My Birthday!

Hi Everyone,
I had an awesome and wonderful birthday! It was one of the best birthdays I have ever had. The celebration started by being sung two a few times at school. On Saturday Grant took me out for my birthday dinner at Tony Romas. I love Tony Romas because there used to be one in Omaha and my family and I went there a lot so when I came to Saipan, I was very excited about the restaurant. The waiters/waitresses sung to me and brought me a red velvet cake with ice cream, yes I did share it with Grant, and it was absolutely amazing. Then Grant and I headed to the Taste of the Marianas to hang out with friends and to enjoy the entertainment. That night was my favorite night of entertainment so far. I loved the hula dancing, warrior dancing, and most of all the fire dancer. It was a great start to my birthday weekend.
On my birthday which was on a Sunday this year I started the day by skyping with my family which was great. Then I headed to church where the entire church sang happy birthday to me:) From there I had no clue what was going to happen on my birthday.  I packed two bags full of items since I was not sure what I was doing or where I was going. As soon as we were in the car my friends handed me a list of things I needed to complete on my birthday so I thought I would share some of the items on the list:
*wear a pretty swimsuit
*pray it doesn't rain on your special day
*dress up cute for an evening of fun
*ask the lifeguard to borrow the red floaty
*ask for a ride on a golf cart
*shout I'm a pretty pretty princess while jumping into the pool
*get happy birthday sung to you at least 3x
*find 25 A's
I am happy to report that all of those items were completed and it was a lot of fun getting to play along with the list.
We started the day by having a mothers day brunch at Lao Lao Bay which is one of my favorite spots on the island. I was sung happy birthday there by the singer who was playing for everyone. I had a great lunch and enjoyed the mothers day cake. From there we spent the afternoon hanging out in the pool there and I had fun swimming, embarrasing myself by asking the lifeguard for his floaty, and hanging out with my friends. I did end up getting a ride on a golf cart right away since we parked so far away, one of the employees asked us and I said yes!
From there we headed to the Dinner Cruise. I have gone on the cruise 2 times before and loved it both times. It was fun since some of my friends had not gone before on the cruise. It was a night of dancing, watching the fish, hanging out, and having fun with friends. I spent part of the night sitting on the end of the boat with my friend Becky, just soaking up the beauty of Saipan and thinking about how much I am going to miss this place. The singer/entertainer for the night Jerry was a hit as always and I had a lot of fun singing along and dancing along to the music. I even did a duet dance with my friend Laura:0
After the Dinner cruise, we went night swimming. We ended up getting stung by jellyfish so that part was not so much fun. We ended up at my friend Amy's apartment pool so we could end the night swimming with friends.
It was an amazing birthday and the first surprise birthday I have ever had. I love my friends so dearly who made this day happen and shared this day with me. These girls are such a blessing from God and they have made my time in Saipan so fun and so meaningful.I will cherish all of the memories I have with them, but this day will always stick out in my mind because it rocked!!!!

Spirit Week at SCS

April 16-20th was Spirit Week at SCS. This was a fun week of dressing up and getting the kids excited about school spirit. The Friday before there was a skit of Superheros who have traits from the fruit of the spirit. It was a very funny chapel and it got the kids excited about the upcoming week.
Monday was Crazy Hat Day. Tuesday was Twin Day. Wednesday was Superhero Day. Thursday was Class Color Day(my class was blue) and Friday was Cultural Day. I really enjoyed Cultural Day since I was able to see my students dressed up as their culture. My classroom is a multi-cultural classroom. I have Chinese, Korean, local, Japanese, and American students. They had all of the kids stand up on the stage at chapel on Friday and it was so great to see an array of cultures that our school is made up of. My students enjoyed spirit week and it was fun seeing them getting excited about school spirit. I took a lot of pictures so I hope you enjoy the ones I picked to share:)

Crazy Hat Day!

Twin Day! I loved their outfits!

