Thursday, August 20, 2009

Odds and Ends Thursday 24

Over dinner last night, a bunch of us were talking about how the next six weeks should be pretty exciting. There’s the big relay race, the Teuila Festival, the Road Switch, school break, my sister’s visit and Group 82’s arrival. So now is the calm before the storm, which is cool because it’s nice to have things to look forward to. And after all that’s over, it will be time for Halloween. Sweet. Here are some other odds and ends from the week:
  • It can be difficult to spot a pun in a foreign language. This week in my “Computer Theory” lecture I’ve been giving to the year 9s and 10s, there’s one part where I mention that spilling a drink on the computer keyboard means it’s dead. At first I say the normal oti, which means dead, and then I break out the formal, more respectful ua maliu, which seems more like “passed away,” I think. In any case, it got a laugh the first time I did it. So I repeated the accidental joke to the next class, and they loved it. So I’ve done it every time since. I’ll be here all week. Tip your waitresses.
  • English phrases put together to sound like Samoan words, not so funny, apparently. During the part in the lecture where I talk about power failures, I mention that power is “too low… tulou lava!” Silence. Crickets chirping.
  • Thanks for the comment, Roz. Indeed, the schedule for the 2009 Teuila Festival can be found here.
  • The weather here has been strangely similar to the weather in the Bay Area, only in the sense that it can’t make up its mind. It was shockingly hot and humid this morning, sunny with few clouds in the sky. By noon it was cold and pouring rain. And then it was sunny with few clouds by the time I left the computer lab. And then it rained. And then the sun came out.
  • I’ve been eating more pumpkin. Since it has a consistency similar to a potato, I perceive it as being filling and starchy, but I think it’s actually filling and not starchy. I also throw in some garlic, ginger, red pepper, and a little bit of teriyaki sauce, and I brace myself for how thirsty I’m going to be later in the evening, but I think the dish is also surprisingly low in salt.
  • I’ve given up on fighting my position as my staff’s resident typist. I am the resident typist. When do you need this by?
  • I’ve been claiming ignorance when my kids want to do something on the computer that I’d rather they not do. For example, one of my kids—who used to be Max’s—has been asking me if he can copy a CD. And I’ve claimed that there are some programs that do that, but I’m not sure which ones, and none that we have in the computer lab. So today he called me over and taught me step-by-step how to duplicate a CD in Windows Media Player. It’s times like this when I feel proud and distressed at the same time.
  • After I went running today, I spontaneously got Billy Joel’s “My Life” in my head. And it was the perfect way to celebrate Brian’s birthday.
  • Speaking of Brian’s birthday, I got out my iPhone today to find his number. Oh, man. The iPhone is such a sexy piece of engineering. Don’t get me wrong, I love my early aughts Nokia, and the built-in flashlight is extremely handy in Samoa, but I do miss my iPhone.
  • Lurkers, I don’t mind you leaving comments. In fact, I prefer that you do. Keep it up.
That’s all I got for this week. I hope you’re well. Pictures below.
















To save on electricity, we never use lights in any classroom (except the computer lab). We rely on natural light, which works well enough, I guess.
















Bunny ears never get old here.





















This is Elia. He and the girls got crazy with the glitter yesterday.
















Some kid in my 9.4 class was drawing this. A strange cross between a griffin, a liger, and Trogdor.

1 comment:

Blakey Hartnett Larsen said...

too low - too low lava! haha - i get it!