Spear fishing in Saipan

Here are some pictures I have taken the last few weeks. Kinda just shows some of the adventures I have been on lately. Enjoy! Peace and Love from Saipan.

Nate checking out the tank 

Nate coming out of Lau Lau Bay

My octopus attached to my leg ghetto rigged up

My first Parrot fish

Our way out of a new spear fishing beach we found

Jake getting ready to head in the water

Josiah starting to climb out

Another Parrot fish

The Wrasse I shot 

Giving it a little love

Looks like a good day at Lau Lau

My catch

All loaded up and ready to head home

Attack of the killer octopus

So today was Labor Day so we decided to celebrate by going spear fishing. We had been out on the water for about 2 1/2 hours with very little luck all day. Jake had shot one decent sized parrot fish and Brian had another nice parrot fish. Me, Nate, and Aaron were getting skunked. Earlier in the day the band on my spear gun broke so me and Jake we taking turns making dives while the other one was getting their breath back and slowing their heart rate for the next dive. This system had been working pretty well. I dove really well all day, but my shooting was just off. I had probably 5 great chances at parrot fish which I miss every time. I was getting pretty upset at myself. Jake had just made a dive on a parrot fish at about 35ft. when I saw something on the bottom moving. It didnt take long for me to realize it was a nice sized octopus. I remembered Jake telling me that if I ever got the chance to get one that I should shoot it. So as soon as Jake surfaced he passed me the spear gun, I then dove down about 35ft. and lined up on this beauty of an animal. As soon as I shot I was a big cloud of ink and felt a tug on the spear line. I knew I had landed a great holding shot. The octopus took off and went in a little cave with my spear. I tugged and tugged but couldn't get it free. So I swam to the surface to get another breath. When I surfaced Jake told me it was a good thing I didn't try to grab the octopus from under the rock because they will grab you and the rock at the same time and you wouldn't be able to get free. I was out of breath so Jake swam down and finally pulled the spear free with the nice 3 1/3 foot beauty on the end. We spent the next 20 minutes or so trying to kill the dang thing. Finally we killed it and cleaned it. It was a great experience and a very big adrenaline rush. When I got back to school I showed Mr. Ramel and he told me that his wife could show me how to cook it and make a nice octopus salad. So I spent the afternoon cooking and eating octopus. It was a great holiday! Peace and Love from Saipan!

One Month Down!

Sunset on the tank

Spear fishing

Upside down soldier fish

The tank

It is crazy to think that I have been on island for a month and a half! Wow, where did the time go? Since being here in Saipan I have learned a few things about island life. First: If asked to do something a common answer used would be simply "can" or Cannot" Full sentences are only used if you have to. Second: Never make plans more than 6 hours in advance. I overheard a conversation the other
 day where a man was asked on a Thursday afternoon what he was doing on Saturday morning. He answered "I don't know its not Saturday yet." This may be one of my favorite things about living on an island. Life here moves at a very slow pace. Everyone is living in the moment and enjoying the Sunshine and the beauty that is surrounding them. Why make plans ahead of time when you can be surprised constantly by things that happen. Third: Even though it is a small island some sort of transportation is key to living a social life. I think you could squeak by with just a bicycle but it would be rough. There are so many places on the island to see that having a means of transportation is very important. So here is a picture of my new wheels.

Isn't she beautiful?

Island Life is great though! I still can't believe that I live here. Today was the 4 week mark for school. I have made it through the first month of teaching. It has been a great experience so far. It is a lot of work but it is rewarding as well. But here are some pictures from my new camera. Its been a pretty good month if I must say so myself. Sorry not all of the pictures would upload. Peace and Love from Saipan!

PLAYING CATCH UP

Hey everyone, first off I want you to know I miss you all. Its hard to believe I have been here over 3 weeks already. It feels like I just arrived last week. Last week was the first week of school. Everything went off without a hitch. I think I will really like teaching and the kids seem great as long as I stay on top of them. Health class was the only thing I was really nervous about teaching because I had never had any classroom experience, but even that has went really well so far. I haven't taken any pictures of my students yet but as soon as my camera comes(next week hopefully) I will take some pictures of my students for yall to see. Life on island is very upbeat and exciting. There is always something to do whether it is going out to eat with other teachers, spear fishing with Jake and Brian, or playing Ultimate on Wednesdays and Fridays. There is never a dull moment here. I really like that aspect of Saipan.
       Last Week pastor Greg invited all of us teachers to go on a sunset dinner cruise. It was a beautiful but kinda pricey. We got a wonderful meal and got to see a sunset that was worth every penny spent.