Twins!

Pink Girls!

Superhero Day! My co-workers and I.

My class of superheros!

One of my superhero students.

Mrs. Flores and I.

Our principal got into the spirit too!

Mr. Martin- one of our amazing teacher aides.

I was Butterfly Woman.

Class Color Day- Blue!!!!

Two of my former students. I love this picture because it shows the diversity of our school!

My class of the nations!

Island Girls!

One of my Korean students dressed in traditional wear.

My student and I.

10 more days of school!!!!

Exploring Saipan's Jungle

Dear Friends, Family, and Readers,

     I thought I would share my experience of exploring the jungle last Sunday as it may have been my last on Saipan or at least first to last time.  I am not writing because I found something cool while exploring.  I'm writing this time to share how much effort it takes in order to explore the jungle in a crazy place like Saipan and some of the experiences I have had.  I hope you enjoy the wildlife pictures.  If I am able to get out exploring one last time hopefully I will take more pictures of the plant and animal life.  So before I share some pictures from my exploration last Sunday, I'll share some of my experiences and hints I've learned by trial and error.
     One thing I've learned is to always pre-hydrate and take vitamins/minerals.  If I were to do hiking on Saipan over again I would supplement with minerals more often.  The reason for this is the constant threat of cramping.  I don't know if it because I was born in a cold place or my body just sweats more than others, but lake of fluids has at times taken its toll on me.  Potassium can help stop muscle cramping, but you need lots of minerals not only potassium and salt.  Salt only further dehydrates your body.  One day I spent about 6+ hours in the jungle exploring and even with pre-hydration two nights before I still cramped up and felt like throwing up.  Luckily I didn't blow chunks, but I realized then that more needed to be done and that even though I went into the jungle with 6 water bottles and 4 Sports Drinks (like Powerade etc)  I still needed more.  The heat in Saipan is anywhere from 76-96 on a consistent basis, this is further amplified when it rains or you are in dense jungle.
   Two, listen to the sounds in the jungle in order to catch yourself from getting hurt.  If you hear buzzing look around for a boonie bee hive they are so small a hive of 30-60 bees might be under a leaf or attached to a twig.  If you hear rustling, look for lizards or rats (yes the jungle has rats and they are ugly), if you hear noise that sounds like a human look for at the plants to make sure you haven't ended up on a pot farm or been in the path of a crab poacher.  One time I spotted a crab poacher and he was so quiet that if I hadn't caught a glimpse of his camo-fatigues I would have guessed it was jungle lore come to life.
    Three, always bring flags to tie to trees and put your own sign on them in permanent marker.  Mine was a black cross.  It is important to do this because the jungle can grow thick and the sky can turn dark making it hard to see your path.  Also, when I have been extremely dehydrated I have found that my sense of direction becomes almost nil and the only thing that has helped me get out of the jungle are my flags.
     I hope you enjoy the pictures of wildlife and plant life below. Click on the picture for a larger image.

 I know what you are thinking; I Photo Shopped this little guy onto a
leaf... No, he is actually real and sat there long enough to get a quick picture.
This lizard is called a Green Anole or in Chamorro a Guali'ek.  They were
first found on Saipan in the 1970's but may have been here longer.

This is an example of a boonie be hive that has been stripped of
its outer paper and only the comb remains, yet it is securely attached
to a twig!  If it had not been abandoned and it was not the dry season,
a hive like this might hold 60 small boonie bees and would have stung me
something awful.  To see a large hive on our blog type in "boonie bees,
Saipan" on a Google search.  The hive I had previously shown may have
 been ahoney bee hive, but I'm not sure either way I have seen much bigger on
Saipan.

