You Know You're In Saipan When........

Hafa Adai!

Ok, ok....stop your belly aching.  Here goes another post to all you whiners out there....and you know who you are:)

Man, I've really been living the laid back life the past few weeks.  Audra was busy winding up school so I just hung around the apartment most of the time working on my crafty stuff and swimming and talking with the neighbors and apartment workers.  It started raining more last week and I was thinking we were starting with the rainy season (July through August) but we are back to the normal one or two rain storms during the day again.  I will miss the rain when I leave.  It is so neat watching the down pours they have and then seeing the water immediately vanish once it's stopped!  Some places have puddles but not many.  The ground just sucks all the moisture right in.

I found a web site called "You Know You're in Saipan When" and loved the guys comments so decided to share some with you and add my own comments (they will be in pink).  His comments are so true.......so here goes...
You Know You're in Saipan When.....

White people are called haolies (howl-ees)(Hawaiian for "without breath")

• When you order milk you are asked, "Do you want it warm, or cold?"

The milk here comes in square boxes and don't need to be refrigerated.  Once you put them into the fridge though they have to stay there.  It tastes like our milk does stateside too. 

• You no longer notice when armies of ants (of all sizes– 1mm to 1.5in) parade across your walls

Ahh yes....the pesky ants.  They are everywhere and keep the cats entertained.  They even crawl on you at night while you're sleeping.  You get used to them after awhile.  The big ants don't bite, just the itty bitty ones. 

• Silver or gold teeth are a status symbol on adults. The kids have them until their permanent teeth come in

The kids in Audra's class have the silver teeth.  They call them "spacers".  I guess it's low class NOT to have the silver teeth in and just have a blank spot in your mouth until your permanent teeth come in.

 

• Veggie egg rolls are called "lumpia" (loom-pee-uh) and contain spam

Spam is very much alive and well in Saipan:)

 

• Spam is not low class– it's a delicacy available in 10 varieties

No kidding.......I didn't know there were so many different kinds of Spam!

 

• Saying a bar is a "karaoke club" is another way of saying it is a strip club or brothel

I was all excited to go to the Karaoke Clubs until I read this.  They are all over the place.  I just assumed it was a fun thing to do here:(

 

• The roads are: Beach Road, Middle Road and Airport Road– the rest have no names

This is NOT a totally true statement because there are street names here but nobody uses them except for Beach Road, Middle Road, Navy Hill Road and Capitol Hill.  They tell you want a place you are looking for is near (just past McDonalds, a block away from the church, past the Toyota Dealer......)

 

• Your directions for the pizza guy sound something like this: "Go down Beach Road to Chalan Piao. Take the road that takes you behind the Mobil across from the Pacific Gardenia Hotel– it's the house right there, on the corner."

Exactly what I was saying above.  You learn all the important business sites and landmarks pretty quickly in order to find your way around here

 

• There are about 30 Mobil stations within a 3x12 mile radius and Gas is $2.09 a gallon

I WISH gas was only $2.09 a gallon.  It's up to $4.75 now:(

 

You are allowed to ride in the back of pick up trucks with infants, dogs, or any combination of the t, but these but if you're riding up front, you better have your seatbelts fastened or you'll get a ticket

You see this all over.  At first I was shocked seeing kids in the back and women holding babies but it is not against the law.  But heaven forbid you're up front and don't have that seat belt on!

• Every beverage except bottled water is expensive. Water is $2/5 gallons, free delivery. Bud Light is $18/case, Coca-Cola is $10/case

Bottled water is now $2.50 for a 5 gallon bottle.  You pick up the phone and call the place, tell them what you want and they deliver it right to your place.  No contracts needed.  A case of coke costs $12 now and I don't know what beer costs.

• Cookout fundraisers do not include burgers. Instead, you marinate chicken, ribs, & hot dogs (yes, you marinate the hot dogs), and let it all soak outside overnight

• No one has a mailbox (or address, for that matter). Everyone has a P.O. Box

• Stray Dogs/Muts and cats are called Boonie dogs or Boonie cats

• Air conditioning is Air Con

The air conditioning units don't look anything like ours.  There is no central air conditioning but units that are put on the wall.  Normally apartments only have one big one in the main area and none in the bedrooms unless you buy your own.  No overhead fans either. 

 

• Off and On are verbs (as in, "Can you off the air con?")

• The power goes out a couple times a week

Now I know what "rolling" blackouts are.  The apartment complex has a back-up generator thankfully:)  It goes off at least once a day now.

• Your drug of choice is beetlenut (legal for young and old alike!). You go out in your yard, pick the nut, open it up, throw in some tobacco (from a crushed cigarette) and lime, wrap it up in a leaf, and chew it like chewin' tobacker. It stains your teeth (and anything you spit on) red. Mmmmm.....

You have not seen anything until you see a bettlenut smile!

 

• Speed bumps outnumber traffic lights by the hundreds

And NOT marked so you have to be really careful driving on the non-main roads.  I read an letter to the editor the other day requesting all the bumps be marked but I think it would take forever to do that!

• You can walk just about anywhere, but the locals think you're crazy if you do. The sidewalks begin in a no particular spot and end randomly

You are taking you life into your hands if you walk here except where there are sidewalks that you count on not ending.  There are some bike lanes but not many.  Pretty scary!!!

• 80% of your class is related to someone else in the class

This island is only 15 miles long and 5 miles wide after all:)

• No less than 2 students bring "euks" (eukeleles) to your class

When I flew into Saipan from Guam there were kids waiting for the Guam flight at the airport playing their "euks".  You see the older kids walking around with them everywhere.

