The Little Things...

Hey, everybody...its time for another wonderful post by the always charming JOE...uh, yeah...anyways, im doin good here...once again, its been a hectic week...so, as i always say but never achieve, im gonna make this post short and sweet...

the above image is of krystal burger...its the best burger joint on island...besides, of course, mcdonalds...they have really yummy teriyake burgers and banana splits...its so greasy and fattening...yet really good...and cheap...but dont look in their kitchen...its pretty disgusting...we dont think of the kitchen though while we're sinking our teeth into deliciousness...and if you think it looks ghetto in the pic, thats cause it is...remember, this is american samoa (pronounced sah-moa) not the states...we take what we can get here...even if its krystal burger...

this is kinda a dumb picture...just looks like a bunch of bright dots to you guys...we took a drive up one of the mountains last thursday night with a friend and i took this picture of the island...like i said, it didnt turn out that great, but i do like how the lights just stop in the distance...and then its pure blackness...nothingness...its obviously the ocean, and it sorta reminded me of how random this experience is...im in the middle of nowhere...in the middle of an unfathomably vast, profoundly dark, anciently cold ocean on a tiny, seemingly insignificant dormant volcano...though it seems insignificant compared to the rest of the world, to us, the islanders and i, its our life...our lives are floating in the middle of an infinetly sinister and grave sea...and those bright dots in the picture remind me of where our lives end and the mystery of the deep begins...i feel so small...

this is a group picture that we took at the top of the mountain...thats lisa, our friend jon, and his brother...i dont know his name...he speaks very little english, so its hard to communicate with him...while we were up there, jon told us a samoan ghost story that involved human sacrifices that were performed hundreds of years ago right where we stood...and that the ghosts still haunt people to this day...for example, an all girls school was built on the sacred, eerie ground and it had to be closed down because the girls were going insane...i know, its sounds corny (whats up with all scary stories dealing with psychotic, haunted children?...is that an innate fear in all of us?)...but it was scary at the time he told us...well, told lisa...so, yeah...

no, this is not oprah's samoan mansion...or american samoa's version of dynasty...its a big, beautiful house of a family's that we went to on sunday to have brunch with...isnt it grand?!...im usually not into huge houses but i think being here on the island has made me appreciate the wonder in having a gigantic house...the family started a recycling service here on the island and are now raking in the dough...i felt like royalty walking up to it...

you know, since being on this island, i have obviously started to realize and notice the little things that make me happy...one of them is interior design!...now dont get me wrong, im not some nate berkus/martha stewart/flaming interior decorator...but while being in this house, i definetly noticed the beauty of nice furniture and elegant decor...i felt like i was in the states...it was like heaven...it probably doesnt seem like much to you guys...but to me this house was gorgeous...breathtaking...and it even had A.C.!...oh, states!...im coming home...soon...and you, too, pier one imports! ;-)

look kids, a normal, attractively designed kitchen...with wonderful wood work and sleek appliances?...no way!...way!...and did i mention the pie and bundt cake they served?...hallelujah...

their driveway...with their initials at the center...so hollywood...but as you can see in the distance, the ghettoness and poverty of american samoa is just a doorstep away...

once again, just wanted to show how the poor surround the house...though i make it seem like the poor islanders live horrible, tragic lives (how can they live in those decrepit houses?!...theres no nice furniture and elegant decor?!...what lives?!), i do believe that they dont mind or dont even realize theyre poor...theyre fine with their lives...and happy with their families...who needs stainless steel kitchen appliances?...besides me, of course...

our second home...i used to think mcdonalds was a evil corporation attempting to take over the world and make everyone fat and die of heart disease...i still believe this, but it still makes me happy while being here...and as evil as this place may be, it still has the best costumer service and reliable, consistent food of any place in the world...so, mcdonalds is now a friend of mine...as i said, a second home...no matter where im at on the globe, ill have a mcdonalds to lean on...did i tell you guys?...after im done with american samoa, im teaching in africa!...where theres probably a mickey d's hamburger palace right down the savannah...yay!...(oh, im joking about the african teaching...though africa has been capturing my imagination lately)...

just a picture of a church...theyre all over the place on this rock...

okay, here's my weekly list...dont forget to send me yours...thanks to judy lou for always having delightfully interesting, sometimes very odd, obsessions...and i thought i had O.C.D. :-) (j.k.)

My Top Five Obsessions of the Week:

5. Aveeno = i know, is this not the gayest obsession ever!?...but, man, has it made my face feel and look so fresh and so clean, clean...this moisturizer is heaven sent...the skin brightening daily exfoliation scrub is excellent for palagi skin here in american samoa...and the ultra-calming lotion is great for my irritated, rosy face...thanks to mi madre for buying the stuff for me...its obviously not available on the island...and its kinda expensive...AND it makes me look 10 years younger!...

4. Corinne Bailey Rae = soccer moms, college radio, jazz lovers, and norah jones fans rejoice!...its the next norah jones...her voice is wonderful and her easy-listening, soulful music is calm and beautiful...very sheek and bluesy and greys anatomy-ish...perfect for those relaxing, wine-induced candle lit nights...i dont have those here, but her cd makes me long for them...in other words, shawn, buy the album...very cool music...or at least, download "like a star", "put your records on", and "trouble sleeping"...

