First Day of School

The first day of school finally arrived and I was as ready as I could be. I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I thought I was going to be I was just ready to get the day started. We started walking to the school around seven and we all had our headphones in and were getting ready for the craziness of the day. When all of the sudden three dogs came out of nowhere and one of them was biting and pulling on my skirt. I did not see them coming at all and just screamed an older guy came out of the house and chased them away from us.

Once we arrived at school the students were already waiting to get in the classroom. They were all so excited to start the first day of school. The school gave us some breakfast and told us to meet on the lawn for the school assembly. The school assembly was all in Samoan so I have no idea what was said. The only thing I knew was the Lord’s Prayer that they said right before going to class.

The morning classes went by so quickly the students caught onto to everything I was teaching quickly. I also had them write me a letter about themselves so that way I could get to know them. It was interesting to hear what the students had to say.  A majority of my students talked about how when they got older they wanted to join the army and give back to their families. This culture is very big on family and always watching out for your family. The kids had a hard time understanding how I could leave my family for a year. They also had a hard time understanding why my brothers didn’t live with me anymore.

I was very excited once lunchtime rolled around. I was super hungry and I needed a break. I find Virginia and Dana and we all talk about our morning and how tired we are. The lunch ladies gave us some of the leftovers so we could eat them for supper! I think I am going to like them giving us the extra food. I was warned that in the afternoon the students have a hard time focusing. That was very true. Most of the afternoon we spent playing games and getting to know each other. We also had music today I asked them if they knew any songs without music. They started singing all different kinds of songs and they were really good. I felt like my students were serenading me. One of the songs they sang was All Of Me by John Legend. They can really sing I told them one of these times I am going to record them singing to me!

The day is finally over and lets just say I don’t plan on moving much. I forgot how exhausting a full day of teaching can be.

With Love,

Abby