"Life begins outside of your comfort zone"

I saw that quote on a magnet and should have bought it, because it is so true. My experiences in the last year are a direct testament to it. My spring break in New Zealand brought me outside my comfort zone as well (mainly because I had to drive on the opposite side of the road). My week in that small green island country was incredible, and I’ll try my best to sum it up for you…be prepared…this is a looonnnnggggg post. So go get a snack before you begin….

Aotearoa, or ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’ is the Maori name for New Zealand. The Maori are the native Polynesian people of the country. Maori influences can be seen all over, in the souvenirs that you buy at the gift shop, to Haka that the National Rugby team (The All Blacks) does before each game, and in the greeting you hear when you step onto your Air New Zealand flight – Kia Ora!

Those of you that know me know that I travel quite a bit. Those of you who know me well know that I have a strange love of airports. (It’s weird and unexplainable). However, that same love is not always transferred to the actual airlines themselves. Most American airline companies have gone way down in terms of making a flight enjoyable, or just plain comfortable for that matter. But as someone who has flown on several different airlines to a variety of states and countries, I can say without hesitation that Air New Zealand is the best. Not only did they give out ice cream as part of their in-flight meal, but the domestic flights have the most leg room I’ve ever gotten in coach, and the safety video is absolutely hilarious.

Anyways, enough of my raves for the plane ride. Let’s begin at the beginning, shall we?

After a somewhat stressful start, Julie and I arrived at Pago Pago International Airport on Thursday afternoon, ready to leave American Samoa for our week of spring break. I was pretty apprehensive about flying on the tiny Inter-Island plane to Apia (you cannot fly directly from Pago to New Zealand, or Australia, or Fiji, or anyplace that isn’t Hawai’I, basically. You have to take a 30 minute flight to Apia, in Western Samoa first).  Julie had done it when she went to Australia for Christmas break. It is the smallest plane I’ve ever been on. There’s only about 20 seats, 10 on each side of the plane, with a small center aisle leading to the cockpit which is open. You can see the pilots and all the buttons and switches and stuff. Before getting on the Inter-Island flight, you and your carry-on bag must be weighed so that they can assign  you a seat and distribute weight evenly throughout the plane.

We left on time (which, if you have been reading this blog, you will know that’s an incredible feat), and were soon soaring above Tutuila and over the open ocean (again, in the smallest aircraft I’ve even been on…a bit nerve wracking…) But we made it safely to Apia. One of Julie’s friends from her island of Aunu’u was on the flight with us, and his family met us at the airport. Our flight to New Zealand did not leave for about 10 hours, and they were nice enough to pick us up and drive us around Apia and keep us entertained for awhile. It was cool to see Western Samoa, since I had never been there. Western Samoa (or simply Samoa) is an independent nation. They have close ties with American Samoa, but they drive on the opposite side of the road and have their own currency.

At midnight, they dropped us back off at the airport. Our flight left at 2 am for Auckland and we were exhausted. I was able to sleep a little on the flight, and we landed in Auckland at 5 am local time.

My friend Megan from home was flying in from San Francisco and meeting us in Auckland. The plan was to meet up, then catch a flight down to Wellington. Julie and I got through customs quickly and then were waiting for Megan. And waiting…..and waiting….our flight for Wellington was leaving at 7 and by this time it was almost 6. Megan’s San Francisco flight had arrived at the same time as ours so where was she?

After a short moment of panic, much running between the domestic and international terminals, and a page over the intercom, Julie used her phone (which had an international plan) to call both Megan and our travel agent. Megan was still in San Francisco. She wasn’t arriving in Auckland until the next morning. Something had gotten mixed up with our flight schedule and our travel agent had tried to contact us the night before, but we had been in Apia. However, she had booked us a room at a hotel in Auckland and had arranged a shuttle transfer. Julie and I, sleep deprived and having just survived an extremely stressful ordeal, just looked at each other and laughed. Then we grabbed our bags, exchanged some American money for colorful New Zealand dollars, and made our way to the hotel.

Our one day and night in Auckland was fantastic. We went into the city and got Starbucks, did some shopping, and had a few drinks. We met some pretty cool people along the way, from all walks of life. It was just what we needed!

