First day of adventures in AmSam

Remember, Pago Pago is pronounced Pahngo Pahngo.

There are 23 World Teacher's in our group. Our bedroom for the next 3 weeks is a classroom (I will get a picture of this, asap!) and we sleep on foam mattresses that are suprisingly comfy. On Day One, all of us were awake extremely early. I was up by 5:15, and ready to go. The view from our second floor "balcony" (remember we are living in a school), is of the beautiful bay in my last post. The sun rises right in front of Nu'uuli, so we all stared in awe as this beautiful, lush, green world exploded in light around us. 

As we ate our cereal and glanced around, cars and trucks started making their way around the island. People drive expensive, nice cars here. I've seen everything from an Escalade to fancy Jeeps, to SUV's. No one drives a beater car, and if they do, it's barely 'beaten.' Trucks are the most common because it's the easiest way to carry all your family and friends! People pile into the truck bed and cruise along with the island breeze. Hitchhiking is perfectly acceptable here, you just have to be smart and have a hitchhiker buddy!

The rest of Day One consisted of a fun morning and afternoon spent at Utulei Beach Park in Utulei. To get there, we took a 15 minute coastal drive. Yep, it really does look like this:

We played icebreaker games, learned about WorldTeach, and discussed what our expectations of ourselves and our fellow volunteers are throughout our year in Paradise. All of us are nervous to be teachers, but we're also extremely excited to get to our placements. School starts on August 8, so that's pretty much right around the corner!

Our afternoon was spent doing a scavenger hunt in Fagatogo (Fahngahtohngo). We had to take a picture with a Post Office worker, we had to ask Samoan's what Fa'asamoa means. Fa'asamoa means the "Samoan way of life," something I am sure I will get used to once I settle in. My first true meal in AmSam was a delicious plate of Filipino food. I thought it was funny and a bit ironic.

The portions are gigantic and this only cost $4.75. Check out those veggies! Hurray!

We finished Day One with a language lesson, something that will be very helpful throughout our time here. My goal is to learn as much of the language as I possibly can. Talofa lava! O ai lou igoa? Ua mai oe? Hello! What is your name? How are you?

Here's a few more pictures of what I have seen and experienced the past few days. Malo! (Bye!)

Our view to the left of Nu'uuli Voc. Tech. HS

To the right of Utulei Beach Park. The huts are called Fale's (Faahlay's).

Utulei Beach!

Not bad, eh?