Thursday, June 6, 2013

The Best Laid Plans

Right about now, I should be within an hour of completing my final descent of the Mount Alava Adventure Trail. From there I should have completed the Pola Island trail and the hike down the Lower Sauma Ridge. Today should have been the day that I completed three of my four remaining National Park Day Hikes. Instead, I’m starting the third episode in the first season of Buffy.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Buffy, hence my plan to re-watch the entire series this summer despite that fact that I have seen almost every episode (the season where Willow becomes a witch was, apparently, too graphic for my young, impressionable mind so I wasn’t allowed to watch most of it. Still not sure if I am mature enough but I guess I will find out).  It is just a little disappointing to realize that I’m being kept from completing my goal because it rained for a few hours this morning. Unfortunately, that is life in American Samoa. With no car, I have to rely completely on buses and the kindness of others. Since the buses stop at 6 pm and most people are off the road by that time, anything that takes all day needs to be started in the morning. Otherwise, it becomes a logistical nightmare.

Despite the difficulty that is travel around the island, I have managed to accomplish a number of my goals and have quite a few unexpected experiences along the way. Of all months, May was truly a whirlwind. (I find it very interesting that, the more there is to blog about, the less I tend to blog. Time flies, I suppose.)

The first full week of May was Teacher Appreciation Week. While some teachers expected to be showered with gifts, I didn’t really get my hopes up; not because I didn’t think that my students appreciated me but because, if my students were listening at all this year, they would have known that gifts don’t make me feel appreciated. Effort and respect do. In the end, a few of my most hardworking and respectful students did bring me candy ‘ulas (‘ula means necklace and is, often, the Samoan equivalent to a lei. Some, like the ones I received, are made of candy instead of flowers. WAY better if you ask me.)

The next week was every teacher’s favorite week: standardized testing! Here, the test of choice is the SAT10 (pronounced “sat”, NOT S-A-T.) Of course, the administering of the exam was probably the furthest from standardized one could imagine. For one, the test booklets  were second hand. Second, while I was trying to stick to the required 30-60 minutes per section with bathroom/stretch brakes in between (we all know the procedure) , I later learned that most teachers just gave their kids the exam and told them to work until the bell rang. At some schools, apparently, if a student didn’t finish the section the first day, no one made much of a fuss if they went back the next day. While I could sit here and scoff at the ridiculousness, at this point in the year, such absurdities no longer faze me. Eventually, you just come to accept them as a weekly occurrence in one form or another.  It is like watching a drunken person try to make food; you could try and tell them what they are doing wrong but you know they aren’t going to listen anyways. If nothing else, this week was a nice break from teaching. To keep my students brains from frying, I let them watch “Wreck It Ralph” in the periods after the test. They all loved it.

If having a low key week wasn’t enough, that weekend as our End of Service meeting. On Saturday morning, all of the Tutuila volunteers gathered at Talolo Lodge (a cute little inn near the golf course) to discuss our experiences over the past year. We talked about applying for jobs, what we will miss, the difficulties of readjusting and so on. It was a great moment to pause and reflect before getting caught up in the hectic mess that is preparing to leave.

One of the most power reflections for me was the realization that I have indeed changed over the past 11 months but so has the rest of the world. Time just didn’t stand still while I was here. Although, from time to time, it sure felt like it was passing extremely slowly. But it is weird to know that things won’t be exactly how I left them. I got a taste of it when I was back from Christmas but now I actually have to figure how I fit into this “new world”. I expect it shall be an equally interesting experience as it was to integrate myself into this one.
The girls danced while Sa,
my landlord's wife, sang

Delicious BBQ!
From the meeting, most of the volunteers came back to my place to join in an end of the year, “thank you” party that my landlords were throwing for us. Now, I was expecting something pretty low key. A little food, some pleasant conversation, you know, just hanging out. Little did I realize that they do this every year for the volunteers and that this year was extra special because it was a dual celebration for the departure of their relatives who had been visiting from the states. They really went all out. There was food and drink galore, a party tent, a Disney themed moon bounce for the kids, and even two whole pigs cooked in the ‘umu.  Everything was absolutely delicious and everyone had a great time.  I am very grateful for my landlords. They are some of the most gracious and helpful people I have met on this island. I am really going to miss them.