The next morning we went to the airport and although Megan’s flight was delayed she showed up this time! It was great to see such a good friend from home. I had seen my family over Christmas break but hadn’t seen any of my friends since I left in July. When we got on our domestic flight down to Wellington, we had our first uniquely New Zealand experience….a rugby team got onto the flight. They were the Hurricanes, Wellington’s team. They were of course tall and muscle-y and very good looking and I wondered how I would ever leave New Zealand.

Wellington is a beautiful city. It is perfectly laid out, and although it is big, it doesn’t feel overwhelming. It sits at the southern end of the North Island, and is nicknamed  “windy Wellington”. The weather was usually a bit gray and overcast, with a light rain falling occasionally. (kind of like Seattle or Portland!) But people say, if you don’t like the weather in Wellington, wait 5 minutes. The sun came out every day.

The best part about Wellington was the Lord of the Rings tour. Now, I am a big nerd. I love maps, and Harry Potter, and yes, Lord of the Rings. I even named my cat after one of the hobbits. Going on this half day tour was one thing that I was really looking forward to. Megan and I took an afternoon and went on the tour. Our guide was named Mike, and he was awesome. He wasn’t one of those annoying tour guides who you wish would just stop talking. He was really cool, and began by telling us the story of how he met his fiancé (a girl from Portland! Small world!). We were joined on the tour by 2 other people from another hotel. I was happy that we had a small group. Mike was a big LOTR fan and knew a lot about the city and how the movies were made, and small bits of trivia. The tour was fantastic, well worth the time and money, and allowed me to show off my geeky side. Megan, even though she’s not a big fan of the movies and books, still enjoyed it because we were able to see more of Wellington and even go outside the city a little ways. Looking back, it was one of the major highlights of the trip.

In the Shire!

"Get of the road!"

Helm's Deep!

River scene from Fellowship

on a swing bridge in the park

Being nerdy....forgive me, I'm in Rivendell!

 Isengard

After two nights in Wellington, we got on the ferry and made our way to the South Island. I’m a big fan of boats and nautical things, and I was really excited for the ferry ride. It was a windy day, but clear and the crossing was beautiful. 

We came in to Picton and picked up our rental car…and here came the thing I had been most nervous about….driving on the opposite side of the road, and the opposite side of the car. I had not driven in 7 months, when I left Washington. However, I got the hang of it pretty quickly. I had missed driving. I do not have a car in Samoa, and even if I did, the island is very small. I missed the feeling of just getting in the car and driving for hours. The drive to our next destination, Nelson, took about 2 hours. It was a beautiful drive and we stopped several times to take pictures. When we arrived in Nelson, we had an excellent dinner at a little Italian place, then found our hotel. This hotel was absolutely adorable. We stayed in a little cottage, that had a kitchen and living area downstairs and 2 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. It even had a cupboard under the stairs! (Harry Potter reference, anyone?) We did not spend much time in Nelson itself, but went out to the Abel Tasman National Park. This place definitely lived up to the pictures on all the post cards. It was beautiful. We took a water taxi (and saw penguins!!) to another area of the park (the whole park is huge) and hiked for awhile, then relaxed on the beach before the taxi came to pick us back up. It was a great day, another highlight of the trip.

Our last destination was Christchurch. As we drove there, we stopped at a couple wineries along the way. I am not a big wine fan, so I stayed in the driver’s seat. 

We passed through some gorgeous countryside, dotted with sheep! Yes, we got out and took pictures of 

them too.

 We stopped and ate in Kaikora and saw the seal colony. 

A year ago, Christchurch suffered a major earthquake that destroyed much of the city center, including a large cathedral. There was not as much to see/do in Christchurch, but we did get to walk through the botanical gardens. Christchurch is known as the “Garden City”. March is autumn for the southern hemisphere and the leaves were beginning to turn. I love fall, and was sad to have missed it this past year. So seeing the foliage was a nice surprise.

The best part about Christchurch was the people that we met. We went out to a couple bars both nights that we were there. The Kiwis (New Zealanders) are very friendly. It was great to talk to so many cool people. Several were doing some sort of construction job, helping to rebuild the city after the earthquake. One of the bars that we went to was actually in an old shipping container. Several shipping containers had been brought in as a temporary replacement for businesses whose buildings had been destroyed.

