YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN SAIPAN WHEN...............

Hafa Adai!  It was a wonderful day in paradise because I got to go snorkeling.  Today I went to Pau Pau beach, which is about three miles from Audra's apartment.  I went to a different part of the beach this time.  I got lots of swimming in because the coral where all the fish hang out in is almost to the edge of the reef at this beach but it's worth the swim.

I saw one of my favorite royal blue star fish today.  I didn't know they came in a variety of colors until I stumbled upon one last time I was here.  This is a pic from the internet but they look exactly like this laying on the ocean floor.

 My little needlenose fish was swimming by me again too.  I even saw some pretty lavender pink coral that was beautiful! It is always an adventure floating around in the ocean with all my little sea creatures.


When I was done I talked to some guys who had just been spear fishing and they let me see their catch.  They had a couple really big fish that were impressive.  I asked where they got them at and the said at the beach next to this one so I will be going there next to scope out the big boys:)  We had a good chat then I came back home.


The other day I noticed buckets sitting underneath the rain gutter spouts by the buildings here to catch the rain water.  Audra said her friend uses that water for her cats rather than bottled water (which is expensive here).  So we went and bought a bucket yesterday.  Of course it rained like hell this morning so I grabbed the bucket and went tearing down stairs and shoved the bucket under the spout and it filled up in seconds.  In the meantime I got totally drenched but I got my bucket of water!  Audra laughed her head off when I told her about it tonight.  At least the bottled water won't be wasted on her cats any more:)

Ok, so onto "You know you're in Saipan when" theme.......you are driving down an alley street that is one block away from what is called "downtown" Garapan (the tourist city here) when all of a sudden you see what looks like a little pig tied up in a yard with a shack for a house.  I turned the car around because I couldn't believe it was a pig and sure enough it was.  Of course I had to stop the car and get out and pet the pig.  There was a guy sitting under the tree the pig was tied to and we asked him if we could pet the pig.  By the time we left two more guys had joined him, grandma came out and a little girl who recognized Audra from school came out.  They were laughing (at us I'm sure) while we petted the pig.  The pig was oinking away the whole time.  I asked if it was eventually going to be dinner and when they said yes Audra got sad:(  She wants us to go out tonight on a "save the pig" operation.  I'll let you know how that goes down......

We saw Kung Fu Panda II yesterday and it was so cute.  On the way out I had to take a picture of the "aftermath" of the show....talk about a FULL garbage can!  We decided not to add out stuff to the pile because we knew, with our luck, it would all topple over.  We left that for someone else to deal with.

Today when Audra got to her classroom she discovered her caterpillar had turned into a moth.  He's been in his cocoon for a week so she thought it was time for him to come out.  Remember the picture of the caterpillar I posted a while back?  Well this is what he turned into.  Isn't he pretty?  Audra set him free in a tree behind her classroom and when I came to pick her up he was still hanging around.  She said the kids really thought that was neat that an old green worm could turn into such a beautiful moth.  What a good teacher she is!!!!


So that is what has been happening in my time in paradise lately.  Now I'm sitting here looking out the window at the beautiful sunset.  What a life............

Until next time Hafa Adai and peace out!

  

STOWAWAY ON SAIPAN ISLAND......ARRRRGHHHHH!!!!!

STOWAWAY ON SAIPAN ISLAND......ARRRRGHHHHH!!!!!

Another tale to share with me maties involving a stowaway right here in Saipan.  Gather closely by the fire and I will tell my tale..............

Friday late afternoon was Guava Camacho's followup doctor appointment to see if he was over his illness of the past week.  Audra washed out the cat carrier and left it in sitting on the kitchen floor. 

When it came time to leave I herded up the little guy and threw him into the carrier and shut the door then headed down the stairs to the car.  I left the carrier for Audra to deal with and bring down the stairs.  I was in the car and Audra came lugging the carrier down the steps acting like it was really heavy (little guy only weighed 3 pounds last week) so I thought that was kind of odd. 

She put it in the back seat and got in the front seat.  I turned around to look at Guava and saw him but also a shadow...............which looked just like a black cat!  I asked Audra if there were two cats in there and she took a look and there was Jigs in with Guava.  Audra said he went into the carrier after she cleaned it and she thought I had scooted him out before I put Guava in. 