        On Sunday after church I went out spear fishing with Jake and Brian. We fished for about 5 hours. Jake shot one really nice Grouper, me and Brian didn't have the same luck. I shot at one of the biggest Blue Finned Trevallis I may ever see in my life but I missed low. It has been eating me up for the last few day....GAAAHHH! Oh well there is always next time out :) On the way home from fishing we stopped and looked at a scooter that Jake had seen earlier that he thought I might be interested in. It looked pretty nice for the price and yesterday I made it mine. I am excited to have my own wheels(even if they only go 35mph) and I can give Jake back his scooter so I don't feel like such a mooch. But I am very grateful for him letting me borrow it and for everything that all the people have done to make me feel welcome and at home. So thanks guys. 

       That is about everything that has been going on here in Saipan for the past week or so. Hope you all are doing well and I miss you all. But not quite enough to want to go back anytime soon :)   

Some of us teachers on the dinner cruise

Not quite sure what this face is for

Our friends on the boat....Local Chamorro people

Just relaxin on the boat before we eat

A random sunset in Saipan

The sunset from the cruise

Myself and two lovely Japanese tourists on the cruise

I tip my hat, I sag my pants, I enjoy myself

Me and Grant keeping things snug with bottomless drinks

One of the delicious meal choices. I personally went with the steak. Beef is outrageously expensive here so I thought I would seize the opportunity for a taste of the Midwest

Our entertainment for the evening. He was a very talented man

Peace and Love from Saipan!

Spearfishing!

This morning my new friend Jake picked me up to go spear fishing with him. We went at about 9 and were in the water by 10:30. He let me borrow one of his extra guns so I could do more than just watch him have all the fun. We swam out past the reef and started our hunt. My main targets were Parrot fish. Free diving is a totally different experience from scuba or even just snorkeling. I think I dove as deep as 35 feet but mostly I stayed at about 20 feet so I could stay down longer. I shot my gun about 15 times with no luck hitting anything. They say that the fish here are very smart. It was hard to get close enough to them for a shot before they would take off. We stayed out till about 1:20. It was a very exciting and relaxing day in the water. I am happy to report that I came home with two small Parrot fish, which I just ate literally 2 minutes ago. They were very tasty. I gutted them and scaled them. I then stuffed them with olive oil, garlic cloves, and silantro and baked them for 25 minutes at 350. They have a beautiful white meat, reminds me of walleye kinda. I cant wait to go again soon. Maybe next time I will get to shoot one that is bigger. So long for now. Peace and love from Saipan.

Forbidden Island

 The view looking down into the bay

 Forbidden Island from above

 Hanging out with Chris and Jake

 Us guys right before we hiked back to the truck

 After I got out of the "cold" pool in a cave

 Some of us snorkeling

 Just hanging out

 The view from the top of Bird Island looking back at mainland Saipan

 One of the smaller rocks we jumped off of

 At the street market with Grant eating some delicious BBQ


So yesterday a group of us piled into the back of Jakes truck and headed to Forbidden Island. It is a spot not many locals go because of their culture. It is very beautiful though. The hike down was steep but not super long. Very doable. we spent the day combing the beach, snorkeling, rock climbing, cliff jumping, and just having a great time. This is probably my favorite spot on the island so far. After we got back from the island we showered and then me, Grant, Kara, and Anna headed to the street market. Lots of great food and crafts for sale. What a good day. Peace and love from Saipan!

Bird Island

 Me and Grant walking on Bird Island beach

 The "group" from left to right-Kara, Anna, Alison, Becky, Rachel, Brian, Sammy(dog), Me, Grant.

 Me on Bird Island

 Walking on the beach

 Nemo hanging out

 Us again on Bird Island

 Bird Island....so beautiful

 Very pretty blue fish next to a not so beautiful sea cucumber




So last week me and some teachers hiked to Bird Island. Bird Island is a wildlife sanctuary. We spent the afternoon hiking and snorkeling and just enjoying the beauty of this place. It was great to get out with some teachers and have a relaxing afternoon. These pictures were taken by Grant. He has been generous enough to share pictures with me so that I can keep you all updated on my time here. Hopefully my new camera arrives soon. It must not have shipped priority so it could take up to 3 months for it to arrive. I cant wait to be the one taking pictures. Hope you all can get a glimpse of where I am living and the things I am doing though. Peace and Love from Saipan.