After two days in Christchurch, we made our way back to the airport. I said goodbye to Megan, a bit jealous that she was going home to Washington. I love American Samoa, but it was really nice to have some cooler weather for a change. The humidity makes wearing jeans and nice clothes nearly impossible.

After a long day of traveling, Julie and I were back in Pago. Because of crossing the International Date Line, we were reliving St. Patrick’s day (in celebration I was wearing a green shirt my grandmother sent to me). I was glad that we had 2 whole days to get ready for school.

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So what did I ultimately take away from my trip to New Zealand, adventure capital of the world? When I think about it now, the thing that strikes me is how alive I felt. This may sound strange to some people, but it’s true. I had not felt that alive in quite awhile. I was in a foreign country, with my friends, having new experiences and meeting great people. That is what I have always wanted out of life, and it happened (again) in New Zealand. I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again….Life the life you imagined. I was never meant to stay in one place, doing the same old thing, year after year after year. I was never meant to settle down early. I was meant to see the world. I was meant to have great adventures. This is the life that I imagined, and I thank God for allowing me to live this way. I have no idea what awaits me, what my next adventure will be. But I will I am open to any and all possibilities.

You can’t count on luck. You have to get up and get out there. Don’t be afraid to take the opportunities that are presented to you. Get outside of your comfort zone. It is there that you will feel most alive.

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Wow that was a long post...hope you enjoyed it! Until next time...

These are the moments

“I don’t need men. I just want some popcorn” – Lauren, as she’s making popcorn on the stovetop, (we have no microwave) shaking the pan back and forth over the burner.

*Note: this was written on Friday, March 3, 2010. But due to not having internet at my house (and distractions at school) I am just now posting it....

I have had an awesome 24 hours.

Let’s start with last night

I was grading some essays, which are a part of the midterm. The kids are supposed to choose a topic that we’ve covered in class this quarter and write an essay about the causes and effects of that topic. One of the essays I read made me so happy. It was by a junior boy in my U.S. history class. Despite being ulavale (naughty) very often, and driving me absolutely crazy, he is one of my most favorite students. He chose to write about the Civil War. My class wrote these essays on Tuesday afternoon, when I went home at lunch because I was not feeling good. So my class was being watched by another teacher. I wasn’t sure if they would actually work on the essays and was pleasantly surprised when I went to school the next day and most of them had actually completed the essays.

Last night I began grading them. Before long, I came across the one written by the student mentioned above. At the end of the essay, I had a huge smile on my face. I was so proud of this student. He had taken the notes I had given him and written an amazing essay in his own words, carefully outlining the causes and effects of the Civil War, and adding some other details in between. At the bottom of the essay, he added:

 “God bless you my best teacher. Don't give up. Keep your teaching wonderful. Thank you for everything.”

Now, at this point in the year, I am kind of used to students making these kind of comments on their and assignments and journals. But for some reason, this declaration really hit me. Maybe because of the student it was coming from, I am not sure. But it really affected me and reminded me that some kids really do appreciate me and my teaching.

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Today was a normal day. In each class I reviewed for midterms next week…then I let my kids work on their essays. 6^th period is the last class of the day…AND it’s my prep period!! (1/2 the week I have to sub, but the other days I actually get to take advantage of that time off..) 

My friend and fellow volunteer teacher Heidi teaches her 6^th period science class in my room. Today she had invited guest speakers from the National Park Service to come and talk to the class. I took the work that I had to grade and went to sit in the back of the room. The park rangers began their presentation. I was about half listening.

After awhile they were talking about different national parks (FYI::the National Park of American Samoa is the only U.S. national park that is south of the equator!) and then started talking about historical sites. When I looked up, the slide had changed to a picture of a battlefield. The caption read “the battle of Gettysburg”. My student who wrote the awesome essay was sitting 3 seats ahead of me. He turned and said, “Miss, Civil War, uh?” I nodded. Then the park ranger asked the class “Who was fighting during the Civil War?” Now, most of the kids in the room were also in either my 1^st or 2^nd period U.S. history class…and we had studied the Civil War about a month ago. All the kids answered correctly..”Union! Confederates! North vs. South!!!”. I looked across the room at Heidi, who had a big smile on her face. I knew that she was thinking the same thing as me…I taught them something! They remembered this!!!