 
So the little stowaway ended up going to the vets with his brother.  We laughed so hard!  He meowed all the way there and Guava didn't say a word.  Everyone at the vets got a kick out of the story.  Poor Jigs had to stay in the carrier the whole time too.  He was thrilled when he got back home and was finally released!

While we were at the vets, one of his cats came walking out for a visit (he brings his pets to work with him every day).  It not only was beautiful but also very fat!  It was shedding like crazy and kept trying to get hair out of it's mouth.  She had to come over to the carrier and say hi to our two captives.    She was very friendly and even tried to crawl into my purse!  Another potential stowaway:)

 I love her coloring though.  I've never seen a cat with this red of hair on it.  All the cats here look alot different then the ones on the mainland.  We laughed at it's tiny little legs too.  When it walked it looked like it's little legs were going to break in two.

Then the nurse walked out with a local Kingfisher bird that had a broken wing.  Someone found it and brought it into the vet.  The vet said he didn't think it would survive because he can't get it to eat.  Of course Audra and I were fighting over who got to hold the bird.  He was so nice he didn't even try to peck us or anything.  Beautiful bird and I love his bill! 

Guava was given a clean bill of health and had even gained a pound in a week.  The vet said his rough start in life has probably stunted his growth so he'll probably be a small cat.  He acts like Mr. Tough Guy now and is always taking on the two big cats.  

Saturday night was the last night for the Taste of The Marianas food festival so we went to that.  We met one of Audra's friends at the school and then took a cab to the festival ($3.00 ride).  Audra's school grounds are loaded with toads so while we were waiting for her friend she and I went about grabbing up toads.  Her friend about died when she saw what we were running after.  The school guard thought we were nuts too.  They're so cute, how can anybody NOT like a toad?  My mom used to call me toadie because I was always after them!    Aren't they cute?

I had Chinese food last night and as usual it was yummy.  For desert I had a mocha chiller that was good too.........all for $10!  My dinner came with 5 different foods to sample and the portions were good sized!

 The place I got my food from

 Sample menu for Chamorro food and Filipino Food

The locals..............how many white people do you see in this crowd?  We are definitely the minority here:)




Still enjoying my stay on my little slice of paradise and thankful every day I wake up that I get to look out over the ocean at the beautiful view to remind me where I am!


On a sad note, two girls, ages 9 and 10 are missing.  The last time they were seen was at their bus  stop at 6AM on Wednesday.  There is a massive search going on for them and all kinds of Feds, FBI, etc are here trying to locate them.  Please keep them in your prayers that they will return home safely.  This is a first on the island and everyone is stunned! 


Hafa Adai!

 

WHAT IS THAT????

Hafa Adai!

Another great adventure/experience to tell you all about here in Saipan.  Who would have thought I'd have all these great experiences in my first three weeks on the island?  But before I get to the latest adventure I just want to comment on my new and old friends I've met here.  I got to see my waitress pals from Coffee Care, the lady who helped me last time I was here with setting up my phone at IT&E which is their version of Verizon, some of the teacher friends of Audra's too.  I've also met new teacher friends, Audra and I now have our own personal banker at her bank who takes care of her account stuff since our purses were stolen and now the post office box owners look out for our stuff.  The vet is way nice to us and the police have been very helpful as well.  Since this is such a small place you pretty much get to meet everyone at least twice.  The people are just very friendly wherever we go and you know how hard it is for me to talk to people........NOT!

Which brings me around to our latest adventure.  Last Thursday evening we were headed out the door for dinner and here was this gooey reddish puddle mess by her neighbors door with drops leading out of the door and a plastic bag with something in it.  It was disgusting looking. Amazingly I did not take a picture of it....good for all of you:)

So I started making up all these stories about Audra's new neighbors and what was going on in their apartment.  We covered everything from rituals to mayhem, to sacrifices, religious rites, etc........you get the idea.  We laughed and laughed over all the stories I kept coming up with (you know how my imagination is). 

When we got home the mess was still there.  It remained in that spot all day Friday as well.  I peeked in the plastic bag and it was filled with towels.  Yuck!  

