A Gecko Named Wilma.

Not really. I did think it might be a good idea to check in and let you all know that I am safe and fine, despite the cyclone that has descended on the island. My house lost power this morning, but so far it has not posed that much of an issue. In true Samoan fashion, we gathered some belongings, called a cab, and headed to.... McDonalds. McDonalds, haven that it is, has its own house sized generator. It never loses power, and most importantly, it has both internet and a big screen TV. All of the housemates and I are now firmly esconced here... along with about 25 assorted palangis and Samoans all intent on both Chicken McNuggets and the NFL.

In other news, before I return to rooting for the Jets (sorry, but Palumalu is not enough incentive to cheer for Roethlesberger (sp?)) I feel I have to share one of those moments which inevitably ends up on a tacky calendar, with the theme of "You know you are in Samoa when...."
Thursday morning I woke up as normal... maybe a little groggier due to the constant rain and lack of usual sunshine pouring through my window. I stumbled to my kitchen, pulled down my granola and looked in the bag... to find a GECKO. Staring back at me. Far be it from me to stop anything or anyone in Samoa trying to be healthy... plus geckos are cool with me. They eat termites. So, despite my overwhelming feelings of, "this is my LIFE. MY LIFE." I simply tipped the bag over, counted the granola as a casualty of the war on bugs, and went to school as normal.

Love (and lots of wind and rain)
Rosa

RSIOTD

Random Samoan insight of today- Samoans love synthesizers. The synthetic drum sounds, electronic plinky piano and anything else you can play on a keyboard are classic elements of popular Samoan music. Synthesizers also appear in churches- nothing says both “I Love to Party,” and “I love Jesus” more than a holy song set to “Pop Riff #2!” played by a 300 lb woman dressed in shiny white satin.

Its not easy being Green

I hate this week. It is exam week, which sounds like it should be a piece of cake. More like a foot shoved up you know where. In order to divert my mind from relieving all the stressful moments so far, I will instead discuss a fun quandary of the beautiful island of Amerika Samoa.

My parents visited for Christmas. I actually managed to introduce them to a lot of the food Samoans eat on a daily basis, and they got a pretty good idea of what was available, and what was not. Namely, most things which are green.

It is incredibly ironic- I live in a tropical area. There is greenery everywhere, flourishing proof that plenty of stuff grows. Everywhere you look there are mango trees, banana palms, coconut palms, breadfruit (ulu) trees, and taro plants. However, the only two common vegetables that seem to be grown here are bok choy and a green bean relative called longbeans. Both delicious, but it gets old fast. A few people seem to grow tomatoes, but they can’t quite grasp when to pick them- as a result, mostly, I have been making fried green tomatoes, which admittedly are delicious (if not very healthy).

The biggest problem with vegetables is obviously how far away we are from everything. Anything which comes here has to be shipped a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong way. Often they simply don’t make it, or are in less than appetizing condition. Never has Kermit’s classic lament “It’s Not Easy Being Green,“ held truer than for the poor bell peppers and broccoli shipped over here.

Consequently, I eat a lot of frozen vegetables- there isn’t much variety so it tends to be either frozen spinach or some sort of peas, corn and carrot mixture. When I am not eating frozen, I am daydreaming about all the glorious things I am going to be eating in June- okra, snow peas, okra, fresh lettuce, fresh spinach, squash, zucchini, peppers, artichokes, Hanover tomatoes, fresh basil, lima beans. I hope to live like a rabbit for the first two weeks I am home, God willing.

In the meantime, I charge all of you to go to your local salad bar and load up- and don’t forget to spill a little lettuce on the floor, just for me.

Love,

Rosa

Weather and Other Strange Things.

The weather here is a conundrum. As one might expect from a place located in the biome categorized as "Tropical Rainforest" (yes, the science I am teaching has definitely landed in my brain) the weather here is hot, wet, or most often, both. Every day brings temperatures of 86-88, and a humidity factor of around 85%. If you aren't sweating, the air is sweating for you... though truthfully it is not that bad. It usually showers at least once a day, however briefly- which brings about 5 minutes of relief, until the rain starts steaming from the streets, turning the entire country into a spa-worthy steam room.

