Mountain, Ocean, & Teaching

Teaching on the island or Tutuila, American Samoa was one of the most challenging experiences of my life, but what I learned through that year continues to shape me now, 8 years later. My backyard was a mountain, front yard the ocean. The breathtaking views were coupled with neverending heat, sunshine, and humidity. Still, people spent time together in the open spaces of the villages, at church buildings, and around tables both indoors and outdoors. Food, dancing, singing, outdoor play, and church life were components of daily life in Samoa. School was less of a priority, which created obstacles for me as a teacher. Although I still believe deeply in the significance and value of education, I now have a greater appreciation for the things of life they see as normal, which I tend to rush past or deem unnecessary. I now realize I should have taken it less personally when kids missed class for days or weeks at a time for church practice or mourning the loss of a loved one. Because it was common for meetings to start an hour or more late, I learned to take a book or work to do so that the time didn’t seem like a waste when the meeting never even happened. By the end of the year, just a month or so before we left, I had developed a better command of the language, which allowed me to integrate more fully into the community. For all the invitations we received, I wish we had taken the time to stop and eat with people and practice Samoan more and earlier in our stay. While it’s good and helpful to spend time with other Americans, the local experience is more rich when you take an interest in the local people, learning their customs and language.