Saturday morning when we woke up there was all kinds of activity going on in the neighbor's apartment.  A lady was cleaning in there like mad.  I was watching through the peep hole in our door because their door was wide open.  The lady was putting all kinds of bloody tissues into a garbage can and then she broke out the mop and was busy mopping everything up.  I told Audra they were trying to get rid of the evidence.  Thankfully the mess in the hallway was cleaned up too.

Sunday night there was a knock at the door.  I opened it up wearing my flower shorts and white tee shirt (you can kind of see through it) that I wear just around the apartment and there was the neighbor girl asking me if I could help them figure out their air con (air conditioner to us on the mainland).  So, not remembering what I had on I went marching into their apartment and started fooling around with their remote controller (then I remembered what I had on and knew it was too late to do anything about it so just went with the flow). 

Audra and I think both of them (the guy and the girl) are from Palau, an Island close to here.  The guy is very dark and huge like giant size and very big but not fat.  She is very tall and big as well.  Very exotic looking. 

Then I noticed a car seat sitting by the wall so I asked if they had a baby and she said yes and she was sleeping on the bed and told me to go have a look.  I asked how old the baby was and she said "THREE DAYS OLD".........she delivered it in the bathroom and had to be rushed to the hospital via ambulance (which we must have missed).  Audra said it is very common on the island for women to birth their babies at home rather than the hospital.

So the mystery was solved.  No murder, no sacrifice, no religious rite, no brutality.................just a sweet little baby girl was born!  

This is their first child and new mom said everything started happening really quick and she was terrified.  She and the baby had to stay at the hospital a couple days (the baby is jaundiced) but they are slowly settling into life with baby in their apartment.  

We haven't heard a peep from the baby yet either.  I told mom if she needed anything to feel free to come over and let me know.  Another neighbor-lady came while I was there and was offering her all kinds of advice about putting the baby on a schedule, what she should eat and on and on and on.  I left at that point. 

I want to go tell her to just take a deep breath and relax and not get all stressed out.  I found out these babies can take quite a bit and aren't as fragile as they appear.  So maybe I'll get to  add another baby to my list to babysit while I'm here:)

So remember when you see what you perceive as a "mess" maybe it was made by something good happening:)

HAFA ADAI

I guess the big news is we all survived the rapture (we're not worthy.....we're not worthy......we're not worthy)  I'm glad because I have waited so long to get back to Saipan I would have been really bummed to leave it so soon.

I got in a sad mood the other day listening to Audra's friend talk about her childhood and growing up in the Philippines.  She's 50 and teaches school here on the island.  Her husband lives and works in Korea so she's here by herself, no kids.  Her family was dirt poor while she was growing up and ever since she can remember she was picking fruits of various kind and using them to barter with to get food and supplies to keep her family going.  She said she never really got to just play but was always busy trying to figure out where she could get stuff for her family.  When she grew up she worked picking coffee beans on her grandfather's property to earn money to get through college which she did.  

My family was not wealthy by no means and probably lower middle class but we never went without anything and didn't have to do much to get what we wanted.  My brother had a paper route that I had to help him out with but that was about it as far as earning money went.  We were never expected to go out and help keep our family going.  We went on fabulous vacations every summer in our little trailer across the US too.

Audra said many of the people on this little island are in that situation and she hears about it from her kids every day at school.  It is sad but I remind her of the good thing she is doing by coming her to be their teacher and try to help them along.

The economic woes have really hit hard here.  The local government appears to be in a mess like the Federal government is and there is lots of finger pointing going around.  It's alot like being back on the mainland in that respect.  
                                                             Suicide Cliff on North Side of Siapan

One of the big issues now is putting up power poles on the North side of the island which is considered to be sacred and has been left undeveloped since most of the fighting and death during WWII happened in that area.  There are all         kinds of memorials there honoring the Japanese, Koreans, Chinese, and Americans who died there.  Now the farmers in that area (it is agricultural land too) have decided they want electricity so the power poles are going to start going up.  The people who want to keep that part of the island untouched are trying to stop it because it will spoil the scenery which is beautiful and also they are afraid once the flood gates are open it will start being developed with houses and resorts.  That would truly be a pity if that happened.  

