Oh, How I Miss the American Teenager!
Hey, everybody!...Sorry, I haven't posted in a while...im sure all of you were losing sleep because there were no new updates from me...but ive had a pretty busy week and its such a hassle to upload pics on my dial-up...and i know ive said since my first post that i'd be getting high-speed, but now there's a another wrinkle in that plan...i mean, ill be getting it but its gonna take even longer than i planned...ill tell you why in a minute...anyways, im hoping this will be a short post...
first of all, here are some pics of the tessarea...in vaitogi village...this is the hotel we had to stay at for the first week and a half because they didnt have our house ready...when we first got to the hotel we thought it was pretty ghetto and run-down...but, now when we look back, it was actually very nice and we kinda miss it...it had a excellent pool that we swam in nightly...our rooms were cleaned and our towels changed every day...and we had A.C...and it was kinda fun to live all together...the hotel isnt that big (maybe about 10 rooms), and we all lived down the same hall...so it was kinda like a dorm...without the bunk beds, beer, and bob marley posters...the lady who took care of the hotel, selai, was awesome...she was fijian, and we bought her a cake after we left because she really made us feel more at home and more comfortable that first week of being here...she was kinda like our mommy here in american samoa...but not really, cause no one can take the place of our mommies ;-)
...as you can see, this is a picture of what was right outside our hotel...i wanted to show this pic because it looks like our hotel was a five-star, exotic, tropical paradise...but right outside our doors was what most of american samoa looks like...its like a third-world country next door to a modern, industrialized world...its such a hodgepodge of weirdness and contradictions here...its a modern, capitalist america mixed with a third-world-like poverty...and a pinch of primitiveness...i cant even really compare this place to any other place...its like the twilight zone...i guess the best way to explain it is its sort of like a juicy concoction of mexico, the philippines, calcutta, hawaii, and los angeles all melded together in one big 7/11 of the south pacific...a pile of destitute deliciousness where youll find a wild, diseased dog walking by you as you eat your big mac and fries...and where youll find students that live, rustically isolated, in a shack in the middle of the rainforest at the foot of a mountain in the south pacific yet they can also rap the latest 50 Cent song while wearing the latest G-Unit apparel...and where you can see a contemporary english speaking flick at the theaters but then have trouble speaking to your taxi-driver cause all he speaks is traditional samoan...i think because of the american "ownership", protection and influence (our army base = their security), this island has become a collage of the old and new world...and it can be dizzying at times...and acutley beautiful at other times...
here's a pic of our kitchen at the hotel...it was actually kinda nice...though this was where i first saw the wonderful lizards and splendid cockroaches that flourish on the island, it was still pretty cool to have such a big kitchen with a big table to eat and play in...there was this one night when a family of intellectual, world-traveling yuppies were staying at the hotel and they made us dinner...we all sat at the huge table and eat curry and other indian dishes...it was soooooooo damn good...and the family talked about all their travels around the world...and their uber-knowledge of world politics, history, and culture...i felt so mediocre...their children (even the 6-year-old boy) probably saw more of this earth than i have in my 25 years...and he was probably hella smarter than me too...
k, now that ive talked about that, i quickly want to talk about a student of mine here in american samoa...as i think ive said before, the teenage high school students here are pretty respectful of adults...and theyre actually pretty loving and admiring of their parents...and theyre even thankful and reverant to their churches, communities, and culture...a little bit different than american teenage high school students...oh, and they're very, very, as you all know, religiously christian...they pray devoutly everyday...and they speak of their piousness and devotion to God constantly...this is all really good...i have a sort of respect and fondness for their dedication to conservative values...but theres also a sort of blind, closeminded, mob mentality attachment to these things...a insular, communal conformity (yes, im smarter than you so i can say stuff like that!...just kidding!)...no individualism...the individuality of a person, especially if their distinct and unique feelings are different than everybody elses, is frowned upon...its seen as selfish, worthless, and, even, evil...all samoans must be loyal and dutiful to their God, parents, community, and culture...
but i have this one student who is different than them all...or maybe not that he's different, its just that he actually expresses his non-commited feelings of open-mindedness...he recently wrote a paper disapproving of the practice of praying every morning in a public school (which we do)...he was critical of the practice because he thought it was a waste of educational time (most of the kids are robotically praying and singing anyways), a disrespect to the students who believe in something else (we have many Indian, Phillipeno, etc. students), and a slap in the face to the ideals of America (the separation of church and government is essential to a free society)...i couldnt believe that a samoan student wrote this paper...and he was willing to speak his mind about it, too...he wasnt afraid of being chastised at all...its pretty amazingly brave and admirable...we also read a famous sermon called "Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God" (i try to teach any literature dealing with religion because the students are fascinated and connected with it)...its all about this guy trying to inspire his congregation to change their sinfull ways before they all go to HELL...the kids all were captivated by it, loved it, and agreed with it...except for my one couragous student...he didnt believe in Hell...and he felt the minister was trying to scare his congregation...i couldnt believe that he believed this...and expressed this outloud to his fellow samoans...
