Sunday in the Samoa

Today, we had the opportunity to go to our first church service in the Samoa. We had multiple people offer to give us rides to church. We decided to go to our Language teachers church. We were all a little skeptical about going to church because we didn't know if they would be speaking any in English or if it would be in Samoan. Luckily, they had the church service translated in Samoan. The church we went to was a little smaller church but the people were so excited to see us. They mentioned us World Teach Teachers in the sermon like four or five times. They also had us take a picture after the sermon. Services here are very similar to what we have back home the only difference that I noticed was that they did not have a piano or organs. It was a very nice service. Samoans also make very big meals on Sunday's and they kept asking us if we would come over and eat with them. Unfortunately, we had other things planned for the Sunday already.

After, we got back from church we had an afternoon filled with sessions again. Our session this afternoon was actually very interesting. We had our language teacher come over and teach us dances and how to cook food. The dancing part of the afternoon was very interesting. The dance moves that they had us do were very similar to the ones you see Hawaiians except the hand motions are a little bit different. Next, she had us try some different types of Samoan food. The first thing she had us try was tuna cooked inside a coconut shell and it was actually really good. We also tried coconut cream wrapped in banana leaves which also looked very sketchy but tasted really good. She also had us try bread fruit, tarro, and raw fish. Yes, thats right I tried some raw fish today and it was not nearly as bad as I imagined it would be. I am hoping I can try and make these foods and have them once I move into my house.

Tonight we are going to have a movie night!! I don't even remember the last time I sat down and watched a movie. It almost feels like I am home because we always spend our Sunday nights eating pizza and watching movies!

So right as I am typing this blog out one the scariest thing happened to me. I was sitting outside on like a porch so I could get some wifi. All of the sudden I heard this really really loud noise and I first thought it was an airplane taking off but planes only come to the island on Monday and Fridays. Then I was thinking oh no it Tsunami this is it. This is the end and I look to the girls next to me and they have the same scared looked. Well, it was just the rain. Thank goodness. When it rains here it really rains it just down pours. So that was my little scare for the night.

Living the Dream

After an extremely long day in the classroom yesterday we finally had our first day off! We spent almost eleven hours in classes yesterday and we were all beyond exhausted by the end of the day.  This morning we loaded up a bus and headed towards the beach for the day! The bus we took was not a normal bus like we have in the states. The bus was all wooden which was really interesting. They also love to play music very loudly on the bus. I love when they do that and you are just surrounded by the ocean and mountains. We arrived at this beach and it was so pretty and surrounded by coral. It also had this little mountain next to it where you could climb up. We climbed the little mountain and looked for places that look cool to snorkel. We were back down the mountain and heading towards our snorkel gear.
I have never been so thankful for bringing snorkel gear as I was today. The water is absolutely clear and you can see everything. I also got an underwater camera before coming on this trip and I got some pretty awesome pictures. I got the opportunity to see and hold a blue starfish today. I was so skeptical of holding it but it was also so cool to actually see a starfish in its natural habitat. We also saw so many different types of fish. I wish I could tell you the names of them but I have no idea. We did see a lot Dory fish that you can see in Finding Nemo. One bad thing about snorkeling is I have never had to deal with such a bad current. At moments I could just feel the current pulling me out to see which was a little scary.
After a morning filled with snorkeling we had our own little picnic on the beach. We had so much food and it was so good. I love eating on the beach the view is indescribable. On the beach we ran into a past World Teach teacher and she was telling us about all the things we needed to do while we were out here. She also invited us to her wedding because at the end of September she will be marrying a Samoan.

One of the things I have noticed in Samoa is that family is a really big thing out here. You will always see people with their whole at the beach or the park. They also love to play volleyball out here. Hopefully they like to play on my little island! Today was a great day to see the natural beauty of the island unfortunately tomorrow its back to reality and back to having classes all day!

