Home of the Mighty Warriors

Malo! How ya'll doin? Oh, im okay...i had a sort of boring night...so im a little homesick...but im sure ill be over it by morning time tomorrow...anyways, here are some pics of my school that im teaching at...tafuna high school...the first one is of our gym...like everything on this island, when i first saw it i was amazed that that was a gym...but now, im so used to it being our gym that i dont even know what else our gym could be like...its pretty nice actually...though, ill tell you guys later in this post some of the things that are making me angry here as a teacher...

...the second pic is of our bathrooms...those are the ones the students use...notice no soap...no need for soap here in the big ole A.S....their immune systems are so healthy here...you know, to tell you the truth, i was never a big soap person anyways...i mean, i never wash my hands after i pee...when it rains (and it rains a lot during the current wet season), the front of the bathrooms flood...and theres a lake of puddles...i dont know why they dont build nicer bathrooms...i feel so bad for the kids who have to use those...i suppose there's a lot of reasons why...they dont have the money is probably the biggest one...the government here is very corrupt...and i guess thats a huge problem for many small islands...but i guess the government in the states is corrupt too...and thats a big island...its just more noticable and easier to catch on a small island...they could also just be lazy...they dont have a real urge to change things that dont NEED to be changed...they're complacent...which has its positives and negatives of course...one of the negatives being these run-down, ghetto bathrooms...i kinda like how in the states we'd have complaining parents and maybe even fund-raisers to build nicer bathrooms...i sorta miss that about the states...our drive and determination to make things better...today!...just that simple idea is so a part of our lifestyles and culture that we dont really know its there...everyday we have lists and we try to complete those lists...its like in my blood or soul or something...i want things done TODAY...maybe it comes from way back in the day with the American puritan work ethic or our blue-collar, german ancestry...whatever it is, we're hard workers and we take pride in our things...even our bathrooms..."Git' er Done"...as we like to say...but i suppose, on the flip, American Samoa side, theres more things to fret about in this world...and maybe we should slow down, smell the roses, and relax and spend the days we do have left with our friends and family...whatever lifestyle is "better", i still think nice bathrooms are a plus...

...the third pic is of the first football game i went to...ive actually been a good boy and have went to all the games so far...football is ginormously popular here...(our vice princible is actually an ex-first round draft pic for the NFL)...and their high school football games are different than in the states...they have all their games at the stadium on saturday afternoon...and all the high school teams play on that day...of course, theres only like 6 high schools here on the island...so its like one big day of football...but you can just go for your game if you want...which is what i do...but many of the kids stay all day there and socialize...its one of the few things to do on the island...the Tafuna Warriors actually won the championship last year...but the other big teams are the Samoana Sharks...Leone Lions...and the Fa'agutua Vikings...as much as i find some of the football stuff annoying...for example, we cancel class or shorten class constantly to have pep rallys...and many of the boys dream of being the next NFL star and that that will be their ticket off of the island, but of course, that dream often doesnt come true...the games though and what the sport teaches young men and the team spirit that the kids have is actually a lot of fun and really exciting and motivational...so...GO WARRIORS!...oh, and i have video i taped on my camera of one of the pep rallys...i think ive said this before, but their cheers and stuff are awesome...and their claps...they're so in unison that they sound like an army...with thunderous and powerful spirit and passion...its hard to explain...and im hoping to show the vidoe online when and if i have high speed...but you'd definetly never see that kind of energy and school unity at a high school in the states...oh, and look at the mountains in the background...very awe-inspiring...

k, one of the big issues lisa and i are having on the island is the use of corporal punishment...yes, its done here by administrators to the students...usually under the table...but sometimes very blatently...i guess our V.P...Mr. Samoa Samoa (that ex-NFL player)...used to have naughty kids hug our huge metal bell as he would hit them with a stick...kinda crazy and sad and barbaric...now, though, its a little more secret or not as harsh...like the other day we had an assembly and two boys were talking while Mr. Samoa Samoa, who the kids fear but definetly respect, was talking...well, he saw them talking and he made them stand up...in front of the whole school (about 1400 staff and students)...and they had to slap eachother...on the face...with puffed cheeks...(i guess blowing up your cheeks makes the slap hurt more)...and the boys did it pretty hard, too...but i know they knew that Samoa Samoa wouldnt have let them get away with a wussy hit...so that was kinda shocking to see...actually, VERY shocking...just imagine if that happened in the states...anyways, last week a couple of students stole lisa's teacher's edition of her textbook...well, she reported it to administration...they found the boys and hit them with the book over their heads right in front of lisa...needless to say, lisa was very upset about this...and she even debated leaving because she didnt want to support this kind of treatment of children...or human beings for that matter...i guess its in their culture to be disciplined that way...like they're used to it...its happened since they were children...but that doesnt make it okay, does it?...