Al and Ana - they really know how to throw a party
From SAT10 week, we went into our last three days of new material and then two days of review. While I didn’t get to cover much of Ecology at all with my students, I can say with a great deal of certainty that most everything that I did teach was completely new to the majority of students. Probably one of my favorite moments in teaching is when a student learns/realizes something about the world for the first time. Watching the awe on their face as they process the information is quite enjoyable. The trick is figuring out how to get all of them to that moment (if anyone knows the secret, please share).

Before we entered into our final week of school (FINALS WEEK!), we had a lovely three day weekend for Memorial Day. For Samoans, Memorial Day weekend is a time to honor their relatives. They spend much of their time cleaning the graves of their loved ones. Since the graves are above ground and, typically, right in their front yard, they not only mow the grass, sweep the leaves but they also repaint the grave and garnish it with an array of flowers.

For me, however, Memorial Day weekend was my last chance to complete one of my greatest and, potentially, most fool hearted undertakings to date: a cross-island walk. The plan was originally concocted in the fall and was meant to be completed over spring break. However, I chose to spend the week in Manu’a instead. So, with my time here dwindling, I had to seize the opportunity.

The plan was this: take three days to walk the approximately 34 miles from the west side of Tutuila to the east side; follow the main road the entire way; bring friends; and don’t get killed.
 
My walk began, as any good walk should, with an hour long bus ride. Actually, it started with an hour long wait for the bus which was followed by the hour long bus ride out to Amanave, a village on the far west side of the island. It is true that road does go past Amanave. Unfortunately, the road is extremely long and windy and has no bus route that I know of. So, for convenience or safety, I chose Amanave as my starting.

The far west side of the island is extremely beautiful. Villages are quite peaceful, they are right on the ocean, they have lovely beaches and the terrain is, essentially, flat (until you go past Amanave which involves climbing a steep hill on a windy road… you can see why I didn’t want to start any further out). Within 5 minutes of walking through the village, I drew the attention of the villagers. Unlike in town where I live, being white on the west side is still somewhat of a novelty. As I passed a group of adults and kids playing games on the church volleyball court (pretty much every church has a volleyball court outside. Obviously, it is a holy sport), the crowd erupted with “palagi!” Clearly, my presence had been noted. One young girl even came up to me and asked to take a picture with me. It was quite a warm greeting and an excellent start to my adventure. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay and chat. I wanted to make the 16 miles back to my house before sunset.

View of the Island from the West side
As I moved through the west side, the greetings were much the same. Eventually, I caught up with Beth and Jill who were checking out the haunted Atauloma girls' school  just past the village of Afao. The site was visited back in 2011 by Ghost Hunter’s International and there is an entire documentary about the school on Youtube. (http://www.samoanews.com/?q=node/3966) Clearly, the building is no longer functioning as a school seeing as it is over grown with weeds and the roof has collapsed in but, I will say, it definitely still has that creep factor. I would NOT be caught dead walking around there at night (pardon the pun).

After showing me the school, Beth and Jill decided to join me on my walk. Eventually we made it into Leone (where Jill lives). There we stopped to check out the many monuments that the village has to offer. This included a Peace Garden dedicated in memory of the 2009 tsunami victims, a statue where the first missionaries landed, and the oldest church on the island.

Atauloma Girls' School
Missonary Landing Monument
In memory of those lost in the tsunami















A bit famished, we made a quick stop for pineapple flavored soft serve at one of the local grocery stores. I’m not a fan of pineapple but it certainly makes for a delicious ice cream. By the time we reached the village of Futiga, the new and exciting scenery had ended. Having lived on the island for 10 months, we had all seen what these villages had to offer so Beth decided to head home.