Reality Check

I am now finishing up on third full day on the island. After getting over the jet leg and the life style change everything is starting to hit me. Today our day was filled with classes on teaching. To be honest it was super overwhelming for me. Most of the volunteers that came on this trip have zero background in being a teacher. So I can only imagine the feelings they are feeling. We got the opportunity to see test scores from the previous year of school in all of the test results of my eighth grade students had not one student in the advanced section. As a teacher that shows that this is going to be an up hill battle. All of us have big aspirations for being that teacher that turns the class around but reality check. You cannot change a classroom in a year.

Tonight I had a conversation that was quite interesting. We were talking about all the fears we had about our upcoming school year and how we were going to deal with these fears. The girl I was talking to then said we have remind ourselves that to these schools we are making a difference. They are in a high need of teachers and we are helping them have enough teachers. Just by being in the classroom we are benefitting the students. Having this conversation changed my perspective on this upcoming school year.

After our overwhelming day in the classroom I was trying to decide what I wanted to do for the rest of the night. One of the many transitions I have had to make since moving here is giving up my social media. Even though I have Internet we can’t go on social media because its blocked on the schools Internet. So I have been on what you could call a social media detox. In reality I really don’t miss it all that much. It has been really nice just doing whatever and not being attached to my phone all the time. It also gives me a lot more free time, which in reality is kind of sad. So tonight I decided it was time to get back into shape. I have been quite lazy this past year so I was a little worried about this. A group of us decided to do a forty-five minute insanity work out. I was very thankful for the sea breeze because lets just say the workout was not as easy as it once was for me.  Hopefully, by the end of this school year I am hoping to be in shape!

One week until I get to see my house!

Adjusting to the Culture

One of my biggest challenges since moving to the island is adjusting to the culture and respecting the Samoans. It is not socially acceptable in this culture to eat, talk, or drink standing up. So many times we are getting told that we need to sit down. If there is no bench or chair to sit on you are supposed to sit on the ground. I am hoping after a couple of weeks of being here I will remember to sit down. Another big thing in this culture is that your not allowed to show any skin above the knee unless you are swimming. This has been really hard since ninety percent of my summer I spent in my swimsuit and its hotter here and I have to wear way more clothes. The worst part is this is the cold season so I can only imagine what it is going to feel like in a couple of months.

Today we got the opportunity to go into town and get our phones and school uniforms ordered. It was fun to see what the town looked like. I purchased my first phone and it’s a little cheaper for one out here. My phone cost me thirty dollars and then I bought some minutes. They don’t have contracts here you just have to go to grocery stores to purchase more minutes when you run out. I also had to purchase some material for my school uniform. If you want to see what it looks like just google lava lave and puletasi and that’s what I will be wearing!

We also got a chance to go to the beach today. The water is so clear and the waves are HUGE! I can’t believe how big they get. I was standing on the beach and I could already see fish swimming in the water. I can’t wait to see what its like once I get to go snorkeling!

I also got the chance to view the island that I will be living on for the next year. I am not going to lie it looks like a very tiny island. Like I tried to take a picture for you guys and you couldn’t see it in the picture next to the big mountains because it was so small. So living there will be interesting but I am excited to see it!

Ta'lofa

Ta’lofa! This means hello in Samoan! Last night we flew into the Samoa got settled into the school that we will be living in for a week. I can honestly say that I have never been so happy to get rid of all my bags and finally unpack them and not have to worry about the weight of them.

After living in Okoboji all summer this is quite the adjustment. I have like a 2-inch foam mattress for my bed. We are sleeping in a classroom and in my room we have five other girls. It almost feels like we are at camp again. We also have nightly chores that each person has to do to make sure that we keep the school clean. We also got places into groups and each group is in charge of preparing a meal for everyone. There is also no laundry at the school so we get to hand wash our laundry in the sink. (This could be real interesting.) This also reminds me somewhat of Haiti because I am back to cold showers and not drinking the water in the sinks.

Today was our first day of orientation and we spent most of the day sitting in the classroom learning about the culture we are soon going to be immersed in.  We got a little information about our upcoming school year. My first day of school will be on August 29 and I will be moving into my house on the outer island next Friday! I am so excited to see where I will be living and start meeting the people. The few encounters I have had with Samoans they seem super nice. They all know who we are and say welcome to our little island!