This little guy is one that I often see on Saipan.  Saipan is home to a
number of lizard species known as skinks (no, not stinks).  This particular
Skink is not a native species and is causing problems for the local species that
exist. This skink is called the "Curious Skink" or in Chamorro: Guali'ek Halom Tano'.
It is called this name because it often investages disturbances on the forest floor where
other species might run away this one investigates.  It is often confused with adult Blue
Tailed Skinks which are native to Saipan because the adults of the Blue Tailed species lose
their blue tails in adulthood and appear brown like this species.  This picture helps me identify
it as a foreign species because all other skink species in the Marianas have 5 front toes.  This
species only  has 4.  It is as shame that it is causing problems for the young Blue Tailed Skinks because
that species is so beautiful.  In the jungle you see Blue Tails all the time as they are a bright neon blue.

A really cool orb weaving spider that almost looks like a tick
if it weren't for the fact that it was decorating my backpack with its
web skills.  Can you see the web on my backpack?  

Sometimes I forget that even though WWII is over the war among the ant species of Saipan
is always in full swing.  I believe these are fire ants that are taking the dead  body of a large ant to their
nest for eating.  Don't let them get on your feet as they do swarm and bit a little.

One of the most common spiders we have on Saipan... Not sure of their name but they are  just
about everywhere. 

I like the color contrast of this decaying fruit.... I believe it is a Jackfruit that has
become too ripe and is rotting.  

A cool picture of a hollow tree trunk that looks like an upside down
scream face.

The thickness of the jungle on Saipan even during dry season!  You
can barely see my orange flags weaving down the slope.

This may not look like much but all of those white branches are
thorn bushes I had to chop through to make progress up to the top of the hill
I  was trying to scale.

This is a view of the road leading to Suicide cliff from the trail I was blazing on Sunday.
I will maybe try to explore further up suicide and try and find the path that leads to the bottom of  the cliff
from the right side of the road.  We'll see it may be that farm fields are in the way or I may not have time before I leave to explore its dense jungle.

23 Days...

I can not believe that it is May already. Boy has time flown and it amazes me that I only have 23 days left in Saipan. With being here for 2 years I have felt at times that my time here is infinite. Time in Saipan feels different compared to time in the states since the seasons do not change. It is always Summer in Saipan! For example my Easter and Thanksgiving pictures look exactly the same. So how am I feeling? Well, I have decided to enjoy my last month in Saipan and to life my life to the fullest. I have done everything I have wanted to do but am wanting to spend lots of time with my friends and at the beach. I do think about our future after Saipan but I am trusting God that He will fill in the pieces of the puzzle for us. We know that we are headed to grad school in the fall but we need jobs starting this summer. Grant and I have been applying to places to work in St. Paul MN. Grant has had one interview and have received rejection letters from some of the places we have applied. I am trying to stay focused on being in Saipan because otherwise I would be consumed with worry about what is ahead. All I know is that God brought us to Saipan and He has made it clear that we our next move will be in the states. The school has also hired all of the teachers for next year which is exciting for the school since last year they were hiring up until july. Knowing this makes it easier to leave knowing that people will come and fill our spots. I do love our school, saipan, and the life we have here but I am ready to move on. I have always been one of those people who lives fully where they are not looking ahead and waiting for whats next. I do look forward to a lot that comes with being back in the states: seeing my and Grant's family, seeing friends, eating at our favorite places, moving to a new city, starting a new life... but I am holding off on thinking too much about them because I want to enjoy my short time I have left on the island I love. So in the end it will be bittersweet to end and I will continue to do what I always do: be fully present right where I am.
Here is a picture of my friends and I at the spa from this weekend:

The Mandi Spa- my favorite place on Saipan, it truly feels like a piece of heaven!

23 days!

Sought,Savory, Sea Shells on Saipan

Dear Friends, Family, & by chance Readers,

Today, I thought I would share a blog about sea shells common to Saipan.  As I get ready to go home, I have a lot of shells to send back and I thought it would be good to learn some of their names.  These are not all of the shells I have found on Saipan (as I have already sent some back), but they are some of the types we have in Saipan.  I apologize for not researching all of their names, but for a beginning collector of shells on Saipan this would be a great place to start. I hope it helps some of you out there. I created a tongue twister of a title for you to try at home for more sea shell fun. Click on the pictures for a larger image.