Anyway, what I'm getting at is there is not electricity everywhere on this island.  Parts of the main road Audra lives on doesn't have access to electricity which amazes me!  How can that be in this day and age?  Audra said some of the homes around the island do not even have running water.

Friday night I attended Audra's bible study class.  The church is one that was started by a man in China years ago and is Christian based.  Steve and I were kind of leary about it thinking it might be a cult type thing so I was curious to go and see what it was like.  We were so wrong!  The group is Korean and a teacher Audra works with is the one who got her going to it.  The people range in age from their 20's into their 80's.  There is one white guy in the group who is around my age and has been on the island for 31 years.  It seems to be a lot like Jehovah Witness too where the church is plain and unadorned.   They treated me like I was royalty and were very happy to meet me.  They had a Korean pot-luck dinner that was so good and then we sang songs over and over again and read them in English then Korean over and over (maybe I'll learn some Korean if I keep going).  All in all it was a fun night and I'm happy to know they are taking care of Audra.

I finally got to eat my favorite fruit here that you cannot find around where I live in Chandler.......Sour Sop.  It's a tropical fruit and is delicious!  I checked at Lee Lees in Chandler and they don't have it:(  It is super good but you can't eat the black seeds or the skin.....both are poisonous.  


Tonight I'm making sour cream cheese enchiladas for Audra.  She's been bugging me to make them for her so her wish is my command:)  We were supposed to go out for Korean food tonight (Audra's new favorite food) but the dinner was cancelled.


Hope you are all enjoying yourselves and now living each day like it's your last since we dodged the May 21st bullet:)

Visiting the Saipan Vet

Hafa Adai!

 

My good friend Barb pointed out to me I forgot to start out my blog with my Hafa Adai greeting (pronounced haw-fa-day).....an obvious oversight on my part.  She even took it upon herself to find the meaning of Hafa Adai.  It's from the Chamarro culture here on the island and means "Good Day".  It's  kind of like Aloha is in Hawaii.  It's plastered everywhere here and there is even a Hafa Adai plaza!  There are two native groups on Saipan, the Chamarros and the Carolinians and each have their own language.  Ok, that's your Saipan culture lesson for the day.  Raise your hand if you have any questions............ok, no questions????? then we'll continue on.....

My day started out with taking Rufus the baby kitty to the island's veterinarian, Dr. Tudor.  He is a Howlie (what the whites are called by the people here) and a really cool guy.  He brings his personal dogs to work with him and they run all over the place.  He had a puppy in there today that was running in and out of the examination room.  I loved it but Rufus didn't.  It turns out Rufus has colitis so was given a shot of antibiotics and might also have a parasite.  He spent the day and night at the vets and we'll see what's going on tomorrow.  I was happy to have him stay there because he was such a mess with his potty problem.  Hope they get him "stopped up".   He didn't look too happy sitting in the carrier waiting for his turn:(  The vet didn't even ask for payment.  He said we could deal with that later...........go figure!  I never make it out of my vets office without making an office visit payment.  Pretty laid back here!

The vet had this funky clock attached to his wall that a patient's dad had made for him.  Loved it!  I love where the hands to the clock are placed!   

I came back home and read the paper while Audra's housekeeper cleaned the apartment......

how bad is that?  I kind of felt guilty but after about three seconds I stopped.  She was asking me how much my peddlepushers (capri pants) cost and I told her not very much.  I bought them at a store on the island last time I was here.  She wanted to know where so I let her know and she was floored she had never been in the store.  

This is the view from Audra's balcony I get to look at every day.  The water is always this color and crystal clear.  The island, Managaha Island is a very popular tourist spot and great for 

snorkeling.  You pay $20 for a speed boat to take you over there and bring you back when you're ready.  They have concessions stands, lockers, shops and tons of beautiful beach area there.  It isn't very big so you can go from one end to the other in about 5 minutes. We went over there last time I was here and I'm thinking about going back over next week for the day.

This is why I keep calling it paradise.  Between that and the beautiful jungle that is everywhere it's easy to get lost in it all visually.

