What's a typical day like in American Samoa? It's a question that I ask myself often. How is life on a teeny island in the middle of the Pacific ever normal? Somehow, though, I've fallen into a routine and I'm finally at home, here's what it looks like...
My typical weekday morning starts at 6. I wake up to my alarm clock, typically still exhausted because still, after finishing college, I don't know how to force myself to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. I'm usually drenched in sweat because my house is an oven, and I probably have at least 4 new bug bites starting to tickle. Before most other things, I check my phone for updates by going out to the front step (it's the only place to get wifi). The facebook notifications and snapchats give me a sense of home and morning texts from my mom make me smile and remember my cheer squad on the other side of the world. Next, I quickly decide on the skirt I'll wear and pack my clothes for after school. For breakfast, I eat a smoothie with papaya and bananas, or a spoonful of peanut butter and a cup of the dunkin donuts coffee my parents keep sending from home. Once my bags are packed, I step out the door, crossing my fingers that someone will ask me if I want a ride. Most times, I get lucky. Someone stops by the mart in front of my house and ask if I'd like to ride in the bed of their truck. They know I'm a world-teacher, and have been close with teachers from the past, and they want to help us out in any way they can. If I can't hitchhike, I'll wait for a bus...one of those crazy reggae buses with fuzzy boas lining the dashboard. This morning, I was on a bus at 7am, the bass was blaring so much my sunglasses were falling off and we were going almost 50 mph (the speed limit is only 25)...it was QUITE the way to start off a day. When I get to school, I sign in at the office, pick up the daily bulletin and get ready to start the day. Students come in as soon as they see my door open, most to leave their backpacks in a safe spot, or just to sit and escape the various 'turfs' around campus, as my room is a neutral zone. At 820, the bell rings and all the students start rushing in. They make their typical teenage jokes and I'm reminded of what I'm doing and who I'm working with. Sometimes, it's hard to feel like an adult with these kids - we listen to the same music, they talk about their girl/boy drama, they comment on each other's eyebrows, and they wear clothes under their uniforms that aren't so different than my own. I try to snap into teacher mode and keep stern, so when 830 rolls around, a student begins the day with a Samoan song and prayer. Announcements are made and we jump into a lesson. This week we talked about plate tectonics and boundaries connecting earth's puzzle pieces. They love the incorporation of music and sounds, and drawing and art. Before lunch my students complain about the heat and ask if I'm okay because I'm getting red and wonder if I'll make it to the bell. By lunch I'm usually pooped and sweating more than I can handle. That's when I think about the snow and cold I could be in if I was home (sigh). At lunch, I try to escape my room and students, but most of the time they catch me first, looking over my shoulder at my facebook or asking for bites of my papaya. This is when we bond though, so I'm only half frustrated (and half-delighted). The bell signalling the end of lunch rings 15 minutes early because a fight has broken out and that's the only way to control it. With this extra 15 minutes of class, I find myself flustered and making up for time. Usually we laugh about something or discuss why fighting won't get them anywhere (most of them hear nothing when I say this). Two more periods fly by and the day finally ends. After school, the kids disappear to McDonalds and Carls Jr. (probably for another fight) and the campus is eerily empty. I use this time to skype and facetime people back home (let me know if you want your slot!) or catch up on school work and grading. After asking my mom to show me the fridge and my closet and the stuff I left at home, I sneak out to catch a bus to the gym, which always takes longer than I expect. The bus ride is bumpin again and I show up just on time to the gym at 430 with a warm welcome from the owner of the gym, and my current girl crush, Paula. She pushes Johannah and I through the workout: adding in extra burpees, testing us for faster sprints, and occasionally interrupts to tell us about the cheese and wine she just bought, her upcoming vacation, or her annoyances with her husband. She also runs the rowing team and is training for an Australian race in Sydney. I plan to be her prodigy, but I haven't been able to convince her yet (it'll come with time). When I eventually catch the last bus of the night from the gym to Leone, it takes every detour possible. Luckily, I pass a beautiful ocean stretch just as the sun starts to set and get home as the brightness goes below the mountains. Finally, I'm home and I lay down on the couch already prepared for sleep. I make myself some coconut rice or avocado toast, eat some ice cream, and sit by my laptop to try to get through some school work. It's really hot, though, so most of the time I just go sit in my hammock on the porch and fall asleep to Harry Potter, or lie right in front of the fan in my room to try to cool off. Somehow the time between when dinner I and bed time passes in the blink of an eye and I get ready for bed and to do the same thing all over again. Though this is the normal outline of a day, each day has it's plot twists...maybe the person who picks me up in the morning is a friend of a friend who will now get me involved in something I've been really excited to try, or maybe my students decide that today they'll have a sketching competition with me as the judge. It's pretty crazy to think that this is what is 'normal' now, but this is, after all, why I chose this experience. Every day is different, but every day is awesome.
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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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