Me, Myself and Island

The Summer Thusfar

2008-08-24T12:45:00.001-07:00

This summer has been one of much change and much studying, but also a lot of fun. Here are some pictures of what I've been up to so far this summer since coming back from Saipan.

Congratulations Randi! I was so glad I made it back in time for her graduation.

Me and new puppy Harley on our way up to Walla Walla
Cousins! We all met up in Walla Walla to see Allegra (2nd from left) graduate from WWU.

My new home at LLU

My roomate Liz and I

My friend and roommate from Saipan, Jess! I'm so happy she lives near me!

One of my anatomy professors presenting us with a visual aid of the internal organs...

This pretty much sums up the first seven weeks of summer for me...studying for

GROSS ANATOMY!

Some of my lovely fellow OT friends model the their scrubs in front of the anatomy lab

Saipan Reunion number 1! We got together for dinner with the Piersons, visiting from Saipan. It was so awesome to get together with some of my dear Saipan family, I'm sure missing them all...

Some of my friends and I got pedicures to celebrate the end of anatomy!

I've been to the beach a few times this summer. Of course it's much different from Saipan beaches (WAY colder and more crowded, to name a few differences...) but it's still super fun. This is my friend Kelsey catching a football at the beach on one of many Sabbath afternoon beach days.

Saipan Reunion number 2! This time us Loma Linda Saipanese people got to see Mai! It was so good to see her!

Liz, me, and Mandi went to L.A. to see the Body Worlds exhibit at the California Science Center. It was really cool! If you haven't heard of it, basically it is a combination of art and science-it features cadavers that have been meticulously dissected and then plasticized. The bodies are posed in active life-like positions, like dancers and acrobats. There was even a plasticized giraffe and an ostrich! ( www.bodyworlds.com)

Venice Beach

Ever heard of the TV show 'Wipeout'? I hadn't either until we came across the set where they were filming their season finale. We got to be part of their 'live audience.' I guess it's this show on ABC where people injure and make fools of themselves trying to make money.

Well that's a pretty good representation of my summer...except it might appear that I spent more time having fun than in school. Let me just set the record straight...it does in fact take a lot of time and work to be a functional student in a professional program. Just so you know. I took anatomy for 7 weeks, and I've been taking 'real' OT classes for the past 4 weeks and next week is finals! Craziness. Then I get to go home for 2 weeks yay.

Saipan people-don't worry, I think about you guys every single day! When the studying is done (for now...), and life slows down for a moment, my mind always travels to that little green speck of land in the bright blue sea where I lived and loved for 10 months (sorry, I'm neither the most profound nor original writer ever, but the sentiment is genuine and heartfelt). Whether you're still there or have had to leave like I have, I hope life is going well and you are finding happiness and success. I love you so much!

Preschool Graduation

2008-07-13T11:04:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I haven't put up anything about preschool graduation yet! The teachers and the kids both worked very hard to get it together and I have to say it was a very cute program. All the classes sang songs and recited memory verses, and my class got their diplomas. Amy and I even sang a special music at the end. It was difficult, but I managed to hold myself together pretty well, even when they gave me a goodbye gift of a book that the kids had made for me. Here are some pictures!

June 1, 2008

Back in the States

2008-06-08T23:42:00.000-07:00

I wrote this blog a few days after I got home. I've been avoiding blogging because I still don't want it to be real-the fact that I am no longer there on that warm, beautiful, diverse island with adorable children and a great family of friends and coworkers. But alas, it is so.

June 8 2008
It was probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Leaving Saipan was and is still incredibly painful. Nobody here really gets it. They're all like "I bet you're so glad to be home" and I'm like "well I guess so....but I really loved it where I was." My first night at home, I wept bitterly into my pillow far into the wee hours of the morning, thinking 'I don't want to be here right now!' Each day is a little better though. I am so glad that my family came to visit me. Not just because I got to see them, but because now they know all the places and people that I'm always talking about. Saipan is pretty much all I talk about right now, everyone is probably really sick of hearing about it. 'In Saipan, we did this, in Saipan we had that, wow, you can't find these in Saipan, gas was way more expensive in Saipan, etc. etc. etc.' Well, I guess that's just how it's going to be for a while, until I start talking about anatomy. I'm glad that my family is pretty understanding of my antisocial-ness, lethargy, and non-stop reminescing. But it's not very fun. I'm seeing all my old friends again, and that definately perks me up again. But it sucks because I just see them long enough to remember how much I missed them, and then I have to leave again. I only have 3 more days left here at home. But at least I'm going up to Walla Walla for the weekend, so I'll see some of my friends from up there. Except for it will be the same situation.

My sister graduated from high school this weekend. It's been fun seeing her and her class all grown up and stuff. I wouldn't have missed it for anything. It is weird being with so many people though. I feel so awkward around everyone. I don't really have anything to say except "Yeah, Saipan was great, it was awesome, yeah, now I'm going to go to school in Loma Linda, what are you up to these days?" Bleh. I am glad that Katie and I have each other. Even though our experiences were very different, just the fact that we both went to Pacific islands and worked with children gives us a bit of understanding toward each other. We have been comparing stories and reminescing about island life.

Lookin' good after nearly 24 hours of travel :) Katie (and Harley) came with my mom to meet me at the airport in Sacramento. We're both sporting our island T-shirts.

The Final Countdown

2008-05-25T06:02:00.000-07:00

Anyone know that song by Europe? That's okay, besides the title, it really has nothing to do with this blog post.

Oh, man. oh manohmanohman. Today someone pointed out that I'm leaving in 9 days. Less than a week and a half. I only have 4 more days of teaching left. Only four more drives to work with Amy. Only four more days of playing trains, cars, and Legos. Only four more days to make it all better with a band-aid and a hug. Only four more days to ooh and aah over stick figures and scribbles. Only four more days to wow an adoring and appreciating little crowd with my guitar skills. Only four more days to pick up my little ones and spin them around and watch the pure innocent delight illuminate their faces. Only four more days of tiny arms wrapping around my legs and a smiling little face saying "I love you Miss Riki!"