now dont get me wrong, as i said, theres a special kind of goodness and simplicity in the samoan conformity to conservative values...but theres also a wonderfulness to the free-thinking individual...and the rebelliousness of challenging a set of beliefs and ways of life...this student really makes me miss the American teenager...as annoyingly disrespectful and unthankful many american teenagers are, they also are constantly questioning and exploring the world...they're always defiantly questioning why adults have made the world the way it is...there's something daringly magnificent about this very American notion...the importance of the individual and that individual's freedom to think and speak their mind is the beauty of America...and no one embraces this idea more than the American teenage high schooler...their disobedience and rebelliousness to the world their parents have given them is, or should be, surprisingly, admirable, precious, and inspiring...im sure once i move back to the states...or when i see my innocent niece charlie turn 16...or even when i have my own teenage child, i might change my mind about the infuriatingly difficult unruliness of the american teenager...but for now, in american samoa, im embracing and respecting it...and yearning for it...
k, once again...way too long of a post...well, i hope to go back to writing on this blog every other day...so dont forget to come and check up on me...ttyl...miss ya and love ya...
-JOE
p.s. some big news...we have a new house that we'll be moving into in about 2 weeks...ill tell you guys all about it in a future post...but two things about it (one bad and one good)...me and Lisa have to share it...and its actually pretty...
p.s.s. just finished a book called "The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant" by Dan Savage...its really, really excellent...im hoping to send it out to ya'll eventually...but you may want to just go get it yourself...its a good read...
"Travel is the best way we have of rescuing the humanity of places and saving them from abstraction and idealogy."
-Pico Iyer
first of all, here are some pics of the tessarea...in vaitogi village...this is the hotel we had to stay at for the first week and a half because they didnt have our house ready...when we first got to the hotel we thought it was pretty ghetto and run-down...but, now when we look back, it was actually very nice and we kinda miss it...it had a excellent pool that we swam in nightly...our rooms were cleaned and our towels changed every day...and we had A.C...and it was kinda fun to live all together...the hotel isnt that big (maybe about 10 rooms), and we all lived down the same hall...so it was kinda like a dorm...without the bunk beds, beer, and bob marley posters...the lady who took care of the hotel, selai, was awesome...she was fijian, and we bought her a cake after we left because she really made us feel more at home and more comfortable that first week of being here...she was kinda like our mommy here in american samoa...but not really, cause no one can take the place of our mommies ;-)
...as you can see, this is a picture of what was right outside our hotel...i wanted to show this pic because it looks like our hotel was a five-star, exotic, tropical paradise...but right outside our doors was what most of american samoa looks like...its like a third-world country next door to a modern, industrialized world...its such a hodgepodge of weirdness and contradictions here...its a modern, capitalist america mixed with a third-world-like poverty...and a pinch of primitiveness...i cant even really compare this place to any other place...its like the twilight zone...i guess the best way to explain it is its sort of like a juicy concoction of mexico, the philippines, calcutta, hawaii, and los angeles all melded together in one big 7/11 of the south pacific...a pile of destitute deliciousness where youll find a wild, diseased dog walking by you as you eat your big mac and fries...and where youll find students that live, rustically isolated, in a shack in the middle of the rainforest at the foot of a mountain in the south pacific yet they can also rap the latest 50 Cent song while wearing the latest G-Unit apparel...and where you can see a contemporary english speaking flick at the theaters but then have trouble speaking to your taxi-driver cause all he speaks is traditional samoan...i think because of the american "ownership", protection and influence (our army base = their security), this island has become a collage of the old and new world...and it can be dizzying at times...and acutley beautiful at other times...
here's a pic of our kitchen at the hotel...it was actually kinda nice...though this was where i first saw the wonderful lizards and splendid cockroaches that flourish on the island, it was still pretty cool to have such a big kitchen with a big table to eat and play in...there was this one night when a family of intellectual, world-traveling yuppies were staying at the hotel and they made us dinner...we all sat at the huge table and eat curry and other indian dishes...it was soooooooo damn good...and the family talked about all their travels around the world...and their uber-knowledge of world politics, history, and culture...i felt so mediocre...their children (even the 6-year-old boy) probably saw more of this earth than i have in my 25 years...and he was probably hella smarter than me too...