While a perfect day in the United States is a breezy, 75 degree wonder with a blue sky, a few picturesque puffy white clouds and a steady stream of cheerful sun, here the best days are gray. Not rainy, but gray, with enough cloud cover to ensure a breeze and a temperature drop of 5-10 degrees, and a noticeable lack of humidity in the air. In other words, the perfect day here is the "oh crap, not again" day in Seattle.

All I can say is, it is a good thing that I will be returning to the States in the spring/summer. The idea of a actually wintry day fills me both with longing and with an absolute fear of turning into Frosty the Snow(wo)man from the shock to my system.

The lack of variation in weather also creates an interesting time paradox. Even though it is now almost December, everything looks and feels the same as the day we arrived. This creates a strange sense of timelessness, a weird feeling that I am floating through this experience in one long, sweaty dream. One of the other volunteers, my next-door neighbor aptly pointed out that we will all probably look back on this experience as a really long summer job. So all of you back home, appreciate your seasons, your subtle and not so subtle signs that time is passing and the world is changing, because as idyllic as it sounds (and usually is), being in a land of perpetual summer is slightly disconcerting.

Love from Samoa,
Rosa

Whew.

I am sorry if I worried anyone with my last post (read: Mom and Dad). I was depressed, but mostly I viewed it as a learning experience as a teacher. I am actually glad that I am not so self-centered and egotistical that I never think anything is my fault.
Anyway, it all turned out okay ( I think). I went to the vice principal, who is a very nice lady, and explained that I didn't think it would be fair to count the tests in their mid-term grades. She simply said, "ok." So, problem solved. I have since then been absolutely focused on teaching the formulas and problem solving skills that they obviously did not understand. I have definitely seen a few lightbulbs go off for my students, which gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling, and right now, if everything seems to go well, I will have my students re-test sometime next week.
Speaking of next week, I am so excited! It is slated as "spirit week," and just like in the states, I would bet that various forms of hilarity will ensue. As the schedule stands, Monday is "sports day," Tuesday is "Career day," Wednesday is "international day," Thursday is "Halloween Costume day," and Friday is "black and gold day." I am sure sprinkled in there will be the ubiquitous class meetings filled with learning cheers, and there is guaranteed to be a ridiculous assembly. I am very excited, and I have changed the batteries in my camera in preparation for the tom-foolery. Speaking of cameras.... I have been promising pictures for some time, so it is time to keep my word. Most of the following are my students... ignore the silly poses- it seems to be the "seki-a" (cool) thing to do.
















Everyone praying before an assembly...























Aren't they cute??? By the way... if you click on the pictures, it will make them bigger!

Love from cookie-land,

Rosa

This was going to be a post about the fun adventures I have been having, especially on Columbus Day weekend (it is very nice to get all the government holidays). However, I am instead going to discuss my current teacher crisis. So far, I would say that I think I am a decent teacher- even in the states, I think I would pass muster, and here, well, I try a LOT harder than most. After my first test, enough students did really well to convince me that on that area of subject matter, my teaching was not the problem for those students who did poorly- their lack of studying was the issue. My conscience was not in any way impinged upon.
However, this latest test has me very disappointed- in myself. About two weeks ago, the administration informed all the teachers that the midterms were coming up- in one week. In less than a week, I had to create a new test and attempt to review with my students. This is coming fairly soon after the last BIG test, so I mostly focused on stuff which I hadn't really tested; I thought the midterm that I created was actually easier than the first test I had given them.
When I started giving the midterm, I immediately noticed some problems- students forgot their calculators, which made the formula section both extremely difficult and time consuming. They were making mistakes and also not finishing- I readjusted the test- excluding one page of it and instead having them write only 2 of the short answer questions on the back of one of the other pages. However, now that I am grading these, I am doubting myself.
The grades are dismal. Beyond simple mistakes in the division and multiplication aspects of the tests, the students obviously did not know or understand the formulas- the vocab section and short answer I can attribute to lack of studying, but for the formula section (which was worth 20 points), I must acknowledge that I obviously did not spend enough time in class on. To me, the formulas seemed easy- but I should not have assumed that this was also true to them. Even my best students struggled with that section, which to me indicates that in this instance, the fault lies with me, the teacher, which is a bitter and humbling pill to swallow.
Swallow it I must, however. I know that this year is a learning experience for me as well, and a major lesson has just come through. I know that I need to go back, re-teach the information, ensure that the students know and understand the material. My dilemma now lies with the test- I feel that it is unfair to keep these grades for them. According to the school, I need to turn in midterm grades tomorrow- meaning that many of these students, if I include the test (which I am supposed to) will be much lower than they should.
How should I remedy this? How can I use this experience to be a better teacher?