(Sigh)..........I should go to bed. It's been a good Sunday. I had my last spa day with Mai and another friend (actually the same girl who wrote and directed the play performed earlier this month.) So refreshing...Then we went to Coffee Care with Judith and Jessica, mmmm. Yay friends. After that we went clubbing...book clubbing that is. The book of discussion was "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards. You should read it. Amy led the discussion and she did quite an exceptional job.

Also, Judith, Jessica, Mai and I practiced this dance that we're trying to learn, it's gonna be sweet! We will so be ready by Tuesday night (you can believe this or not). Judith came up with this genius idea to have an 'open mike night' at Oleai's for the upper-grade students and staff to share music, poetry, art and whatever other talent they might have up their sleeve. It's going to be fun!
I love my Saipan sisters! (Vero, Crystal, Amy, Judith
Me, Jessica, Bev, Mai)

Events

2008-05-12T02:29:00.000-07:00

The guitar duo-after church

Saturday and Sunday nights (May 3, 4) REAL Christian Theatre presented a musical called "A Song From the Heart." It was written by a member of the team, and it was a full-length play. The whole thing was original except for the songs. The most amazing thing is that the author is only 17! She also directed the play. It was really good-it had humor, drama, irony, all the good stuff.

Me and the lead actress of the show!

The Cast!!!

On Sunday morning, Judith and I met Mark at Lao Lao for a dive. It was just the three of us, so we got to go really deep (well, the deepest I've gone so far-125 feet) and we saw some really cool things. Of course, the fish and the coral formations are always exciting to me, but the best part was that we saw two turtles! Mark had his fancy shmancy underwater camera so here are some pictures.

This little guy didn't seem to mind our presence at all-it even let stroke its shell!

It hung out with us for quite awhile, foraging on the bottom.

We saw another, bigger turtle down deeper. We also saw a pretty darn big Napoleon wrasse. It's scary going down really deep-when I looked up and I couldn't see the surface, I became a bit...uneasy. But it was fun.

Another cool thing that we saw was a giant fishball-it was so mesmerizing just swimming with that solid wall of fish. We also got to swim in it! Here are some pics!

Me with the fishies!

This is such a cool picture of my roommate Judith!

After the dive we decided to go to Remington Cafe, a place that we had never been but we had heard about their famouse iced coffee with COFFEE ICE CUBES! After wandering around Garapan unsuccessfully, we were about to give up when I happened to turn around and see the inconspicuous sign. It is such a great little place-great coffee, good music, good environment, good service. The guy that worked there was really nice, he saw us looking at some diving magazines and so he brought us more, and he also brought us this really cool book that was in Japanese and English. I guess you can only buy it in Japan or on Japanese websites so Judith and I plan to go back and have him help us order it. (Did I mention the guy was Japanese?)

After the dive that day, I felt really exhausted. It's normal to feel tired after a dive, but my exhaustion wasn't going away. A few hours later, I also started to feel dizzy and short of breath, and my joints were aching. The thought of decompresson sickness crossed my mind, but I didn't really get worried until it was about midnight and the symptoms still weren't going away. I talked to the Maycocks and they decided to take me to the ER. They gave me oxygen and an IV, and after a few hours I was feeling better, and so they sent me home. But the next morning the symptoms were back, so I went to a walk-in clinic and Sean called the Divers Alert Network for advice. Both the DAN people and the doctors at the clinic felt that I should probably be treated in a decompression chamber. It was kind of an adventure getting all the arrangements made for me to fly to Guam-oxygen or no oxygen, commercial plane or helicopter (which would have cost a lot!) etc. But finally they decided to treat me with oxygen for 1 hour before the flight, which would be on a regular plane. I was kind of nervous going on the plane though because I was afraid that I might get worse or something, but it actually wasn't bad. Then someone picked us up (Barbara came with me) and took us to the Navy hospital because I guess the regular decompression chamber was in use. So I showed up there, and they were like "What are you guys doing here? We are only supposed to recieve military and military dependants unless we have made arrangements with someone ahead of time. No one should have let you guys in here!" But they said that since I was there with a medical condition, they had to treat me. They hooked me up to all sorts of monitors and gave me more oxygen (that's some good stuff let me tell you.) My symptoms had really improved by the end of that oxygen session. The dive doctors of the Navy came in and saw me. They did a neurological function test on me and asked me all sorts of questions. After evaluating me, they decided that recompression therapy was not necessary (after all that). So the next day we flew back to Saipan. I was really tired and a little weak for a few days but I'm pretty much back to normal now. The only sad thing is that I can't go diving for awhile. I'll probably only get 1 more dive in right before I leave.

It was kind of a scary experience because I guess DCI, if it's severe or not properly treated, can have lasting effects like paralysis and brain damage and stuff. But luckily my case was not severe, and also I had lots of people praying for me here on Saipan and in the States. Thank you everyone, and thank you Jesus!

Earth Day!

2008-05-01T14:55:00.001-07:00

On April 22, Earth Day, Amy and I took our classes to Kilili Beach Park to pick up trash and of course play on the playground! I didn't get any pictures of us actually picking up trash but I got some of them having a blast on the playground. Aren't they adorable?

Remember kids.....RECYCLE REDUCE REUSE!!!! Yay Earth!

Crikey! I'm 21!

2008-03-30T00:55:00.000-07:00

Judith made me an awesome birthday card!

Yay happy birthday to me! To celebrate the momentous occasion we went to dinner at Spicy Thai mmmmm! We went the night before my actual birthday because on my actual birthday, the eighth grade class plus sponsors plus me and Amy flew to Australia for a week! (more about that later!)Judith and Mai!

Me and Amy!

