Time
As my housemate Jason says, “Timing is everything, I just
wish I owned a Samoan watch.” There is no real “time” for anything. If someone says 2:00 it could mean anywhere
from 1:00 - 4:00. You could ask five
people what time something begins and you will get five different answers. Our time runs on bells that are manually
rung. Not bells exactly, they are giant
oxygen tanks that they hit with a metal stick.
These ring throughout the village telling when school, church, and sa
begin and end. And they never ring at
the same time. For example, the first
week in the village we were trying to figure out what time church began. We were told by one guy 8:00, and then we
double checked a day later and he told us 8:30.
We were told there is a warning bell and a bell that rings when church
starts. So, on Sunday, we left the house
when we heard the warning bell at 8:25.
As it turns out that was the starting bell and we were late to church. Great way to make a good impression on our
first week. This past week we decided
to get there early. We got to church at
8:15 and the service didn’t start until almost nine. But that’s just the way it is here.
Also, I have no idea when my school day ends. My schedule says 2:30. Has my school day ever ended at 2:30? Once…maybe.
Our school day depends on the high school. If they decide to have a half day, we get a
surprise half day. If they decide to
have the students stay an extra hour to play volleyball then our school day
goes an hour longer…yes this actually happened.
Basically my school day goes from 7:30-?
There are some days when I have my students standing around with their
backpacks on for 30 minutes because I think the bus is going to come. Yesterday, my students were doing a collage
for science. And at 1:45 the bell rings.
My kids sprint out of the classroom and I am left to clean up magazine pieces
all over the floor. It definitely keeps
us on our toes.
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