The park ranger then looked at the other rangers, astonished. He then turned to the class and said…”Do you know, that out of all the schools we’ve been to, no one has answered that question right?” all of the kids cheered and clapped. The park ranger then said, “That is awesome. Who is your history teacher?”

All of the kids turned and pointed to me, sitting at the back of the room. The park rangers and the class all started clapping. I was overwhelmed and held the notebook I was grading in front of my face.

That moment made it all worth it. All the bad days. All the stress. All the ulavale students. All the crazy times. All the moments when kids said “Miss, it’s too hot. I want to sleep.” And put their heads down. In that moment, my students were able to answer a Civil War question from someone not affiliated with our school. They then all, in unison, credited me with teaching them that information.

I am hooked. I am a teacher. This is it for me. Despite all of the bad days, it’s these small, short-lived moments that make it all worth it. It’s days like this that make me thank God for getting me out of the film production program and sticking me into education my sophomore year at EWU. I have no idea where I’ll be teaching in the future. But if I can have a few more moments like that one, I know it will all be worth it.

I am a teacher. And I have some amazing students. I only have 3 months left with them. And I will cherish every minute of it. 

Traditional Tatau at Tisa's

Today was a great day.
Not only are we in the middle of a 3-day weekend, but I got to spend today with some cool people out on the east side at Tisa's barefoot bar.

I may have mentioned Tisa's before...A few months ago Amber and I went there but were not able to swim because of the small reef sharks that we saw close to the shore. (we also saw whales in the distance!)
This time however, we were able to swim...which I did, and it was wonderful.

But the reason we drove out was for my friends, Dave and Mr. T to get their tattoos. These were not regular tattoos that you can get in any tattoo parlor in the states, but a traditional Samoan tattoo (or tatau). These are done not with a tattoo gun but with the traditional tools and tapping method. I've heard that it is also much more painful than a regular tattoo.

tools used for tatau

Mr.T getting his done

Uma! Finished!

Dave's turn

Turtle and shark!

I was really excited to see this process, especially since I had just read about it. One of our VocTech students wrote her History Day research paper on the history and modernization of Tatau, and I was the one to read over and revise the essay. So I knew the story and legend behind the old art form. I am so glad they let me tag along and take pictures and videos of the whole thing. Both of their tattoos turned out amazing, so detailed.


Other highlights of today:: We found a stick bug! This may not seem like a big deal to most people, but I don't think I've ever actually SEEN one. So I picked it up and played with it. They're bigger than I thought they'd be! And they kind of tickle when they climb up your arm...

Also: meeting some guys from my home state, Washington! They are down here doing construction work for a month.

FOOD:: Not only did we get some amazing pina coladas (made with fresh coconut!) but we also had breadfruit fries...which is a breadfruit (taken from a tree across the road), sliced thin and cooked like fries, with lots of salt! So good!!

All in all it was a fantastic Sunday...and the best part? No School tomorrow! Yay for President's day!!

Alofa

Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day to all those reading my blog…I have to say, this was the hottest Valentine’s I’ve ever had (about 85 degrees! Oka!) But it was quite a great day. here are a few of the things that made it special:

-          A package from my Aunt, which included chocolate, heart candies, a book, a card, magazines, and perfume

-          A package from my grandparents, which included MORE chocolate (Fudge! Yum!), a small teddy bear figurine, a note, a headband with heart antennas that I wore to school (and got many compliments!), and 2 boxes of valentine’s cards (that I shared with my students…they loved them and send their thanks!)

-          A package I had received last week from my mom which had ANOTHER box of chocolates, and a card, among other things

-          A card from a friend back in Washington

-          Valentines from students

-          A stuffed bear holding a heart from a student

-          An assembly during school

-          Another social studies teacher buying lunch for our department

-          A girl asking me to present her gift to a boy during class, and say it was from a “secret admirer”

-          Talked to my parents after school

Here are a few pictures from the day..the assembly, and my students and the valentines they gave me...not the best pictures, but hey it's too hot for makeup and cute hair!

