I'll Be Teaching...

English at Leone High School on the main island!  The placement could change up until the first day of school (August 13), but right now I am so thankful to be placed on the main island.  There will be 2 or possibly 3 other volunteers with me at the school. 

WorldTeach requires volunteers write Handover Letters to give to the volunteers that will be taking their places.  I was given three letters.  While reading the letters I have found out that I  will being sharing an apartment with the other volunteers and our landlord (husband and wife) lives next door.  The landlords are Mormon and their 5 grandchildren (under 10 years old) live with them.  So even though I won’t be teaching little kids I will be able to still interact with them.  I don’t think where I will be living is right on the beach.  The letters said that the best swimming area is a 30 minutes walk away.  The school is a 20 minutes walk.  There are a few small stores near by and a Laundromat near the apartment.     

The village of Leone was one of the hardest hit areas in 2009 when a tsunami hit.  Most of the lower portion of the village was destroyed or damaged.  From what I have read the area is still pretty torn up and families are still living I FEMA tents beside the ruins of their homes.   

PRAXIS update:  I received my official Praxis scores last week and I passed all three tests! That was the final “door” that needed to open to allow me to go to American Samoa.  So I guess that means that the countdown is on…20 days.

Gotta Spice Things Up

I’ve had a headache since Monday that has gradually turned into my eyes, arms, back, neck, and hips hurting whenever I move.  Friday I started running a fever and by the end of the day had lost all my energy and went to bed at like 7.  Saturday I decided I was going to see the doctor.  So when the office opened at 8 I called.  I got an appointment and had my grandmother take me because the thought of driving was just too much.  I signed in knowing that it was flu and that my body was slowly dying from it. 

The nurse calls me back does her thing, confirms that I have a fever, and runs a strep test (it comes back negative).  The doctor comes in check my eyes, nose, ears, throat and besides my throat being red can’t find anything. 

 She starts asking questions.

Doctor: Have you been hiking, have a dog, been in a wooded area?

Me:  I babysit for a family that has a wooded yard and the baby and I spend time outside, but it’s been a couple weeks.

Doctor: Have you had any unusual bug bites?

(some of you probably knows where this is going)

Me: Yes, I thought it was a spider bite. It was a dark red almost purple circle with a white center. (I showed her the place on my leg.  The outline of the bite was still visible).

Doctor: Bingo, I think you are in the early stage of Lyme Disease. 

So I’m currently taking an antibiotic twice a day for 21 days and a anti-nausea to counter the side effects of the antibiotic (it’s the same drug I took for malaria prevention in Ghana and I threw it up most days).  Plus a painkiller twice a day and Tylenol as needed between.  I’ve gotten three doses in so far and I am feeling better just extremely tired.  I’ve slept for the majority of the weekend.  

The good news is that I have 20 days of medicine left and I don’t leave for 28 days.  I won’t be sick (at least from the tick) in American Samoa!

A Month From Today...

I will be stepping onto an airplane and leaving behind the comforts of home and the security of friends and family.  Right now being gone for a year feels like eternity.  I know once I get to American Samoa and get into a new routine and become accustomed to my new life time will fly.  However, in the mean time I’m having almost nightly crying fest about going. 

I was talking with a family friend earlier this week and she said that it was probably easier for me to be leaving because I’ve been away at school for three years.  I guess that may be true, but even while I’ve been in Richmond I’ve had access to my family and there have been many times when I made a call home and three hours later someone was in Richmond or I was home.  I’ve made friends in Richmond that I have relied on as family too.  Right now knowing that I will have to say bye to them in the next two weeks is the hardest part.

A month from today I will also transition from being a student to a teacher.  (well kind of)  Once I get to Samoa I will have three-four weeks of orientation where I will learn how to be a teacher and the language.  After that I imagine I will continue learning as I use trial and error to see what works and what does not.  I have found out that the first day of school is August 13!  I still do not know what subject or grade I will be teaching.

Many people have asked me what I need.  I’ve made two wish lists on Amazon.com.  One is full of things I personally need for American Samoa and the other one has things that I want.  Once I know what grade and subject I will be teaching I’ll add a wish list for school supplies.

I’ve been trying to learn Samoan this week.  I found a website where I can hear how it sounds and I’ve gotten a Samoan-English dictionary.  In closing I will leave you with a few words and phrases that I am trying to learn

Telofa Lava- Hello

Tofa Soifua- Goodbye

Fa’apefea mai oe- How are you?

O fea le tou fale taele- What is the bathroom?

Ua ta le fia? What time is it?

E fia le tau ole mea lea- How much is this?

"Ugly Shoes"

I just found out that three more volunteers have been added to the team.  WorldTeach still has one spot open for a person with a strong science background.  If you have a science background and want to go on this adventure with me go to the WorldTeach website for more information.

I am registered to take the Praxis test tomorrow at noon.  I will be at the testing center until 5:00.  It is going to be tough to keep focused for that long.  I am only concerned about the math section.  Supposedly the test covers math at the 6-8^th grade level, but the practice tests I took had algebra and that is not a middle school math.  Bad news…calculators are not allowed!  I haven’t taken a math test without a calculator since middle school.  I need to score a 170 to go to American Samoa.  

I also started actively shopping for things needed to take with me.  This week’s mission was to find sandals what would actually protect my feet and be comfortable.  I prefer to call them “ugly shoes”  Kiersten went shoe shopping with me and after lot of complaining and many stores we finally found ugly shoes at LL Bean.  As I start pulling together clothes and shoes to pack I have to remember what Kiersten said.  “For the next year it is about comfort not style.”  Looking at the sandals now I can say that they are not totally ugly, but they are not pretty little white flip-flops either.  However, they are extremely comfortable. 

Obama has Two Countries!?!

You are about read a conversation I have had with two different friends on different occasions.  The conversation went almost word-for-word both times like this,

Friend: Does American Samoa have a president?

Me: Obama

Friend: Obama has two countries?!?!

Me: No, American Samoa is a US territory

A little back ground on the politics of American Samoa…The US Department of the Interior does the administrative work pertaining to American Samoa.  The US provides a lot of financial aid, but the everyday government is left to American Samoa to decide how to govern.  They use three branches of government Executive, Legislative, and Judicial.  The executive branch is headed by a governor who is elected by public voting.  The Legislative branch has a house and a Senate each with 18 members.  The Judicial branch is made up of the High Court of American Samoa which is the highest court in American Samoa except for the US Supreme Court.  The judge is elected by US Secretary of the Interior.  District court judges are elected by the governor.  Each village in Samoa still has a chief, which is usually assigned through lineage.  American Samoans can participate in primary elections, but cannot vote in a presidential election.  Which might be a good thing for Obama because they seem to really like Romney.