By Wednesday, I assume many of these problems will be resolved. I hope to update then. But, until then,

A humbled, contrite and very confused,
Rosa

Whoops-a-daisy

Well, er. Sorry about the 23 day lapse in posting... its been busy, to say the least. I will try to at least summarize what has been going on, but first, a clarification about my last post. I was upset when I wrote that- generally, if I write something negative, it is because it is fresh in my mind, and I feel the need to unburden myself and share it with others. It also would not be honest of me if I did not include both the positive and negative experiences I am going through. Transitioning to a new life is definitely not always easy or fun. However, so far on this journey, I can honestly say that my experience has been good. I have done things, overcome challenges, tested myself in ways I could never have dreamed of. I have a job I love right now, and people who I like all around me. The experience has been great, and positive, and I am not doubting my being here.
That said, the list of stuff that has happened (this is in the order it pops into my head, not the order it happens):

1. Went to a traditional Samoan Catholic mass for a Saint's feast day, complete with traditional Samoan dances, half naked men with copious amounts of tattoos, and happy birthday balloons for said saint.
2. Cooked a Rosh Hashanah feast for 14 people. Appetizer: mini pancakes with a topping of spinach, onions and edam. Main course: 3 roast chickens, herbed potatoes, corn with tomatoes and onions, stuffing. Desert: banana carrot cake cupcakes with spiced cream cheese frosting.
3. Tried fasting for Yom Kippur- the heat made this not doable, so I ended up drinking water.
4. Hiked a 7 mile hike to the top of Mt. Alava: the first 1. 5 miles to the summit were the hardest 2 hours I have ever experienced. The trail included tons and tons of basically vertical ladders. Very proud to have completed it though.
5. Saw Salt- the Russian in it was actually fairly accurate.
6. Our football team won their first game OF ALL TIME.
7. Went to a beautiful place called "Sliding rock." Unfortunately, went on a day when the water was very rough and high. Said water picked me up, threw me around and against some rocks. I now have some awesome scars, and a newly found appreciation for being alive.
8. As a result of said win, we had a combination assembly and school dance- I have video to prove it.
9. I discovered that as punishments go, wall-sits are the best; far better than sit-ups, push-ups, or jumping jacks. The reason is this- push-ups are ineffective because most students can do a maximum of ten. Plus, they take up a lot of space, and the students find great pleasure in counting as loud as they can. Sit-ups are good, because Samoan students can all do around 50 of them (though slowly and laboriously), but they whine about getting their uniforms dirty, have to have their feet held down, and also count really loudly. Wall sits are the best- they take up little space, as its pretty much vertical, there is no danger of dirt, the kids hate doing them, and since I time them, they can’t count out loud. Plus, thanks to old softball coaches, I can do wall sits for a looooong time, so if a kid whines too much, I sit next to him and continue my lecture while doing a wall sit. This usually shuts them up- after all, I am a girl. Perfect solution all around. Plus, it helps their physical fitness!
10. Went to a Mormon Church near my house- all two hours of Sunday School, plus the service. Everyone in the village now knows my name. It started at 8 in the morning; apparently, the first two hours, everyone goes to different classes. From 8 to nine, I went to the women’s class. 9-10 was the class for people over 18 but unmarried. 10-11 was the actual service. It was very interesting- I had to get up and introduce myself in the first two classes (they make all visitors do this), and they gave me a copy of their Sunday school book in English, which was very kind of them. They also gave me an English book on the history and beliefs of the Mormon church; from a scholastic perspective (which is by and large how I am approaching all the church services I attend here) and from a human one, it was an interesting, positive, and enjoyable early Sunday morning.
11. Finally convinced my students that I am palagi, and am not at all Samoan. Apparently, my vaguely ethnic features can add one more nationality to their list.
12. Watched the first season of Dexter. It is a really creepy and really good show. For those who don’t know what it is, it is basically about a serial killer, who leads a double life, as a forensic specialist and loving boyfriend and brother (to two separate ladies of course) and as a serial killer with a code of conduct (only kill those who deserve it) instilled in him by a cop adoptive father. Not a great description, but it really is a good show.
13. Hiked to Larson's Bay and swam, read and relaxed. The hike was beautiful- through straight jungle with some sheer rock faces on either side of the trail at some points. I saw the biggest bat ever too... and collected a ton of gorgeous weird shells which I am now obsessed with.
14. Got really sunburned. Apparently, some days the sun is really strong here... even for my skin. It hurts to sit now :-).
15. Almost won at Trivial Pursuit. Stupid Mark beat me by ONE QUESTION.
16. Gave my first test in Science...
17. ... Had to send two students to the office for cheating. However, on the bright side, I think a lot of my students did really well. I am really proud of them, and apparently they are really proud of themselves as well; a bunch of them are in April (my roommate’s) English class, and for their journal prompt on Friday (something that they are proud of this week) a ton of them wrote that they were proud because they studied hard for Ms. Rosa’s test and thought they passed. I have to say, reading some of those entries was so far one of my best teaching moments; I like knowing that my students are caring about my class.
18. Made a breakthrough ( I think) with my English class...
19. Finally got to video-chat with Jeremiah. He got EOD!
20. Started Gear-Up (one hour of tutoring every morning before school)