Within seconds after Beth’s departure, Jacquie, fresh off the plane from Manu’a joined us…in flip flops! Crazy, I know. The three of us continued on for another hour and a half before we reached Malaeimi, where Melanie, Steph, Andrea, Hannah and Jess live. After a quick stop in to rest and do some yoga on their floor, we continued on. Now with Melanie by our side.

Oh, Carl's Jr. Will I miss thee?
We didn’t get far, however, because it was approaching 3 o’clock and I was starving. What better fuel than a California burrito from Carl’s Jr/Green Burrito?

After lunch, Jill decided to make her way back to Leone while Mel, Jacquie and I moved on. For the rest of the weekend, it would just be the three of us.

Right around sunset, we found ourselves walking along the sea wall. This is probably my favorite stretch of road because you are right alongside the crash ocean waves. Whether it is night or day, walking or on a bus, I always find the road along the sea wall to be quite calming. Even on the most difficult days, I look out at the ocean waves and remember why I am here and how much I love the natural beauty of the island.

We reached my house around 6pm and were in bed by 8pm. After almost nine hours of straight walking I was exhausted.

The harbor around sunset
On day two, we had a choice. Either we could try to walk the remaining 18 miles or we could simply walk 10 to the volunteer house in Fagaitua and save the final 8 for day three. When we realized the straight 18 would leave us 8 miles from the closest bed and that it would likely be late in the evening on a Sunday, we opted for the split. So, we began  the long hike around harbor.

The distance between one side of the harbor and the other really isn’t all that far. I’d guess that it is under a half mile. However, what it lacks in width, it really makes up for in depth. In total, the road around the harbor is approximately 5 miles. Since we were only walking 10 miles, this was clearly a large portion of our day. Unfortunately, most of the area around the harbor is residential which meant there wasn’t much to see. Fortunately, it really cut back on lag time and we managed to get around the harbor at a decent pace.

Breaker's Point
The first interesting site we reached during day 2 was Breaker’s Point. Breaker’s Point is located right at the end of the harbor before the road starts heading further east and is, essentially, the brother to Blunt’s Point in that they are both historic World War cannons guarding the entrance to the harbor.

Unlike Blunt’s Point, however, Breaker’s is not readily accessible to the public. The entrance is actually on someone’s land and, thus, you need permission to go up. It isn’t that hard. The owner was actually out on his porch having a smoke when we arrived. We asked if we could go up; he grabbed his key; and, within 10 minutes, we were at the top.

From Breaker’s, we walked another two miles to the village of Alega, home of Tisa’s Barefoot Bar. Apparently, it is typical to call ahead to Tisa’s to see if they are open but, since it was Sunday, we were pretty sure they’d be open. After all, they are one of the only places where you can swim and have a drink on a Sunday.

With only 3 miles to our final destination, we decided it wouldn’t be a bad idea to spend some time at Tisa’s and enjoy ourselves. We began with a couple piña coladas, as all trips to Tisa’s should. Then I took a little nap, enjoyed a delicious BBQ chicken with a side salad and banana fries, bought myself a Tisa’s bro tank, and headed on our way.

The moon setting at 6am
We were in Fagaitua within an hour. As it was a lovely evening, we decided to grab some ice cream and sit by the water. I must say, I am really a big fan of the east side. It is a very peaceful place with beautiful beaches, much like the west side. The only major difference is the roads between each village. On the east side, the roads are quite steep and rather windy which, in a car, is not so bad as long as you avoid driving off the cliff but, when you’re walking, really makes for a strenuous hike.

The next morning was the final day. Only 8 miles. So, to avoid hiking for 3 hours and then having no time to do anything else, Jacquie and Melanie made me wake up at 6 am. Definitely not how I imagined spending my Memorial Day (the perfect sleep-in holiday) but, in the end, it was effective.