3. Top Chef = say it aint so!?...dare i say it?!...i think this reality show is better than survivor!...well, better than this season of survivor...i know ive stressed the merit of this show to many of you since last year...and many of you say that its too hard to watch the food being made and then not being able to eat it...well, thats true...but its also not really about the food...just like project runway, its about the ingenius creativity and thrilling challenges shown on the show...maybe its just me, but creating such stunning art (and believe the fat guy when he says food can be art) from nothing...or from vending machine munchies...plus, you can get the recipes online...so there...watch it...

2. Not Chewing on My Cheeks = okay, most of you know my issue with chewing on the insides of my cheeks...its been a (nervous?) habit since i was little...in fact, since i was in preschool...i remember my teacher's assitant used to do it...and i think i learned it from her...anyways, i dont think it really effected my health...i mean, eating your cheeks isnt dangerous or anything...but i do think that people thought i was some kinda weirdo with my lips pushed to the side of my face gouging my cheeks out...anyways, ive stopped the addiction...and im really proud of myself...its hard to quit a life long habit, and im dying to just bite one more time...but im not going to...next habit to break, the biting of my cuticals...that one is gonna be tough...too bad they dont have patches for habitual oral obsessions...

1. Poetry = yes, the nerdy english teacher has just said poetry is his top obsession of the week...but im teaching it this unit, and i think poetry can be a powerfully moving thing...i used to hate poetry...i remember despising the way teachers taught it...iambic pentameters and rhyming and comlex metaphors...i just thought it was the dumbest, most difficult thing to understand and enjoy...but now, after ive realized that rhyming and iambic pentameter doesnt need to be in it, i have realized the force and loveliness of good, simple poetry...it can be incredibly insightful to the emotions of the human experience...through just a few words, the reader can gain an astute understanding of nature, life, and the writers' experiences...and i hope to teach my students this...i actually have an assignment for all of you...im gonna put two of my lesson activities for writing poetry on this post...and ill put my examples on, too...these are great structures for beginning poetry writers...helps them to organize their ideas...i think itd be wonderful if you found time in your hella busy schedules to write a poem using one of the two formats and send them to me...once again, i think poetry can inspire you to look at your life and your experiences more closely...so, come on kids, lets write some poetry...

BioPoems:

this is a highly restrictive poem format...but its excellent for those less creative...or less confident poetry writers...choose a person to write the poem about...

Line 1: First name.
Line 2: Four traits that describe person.
Line 3: Relative (brother, sister, friend, etc.) of…
Line 4: Lover of… (three things or people)
Line 5: Who feels… (three items)
Line 6: Who needs… (three items)
Line 7: Who fears… (three items)
Line 8: Who gives… (three items)
Line 9: Who would like to see… (three items)
Line 10: Resident of…
Line 11: Last name.

here's my example i did for my students...it was a little difficult to do one on a child...especially my own niece...

Charlie Rose.
Jubilant, thoughtful, spirited, dazzling.
Niece and friend of mine.
Lover of hula-hooping, dancing, and laughing.
Who feels eager to grow,
motherly to her siblings,
and compassion towards outcasts.
Who needs music, movies, and mac 'n' cheese.
Who fears failure, irresponsibility, and ignorance.
Who gives help to her mother,
respect to her father,
and smiles to me.
Who would like to see the world,
A’s on her report card,
and everyone pleased.
Resident of my heart.

Salter.

I'm From Poems:

i absolutely adore this activity...if this doesnt force you to look at your life and your experiences with a keener eye i dont know what will...here's a link to the format...the orginal poem is on the left to follow...read the poem and then use the structure on the right to complete your own "im from" poem...you may want to print it out...

http://www.bright.net/~dlackey/wherefrom.pdf

like i said, use his and mine as examples...here's mine...

"Where I'm From"

I am from my mother’s China cabinet,
from burnished brown wood and dirty crayon tins.
I am from bunk bed windows,
(Sunny and dark,
my childhood bittersweet.)
I am from backyard lilacs,
the suburban greens,
whose puddles of shade
I rode through
and played.
I’m from “Happy Birthday Jesus” and copper tops,
from Patricia and Lawrence.
I’m from sarcasm
and addiction,
from the “I won’t do it agains”
and the goodnight kisses.

I’m from sleepy Sunday pews
and communions of blue,
still questioning the snowy hills of heaven.
I’m from Waukesha and Hartwell,
ring bologna and fish sticks.
From the night my naked father slept walked
toward my teenage mother’s home
to the morning my baby sister was born
with a pair of belly buttons all her own.
I am from these stories
of my mother performing miracles,
warm and magical.

In the library of glass
was my mother’s forgotten yearbook,
gray pages of her faded youth
scribbled and written on,
a past of secrets and memories,
forever signed and claimed.
I am from that woman --
A high school cheerleader with wondrous dreams
long before that China cabinet

and long before me.


okay, i wanna see some poems...ill probably get none...but i tried...hoped you enjoyed my poems...(shawn, dana, and ma...did ya catch all the symbolic details?...the double meanings?...and i hope i didnt make mama feel uncomfortable or anything)...

love ya and miss ya,

-JOE

"Travel not only stirs the blood...It also gives strength to the spirit."

-Florence Prag Kahn