Writers Block

I have never been a writer…so my solution to writers block is just closing Microsoft word and hope that I get some kind of motivation to write later.

I need some topics people. Comment on this post with some ideas of what to write about. That would be very helpful. In the mean time I will update you on the past two weeks…

For all you teachers out there who hate sloppy work from a student….come to Samoa. Students spend whole class periods making their paper look perfect. Copying down the notes or format for the assignment (since there are no copy machines at our school the students have to copy down the worksheet by hand) takes FOREVER. Most of the students don’t even do the work. There is a art form to this too. They use their rulers to create the lines for the title, even though they are doing on loose-leaf which as you know already contains lines. The lines are usually in red. Then the heading is in blue and the directions and questions are in black. You should see how concentrated the kids are while doing this. It gets exciting when someone messes up and they run around the room looking for someone who has whiteout to fix their mistake. It’s such a process, one that I can’t stand.

Jenny’s Classroom Rules

NO RULERS

NO WHITEOUT

BLACK PEN ONLY

Sometimes the simplest changes are the biggest….

I got my classroom taken away. I was marking the year 6 books during interval one day and noticed there was a lot of noise, more than usual, outside. I saw all of the desks and table being moved out of all the classrooms. I assumed that they were going to be clean, and another excuse to end school early. When I asked a teacher what was going on she told me that they were switching all of the classrooms, and year two was being split into two classes because it was so big. Its not a big deal, I just have to travel to each classroom instead of them coming to me. The problem with the big move was I had just organized the library, which is now piled in the year 2 room….

On a more positive note I have been working on a reading program with the year 7 and 8’s. It has been going very well. The students are starting to understand the routine, and even the lower students seemed to be getting something out of it. I am happy when the “lazy” boys come into my class excited to do the work! You can usually find this group of boys roaming around school or in the bathroom. They are my favorite and are determined to make me a fluent Samoan speaker.

In a week I will start seeing every class at least two times a week. I will be very busy but it beats observing all day long!

Last  weekend myself and other 83’s went to a beautiful waterfall. We had a great time swimming and jumping into the fresh water. It’s always a fun time when we get together. We sat around talking about school experiences trying to be positive for each other. It’s nice to have a group of people I can relate with and not feel so bad if things aren’t going perfect at my school.

In other news….

Next weekend I will hopefully be getting SCUBA certified. The weather has been wonderfully sunny and hot for the past two weeks. Knock on wood….

Stay tuned for pictures….

Peace and Love

TEVI AND RIVKA

ME AND MY GIRL RACH

CHRIS AND HIS P90X BOD WITH TEV AND MIKA

Pictures

My new kitty Penelope

Walking up on the first day

Kids doing their first assignment of the year

Administration :)

My little sister Sarai on her first day

Be Cool Stay in School

It is Wednesday February 9. There have been 7 other days of school since the first day. The first week of school was basically a repeat of the first day. Tuesday and Friday were official “working” days which I thought meant the teachers would actually be teaching? A working day here means kids dress in old clothes to do more cleaning and work on the school. At least they weren’t getting their uniforms dirty. There is still no official start time of school. Everything gets started around 8:30 or so and we get done between 11 and 12. School is supposed to go until 2, but that has yet to happen. I do think a routine will eventually be made, I suppose there is still some logistical stuff to be done. I am taking this down time in the school to get to know the children and look through the English curriculum. I do have my own classroom which also serves as the library. I am starting to decorate it and trying to fade out the browns grays and dust colors.

            Wednesday the teachers fast to show their thanks to God. I was walking down the hallway taking a sip of water when a teacher poked me in the stomach and said “hey! Today we fast”. I didn’t know fasting included water, what they didn’t know is I made myself a wonderful breakfast this morning. Now don’t go thinking these Samoan women fast all day long. We fast until twelve and then a prayer is said to close the fast and it’s time for lunch. It also is another excuse to end school early.

