Matt's Samoa Blog: Odds and Ends Thursday 43

We inexplicably ended the school day after Interval this morning, but other than that, this has been the first “full” week of teaching. I admit it’s been a little exhausting; it’s no coincidence this was also the week of yesterday’s Great Nap. But on the whole it feels good to be back in the swing of things, making progress, seeing kids’ smiling faces over and over. I’m sure that joy will have worn off by next week, but I’ll enjoy it until then. Here are some other odds and ends from the week:

Yes, Mom, I didn’t fast for Ash Wednesday. And I didn’t go to church. Double whammy. But for church I have a solid excuse. Direct quote from the priest last Sunday: “We’ll have 2 masses on Ash Wednesday. The normal morning mass at 5:45 a.m., and for those that can’t make that, there will be a mass in the afternoon at 12.” That’s right. 12. I teach until 12:40. But I figured, what the hell? Maybe I’ll make the 5:45. I go to bed Tuesday night, but I’m woken up by rain. It rains often here, and it’s rare that it can wake me up, but this was some real powerhouse rain. And, I swear, no more than 10 seconds after I wake up to the Super Rain, my 5:15 alarm goes off to wake me up for Ash Wednesday. I’m pretty sure the rain was divine intervention.
The SchoolNet Program is going through a sort of rebirth, I think. They’ve hired a brand new team of people from overseas, and at this point, these people are still gung-ho. So we’ll see how that goes.
I sang with my English class again today. For some reason my kids sing at a really slow tempo. Trying to get them to sing with any punch or syncopation is difficult. “Vave!” I say. Fast! And they nod. And then they start fast, but by the end they’ve inevitably slowed. “Pick it up! Pick it up!”
Phil and Paul are staying at my house tonight. Phil told this story at dinner: While teaching his year 10s about optical memory, he had to explain the concept of lasers. “It’s a strong beam of light,” he said. “You guys know what a ‘beam’ is?” One of his kids raised his hand, “Like ‘Jim Beam’?”
Since none of us has a TV, it’s incredibly strange to think the Winter Olympics are going on. Paul’s seen a little coverage on a TV at a family’s house in his village. Phil and I have only heard secondhand reports from friends and family. None of us has ever heard anyone at school mention the Olympic games.
Rachel 82, the VAC Social Chair, organized a Valentine’s Day Mystery Match, essentially a Secret Santa in February. My Mystery Match left a note in my box today with 2 subtle allusions to Back to the Future. Well played, Mystery Match.
Koa took my scheduling spreadsheet to his school. No report back on whether or not it worked.
I’m getting ready to make flash cards for the GRE, so I went to buy index cards this afternoon. The cheapest place for office supplies in Apia is usually Apia Business Machines, but they don’t carry index cards. In fact, the sales girl laughed me out of the store. Rude. Not knowing what to do, I checked the grocery stores. I didn’t think this would be so much of an issue. Finally I found index cards at the upscale stationary store. $16 WST for a 100-pack.
We went out to dinner up the hill at Fast Chef this evening, and throughout dinner, I could feel my ankles getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, but I’m kinda used to it now, and I didn’t say anything. As we were leaving, I asked, “Anyone else get a zillion mosquito bites sitting at that table?” Paul and Phil both nodded. Yup. Not worth complaining about anymore.
I got my hair cut on Tuesday, and Wednesday walking into the staff room at Interval, Papalii called out,”Matt, that’s a very nice haircut.” I thanked her. “Which one of your girlfriends asked you to cut your hair?” Without looking up or missing a beat, I said, “All of them.” BWAHAHAHA. Sometimes it’s just so easy.