Venting and Running

As much as I love my life here in American Samoa, it in no way replaces my love for home sweet home Illinois. While my life in Illinois might not be as exciting or adventurous as my life in Pua Pua/Leone, it is still home to many people, places, and things that I love.

AmSam doesn’t have my family. Sometimes it’s hard to come home to an empty house and not be greeted with a big hug. Thankfully, I have now been graced with a computer at school and faster internet so I can Skype them more often.

AmSam doesn’t have my BFF’s. While my best friends are scattered all over the place, it’s still hard to be so far away from them. Sometimes I just want to call them up and go out for coffee!

AmSam doesn’t have fast internet. I shouldn’t be complaining about this at all because some people don’t have internet, but when it creeps at glacier pace, I get a tad annoyed. I’ve gotten used to it, but sometimes I’d really like to load a TV show or watch a Youtube and not have to wait 10 hours. A girl can only dream.

AmSam has really expensive strawberries. They sell them at the KS Mart for $9 a pint/box/whatever that thing is called. $9. NINE DOLLARS. WHAT. The sad thing is, no one ever buys them so they get moldy and then probably get thrown away. While it’s not really strawberry season at home anymore, the warm weather here (and summer hasn’t even arrived yet!) makes me crave them even more. [Random, I know.]

That’s all I really have to vent about right now. I’m a bit under the weather but the tea I’m drinking and the cool night breeze is a little rejuvenating. TGIF by the way. It’s no fun to teach when you’re feeling sick (actually, it’s awful in every way) so I rewarded my classes with a movie today. What did we watch? The Little Rascals. After a malfunction with the movie I brought, it was the only other DVD I could find at school. Turns out that it was the perfect choice. Nothing is more entertaining than being in a room full of 16 and 17 year old Samoans who are watching Alfalfa and Spanky dance around in tutus. I’m telling you, Samoans have some of the biggest belly laughs (more like full body laughs) I have ever seen and heard. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but they literally use their entire body to laugh.

In other news, have I mentioned that I’m starting a running club at school? I got the approval from my principal last week and on the day I posted the flier that advertised for the club, I already had 30+ students signed up by 1:30 in the afternoon. As of today I have over 50 signed up!! Students I don’t even teach or know have come by my classroom to add their name on the list. I’ve got a pretty good mix of boys and girls, too! We have our first meeting on Monday. I’m a bit anxious about how I’m going to handle a classroom of 50+ kids (actually, I’m just anxious about them being quiet enough so everyone can hear me) but I’m ready to hit the road running with them! I will keep you updated on how Coach Quinn survives her first week of trying to get a group of kids in shape.

For now, I must go to sleep. I’m always ready for bed by 8:00 (or so it seems) on Friday. It’s hard to believe that I was in Apia a week ago – how fast time flies.

Manuia le po and manuia le weekend!