At Manu’a high School, the class sizes are very small, which makes up for the fact that the kids can be a handful at times. Teaching out here is intense and a true full-time job. I am the entire math department, and teach four different subjects. There are three of us volunteers at the high school, and we each have after-school commitments on top of our teaching responsibilities. It is a close-knit atmosphere at the school, with a staff of around ten teachers, and a total of less than 90 students on the campus.
A bus takes us to and from the school every day, which is located up on a hill. There are many days on which we make the beautiful 40 minute walk up and over hills to our village. The resources at our school are fantastic (aside from textbooks from the 80s). We have two great copy machines, a library, and a full computer lab with eight Mac computers. Internet at the schools is high speed and almost always runs perfectly. Each department has their own computer in the classroom with internet connected to printers in the lab.
Challenges at school include the extreme heat inside the classrooms, out of date textbooks, and huge discipline problems with many of the kids (and how to go about dealing with them). The kids here face many challenges in their own lives and are generally very busy with chores and after school commitments, such as church. School is often on the back burner as far as priorities on the island. Because corporal punishment is still practiced by many parents, it is hard to know when to involve parents in a child’s school progress and punishments. The students lack many fundamental math skills, usually learned in elementary school. They also regularly do not study for tests or their homework, which can be extremely frustrating for teachers trying to catch them up to the American school system standards. However, in class, the kids show their intelligence each day. The majority of them try very hard in class, and are very smart. The students are basically constantly adjusting to an enormous Americanization occurring within and outside of school, combined with an on-going attempt to keep Manu’a on the American Samoan DOE’s radar. I can’t imagine not having worked at this school this year; it has been a challenging and special experience, to say the least.
Living on T’au, Manu’a
Ta’u, Manu’a is an outer island of American Samoa. Though it is a short 25 minute prop plane ride from Pago Pago, it is a world away. Ta’u is made up of three villages that are connected by one long, paved road. The entire island is an incredible mix of pure island life, with intense westernization over the past few years. Lush tropical rainforests surround every village. Walking around, you are constantly among banana trees and spectacular, scenic views of the Pacific Ocean. At the same time, you see potato chip bags and trash lining every road. Most families own trucks, the main transportation around the island (people other than us rarely walk, here).
I live with two other volunteers in a large, spacious, modern house in the village of Faleasao, one of the three villages on Ta’u island. It is a wonderful village by the sea, with about 30 houses. There is one large church in the center that most of the villagers attend every Sunday morning (as well as Sunday night and Wednesday evening, but we have generally only gone on Sunday mornings). Church is a prominent part of life in Manu’a and is incorporated into every aspect, from school to fundraisers and dances. Our village is close-knit and the coconut wireless runs every day! The people here are wonderful to us and have treated us with respect and kindness from the first day. Our neighbors bring us baked breadfruit and tarot each Sunday morning for To’ana’i (the Sunday morning meal) which have been baked in the Umu. They often bring us freshly cooked fish and other foods as well. You can swim here year-round right on the beaches in front of the houses. There are at least several stores in every village on Ta’u which stock every possible canned item, as well as things like coffee and tea. You can also buy beer, bottled water, soda, and many types of frozen meat and chicken products at almost any store. Several of the stores in the next village, Ta’u, sell cabbage and carrots; Ta’u village is a nice 30 minute walk up and over the hill from ours.
Food can be expensive in Manu’a, and fresh produce is scarcely in the stores. However, when our neighbors go to their plantations they often bring us back fresh cucumbers, starfruits, and lemons. Our backyard has seasonally abundant bananas and papayas, which one can almost always find somewhere on the island. My roommates and I eat a lot of canned tuna and salmon, mixed with canned vegetables, and often cabbage, etc. We drink both bottled water and rain water caught in a large rain bucket. Our house has every amenity we could need… running water, electricity, flushing toilets, a full kitchen, and nice bedrooms (the water is shut off nightly at 9:30pm, but that is usually not a problem).