Jessica and Michael! (Michael came to visit from Cali for spring break)

Also Bev was there but she escaped my pictures somehow. Also the reason why my smile looks kind of tired is because I was sick.

Thursday, my birthday, was the last day of school before spring break. I woke up feverish and I slept in the nap room at work all morning, but I managed to revive for the party (thank you drugs). We had a big celebration that was a birthday party for me and two of my kids that were having birthdays during spring break, plus a goodbye party for a student who was moving to Japan. We ended up having pizza and two cakes! Thanks parents! The kids were so excited.

Yay, they're 5 years old!

"OK guys, look this way....smile...hey, over here....stop fighting!....come on, big smile...ok just take the picture...."

One last picture before she goes to Japan:(...we miss her in our class!

There's never a dull moment in my classroom, especially with these two!

Also my mom surprised me by calling me at work to wish me happy birthday! Thanks Mommy!

At like 1pm me and Amy left work and rushed to the airport to head off to the land of Aus. We made it to Guam without mishap but then our flight to Cairns was delayed so we got to spend some quality time together in the airport. We were entertained by watching this couple doing gymnastics or yoga or something right in the middle of the airport. I guess that's one way to make use of the waiting time.

Mai-Rhea makes good use of our wait by reading the latest book of our book club.

Passing the time in the airport with a triple camera duel. (but wait, doesn't the word 'duel' indicate two sides? hmmmm....)

Amy and the Maycocks, clearly thrilled to be chillin' in Guam International Airport.

The boys sat like all the way at the other end from the rest of the group...fine, I see how it is...

Stay tuned for the thrilling retelling of the adventures of this fantastic trip! Actually, if you really want read a thrilling retelling of the adventures, go to Mai and Sean's blogs. Seriously. But I will be posting my own (much less eloquent) version of the vacation soon.

An entry long overdue!

2008-03-08T01:37:00.001-08:00

Ok, I realized that my last blog was kind of depressing. But that's not how it actually is around here. I have so many blessings in my life and a lot to be happy about, every single day. Here are some of the highlights of my life for the last few months/weeks (not necessarily in chronological order).

Preschool Field Trip to Saipan Botanical Gardens (Jan) !

Weekend at Managaha with the school (Feb) !

Preschool Field Trip to the Zoo (March) !

Having fun with friends (whenever possible) !

Sorry I've been horrible at updating this thing, I'm going to try to cram it all in though, just wait!

Saipanism of the Day: The phrase of recent times is "Nothing power!" which means that we are having yet another power outage thanks to CUC, the island's utility company, not paying for its fuel or something, I don't quite gather the whole situation. All I know is that there is nothing power or sometimes nothing water also. And it's a pain. Especially nothing water.

Much has changed since last I wrote...

2008-02-15T16:25:00.000-08:00

So about halfway through January, things started to happen. I don't really know how to explain it but multiple factors were involved and there was drama, and I often found myself stuck in the middle. January 22 I came home from work and my wonderful roommate Eva told me that she was really having a tough time here and that she would probably be leaving. I was of course very shocked and saddened by this news, but she said she would probably still be here for a few weeks. Missy and Amy and I were planning to do special music for church the next day, so after I composed myself I went and knocked on their door to see when they wanted to practice. Missy silently opened the door and pulled me inside. Then she told me that she would be returning home the next Tuesday. Wow. Ouch. Double hit. I totally lost it. My poor eyes.

Anyway that was the start of a very tough but meaningful weekend. We went to church (but we didn't do special music since all three of us were feeling quite emotionally fragile), and then afterwards Amy, Missy, Bev, John and I went to Capricciosa's for lunch. The best part was taking the youth on a hike to Forbidden. It was so much fun! We went to this little underground pool/cave thing and it was so awesome! I couldn't believe I had never been in there before, it was incredible. Here are a few pictures from the hike (there aren't very many because I was too busy having fun to take pictures).

We ended our excursion by having a sunset devotional on Mt. Topachau (I'm still not sure how to spell that), and Missy individually told all the kids that she was leaving. Oh man. Sad.

Afterwards, I went out to crepes with Mai, Jess, Judith, and the Piersons. It was really good because it made me realize that even though 2 of the people with whom I shared much of my life with were leaving, it would be ok because they would all still be here.

Thanks friends!

On Sunday we went diving for the last time all together at Lao Lao. It was a good time as always. Monday was sad knowing that Missy was leaving the next day, and on Tuesday I woke up at 3am to say goodbye. :(

2008-02-06T09:51:00.001-08:00

Written like halfway through January...

2008-02-06T09:38:00.000-08:00

I used to blog every week back when nothing really was going on, but now I am too busy doing fun and interesting things to write about them! But I’ll try to at least record a brief report of the past month of my life

The preschool put on a mini-musical called ‘The Littlest Christmas Tree.’ It was so adorable! The kids looked so cute in their costumes (which included bunnies, deer, birds, and trees) and they sang so well (for 2-4 year olds anyway)! The elementary school’s production was also really well done, it was a great program overall!

We got 2 new ESL teachers from the Phillipines, Antonee and Girlie. Our school does a ‘winter ESL’ program and a lot of students come from Korea for a few months to attend. It

I went to Pohnpei for Christmas break. It was so awesome to see you Katie! I had an awesome time riding in the back of the truck, hiking/climbing, carving ivorynut, diving/riding in the boat and just hanging out at the compound. It went way too fast of course, and I was sad to leave.

But I was super excited because my family came to visit me! They got here a day after I got back. Words cannot describe how incredibly fun it was to have them here, so maybe these pictures can do better.

This week I lucked out and didn’t end up going back to work until Wednesday. So on Monday I cleaned up the disaster that was my apartment and on Tuesday Missy and I spent the day relaxing at the spa. Afterward, the preschool staff had our meeting at Taco Bell, which was a good time! It was actually kind of nice to go back to work. I missed my kids! Another fun thing that happened on Wednesday was that my wonderful neighbors Missy and Amy hosted a fondue party (mmmm…..) and we watched Chocolat.

