A week in the life.... VLOG style.

Hello everyone! I have made it BACK to the STATES! I miss American Samoa everyday, but it is good to see my friends and family. I found this video that I made and planned on posting before I left AmSam but the internet was not working in my favor. I thought that I would post the video anyways for future volunteers and friends or for anyone that is interested in seeing what a typical week was like:)

The following video was supposed to be a "day in the life" type video... but somehow turned into a whole week of my life!! ENJOY:)

https://youtu.be/9tf72gJL5uE


 Thank you for everyone who supported me during my journey in American Samoa! I truly appreciate it more than you could ever know. Fa'afetai lava!

Until next time!

Tofa soifua

Cyclones and Tattoos and Adventures... OH MY.

Well, I can officially say that I have less than one month left on this beautiful island. I keep saying it, but it feels surreal. How could have 11 months passed so quickly? I have learned so much during my time living and teaching in American Samoa. I am extremely thankful for this experience and wouldn't change it for the world.

What will I miss the most? Wow. The thought of trying to make a list of all the things I'll miss most is way to stressful... there are just too many!! I love this place and I have had an amazing year. Yes, of course there were some serious bumps in the road...especially with school, but overall I can honestly say that this island has changed me and I am a better person because of it! On that note, I'll name a FEW broad things that I'll miss just so I don't leave anyone hanging.

1) Island life: Living on a tiny island is unlike any experience I've ever had, and there are many aspects of this life that I will miss. First I will miss "island time". Yes, it certainly took some getting used to, but island time has grown on me. I will miss the relaxing, go-with-the-flow life style of living on a small island. Another thing that took a while adjusting to is, for lack of a better word, how popular I am here. I can't go anywhere or do anything on this island without people knowing. I go to the mart and the next day at school multiple students will tell me not only that they saw me, but what I bought and what I was wearing. Yesterday I went on a short run and a total of 13 people called out to me from their cars and villages, "Hi Maggie, Hi Teacher or Hi Miss Maggie." At first this new found popularity and lack of privacy was unnerving. Now I sort of love it. It's nice to feel so appreciated and recognized as not a foreigner or "palagi" (which is what I was referred to as in the beginning), but as a teacher and member of the community.
2) Living in a tropical paradise: I'm not going to lie... living in a permanent summer, with palm trees, plumeria flowers, lush mountains, tropical birds and bats, and the clear blue ocean everywhere I look definitely has its perks. It's beautiful, and although I have been here for almost a year, I still find myself in awe of it's beauty. I can't imagine how much I will miss it during one of those long New England winters.

3) The people: I will miss my students, co-workers, island friends, paddling team, and my fellow WT volunteers so incredibly much. Thank you thank you thank you to all of you! You have made my experience here in AmSam unforgettable.
I have met some truly amazing people here. Samoa truly has some of the nicest people in the entire world.  I can't even count the amount of strangers I have come across who have gone out of their way to help me and do things for me. Acts of kindness EXAMPLE: My friends and I were stranded on the far east side of the island because we missed the last bus. We had no choice but to start walking... within 20 minutes we were asked if we needed a ride (again getting rides from strangers is very normal and safe here). Not only did this wonderful couple bring us all the way to our house (which was out of their way), they also stopped at a mart and bought all six of us drinks and chips! ANOTHER A.O.K. EXAMPLE: One day my friends and I decided to walk all the way to the far North side of the island. We completely underestimated the amount of snacks/water we should have brought. By the time we reached the village of Vatia we were all exhausted and thirsty. We found a tiny mart where we all bought some water. This random Samoan family saw us chugging the water, so they told us to sit down at their table and proceeded to give us free water. We got to talking with this one kind women, and before we knew it she brought us out fresh oranges and apples and home made wahoo pasta salad. We had only known this women for 10 minutes and she was feeding us a full meal.






Alright alright, no more talking about things I'll miss!!!! I still have almost a whole month to explore, adventure, learn, teach, laugh and make even MORE unforgettable memories.
SO, what's new with me???? UPDATE TIME! 

1) I survived Cyclone Amos. THANK YOU to all who contacted me and worried about my safety. Luckily the category 3/4 cyclone decided to weaken and at the last minute change course. American Samoa only had minimal damage!

2) 10/12 National Park hikes completed. The mountains here are beautiful and very different from anything we have in the United States. I made it a goal of mine to complete all of the AmSam National Park hikes before I leave here. TWO more to go!!!

3) Finally started paddling again! Super glad I get to finish out my time here spending as much time out on the ocean as possible.

4) Ran another 5k road race!!

5) My friends and I are knocking off as many things on our bucket list as possible! We try to explore new parts of the island as often as we can! (Along with continuing to hit up all our favorite places one last time!)

This past weekend was my good friend Kait's birthday! We celebrated island style by sleeping in a fale on the beach. This was definitely one of the best weekends I have had here on the island. From the moment we got to the location, we had a wonderful time. The owner of the fale was the best host ever! We got to swim all day, play beach volley ball, have a bonfire on the beach, sleep under the stars, eat fresh bread fruit that was hand delivered to us, and wake up to the sound of the waves only a few feet away .There were only three fales on the whole beach. Per usual... we were the only ones on the beach for basically the entire time. (It's going to be very difficult to go back to the rest of the world where I have to share the beach with other people...). We are definitely going to try our best to go back here one more time before we leave the island.

Where we spent the weekend and slept!

