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11.10.2010

Our House

Because many of you will never be able to actually tour our home in person, we wanted to give you a virtual look at our Saipanistic abode.  Welcome to Facey Farms, Bungalow 7, Saipan.
Top road leading into Facey Farms.  There are about 9 houses total on the farm.
Hand-carved sign right outside our front door
View of our house from the driveway



View as you walk in the front door.  The living space is basically one huge room with the kitchen separated by a partially detached wall.  The views from the two sliding doors and window are revealed below (our favorite part). Our bedroom and bathroom are to the right off the living space and situated at the back of the house.
Central nerve system of our house.  Bookcase for storing the few items that made the trip.  Phone book, guide book, craft projects, Tear Mender, flashlight in case of power loss, electrical supplies, piece of wood mailed to us from Hartford House (smells sooooo good and reminds us of Georgia), papers to keep, and "stuff to do" pile.  Having the house feel like a home is very important to us, but the only decorations we really brought were pictures.  Our wall of fame in Saipan!
Close-up of the wall featuring friends and family!  If you don't see yourself here, you may be on another part of the wall or in our coffee table photo album (Thanks, Therie, for the album.  It's perfect here!).
Our living room and where we spend most of our time when we're actually home.  The couch is a futon that will sleep some of our guests
Air Conditioner.  Central air is very expensive in Saipan.  These are the kinds of units found in homes and in our classrooms.  This is the only unit for our home, and it works really well.  To conserve energy, we only run it when we are actually home.
Fans are a necessity, and we have one in the main room, and one in the bedroom.
Our "formal" sitting room and our "formal" dining room

Our Kitchen, where Elizabeth has gotten her bearings!  You'll notice that one appliance is missing...
Our Diswasher.  Here is a picture of our dishwasher, good ol' Joy and our hands.


Here's our dish dryer...old school!
No resident of Saipan can drink water from the tap.  In fact, only 70% of Saipan has 24-hour access to water (Six years ago, it was 30%).  So, a part of life here is getting drinking water from the local market.  You take an empty jug, and you get a full jug for about $1.50.  We bought the pump to put on top for about $15.  To drink cold water, we have old school ice-cube trays, and we keep a big bottle of water chilled in the fridge. 

Our bedroom, complete with a Queen-size bed, one end table, and six-drawer dresser.  No need for a blanket in Saipan, so we just sleep with a flat sheet.  We love the high ceilings!

Our closet.  Yes, we both REPRESENT the Raiders with our clothing here!  Our closet is huge, and we love it!

Best part...our view!  This is the view off our deck to the right...

...to the center...

and to the left.  House you see in the foreground is ours as well.  It's a fully screened-in gazebo type building. 
We hope you enjoyed the tour of the Elger Home in Saipan.  It's comfy, cozy, and incredibly relaxing.  From what we've been told, we have one of the best houses on the island, and we really can't disagree!  Come by to visit anytime!!!

State-Bound Raiders!


A HUGE Congratuations goes out to the Varsity Competition Cheerleading Team who placed 12th at Sectionals this past Saturday (out of over 30 teams).  They will be competing in the State Tournament this Saturday in Columbus, GA, representing Habersham Central High School in the Co-Ed Division for the first time in the program's history.  I am so proud of every member of this team who has had demonstrated strength, incredible resilience, and dedication this season.  Life lessons that will serve you well for many years to come.  Thanks to all the parents who attended all the competitions, provided goodie bags, and gave first-aid to the many bumps, bruises, sprains, and other injuries endured this season.  Last, Coach Borrow, I am so proud of you and how you have lead and molded this team into who they are today.  You are an inspiration!  Soak it up at State, Raiders!!!

Love,
Coach Elger

11.08.2010

TIS!

-A sign at the DMV reads, "We are closed from 12:00-1:00pm to let our printer cool off."

-There are two newspapers in Saipan, The Marianas Variety (aligned with the left) and The Saipan Tribune (owned by the Governor and aligned with the Covenant Party...Saipan's very own Good 'Ol Boy Network).  On the Wednesday after Election Day, the headline in The Marianas Variety read, "Kilili Wins!"; whereas, the headline in The Saipan Tribune read, "Too Close to Call."  The Covenant Party did not want to admit defeat.  Kilili won with over 40% of the vote.  It was a resounding victory for the good guys!


-A sign at the DMV reads, "No Bettlenut Chewing or Spitting Allowed."  Bettlenut is the island's version of chewing tobacco, but it crosses all generational and gender boundaries.  A bettlenut is grown locally, split in half, filled with lime, chewing tobacco, and then wrapped in a leaf.  It requires one to spit a great deal.  Women, children starting at the age of 7, old men...it's just a part of the culture.  You see these signs everywhere, but you also see people ignoring the signs.  Like the DMV employee who processed our application, the one who took our picture, and the one who typed our license.  TIS!

Octoberfest


One of the highlights of Halloween week at Marianas High School is that it doubles as a Homecoming-style spirit week, culminating in a pep rally/festival on Friday complete with skits, dancing, and costume/booth decorating contests.  Both class officers and clubs participated, and I was fortunate enough to be a judge (after my wife couldn’t do it because of her duties as the senior advisor).  The whole event lasted nearly 3 hours, and I have to say I wasn’t disappointed at all with the quality of entertainment.  The student skits had themes ranging from zombies to Romeo and Juliet (with a male Juliet..priceless), and were all well-thought out and choreographed (6-8 minutes each).  The dancing, as usual here, was top-shelf, and the acting kept pace admirably.  The food was great and inventive, and the atmosphere and positive participation by the student body really made it an impressive spectacle.  I’m sure all of you will enjoy the many pictures below of our students in action.