There is more I am sure, but I can't remember it all now. Later this week, pictures and videos of my students!

I love you and miss you all,

Rosa

A No Good, Very Bad Day.

Unfortunately guys, today had many more dark spots than light ones. I was almost in tears at one point in the day- it just seemed like a situation, much like a boulder down a hill, where once things started, they couldn't be stopped.
We transitioned to a new schedule this week- instead of block scheduling, we see the kids everday, for 50 minutes (40 on Wednesday). This has caused great confusion, and in my opinion, tires the kids out mentally a lot more than the previous schedule. Anyway, I digress.

This morning started fine. I had Jeopardy planned for today, figuring that not only would it be a great review of material, it would be entertaining enough that the lure of the weekend might not impede upon my students' abilities to focus. I was sort of right.
The first period of my day was 6th period. They are usually rowdy, but manageable, and there are a few students in there that are my absolute favorites, like Siaki, who is undeniably one of the cool kids, but is also respectful to me, can sing like an angel, and is nice to his classmates, or Villiam, who is incredibly smart, remembers everything I tell him, and has the cutest baby-face in the world. Jeopardy went well- the teams competed, they got some energy out, the questions were answered. Success. I gave them the last two minutes of class to relax while I tallied the score, and during that time, the unthinkable (to me) happened. Two of my kids in the back, out of nowhere, got into an all out fight- fists flying, yelling, tension everywhere. Luckily all the boys in the back jumped in pretty quickly to pull them apart, but I was still shaken, and I was dreading what I knew I would have to do: take the boys to the office. Essentially, I would have to condemn my students to either a beating from a member of the school administration, or one from their parents at home, which is not something which weighs lightly on my conscience. However, there are certain protocols and rules in school which cannot be broken, and fighting in class is one of them.

No more fistfights occurred, which is the only thing that probably saved what little shred of sanity I had left, but the rest of the day proved just as disheartening. With the exception of my fourth period class (and my sixth), none of the students seemed to have retained anything that I had taught them. They would blindly yell out words as they glanced through the notes, or just sit there, looking at me as if I were expecting the impossible.
Maybe I was. I am trying to get these kids to learn in a way that they have been unaccustomed to from grades 1-8. They are not fluent in English, and yet I am expecting them to understand and apply words like homogenous and flammable.

I know I need to adjust my own expectations- both of my students and of myself as a teacher, but as I found out, that process can be incredibly painful.

A little bummed,
Rosa

Another week, another victory.

Flicking an ant off you and watching it fly through the air to oblivion might be one of the best feelings on earth...

