It should be a law of the universe to always follow exciting vacations with more vacations as a means of recovering from your first vacation. Does that make sense? The New Year has started at Tafuna High School, and it sure is slow moving. Over the holidays, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Australia to spend Christmas with family and New Years with a close friend. Those who have studied abroad before call this 'The Grand Return' (I spent half of my junior year in Sydney, Aus), and I'm stoked to say it lived up to that name. This trip was different than my experience studying there, though, since joining family and friends made it feel more as if I was visiting home - a truly comforting feeling after a few months without that in American Samoa. During the first week, I kept my cousin and her family comfort in Perth, a city in Western Australia. It seems more fitting to call my cousin a sister; since we look alike and when we’re together we get along so well. The times we are together, though, are limited, since we share the trait of wanting to travel the world. Paulina grew up in Poland and moved to Australia when she met her husband in Germany (only after living in Singapore and other places). Her mom still lives in Poland and my mom, her mom’s sister, is in Boston. This is how my family has been my whole life…spread out. From Poland to Boston to Australia and now to American Samoa, there’s nowhere that the wind doesn’t seem to blow us. As cool as it has been growing up, being away from such close family has many drawbacks, and so spending time with each other when we can is priceless. Christmas felt so natural; baking cookies and cakes like our moms would, making pierogi (which were a necessity in all Polish households at Christmas), and relaxing with family. It was the first warm Christmas I spent, but it didn’t feel too different after all. Paulina made sure I would have the opportunity to explore Perth and Western Australia as well. We travelled to Fremantle by bike, Cottlesloe beach, the Lancelin Sand Dunes, Perth CBD, and the Margaret River Valley. Each place was beautiful in its own way, and it was amazing to see the variation in beauty. Driving through Margaret River felt like driving through the bush. The wineries were magical and the beach was secluded and peaceful; no waves, no crowds (only a million flies to bother us). Lancelin Sand Dunes were vast and gave the feeling of being on another planet. Driving through them in a car was exhilarating and terrifying (only once when we were at a 90˚ angle facing downward), and sand boarding on them fulfilled my yearning for snowboarding, sort of. Fremantle was cute and comforting, and it felt nice to be in a city with air-conditioned stores for once. Spending time with my niece and nephew, Nina and Jan, was priceless as well. Being part of their lives while their young is important and an honor, and as they grow up I hope they remember their cool aunt from the states! After Perth I travelled to Brisbane, where I met up with a great dude named Graham. Graham studied abroad at UConn when I was working with the study abroad team, and because his Yankees hat made me furious right away and he owned the Ikea carrot to my Ikea broccoli, we hit it off. Since then, it’s become a small world! It’s refreshing to find people who enjoy traveling for the same reasons that you do and find adventure in the same ways, and it’s even more awesome to see their own country through their eyes. I was a Brisbane skeptic when I arrived, since I studied in Sydney, but I was quickly convinced that Brissy is where it’s at. A super chill vibe with good weather, cool people, great things nearby, and great ice cream places, it passed the test. Taking advantage of summer and festival season, we went to music festival called the Woodford Folk Festival, a hippy festival in the forest a little bit outside of Brisbane. It was my first festival and it was everything I imagined and more. Picture a hippy festival and you probably envision hula-hoops and butterfly wings and that was EXACTLY what this festival was. Throw in some henna tattoos, vegan food, a giant bamboo tree house and ukuleles and you have Woodford Folk Fest. Some of the musical acts included a full brass band that played some bumpin tunes guaranteed to get everyone off their feet and dancing at the end of a long day, and a Bosnian rock band that inspired everyone to hug and sway together. My favorite, though, was the band who called up the great-grandparents in the crowd, and mostly the great-grandparents who went up and busted a move on stage. Fittingly, the night ended asleep under the stars (mostly because our tent was broken, but I’m happy it was). Later we travelled to Graham’s avocado farm (omg right?!) to spend the night before hiking Mt. Warning for sunrise. Hiking for the sunrise is not something that someone who is afraid of the dark (like me) is always okay with, but for some reason, this time I was calm conquering my fear, not even flinching at the snake that blocked our path half way through. The view from the top was unbeatable – stretches of lush green grass, rolling hills, ending with a crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. On the other side, the mountains were covered in clouds, making it look like they were covered in snow, while in the distance; we saw the tall buildings of Gold Coast. We waited as the sun rose and blinded our vision, and then headed back down, with our legs feeling like Jell-O. We made it to the bottom tired, hungry, and having made a new friend…success! After breakfast, naturally we went swimming, in a creek and in the largest waves I’ve ever been in (though to locals, they weren’t too bad). Luckily, the only casualty during the bodysurfing session was my bathing suit, at times. A little bit of readjustment fixed that and the final feeling was exhilarating. The rest of the trip consisted of good times with new friends, meeting Graham’s dad, the owner of the avocado farm and the most passionate man of them all, showing some Aussies Samoan Palusami (coconut cream in taro leaves), eating one single avocado (blasphemy, I know), picking and eating dozens of passionfruit, and throwing tomatoes at street signs. On New Years Eve, after eating the best meat pie ever (and meeting the next best comedian) at Yatlah Pies, we made it to Brisbane to pick up Johannah…we could never be apart for too long. We rang in the New Year with some delicious passion pop and dancing (as usual) and just like that it was 2017, and Johannah was off, back to Samoa. I spent one last day basking in the glory of Australia – not wearing shoes, eating eggs benedict, swimming in Brisbane, and buying gummy snakes. By the afternoon, it was my turn to say goodbye and like clockwork, the tears came. Vacation had flown by and I was devastated about leaving, back to the island, back to school, and (the biggest sigh of them all) back to the heat. I’m not too worried though…I’ve learned to not say goodbye to Australia and see ya later instead. No matter what, I’ll always find an excuse to come back. Fortunately, our vacation was extended a few days while we waited for our flight from Samoa to American Samoa, and we enjoyed one more day of air conditioned rooms and continental breakfast. That gave me time to get positive, and I left excited for what the year has offer. 2017 is going to be good. My students will learn at least something from me, I’ll learn even more about myself, and the year will bring more adventures than 2016 did (bring it on).
