Dinner At My Place

I have to admit that the place I am staying at the moment isn't all that charming, warm, or inviting. The walls are concrete and there are only two small windows placed at opposite ends of the apartment. I feel like I'm living in a shoe box and that is why I never have guests over! I'm never really home anyway except when I need to sleep. Ask my Korean neighbors. In a blink of an eye I am usually in and out and they usually laugh about it!

Anyway, I'll be moving at the end of July and I can't wait. Instead of a view of another ghetto apartment complex across the way, I will have a view of Beach Road and the ocean! I'm excited. Thanks to everyone for their recommendations but I'm really happy with this apartment that I found.



I hosted a dinner party at my apartment but my Korean neighbor, Lizzy, cooked our spicy Korean meal! Her home cooked meal was glorious! mMMMm Lizzy and her husband Dewy wanted to officially welcome Rosana to Saipan. I think Liz and Dewy exemplify the perfect neighbor. They have always been so kind and gracious to me. They're always checking up on me and every now and then they bring me delicious home cooked meals for dinner. I'm just really lucky to be their friends. They'll be moving back to Korea in August though. Among the guest list were the Crystal and Ken.

During our conversation Ken was demonstarting his ability to talk in different accents. He grew up in South Africa so he was talking mostly in a South African accent. We were all dying of laughter! Tonight's dinner and company was divine.

The Last of the Goodbyes

Saying goodbye is exhausting. Maybe thats why it took me so long to post this last farewell to Missy and Layla. They left over 2 weeks ago. The weekend that Missy and Layla left we had dinner at Giovanni's Restaurant at the Hyatt Hotel to kick off their big send off. We ate great food, laughed at all the good times we had together, and toasted to new journeys ahead.



Layla: The scientist in our group. We would hang out at Java Joes for coffee and go over my DAT flash cards. I was reviewing for dental school and she was reviewing for medical school. We'd have a blast diving together. There was always something we would laugh so hard about underwater.

She worked and lived in Costa Rica for a short time doing research on the conservation project for the turtles. She's an explorer, down to earth, and really fun to be with. Layla put so much into her kids throughout the school year. It was really touching to hear her students say their farewells and how much she has impacted their lives. One kid said she wanted to be baptized one day because of Layla's positive influence. I think she'll be successful in whatever she decides to do with her life. I'll miss you Layla!




Rosanna: (Left of Missy in the pic). One great surprise in the midst of everyone leaving is Rosanna. She's from Texas and is here to teach ESL at the SDA school for the summer. She's a good friend of Brit's and I am just happy she's here to keep me company even if its just for a little while. She's also been teaching me how to make delicious Indian dishes. Watch out Taste of India!


Missy. Where do I start! I think I felt the closest to Missy. Missy and I are just meant to be friends. We dove together, beautified the cnmi together, and chatted about important "stuff". She just gets me.

Missy is the type of person that tells you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. She's dedicated, positive, and passionate about her students here in Saipan. I'm hoping that she does decide to come back for another year because we've got plans to travel. But even if she doesn't I know we will always remain good friends.



Our mud pie was on fire!


Our food was delicious.


Photo Credit: Rosanna

And in the background the jazz pianiast played Leaving on a Jet plane while the mud pie was on fire. It was the song we sang at the wake of Brit's farewell. Only we sang a better version of it. Miss you guys.