Billie Walter

Those of you who know me well, know that I hardly ever ask for anything.  It makes me feel very uncomfortable and I always feel as though I owe so much more in return.  I’m much more comfortable giving than I am receiving.  It’s probably my upbringing, but that’s just the way I am.

First I would like to explain the reason for my request.  When I started my website, I knew nothing about building a website or blogging.  I have come a long way, but I still have a million things to learn.  One of the things that I have discovered is that there are a lot of people out there (on the Internet) who are making a very nice living by blogging and having websites.  Well, since I am still “a desperate housewife” (unemployed), I have decided to set up some websites and see if I can make any headway in this arena.  My websites will be geared towards restaurants in Saipan.  These will not be of any interest to you, unless you are living in Saipan or planning on a visit.  (You’re all invited)

Continue reading A Special Request….

I’ve cooked Thanksgiving dinner almost every year since I was eighteen years old.  Since I never lived near any of my family members, I usually invited every friend that I had over to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  This year was different.

Several weeks ago, Tom and I were discussing what we were going to do for Thanksgiving this year.  Since we sold all of our cookware, platters and serving dishes, Tom suggested that we go out to a restaurant.   That was the plan.  Little did we know that we were about to receive three invitations for Thanksgiving dinner.

Continue reading Thanksgiving in Saipan…

I mentioned in past posts, that Tom had been working part time for a law firm here on the island.  Well, they made him an offer this week and he accepted it.  So one of us is gainfully employed.

On the other hand, I am still looking.  I do have three or four future possibilities, but no offer at this time.  Oh yeah, I could take a job making $5 an hour with no benefits (minimum wage on the island is $4.55), but I really can’t see myself working 40 hours a week to earn $200. (We’re not broke yet )  I’m sure one of these will work out for me.

In the meantime, I have started to work as a volunteer at the American Memorial Park.  The park was established to honor the dead in the World War II Mariana Islands campaign.  I will be working with school children on their field trips as well as tourists and locals.  The people that I work with are very nice and I am learning a ton of things about Saipan.  If nothing else, I will know the complete history of Saipan and their people.

One of these days, I will post some pictures from the island, showing some of the historical highlights.

I think it’s time to get back to basics.  When I started this site, I started it to put my life on paper (so to speak).  With the surgery and the latest move, I have been too busy to write anything but some updates of our adventure.  I will continue to blog about some of our experiences here on Saipan, but I am also going to start concentrating on getting some of the stories written that I promised would be “coming soon.”

This is where you, my friends and family come in.  While I can’t promise that I will write “soon” about everything on the list, I’d like to get feedback about which of the stories along the left side of my site that you would most like to hear about.  Let me know and I will do my best to get some of the most requested stories written first.

Continue reading Back to Basics!!!

I’m calling this post “A technical speed bump,” but that only tells part of the story.

Last Tuesday, I approached the front desk of the hotel where we were staying to inform them that we would be staying for another month.  We hadn’t really found the place that we wanted to call home, so instead of moving again and again, we thought that within another month we would surely find the perfect place.  At this point, they informed me that if we wanted to stay, that we would have to change rooms and move to one on the third floor. It seems that federal agents were coming into town and needed to rent their good rooms.  The room that they had for us, had no doors on the closets, soiled and stained carpets, old worn curtains and gross looking bathrooms.  These rooms had not yet been renovated.  No way was I going to stay in one of those rooms, so we chose the best option available at the right price.  We rented a two bedroom apartment, fully furnished with a washer and dryer.  It’s not on the beach and doesn’t have a view but it is clean and comfortable.  We would move in on Thursday.

Continue reading A Technical Speed Bump!!!

Most Thursday nights, we wonder down to the Garapan Street Market.  It’s held from 5 to 9 in the main district of Garapan, Saipan, right behind many of the large hotels.  It is comprised of about 40 booths featuring various culinary fares, locally grown vegetables, as well as locally made crafts, imported products and other novelties.

They usually have local dancers or singers to keep the crown entertained.

While we’ve tried many of the different dishes, we still tend to lean towards the barbecued “meat on a stick.”  Dr. Atkins would be proud of us.

We round out the evening by browsing the local shops.

It’s not the same as a night in Las Vegas, but it’s what we came here for.  A new and different experience!