In the lives of a Worldteacher in American Samoa, this quote essentially explains what life is like. Signing up for a volunteer position meant voluntarily accepting minimal pay to cover only bare living expenses. Before arriving, this figure looked manageable, but being on the island, we realized the care it would take to maintain our income and expenses evenly. We weren’t covered for AC, wifi, hot water, or unlimited cheese purchase (my biggest issue). What it’s come down is living and growing richer through experiences, rather than our cash (and making our bus fare worthwhile). Over the past 5 months, the memories I recount best are not expensive dinners, extravagant nights out, lavish beach massages, or indulgent shopping sprees. Instead, I remember the days spent charming our way onto a Starkist tuna boat and climbing the mast, leaving with a giant tuna that would make us dinner for a week, hiking to the top of a mountain to overlook the country that had become my home, riding in the back of the pickup that offered to drive me home from school, watching the most amazing sunsets on the village rocks, the thrill of cliff jumping into unknown waves, and camping on an abandoned beach with only my hammock. These memories I’ve made don’t involve my stipend, but rather the people that have become my family and the magical beauty of this new home of mine. When they told us we’d be living off a stipend, I was hopeful, coming here and realizing the reality, I was nervous, but now coming to terms with how life on the island works, I’m optimistic. Maybe I’ll run out of my stipend quickly because I’ll buy one too many puletasis, but I also know I can count on the man at the fruit stand at the corner gives us an extra coconut because of our smiles :)
1 Comment
Alicja Trocha
4/4/2017 03:47:54 pm
The life there as much as difficult sometimes ( the heat is challenging) is beautiful and worthwhile ... the lifelong experience and beginning to understand that life is different everywhere you stick you finger on the map , that not everybody ( rarely anybody ) has internet , own room , own closet full of clothes ( many of them neglected on the floor since abundance is a burden) , that you not always eat what you have cawing for but what is on the table is priceless ... hopefully this is just the beginning to understand and now the process will take many different forms ... the world is not necessarily there to change but to appreciate , learn and accept ( although I agree , there is many things we need to change - protection of environment for future humans for once )
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AuthorThe only way to find yourself is to get lost (and eat a lot of ice cream). Archives
January 2017
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