Commercial Top Shell (Trochus Niloticus)

Serpent’s/Snake’s Head Cowrie (Cypraea Caputserpentis) Anothershell 
much bigger that we have on Saipan is the Tiger Cowrie. I have
never brought one back from the ocean, but Kara and I did buy some
artwork with one in the center of the design. 

Lynx Cowrie (Cypraea Lynx) This shell differs from 

the deer cowrie below in that it has a purplish orange

color to it.

Deer Cowrie (Cypraea Vitellus)

Money Cowry (Cypraea Moneta)

Tulip Cone (Conus Tulipa)  These are poisonous if the

creature is still inside.  This picture shows the coloring as

blue but it is more purplish in nature than blue.

F.Y.I.: No sea creatures were harmed in my collecting as they were all found on Saipan beaches.

Some more Common to Saipan but not included in my pictures are: Fairyland Snail Sea Shell (Achatina Achatina, these are often taken by large land hermit crabs),  Limpet Shells (these are the small guys that stick to the rocks near the beach, they belong to the Patellidae, Acmaeidae, Fissurellidae families of shells 35 species known worldwide), Murex Shells (big heavily spined shells, also sold at touristy places, the small ones are used by crabs on the bach), Spider Conch (We have lots of these in Saipan, but I don’t have the heart to kill one that is alive… These are the sharp spined shells that I call 5 finger shells they are part of the Strombidae family), we have various types of Turban Shells that show up on the beach too, but I don’t find them appealing to collect, we also have Vase Shells (which often have their discarded shells taken by hermit crabs).

Ciao!  Grant

Saipan Community School Art Show

Dear Friends, Family, & Readers,

     I don't mean to steal the show as my wife just blogged about her most recent endeavor of running, but I felt I should write about the annual Art Show & Young Writer's Workshop (YWW) our students put on at school.  Last year I had my students do poems for the YWW, but this year I felt I needed to challenge them a little more. This year I had my sixth graders write three page research papers and my 7th and 8th graders write 10 page short stories.  Even though this event took place on the 19th of April, I am still grading these papers because I want to do a good job in giving feedback etc... I will not write much about this event, but will rather let the pictures do the talking.   I hope you enjoy them.  Remember to click on the picture for a larger image.

A lamp made out of pop-sickle sticks one of my
eight grade girls created.  I would tell her to use
it, but I'm afraid it might be a fire hazard if left unattended.

Paper mache' dolls colored and made glossy using art glue.

A self-portrait of one of my seventh grade Chinese students.  I like
this picture because it shows her personality this year as opposed to
last year's personality as a 6th grader.  She may not think so, but that is
what I think.

Me standing in front of my table of essays and short stories.
Many thanks go out to my three helpers Kara Fifield, Ms. Oronia, and Nellie (sp?)
who helped in making my table awesome.  Funny thing is that when I was
labeling my desk I forgot the "i" in Junior due to not paying attention, being hungry, and
talking to students when I should have been concentrating.  We all laughed and they
proceeded to help me.  I still have a good chuckle every time I think about that.

These are multi-layered aluminum foil engravings.  Students
are graded based on how many layers of engraving they make upon the
foil.  It is hard to see the layers from this picture.  In the bottom example,
you can see at least three layers.  I like this picture because they are shining in the sun.

Kara having a good conversation with a parent.  The first grade made
stories and they had a lot of fun doing it.

A picture of the crowd just as the amount of people coming to view the show
was picking up.  I really think Mrs. Winkfield our art teacher does a great job
inspiring kids to create.  As far as I know, this is something unique that only our school
does.  I'm always amazed at how even artwork from kindergarten looks like
professional abstract art.