Random beauty on Saipan. Just part of living in paradise! I snapped these pics right outside our house, looking north, just before sunset. As you'll notice, the rainbow was so bright, that in the smaller picture it looks like a glowing arc of gold in the sky, with the colors barely showing up on camera. Gorgeous!
Twice this week we drove about 15 minutes to the heart of Saipan’s tourist district. Garapan, Saipan. On the rare occasions that Saipan appears on the map and on the rarer occasions still when a village on Saipan is identified on the map, this is invariably the one you’ll see. In Garapan you’ll find three high rise hotels looming up next to the shore—the Hafa Adai Hotel, the Fiesta Resort, and the Hyatt--- and a couple of blocks of restaurants, nightclubs, souvenir shops, bars, and massage parlors bordered by the Duty Free Galleria Mall and Hard Rock Café on one end and the sprawl of American Memorial Park on the other. The park was the scene of our first visit to Garapan this week.
This past Sunday, September 24, 2006, we had our annual school picnic at American Memorial Park. The park is an official National Park, run by the National Park Service, the only one on Saipan. It consists of a brand new World War II museum, a large amphitheatre, a flag court and memorial to the American soldiers and sailors who gave their lives in the Battle of Saipan during WW II, public tennis courts, a small marina, a very nice stretch of white sand known as Micro Beach, and several acres of open space bordered by walking paths often used for soccer games, ultimate Frisbee, the annual Flame Tree and Taste of the Marianas festivals and for us, the school picnic.
The day was hot and muggy, more so than normal, somewhat overcast, with occasional bursts of rain showers, and the occasional ominous rumble of thunder (a rarity on Saipan), but we all had fun anyway.
Here's kindergarten teacher Britni Gleason at the beginning of the picinic. She can't wait to start having fun!
It was a classic picnic with trays of pancit, hot dogs, fried chicken, pasta salad, jello, and the always popular boxes of Winchell’s donuts. Here's the picnic area.
We held egg and spoon relays, potato sack races, and of course tug of war.
Here's Babs dominating the badminton court.
One of the highlights of the afternoon was the "Chicky Chicky Bang Bang Bus" better known as the Chicken Bus. This bus in the shape of a giant chicken and festooned with many t-shirt clad plastic chickens took the kids on unbelievably fun rides around the park. I suppose it was just sitting in an open air bus, but the chicken theme somehow turned it all into a big adventure. The Chicken Bus is run by Big Boyz, an island tour operator whose chief distinction is that all of their vehicles from their tour buses to boats to jet skis are hot pink. How the Chicken Bus uniquely relates to Saipan is unclear. It seems to me to be about as authentic as the Saipanda.
Here's Bab's best friend on Saipan, Carol (left), and Nahoko, the parent of one of our kindergarten students.
One of our students, Tekoi, shows off one of his many remarkable talents. In this case balancing a large kickball on his head.
Thursday evening Barbara and I returned to Garapan. I dropped Barbara off at the Hafa Adai Hotel where one of our church members was holding a birthday party for their one-year old in one of the ball rooms. Apparently, the party featured Happy, the world’s loudest birthday clown. But I missed Happy because I was headed to the Street Market, the weekly festival of food, souvenir booths, and island-style entertainment. I had a film shoot and it was time for my close up! That’s right, I’m making my television debut as an actor! My friend Dan, the Hollywood actor, writer, and director who found himself on Saipan three years ago helping us with the Journeys project is putting together a new television series (hopefully this will actually get finished and aired). He asked me to help with some writing, but mainly he wanted me to act.
Now my interests have generally tended towards the behind-the-camera stuff: writing, directing, and even being a production manager. I haven’t done any serious acting (beyond the occasional cameo in my own plays or film projects) since I played the nefarious Mr. Duffy in my senior class play Meet Me in St. Louis. But Dan needed a favor, and he wanted me. So I agreed. It’s actually been pretty fun. I’m not the star of the show, just part of a large ensemble cast. My role is that of a Christian missionary on Saipan who is revered as somewhat of a spiritual sage by all those around him. So I’m basically playing myself. Well except for the part about being regarded as a spiritual sage. My character Elijah befriends Lily, the star of the show, a beautiful but lonely Chinese woman who has arrived on Saipan “looking for America.” Originally hoping to win her soul, Elijah’s heart is won instead and he begins assisting her in her quest.
Thursday night we were filming a short sequence in which Lily and Elijah visit the street market on their quest. It was just a couple of lines of dialogue and some basic establishing shots. We were done with the shoot in about 45 minutes. Unfortunately my camera battery died before I could get someone to take some photos me acting, but below are a few pics of the street market in general. You’ll see more of both the street market (my drama team will be performing there in mid-October) and my acting debut (we’ll be shooting more scenes in the coming weeks) in later blog entries.
To go with the photos here's a short selection from my online Journal at Interference the U2 fan website that I'm a member of. I wrote this description back in March, but the market is still the same. We were there to look at a band that was going to be a part of a REAL Christian Theater dinner theater.
Every Thursday night they block off one of the streets in the heart of Garapan, the tourist district of Saipan. The lights of the Japanese restaurants, the Chinese massage parlors, the Korean shops glow neon bright. The street is packed with tourists and locals, the air smoky from the fires of a dozen barbeques coming from the stalls opened by area restaurants. You can buy coco (spicy pickled green mango), bbq chicken on a stick, greasy lasagna, pizza, and untold varieties of Chinese dishes. As you push through the crowd, you can hear the thump of the band playing at the stage area. My theater club used to perform here a few years ago--brutal performing conditions: noise, a transient, largely Japanese speaking audience that will leave you alone onstage if they aren't sufficiently entertained. But they paid $100 an hour, so we managed to endure.
The band is pretty good, playing covers of various modern rock songs. My favorite was their cover of "Pardon Me" by Incubus. This kind of music isn't heard often here. . .most people prefer hip-hop, pop, and the unique brand of Pacific pop known as "Hawaiian reggae". But the band is good and that is undeniable. Bono Girl's boyfriend plays lead guitar and he is amazing. . .very talented for a high school junior.
When their set is over, Babs and I walk back through the crowds, holding hands feeling amidst the neon kanji and Asian eyes as far from suburban America as you can get.
Entering the Street Market
In the midst of the hustle and bustle that is the Thursday night Street Market in Garapan.
Dan (in the yellow)sets up his shot. Right behind him flashing the peace sign is Lie Hua and next to her in gray is Xerxes, holding the camera. You can see the arm of the boom operator and the long boom mike pole to the left.
Here's Lie Hua a.k.a Lily, the star of the show, abandoning her normal serious poise and grace for some serious camera mugging.
My next entry here probably won’t be for another two weeks but it should be a good one. Next weekend REAL Christian Theater goes on it’s first tour of the new season. We’ll be going to the island of Rota, another island in the CNMI south of us. For both the team and me, it will be a first visit. I’m looking forward to it, but also quite stressed about the logistical details and of course the performances (the first performances for our new team members). So please keep us in prayers. I’ll have pictures and stories to tell in the next entry.
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