By about 9 am, we had reached Tula, the furthest village East. To that point, Tula was the farthest I’d ever gone in American Samoa. Being the nerd that I am, I couldn’t help but mutter a LOTR quote as we left Tula:

“This is it.”
“This is what?”
If I take one more step it'll be the farthest away from home I've ever been.”

Yup, it happened and I am proud of it.

From Tula, we followed the road around to the north side of the island, climbed THE steepest hill of the entire main road (I swear, it was brutal. Especially at the end.) After the hill, we made our final descent into the last village on the main road, Onenoa.

Onenoa
As we stepped off the road and onto the sand, I breathed a sigh of relief and accomplishment. After 3 days and approximately 34 miles, I had accomplished one of my three biggest goals of this year: Walk the island. It truly was an amazing experience. There are so many wonderful sites that you tend to miss when you’re just driving through a place. It is not until you take the time to stop and look around that you notice the little things, the funny signs, the intricate artwork, the waterfall up on the mountain side. I can now say I’ve experienced many of those things to the fullest. That is really why I walked. I think that that is really why everyone should walk. For the little things.

We did it!
With one goal down and almost 8 hours of sunlight left, I figured, “why stop there?” So, while Melanie went off to compete for a soccer championship, Jacquie and I took a boat over to Aunu’u.

Aunu’u is no more than a 15 minute boat ride away from Tutuila and the ride only costs $8 total (that means $1 each for 8 people, or $4 each for 2 people…and so on). While almost every other volunteer had been to Aunu’u within the first three months of living here, I had never gone. If I had known what it was like, I think I would have made the trip monthly.

Our boat to Aunu'u - the water in the dock is sooo clear
Although Aunu’u is extremely small (I’d guess four or five miles around), it is mostly uninhabited. Much of the land is, however, cultivated with banana and taro plantations. This means that there are paths that can lead you to all of the good sites. The issue is knowing which paths to take.

As Jacquie and I made our way around the island, we came upon a huge, shady tree (perfect for reading under) situated at the top of a hill and right next to a radio tower. From the tree, the path split three ways. On a whim, we headed right. This path took us to the dump. Not exactly the site seeing we were hoping for but, when we doubled back, we found a smaller path off to the side that took us to Moamoa Cove.

Moamoa Cove
While many coves here are beaches perfect for swimming, at Moamoa, it is best to stay as far away from the water as possible. The waves were vicious. They were thrashing all over the place, slamming into the rocks. It was quite breathtaking.

From the cove, we continued on the path which wound up looping around a huge marsh in the center of the island’s giant crater and back to the huge tree. That solved the mystery of the middle and rightmost path. Next was the left path.

Taking the left path led us to a lovely little beach and a smaller marsh/lake and then back into the village. All in all, it was a nice hike and managed to get my total weekend mileage to around 40 miles in 3 days.

Now, what goal did this trip fulfill exactly? Well, American Samoa is made of five main, publically accessible islands: Tutuila, Ta’u, Ofu, Olosega, and Aunu’u. The minute I stepped off the boat, I had, officially, been to all five. A feat that very few Samoans ever accomplish.

Standing by the marsh
All that remained was my final goal: to hike ALL of the National Park day hikes. SPOILER ALERT: since I started this entry, I have done it! So, check back soon for my next post as I will have ample time to write it on my flight home!!!!!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