Life on Manu’a is peaceful and wonderful, yet challenging. It is easy to feel very isolated here. There is also not much of a social life here, with no restaurants or movie theaters, and very few people our age. Dogs can be dangerous, but are generally not a huge problem. We spend the majority of our Saturdays going on hikes and adventure walks in and around the villages and the mountains. We take daily walks along the one paved road on the island, through the serene banana trees and amazing landscape.
Sundays are spent mostly in our house doing schoolwork and reading. Each night we watch DVDs on our laptops, read, cook, clean and just decompress from the school day. Life in Manu’a is very different from life on Pago Pago (the main island). Things here are much more basic, yet still very comfortable.
Manu’a is very conservative, yet they are very understanding here of foreigners and want us to be a part of their lives. The longer we have lived here, the more they let us in to the secrets of the island. Their responses to us have also changed with time. In the beginning, they watched every move we made, and attempted to scare us with stories of “aitu” on the island. Now, we have sort of earned our freedom. Manu’a is a special place, that very few people in the world have ever seen, and I feel fortunate to have been a part of it this year.
Leone, Tutuila by Fei Ji
Living in Leone
Ever since I was little, after reading tons of Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie books, I dreamed of my own little teacher’s cottage surrounded by flowers at the end of a dirt path. In this fantasy world I would walk the short distance to my school every morning, and every afternoon, return home to my cottage—slowly walking up the path and taking in the sight of my quaint little house. To refer to popular culture—I wanted to live in Miss Honey’s house from Matilda.
Now that I’m grown, and in WorldTeach, I’m actually living out this dream—just with some exotic replacements. My cottage is a small tropical bungalow—3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, large kitchen that opens into our living room—in real estate terms. The author, Sia Figel (“Where We Once Belonged”) used to live here with her children not so long ago. Our house is located in Vailoa, where the first Pacific settlers of Tutuila landed, at the end of a long stretch of road—the same road that ends in Leone High School, the school where I teach, and Leone Midkiffe Elementary, the school where one of my two roommates live. We each have our own bedroom but we love spending our time around the kitchen table doing our lesson plans, eating, watching movies or chatting about our day at school. Our house is equipped with all the amenities that you would be used to in the mainland—electricity, hot water, ceiling fans in every room, high speed internet—and in many ways it’s a step up from the living arrangements I’ve had in college.
We live on the land of our host “mother,” whose house is literally a stone’s throw away—about 10 feet. We like to think that we live in the guesthouse of the main mansion, because I think that was what our house was originally built for. Instead of daisies and roses outside, ginger plants and birds of paradise surround our house. A huge, traditionally medicinal tree stands to the side, and we finally realized recently that it bears a striking resemblance to the Keebler Elf tree.
Every morning, I walk down a lava rock path down to the edge of our host mother’s land, turn right at the stone gate, and walk the 10 minute stroll to my high school, passing banyan trees and coconuts on my way there. Quite a few times, I’ve spent the walk wondering how it came to be that I would be living in such a home. One that is so parallel to my childhood fantasy and yet also incomparable to any other place in the world.
Community
There are many ways that one could define the community nearby, so I’m going to be the science teacher that I am to categorize them into three groups. One is the community we have with our host family, the other is the community we have with fellow volunteers, and lastly, the Samoan community as a whole.
Our host mother is amazing. That’s all there is to it. She completely respects our space, but also manages to share so many things with us. Usually once a week, we find that she has made “just a little extra” spaghetti, or chocolate cake, or palusami (a traditional dish made from taro leaves and coconut milk), enough for her three “daughters” next door. She has a five-year old son named David, who is the apple of everyone’s eyes, and he drops by to play as often as he can tear himself away from all the other millions of amusements the island has to offer. Her nieces and nephews and friends are often over, and they have all helped us in many ways. Whether it is building us bed frames, to helping paint my schoolroom, to driving us to the laundry, we know that there is always someone available to help us—and we are so grateful for each and every one of them. Samoan people are incredibly generous and open, and they are the epitome of the Samoan hospitality.