On Friday, Amy and I went snorkeling and we saw an eagle ray!

Saturday after church we had a potluck to welcome our newest teacher, Cornell. He’s an older Australian gentleman and he’s taught on a bunch of different islands, he’s a cool guy.

Sunday was our school’s Walk-A-Thon. We are trying to raise money for a new school building.

Right now in my class we are talking about plants, so it’s really fun coming up with activities for that. We are watching our beans sprouting (in plastic bags taped to the window, but hey, they still think it’s cool) and learning the names and functions of the basic parts of a plant. I brought in a coconut sapling (isn’t that what you call baby trees? It doesn’t sound quite right in this context but oh well). You know, the ones that are sprouting right out of the coconut. My kids thought it was the coolest thing ever. You’d think they’d never seen a palm tree before or something. That’s what I love about kids- they are so enthusiastic even about seemingly ordinary things.
Last night was the preschool’s Family Night. We had it at Kilili Beach park. There was a pretty good turnout. We had a potluck and played games. I think the kids had a lot of fun, we had a bounce house and we were also right next to the playground.

I am halfway done with the school year! I don’t know whether to feel happy or sad. I have to admit, I’m a little on the sad side. I mean, it will be nice to live near my family and friends again, but I’m going to miss my Saipan family/friends so much! I don’t want to think about it. I am just going to try to make the most of each moment I have left here. I hope it doesn’t go to fast, but usually the last half of things tends to go faster than the first half. I guess the first half has gone kind of fast, but it also feels like I’ve been here forever. I don’t know how that works but whatever.

Plus, I feel like when I finally get the hang of being a teacher, the school year will be over…

December (so far)

2007-12-15T03:23:00.000-08:00

It's December! It totally does NOT feel Christmasy around here. I feel like it's permanently summer. They try though-stores have out their lights and Christmas decorations. It feels like a joke to me. Don't get me wrong, I am super excited about Christmas too-I am having my students make all sorts of Christmas decorations and stuff too, it's fun.

The student that I consider the most challenging moved to California. Even though the classroom is more peaceful without her, I was sad to see her go because we had invested so much time and effort into teaching her. I hope that she will continue being guided in behaving appropriately because if she is not, she is going to have major problems as she gets older. One of the kids at school got lice, so we had to check all the kids' heads. We didn't find any cases that day, but the worst was to come...

December 1 was the school's talent show and I have to say it was the funniest, cutest talent show I've ever seen, with the talents ranging from jump-roping to poetry to Tae Kwon Do to somersaults. Me and Ana were one of the 2 musical acts, we did a uke/guitar version of a Norah Jones song.

The next day, Missy and I went diving with Ken and Crystal and Mark and Tammi to Obyan, and it was amazing! The visibility was awesome and there was so much to see. We even saw a pretty big octupus! So the day started out awesome, but it quickly took a turn for the worst when, after diving, I discovered that I had become the new host for the little creatures that my students brought to school with them in their hair. AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!! I was having a minor meltdown when Eva came home. I was afraid she might get freaked out, but she just whipped out the lice removing kit that she had so intelligently brought from home. After I used it I washed every fabric thing in our apartment and bleached the heck out of the rest of it. So that was an interesting experience that I would not care to have again. I haven't worn my hair down to school since then!

So even though the month started out with some not-so-greatness, it's been going pretty well. Especially since I get to go to Pohnpei next week, and then my family comes! Yay!

Saipanism of the Day
ever since: 'a long time' or 'since forever' or something
For example our car is so old...it's been around ever since. (A true statement, I'm afraid.)

Part II

2007-12-02T02:53:00.000-08:00

Here are the notes I jotted (is jotted a word? Hmmmm....)down last week about what I wanted to write in my blog. I will try to fill them in...

Missy brought me a sweet hat from the Phillipines.

The disappointment of Taco Bell-So, the sign said 'open' but really just KFC is open, not Taco Bell. And they wouldn't even sell me just plain biscuits, those bums.

Movie Night-I went to dinner with Judith, Mai, and Jessica and then we watched 'You've Got Mail' at the compound, it was a good time, yay chick flicks

The Beach Cleanup-There is this group here called Beautify CNMI and they do things like picking up trash and stuff. Last Sunday they did a beach/underwater cleanup and so I got to dive, yay! Except it was only like 10 feet deep and the water was really gross.

A Most Unusual Prize-The people in charge of the beach cleanup had hidden golf balls around the cleanup site and if you found one you got a prize. I found one, and guess what I won-a $25 gift certificate to a pharmacy! Try not to be too jealous.

Amy and Missy's Sweet Deal-My lovely neighbors and friends were planning to go to China for Thanksgiving, but the couldn't get their visas in time. They decided to go to Tokyo instead. They were supposed to leave on Wednesday but their flight was overbooked. They got a free night at the Hyatt as well as a free flight to Tokyo the next morning. As if this weren't enough, they also get an additional free flight anywhere in the Asia/Pacific region. I hung out with them at their hotel for awhile, and it was super touristy and beautiful. It's an aspect of the island that I don't really see every day, so it was fun. I also got to take a bath in their bathtub while they were at dinner!

The Turkey Trot-Where were you at 5:30am Thanksgiving morning? Well, call me crazy, but I was getting ready to embark on a 4-plus mile all-uphill run (well it ended up being more of a walk-jog for me). I was so nervous-I've never run more than about 2 miles at a time before in my life! I didn't train or anything. I thought I was going to die, but it didn't turn out to be as bad as I thought. I mean, I definately didn't run the whole way, but I made it to the top alive, and that was all I wanted. It also helped me not feel guilty about eating as much as I wanted at Thanksgiving dinner!

