From Duluth to Saipan

Our trip to Saipan and the first two days

As we left my parents at the Duluth International Airport we were very sad and knew that we wouldn’t be seeing our families for a long time. As we sent our luggage through the scanning machines only our packet of DVD’s set off the scanner alarm…I suppose DVD’s “could” be considered dangerous to the mind, but not to a plane. The trip to Minneapolis took less than an hour and we had little lay over as we prepared to board our plane to Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan. The plane ride to Japan was frustrating as I had to sit next to a fellow who talked a lot and had bad breath to boot. He kept talking to the person behind us about his travel to Manila and the many issues in Manila. This flight also had a few crying children. Why would someone bring a child on an international flight that takes twelve hours? In the end I determined it was my fault for not taking my earplugs out of my suitcase before leaving Duluth. To end on a positive note, the food on the plane was the only redeeming factor as it was surprisingly good and beer was free. After our rather miserable flight, we arrived safely in Japan despite the turbulence that rocked the plane occasionally. While in Japan we had a three hour layover and took some time to explore the rather interesting shops, money exchange counter, and order from McDonalds. I have a few pictures from the McDonalds experience that I will post later. Kara ordered a plane hamburger, whilst I decided to be daring and try a foreign McDonald’s creation; I tried a shrimp patty burger. The shrimp burger wasn’t bad, but I believe I would have enjoyed the teriyaki chicken sandwich more. Our plane flight from Japan to Saipan was much more relaxing than our previous flight. I attribute this to the lack of crying children, the late hour, and the number of passengers being less than half full. I ended up passing out the majority of the flight, which was a blessing. As we descended toward Saipan we could see lit ships off of the shoreline, which I first thought to be cruise ships. I learned that evening from the school principal, Mr. Winkfield, the ships are what are referred to as “retaining ships.” A retaining ship is a ship that is privately owned, but is run by the U.S. military and carries military hardware. These ships contain enough ammunition and vehicles to carry out a small war until the U.S. Fleet could be summoned to an area as is needed. Normally there are six ships permanently stationed out to sea just off the shoreline. One ship is currently near North Korea as tensions have been high as of late. In times of peace these ships simply patrol the ocean between Saipan and Guam (where a U.S. Air Force base is located) and act as a typhoon warning system.

After arriving on the island a half hour early, we sat outside for a little while waiting for Mr. Winkfield and his wife to pick us up and bring us to the school at 1am Saipan time. Upon arriving in our apartments, we unpacked a few of our things and crashed around 3am. We would have fallen asleep sooner, but we were still pretty wired from our flight. The next morning we woke up for a staff meeting at 8am. At the meeting we filled out the regular barrage of tax forms and agreement forms. We were then brought to the local DMV to get a Saipan Driver’s license. The cost was only $30 per person and the license looks as though you could make it at home. On the flip side, the picture of me taken for the license is probably the best picture I’ve had, Kara’s was also very nice. After the DMV, we went to the Hawaii National Bank to set up a new account in order to receive automatic payment from the school.

Our second day on the island we bought lots of items that we didn’t send over. The cost of everything is very high. If anyone wants to donate money to us and is feeling generous we wouldn’t mind donations for food money. Some items in the store are cheap and others twice as expensive as in the states. For example, bacon is cheap at only $2.50 for bacon processed in Arizona, but milk is approx. $12. Our flat rate boxes that we shipped are still trickling in as it takes about a week for them to arrive we are finding. Needless to say expenses are high, I will not write about them because it makes me depressed to do so…

To move on toward a happier topic, our apartments are bigger than I expected. Our apartment, so named apartment G, is located directly above my classroom for Language arts 6-8^th grade. The apartment is a two bedroom and the bathroom is located between. Our living room is spacious and the kitchen is not bad either. We have no carpeting in the apartment, but may buy a rug or two later to give the apartment some “class.” It is nice not having a t.v. as it forces us to be social and to do other things like read the Bible together or read other books. The water for the apartment is not drinkable as it is technically rainwater that is collected from the building’s roof. The water is put through a strainer of sorts, but is not mixed with a bleaching agent of any kind. If we boil the water it could be drinkable and cause us no danger. The way most people on the island get water is by getting large 5 gallon drums of water filled for only $2.50. During the school year the water man comes once a week. The beach is right outside of our classroom and contains a variety of sea life such as: small crabs (fun to pick up in your hand as you notice shells scurrying across the sand), non-poisonous sea snakes, and minnow sized fish called a “Goat Fish” that some islanders eat raw, I will let you know if I partake in such a tradition. The “Goat Fish” can be seen if you search for it under Google Images. The juvenal stage of goat fish I have seen in the water are white, almost clear, with blackish/brown stripes down their side. The small, juvenal stage fish are the type sought after by locals for sushi etc. Another interesting thing about our apartments is the balcony that is inhabited by large toads that hop up the steps occasionally and small lizards that I believe to be geckos, but am not sure to what species they belong.

Well that is all for now from Saipan, I will fill you all in with a little more about our classrooms when I have time and once I have done more to prepare for class starting on this coming Monday.

Sincerely, Grant