First (Unofficial) Day on the Job (Written Oct 31 2005)

Today was my first day at Chanel College as the new computer studies volunteer there and it started out with a heck of a cultural experience. Today was the first day that we trainees had to get around Apia without being driven around by Peace Corps drivers – so to get to our jobs today we had to get on the local buses and figure it out on the fly basically (don't worry, they gave us the names of the buses we needed to take beforehand – we just had to figure out what time to be at the bus stop). And buses in Samoa are nothing like the buses back in the state. The buses in Samoa are smaller then the buses in America, but fit about the same amount of people. How is that possible you may ask? Simple – overcrowding. Samoan buses give a new meaning to the term overcrowding – people are literally sitting on each others laps as they ride on the bus and people are hanging outside the front door of the bus while it is in motion. I was expecting the bus to be full but when you actually get on the bus you have no idea how crowded it actually is. Now, the bus isn't that packed all the time just typically in the morning (when kids are going to school and adults are going to work) and the early afternoon (when kids are going home and so are adults – the work day ends at 1:15pm for kids and 4:30pm for adults) but since it was my first time on the bus – wow, that was very strange. I've never felt so enclosed in my life and yet everyone around me seemed very comfortable and not out of the ordinary at all. Also, since Samoa has about 3 street names in the entire country all the buses are defined by the destination of their village – its very confusing if you have no idea which village is where in the town of Apia because the villages make up the greater Apia area – trust me, its as confusing as it sounds. Its gonna take me a couple of weeks to figure out how this whole thing works. After I got to Chanel, I met Michael and was introduced to the entire school (at their weekly assembly meeting which is like a PA announcement only without the speaker in the classroom) as the new Peace Corps Volunteer teacher – and that's when I officially became a teacher. Never thought that would happen. I am now a member of a faculty – never did I think those words would come out of my mouth (or through my fingers). So today was a big transfer of knowledge day from Michael to me about the inner workings of the school and how the various tests impact the curriculum and how the curriculum is set in regards to the test. So just like in the states with the 'No Child Left Behind' act, Samoa (which is based on the New Zealand/British school system) is teaching to the test instead of teaching these kids useful skills which can be used later on in life. There was one thing that I definitely learned from today and that is this – being a teacher is freakin HARD! Oh my goodness, I never knew it was so complex with the grading and the creation of a lesson plan and finding ways to develop curriculum while at the same time making sure the kids are on the same page. My hat definitely goes off for all the teachers back at home that do this every school year – I haven't even started and I'm already worried about having to grade tests and make sure they comply to the test managers standards. Bravo to all you teachers out there that have the patience to deal with all the garbage that comes with being a teacher – never knew what went on behind the scenes, but now I do. I also learned that the winter break in the states is the 'summer break' down here. So I'm going to have my Christmas break during the summer – sounds odd I know. I definitely have to realign my train of thought when it comes to Samoa – still in that pesky northern hemisphere train of thought. And the last thing I learned, which won't help me much now, but will when I get back to the states is that I learned that my position is basically that of the head of the computer studies department for my college. In the US college system it would be like I'm the head of the English department or the math department. I'm responsible for making sure the other teachers are teaching what needs to be taught and next year I'll be developing curriculum for the Year 12 kids at my school – the first time its ever been done. So as most of you know, one of my career goals is to become the CIO of a government agency or school, and oddly enough I seem to have walked into that job here in Samoa without even knowing it. Not only am I faculty, I'm also an administrator! Double Dipping galore! It was a very good day of learning about my new job and all that it entails and while it is a lot, I'm still very much excited by it all and my co-workers seem to be very genuine and funny people which will definitely make working along side them a breeze. Also, I learned a little bit more about my housing situation since I will basically be taking over the place that Michael is in right now and its already setup for phone and internet, so as far as I'm concerned I'm set for my two major concerns. Tomorrow is day two of on the job shadowing – so tomorrow is another chance to experience the joys of bus life, I'm lovin' it!

 BTW, my prayers go out to all the families and people affected by Hurricane Wilma. Michael comes from Tallahassee and his house there was hit pretty hard by the Hurricane. While I have no idea of how bad Wilma was, Mike said it wasn't as bad as Katrina which is definitely a good thing to hear. So while news is slow to get here, it does get here eventually. Be safe everyone and especially pray for me because we're coming up on Cyclone season here. L8r!