Today when I picked Audra up from school I found a surprise waiting for me.  It is "Honor the Troops" week at her school and the second grade teachers hung banners outside their classroom celebrating family members that had served in the military.  Audra put my dad's name up, Steve's father's name up and MY name up for my 3 years of Army Reserve service.  Pretty cool!  She wanted to put her grandma Sein and Aunt Toni up too but ran out room for her part of the ribbons.

We found this cute little guy eating the leaves at her school today.  She has three of them in her classroom in a jar so the kids can see them turn into giant moths.  We left this one outside.  He reminds us of the caterpillar in Alice In Wonderland.....all he needs is his hooka pipe!  The burrow under the ground when they form their cocoons.

 This tree is right outside of Audra's classroom.  It looks like it's ready to attack anyone who passes by with it's roots! 

When it rains there are toads everywhere on the school grounds.  Audra and I love to chase them down and catch them.  My mom used to call me "Toadie" when I was little because I was always after toads, frogs and snakes.  

So that was my day in paradise today.  New faces and new places to see.  There is always something to find wonder in....you just have to stop and take a good look to see it sometimes:)  

Saipan Oil Change

What an adventure I had today!  It was time to get the oil changed in Audra's car and get it inspected so she could get her registration up to date.  The business we use is called "Car Town" in Garapan.  The guy we bought the car from last August had always taken his car to them so we promised we would continue using their service. Car Town sits in a neighborhood right near downtown Garapan along what we would call an alley but is a roadway here.  You would never really know it was a business if it wasn't for the hand drawn sign announcing you are at Car Town. 
  
There are no lifts to raise a car up to look underneath it at the frame, there are no supplies to speak of (they have to order any parts they want and go get them) and there are only three mechanics that work on the cars.......that's Car Town.  The owner greeted me and asked where I wanted to be dropped off so I said McDonalds would do.  He asked me for $10 for the "inspection".  Audra's car is missing the front cover to the head light (it looks like it was stolen) and they can't get the part in any more because her car is a 2000 year but not to worry....her car would pass "the inspection" so I gave him the $10.  

I brought my Kindle with me so read for a couple of hours while enjoying a mocha frappe and watched the people coming to Mickey D's.  The kids here are so dang cute!  After an hour and a half the owner came back and picked me up.  The car passed inspection and all the fluids were changed.  When I picked up Audra I told her it seemed like there might have been some "under the table stuff" going on with the inspection but wasn't sure since I'm not a resident here.  I had the inspection certificate so that was good enough for me! 

We headed over to the court house and paid the late registration fee (it was due in February), paid for a new license for Audra since hers got stolen and paid for a copy of our police report from our theft then went to pick all the paperwork up only to find out that department had closed early by 5 minutes....grrrrr!  Thank goodness the island is so small so you really don't have far to go back to places.


I heard all kinds of emergency vehicle sirens this morning off an on and couldn't figure out what the heck was going on.  On my way to Car Town I passed the hospital (which is on one of the two main drags on the island) and there was a line of cars waiting to get into the hospital drive way.  I thought for sure something bad had happened so dashed into the 99 cent store (which has nothing in it for 99 cents) to see what was up.  Turns out it was the semi-annual island emergency test today that took place all over the island and the hospital.  I don't know what emergency they were practicing today but guess the scenario changes each time.

I got to meet two of Audra's students today.  They are so shy and hid behind her.  She's a good teacher to them and really loves her kids.

My hair is getting curlier by the day.  It's nice not having to fool with it much.  I just wake up, wash it and let it go.  By the end of the day it starts getting frizzy.  The curse of having naturally curly hair!

Audra's newest baby cat is sick too.  I have to take him to the vets tomorrow.  He's having potty problems....ugh!  I told Audra this was NOT in my paradise adventure brochure!  She hasn't even left to go back to Arizona yet and I'm having to fulfill my grandma duties.  It's never ending!  Hope it's just a bug and the little guy is ok.  We have him caged up tonight in his kitty carrier so he doesn't mess up the place.  Thank goodness Audra's housekeeper is coming tomorrow to clean the place up:)  It sure is nice having her do the housekeeping.  