StuCo (Student Council) Officers welcoming everyone to Octoberfest

Juniors Zombie-themed skit/dance.  Elizabeth teaches and coaches every girl in this picture.

More Zombie action from the Juniors.  Elizabeth teaches all four of these students.

The Seniors breaking it down.  Joey teaches the three main guys featured here.


Sophomore version of Romeo and Juliet.  Taylor Swift's song Romeo was the theme for their skit/dance.

Such Love!

Carolinian Club dancing away


MHS Students enjoying Octoberfest


Election Day, Ex-Pat Style

Perhaps my most enjoyable election day ever involved:  1. No contact whatsoever with a polling location, and 2. No following of results online or on TV.  Instead, Liz and I joined Brian and Colleen for a hike to a beach named Old Man by the Sea.  While the aptly-named rock formation was spectacular in itself, the real highlights were the hike through a creepily amazing forest and the view from atop a coral formation right over the violent surf.  Not an easy journey to/through either place, but the pictures will show the reward made it worthwhile and then some.  Liz called it one of her “God Moments” on Saipan, and I’d find it difficult to disagree.  Part Jurassic Park, part Ireland (Brian’s observation), part Hawaii.  Let’s just say it didn’t make me disappointed to miss the Deal vs. Barnes struggle in Georgia.  And, to top it all off, the voters of Saipan put a highly-qualified, hard-working, ethical man back into the House of Representatives.  Congrats to Gregorio Killili Camacho Sablan (Independent).  He’s a good man who has done so much already for the island and its school system.  Along with Forbidden, any visitors to Saipan will also be hiking to Old Man by the Sea.  Gorgeous!!

Sun peaking through...

...lush forest...

Tangled up in branches

We found this crab on our path.  Elizabeth wanted to take it home as a pet but decided to leave the natural resource alone!

We encountered a beautiful spider.  No worries.  There are no poisonous plants or creatures on Saipan!

The Old Man by the Sea!
I love you, Old Man!
2 Little Spider Monkies, i.e. Joey and Brian

Joey on the smaller piece of coral.  It shook when waves crashed into it!
The view to the right from the top of the coral formation...part Ireland...

The view to the back of the top of the coral formation...part Jurassic Park...

The view to the left of the top of the coral formation...part Hawaii...

God Moment!

Local Celebrity


One of the cooler things about teaching in a community the size of Habersham County is the coverage of local sports in the newspaper here.  We have two daily papers, the Saipan Tribune and the Marianas Variety, who cover everything from the darts league to the U-14 Soccer team I coach.  Just yesterday, one of us made our first appearance in the local paper, as I found my graceful 1v1 defending (no sarcasm there) captured and immortalized on the back page of the Tribune.  Fun times.

Joey using the only thing in his favor..pure physicality
If you want to read the whole article:
http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=2&newsID=104392

31 Flavors and Yabba Dabba Do


Nothing says Halloween like 85 degrees, snorkeling, and sea cucumber costumes.  While it was a truly unusual holiday weekend in some ways, it was oh-so-American in others.  Saturday morning/early afternoon saw us venture out to a dive site called “Ice Cream” (mentioned in our last post) with friends Daniel, Brian, Colleen, and Emily (a teacher at Marianas High as well).  The coral formation was fantastic and crystal clear (despite being about 40-50 feet below the surface of the water).  It alone would have made a great day, but we were in for a treat.  Five eagle rays (see the picture below) joined us in the area, amazing us with their markings and movement.   A truly spectacular sight, and a very fortunate thing to witness with just snorkel gear.  Lunch on Managaha Island on the way home wrapped up a great late morning/early afternoon excursion, setting the tone beautifully for the night ahead.

 Halloween costuming was quite diverse among our group of friends.  One went as Zorro (Kate), one as Tom Cruise’s character in Risky Business (Tiberius), one as a blue starfish (Colleen), and one even as the aforementioned sea cucumber (Brian).  Liz and I, after many years being told of our resemblance to a certain cartoon couple, finally bit the bullet and made the transformation happen.  The assemblage of these costumes was almost as fun as the actual showcase of them, with Liz once again exhibiting domestic skills not previously showcased on the mainland (great cooking, garment assembling…what next?).  (Important Note: The costume was assembled using the product known as Tear Mender, which asks you to "Trust the Bish!"  We found this at the same local store where we bought our fabric.  Turns out "The Bish" is Colleen's Godfather's Dad!!!  Small World!)  Our evening consisted of a pre-party at Brian and Colleen’s place followed by a night out at our favorite ex-pat watering hole, Godfather’s.  We were disappointed not to take home a costume prize, but felt confident that our efforts were not in vain (at least judging by the reaction of our friends!).  It was a truly “American” Halloween evening, with all its good (costumes, friends) and bad (posers without costumes at Gods, creepy older ex-pats who didn’t need costumes) elements.  

Halloween also happens to be my Mom and nephew's birthdays.  Happy Birthday, Mom and Carson!  Hope it was as fantastic and special as the two of you are!!!

Wilma and Barney Flinstone
Tear Mender made it all possible!  Thanks, Bish!

Kait as Zorro and Tiberius as Tom "Risky Business" Cruise

Brian as a Sea Cucumber and Colleen as a Gorgeous Blue Starfish
Wilma, Daniel "Matador" Stafford, and Fred

Amanda as an angelic warrior princess, Micah as a clever 3rd Wheel, Russ as Super Saipan Bear, Peter, and Colleen

Colleen, our friend, Eileen as a hot Austrian, and Kait

Static Cling and Steve as Dee Snyder or a Southerner with a mullet wig
Adam and Jen as "Internet Love"
Betty "Mama" Manion sent Brian and Colleen a Halloween care package, including a pumpkin to carve.  Brian did a beautiful job of making the tropics and Halloween blend seemlessly with his palm tree!