Hafa Adai!

I’m an American girl from Small Town USA who, honestly, is just not that fond of living in the land of the free. When I happened upon the odd, little rock of Saipan, I fell in love. It’s small, it’s weird, it’s unconventional, it doesn’t make sense a lot of the time, and unsurprisingly, I have never related more to a hunk of earth. 

I first arrived here in June of 2015 to work on a resort as a lifeguard. After that first 6-month stint, I brought back a souvenir to Kansas to remind me of my time on the island – an inflated stomach carrying a 6 pound 13 ounce gift from the ocean herself! I named her Rosy. After some time back in Kansas, in the middle of a harsh winter, I realized that the Pacific was beckoning Rosy back to her homeland and I was to be a passenger alongside this little ocean child. 

Upon hearing the call of the ocean we packed our bags (I packed, Rosy chewed on socks) and, after I pried my child from the grasp of her VERY loving grandparents, we hopped on a plane and began our journey back to Saipan. I left the US with a 1-year-old, very few belongings, no job lined up, and no place to live once we got there. But God and the Pacific have been kind to us. Rosy and I have etched ourselves a space in this culture so different from my origins.

I have now lived here for almost four years. Saipan is a unique little gem. As a small secluded island, it is like its own world. I can’t wait to share the quirks (as they are from my American perception) and oddities and delights of the place that I call home.