Audra wants curtains on her windows (she had blinds but the cats have destroyed two sets of them and we leave the blinds up on the other windows....she's on the second floor and nobody can look into her apartment) so I have turned the curtains into a craft project (of course).  I cut out shell shapes using my Cricut and am going to use the shapes to make patterns on her curtains using dye.  I'm going to use bed sheets for the curtains.  IF they turn out I'll post the finished picture.  Audra said "good ole mom, turning everything into a crafting event"!


So that was my Tuesday in paradise.  Still having fun but not doing a heck of alot.  But then I am in paradise so guess I don't to do a heck of alot huh?


Until next time.....enjoy yourselves!  And remember, be kind to each other please:)

This and That

Hafa Adai,

Sorry I haven't posted lately but have been under the weather with a cold which started Wednesday night.  Started as a head cold and then moved down to the chest and coughing.  I think it's getting better though.





I went snorkeling on Wednesday at my favorite beach, Wing Beach.  It was so fantastic to be back in the ocean swimming around with my fish friends.  I saw a fish I had never seen before too.  It was white with blue swirls all over it kind of like an angel fish.  I also saw a needle nose fish.  They are about a foot long and have a really long nose.  They are hard to see
because they float near the
surface of the water.  He followed me around for a while then went on his way.  I saw a big fish and tried to follow it but it was too fast for me.  Hope it wasn't a shark:)  Once I had my fill of snorkeling I sat in the water on the shoreline just taking in the scenery.  This is truly paradise for me!  As usual there was nobody on the white sand beach and a couple were in the water snorkeling so I pretty much had the whole place to myself!  Audra's freinds keep telling me I shouldn't go by myself but there is nobody else to go with.  I check out the area before getting out of the car to make sure it looks safe and don't take my purse with me or leave anything in the car or on the beach of any value.  I also keep checking the shore while I'm snorkeling too just to keep a watch on everything. 

I went to pick up Audra from school the other day and was waiting for her in the office.  A little first grade girl was sitting on the couch and starting talking to me asking me who I was.  I told her I was Audra's mom and there to pick her up.  She said "you look more like her grandma than her mom" to which I replied I very well could be.  She also said we sound alike (go figure....how many times have we heard that).  Audra said the kids speak their mind here and haven't learned the art of being tactful.  I just had to laugh.  When Audra came and we left the office she ran outside and yelled "it was nice to meet you"......what a little sweetie.

One of Audra's teacher friends house got broken into the other night and her jewelry was stolen including her wedding ring.  She lives here and her husband works in the Philippines.  She was having dinner with us when it happened.  She is paranoid now like we are about going out and about.  They broke the lock on the back door of her house.  We were comparing our police report cards the next night over dinner.  They took me to a great Thai restaurant that was just a little hole in the wall place but the food was divine.  It was pretty cheap too, $7.95 for dinner.   

My cards arrived last Thursday so now I have access to my funds again....woo hoo! The last of my boxes of craft stuff arrived safely as well.  I have my own little craft section set up in my room already.

We went grocery shopping today and loaded up on food.  Audra likes to go out to eat every night but I told her I can't afford to do that so will be eating at home.  If she wants to join me she can or she can go out with her buds.  The food costs about double what it does back home.  They have basically the same brands and also lots of Asian stuff to choose from.  I love hitting the veggie stands that are all over the place and getting new stuff to try.  Most of it is really yummy!


But, tonight we're going to The Taste of the Mariannas which is a big food event every Saturday of the month of May for dinner.  They also have music and native dancers.  I'll post pics from it on my next blog post.

We went to see the movie The Priest today and it was great....of course it's about those pesky vampires.....you can't even escape them over here in paradise.  It has sequel written all over it:)

One more story......yesterday I put on Joseph Fire Crow on my IPOD which is a native American flute album and Audra's cats went crazy.  They absolutely HATE the flute and take off to hide.  I torment them daily now with the music.  One of her cats hides inside the cabinet above the fridge, the little guy hides underneath the couch and the other one is now getting used to it and doesn't seem affected by it any more.  He just hangs out on the back of the couch looking disgusted.  What can I say except CATS!!!!

Hope the hot weather hasn't hit in Arizona yet.......still 87/78 here with at least one quick rain storm a day.  

Remember, paradise is a state of mind!

Toilet Tissue Anyone?