Tonight we had our first official Samoan meal and it was so good! We had chicken, goulash, rice, and fresh salad. It was so good and I absolutely love island food and missed it so much. Tonight I also got the opportunity to take in the views around us while the sun was setting. Pictures do this place no justice it is absolutely beautiful and I can’t wait to admire it for the next ten months.

A day full of flying!

Today was our second day of travel. We started off the morning in LA, after a short shuttle ride we arrived at the airport. On our ride to the airport there was a guy talking to us and asking if we were heading for a wedding since we had so many bags. We responded that we were teachers and moving abroad for the year. He goes oh my goodness you guys are amazing and thank you for what you are doing. It was nice to here that since we were all on a little edge with our big day ahead of us. We got through security with no problem and were headed towards Hawaii. We had a four and half hour flight to the island. After getting on the plane we found out we didn’t get movies. This made for a fairly long flight but on the bright side we did get a meal on the plan and the food was actually good. Since we didn’t have movies on our flight I had a lot of time to think and process everything that was going on. This summer has been absolutely insane and I literally felt like a chicken with my head cut off some days.  One of my favorite parts of being on a plane is listening to music and just ignoring the world around me. As my music was playing I was coming across so many songs that brought so many memories back to mind. A lot of the songs reminded me of my family for example “Low” if you have ever been around my family when this song is playing we are all dancing and having fun with it.  Another song that brings back so many memories is “Holy”.  It is one of my favorite songs and I still remember the first time Haley had me listen to this song and how I have played it endlessly since I first heard it. I also added a lot of new songs that brought memories back from this past school year and summer. It made me sad thinking about all the memories because in a way I feel like I am missing out on a lot by doing this. I literally am giving up my old life and trying something new with no idea what could happen next. I think one of the hardest parts is knowing that my family is going to be together and I wont be there for that.  I also think about all my friends hanging out and making new memories without me. On the flip side I am being given an opportunity of a lifetime. Not many people would drop everything to go volunteer on a little remote island in the middle of the ocean. I mean I will have the ocean and the mountains in my back yard. I will be doing and trying so many new things and I can’t wait to experience it and tell you guys all about it!

Love,

Abby

Goodbye Minnesota! Hello California!

Today was a day full of emotions. This morning I had to say goodbye to my family for ten months! It really hadn't hit me that I was leaving until I was all checked in and heading towards security. My mom had fresh tears in her eyes and I knew that it was going to be rough. Once we got to security I crying and so was my mother. It was one of the hardest goodbyes. I don't think I will ever forget the scene of them watching me go through security through the windows. I also will not forget the sight of four hands waving goodbye to me as headed to my plane and on my newest adventure. I wish I could say that this was the last time that I cried but my wonderful family didn't make the goodbye easy. They created a book that contains pictures and letters from my closest family and friends. The book is so amazing but it literally was one of the hardest things I ever had to read. The poor lady on the plane kept looking at me and I just kept saying I'm fine I promise. My flight to LA actually went by really fast. I landed in LA and met up with Kate who is going with me on the trip. I literally told her just look for a girl who is struggling with her luggage. I had so many people staring at my as I tried to carry my bags across the airport. Let me tell you I have never been more thankful for the airplane carts that hold luggage. My two checked bags just made the weight limit one weighed 49.5 and the other is 49. Besides the fact that my carry on 35 pounds plus my back pack. Lets just say I got my workout in for the day. After waiting for our shuttle for about an hour we got on and headed to the hotel. This is where we ran into Chris another lady that will be traveling with us. We all got settled into our rooms and got our food. It was now six at home and I hadn't ate since breakfast at the hotel! Now I am just hanging out in the hotel and preparing for my day filled with travel tomorrow! I can't wait to see the island and where I will be living for the next year! Not sure when I will have internet again! When I have internet I will make sure to be posting blogs for you guys! :)
Love,
Abby