Our host mother is also part of the Mormon community in American Samoa, which is quite a big chunk of the population. Our neighbors, in fact, are two missionaries from Western Samoa. Often, we are invited to go to church functions like dances or performances, and everyone is so welcoming and kind. Since church is a huge part of the culture here, sometimes we ask to go their Sunday services—especially if there is a special choir concert. Samoan choirs singing are some of the most beautiful sounds you will ever hear, and I’m sure they can give the Mormon Tabernacle choir a run for their money. While our host family is very much involved with their church, they do not give us any pressure religiously to join or convert, which was one of our main concerns. We are always welcome to come to service, so when we do go it is our choice. And we choose to go a couple of times a month to say hi to all of our friends and to soak up that lovely church music and community.
The community we have with other volunteers is great as well. Because there are three of us in the house together, it’s so nice to be able to come home to volunteers who are going through similar situations in their struggles as first year teachers abroad. The island is small enough that we can meet up with other volunteers almost every weekend, and transportation is relatively cheap to get from one house to the other. Lots of times, we all need to go to town for groceries or mail, and we meet up to chat and share stories over a bite to eat or a combined shopping trip. Even though we don’t see much of each other over the school week, it’s good to know that the others are so easily accessible during the weekends.
Teaching Assignment
I was placed in LeoneHigh School, one of the five high schools on Tutuila. There is also one high school in the outer Manu’a island of Tau. LHS is on the west side of the island and considered one of the smaller high schools. However, it has a great reputation for football! Leone (pronounced Lay-own-nay) pride runs deep and strong amongst the faculty and students, so I am ridiculously proud of my school. The staff is really supportive, but also laid back. The administrative team works well together, and they are always willing to answer my questions or lend their support for new ideas or programs that I want to do for my students. Because of its “smaller” size—a little less than 1000 students—most of the administration and faculty at Leone know the students quite well. Retention rates are high through the first three years. By the senior year, numbers dwindle as families here are prone to relocating or students must repeat junior year courses.
I teach Physical Science and Marine Science at the school. Physical Science is the upper level freshmen science course, and Marine Science is an alternative science course offered to juniors and seniors. My class sizes range from as many as 34 kids in Physical Science to as low as 8 students in Marine Science. We are on block schedule, so I have four classes of one hour and fifteen minutes each day. I have 6 periods, so I see each period three times a week. All teachers must have one preparation period as well—so some days I have a break. The block schedule, while confusing at first, is a godsend as it allows me more teaching time each class period. The students are…crazy but amazing. I love them but sometimes they can get rowdy. I wholeheartedly believe they are good kids. They respect their teachers to a level you cannot experience in the states, but they are a handful. Culturally, Samoans are very friendly and social, but this is sometimes a struggle in a classroom if your kids are given to being very “social.” However, other than skipping classes, not doing homework, and talking too much, I have not had many disciplinary problems.
My classroom does not have air conditioning but I am lucky in that they have placed me in the newer building with tons of ceiling fans. The trade winds also blow right through mywindows so my classroom is quite cool compared to some of the other fale-type rooms. I have a lab class—so I have lab benches and stools for the students to sit on. We have a decent supply of science experiment equipment—test tubes, beakers, hot plates—and chemicals in a stockroom. However, most of these can rust or became ineffective easily with the high humidity.
For a first year teaching experience, I am really thankful to be where I am. The staff is supportive enough and trusting enough to let you do your own thing. The kids are great. The classroom is great. I live only a couple of blocks away. It’s a pretty sweet deal.
