Moving Forward

Hello Friends! Happy Thanksgiving in the USA. Not sure where else it is celebrated. Here in Saipan, I asked people who have lived here all their lives if they celebrate Thanksgiving. Some do. Some don't. But because it is a holiday, EVERYBODY barbecues on Thanksgiving. I could smell wonderfulness when I went out onto my balcony early Thanksgiving morning. At church, we had our turkey dinner on Sunday, so that meant leftovers on Thursday. Most of the church had their own barbecues, but the pastor and his wife invited me to eat leftovers with them. It was an interesting experience. They stack an unusual collection of random things together on a plate. I made a video of what they call Holiday Stack, which you can  Watch here  if you are interested. This morning, which is the Saturday after Thanksgiving my time, I woke at DAWN to the sound of drums and voices singing on a revolving LOUD speaker  three blocks away on the ocean shore, "Waaaake UP, ta da ta da ta da...Waaaa...

Seasons of rebuilding attend all periods of change. It's that way for communities and people alike. The sounds of Saipan are sounds of rebuilding. One year ago, October 2018, the eye of Super Typhoon Yutu went over Tinian (Saipan's closest island neighbor about three miles by boat) and Saipan. I was reading reports this week that the islands experienced winds in the 200 mph range. Today, Saipan is rebuilding. The sounds of construction filled my ears this week as I sat in my little apartment and studied. At one point I got up to snap a picture. Here is  my view when I look out my balcony. The sounds of heavy machinery are just beyond the patched together tin roof in the foreground. In the middle ground, although I missed getting a shot of them, are men roofing the building across the way.  The hotel in the far distance is a work in progress. The street was being fixed to the right of the patched tin roof, which I didn't know until I got in my car to go to the post o...

Radical relocation happens to all of us sooner or later. What's a radical relocation? It could be something major like a move halfway around the globe or the untimely death of a spouse. It could be something more minor like giving up your bedroom to your Thanksgiving guests. One thing is true. Radical relocation entails displacement from your usual routine. We usually think of radical as something mega-BIG. Something that changes our world on a fundamental level. A radical relocation would then be a BIG TIME change in person, place or time. That certainly fits my world since 2016 when my husband unexpectedly died. But even small changes can be radical. Radical can just as easily apply to giving up your bedroom or eating spam by candlelight instead of roasted turkey because the electricity went out at exactly the wrong time. That's because the true issue in radical relocation is not the event itself, but how we process the event internally. Some find change easier than other...

Saipan! I've been here one week. Bought a car. Moved into an apartment. Slept great my first two nights alone. I've got SO MANY first impressions to tell you about, but I will have to do that next time. For now, here is a look at my new home. Sitting on my couch looking out into my private (large) balcony. I envision many plants out there in the near future. Pivoting to look the other way. It's a studio apartment with plenty enough room for me to do everything I want to do. Let me haul myself off the couch to give you a better look. I'm on the second floor and have made a million trips up the stairs in the past two days getting moved in. My muscles are crabby at me today. This is a view of the front door. The storm door opens out and the screen door opens in with a bolt lock for "security". I am on the end so nobody walks past my door.  The apartment has air con (they don't say air-conditioning here) but I haven't had to use it. The breeze is...