• When your name is "Miss" regardless

I'm either called "Mame" or Miss Pat:)

 

• When you can wear Birkenstocks to your real profession job

Audra hit the jackpot working here.  Anything goes, no dress code what so ever.  You see teachers in short, capris, jeans, any kind of shirt, flip-flops..............my kind of dress code and Audra's too!

          
 So there you have a brief look at life on this island.  It is truly like taking a step back in time and I love it!


Remember to be nice to each other and good night:)

FLAME TREE FESTIVAL

Hafa Adai!

This weekend was the 30th annual Flame Tree Festival in Memorial Park downtown Garapan.  It's to honor all the beautiful Flame Trees that are in full bloom everywhere here. 

I was all excited hoping it would be like the Mill Avenue Art Fair and could look at all the crafty stuff.

It turned out to be a pretty nice day too because it was windy and not real humid (it's ALWAYS humid here but some days are worse than others).  Plus the festival was underneath the trees in the park so that made it cooler too.

It was not anything like the arts fairs I'm used to going to but very small instead.  Lots of local artists selling paintings and native made stuff.  We bought three pretty oil paintings from a lady who was thrilled we liked her stuff so much.  They were all very reasonably priced and have the island theme that Audra wants for her decor.  When I get the place fixed up I'll post pics of them.  

I bought a purse that was crocheted to use as a sample so I can make some of them.  I asked the lady who sold it to me if she made it and she said of course not.  A lot of the vendors here buy stuff from wherever for cheap and then re-sale it at these fairs.  But there are some home made stuff as well.  I bought a real pretty beaded necklace from one of the local women.  It was only $15.

I also picked up a neat bracelet from some people from India.  They are always at the Thursday Night Food Fair in downtown Garpan and I always end up buying stuff from them.  I bought three other things for Audra's apartment.  We hung them from the doorways to the bedrooms and the bathroom.  I love the bird hanging!   I will be bringing that back to Az. with me along with one of the long hanging thingies.

I saw some dancers getting ready to perform and asked one of them if I could take a picture of her and before I new it most of the crew came over.  They looked like butterflies when they danced.  I wish I could be so graceful!




It was fun walking around looking at all the stuff and talking to the people.  Always enjoy the locals here!

 

Audra's neighbor friend had us over for a waffle breakfast this morning.  I brought over some bacon and cooked it up.  It was delicious.  Bonnie is Audra's Saipan mom when I'm not here.  She and her husband are so nice to her.  She is also the reason Audra got another cat.....grrrrr!  Bonnie told me she was afraid I'd be really mad at her when I got here but Guava Comacho is so dang cute I can't be mad an anybody:)  

Gotta go for now.  Just wanted to share The Flame Tree Festival with all of you.  The two little girls are still missing too so keep them in your prayers:(


Have a very nice up-coming week and enjoy the heat:)

Handy Man Day in Paradise

Hafa Adai!

Today is handy man day at the little apartment.  There were several things that needed to be fixed.  Our toilet wasn't flushing properly, the cats had destroyed two blinds so I'm getting those replaced, a friend of Audra's gave her a bamboo blind to put up on the outside of her living room windows to keep the sun out as it is setting and the stove started shocking me while I was cooking this weekend (I guess it was trying to tell me to back away and stop with my cooking attempts).  Who knew that getting shocked by your stove was a pretty common problem?  I looked it up on the net and there is quite a lot of talk on there about that.  

So, the toilet was fixed (the holes along the top of the inside brim were clogged), the stove issue was taken care of by replacing two of the stove top elements and the outside blind was put up.

The cats vanished while the workers were here and didn't want any part of the goings on.  They really are scaredy cats:)

Last week when the cleaning lady was here I told her how I had been collecting rain water for the cats to drink.  She said she could get me 5 gallon bottles of water for $1.50.  It just so happened the water guy was delivering water while she was here so now we get cheap water (Audra had been buying the expensive kind).  I was wondering how we were ever going to be able to tip it over to fill up the bottles we keep in the fridge when Audra told me we should buy a water bottle pump.  I had never heard of such a thing.  She said everybody uses them here so we went out searching for one yesterday and found it.  It's a pump that fits on the top of the bottle and has a little spout so you can pump the water out.  It's nice because we can leave it on the floor:)  Go figure!  Am I the only one who hasn't heard of this thing?  Please raise your hands if you have heard of it....... or better yet let me know if you have.  Steve hadn't heard of it.  When I bought it the cashier told me this pump was an exceptional one because it was made in Korea and not China.  I asked what that meant and was told Korean products are far superior.  I didn't know that either:)

We had the most gorgeous sunset the other night!  I thought I had seen them all but nothing like this one.  In the picture where all the yellow is was bright pink.  I might adjust it later on to what it should actually look like but I like the yellow highlights in it.  It was breath taking!

Then last night the moon was a bloody read sliver sitting in the sky right above the ocean.  I tried to get a picture of it but my camera wouldn't capture it.  Darn!  I've never seen a blood red moon like that before.   

Audra needs curtains in her place so a friend suggested we buy sarongs and make them out of those.  All we'd need to do is sew the top to go on the rod and that would be it.  So now I'm busy sewing the tops of the sarongs.  I have 14 to do.  I sure could have used my little hand held sewing machine now.  I almost brought it along but then decided not to.  I couldn't find any wooden dowels to hang them from so bought shower curtain rods instead:)  Audra said only I could turn making curtains into a craft project.

I had a request from a friend of Audra's to make a card for her friend's up-coming b-day.  She wanted it to be ballerina related so I obliged.  She said she doesn't want to give it away now it turned out so good.  Guess I'll have to make another one just for her.   

Ok, now I'm off to try out the stove.  Hope it isn't a "shocking" experience any more.  Audra will let you know if I don't survive...................

Peace out my friends!