July 27th

Today was our first "day of rest". In Am. Sam. we are supposed to pretty much lay low on Sundays here. The culture is very religious and Sundays are a strict "rest" day. People are pretty much supposed to go to church and do things that they feel are relaxing. To Jess and I it was needed.

We walked to get some vegetables (these are kind of rare in fresh form here), and while we were trekking we passed by the local KFC and Pizza Hut. To me they look a little out of place next to the absolutely gorgeous backdrop of the mountains. It is just part of the Americanization that has taken over certain aspects here. I for one prefer the cooking we ate the other night. I do understand that barbecues such as that are much more expensive and more time is involved in the production so a fast food joint with cheap prices can replace the traditional methods of eating. But at what cost?

We had a meeting this afternoon at a fale (pronounced "fah-lay") that was a little hut in the park across the street, next to the water. It felt so great to have the wind blowing this afternoon after the severe heat I felt this morning. The meeting had a lot to do with what we are to expect for the rest of this week of orientation as well as the upcoming year. We also confirmed our living arrangements for this year. We read an interesting article about calling it Oceania instead of the Pacific Islands, it's pretty deep so I won't go into it here. I did take a photo of some of the other guys in our group that looked pretty funny while reading it though. The fellow in the front is Bobby and he'll be living in the same town as Jess and me. The fellow in the back is Matt and he is a trip too! He lived in the Marshall Islands last year and of the entire group, I think he's the most prepared for this year.

I didn't take a lot of photos today as we didn't really do much else. We have been having evening "Tea Time" lessons where each of us have assigned groups and subjects that we have been teaching each other and our group taught about teaching writing lessons. I learned a lot about other peoples' styles through how they teach during these times, as well as their responses.

We are finally reunited back in our original room. Jess had moved out (due to the illness that had permeated my room) and now that the two-day flu has passed through everyone's system we are back together! We miss you guys bunches. We'd love emails of some pictures of what you are up to as well. I know you guys are enjoying your summer and you're getting ready for school too. I can't wait to share my teaching experiences with you. I think Jess is a little nervous about teaching math, but I know she'll be great.

Sorry no interesting stuff today, it was as it should be, relaxing.

Much love,

Charlie & Jess