Thanksgiving-This was my first Thanksgiving away from my family. Although I did miss them, I had a great holiday with wonderful people here. The food was of course amazing, and I found out that I actually can cook if I have to. The company was the best-I am so lucky to be here with all these awesome people! I enjoyed my Friday off of work by going to the beach for some R and R as well as the three S's-snorkeling, sunbathing and shell hunting. Yay vacation!

I can't wait to go to Pohnpei for Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!

Part I of II

2007-11-27T01:35:00.000-08:00

Blogapalooza November 15, 2007

This is another one of those crazy blogs that has been written over a period of like 2 weeks.
Nov. 15
So…not that much has happened since Friday really but let’s see if I can remember. There were a few things that I was like ‘man I need to write about that in my blog’ but of course I can’t remember them right now. On Saturday Missy, Virle and Barbara left for the Phillipines. On Saturday afternoon I ate lunch with the girls at the compound and I jammed with Peterson all afternoon, and then that night a bunch of students came over and we played Life, it was a good time. On Sunday we were going to go diving but the ocean was super rough so we didn’t go, it was sad. But I did go longboarding! I rode from the preschool down to Garapan. It was really funny because nobody here at all skateboards here (let alone people my age), so everyone was looking at me. Here, people give you a second glance anyway if you’re white, and I guess it’s not every day they see a white chick skateboarding down the road. Well anyway it was a pretty long way and it was of course really hot, so when I got to Garapan I was like all sweaty and I went into a deli to get something cold to drink and the lady was like “Is it raining?” and I was like “No, I’m just really sweaty” it was funny. After I finished my drink (and dried off a bit) I went into a store and I ran into Eva and Veronyka, so I was able to catch a ride with them instead of riding all the way back.

Nov 19
Today I almost burned down the school. Well not really but it sounds exciting doesn’t it. My class went on a field trip to the elementary school to make cook. They each made their own little pizza. They loved mixing the dough and rolling out the crusts, I think they love anything where they can make a mess! The oven at the elementary school must have been dirty before we even came, because it started smoking when I was preheating it. Anyway, so when I was checking on the pizzas the last time, I opened the oven door and it was like WHOOSH and the bottom of the oven was in flames. Luckily all my kids were outside on the playground but I was kind of freaked out, especially because the fire extinguisher was gone from its place in the kitchen. But the fire went out on its own before I could finally find it. Anyway, it was kind of exciting. And yes, the pizzas were a bit crispy but the kids ate them anyway.

Let’s see, what else has happened that I want to write about…Amy and I have had some adventures this week. The first one was that our car ran out of gas and we had to push it to the gas station. Luckily the gas station happened to be next door to the place where we ran out of gas. On Wed. we went to PIC and we talked to this really hot Korean lifeguard. On Saturday we did special music for church.

One sad thing that happened is that on Thursday Peterson left for the States. He might be coming back in a few months, but still, that’s far away.But wait, there’s more….I just don’t have time to write it right now because I need to go put my laundry in the dryer, I’ll post the rest later…

So it's been a while...

2007-11-08T23:06:00.000-08:00

...since my last update. The meetings in Kagman went really well. For the first few nights, we were outside under a little tent, but then this store across the street cleared out a huge space for us in their store, so we had the rest of the meetings there. It was super awesome of them! At first, not a lot of kids showed up, but as the weeks went on, more and more started coming. They were so much fun! I loved leading out the song service, they were so enthusiastic. I enjoyed hanging out with kids older than 4. Don't get me wrong, I love my students, but it's just different, you can't really have an intelligent conversation with them (or even really a conversation, they won't stay in one place long enough :) ). Anyway, we kind of made friends with the store owners and of course with the kids. It was really exhausting though. I would get home at like 5:20 and we would leave for Kagman at just before 6. The meetings supposedly got over at 8 but it never really happened so we got home at like 9:30 every night. Even so, I was kind of sad when they ended because the kids were so cute and fun. The second to last night, they were all giving us hugs and stuff and they were running after our car as we were leaving! It was really a blessing to be able to create a relationship with those kids. Actually the Kagman meetings were extended for a week but we decided not to continue the kids program because we were absolutely exhausted. I feel kind of bad but I guess that we are going to have a Sabbath school type thing/party/game time once a month to follow up, so hopefully I get to see them all again.

The Sunday before Halloween I was super excited because Missy and I were going to be in an underwater pumpkin-carving contest, but then I got sick so I couldn't go, I was so bummed.
Other random fun things: running, snorkeling, cooking, shopping, playing with my kids, laughing, it's all good

Saipanism of the Day:
No, those red spots you see all over the street are not rust stains...it's the result of half the island chewing betelnut and spitting it out their car window. Yeah, kinda gross.

Another week...

2007-10-17T03:01:00.000-07:00

So right now the biggest thing on my mind is that me and Amy have just volunteered to lead the children's program that is going along with the evangelistic meetings that our church is putting on in Kagman, one of the villages in Saipan. The meetings are every night for two weeks we have to plan 16 nights of Sabbath School/VBS-type programs. And it all starts in like 4 days! Yikes! So that is going to be my life for the next two weeks.

On Friday night we had a birthday party for Jessica at the compound. It's always awesome to actually get together with everyone and not be working. This Sabbath the staff went to Kagman after church to invite people to the meetings and it was pouring rain so that was exciting. Saturday night us apartment people went to Derek and Myla's and we had a fondue party (mmmmm...)! The next morning Missy and I went diving at Obyan with the Piersons, Mark and Tammie, and this other couple, Rusty and Julie. It was, of course, awesome! I saw quite a few lionfish. When we were in the parking lot, we were talking to this lady and she was showing us her diving wounds-she got attacked by a triggerfish and her leg was all black and blue. I guess triggerfish are super aggressive-they won't kill you or anything but they can take some chunks out of you! I was scared when I found out what they actually look like because it turns out that during our dive I was letting them get super close to my face and stuff, that could have been really bad! Anyway, on our way back Missy gave me my first lesson driving stick shift in good old Rusty the truck (I only stalled 7 or 8 times...:). So that was kind of exciting. In the meantime Veronyka, Jessica, Judith, Mae, Amy, and Sean were having their first water session for scuba class. Missy and I went snorkeling while they were having their lesson and I saw a bunch more triggerfish! I got super sunburned, I thought my face was going to peel right off, but actually it is totally gone now. On Monday night there was this huge party at our apartment, there were tons of people, they totally blocked the street with tables and cars and stuff. In our neighborhood they have parties like that all the time-lound islandy music, setting up tables in the street, and enough meat to feed a pride of starving lions! It's neat, though, that so many people get together, you can sense the community. Work is going pretty well, though this week we are having a hard time because of people being sick but oh well, what can ya do. The preschool's enrollment is doing well-we are actually having to turn people away. Well anyway, I have to go and plan this program, wish me luck!