What a day today was in paradise.  I was up and about at 6:45 AM to drive Audra to school, stopped at Winchells for a blueberry muffin, stopped at the local gas station near the apartment to pick up the paper.............I absolutely LOVE reading the daily paper.  I never read it at home but his one is so homey it makes you feel like you're part of the action.  The island suffers all the economic woes we do on the mainland but it it a lot worse here.  The government is threatening to do away with the education credit so teachers had their 6th grade students a the school Audra teaches at write letters to the governor.  The letters were heart wrenching.  One kid said his family often times go without dinner so they can afford to buy school supplies and another kid said they go without new clothes so they can afford to buy school supplies.  It went on and on like that.  Audra said a lot of the kids come from families who just don't earn very much and don't get a lot to eat.  

So after I read the paper and got caught up on all the happenings here I went for a swim in the apartment pool which is just down the street from the apartment.  Felt good to be in water again.  I still haven't hit the beach......maybe tomorrow:)  High tide is real early in the morning now and late at night so hasn't been deep enough for me to snorkel in.

Then I headed out for shopping!  I stopped at Payless Shoe Store and bought some flip flops and sandals, went to Dolphin Store (Saipan's version of WalMart) and then over to the Joeten Super Center which used to be Costco to get some more guava juice (the last case I bought was stolen out of the car along with our purses).  I was leaving the check-out counter when the clerk came running over to me and informed me I had toilet tissue on the back of my pants (they call toilet paper toilet tissue here).  I said "on my butt" and she shook her head yes.  I reached back and there was a big long piece of it stuck on my pants!  How it got there is beyond me but it was there.  How embarrassing!  I wonder where I picked it up at and how long it had been on my butt.  It's not like I blend in here either being white and 5'8" tall!  I told Audra when I picked her up from school that I was sure to be the talk of the island after that!  Geez!!!!  Too bad I didn't get a picture of it for all of you to see.................sorry:(

We then came back to the apartment and couldn't get the key to open up the door.  They put a new lock on it (since I had a key to her place in my stolen purse I thought it was best to replace the lock) and the keys worked fine when I left but wouldn't unlock the darn door for anything.  It was hotter than heck out too.  Lucky for us the workers were still around so they got us into the apartment.  Audra's babies were meowing their heads off wondering why we weren't coming inside.  

After we cooled off  we went to Coffee Care for dinner which is right by her apartment.  I made friends with two of the waiters there last time and they were excited to see me again, Lanie and Ann.  They are my Saipan buddies!We met two of Audra's friends there for dinner too.  Very nice girls.  We all had a very nice chat and a great dinner (chicken enchiladas with tons of sour cream.......yum)! 
 
Every Saturday night this month is "The Taste of The Marianas" where a bunch of restaurants around the island gather at Memorial Park near Audra's school and you go booth to booth and buy the food.  Can hardly wait! 
Sunday night is a free concert put on by the island choral groups that I want to go to.


On May 22nd 60 Buddist monks are coming to the island for a peace event that will be held at the Japanese Memorial Park and Banzai Memorial Park which commemorate the fighting that took place here during WWII.  I will for sure go to that.  


Every Thursday night they have a huge downtown food fest too and also performers from all the islands around here doing native dances.  That's really fun to go to!


There is always something going on here.

Now we're just chillin'.  Audra definitely has a cold so she's pretty tired.  I just too an Aleve for my knees from my swim today.  The cats are up to no good so all is good in paradise!   

I'll just have to make sure I have left all the toilet tissue behind when I set out on my adventures tomorrow!


Remember to check out what is behind you before moving forward!

Good Day to be in Saipan

It's a great day to be in Saipan.........my card arrived today so I now have access to my moo-lahhhhhhhh!!!!  You know where I will be tomorrow - shopping 'til I drop!  Let the spending begin:)

I hung around the apartment most of the day waiting for the mail to arrive at the Post Office Box place.  Saipan has no addresses so everyone has a post office box.  That was a trip trying to explain that to all the credit card companies.  They insist on sending the cards to a street address but I finally convinced them to Fed Ex it to the PO Box. 

Audra's cats are a hoot.  Never a dull moment with them around.  The two big ones are always into something and running around banging into stuff.  They are delighted with all the boxes I've unpacked of my craft stuff.  They just can't get enough of them.  Today they actually all curled up and slept together.  So cute!  They can sleep through anything too.