k, now that ive talked about that, i quickly want to talk about a student of mine here in american samoa...as i think ive said before, the teenage high school students here are pretty respectful of adults...and theyre actually pretty loving and admiring of their parents...and theyre even thankful and reverant to their churches, communities, and culture...a little bit different than american teenage high school students...oh, and they're very, very, as you all know, religiously christian...they pray devoutly everyday...and they speak of their piousness and devotion to God constantly...this is all really good...i have a sort of respect and fondness for their dedication to conservative values...but theres also a sort of blind, closeminded, mob mentality attachment to these things...a insular, communal conformity (yes, im smarter than you so i can say stuff like that!...just kidding!)...no individualism...the individuality of a person, especially if their distinct and unique feelings are different than everybody elses, is frowned upon...its seen as selfish, worthless, and, even, evil...all samoans must be loyal and dutiful to their God, parents, community, and culture...
but i have this one student who is different than them all...or maybe not that he's different, its just that he actually expresses his non-commited feelings of open-mindedness...he recently wrote a paper disapproving of the practice of praying every morning in a public school (which we do)...he was critical of the practice because he thought it was a waste of educational time (most of the kids are robotically praying and singing anyways), a disrespect to the students who believe in something else (we have many Indian, Phillipeno, etc. students), and a slap in the face to the ideals of America (the separation of church and government is essential to a free society)...i couldnt believe that a samoan student wrote this paper...and he was willing to speak his mind about it, too...he wasnt afraid of being chastised at all...its pretty amazingly brave and admirable...we also read a famous sermon called "Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God" (i try to teach any literature dealing with religion because the students are fascinated and connected with it)...its all about this guy trying to inspire his congregation to change their sinfull ways before they all go to HELL...the kids all were captivated by it, loved it, and agreed with it...except for my one couragous student...he didnt believe in Hell...and he felt the minister was trying to scare his congregation...i couldnt believe that he believed this...and expressed this outloud to his fellow samoans...
now dont get me wrong, as i said, theres a special kind of goodness and simplicity in the samoan conformity to conservative values...but theres also a wonderfulness to the free-thinking individual...and the rebelliousness of challenging a set of beliefs and ways of life...this student really makes me miss the American teenager...as annoyingly disrespectful and unthankful many american teenagers are, they also are constantly questioning and exploring the world...they're always defiantly questioning why adults have made the world the way it is...there's something daringly magnificent about this very American notion...the importance of the individual and that individual's freedom to think and speak their mind is the beauty of America...and no one embraces this idea more than the American teenage high schooler...their disobedience and rebelliousness to the world their parents have given them is, or should be, surprisingly, admirable, precious, and inspiring...im sure once i move back to the states...or when i see my innocent niece charlie turn 16...or even when i have my own teenage child, i might change my mind about the infuriatingly difficult unruliness of the american teenager...but for now, in american samoa, im embracing and respecting it...and yearning for it...
k, once again...way too long of a post...well, i hope to go back to writing on this blog every other day...so dont forget to come and check up on me...ttyl...miss ya and love ya...
-JOE
p.s. some big news...we have a new house that we'll be moving into in about 2 weeks...ill tell you guys all about it in a future post...but two things about it (one bad and one good)...me and Lisa have to share it...and its actually pretty...
p.s.s. just finished a book called "The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant" by Dan Savage...its really, really excellent...im hoping to send it out to ya'll eventually...but you may want to just go get it yourself...its a good read...
"Travel is the best way we have of rescuing the humanity of places and saving them from abstraction and idealogy."
-Pico Iyer
posted by Samoa Joe at 6:34 PM
3 Comments:
Joe! SO glad you emailed the link to this site to me :) The degenerates in the UWM English Ed program have missed you and Lisa terribly. I'll be sure to email them all the link so they can catch up on all the news and adventures.
As for the American teenager - well, you may miss that creature now, but it could be a case of "absence makes the heart grow fonder" - though I honestly have to say that for the most part I really enjoy the students I'm working with here in Mil-town.
Glad you survived your wander through the mountains - but you should have known better than to listen to some crazy white guy (just ask my students, they'll tell you) :)
Don't want to overload your blog with a huge comment, so I'll keep it brief. I'll definitely be checking up on you through here (if nothing else, to hear about the hot guys in their lava lavas!). Take care, keep safe, and if you or Lisa would like to work out a pen pal program, let me know. I have a total of about 60 middle school students (but many of them are older than your typical MS student given the nature of the school I'm at), so if you have a few Samoans that would enjoy being corrupted by some crazy Americans, let me know :)
'Till later -
-Carla
Hey Joe, sorry we haven't met yet. I think I actually saw you at a Tafuna volleyball game the other day, but I had my hands full with my kids.
Anyhow, welcome to the island. Sounds like you're enjoying AmSam's little quirks.
Hey There!!! Accidentally came upon your blog and found it interesting and eyeopening. Being that I am a product of the A.S. educational system, I am also one of those rebellious free thinking individuals who never gives up an opportunity to show what a smartaleck she is; and I obviously want to exploit all that is good in the American Samoan teenager, but I won't do that.
Anyway just wanted to say, don't lose hope; you are in the midst of free thinking individuals, what with just a little helping hand, will be ready to tackle the world, or at least the small island of American Samoa.
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