoan men are gentle giants. However, I still wouldn’t make them mad!

They take cooperative learning to a whole other level! Think about it…Their culture centers around community building. We have no problem working in groups and if you don’t approach it this way, they will do it anyways. I instantly was taught this yesterday. We did the visual life rope activity [Nichelle Boyd knows this]. I wanted them to complete the activity individually; however, one group thought we must complete this together. Another group saw my point, but wanted to do it together. What do you think I said…Of course. See they had their task card, the directions were clear; however, doing a task individually instantly went against how they normally complete tasks! Yes I totally knew this. However, I did not see that my activity conflicted with their beliefs. Man oh man…two-way learning is awesome!

Activity: select 5 social studies themes that best represent you [create a visual using words, phrases, pictures, sentences, whateverahs and be ready to present]

So the “you” changed to “us”. I learn quickly…we won’t be doing much individual work! hahaha

Basic Facts About American Samoa

• Located 14 degrees south of the equator; near the international dateline
• Divided into two political entities; The US territory and the neighboring independent country of Samoa
• Western Samoa is larger [15 times]
• AS has five volcanic islands [Aunu’u, Ofu, Olosega [somewhat two] and Ta’u]
•  Other ethnic groups do live here…Koreans, Tongans, for example
• Beyond African HOT and Mississippi humidity ain’t got nothing on this!
• Rainy season is now [Oct. to May] Winter!...yeah right.
• I live in the district of Tafuna [Pago, Pago]
• The land is divided into districts; each has 4-5 villages
• Each district has a mayor/council; an overseers if you will
• Deeply rooted in Christianity [Church is major!]
• Each family has a fale [an open huge hut where they gather to “shoot the breeze” talk story” “eat" whateverahs as they say
• ya know, this is equivalent to the African American kitchen gathering
• everything goes on in the fale…
• no furniture, simply sit on the sides or bring a pull out chair for the elders
• Supplies about half of the tuna for the United States!
• THEY ARE NOT HAWAIIAN THEY ARE POLYNESIAN

Preparation is the Key

I finally went to sleep THIS morning around 3:00am not because I was excited but because I had to finish my syllabus and course calendar! GEESH…Ahh you thought I would be prepared, well I did too! I am now. It’s show time in 30 mins.  I feel like I always do on the first day of teaching…nervous as hell.  By the way…I would like to give a shout out to my teacher friends…they know what I mean about the jitters. The day those jitters are gone is the day I stop teaching.   

Although, I set my alarm, I woke up way before my 7:00am to Samoan music blasting! I thought to myself, is that my colleague or my other clock radio going off? Well, I instantly thought it was my colleague, I mean who doesn’t wake up blasting music! Every Mathis that I know does. Guess what it was? The hotel hallway blasting music at 6:00am. If I was not in Am. Samoa, I would be super pissed. The hotel reception desk would either get a complaint from me or I would have checked out! 30 mins. later, I then had a knock at the door. I said to myself…oh my why is my colleague knocking on my door so early? [see how I blame her for some reason?, Hahaha.].It was housekeeping, apparently, they will wake me up at the crack of dawn asking for my towels. See the laundry must begin.. Oh so I searched the hallway for the volume control. I couldn’t find it. I cannot wait to hear it tomorrow. ;-)

I went into the UH Manoa /AS office which is a 3 bedroom house to retrieve all my teaching supplies. I had to ship them back in March. I ordered all new supplies too! I was given no price limit and you just don’t do that with me. I took advantage of it. I ordered $300 worth of markers, color pencils, glue, poster board paper….ya know what every elementary teachers’ dream classroom should have. We are set! Heyyyyyy- Meanwhile, my colleague has not received her items. Needless to say, she is a tad bit upset. She could not pass out her syllabus today. Ouch~

I also have all my xeroxed copies... she does not. [Boy, the man above sure has me under his wings.] Secretly, my car is better too. She hates hers because it smells like mold. I have to agree. Anywho…I too had to give documents in advance to UHManoa so that copies could be made on Oahu to be shipped.  These items as well as toilet paper you should not take for granted. I take a roll of TP to class everyday. Can you imagine teaching and you have no TP for your students? There goes their focus not to mention the teacher's focus if she/he needs to "she she", do #1, 2, or 3! 

