I Take It Back... I DO Have Voicemail

Apparently, I DO have voicemail, and I've finally figured out how to set it up and check it! :)

Vatia, a Description

Vatia is a small village on the northern side of Tutuila, the main island of American Samoa. It is at the end of the one road that travels over the mountain. Mt. Alava Elementary is literally at the end of the road. Vatia is set on a bay, aptly named Vatia Bay. The village has one paved road that runs along the water to the school. Then, it has several dirt roads that branch off. These roads look more like drives into a family's compound, so for the longest time, I did not realize that Vatia was as deep off the main road as it actually is. In this small town, there are five distinct churches - LMS (London Missionary Society), Methodist, Mormon, Pentacostal, and one other whose denomination I do not know. There are 3 stores, but I have only ever found 2. Now, I use the word "store" loosely. My housemate, Leslie, described it best when she said that it's like playing store when you're little. People open the windows to their houses, and there's a room lined with shelves sparsely filled with canned goods. It's a crapshoot whether they'll have what you want, or even what they advertise. 

There are two buses that service Vatia - Sam's bus and Craig's bus. Craig's bus is the first to leave town, from right behind my house, at 7am. Sam's bus leaves sometime after that, but I haven't figured out when. The buses go back and forth across the mountain at irregular intervals. There's usually a bus out of my village every 3 hours or so. On weekdays, the last bus coming back to Vatia is at 5pm, if it decides to run. This is Sam's bus. Sometimes, Sam doesn't make this last trip. On Saturdays (if the bus runs at all on Saturday), the last bus back to Vatia leaves town at 2pm. Transportation, therefore, is very hard to come by. I miss the motos of Togo! If I want to come back to Vatia outside of the hours the bus runs (or if the bus decides not to run), I go to the town of Aua and sit on a wall at the bottom of the mountain road. Eventually, someone comes by and offers a ride. I absolutely love going over the mountain in the back of a pickup truck. (I love riding in the back of a pickup truck anytime, actually) The views are gorgeous going up and down, and it's nice to take a break from the world for 30 minutes or so. Getting out of Vatia without a bus, I just wait at the edge of the village for someone to offer a ride. It takes time, but eventually someone does come by.

In all, Vatia is becoming a nice place to live. It definitely takes a while to get warmed up to its charms and its people, but the natural beauty is breathtaking from first sight.

A Desperate Plea for Children's Books!

School started on August 16th, and I would really like to know where all the money the DOE receives goes! My classroom has NO storybooks, only outdated textbooks in horrendous condition and phonics readers, which do not serve the needs of the students. We, as teachers, are not allowed to use the computer lab - ever - and my fellow volunteer and I have not been given access to the library ("You don't want to see our library." is a direct quote from the principal). Tell me, how am I to cover the standards when the textbooks don't teach them, the material in the textbooks is way too complicated for my 4th graders, who are reading WAY below grade level (some at a Kindergarten level), and any access to tools has been blocked?

If anyone is in the position to purchase used children's books at a secondhand shop and ship them to me in a flat-rate box, my students and I would be eternally grateful. Most of them do not have books at home. Most of them cannot tell you the title of a book they love. It's a horrible disservice that's being done in the village of Vatia.

Below are some photos from my clean-up/set-up process and the first day of school:

A stack of textbooks. Note the condition and the missing covers.

A rusted teacher's desk that I am forced to have in my room. It's been covered in cloth and pushed against a wall.

A Vatia eye test... one clean window, one never cleaned (?)

After the deep clean: my reading corner... Do not be fooled by the books - they are ALL Phonics Readers!

The other part of my classroom

Me, in my puletasi (traditional Samoan clothing) on the first day of school

Random Observation about American Samoa

It is so humid here that envelopes seal themselves while still inside the box.

I Also Love Phone Calls

(684) 256-6529

It LOOKS like a US phone number. You DIAL it like a US phone number. But, you are NOT charged like a US phone number. I highly recommend using a landline and/or calling cards, as international calls from a cell phone are RIDICULOUSLY expensive. For me, INCOMING calls are FREE (yay! call as much as you want, as long as I have reception and power on my phone!). Outgoing calls to the States are 17 cents/minute, which is pretty expensive, but worth it every once in a while.

I do NOT have voicemail, even though it will go to voicemail if I don't answer. I will NOT get voicemail messages. Where they go... I have NO idea. If I don't answer, just try back another time. Reception in my village can be shady. If I see you calling, I will be sure to pick up! :)

A Recap of the First Few Weeks

Last Sunday, I moved into my village and wrote a letter to my grandmother all about the first few weeks here in American Samoa. I thought I'd share the contents here, as I get online for the first time since the move.

I've now been in American Samoa for just over three weeks, and I'm still very pleased with my decision to come. We were met by the WorldTeach staff and a few DoE reps when our plane landed in Pago Pago (pronounced Pahngo Pahngo). After everyone cleared customs, we loaded our luggage into the back of a box truck and piled all of the volunteers into a school bus. The bus took us on a short trip to Nu'uli Voc Tech High School, our home of the first 2 weeks of our stay. 2 classrooms had been cleared of furniture and set up with foam mattresses for the 22 volunteers.

One of the female dorms

There was a large kitchen, also, that WorldTeach kept filled with breakfast foods and snacks during our stay. We also had showers which, unfortunately, were filled with mosquitoes! The school kindly opened their internet access to us, so we were able to keep in touch during the 2 weeks we were there. I haven't had internet since, which is why this blog and other electronic content ran dry for a while.

So far, most of the days have been filled with orientation trainings. Every day but Sunday, we have had a teacher-training session in the morning, followed by language class and practice. After a lunch provided by the DoE, we've had afternoons full of more teacher-training. The days have pretty much been fillef rom 8-5 or much later. 

WorldTeach Volunteers with our Samoan Instructors

We were invited to attend a staff development conference hosted by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association) that was absolutely fabulous! They introduced great ways to incorporate the incredible environment we're living in into the classroom and even aligned them to the standards. I can't wait to try some of the activities out with my class. The goal is to promote science literacy in classrooms and to build awareness of problems with the oceans and pollution, especially here in American Samoa. 

For the conference, we got to wear our "uniform." Samoans are big on uniforms! For any special event, a specific fabric is chosen, and people have outfits made at sew shops. We have a WorldTeach uniform that consists of a printed lavalava (aka sarong) and white shirt. I'll also have a uniform for school, but I don't know what that will look like yet. My host family recently attended a wedding, and there was a uniform for the family. It's fun, but I really don't like to stick out so much in a crowd... especially when the color of my skin already makes me stick out as being "different." 

The crew wearing our uniform at the NOAA Conference

Speaking of my classroom, I just found out TODAY that I will be teaching a self-contained 4th grade class! I'll switch with the 3rd grade teacher for one period per day so that (s)he can teach Samoan Studies to my kids, and I'll teach some subject to his/hers. I'm SO relieved not to be teaching 8th graders (elementary is considered K-8, and there was a good chance that I'd be doing a rotation of 5th-8th graders - yikes!). I've already met a little girl who will be in my 4th grade class, so I'm getting excited. School starts in a week! 

I'll get this posted for now, as my time is running short. Hopefully I'll get some pictures and posts up of the kayaking, swimming, snorkeling, and other activities soon. For now, I'll leave you with the view from my house in the morning.

A Vatia Sunrise