I just got done with my pilates for the day and am feeling really good! The week is almost ½ over, and we have a 3 day weekend ahead. I already have some (tentative) plans for the weekend, and am looking forward to it. This is a short post, I will try to write more this weekend.

I hope everyone had a great Valentine’s Day! And as my sister keeps reminding me, Discounted Chocolate Day is tomorrow!! Thank you to those who are reading, whoever and wherever you are. And thank you to those who have been making the effort to stay in touch. I am thousands of miles from home, but I can still feel the love. And that’s what matters.

Applesauce Abduction

“They thought our applesauce was dangerous.”

                My grandmother is amazing. Not only does she write me letters frequently, but she sent me a bunch of homemade cookies and other goodies in the mail back in August. So she thought that she’d try to send another Mills family essential…applesauce.

                This is not just any applesauce. This is Gma’s homemade applesauce. We have applesauce making parties in the fall. My cousins and have been known to hoard our applesauce, steal it off of each other’s plates, and see who can eat the most. (however, grandpa can usually win that battle)

                So in October my grandmother put some of her world famous (at least to us) applesauce in a care package along with a few other things and shipped it off to me, fingers crossed that it would not spoil on its journey to the south pacific.

                But…..the package never arrived. Instead, a few weeks later, Grandma received a form from the postal service in Guam saying that the package had arrived there leaking and had to be destroyed. How it ended up in Guam, which is about 3600 miles north west of American Samoa, is beyond me. The fact that my grandparents even found out about this at all is even more surprising. The address that the form was sent to wasn’t even their home address in Washington. The address read “Topeka Kansas”, but because of the correct zip code, was delivered to Washington, then forwarded to their place in Arizona where they spend the winter. She found it so amusing that she sent me the form and the envelope it came in so I could see for myself.

                 Although I was sorry that my grandparents went to the trouble of sending me a package that I never received, (and sad about not having my applesauce) it does make for a funny story. My friend Nathan believes that news of my grandmother’s amazing applesauce had spread across the pacific, so it was confiscated by the people of Guam who wanted to eat it all themselves. I agree with him.

School....

Here are a few things that have happened at school that have made my day a bit brighter and more fulfilling...

Map Quest

My 4^th period World History is a small class. There are 2 girls and 9 boys. This past Friday, I had 3 of those boys absent. The day was reserved for completing assignments and wrapping up our unit on the Renaissance and Reformation. Several of the students were either finished or close to it. I had brought a pack of cards that they could play with, but the main attraction was the world map that I had finally been able to hang on the wall. Three of the kids were already examining it. So I suggested that they compete with each other to find places on the map, the reward being extra points.

                They were really enthusiastic and I began by calling out names of countries and places that we’d talked about last semester.  Mongolia. Japan. Rome. The Nile River. The Himalayan Mountains. Then we moved on to other parts of the world. Chile. Mexico City. Indonesia. Iceland. Portugal. Madagascar. They were loving it. “Miss, I found it!” “Hey right here!”. A few times I’d give them hints…Southern Hemisphere, Asia, North Africa.

                A couple more students finished their work and came up the map to join. By this time, the list of places to find was becoming harder. The Hudson Bay. The Bering Sea. The Galapagos Islands. St. Petersburg. Istanbul. Singapore. They were crowding over each other, scouring the map, running their fingers over the oceans and continents, turning around excitedly when they found the name. They were having so much fun that we ended up spending the majority of the class period on the game. They were happy to get extra points and not have to sit and take notes. I was happy that they were up, having fun, and discovering new things. It was a great way to end the week. 

Determination

As some of you may recall, back in November, one of the other social studies teachers quit. The classes were all moved around and the end result was that I had my 6^th period U.S. History class replaced with a 2^nd period U.S. History. Some of my former 6^th period students were surprised and upset, but they made the best of it. A few even came in to ask me for help on assignments. However, one of them was determined to get back into my class. This student kept telling me that he was going to learn better from my class. I told him that if his counselor said it was ok, then he could come into my 2^nd period. The process was a long one, since he had a conflict with his math class. However, after speaking with his other teacher, the counselor, and the vice principal, I was finally able to get him transferred into my 2^nd period. But since I had gotten him back into my class, I had one rule for him. He had to promise to focus, be respectful, and not disruptive.