Audra has new neighbors living across from her now and so far they've been pretty noisy playing cool music but with the bass turned way up.  Hopefully it will stop so we won't have to complain.  The people who live beneath them have kids so maybe they'll talk to them.  She's been lucky so far because the people who used to live there were from Japan and only used it off and on so weren't there most of the time.

I set up the printer we shipped over here for Audra.  I feel like such a geek when I do stuff like that.  It always amazes me that I can actually get stuff like that working.  I didn't even need to call Steve up once for help - woo hoo!!!!

That's it for now.  I'm not sure if I will be keeping this up every day now that I have access to my funds again:)  But will let you know about the exciting stuff that happens!  Hopefully I'll get out snorkeling tomorrow.


Give peace a chance!




 

Happy Mother's Day

What a wonderful Mother's Day I had today.  Audra took me for brunch at the Hyatt in Garapan.  A friend of her's from the apartment complex, Bonnie, went with us.  She is Audra's surrogate mom here on the island and takes care of her for me.  She also shares Audra's passion for cats so they really hit it off.

We met a teacher Audra works with at the brunch and her family and friends.  The food was fantastic even though I didn't know half of what I was eating.  I'm always willing to try anything and that's exactly what today was all about.  Lots of Asian foods and local foods I hadn't tasted yet.  There was not one thing I didn't like.  Lots of Champagne too:)  I ate so much I thought I was going to explode.......we sat there for three hours and enjoyed the feast.

After brunch we drove around the top of Capitol Hill for a while looking for a resort up there that we never did find.  We did see an apartment building that Audra is interested in moving to.  It has a fantastic view of the ocean on the other side of the island.  We're going to see how the rent there compares to the rent at her current place.  It sits further into the jungle too and is off the main road.  Very pretty area.

Bonnie, Audra's Saipan mom, gave me a really cute turtle box for a Mother's Day present too.  She is so nice to Audra and it makes it easier on me knowing she has her to go to for help.  She made us ravioli's and homemade pasta sauce the other night for dinner too.  You know how I feel about anybody who cooks for me:)!  The sauce was made using buffalo meat and it was bueno!

I saw another friend I made last time I was here today too, Andre.  He's a Marine Biologist who teaches at the community college here.  He remembered me too!  He's neat to talk to because he knows everything about the wild-life here and all the sea life.  


Hopefully my "cards" will get to me this coming week so I can start fully enjoying myself again!  Until then I'm home bound.  Sucks having to depend on those cards to get access to your money............maybe I should start keeping it all in my mattress:)


Hafa Adai until my next adventure.....................remember to be kind to each other too!

Hafa Adai!
A beautiful Saturday in Saipan.  We didn't do a heck of a lot today, mostly just hung out in the morning and then hit 5 pawn shops in the afternoon looking for the stolen camera.  Nothing turned up.  I was amazed at how little the pawn shops are here and wondering how they all manage to stay in business.  Not a heck of a lot of merchandise oh hand either.  We only have 15 more to go:)  What an adventure!

We ate lunch at my favorite mexican food restaurant, Oleai Beach restaurant.  Their food is delicious....yum, yum.  It sits right next to the ocean too so you get to enjoy the view while you eat.  I ordered ice tea and they brought out the glass of tea along with the bottle of sweetener (sugar and water mixture).  I had forgotten about that from the last time I was here!  
We watched a guy who had his spear fishing gun with him talking to some of his buddys about a fish he must have speared.  He was telling the story not only with his mouth but his hands as well.  We got a kick out of watching his antics.  It must have been one heck of a battle the way he was carrying on!
I have all my crafty stuff unpacked and my Cricut Machine set up and ready to go.  Let the crafting begin!

Tonight we went to see Thor and liked it.  It was kind of corny but guess that's to be expected since it's based on a comic book.  I was surprised Natalie Portman agreed to be in it.

I haven't got to snorkel yet but hopefully I'll get some time in the ocean tomorrow after my Mother's Day Brunch at the Hyatt!!!!

Happy Mother's Day to all my friends and hugs to you all!!!