I have been back in Samoa for over a month now and I have to
say that it is SOOOO different than my previous two years here. I (obviously)
don’t know what it is like extending your Peace Corps service in other countries,
but based on my own experience and the five extendees from my group, I can say
that it is pretty different for the majority of us. I will only speak on my own
experience however.
First things first: my “job”. When I first came to Samoa,
the Peace Corps office already knew that the Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs)
would be placed in government primary schools throughout the country. As an
extendee, I had to find my own project and “job” in order to stay longer in the
country. The Samoans at the office helped me to figure this out. I have my
Masters in special education and that really is my passion. With this, I found
the school (an NGO) A’oga Fiamalamalama. It is a school for students with
intellectual disabilities. The majority of the students at my school have
autism or down syndrome, though we take other students as well.
There are some major differences between working in a
government school and an NGO in Samoa. As an NGO, we do not follow the
curriculum set aside by MESC (Ministry of Education, Sports, and Culture). We
take in a very specific set of students and can deny students if they don’t fit
the idea of the intended use of the school. This is not to say that we turn
away students we don’t want, but we focus specifically and are designed to work
with students with intellectual disabilities so we do not typically take
children with only physical disabilities or health issues. The teachers at my
school are specifically trained to work with these types of students so it is
important to my pule (principal) that that is what we focus on since we can
help those students the most. We also have much smaller class sizes both
because of our focus and because we are an NGO. We have a maximum of six
students in a class. This allows for much more focused instruction on
individual students. My school for the past two years had classes of 30
students on average.
Since the school is so small and specialized, I feel that I
really get to put my knowledge to the test. I find myself racking my brain for
how to help young children with Autism or what life skills to teach these
children. Also, my focus has always been on primary school age. I am challenged
by helping the teachers who work with out senior program (students aged 15 +).
I find that I am more challenged this year as compared to my previous years as
I have to be more creative and reach outside what I am used to teaching. Also,
instead of teaching myself, I am doing all teacher development and some
co-teaching this year. The wonderful thing though is that my teachers are so
receptive to all of my suggestions and try to incorporate them.
Beyond my project, let’s talk about just living as a third
year volunteer. For the past two years, I lived on Savai’i, which is smaller in
population. While I lived in the main village of the island, I did not have
access to all the “luxuries” that Samoa could provide me with. I was still
limited to what was on the island. That doesn’t mean I didn’t survive, but I
was limited in some things, particularly things to do for fun and food.
This year, I live very close to the capitol and have access
to so many things. This is where the title of my blog comes in. There are some
ex-patriots who live here, especially from New Zealand or Australia, who seem
to live pretty nice lives in Samoa. I had never understood what this life could
entail until this year. I am so lucky in that I can get regular access to
gluten free food and vegetables. I already eat so much healthier this year than
I did in Savai’i solely because of access to everything. I can find lettuce,
broccoli, and gluten free bread on a pretty regular basis. I also have the
luxury of cooking for myself every single meal because I live alone.
While my host family was great, it is nice to live alone,
especially in Samoa. First of all, I don’t have to worry about if there will be
dinner or not or children randomly coming to my house to ask for things. Also,
in Samoa, family obligations are huge. I had to go to so many funerals,
weddings, and other fa’alavelave (see previous post about this) while I was
living with a Samoan family. It was a great way to integrate, but it can be
hard as an American who is used to being independent. This year, I get my
independence back. I even get to go to the movies whenever I want!!
While I enjoyed the past two years of my service in Samoa, I
also am so excited for this year. I can honestly say that it is a totally
different life for me this year and so far, it is going well.