Managaha!

2007-10-09T03:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went camping for the first time here! It was unlike any camping I have ever done in the states though! We took the ferry from Saipan to Managaha (it was a very short but very beautiful trip) after church on Sabbath. The water was amazing, it was such an awesome bright blue. Right after we set up our tents I went down to the water and the first thing I saw was a baby shark! We ended up seeing tons of them throughout the trip. Between trying to climb palm trees, stargazing/riddle-telling on the beach, crab-hunting, shark-spotting and playing my ukulele, it was a pretty spectacular time. I wished we could have stayed longer but we left at 10am Sunday. Actually I'm kind of glad because by 9 the place was already swarming with tourists (and there's not much room-the island is tiny!) I'm so glad I get to be in a place where I can do this kind of thing. Saipan is a pretty darn small island and I thought that I might feel claustrophobic on it but there actually is a lot to do here. I know it must be nothing compared to the bigger, more lush islands but it is beautiful and fun here in it's own right. It is still crazy to me though how there is so much touristy/'luxury' stuff right next to like ghetto all mixed in with jungle wilderness. Even though it is all close together, when you're there, you don't think about the other stuff. I don't know if that made any sense but oh well. Soon I'm going to be getting internet at my apartment yay! Right now I am trying to plan my vacation travel plans and it's hard because obviously there are so many choices but they're all so expensive! Anyway, work is crazy, we just keep getting new kids! Today there were three new kids in the 2-year-old class and they screamed all day. I felt really bad for the two teachers having to deal with them plus like 12 other 2 year olds. I haven't had any screamers for a few days now but it seems like every day at least one kid pees their pants, throws up, or something equally or more disgusting. That's the trade off I guess for not having to grade papers and write tests. Anyway overall though, everything is awesome. God is good!

Saipanism of the Day:
I don't know if this happens in other islands too, but here if they want to know to whom something belongs they say "Whose own is that?" or they say "That's Riki's own" or whatever.

asldkfneoghna

2007-10-02T03:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry, no clever title this week. It's laundry time again...let me tell you, white uniform shirts for a preschool teacher are not practical in the least. The bottle says finger paint is washable (same with playdough and glue)but it's all just lies, lies, lies! This week is going to be another crazy one, I can tell. We got 2 new students yesterday and 3 new ones today. One of them is a little Japanese girl who yesterday at lunch started screaming for her mom so hard that she almost made herself sick and I had to take her out of the classroom and try to calm her down. She finally wore herself out and fell asleep on me and so I waited until her mom came to pick her up. By the time she came my lunch break was almost over. And the episode was repeated today. I wonder how long it will take until she gets over it. And also 3 of the new ones hardly speak English which is always exciting. One good thing that is happening is that my hardest child is actually starting to behave better. She was always hitting people (including the teachers) and totally defying every single thing I said. I tried talking to her, time-outs, taking away privileges, all I could think of and nothing seemed to be working. But lately it seems to be sinking in. So far this week she's only made like 4 kids cry (a huge improvement actually), and I only have to ask her 5 times to do something. So hopefully that continues. It is so frustrating though sometimes! If if weren't for weekends I don't know what I'd do!

I have two exciting announcements! The first is that MY PHONE IS WORKING!!!!!!
The second is that Saipan is getting a Taco Bell :)

Saipanism of the Day
If someone is gone from Saipan for vacation or whatever, they are "off-island." So if someone's like "Dude, where's Jose?" you can go "He's like, off-island for the week, man"

I saw a sea turtle!

2007-09-25T05:06:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was cool because it was our staff retreat. We spent Friday night at this little monastery-like called the Maturana House of Prayer, nuns even live there. It was really low-key and relaxing, and it also was a really bonding and spiritually uplifting experience (cheesy moment sorry, but it's true :) ) Saturday night we had a baby shower for two families in our church and afterward I went to the theater for the first time here and a bunch of us saw the Nanny Diaries, which was kind of cheesy but still good. Sunday was the best day ever, I went diving for the first time here! It was so cool! We saw tons of beautiful fish and coral and crabs and shells and even a sea turtle! I got actually fairly close to it! I was really excited the whole time as you can tell by the exclaimation marks!!!! After diving, Missy, Eva, Amy and I went to the house of some of our diving friends and it was absolutely beautiful! It had an amazing view and a pool and a beautiful design. They also had a new puppy! Speaking of animals, I found a home for the orange kitten. It was sad to give him away but I am really glad he found a good home. I feel sorry for the other one, he's all alone now with no prospects so far...

This week so far has been a little tough, but what's good is that I think I'm getting a 'second wind' with my job. I've never regretted taking it, but I was feeling a little overwhelmed and burned out for a while. I'm making more of an effort to be positive no matter what and I am finding myself really enjoying my kids more.

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about all my friends and family, I think about you guys a lot! Thanks for the messages and of course the prayers!

Saipanism of the Day: zories-flip flops

working hard and playing hard

2007-09-18T02:38:00.000-07:00

I've been writing this over the course of a few days so it might sound kind of weird but here it goes...

