Butterflies

School
My parents were visiting, and therefore trying hard to see what life in Samoa was through my eyes. This meant that they would take a step out of the comfortable life they were used to, and a step into the unfamiliar shoes I walk in. Mom wore appropriate clothes every day, and even though dad refused to wear “skirts” he was still proper.
Mom is a teacher, and insisted that we not miss one day of school, and I think all of the students loved it. Every morning she would knock on my bedroom door to see if I was ready, as she wanted to be the first one there.
The first day the students put on an assembly for my parents showing them traditional dancing and singing. The children were beautiful and both me and my parents loved it.
The next week was testing week and my mom joined me in school. While I was busy with my year 5 class my mom spent a lot of time with year 8. The teachers let her help out, and she jumped into the teaching rotation. Mom also spent some time with kids when they finished their exams, having them practice their English and do little art projects.
The two of us did co teaching as we worked with the year 7class. We played games, read stories, and practiced creating sentences with vocabulary from stories.
We also sang songs with kids of all ages which was a lot of fun.
The following week my mom and I continued co teaching. We taught the children about the lifecycle of a butterfly by reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar, singing songs and doing an art projects. The kids all seemed to enjoy it, and for the entire week we saw the caterpillars all over the place.
By the end of their visit, everyone had a good time with my parents. My parents wanted to thank the school for their visit, so they decided to finance a barbecue. They paid for the food, which included chicken, sausage, and ice cream, and for someone to help cook and prepare the food. That day the kids had sports day, and it was fun to cheer the kids on. After they finished eating, the children prepared a surprise for my parents in which they prepared songs. After it was all over, students from each class gave a speech to thank my parents for all they did and give a mealofa (gift of love). It was a beautiful site to see.
There is now a connection with my parents and Gaga’emalae. It was a beautiful goodbye, full of tears from all.
Their visit was a great way to end the term.