Yellow legal pad lined paper
Dear Mom,
Hi there again from Saipan. A lot has happened since I last wrote.
The rainy season has begun. I’ve experienced my first tropical depression, almost being classified as a tropical storm. No typhoons yet. The rain came down in sheets and the wind was scary. It rained solid for a week. Tans began to fade and people started getting a little weird. We had to have alternate activities for the guests and clubmates had to find new ways to entertain ourselves. Once a bunch of us went out to these cliffs and watched the swells break up 50 feet to drench us (all done with several 6-packs of beer.) This is fun. We saw a squall start at Tinian and took bets when it would hit us. At 62 seconds, we were hit and drenched from above as well as from the waves so we sat in a circle and played games. We’re good at entertaining ourselves.
There are blowholes on the island. One shoots water up like Old Faithful 20 feel. Another crack makes a horrible noise like a dragon. There’s a story that a Japanese girl got sucked down through another hole. The holes are in an area of 500 yards of lava rock. The rock is so jagged that one wrong footing could rip your skin to ribbon.
They are also caves on the island. I went caving for the first time. I’m taking one fear at a time and overcoming them here in Saipan. First it was water and now it’s claustrophobia. The caves vent really deep and we all had to take flashlights. There were stalagmites, stalactites, incredible mineral deposit formations, clear pools of crystal clean water, tunnels that dropped straight down and the holes that were only 4” bigger than the body was, huge caverns, and natural beauty you’d never see anywhere else. We found a new passageway no clubmate had known of, so 3 of us explored. We got a little nervous trying to find our way out, I was worried about the amount of oxygen in the tunnels. Next time we’re going to take markers to leave a trail. I was never so glad to see the sky and trees as when we came out. We were so dirty, my underwear was dirty on both sides. I was so proud that I didn’t freak out although one clubmate had to leave halfway through. Yay, I made it!
In all my activities, I’ve gotten a lot of scrapes and cuts but I finally injured myself that I was out of commission. A few weeks ago during rehearsal, my partner dropped me (threw me?) out of a lift. I strained my back. The next week I went windsurfing and had a sharp pain in my back and then the week after I was doing aerobics and it felt like someone hit me with a baseball bat. I went to the doctor and had to lay flat for 2 days. I was on muscle relaxers and pain medication. I’m taking it easy now by saving movement in rehearsals for the shows, not teaching aerobics or windsurfing. I don’t know how well my back will heal since I have such an active job but I’m trying to give myself a break as much as I can.
I love the Huntington beach postcard from Noah! Have you shown the boys on the map where I am? Sometimes I wonder where I am myself. N, S, E, W are weird here – can’t tell where I am in relation to other places. Just figured out where Guam was in relation to Saipan. Even though I knew Saipan was north of Guam, I couldn’t get it that Guam was south of me. Weird. The sun sets all wrong too. True, it sets in the west but it feels wrong in relation to where the US is. All turned around.
Here’s my $100 for July, Aug car payment and $135 for my car registration. Thanks for taking care of it for me.
Regardless of my pain, I’m still happy and having a great time. I bet you’re looking forward to fall! The rainy season doesn’t end until November so it’ll be a while before it’s as nice daily as it was the first 2 months I was here. I’m almost ½ done with my contract, can you believe it?
Hope you’re well. I like sharing my experiences with you. You’re someone I know who’s interested and cares. Love.
