requesting resources from..

the latest resources I need from the internet internet internet...of which I don't have much time on..If cyberspace is reading, please send me some of this stuff...please....


Activities that use a computer that utilize critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Activities to do with my year 9 students who need extra help reading. I guess it would be a remedial reading class

Plyometric exercises. I did some of these in the YMCA and I want to teach them to the students. They build body agility and speed. I think it would make them better rugby and netball players, which are both very popular sports in Samoa. Are there printable exercises? And/Or instructions?

Printable Drum/snare drum rudiments /drum set exercises. There is a pastor’s son who plays piano, drums, and guitar in church. I want to teach him some more about drums. I want some printed drum exercises...for snare drum or drum set.

electricity's skyward climb meets NZ visitors

in the pics: some year 12 students from Lefaga school at the National Science fair in Apia. Their project was to use fusia (sp?) leaves to make bleach to clean clothes. they got some money..so all our students could get some ice cream...yummy!

/Work day at school...cementing a rock fence and putting up barbed wire; notice that the bag says PORTLAND cement! I miss portland (OR).

9/6
Yo..I finally got the package from my mom!! It had been sitting in the post office in Apia for a month. I hadn’t gotten a yellow card telling me there was a package waiting, so I decided to drop by the parcel office to see it had happened to appear. Yes it had..and now I have some white albacore tuna, battery for my head lamp, and some towels, skittles, among other things. I like getting packages;)

9/1
My mom sent me a nice card with a big hug, and a note inside that she is very concerned about my weight loss. I’m not concerned about my weight loss. She sent me an article about “oral rehydraytion” ....ahhhh...drink another coconut. Those are yummy. The weight i’m losing is being transfered into muscle. The food i’m eating is fresh—killed the same day or week, and no preservatives. Tonight for dinner I had fried pieces of pig (very yummy with tamato sauce),, chicken and and cucumber soup, and breadfruit. My tummy was very full. I’m sure I’m getting enough calories, they are just a different kind. So mom if you’re reading this—DON’T WORRY! I’m OK. I will let you know when i’m not OK. I wonder how i will adjust to the food back home. And if I will still want to drink milk...

8/31
I’m reading the Saturday Samoan Observer, probably the largest newspaper in Samoa. Many interesting articles, some garbage..thingss I’m not interested in. here’s one i like “The economy is great, so what?” “many wonder, however, what all thi praise of our economic growth has got to do with them. for them there is growth alright—in the electricity bill, in the fuel bill and in the food bill, just to mention the basics.”
“what is needed however, especially to the people who live in Samoa, are studies with smaller scopes—studies for example, which reveal the relation begtween wages and daily expenses. Studies which explain why it is that this economic growth we are having is not imapcting positively at the household level.”
It’s interesting to see this from a groundlevel prospective. I looked at the new electricity bill for the school today. It was about $258. that’s a lot it seems. The surcharge was marked at 45.something%. my pricipal told me it’s going up to 47% soon. Up and up and up.
“the motivation and drive to cultivate the land musts come from within families because only they know what is good for them and how to go about it.”
I’ve read some WorldBank reports, i have not seen any reports about “household level impact of a ‘booming’ economy.”

I read a Boystown annual report. I like their model using the tree with the words...play, professional, preventive, presence, paraental invovlement, positive, plan, personal at the roots. At the top: generosity, mastery, belonging, independence. I think those are good words.

8/30
Today’s mission in Apia—meet the girl Anna before she goes back to NZ. And buy stuff for my Samoan family—including a box of chicken (pusa moa), printing some pictures of the remodeled fale, some milk toffees, 3 loaves of bread, and taking the Safata bus back to Lefaga. It passes through Lefaga, but does not go down to the ocean, so I had a LONG walk with another boy from my village. He carried the box of chicken. I carried the half full bucket, and my backpack.

I finished watching an episode of Heroes. Some thoughts…
“what difference does it make?” I think it makes a big difference what you’re trying to do in the world, even if it seems small. If you don’t do it, who will? I think everyone has a special power, even if it is not some super cool thing like stopping all time with your mind, or flying. Let’s be real here, but also optimistic.
“Who is an ally and who stands in the way.” I don’t think anyone has to stand in the way. The episode showed one of the characters holding a gun. I don’t think there ever has to be a gun involved, but I might be jaded/biased…towards peace…that’s why I’m in PC and not the marines, or the Air Force…oh I tried…
“We won’t be family anymore.” One of the characters who can’t die talking to her brother who wants to tell the parents about the “special powers.” Family is important. Is it strong enough to hold the bonds through this?

Khakis cutting edge skates for love

in the pics: the bike...it has a spider web on it. I was admiring the creativity of the students with their bicycles; the juggling circus of Lefaga secondary school...well, we had one of our sports days with many activities, juggling among them; dictionaries, not all of them are alike. the learners dictionary...I like this one much better. It gives one or two example sentences with each word. I'm learning how much it takes to learn another language, and what it really takes to teach it well.

8/27
I went swimming today, around the protected area. High tide, water sloshed me up and down. Two blue star fish I spied from above floating in the blue. I just started reading the Kalevala—a Finnish ‘epic’ it’s long (666 pages), that’s for sure.