            What we deal with in these schools from time to time is lack of motivation from teachers students. I am not going point any fingers, but I do know my work is cut out for me. It’s not just my school that is like this, looking for excuses to end school early. Any reason can work, from fasting to too much rain (which the kids have to walk home in, so it’s better to stay in school right?). I was talking to another PCV today and her teachers left school early because it was payday and they wanted to go to Apia. There are so many issues to tackle but we must take it one day at a time. My biggest priority right now is establishing good relationships with my teachers and students.

            At the end of last week I was disappointed. Over the weekend I realized that it was not a waste and if anything I spent time with my students and the other teachers. So life is good. Penelope finally used her litter box, I’m a proud mommy. I went for my first bike ride and didn’t get attacked by a dog.

When we first got here the staff would talk to us about being flexible. I couldn’t count how many times we heard “being a part of the Peace Corps, you have to be flexible”. The word I realize we use the most when talking amongst other PCV’s is patience. In this country, you won’t survive without it. Anyway what I am getting at is I found this great quote from Mother Teresa that is perfect. I found it reading “Three Cups of Tea” that I just recently finished. I have been told for like 5 years now that I need to read it, and I am glad I did. I definitely recommend it!

Peace and Love

“Let nothing perturb you, nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything”- Mother Teresa

First Day of School

When I think back about all my first days of elementary school I remember a neat new (sometimes) uniform and putting on my new school shoes. I remember the odd excitement I had of filling up my new backpack with my new school supplies, including a sweet new trapper keeper that I spent an abnormal amount of time picking out. I wonder why I had such a strange fascination for school supplies, maybe it’s because while all the other kids back to school shopping consisted of new outfits, my highlight was shoes that had very specific guidelines but I felt such freedom being able to pick out my own shoes in hopes to have different ones from everyone else in my class. The best part of the first day of school was waiting for the morning bell and catching up with friends and their summer vacations. Well, I would think it’s the best part; I never got to experience this because my driver was notorious for being late. My “driver” may or may not be my mommy. Anyways so once I got in the classroom I would always have butterflies in my stomach wondering where my desk was going to be and more importantly who it would be by. The day would be full of organization of our supplies, distribution of schedules, and usually a writing piece on our summer vacation. The day would go by fast and stress free for the most part and before I knew it I would be waiting outside with my other family members where we may or may not have been the last ones picked up.

            So how is the first day of school different for children at Samauga Primary?....

            I was told by my Pule (principal) that school starts at 7:30, and I should arrive around 7. I woke up to a downpour of rain at 6 and automatically knew that this would make everyone late. I took my time getting ready, made breakfast and coffee, then put on my green Puletasi. Around 7:30 it had stopped raining and I decided to start my 5 minute walk to school. It was quiet, too quiet. Where were all the people? There were some of the high school children waiting for the bus. I walked up to the school and wasn’t all that surprised to find I was the very first person at the school. I waited for about 20 minutes and then my Pule showed up with her children. More children and teachers started to stroll in around 8:30. The students do have uniform, red bottoms and white tops. Some had new backpacks but chances are there was nothing in them. I watched my Pule enroll new students while the children mingled. The first order of business was to weed the field. In their brand new uniforms, the students were weeding the muddy field and saying goodbye to those stainless clean white shirts. It started to rain so the students moved on to the next task, moving the furniture into the classrooms. I tried to help, but one of the challenges I still face is being treated like an equal, instead of a Palagi. Once all the rooms had their furniture the day was over for the students. The teachers had a meeting after school which was in Samoan, so my participation was minimal. I spoke up when they told me I was teaching year 1-8 everyday, which isn’t even possible because of the length of their school day. Once the meeting was over it was time to go home and kafaou.

I can’t say I was surprised about the day. I was warned by group 82 volunteers to not set my expectations to high for the first week or so of school. I spoke with other 83’s about their day and we all had similar experiences. We were all so anxious for this big day that turned out not so big, but I have learned that patience is key but it’s a whole new level of patience that I didn’t think was possible to reach, but I am slowly climbing that ladder to the very top.