Utulei/Gataivai, Tutuila by Ming Ming Liu
Community
Tutuila is an island approximately 13 miles in length and is American Samoa's main island. The village of Utulei and Gataivai are located by the Pago harbor where many of the government offices are headquartered. American Samoa holds strongly to its traditional values, but the influx of foreigners around this area gives it a more westernized feel. There is no curfew and swimming is allowed on Sundays. Despite the westernization, the area itself retains a village feel with strong communal bonds. People are very open and friendly. It is commonplace to strike up long conversations with complete strangers and to be offered free food constantly.
For entertainment, the Pago Pago Yacht Club offers a seaside view with reasonably priced meals and drinks along with sailing, swimming, and paddling. Utulei beach is one of the two public beaches on the island and is surrounded by traditional Samoan fales. The beach and the fales play host to many family cookouts and activities on weekends. It's also a great place to relax with a book and cool off to a strong sea breeze during the warm days.
Living in Utulei/Gataivai
The volunteer living arrangements are quite luxurious by island standards. The majority of the volunteers are housed 2 to 3 per house with private rooms. I share a furnished 3-bedroom house with two other volunteers. Our house is nestled between the lush mountain side and the sandy shoreline. It has convenient access to all the necessities of my daily routine. School is a beautiful 10 minute walk away along the shoreline; the Yacht club, where I swim and paddle, is a 5 minute walk; the store, where I purchase groceries, is a 5 minute walk. In fact, living here gives me a new perspective on distance; long distance commuting means taking a bus ride down to the next village a mile away.
The community where I live is an anachronism frozen in the past. Life is simpler and slower and the community is more tightly-knit. The location is far enough from civilization that I feel disconnected (as if being on a remote island isn't disconnected enough), yet close enough to modernity for it to be within easy reach.
Our landlord's family lives in the house next to ours. They are very hospitable and have taken us in almost as a part of the extended family. The close relationship with the family allows us to immerse in the Samoan culture. But be prepared to be adventurous with your diet, I've eaten delicacies including bats and pork feet. In addition to food, we've also benefited from experiencing traditional Samoan ceremonies and cultural events.
Teaching Assignment
I teach primarily Chemistry and Biology at Samoana High School, the oldest high school in American Samoa. The experience is full of challenges and successes, frustrations and satisfactions. Going into the program I was expecting resource and staff shortages, but to my surprise the schools here are well equipped. I have a computer and internet in my classroom; the school has several computer labs; the main office has a photocopier; and the students have modern textbooks. Albeit, the internet is unreliable; the computer labs' access are limited; the photocopier is undependable; and the textbooks are not per student. I learned to be resourceful to work around the shortcomings.
American Samoa aligns its educational standards to the United States, but the cultural differences create a different educational atmosphere. Students are more responsive to group competition than to individual competition. Therefore, students tend to not answer questions when called upon individually, but will answer questions when called upon as a class. I have to keep this and other cultural differences in mind and not impose my cultural dispositions on them. Not getting frustrated by the initial differences and adapting to them allowed me to make inroads with my students.
At Manu’a high School, the class sizes are very small, which makes up for the fact that the kids can be a handful at times. Teaching out here is intense and a true full-time job. I am the entire math department, and teach four different subjects. There are three of us volunteers at the high school, and we each have after-sc
Because corporal punishment is still practiced by many parents, it is hard to know when to involve parents in a child’s school progress and punishments. The students lack many fundamental math skills, usually learned in elementary school. They also regularly do not study for tests or their homework, which can be extremely frustrating for teachers trying to catch them up to the American school system standards. However, in class, the kids show their intelligence each day. The majority of them try very hard in class, and are very smart. The students are basically constantly adjusting to an enormous Americanization occurring within and outside of school, combined with an on-going attempt to keep Manu’a on the American Samoan DOE’s radar. I can’t imagine not having worked at this school this year; it has been a challenging and special experience, to say the least.
Ta’u, Manu’a is an outer 
We take daily walks along the one paved road on the island, through the serene banana trees and amazing landscape. 
ing the warm days. 
I teach primarily Chemistry and Biology at 