8/26
Tonight, a late dinner. the vice principal’s wife just arrived in Samoa from Solomona (meaning Solomon Islands). the usual procedure: exchanging words. I still don’t understand most of the words, the giving of money (I got $30 tala), and THEN we get to eat: supo povi (beef soup), moa flai (fried chicken), and ulu (breadfruit). it was pretty good. then, to the cold shower.

Many works today to prepare for the big visit...the visit from the Ministry of Education that happens tomorrow. I had three students in the computer lab helping me clean the dust dust dust everywhere.

It is weird to find something from a long time ago...OK so it wasn’t so long ago. Last Friday I stayed in the village, and went to the dance at my Samoan family’s house. I wore my long slacks/khakis...for the first time since being in Samoa. And I found a piece of paper with my random notes on it from right before I came to samoa. Hmmmm..i was trying to fix my mom’s computer, reading “leaving town alive,” finding the schedule for the busses in Portland, and trying to figure out how to play DVDs on my laptop. Now it has my next shopping list for Apia (sandles, tacks, spaghetti, cheese, pnut butter, pictures of fale, box of chicken).


8/23
I spent Saturday night and most of Sunday at Norman’s house—the NUS student i help with computers, English and drumming. He is the drummer for the church choir. The drumset needs new drum heads and a ride cymbal, but we made some good jams with Norman on keys and Mataio on drums. Coming soon...jamming folk/blues at Erik’s place. I don’t have a drum to bring. I guess i’ll have to be creative. I also found an awesome place to run…up the hill and through the plantations at SAvaia uta (away from the ocean). Rocky, green, quiet. Coconut trees sway in the wind. It would also be a good bike ride, but it’s straight up with no flat parts. All up. All down. We watched a movie called “Cutting Edge.” I though of my mom because she likes ice skating and this was a skating movie—and a love story…I guess I like that too…and the girl was cute. And I like a girl that can fight back; hold her ground. And beat a boy at his own game once in a while.

fun with busses eats quesadillas

pics: family siva ...but the lighting situation was very bad. They even got me dancing..but ha ha ha no pictures of that;)
Erik making quesadillas...yummy cheesy goodness!

8/18
Here I sit in the staff room at school, writing in my journal, smelling the lovely food smells (likely to be mackerel), listening to the large rain drops splash the puddles outside. The rain is hard (malosi le timu). Remembering the (sweet, delicious, mouth watering) palagai food that went in my mouth this weekend. Friday night: tuna stir fry. Sunday: farmers breakfast omlet with left over stirfry. Dinner: spaghetti with secret sauce (sauce, sausage, garlic, onions, green peppers, simmer time). It needed more simmer time and some oregano. Saturday I was invited to Erik’s for some quesadillas (it’s probably bad that I’m writing—and thinking about good food when I haven’t eaten dinner yet). I think Erik has the system down pat for making dough that’s not boingy when rolled out flat—Crisco and very hot water. Let’s just say that it was melt in my mouth cheesey, chicken, salsa, sour cream goodness. He also made some salsa. We had lots of cheese, and sour cream. Add the after dinner dark chocolate peppermint twist and you can wash it down with some beer in the blue and gold can. Yummy is the word.

Now to the bus situation…on Monday mornings. Usually, the Lefaga bus comes up the Aleisa road—the road I was waiting on at 6am. Today, the first bus decided to take the long way. I passed the spot where I waited for 2 hours in the second bus at 11am. Lack of reliable and consistent bus schedule is a big irritation in Samoa. I got to watch the pink and orange light sunrise peek out through the clouds. Not a total loss.

When I go to apia I usually have very important business (VIB). Not all the VIB was accomplished. Fix Don Bosco’s computers (no), get Wikipedia offline version (no), print list of stock tips (yes), get NZ lonely planet book *(yes) I want to visit NZ in December with another PCV. Get magazines for a teacher (yes), pickup bottom bracket replacement and correct tools for my bike (yes and no—the no is that a little later I try to replace it and find out that I’m still missing a tool…grrrrrrr…). I wish I had my set of bike tools in samoa, buy heavy duty permanent black pens for the world map (yes), print pics of my samoan family’s fale (no—I got to apia too late on Friday), buy super glue to fix my Birkenstocks (yes—it works really well), watch Batman First night (no—ate quesadillas instead, a good trade I think), update blog and upload pics (yes—on a friends broadband wireless connection…ahhhh soooo nice).

Another fun day with the busses. I stayed with a friend that lives on the route my bus to Lefaga takes, except for this morning. I was on the road at 6:30am. Many busses pass, none headed to Lefaga. So I finally ask a couple if I could get a lift with them into town. And five hours later i am passing the same spot I waited for two hours, on the way to lefaga. Another late start to a Monday. The food during the weekend was very good though. I’m not actually sure if I already wrote about this....consisting of spaghetti, quesadillas, and ???i I forgot...ha ha hah....I’ve had some beer, full tummy. Easy easy tele to sleep. Mayby i just want to ramble to my cyberspace audience. Now you can explain what cyberspace means...

I was reading the Samoa youth policy 2000-2010. it talked about suicide. One the university students i help told me sometimes he just wants to disappear, but is glad he had friends like me. I just listened. I didn’t know i make that big of an impact. I just like to help and play some good music. He and i seem to have a lot in common.