Month: September 2015

It’s been a really good first few days on Saipan! I’ve unpacked all of my stuff (my bag came on Monday evening thank God!) and have gotten settled into our apartment. Getting into a routine during the week has been pretty easy: Wake up, have breakfast, start working, have lunch, go to the field house, work some more, have dinner, watch some Netflix, go to bed.

I have experienced some new things in these first couple of days already. I got to drink coconut milk and eat straight out of a coconut that the bird team picked up in the field. It was delicious! Way better than coconut milk I’ve tried from the store.

There are roosters that live around our apartment that crow pretty much all morning, so won’t be needing my alarm clock anymore (bonus!). I tried two Asian beers already, one was pretty good!

We watched a beautiful sunset from one of the beaches near our apartment, and went to happy hour at a local bar with an amazing view (and great potato skins, yum!).

There’s also a few small lifestyle adjustments that I’ve gotten used to pretty quickly. Hanging my towel out on the line to dry after showering is a little different than at home.

Sweating all the time has become normal. The heat is not so much the problem as the humidity. Fans are an easy solution to that though. Not drinking water out of the tap but out of a jug (pretty standard for a place that doesn’t have a steady supply of fresh water). Being aware the water shutoffs (for maintenance luckily) are not unusual but still annoying (especially when you NEED to shower after a long day of sweating).

I can’t believe my first week here is almost complete. I’m looking forward to the weekend to be able to get out and explore the island some more!

When I told people we were moving to Saipan for a year, the most common response I got was “Where?”. As someone who had never heard of this small island in the Pacific Ocean, I could relate to their confusion. After a quick Google search and explanation of why we were relocating, there was a lot of shared excitement! The next question that was usually asked was “What are you going to bring?”. My usual response was “probably just some clothes”. I really hadn’t thought about what I would be packing up until it was time for me to.

Packing for an extended stay on an island that’s in the middle of nowhere seems like a daunting task. But really, what do you bring for a trip like this? Per my usual OCD organized self, I started taking out clothes in order and put them into piles. Shorts, T-shirts, bathing suits, etc. I didn’t want to bring too much of anything or something I didn’t need in fear that it would mold if I didn’t wear it often on the island (yes, that’s an actual thing that happens!). I realized that I had way less stuff to bring than I imagined and then started panicking that I needed to bring more stuff because who knows what I’ll be needing while I’m there! John quickly settled that fear by saying I could buy something if I really needed, so I kept my small piles of clothes.

I also wanted to bring a few snacks just in case the island runs out of food (or another massive typhoon hits which is actually more likely since it has been hit by 3 in the past 7 months). Luckily my amazing sister Kelly who knows me too well bought me all my favorite packable snacks to bring with for my birthday, so I was set!

In the end I had my pack and a duffle bag of stuff that I hoped would get me through the next year or so! I’m so excited to finally start this new adventure! While it was heartbreaking to say bye to friends and family, without whose love and support I could not have done this, I will be back (contrary to popular belief) soon and am excited to share it all with everyone!

I finally made it to the island this morning! My bag unfortunately did not, but hopefully will arrive sometime soon. After a few hours of sleep, a breakfast of my favorite cereal (Waffle Crisp!), and a little unpacking, John took me out to see some of the island, and it was beautiful!