Yikes it’s been awhile…I didn’t write my usual last time Tuesday blog because I had to use the internet for other things. I need to start writing them ahead of time so that it is faster Last week was cool because I finally got my package from home with my ukulele, my scuba stuff, books, and all sorts of random stuff in it. Yay! I ended up doing special music for Sabbath school again but this time I played the uke and sang. It was a lot better than the first time! On Sabbath afternoon, we went out in groups of 3 or 4 and went door to door inviting people to our church’s upcoming evangelistic meetings and also just visiting them and getting to know them. I was super scared-we were basically just supposed to go up to some person we saw on their porch or something and strike up a conversation (that eventually would lead into an invitation to our meetings) while making a good impression of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. But it actually went really well. I was with Eva and Veronyka and we visited two families. The first family had a bunch of kids and they were really friendly and welcoming. The second family we talked to was out in their front yard with their machetes picking coconuts and cracking them open. When we walked up, they gave us each a fresh coconut to drink. It was really cool! I was really blessed by the whole experience-the people were really open and welcoming, and they were actually willing to talk about Jesus and church. I don’t know if they will come to the meetings or not but honestly I don’t really think that is the most important thing. After we finished visiting people, the staff had sundown worship on the beach and then we went out to dinner. On Sunday Missy took Amy, Eva and I to PIC which is kind of like a tiny little water park. It was awesome-it was like a mini-vacation! This week was kind of hard because I was sick for half of it but I had to go to work anyway because someone else got sick first and we can’t run the preschool if we lose more than 1 staff member. We still have the kittens-I hope we find them a home soon! They are getting so big and they are still so cute. At the preschool we have it worked out that each Friday someone gets off of work early and today was my day! I went to Wing Beach with Eva and Veronyka.

On Sabbath Eva and I ended up being recruited to do the scripture and the offering call like 5 minutes before church so that was exciting. It was potluck Sabbath which is always awesome (I made blueberry muffins). After church I got to talk to my daddy and my sister which was really nice. Then Eva, Missy, Amy, Judith, Veronyka, Peterson, and I went to Ladder Beach. It is a beautiful little beach with a cool little cave and stuff. After that, Missy, Mai, Veronyka, Eva, Judith and I went to the crepe place with Derek and Myla, this young couple from church. I had a chocolate/banana crepe and it was AMAZING! Mmmmmm. Sunday was such an awesome day. Eva and I woke up early and hiked down to Forbidden Island. I think that it is one of my favorite places on the island. There are lots of little tide pools and a few bigger pools and there are always lots of beautiful fish to see. I guess it’s actually pretty dangerous though-I hear that lots of people have died there. But we are always super careful (probably even more than we need to be but I’d rather have it that way). Anyway, it’s a nice challenging hike (but not too long) and a beautiful place so it was awesome. Then Missy, Amy, Eva, Bev, Mai, Judith and I went to a spa for the rest of the day. It was amazing, especially after a crazy week. It was so awesome that I almost feel guilty. I’m supposed to be out in the mission field toughing it out. I know that just because I have access to some ‘luxurious’ things doesn’t mean that I’m not a missionary but still it feels kind of like cheating in a way. But I have to say it was pretty awesome!

Don't worry, I'm still definately being challenged at work. Let's face it, trying to keep 14 4-year-olds under control and maybe even teach them something all day is quite simply a lot of work. The hardest part is to stay calm and be consistent. Sometimes I am tempted to just pretend I don't notice when a rule is broken because I just get sick of it but I know that if I do that they will just walk all over me. It is hard though, because it seems to me like the other teachers sometimes let things go 'undisciplined' or discipline inconsistently. I know that it is impossible to be completely and totally fair and consistent but I am trying. I am trying to have more boundaries and procedures in my classroom with clear consequences if they are broken. It takes a lot of work obviously but hopefully when the kids get used to the systems it will be easier. I know the whole thing that I just said is something that probably all teachers know but it's just one of those things.

This weekend is our staff retreat so we don't have school on Friday!

I Absolutely Adore Weekends!

2007-09-04T04:01:00.000-07:00

Yay for weekends, especially long ones! We didn't have school on Monday so it was a long and glorious weekend after a long week. It rained almost every day last week so my kids couldn't go outside for recess. They were going crazy (actually they were driving US crazy)! Eva and I finally decided that we could not live with three cats any longer so we moved them out of the apartment and into the back room of the preschool. Sadly, the littlest one (we named him Foxy) died yesterday. He just wasn't growing like the other two and he stopped eating and stuff. I tried to force feed him for a while but I decided to just let him go because he was in a lot of pain and it was too much work. Oh well, we still have two and they are super cute (still a lot of work though). We are trying to find homes for them. I hope we can find them soon because I feel bad that we hardly have time to take care of their basic needs let alone spend time with them. Oh well that's what I get for being such a sucker for animals :)

The best part of this week/weekend was that our new teacher Judith arrived. We took her on an island tour on Sabbath and on Sunday I went running with her, Jessica and Mai. After that we picked up trash with a group of people which was actually pretty fun. The rest of the weekend was kind of full of cat work but also I managed to get some snorkeling in. Eva and I discovered this sunken tank-thing pretty close to our apartment and it was full of fish. We saw this huge parrotfish-looking thing, it was about as big around as a volleyball and the length ofs my lower leg, it was beautiful! Last night we ate dinner and watched a movie at the compound. It was kind of a goodbye party for Larene, who was the preschool director last year and was teaching 5-8th grade until Judith got here. She's going back to the Phillipines tomorrow :( We'll miss her! Also, Missy, who was here last year and was in the States for the summer, arrived this morning at 1:30. I really like both her and Judith, actually everyone here is pretty much awesome, it will be a fun year!

Preschoolers, pets, pancakes and more!

2007-08-28T03:18:00.000-07:00

I got a Photobucket account which I am going to put all of my pictures. I still might post a few in my actual blog but I need to find a faster internet connection! Java Joe's internet cafe place by the laundromat isn't the fastest connection ever :) Right now I am still working on setting it up so I'm afraid I don't have it yet, hopefully soon...

