Saipodities at the Street Market

Warning: Do not view this post prior to eating as you may lose your appetite.

Every Thursday in Saipan there's a street market in downtown Garapan with local foods and island dancing. BBQ satays and smoothies are probably the most popular items at the street market, but if you're feeling brave...

Chicken feet & pig ears. Apparently, the chicken feet are mostly skin and tendons and not much muscle. I hear they're also very gelatinous. Mmm.

And finally we have Eric with a bright yellow helmet...Oh, and a segway. Our friend Jari bought 2 segways from Guam as a business venture, and he let us test them out. I think I want one.

Saipodities Part 4

Uninvited house guest. This is what happened when Eric tried to "escort" him out; he really didn't want to leave.



Squid ink pasta anyone? The Halaby family was so sweet and took us out to eat after the baptism and introduced us this lovely dish. We had some good laughs. Definitely not a first-date food.

Saipodities Part 3

So, apparently, this little guy heard about our new "Saipodities" section, and decided to stop by the house.

I was just sitting at my computer this morning, and I glance up and see this coconut crab on our deck. It was pretty cool. I'm glad it wasn't in our house though...they kind of creep me out with their little tap dancing claws....

More Saipodities

I'm not in much of a writing mood right now, but I think these photos will speak for themselves.

Local Cemetery

Legal Cock Fighting (photo taken by a friend).

Old abandoned shopping mall (LOTS of abandoned buildings here...what a waste)

Poker joints at every turn

Saipodities

After being here a year, I'm starting to get used to all of the quirks. In fact, I don't even notice them much any more. But I realized the other day that we haven't done a very good job of describing our bizarre little island to those of you back in the states.

So, why not blog about those funny little details?

Here are a few "Saipodities" for the day:

In the states, as you check out at the grocery store, you can reach for a magazine or a pack of gum. Here, you can buy an assortment of little treats including sushi rolls, tuna fish sandwiches, hot dogs with ketchup, mayo (w/jalapenos pictured below) squished in plastic wrap, some weird unidentified items, and, of course, betel nut. I'd never heard of betel nut before moving to Saipan...it was better that way; what a nasty little habit. Yet, everyone here loves the stuff. They mix it with lime made from burnt coral that's ground into a powder. Apparently, it 'jangles' your nerves. All I know is that it makes for some disgusting teeth (those poor dentists!) Not only that, but we constantly see people spitting the stuff all over the place. As you drive down the road you'll see car doors flying open left and right so folks can spit without spraying it on their cars. And did I mention that it's red? With the red stains covering the ground, it looks like mass murders are taking place all over Saipan.

Oh Dear

This post is for those of you back in the states who are concerned about the economic situation - I'm here to tell you it could be worse!

We just found out that Saipan has less than a week's supply of fuel left. The utilities corp. couldn't pay $2 MILLION (of the $3.5 million) to Mobil. So, apparently we have 11,000 barrels to last us the month v. the normal 25,000, and the ship has left the island!

Power outages are a pretty normal occurrence here - sometimes once a week, sometimes even once a day (during the rolling blackouts), but this fuel crisis could mean close to two weeks straight without power. 2 weeks in 85 degree weather without a shower?! That's not going to be pretty.

I had a mini freak out today when the power was out for over 2 hours. I thought our days of glorious light and air conditioning were already up, and I wasn't ready. Eric and I had just gotten back from a sweaty hike and both were in desperate need of a shower, the kitchen sink was filled with dirty dishes, we're down to our last 5 gallons of water, and I really needed to use the bathroom. Poor Eric had to throw on his suit and go to priesthood session without a shower. Thankfully, the power did come back on ... for now.

I'm not sure how we're going to manage if/when "darkness falls", but I'm sure we'll survive. Who knows, we may even like it and decide to join an Amish community.

Click here & here to read more about the fuel shortage...

Our new "friends"

Unfortunately, we aren't the only ones who enjoy living on a tropical island. The lizards can be useful, but I've had a few scares with them falling in my lap. I certainly don't have an affinity for the spiders and shrews - both of which we've found in our "bungalow in the jungalow". The wolf spiders are the closest thing I've seen to a trantula. We don't have any pictures of them because I refuse to be in the same room with the furry creatures. Luckily, Eric is usually around to act as my exterminator. Even Eric, however, is no match for the squirrel-sized rats we sometimes see in the streets.