After picking up all my shipped supplies, I went to Cost-U Less, which is equivalent to Costco or Sams minus needing a membership card. See it is all about taking care of each other here. Anyone should be able to shop at Cost-U Less. Villages such as…Aua, or Alofau earn money for the village, it is redistributed back into the you guess it, the village. “There is no this is my money, I earned it”. “I spend it how I want”. No money matters here… Boy, we Americans sure could learn a lot. The core is the family. Everyone does what is best for the family. There is no individualism going on here. I cannot even say…they are Eastern thinkers…Samoans are just about FAMILY!

What does surprise me is how the Samoans treat dogs. The dogs here are all stray. They are not family pets…the dogs are ALL very mangy, under weight [not the Samoans, hmmm.] and they are infested with bugs! Deb strongly suggested that I not walk the streets when wanting to exercise because the dogs just randomly bite people. Apparently, a faculty member was bit last year. Gosh~ I didn’t get a rabies shot prior to leaving. I didn't get that memo. So when I returned to my car, guess what was by the driver’s passenger door, a killer dog. It looked like it was on crack! seriously. I could not believe it. I felt my first panic attack coming on.  Let Deb tell, they just come up to you and bite! WTHeck! Today was the first day ever that I literally was afraid to be near a dog. Can you believe that? This dog was super skinny with height similar to my dog, Rocky! I was running the other way... it was classic! 

Mene, the coordinator, met me at the elementary school. I teach in-service teachers who are receiving a B.A in elementary education. See these teachers already have their own elementary classroom. Many of them are DOE teachers and a few teach in a private school. The children’s last day of school is this Friday; however, the teachers must work until next Friday. [ I would upset about that] Their job next week is to break their rooms down. Man oh man that is the worst part about teaching! Having to break down your classroom and place everything in boxes for maybe two months is just a pain in the rear not to mention pointless. [I think]

So Mene gave me the essential tools needed in order for my night to function, a box of chalk, an eraser and my classroom key and the bathroom key. Oh, he too brought in TP! Great minds… I have not used chalk since 2005 in China. It brought back instant memories. Meanwhile, I still have chalk every where. It gets on my face and eventually into my mouth! I think breathing it in is deadly too…yikes.

I’ll describe my two cohort groups after our second day as well as my no a/c incredibly down right unbearable classroom soon…So stay tune…. I'm hungry. I wahoo fish burger and fries was eaten at 2:00pm and it is 10:40pm. I think I eat one of my $2 bananas!

The Journey Has Begun...

Talofa!

I have arrived safely to American Samoan. I must admit, my journey has begun. I had a great conversation with a 73 yr. Samoan tutu on the plane. Lily is visiting her family because she lives in Ewa. She told me that she has 30 grand children and 45 great-grandchildren. I then said, "wow! you have a village". She looked at me with her loooong silver ringlet hair as said, "why yes". A that very moment...I got it!

See it is all about the family....your village. This island has several villages and naturally everyone is related within each village.

As I departed the plane at 10:00pm., I watched and listened to Samoans recognize each other on the plane...many were their own relatives. For example, Lily saw her cousin who lives in Honolulu. Since there are only two flights per week to Samoa naturally I can see how and why the family encounters occurs on the plane! Questions and conversations were heard all around me as we waited a nice 5 mins. before we could depart. I heard...hey...bla bla...how long you gonna be here? I heard tautala all around. I saw them happy and shocked when they recognized each other. These awesome bilingual people went in and out of their main language, tautala and English.......[by the way, there are two languages here, the other one is aaaloalo]. The language sounds like I'm definitely somewhere off the Pacific ocean.

Mene, one of the American Samoa University of Hawaii (ASUH) cohort coordinators meet Deb, the multicultural ed. professor and I at the airport. He made sure, we received our Toyota Yaris and our gorgeous lei! My car is blue and Deb's is silver. No worries, I am taking pics. The lei I received from Mene is real interesting. I forgot the name of my lei already! sorry... It has three different plants and flowers going on. Anywho...I followed Deb to the hotel. She has been here for over 5 years. Her husband is an air traffic controller for Hawaiian Airlines. I can imagine she must be on her fifth passport by now! Well the drive to the hotel was literally a straight shot and about 4 mins. So I am in my hotel room. I am at the Tradewinds Hotel...you can check out the hotel website.. go to http://www.tradewinds.as/

Well it is 1:40am. I must meet Mene at 10:00 am in the lobby. He is one of the American Samoa University of Hawaii (ASUH) cohort coordinators. There are three total. Tomorrow, I will meet the other coordinators, locate my shipped teaching materials, locate my classroom and simply tighten up a few loose ends before I teach at 4:30pm.


Good nite and sleep tight,

Paula