So school is pretty much in full swing. On my first day, I was in the classroom getting myself all psyched up for the day and the first kid walks in with her parents. She takes one look around the classroom and me and she bursts out crying. I was like oh man, I hope this isn't a bad sign about the rest of the year! But it wasn't so bad. The first few days I was kind of frustrated because I didn't feel like I knew what was going on and I wished that the school was more structured. Now it is going better, since the staff is getting to know each other better and the routine is kind of settling down. We are still in the process of making lots of changes though. One thing is for sure though-I love my kids! They are loud and obnoxious and distractible but they are also adorable and sweet. I have a total of 14 kids but they aren't all there at the same time-they come and go throughout the day, though most of them are there for the morning. Most of my kids are Korean or Japanese-some of them barely speak any English, which is challenging. The third day of school, my Japanese kids taught me how to count to ten in Japanese :) My kids are cute and stuff but I think that most of them are used to getting their own way at home and not being told what to do. Also they like to pretend that they can't understand me so that they don't have to do whatever it is that I'm telling them to do. One thing that is challenging about my job is the long day-I am teaching/watching kids/cleaning my classroom from 7:30am to about 5:45pm. I don't really have time to do anything after work because it gets dark at about 6. Overall though I am really happy and I love my job. At first I wasn't exactly thrilled about my rooming situation but now it's going really well. We have some new members of the 'family'-I found three kittens behind the preschool! They were sitting there in the rain and they were in pretty bad shape. But now they are doing great. I still don't know what we are going to do with them because our apartment is definately not big enough for two people and three cats. We'll just see what happens.

Random Trivia of My Life
-I start the day with either banana pancakes, apple pancakes, or mango pancakes. EVERY day.
-Asian kids are SO cute!
-I love the warm water here!
-You CAN get used to being nasty and sweaty all the time.
-When in doubt, get out the play dough.
-One word: SUNSCREEN (ouch)
-I am one of the only people around that has blue eyes.
-Air conditioning is one of the best inventions ever.
-Shell hunting is addicting.

Saipanism of the Day
air con- air conditioning

Pictures!

2007-08-11T22:16:00.001-07:00

So I still don't have internet or a phone at my apartment so this is the first time in about a week that I can be connected to the world! Today is laundry day so we hauled all of our stuff to the laundry place which is conveniently located next to an internet coffee shop type place. This week we have been having meetings and fixing up our classrooms. I can't believe school starts tomorrow! My classroom is all set up but I feel kind of unprepared! But I'm not the head teacher so I guess I didn't really have to make the 'lesson plans' (yes they have those even for preschool). On Tuesday evening I came out of my apartment to discover that the back windshield of our car was totally shattered. The police came and everything (I guess they don't have anything better to do). But it was a pain because we were without a car all week. Yesterday was kind of exciting. I did special music for Sabbath School. It was the first I'd every really sang and played the guitar at the same time so it was...interesting. But oh well. Then after church we had a potluck at the Maycocks' house. Then after that we went on a tour of the island. The five of us new people sat in the back of a pickup truck. It was so much fun! We saw some really cool stuff. Last night it was the school board chairman's (I think) birthday so he had a party at his house with karaoke. It was super fun. I need to start writing my blogs even when I don't have internet so that I can remember everything, because now I can't remember what other things happened this week!

You may notice that this blog is entitled "Pictures." Well as much as I would like to put up pictures, the internet here is super slow and I only have a few more minutes of free internet left so I have to disconnect but I swear I will put up pictures soon!

I'm Here!!!!!

2007-08-03T23:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Sabbath! Although it is almost over for me, it's just starting for you mainlanders :). I will try to fill you in on the last few days. We had a 3-day orientation in Hawaii for all of the student missionaries going to Micronesia and neighboring islands. On Wed. myself and four other girls flew from Honolulu to Guam which took about 7 and 1/2 hours and then from Guam to Saipan which took about 20 minutes (I'm pretty sure that is the shortest flight I have ever been on!). When we got out of the airport that evening, there was a big group of people with a sign and everything to welcome us. I was really surprised! That night I moved into a very tiny apartment, but it is worth it because it is right on the beach!
Yesterday was very busy-we visited the school, we had to go to the DMV-type place to get our Saipan drivers' licenses, to the clinic to get our health clearances (required for teachers), to the bank to open accounts, and to shop for groceries and other things. This managed to take up pretty much the whole day. Last night we had dinner at my principal's house which was fun. The whole staff of the school was there. This morning some of the teachers took us up to Banzai cliff at 4:30am to watch the sun rise. It was cloudy so we could really see much but it was still fun. When I got back to my apartment, we still had a few hours before church so my roommate and I went snorkeling (we saw a bat ray it was awesome). The church here is (obviously) really small but the people are really friendly and welcoming. The church has lots of kids in it and they are so cute and fun. We had a potluck afterward and there was lots of yummy Asian food mmmmm. It has been raining on and off all day. Right now I am at the house of some of the SMs. My apartment doesn't have internet or even a phone yet but hopefully it will get set up soon. So anyway what I can say so far is that it is a major adjustment but I can see that I will really like it here once I get used to it. Wish me luck as I get ready to start teaching next week!

!

2007-05-22T18:33:00.000-07:00

It's official...I'm going to Saipan to be a preschool teacher! I had a phone interview with the principal last week, and yesterday I got an e-mail offering me the job. I am really excited! But I still have so much to do to get ready. This summer is going to be really busy. Not to mention really short, since I'm leaving July 29.

72 Days Until Departure

2007-05-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

I've set up my blog! Now everyone (well, everyone who is interested in the least) can read about all my adventures in.....um.....I don't know exactly where I will be yet, but I should know in a few days. I'm pretty sure I will be going to an island in or near Micronesia. The adventure begins in 72 days and counting......