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The 2016 school year has come to a close, and how it flew by! On Friday, we celebrated the last day of school before Christmas. With barely a third of the student body and not even one full class period, it was quite a fun day. To end the holiday season in the best way, Tafuna High School held another of it's infamous pep rallies; this one was Christmas themed (my favorite). When usually I'd say no to represent the junior class on stage (in fear of embarrassing myself and dancing in public), this time, when asked to be Mrs. Clause, my 'yes' came without hesitation. With each class having an island as its theme, that meant the junior class had to incorporate New Zealand into their skit. My outfit was a Maori inspired but contemporary Mrs. Clause. My hair was tied as tight as it goes in a bun, with a present topper placed on top, tinsel everywhere, and my own ta moko chin tattoo, as is worn my many of the Maori people. My only job was to be confident on stage and do the New Zealand Maori face - stick my tongue out and open my eyes wide (Miley Cyrus-esque?) - easy. Other classes displayed their christmas spirit in traditional Samoan wear, Tongan style, and Manoan design, but our interpretation was the obvious winner. As soon as I got on stage, next to Maori santa, the kids went wild, obsessed with our facial expressions and outfits, and proud to have us represent the junior class. For the first time this year, we earned first place. When the pep rally was over, school was officially out and vacation began! The week was pretty pointless anyway...everyone in vacation mode from Monday. I watched as my students dwindled and by Thursday each class had only 10 teenagers each. Although this made it tough to teach, it brought me closer with them since we just spent our time talking about their daily struggles and trying to pass class time. You could feel the need for a break in everyone's attitudes and when the final bell finally rang, it was so sweet! That night, it was time to leave for the land of the Kangaroos, I COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED. With our night in Samoa not planned at all, and a butt load of Christmas candy in our carry on, Johannah and I were off. Just as it usually happens, Johannah and I got up to adventure in Samoa without planning. An innocent walk to a creepy abandoned warehouse turned bar for dinner turned into finding a place to stay and becoming the body guards for the place for the night. We made Polish friends, shared pizza with the owner, and locked up the place as if we were part owners too. In the blink of an eye (okay, not really, the flight was endless), we were in Sydney and tears were rushing down my face! The last time I saw that place was balling my eyes out EXACTLY 2 years ago when I left the city behind, and coming back, though there were changes everywhere, I felt at home. Luckily, a close friend came to be our uber around the city and take us to spots of utmost importance - Gelato Messina. My signature scoop of white chocolate salted caramel tasted better than ever and memories rushed back in every lick. Driving through the city, past the dorm I lived in, past the beach I ran by each day, and past the bars we were regulars at was bittersweet. It was the best time of my life, and one I can never recreate! With that realization, it was time to leave Sydney behind, hopefully Australia can offer me new sorts of adventures in the future...now it's off the Perth and Brisbane! Life is exciting (also kind of overwhelming). It's crazy to think it's already December, since the heat is rising and the sun seems to only be getting stronger. Whenever I close my eyes, I try to imagine myself on the snowy streets of Boston wearing gloves, a scarf, and a hat, or shredding some snow in Vermont...but I'm not. I guess there have to be some trade-offs for moving to a tropical island. Last weekend was a memorable one. We impulsively hiked one of the National Park hikes here in American Samoa, Mt Alava (and it was 100% worth it). We've been told the hike is temperamental - that we had to make sure to start at the right time (really early), that we could not do it if it rained (because it would be too slippery), that it was hard to get to the trail head (only a powerful car could get there), but obviously we tried anyways. ure, we ran into some trouble - with sun since we started a bit late, as I'm still feeling the effects of my sunburn, with rain since it was just a tad slippery - we only had one fall and a few close calls, and with getting to the trail head but WE MADE IT! The hike was long - 5 hours in total - but the view from the top was the best I've seen on island. At the top is a rusty abandoned tower, where we sat and watched the town below - looking for places we knew, and thinking of how we can get to the places we didn't. After hundreds of pictures (obviously...we're girls obsessed with instragram), we made our way down. In a true samoan fashion, as we were walking down the road towards the town, we were picked up in the back of a pick up truck and hitchhiked our way home. That night, we celebrated the holidays with our World Teach Christmas party. It felt weird to be singing christmas carols and decorating cookies while I was profusely sweating (my sunburn from that day was no help)...but it was comforting nonetheless. What's a christmas party without a gift exchange? The answer is nothing...especially when you walk away with a pint of homemade ice cream from Samu's like I did! Later on, we met a group of fishermen who work on boat that brings in tuna for starkist. Johannah and I charmed our way into a free giant tuna (that's in the freezer now if anyone wants some), and a giant hunk of marlin, freshly caught. For the next few weeks, we'll be eating poke, ceviche, tartare, and tuna steaks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner..nom. Sunday was relaxing, as it should be, and filled with lesson planning. It's hard for me to get myself to do much of anything regarding school when the weeks are so tiring and days are endless, but getting most of the nitty-gritty out of the way on sunday helps immensely. On these nights, I always get a little sad that another weekend has ended and another school week will fly by in the blink of an eye, but I guess that means more adventures to look forward to! 1 more month till Christmas!! |
AuthorThe only way to find yourself is to get lost (and eat a lot of ice cream). Archives
January 2017
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