6) School has been good! There was definitely a rough patch there in the middle... but I've grown so much as a teacher and as a person because of this experience! It was all worth it. The last day of school for the kids is June 3rd! SO SOON. The kids are definitely ready from summer vacation

Level Two Ladies

A couple weeks ago was Teacher Appreciation Week which consisted of MANY candy necklaces.

7) Watched "Three Wise Cousins". Great Samoan made movie! 

8) I'm always making new critter friends.... This is Mr. Cockroach. He likes to visit weekly. His friends' the termites and ants and disease carrying mosquitoes are around daily too. Even some lice paid me a visit recently. -_-

 9) My neighbors like to treat us with some delicious fresh Samoan food!

8) I GOT TATTOO #2. I mentioned in one of my first ever blog posts that tattoos are very popular here and a big part of the Polynesian culture. I couldn't leave this place without getting a little piece of Samoa to take with me everywhere I go.

My lovely little plumeria :)

I'll be back on July 10th! Have a great start to the summer!! I know I will. See you soon:)

“Oh the places you’ll go.”

Happy April 5th! Happy Spring! I hope  everyone had a great St. Patty's Day and Easter! All is well here on Tutuila. I've been very busy since I last posted. I'll try and catch you up on the past two months.

First I will start with my trip to Manu'a! Attempt #1 was back in November. Flights were cancelled due to a cyclone. Attempt #2 was for the first week in March. The flight were already full when we tried to pick up our tickets. Attempt #3 was for the second week of March.  We arrived at the airport, we checked out bags, we got on the airplane, the plane took off, we flew all the way to Manu'a.... and then we turned around and flew all the way back to Tutuila. For reasons unknown (coco wifi says weather) we were unable to land in Ofu. The landing strip there is so short that any sort of poor weather makes it impossible to land.  We were in shock. SO CLOSE... but still we didn't make it. Attempt #4: Two days later we got a call from the airport early in the morning. They added a last minute flight to Ofu and wanted to know if we still wanted to go!!! We quickly got ready, took a bus to the airport, and FINALLY successfully flew to Manu'a! Although our vacation was cut short by two days, it was still a wonderful and magical time and completely worth all the failed attempts. In Manu'a we stayed with the three WorldTeach volunteers who are stationed there. The entire vacation consisted of relaxing on the beach, swimming, hiking, and watching sunsets. It was fantastic. I've mentioned before how small my island of Tutuila is. However, it is nothing compared to how small Ofu/Olosega are. There is literally nothing there. A couple villages, one elementary school, and a couple small marts. For most of the time it felt like we were the only people on the island. That being said it was also probably the most beautiful place I have ever been to!!

After our 3rd failed attempt.

Can't get enough of that vitamin sea.

Beautiful sunsets EVERY single night.

Jumping from the bridge that connects Ofu and Olosega

A coconut crab. This one is probably only a teenager... they get even bigger.

The teeny tiny plane that takes you to Manu'a

Ofu Olosega and Ta'u

Paddling has been postponed until after Flag Day (more on flag day in my next blog post), so in the meantime I have joined the workout classes at the water sports place in which I paddle at! Just a small attempt to fight the constant starches and carbs that I am consuming here! (Of course there are local fruits and veggies too). 

Breadfruit, palusami (taro leaves and coconut milk), rice, meat, fish, and coconut

Kait eating some breadfruit

 School has been going well. We just had our annual Samoan Day which was exciting to be a part of. Each grade level puts on a performance consisting of traditional Samoan clothes, stories, songs, and dances. We also just had our midterms since third quarter ended THIS WEEK! I cannot believe we only have one more quarter to go. Thinking about how little time I have left makes me realize how much I am going to miss these kids. No matter how much I have taught them, without a doubt they have taught me more. My students have definitely changed me for the better and despite their behavior issues I will miss each and every one of them.

They love when I teach art!

Happy birthday Dr. Seuss

Read Across America

He made me go get my camera so I could take a picture of his new sweatshirt :)

Practicing for the Samoan Day showcase

Level Two all dressed up and ready for Samoan Day

Only two and a half months left on this beautiful island. I'll leave my long list of things I will miss for a later blog post. I can't dwell on that now because it makes my heart ache. A lot can happen in two and a half months so in the mean time I will just continue to update you on my adventures, day to day life, and teaching!

Things I can check off the bucket list since my last post:
     - Go to Manu'a
     - Jump off the bridge the connects Ofu and Olosega
     - Swim at Sliding Rock
     - Go night swimming on a full moon (no Jamie I didn't turn into a mermaid...)
     - 8 out of 12 National Park hikes completed
     - Eat a raw fish (still in fish form) that was caught seconds earlier
     - Run my first 5k race (came in 2nd place in my age division)

A great little pool to swim in.

Aunu'u

Boat on the way to Aunu'u

Cannon from WWII

Race Day

Drew and I on a bus

Love them palms.

...and then we saw a dolphin!

Floating in paradise.

23 and still climbing trees

Fa'afetai lava to the Morris family, Nicolle Moore, and my parents for more care packages. I love you all! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

ALSO for those who are wondering... I have officially booked my flight home. I will return to the United States of America on July 10th!!! My contract/the school year ends in early June, and I will be leaving American Samoa on June 13th... however I have decided to take the LONG way home. I will be traveling for a month to the countries of Western Samoa, Thailand and Myanmar before I make the official (and long) journey home!!!!

...and with that I bid you farewell. :)
Until next time!
-Maggie


“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by.” – Robert Frost

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

“Oh the places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss