First Look
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 delightful and the ceiling fan works great. Rent is $625 per month, which doesn't include electricity or water. You can't drink the tap water (it's brackishly salty) so I have to buy drinking water. Saipan Ice and Water will deliver me a fountain and three giant blue jugs of water today. When I run out they will deliver more for $2 a jug and take the empties away.
I bought that little white car down below. It's a 2017 Toyota Corolla.
The bathroom is an interesting setup. It's beautifully tiled and the tub is new with a handheld shower. The hot water tank is a small, on demand unit, a real bonus. I looked at one apartment this week that had no hot water heater. The landlord explained that Saipan natives don't use hot water heaters because it's hot here. "Only mainlanders want them." (sigh) I guess it will take me a while to lose my mainlanderness. I like a hot water heater, but...
...the toilet is across the hall in its own room. Weird.
The kitchen is plenty big enough. The tile is old however. After the water guy comes, I am going to go out and buy a large, wooden cutting board to give myself one clean cooking surface. The cupboards smell musty inside. I need to find a squirt bottle to bleach them and let them air out before I use them. One odd thing. The stovetop has no oven. Ovens are a mainlander thing too. I'm brainstorming how to get around it. I haven't found a bread machine or instant pot here on the island. Nobody believes I will either. So when I go to Guam in the next couple of weeks to renew my military ID at Anderson AFB, I will see what they have at the BX. Or maybe I can order from Amazon. Black Friday deals aren't far away. Folks here tell me that Amazon ships some things but not others.
That's it for now. As always, I am so grateful to God for giving me friends like you!
Want to help me? Go here.
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 delightful and the ceiling fan works great. Rent is $625 per month, which doesn't include electricity or water. You can't drink the tap water (it's brackishly salty) so I have to buy drinking water. Saipan Ice and Water will deliver me a fountain and three giant blue jugs of water today. When I run out they will deliver more for $2 a jug and take the empties away.
I bought that little white car down below. It's a 2017 Toyota Corolla.
The bathroom is an interesting setup. It's beautifully tiled and the tub is new with a handheld shower. The hot water tank is a small, on demand unit, a real bonus. I looked at one apartment this week that had no hot water heater. The landlord explained that Saipan natives don't use hot water heaters because it's hot here. "Only mainlanders want them." (sigh) I guess it will take me a while to lose my mainlanderness. I like a hot water heater, but...
...the toilet is across the hall in its own room. Weird.
The kitchen is plenty big enough. The tile is old however. After the water guy comes, I am going to go out and buy a large, wooden cutting board to give myself one clean cooking surface. The cupboards smell musty inside. I need to find a squirt bottle to bleach them and let them air out before I use them. One odd thing. The stovetop has no oven. Ovens are a mainlander thing too. I'm brainstorming how to get around it. I haven't found a bread machine or instant pot here on the island. Nobody believes I will either. So when I go to Guam in the next couple of weeks to renew my military ID at Anderson AFB, I will see what they have at the BX. Or maybe I can order from Amazon. Black Friday deals aren't far away. Folks here tell me that Amazon ships some things but not others.
That's it for now. As always, I am so grateful to God for giving me friends like you!
- Amy
Want to help me? Go here.
May God richly bless you for helping me do what God has called me to do here in Saipan. Be advised your gift is a personal gift and not tax deductible nor are you receiving from me any goods or services.
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