Life In My New Apt

So everybody back home is wondering if I live in a hut or something. I'm finally settled into my new apartment and I love it! I'm ready for some dinner guests! Rosana taught me how to cook authentic Indian food. Her Dal and Curry dish is way tastier than the restaurant Taste of India. Its true! But I'll let you be the judge of that. I also know how to make nan bread. So i'll be inviting people over soon.

My apartment is just a jog to the path on Beach Road and a walk to work. It's a quick drive to downtown Garapan. Some of the things I love about my new apartment are the washer/dryer unit, oven, and double full closets! Plenty storage space, neh! I'm feeling right at home and sleeping soundly. Here are a couple of snap shots.

The front of the apt.

The view walking into my apartment. I finally feel at home whenever I walk through my front door.

The Kitchen. My favorite part of my apartment. Since I live so close to work I don't go out to eat as much anymore. I've been cooking my own meals now and I try to eat out only on the weekends. This is a big accomplishment for me considering I didn't like cooking before!




My Living room. I crash on my coach during my lunch break. I went without a TV and internet connection the first year I was here in Saipan. Since I'm sticking it out another year I decided to splurge alittle. Besides, watching all the Filipino channels will help me learn Tagalog alot faster. I just realized how much crap I have. I'm going to have sell all this before I leave next year.



My bedroom where I catch my zzzzzzzzz.












My four guard dogs! Actually, they are the Pierson's dogs.

Hmmm, not really roughing it out here like I thought I would be!

Grant's Grotto

My number one reader demands more entries from me! lol This one is for you Mng J!



On myspace they have a section that asks "Who would you like to Meet"? My answer is anyone that can teach me something new. There are a couple of great life lessons Grant has taught me. One of them is you snooze you lose! The other lessons I learned from him you'll have to read about when I blog about my personal influences: the catalysts in my life.



I think its really tempting to take Sabbath naps after church especially after a long hard week at work and all the activities during church. Grant helped me reevaluate why Sabbath is so special and that it shouldn't be wasted on sleep or you'll miss out! Nature is a place that I feel like I can experience how awesome God is.



This past Sabbath was special because of Mai's homecoming and because we are trying to do everything before Rosana leaves next week for Texas. After church Mai, Rosana, Lorene, and me went on a Sabbath hike to the cliffs in the Dan Dan area. This was the first time for me to ever lead out on a hike. I'm usually the follower so I was alittle nervous because I usually get lost. Ok, I lied. I always get lost. Whatev.



So you take the road towards Dan Dan and then turn left on Sunset Road. You can just park the car where the road bends and head down the existing trail. Everything went really well except that there was one part where there was ALOT of overgrowth. Hmmm, that wasn't there before! lol The overgrowth was taller than any of us for sure. I couldn't tell where the trail kept going. So of course the girls made me go first and I was taking us through a jungle of tall, dry, and itchy overgrowth. What I really needed was a machete!



After falling a couple of times I finally found the rock path that lead to "Grant's Grotto". I named it Grant's Grotto because he took me there on a hike one Sabbath afternoon. There's a big drop off and the waves were crashing below. You could see Lau Lau Beach and Forbidden Island ahead. It was such a beautiful day for a hike. We sat on the cliffs, took pictures, and chatted about life.



There were a couple of times of complete silence, each of us in our own little worlds. I just kept thinking about how God is bringing me to places that I never in my wildest dreams thought I would ever be. Seriously! I never thought I'd end up in Saipan!