im sorta torn on the issue myself...i know many of you would think I, the guy who truly respects and loves children, would be totally against this kind of treatment of them...and i think i would be angry and saddened if it happened in the states...but for some reason, here on this island, it seems to be working...sure it might be inhumane and mean and, if you think about it, just plain stupid...(theres obviously other ways to solve problems)...but the kids here are so respectful of adults and school and church and parents...that its hard to argue or try to change minds...but that respect might simply root from their fear...and it probably does...actually, i know it does...many of these people on the island live fake lives because they fear persecution from God and family and the community...and many of my students, though they love and sing and pray to the Lord every morning, say that they only go to church because it gives them something to do and that if they didnt their parents would "beat them"...so does the fear of a beating (and Hell) and respect go hand-in-hand?...maybe...and im not about to change that...i didnt come here to change a culture...sure i might like to inspire them in adopting new ways of thinking...but i have no right to come to this island and tell them that the way they're raising their children for hundreds of years is wrong and "inhumane"...all i do know is that im going to NEVER allow that to happen in my classroom or to my students under my supervision...i know i might be confusing you guys...i mean, i was just saying that the corporal punishment seems to be working...but if i ever saw one of my students, who i have worked with and cared for and befriended, get hit by an adult or be made to feel degraded or small...i'd go medieval...so, in other words, im trying to just keep my small bubble of a classroom as safe and peaceful and comfortable and human and as loving as possible...its little and not really changing anything...but its all i can really do, right?...besides, when my kids are being disrespectful, i just make them sweep my floors or clean the cobwebs or wipe my tables! :-) though, i betcha a million dollars, even that would be considered corporal punishment in the states...im sure id get a call from a parent...

...alright, that was a long post...but i had to get that off my chest...i know my thoughts on this "smacking the naughty teenagers" issue is kind of confusing...but thats because they are...almost all of the things ive been challenged with here have been puzzling and double-sided...i mean, i have mixed emotions about it...ive been taught all my life one thing (that violence is bad) and then im faced with another thing (that violence might work...or is this "tough love"?)...either way, like i said, all im going to do is respect, admire, teach, and learn from my students...and i hope that i never have to deal with a situation like this...especially in MY classroom...Hell's No!...k, bye ya'll!

-JOE

p.s. i noticed i need to be careful of what i say on this here blog...i didnt really watch my mouth today...but in the future...remind me...the whole world can read this...including Samoans ;-)

p.s.s. I'm gonna give you my top five movies of the year so far...yes, im going through movie withdrawals...dont even ask me how im going to survive this Oscar season...ill be watching the Oscars two weeks after they happen if at all!...but i guess thats why im here...to see what kind of person i am without the movies...did i just say that?!?

5. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (though not nearly as good as the first one, its still a must see for any Captain Jack Sparrow fans)

4. Eight Below (Paul Walker plus adorably brave dogs = "no, i'm not crying! there's just something in my eye")

3. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (the highly quotable baby jesus prayer at the dinner table is hilariously worth the price of admission)

2. Cars (though not the best Pixar flick, it still did the amazing job of making me care and fall in love with a town full of talking cars)

1. Monster House (a C.G.I Goonies with adventure, tons of belly laughs, and wonderful characters...and also a great commentary on the horror and fear of becoming an adult...which, of course, i can relate to)

p.s.s. for all you survivor and teacher fans:
http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1532220_3_0_,00.html
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,1531947_21_0_,00.html

*Please, leave me your favorite movies of the year...remember, dont make me jealous cause i cant see very many movies...(that goes to all you Little Miss Sunshine fans)...also, give me some advice on the problem im facing here...bye!

"It's where we go, and what we do when we get there, that
tells us who we are."
-Joyce Carol Oates