And it is a good thing that good feelings are so easy to come by. The second week of teaching is now complete... the first with actual subject matter and it brought with it some good, some bad, and a lot of the unexpected. I will start with the unexpected first- I am now an English teacher in addition to Science- I was informed of this addition on Wednesday morning- the day I would be assuming these new responsibilities. I knew it might be coming- I actually suggested it to the principal as a solution to the overcrowding that was happening in the English classes, but I had assumed (silly me) that I might hear more discussion about it/be forewarned in order to prepare. The reason for the overcrowding, for those who want to know, is because of an English teacher who is currently on leave for bereavement (for lack of a better term). Her husband, Lt. Brown, was a police officer on island, who was shot about a week after all of us WorldTeachers arrived... it might be searchable in the news. If not, it definitely is on samoanews.com. It made a huge shock wave on the island- murders themselves are very uncommon, and the last time a police officer was killed was over 50 years ago. Anyway, she is still deciding whether or not she feels up to coming back to school, so until she does, I have her students for Sophomore English.
That particular day went alright with my new class. I think they were disoriented enough about the change that they sort of obeyed just because it was easier. On Thursday however, when I had them again, it was a different story. Not only were they awful in terms of behavior, they stunned me with their lack of knowledge. When we corrected sentences on the board, none of the students could give me the past tense of the verb "to say." My class, by the way, is called Sophomore English because of the level; my class right now is about half filled with seniors. How unprepared they are for life after high school worries me. It is a common statistic here that many students try at college in the states, but get too overwhelmed, and having read their writing and observed their critical thinking skills (or lack thereof) I see why. I am going to try and do the best I can to improve their English in all areas (listening, speaking, reading, writing), but I am at a true loss on where to start.
My science classes reveal a lot of the same challenges. The kids have never been taught how to think. They are excellent at memorizing, but they cannot for the life of them apply that knowledge, which is my theory as to why they all do so poorly on the American standardized tests. My theme for this year is definitely going to be "why?" I have already started doing this in the classroom. It is a lot more tedious teaching-wise, because it drags everything out, but I think it is important that at least in my classroom, the answers are not always given to them, but rather are puzzled out. This week, by the way, I taught the Scientific Method, and Experimental Design. The kids had not heard of either one, nor the elements (like a hypothesis, independent and dependent variables, etc.), but at least seemed willing to learn it all. I know I was in gifted programs throughout most of my life, but I was taught IV and DV stuff in 4th and 5th grade. The biggest bright spot was performing the experiment at the end of the week- I decided to run the "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?" experiment, of course making them run through how the experiment was laid out, the components, etc., etc., so that it wasn't just silly. I think it worked- and they definitely enjoyed the experience... licking is just a hilarious thing in general, and especially to ninth graders.
Saturday was football again! I really am enjoying watching the games, even if we do keep losing. I will however, be perfectly happy if we do not have any more 8 AM ones- too early for a Saturday! We also almost won- the final score was 22 to 26, which gives me hope. Maybe our new coach will get the first win in the history of the school :-).
Saturday night (last night) was also memorable, as all of us went to a fa'afafine pageant. In case you missed the blog post in which I explained what that is, it is considered a third gender here- genetic males (who do not get altering surgery) dress and live their lives as women. In the U.S. the nearest thing is transgender or drag. Last night certainly leaned towards the drag side of things- the program consisted of a talent category, a couture puletasi (the Samoan women's style of clothing) category, swimsuit competition (yes, there were bikinis... worn over control top pantyhose) and evening gown competition. The final winner was a woman named Pearl, who, at 39 was the oldest contestant by far. It was a fun evening, including such memorable moments as an incredible rendition of Etta James' "At Last," a Samoan fire dancer, many many many siva Samoa (Samoan dances), lipsyncing galore (to a Grease/Grease 2 medley, Whitney Houston, Beyonce, show tunes and more), lots of feathers, lots of rhinestones, and a few shirtless Samoan men who carried a few of the fa'afafines on and off stage for effect.
By the way- to any and all reading the blog: where is a good place to petition for free supplies? All of my school's science supplies burnt down last year with about 4 classrooms, and I have no idea who to e-mail and pester. Also, any teaching tips are welcome. My e-mail is rosammutchnick@gmail.com, so let me know!
A couple pictures tonight-
Adorable little girl at the football game.
Some of the players....
2 students of mine... also Cheerleaders!
Cheerleaders in action! (we won't have uniforms until we fundraise)

In the stands of a football game...
This truck is always around campus... I have not yet figured out who it belongs to, but the paint job is literally silver glitter in some sort of clear enamel, and yes, the sticker on the windshield says "bling, bling!"
My classroom, mostly finished.