A Diamond in the Rough



All in all, this week has been pretty quiet. My students spent most of the week working on their research projects. Using the textbook (since they don’t all have computers at home and I don’t have access to a computer lab or laptop cart), they each did research on an Animal phylum or class. This was the first big project I’d given them in quite some time because, with previous assignments, I received a couple that were fantastic, a few noble tries, but the majority of my students didn’t even bother. It was rather disheartening.
This time around, I was extremely diligent and prepared. I gave them 2 weeks to work on the assignment, I gave them multiple in-class days, and I was very explicit on what they should be working on and when. When Friday came around (the official due date), 3 out of 4 of my classes had at least half the students ready to present and a decent number of others that were visibly still trying to complete their projects. While it may not seem like much, this is a marked improvement from what I saw in the previous semester.
It is an unfortunate fact but many students don’t know how to be students. They go to school because they are told that they have to. There is no why, just do. Yet, at the same time, they are often encouraged to stay home to help out around the house because that is more important. Talk about mixed messages. So, it is no surprise that my attendance averages 1/3 absent on a daily basis.
This is especially unsurprising when you take into account the fact that their parents will write them a note or their friend will forge one (they practice in their notebooks) and their absence will be excused. This means that there is no consequence for missing school other than a bad grade. But what is a grade other than a silly number, if it is good enough, will get them into 2-4 more years of school?
To this mindset, add the fact that, in elementary school, they spent most of their time cleaning, coloring and playing with their friends while their teacher enjoyed nap time. Because of this, they were moved on to the next level not because they were ready but because they were another year older.
I know I am over simplifying. These are not the precise experiences of every single student here; I have plenty of students that are fantastic (my diamonds in the rough); but these are all firsthand accounts that I have either heard of (from students and other teachers) or experienced in the past 10 months. Combine all of this together and you have the very prominent attitude that high school teachers here battle on a daily basis.
That being said, this Friday’s presentations showed me that my students really are making positive strides. They are finally realizing that, unlike some of their other teachers, I want them to not only complete the work but complete it well. They realize that, if they want to pass, I expect their best and nothing less. For some, this is the first time anyone has ever held them to this standard. The truth is, true improvement takes time. Even diamonds have to start off as detritus (ß Science word, 10 points).

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Abandon Ship



I’ve been going a bit hike happy these past few weeks doing a different hike every Saturday. However, what has been going on these past few weeks with my classroom has just been too “good” to not reflect on.

After that heart wrenching boat ride from Ofu to Ta’u over spring break, I thought my likelihood of drowning from this point on was slim to none. How wrong I was! A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting at my computer taking attendance before the start of class when I started to hear water flowing. I looked up just in time to see water dripping from my ceiling. It stopped as quickly as it started but it was the start of the most ridiculous ordeal yet.

Directly above my classroom is the Family and Consumer Science room which includes a number of sinks. After the second time the ceiling leaked, I learned that one of the sinks was clogged and that the proper authorities had been notified. Assuming they’d be by to fix the problem with a day or two, I made a few adjusts to avoid any unnecessary water damage and did my best to ignore the occasional drips that fell directly in front of the whiteboard.  

Haste is not a word in the Samoan dictionary. I haven’t actually looked it up but I would definitely bet good money on it. You learn very quickly that nothing here gets done in a timely fashion and, in order to get anything done at all, you must be extremely persistent.

The plumber did, eventually, show up. He fixed the sink but informed the FCS teacher that my leak was actually caused by a problem with the air conditioning. ‘Glorious!’, I thought, ‘the 7 month old air conditioner that replaced the previous air conditioner which and left us in unbearably heat for a month and a half is on the fritz.”

After another day of increasingly worsening leaks, I went to talk to the vice principal to see when I should expect repairs. No one had told him that the plumber hadn’t fixed the leak (communication is another lost concept). So, he called. No one came. The leak got worse. I asked for an update. He called again. No one came.

Yup.
 


















Then, last Thursday, the dripping wouldn’t stop. I looked up and noticed that the ceiling tile had become fully saturated. I took a broom and, barely touching the tile, managed to poke a hole through it. Instantly, all the water that had been collecting in the sagging tile flowed out onto the floor. No longer was the water contained to the area behind my desk. It had spread underneath the tables to where the students were sitting. The entire day, all I heard was “Mr. Feak, what happened?” (This is a very common phrase from students. My typical response, in an attempt to get them to think scientifically, is to ask them in return, “Well, what do you think happened?” Occasionally, it is effective.)

