August 10th
The thoughts and opinions expressed in this blog are my own and do not represent those of the WorldTeach organization.
Here are some short highlights of this past week.
On Tuesday, August 3rd I moved into my temporary home. The apartment is a ten minute walk from the airport in Tafuna. Crystal, a volunteer going to Manu’a with me, is sharing the space with me. We were living in luxury last week: we had hot water, air conditioning, a queen bed, leather couches, the works! On Sunday we had to move next door. Two brothers rented out the nice apartment for the year and wanted to move in on Monday, August 9th. Our new apartment is still nicer than what we will have in a week but it is a definite downgrade. This apartment is a studio apartment with a double bed and no working stove. It does have better water pressure, but I am missing the leather couches!
On Wednesday, I got to meet my principal Tautua. We only met for five minutes and then we had to go to our last training session. While washing my hands in the restroom I ran into this woman Donna from OCIA (Office of Curriculum and ____ Assessment) who asked how I was feeling. I didn’t know it was such a topic within the community, but I guess word does spread (coconut wireless)! Donna also asked why I wasn’t at the SAT training session. I told her I would go talk to my supervisor since I had no idea what she was talking about. Sure enough there was a definite lack of communication and I was supposed to be in an all day workshop on teaching a math SAT course. As a compromised I promised she would see me on Friday.
Thursday became a running around (snorkeling to see the sea turtle) kind of a day. At 8 AM on Friday I walked into this parking lot filled with dilapidated buildings. Sure enough the OCIA building was tucked in between all of them. By 2 PM I walked out feeling very accomplished and excited for the school year. There were about a dozen teachers from throughout the island participating in the course. Two women, Amy and Diana, from California gave up their time to train us over this last week. Amy and Diana are both trained through the Princeton Review SAT Prep course. For a majority of the days they taught the English section of the review with just Wednesday and Friday for math. While in the class I met Patricia, the wife of the principal and head of the English department at Manu’a High School. Patricia was extremely soft spoken and friendly. Throughout the day I learned more about teaching styles and felt more comfortable with my knowledge than I have yet! While leaving on Friday Donna stopped me and asked if I would like to join her at her house for a barbeque on Sunday!
Later that evening on Friday I went to dinner with Tautua and Patricia. They took Crystal, Josh, and I to a Chinese Restaurant. It was a nice evening and a great opportunity to find out more about what we are teaching. After three hours of dinner we all headed home for some much needed rest!
Saturday, August 7th was the big WorldTeach end of training brunch. At 10 AM we met at Saddies by the Sea in Utulei. The staff at the restaurant were very disorganized and it led to a very annoying meal. At 11:45 our waiter came to tell us the kitchen was closed so the last three wouldn’t get their food. Fortunately we had Rachel to talk some sense into the owner and at 12 PM I finally ate my food!
On Friday afternoon when I had arrived home for the day we received a knock on our door. Crystal opened up and told me it was for me. I walked out to find this gentleman Brian who I had met the other night. Brian is best friends with our landlords, Gwen and Victor, and we met when I stopped to talk to Gwen and Victor Thursday night. Brian offered two of his kayaks to the other WorldTeach volunteers and I for Saturday. After the afternoon brunch we all headed (about eight of us) to Fatumafuti for some swimming and kayaking. At Fatumafuti there is a huge rock that juts out some thirty feet from shore. It was fun to kayak around the rock and see the array of fish. For the rest of the afternoon on Saturday I just relaxed in the water.
Sunday came and I was extremely excited for the party. I ran into Donna at the grocery store on Saturday night and found out the plan for arriving at her house. The logistics were very hard as transportation on Sunday is difficult. Not only do no buses run on Sunday, but Donna lives in one of the furthest villages west that no taxi would drive to. Her son PJ agreed to pick up some people as well as a few of their close friends. In total we were able to get fifteen of the volunteers to show up to the party! Everything about her place was amazing. Her and her family have a private beach that we stayed on all afternoon. After our meal at 1 o’clock, her son took us on a hike to a swimming hole. The hike was about a half an hour long but he needed to bring a machete for us to get through the brush! The hike was definitely worth it as the swimming hole was amazing. After a lazy rest of the day we headed back home around 6 PM to have a restful evening.
On Monday, August 9th I met the faculty of Manu’a High School…all eleven of us! I also found out that we need to send our luggage to the warehouse today for the boat to take out to Manu’a. I have completed packing but am still waiting for someone to come pick up our luggage. Next time you will hear from me I will hopefully be in Manu’a (we still don’t know when we are leaving or whether it will be via boat or plane!).
Love,
Gretchen
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