                This student has been in my class for the past 2 weeks now, and has been doing very well. He knows the lengths I went to get him back into my class, and he was happy and grateful. Before he transferred in, we’d had a conversation about why he wanted to be back in my class so badly. I had been worried for awhile that my classes were boring, but this student told me that the kids liked how I taught and that they had been learning a lot. Which was exactly why he had wanted to continue taking U.S. history from me.

                I realized that even on the days when I feel defeated, with boring lessons and unruly kids, that I am still getting through to some of them. This student wanted to get back into my class because he thought I was a good teacher. He did not give up. So I cannot give up on him. I cannot give up on any of them. I may be worn down, tired, and desperately searching for an interesting and engaging lesson. I may have personal issues and worries, but I cannot give up on my students. Because some of them actually WANT to be in my class. They WANT to learn. And as their teacher, I must do the best I can to educate them. I will not give up.

T.I.S.

T.I.S... This Is Samoa. 

Since a fellow volunteer read her essay during our Mid-Service conference, my friends and I have been quoting her with this phrase. T.I.S. Whenever we are faced with a hilarious or  absurd situation that can only be encountered here, "T.I.S.". Here are a few of the T.I.S. moments that have happened to me this month. Some are silly, some are touching, all are memorable.

Encountering a student at CJ's

                One Saturday I was sitting at Carl’s Jr. (aka CJ’s) to use the internet and get some work done. When I walked in, one of my sophomore boys was standing outside. He seemed to be in a silly mood, hiding his face behind his backpack and peeking out at me from behind it. I went in and sat down, not ordering any food. He came in a few minutes later with his friend and sat at the other side of the restaurant. About 30 minutes later, I was still sitting there, working on lesson plans when he came over and set a soda and straw on my table. “Here you go miss. See you on Monday.” I was touched. This student had used his own money to buy me a drink while I worked. 

Zumba

                 A couple weeks ago, the principal announced that we would be starting Zumba after school. I was excited about this, since I love Zumba. I took the classes when I was in college, and had been doing a video on my computer that I got from a friend’s hard drive. When the bulliten said that it was time for Zumba, I was ready the next day with my shoes and change of clothes. I was not sure who was in charge, but I was looking forward to joining in.

                At lunch that day, my department head asked me to get the school’s projector and set it up in the large classroom, since I had prep the last period of the day. I said sure, that I’d be happy to help. At the beginning of 6^th period, I got a call from another teacher. “Amanda, I heard you are in charge of Zumba, right?” I was confused. How did I go from setting up the projector to being in charge? I went down to get the projector from the principal, and she gave me the dvd’s we were going to use. However, my computer is a small netbook and does not have a disc drive. The mac laptops that the teachers used needed an adapter to connect to the projector. I told the principal that if it was ok, we could just use the Zumba video on my computer. SO at 3:00 I was in the big classroom, setting everything up while some of the other teachers began coming in. I started the video and coached and encouraged everyone through it, since I had done it several times before. We had a good time and everyone was excited to do it again.

                As I was packing up, the boys’ varsity basketball coach walked in. She asked if the boys could also do Zumba as part of their practice for the day. I said sure, and the kids came in. I knew a few of them, and had one in my 5^th period class. The second the video started, the boys were distracted by the pretty girls in skimpy workout clothes swiveling their hips. “Ohhhh Zuuummbbaaa!!” was the enthusiastic reaction from most of team. I was laughing to myself on the inside while telling them to focus and keep moving. It was hilarious, they loved it and they next morning when I got to school, I had several of them ask, “Miss, Zumba today?”

Day-to-Day things

The bus stops for the cricket game in progress…so that the ball can be caught from the other side of the road.

“These marshmallows are from Guatemala?” – Julie

“I’m getting lots of ideas on how to decorate the inside of a bus.” – Amber

Frogs keep trying to get into my house

While riding in the back of a pickup to a friend’s birthday we are caught in a downpour and soaked within minutes.