I really couldn’t handle it at this point. I was so happy to have a nice, long weekend ahead of me. As I was packing up my bag at the end of the day, ready to just book it; I heard a crash. The tile had finally had enough. Little did it know how much more I would still have to endure.

When I returned to school on Monday, I was greeted by a huge puddle that spanned an entire wall of my classroom with a big old cockroach chilling right in the middle (they don’t call them water bugs for nothing). I went straight to the VP’s office, he made an emergency call to maintenance and they, finally, agreed to be there before lunch.
I immediately took to mopping it up but realized there was no way my students would be safe in such an environment. God forbid, one of them could have slipped and been seriously injured. So, I was forced to move my 1st class out into the hallway to do their work. By 2nd period, the water had evaporated enough that I decided it was safe to return. Then third period came around.

At the start of 3rd period, I man from maintenance showed up. He took one look at the pipe and said, “Nope, that is definitely the run-off pipe for the sinks”…SERIOUSLY!...He would have the plumber come by later to check it out. Not long after he had left, the leak returned. But, this time, it wasn’t a dripping. It was a rushing. Not having been informed of the true source of the leak, the FCS class was washing dishes. No longer a feasible clean-up for the mop, I threw the entire bucket under the leak and hoped it would slow the steady growth of the puddle. It was a mild success but, at this point, the leak was no longer linked to the sinks. Even with all of the sinks turned off, the pipe continued to leak. What is worse, water began flowing out from underneath door of the empty room across the hall from mine. The problem was spreading.

water was pouring out of the ceiling
Around two in the afternoon, three or four gentlemen showed up. They took a look at the water rushing from my ceiling, talked things over, made a few phone calls, asked me what time I left work and, when I said 4pm, they told me that the guy would be there in an hour. Now that this entire thing is over, I still have no idea what the purpose of those three men were. Who were they? Why were they there? I have no idea. I also have no idea what happened to that guy that was supposed to show up at 4. I spent the entire two hours moving all of my supplies, desks, and chairs to the opposite side of the room but, when 4 o’clock came around and no one had showed, I had no choice but to leave my room with water pouring out of it.

The next morning, I came to school earlier than I ever have before. I knew that I was either going to have to set my classroom back up or start bailing. Unfortunately, it was the latter. The minute I walked in the building, all my department head could say was, “it is worse”. Not only had the water from my room leaked underneath the brick wall and filled the entire hallway but the pipe in the office next to my room had also broken and drenched all of the textbooks that had been stored in there.

Luckily, I had the first period off which gave me a chance to collect myself and figure out a plan of action. The first thing I needed was a place to teach. After consulting one of the other VPs, it was decided I would teach in the foyer of the building. So, with the help of a few students, I moved all of my desks, my chairs, and my tiny rolling whiteboard out to the foyer. Once that was all set, some students, two other teachers and I took cleaning up the mess. This included trying to push the water out the front door, setting the textbooks out in the sun to dry, and laying cardboard down to keep students from slipping. Right around the time we were finishing this, the building’s contract and his men showed up to get to work on fixing the pipes (after all, this building had only been renovate 9 months ago and was still under warranty…YEAH!).

Classroom in the foyer
drying out the textbooks

















It took two whole days to get my classroom back to an acceptable state. My students were a little disappointed to be back in the classroom. I really can’t blame them. The foyer is spacious, has huge windows with a great view and, for some reason which I can only begin to guess, helped my students to really stay focused. If it weren’t for the constant distraction of other students walking through, I’d think about staying out there for the rest of the year.
As frustrating as this was; as many time as I said to myself, ‘if the drip gets worse, I’m just going home”; my students and I powered through it. We definitely had our down days but if there is one thing my students have known for a long time and that I have recently learned it is that you just have roll with the punches.